Witch's Embrace

Meanwhile, Hawthorne turned to look back and instantly saw Heidi's figure.

He was so relieved he almost burst into tears.

My dear Heidi, you're finally back!

Knowing he was temporarily safe, he felt his heart settle, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Compared to Hawthorne's excitement, Heidi's emotions were almost panic-stricken. She quickly moved to Hawthorne's side, adopting a defensive stance, facing Yuta with the vigilance reserved for an enemy, "Yuta, what do you intend to do with the person I... saved?"

She nearly slipped up, changing her words halfway to avoid exposing anything.

Seeing her attitude, Yuta raised an eyebrow, feeling a surge of irritation. "Heidi, you would take this stance against me for an outsider... for a human?"

The tension rose sharply; Hawthorne realized this wasn't the time for conflict—after all, they couldn't win—so he quickly intervened, "Miss Heidi, don't worry. Miss Yuta just offered me a meal, we were…"

Yuta's sharp gaze suddenly fixed on him: "It's not your place to speak here."

Hawthorne felt a sharp pain in his eyes, making him instinctively close them, and tears uncontrollably flowed from the corners of his eyes.

His eyes were injured, and anger surged within him.

This witch!

Seeing Yuta's actions and Hawthorne's reaction, Heidi quickly stepped forward to block Hawthorne.

Her mind raced, and then she displayed an apologetic demeanor, "I'm sorry, Yuta, I was too tense. Mainly, Hawthorne's health isn't very good…"

Yuta said nothing more, casting a sideways glance at Hawthorne, her lips curling slightly.

Next time they were alone, it should be easy to finish him off...

Yuta was making her plans, unaware that when Hawthorne managed to open his eyes again and saw her smile, all he felt was a chill down his spine.

This witch, she's definitely thinking about killing me!

Just wait, during Witch's Night, let's see how I deal with you!

He resolved inwardly, and Yuta, unable to read his thoughts, stood up, her expression still icy. "Now that you're back, Heidi, I won't stay longer. Goodbye."

With that, she gracefully exited through the Kitchen door. Not until she closed it did Hawthorne let out a long sigh of relief.

Finally, the crisis had passed.

Heidi hurriedly hugged him, her words full of remorse: "Master, are you alright? Did Yuta do anything else to you?"

"I'm so sorry, truly sorry, it's all my fault for being too slow..."

Hawthorne's lips twitched into a gentle smile for her reassurance: "It's alright, this isn't your fault. It's my fault for not thinking ahead. I should have had two slices of bread ready."

Saying this, recalling the earlier dance on the edge, a life hanging by a thread, he almost wished to slap himself for his folly.

Getting overconfident after learning just one Mage Armor, unable to bear a bit of hunger, recklessly running around this danger-laden convent, ready to lose his life!

With such limited ambition, what could you hope to achieve in the future?

Today, it was pure luck that things slid by. In the future...

Such a thing must never happen again!

He silently vowed in his heart and then gently stroked Heidi's head, softly asking, "By the way, where did you go on your trip out?"

Heidi snapped back to herself, and with a sense of guilt and grievance, she slowly opened the bundle she was holding: "I went to exchange some money and then bought Master three more introductory books..."

Hawthorne blinked, suddenly remembering this was an eroge world, and felt a chill creeping up his spine, making his hair stand on end and his heart leap into his throat for the third time: "Wait, where did you get the money?!"

Heidi blinked her eyes: "Die gave me several gems from her collection, and I went to sell them."

"Due to the large amount, it took quite some time, so I just got back now..."

As she explained, Hawthorne let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing into her embrace: "You scared me, uh..."

Seeing Heidi's puzzled expression, he then spoke seriously, advising: "Heidi, there's really no need to rush about money; I haven't even fully learned the magic from these two books yet."

"Once we fully control the convent, Master will have many ways to make money. So please, don't do anything foolish for the sake of money!"

Heidi looked a bit dazed, appearing somewhat adorable. After some time, she finally understood what Hawthorne meant.

Suddenly, she smiled sweetly, nestled her head into his embrace, and softly said: "Rest assured, Master, Heidi will never betray your will, no matter the time."

Holding her, Hawthorne suddenly felt that this girl was in sync with him, and perhaps his earlier concern was unnecessary.

Hmm... being cautious never hurts.

Still shaken by Yuta's scare, Hawthorne now approached everything with utmost caution.

Only at this moment did he finally have the leisure to calmly check out the Grimoires Heidi had bought.

As expected, the three newly purchased books were the introductory texts for the remaining three colleges of Straylight University of Magic, namely "Introduction to Weight and Measure," "Introduction to Pure Beauty," and "Introduction to Silver Brush."

Furthermore, they all radiated waves of Magic Power.

Clearly, these three were also magical artifacts containing a spell that allowed him to cast spells without the need for learning, simply by possessing these books.

Looking at the covers of the three books, Hawthorne couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

Great, now I've collected all the introductory books from the five colleges of Straylight University of Magic. The total cost of this set must be no less than 1,500 gold coins, and if the spells included are particularly excellent and practical, the value could even reach 2,000...

"Thank you, Heidi," he said softly, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. "However, with so many books, I might not be able to read them all at once."

"I need some time to thoroughly digest the content of these books. So, for now, let's not buy any more new books."

Heidi blinked, then nodded obediently: "Mm, I understand, Master."

Hawthorne said no more. After turning his attention back and hungrily finishing the salted fish and shredded carrot sandwich Yuta had prepared for him, he ambitiously looked at the textbooks in his hands.

Alright, now, let me begin and thoroughly study them all!