She Is Not a Witch

Light-colored boots made a soft sound as they stepped in the snow. The sensation underfoot allowed the girl to clearly feel the fluffy snow being compressed against the ground, then a cool feeling came, like stepping on shaved ice.

The snow in the mountain forest was quite thick, nearly half a meter high, but fortunately, it didn’t reach Loranhil’s knees, otherwise walking in the snow would have been quite difficult for her.

A gentle breeze blew through the mountains. The snowfall had lessened, with only a few flakes still drifting. Occasionally, a few would land on her cheeks, feeling like cool grains of sand brushing against her skin. The girl tugged at the hat on her head, tilting it slightly to shield one side from the wind and snow.

The hat was shaped like a witch’s hat from fairy tales, with a wide brim and a pointed, slightly curved tip. However, to match the white winter dress, the hat was also white, with only an ice-blue ribbon decorating the crown to make it less monotonous.

Loranhil had made the hat herself, using pure white star-patterned fabric she had woven. Since she had some free time recently, she wanted to make something with her own hands.

Actually, she had failed twice before, due to lack of experience, with the shape and size not looking good. It wasn’t until this third one she was wearing now that she was fairly satisfied. When she first started making it, she didn’t think much about it, but later found it unexpectedly nice when wearing it.

The wide brim could shield her face and neck from falling snowflakes, and with the hat covering her head, it felt very warm. Unlike before, when her body would be warm but her head cold, which was quite uncomfortable.

After finishing the hat, Loranhil examined herself in the mirror, turning around, feeling something was missing. Then she ran to the amber maple tree, broke off a branch, trimmed it, and made it into a staff. She twirled it lightly in her hand a few times. With this outfit, she looked just like a white witch from a fairy tale.

She even tried sitting sideways on the wooden staff to fly, but later found it a bit strange because she could remove the staff at any time and put it aside. Her flight was powered by the atmosphere, not the staff, so it would be like flying while sitting on an invisible chair, which looked very odd. So she simply didn’t sit on the staff anymore.

This time, she wanted to experience walking in the mountains.

Humans are interesting creatures. After doing something they like for a long time, they develop a curiosity to try something new. Loranhil had always been flying through the forest before; walking through the woods herself was something she hadn’t done since she first awakened.

She had thought about this question later: why was she lying there, and what was her background?

Was it transmigration? But she wasn’t like this in her previous life.

Was it possession? After becoming a supernatural being, she ruled out this possibility because her soul and body were highly compatible, even far exceeding normal people.

To use an analogy, if the body and soul were like a screw and nut, a body that wasn’t one’s own would have a strong rejection reaction, causing damage to both parties.

For ordinary people, the body and soul are born at the same time, possibly with tiny gaps of difference.

But for her, it felt more like the soul existed first, and then the body was born using the soul as a template, so the compatibility reached over 100%, almost completely unified.

But who would do such a thing, and who could do it? This world had no surviving and proven deities. The Mercury Dynasty existed for nearly a thousand years and only obtained some vague legends from the elves. It was said that before the era of giants and dragons, this world had deities who created many creatures.

But this was just a legend. Apart from a small amount of text and oral traditions, there was no physical evidence or relics to prove that such powerful beings had ever existed in the world. Even the long-lived witches mostly only reached Sequence 9 and hadn’t broken this limit.

If she was created, there must be some purpose, or she must be shouldering some mission, the girl thought as she walked through the snow.

The only clue she could grasp was the system in her consciousness. She once thought the system was omnipotent, but gradually discovered that it wasn’t. This system couldn’t change the world, nor could it create physical objects. It was more like an observation and guidance function.

It would provide some guidance and assistance to her, but it wouldn’t interfere with her thoughts and views. It seemed to want her to have more contact with and think about this world, then quietly wait for her to make choices.

Perhaps one day, it would tell her the ultimate mission.

First, she passed through a forest of towering redwood trees. These redwoods in the forest were one or two hundred meters tall, their dense canopy blocking most of the sky. As a result, there was very little undergrowth beneath the trees, making it convenient to walk.

After crossing several hills and turning around a few bends, Loranhil finally stepped onto the small path carved out between the mountains, which wasn’t far from the rabbit-eared tribe’s city.

The world was adorned with pristine white snow, and there were few carriages on the wide road. Although communication between the rabbit-eared tribe’s internal cities remained smooth, the roads connecting to the outside world were not good. Being newly opened, they were difficult to traverse. When the heavy snow sealed the mountains, there were few tourists and merchants left in the Tisilan Mountain Range; most had returned home to rest.

The natural property of winter always inclined people to reduce activity, stay at home to recuperate, and reduce consumption.

By the time Loranhil stepped through the gates of Snake-Slaying City, it was almost noon. White smoke rose from the chimneys of the green stone brick houses in the city, and occasionally she could smell the aroma of rice from nearby homes.

Knock, knock, knock.

The girl didn’t go to the City Lord’s mansion but came directly to the school gate and knocked.

A middle-aged woman opened the door, initially confused, but when Loranhil lifted her hat brim to reveal her face, she was greatly surprised. Just as she was about to bow, she was interrupted by the girl.

“Aunt Monica, there’s no need. I’m just here for a simple visit today.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Please come in and sit for a moment. I’ll go find Mira.” Facing Loranhil, the woman was still a bit nervous, afraid of making a mistake or displeasing the important guest. After settling the girl, she prepared to immediately go to the classroom area to call Mira.

“There’s no need, I’ll go directly.”

Loranhil took off her hat, shook off the snow, tidied her clothes a bit, then gently dissuaded her.

Passing through the courtyard corridor towards the classroom, snow from last night had accumulated on the grass outside the railing. Some of it had started to melt in the sunlight, revealing the green grass beneath. Loranhil walked on the stone bricks, occasionally hearing the sound of studying and reading from the classrooms.

How nostalgic, the girl thought, just as she was about to knock on the door, a unified voice came from behind it.

“Dignity is not given, it must be earned by oneself. Only through action can we wash away past shame. This is how we have become strong.”

The words sounded familiar. Loranhil seemed to recall something, and the hand she was about to use to knock on the door lowered. A slightly embarrassed expression appeared on her face.

What embarrassing words, and they’re being recited by everyone.