She Is Not a Witch

After lunch, the Carithes Merchant Association’s caravan finally finished recuperating and set off again.

The caravan members dismantled and rolled up their tents, neatly loading them onto the wagons. Severely wounded were laid to rest in the wagons, while those with lighter injuries continued on horseback. By afternoon, they hadn’t traveled far before reaching Yellow Leaf Town beyond the mountains.

Broadly speaking, the Vegar Commercial Alliance had mountainous regions in the west and relatively flat plains in the east. After leaving Yellow Leaf Town, the road was mostly smooth highway, with cities and population becoming denser and safety greatly improved.

The mayor of Yellow Leaf Town was quite shaken upon seeing the caravan with its bandaged and bloodstained members. He wondered when such formidable bandits had appeared in the area. If the Carithes Merchant Association reported this to the Alliance Council, his position as mayor would be finished.

He brought various herbs, white liquor, food, and local specialties, asking the caravan to accept them. Then he requested an audience with Miss Lacy of the Carithes Merchant Association.

Initially, Loranhil didn’t want to meet this mayor, understanding that the incident had little to do with him. But on second thought, she realized this was a good opportunity and agreed to see him.

That afternoon, on the outskirts of Yellow Leaf Town, a large parasol was set up. The caravan stopped nearby as Loranhil invited the mayor to meet her there.

The mayor of Yellow Leaf Town was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a somewhat provincial brown suit. Led by two riders, he met the legendary Miss Lacy.

She wore an exquisite light red dress, her silken hair draped over her shoulders as she sat poised under the parasol in a white wooden chair. Before her was a small white round table with two teacups and a teapot. The tea set was made of Eastern white porcelain, adorned with elegant gilt patterns.

As the mayor approached, the young woman’s clear blue eyes caught his attention. For a moment, he was stunned by her unparalleled beauty.

Chelsea, the head maid standing behind Loranhil, coughed twice to remind the dazed mayor. Though she knew her young miss’s beauty was extraordinarily rare, she disliked her being stared at rudely.

The mayor finally came to his senses, hastily lowering his head to introduce himself.

“I am Ruud, honored to serve as the mayor of Yellow Leaf Town. Upon hearing of Miss Lacy’s ordeal, I felt deeply alarmed and have brought some supplies. I hope Miss Lacy will accept them as a token of my humble apology.”

“From your accent, Mayor, you’re not originally from here, are you?” Loranhil’s voice came from before him, as clear and melodious as a mountain spring.

“Indeed, Miss Lacy is most perceptive. I grew up in the Red Mangrove Islands to the south, only coming to Vegar with my parents later.”

“Is that the Red Berry Federation? I’ve heard there are many mages there.”

“Yes, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the talent for the Magic Sequence. I only learned some arithmetic and writing before dropping out.”

Ruud’s expression showed some regret as he spoke. After the Red Berry Federation united with the New Moon Council, they began implementing education throughout their territory. Those with exceptional aptitude could become apprentices and embark on the path of the Magic Sequence. This was why the southern islands, despite their small land area, could stand on par with some larger countries.

In terms of overall strength, even compared to the seven countries of the Snow Flower Alliance, they ranked in the upper middle.

The New Moon Council and Red Berry United Kingdom, commonly known as the New Berry Kingdom, like Ruluna, were countries renowned for their mages. The origins of mages in both countries were intertwined, and due to differing ideologies, they viewed each other as rivals.

This competition and opposition could be traced back to their source: the Oz Kingdom from over a thousand years ago. After the collapse of the Mercury Dynasty, most of the Magic Sequence supernatural beings were absorbed by the Oz Kingdom, led by two great witches from the former Mercury Dynasty.

One was Dorothy, the Witch of Time and Space, and the other was the Witch of Illusion, whose true name was unknown. Legend had it that her appearance could change in countless ways, and she was also known as the Red Lotus Demon. Her Red Lotus Disaster magic could burn mountains and boil seas, destroying everything.

Under the leadership of these two great witches, the Oz Kingdom was once the most powerful country in the Western Continent, a holy land in the hearts of countless Magic Sequence practitioners. The Star-Gazing Esoteric Academy in its capital could rival the Emenas Academy. The kingdom developed new magical warships using mystical technology, along with various Magic Sequence combat units. They also frequently exchanged with the Eastern Golden Oriole Dynasty.

In its early days, the Golden Oriole Dynasty provided substantial talent and resources to support Oz. Even the vast ocean between them couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm for exchange between the two countries. Later, they even jointly established a new-style academy in the Golden Oriole Dynasty, profoundly influencing its subsequent development.

However, this powerful country that everyone had high hopes for soon fell, crushed by the rapidly rising Verdant Kingdom, which later became known as the Verdant Empire.

After the Oz Kingdom’s destruction, its mages were forced to flee. Some went west and were accepted by the Ruluna Kingdom, establishing the country of alchemists and mages as it is known today. Others went south to the Southern Islands. Due to the fragmented nature of the Southern Islands, this group split into three moon councils: the New Moon Council, the Crescent Moon Council, and the Full Moon Council. It wasn’t until over 200 years ago that the New Moon Council defeated the other two, reunifying them.

After unification, the New Moon Council allied with the local secular Red Berry Federation, forming today’s New Berry Kingdom.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Loranhil looked at the nervous mayor before her, knowing he was worried about losing his position. She saw this as a perfect opportunity to spread the news that outsiders had attacked the heir of a major merchant association within Vegar’s borders, attempting to dissolve the association.

All merchants fear having their hard-earned wealth plundered by others, so news of an attack on a merchant association’s heir would attract great attention and strong rejection.

As long as this mayor continuously spread the message that the attackers were not bandits but well-trained professional soldiers, he could avoid punishment, as this was beyond his ability to resolve.

But how could there be professional soldiers within the Vegar Commercial Alliance? This would spark widespread discussion, with suspicion falling either on the great nobles of Western Wind or other major merchant associations within the alliance. To avoid suspicion and fear of agitating other major merchant associations, the hidden enemies of the Carithes Merchant Association would become more cautious, greatly reducing the likelihood of further attacks and assassinations.

Because if the orphaned heir of the Carithes Merchant Association were to die unnaturally during this period, it would cause a tremendous uproar within Vegar. Other merchant associations would feel personally threatened and thus put all their efforts into investigating and tracking down the culprits, to prevent such a thing from happening to them.

And this was exactly what Loranhil wanted to see.