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Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Witches and Magic Crystals
The new residence was in the north of the city, right beside the market. It was noisy during the day and noisy at night, but it was cheap.
The house was made of adobe. A large patch of wall plaster had peeled away, exposing the yellow-brown mud bricks underneath. The wooden door hung crookedly; to close it, one had to lift it a little, or else it would catch on the threshold.
Alice pushed the door open. Before she could step inside, a head poked out from within.
It was the old woman who had sold vegetables last time.
Е ñ um̂ а
When she saw Alice, a smile had just begun to appear on her face. Then she caught sight of Fick following behind her. Her smile stiffened for half a second, and she yanked Alice inside, shutting the door with a bang.
Fick stood outside and heard the lowered voices within.
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“Why did he come with you?”
“Granny, Big Brother is different now…”
“Different? Unless I am drunk, does he not still look like the same ice fiend?”
“It is true. He paid for Father’s funeral. He also paid for dinner last night.”
Е̇ ňum а. і d
“…Did he force you to say that?”
“No.”
There was a moment of silence.
Then the old woman’s voice suddenly rose a little. “What did you call him?”
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“Bi… Big Brother.”
The door opened.
Еn̄ um а
The old woman stood in the doorway and looked Fick up and down. Her gaze did not seem to be looking at a person, but at some old article freshly dug out of the ground, as if she wanted to confirm whether it could still be used.
“Alice, wait outside for a while first. Mr. Fick, please come in. There are a few things I would like to say to you,” she said.
Fick stepped over the threshold.
“Do not make Granny Philoga angry. She is old,” Alice whispered as she passed Fick.
The inside of the house was even darker than the outside. There was only one small window, pasted over with old newspaper, and the light that filtered in was dim and yellow. There was a table, two chairs, and a wooden plank bed against the wall with a thin mattress spread over it.
The old woman walked up to him and suddenly reached out, gripping his wrist.
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Fick froze for a moment. Her hands were rough and dry, with thick calluses in her palms. She gripped him tightly, not like she was shaking his hand, but as if she wanted to pin him in place.
“Please forgive my rudeness just now,” she said. “Change is a good thing. A prodigal son’s return is worth more than Magic Crystals. I believe that saying.”
“Alice has too much pride. A child like her is easily taken advantage of when she is alone.” The old woman glanced back at the girl, who was peering in from the inner room, then lowered her voice. “I am entrusting her to you.”
“No…” He instinctively wanted to refuse. “I am only staying for three—”
“I am already so old that whether I will live past tomorrow is unknown.” The old woman interrupted him. “One year. Stay with her for one year.”
“She only turned fifteen yesterday, and she already works two jobs by herself. She has never seen her biological parents since she was small. Her foster father did not care for her, and her foster mother did not love her. You can say, ‘What does that have to do with me?’”
Еnu m̀ а
“That is true. But she is a Witch. My heavens, I have never heard of a non-royal Witch who lived past twenty. If they have no money, they are forcibly sent to serve in North Koyanxiton at eighteen and exiled to the border. If they have money, they go to the Royal Witch University at eighteen to develop strategic-level magic. In any case, on some day after they turn twenty, they all completely crystallize and explode into Magic Crystals scattered across the ground!”
“I will give you the key to the whole courtyard. In the box under the firewood pile, I have saved about three silver Manes. Please, I beg you, show a little kindness and look after that pitiful and stubborn girl.”
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Great Cross God above, I did not even know Alice was actually a Witch. When I bullied her before, I never saw her use magic to fight back. Thank you, my sister Alice.
According to legend, in the era when Orcs were still dominant, there were no Witches. Back then, humanity had not even proposed the concept of knights. The mainstream explanation now was that the Orcs had blasphemed against the gods, and as a result, one day, a “Rain of Starry Colors” fell. Among human women, one percent of the chosen ones became Witches.
After a Witch died, she turned into Magic Crystals. Only then could the royal families and the Church gather knights through doctrine and Magic Crystals, defeat the Orcs, and give birth to human nations. Research into crystallization disease was now completely controlled by the royal families, and every nation studied how to make Witches produce more crystals when they crystallized.
But there were exceptions. Every year, the Empire would jointly select a dozen or so Great Witches who had made outstanding contributions and whose crystallization was not severe, then perform a degeneration ritual on them, turning them back into ordinary people. They could no longer use magic, but they could basically live to fifty or sixty.
W̃е b̌ ǹо̌ v̀еl Еn̆u̇m̌а
The royals were different. Among the royal families of each nation, the probability of producing a Witch was as high as one in ten. Added to their exalted status, almost all of them underwent the degeneration ritual at the age of twenty.
Fick accepted the key.
The old woman released his hand, patted his arm, and pointed to the left. “The room is over there, beside the kitchen. From now on, the two of you will live here. If anything happens, knock on my door.”
She turned as if to leave.
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Fick stood where he was, looking at the back of her gray-white head. He wanted to say something, but swallowed the words back down.
“Granny!”
Ĕ n̆ ù m̊ а. і̂d
Alice suddenly pushed the door open and came in.
The old woman looked back.
“Big Brother and I will take care of each other,” Alice said. “You do not need to worry.”
The old woman looked at her, then glanced at Fick. The corner of her mouth moved, though it was impossible to tell whether she wanted to smile or sigh.
She reached up and covered her own forehead, muttering, “Heavens, I need to buy a bottle of rum today.”
“Drink less,” Alice said.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“I know, I know.” The old woman waved a hand. “Go keep your brother company. From now on, you need to respect him more. Treat him as your real brother, and be less foul-mouthed.”
She pushed the door open and left.
The room quieted down. Alice turned and looked at Fick.
“So you…” Fick suddenly changed what he had been about to say. “The room is beside the kitchen?”
“Mm.”
“Is there a broom?”
Е ñum̂ а̊
Alice took a broom that had lost half its bristles from behind the door and handed it to him.
“Please, Big Brother.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Fick accepted the broom and walked toward the inner room.
When he reached the doorway, Fick paused and looked back.
“Alice.”
“What is it, Big Brother?” Alice’s body trembled slightly, as if she had guessed that Fick’s next words would decide whether he stayed or left. She stood where she was and looked at him.
Wё_ḃ ṅòv̈ е́l Е̌ n ǔ m̀ а
Ever since I became conscious, I have never held any expectations for nobles.
Father’s bedtime stories only ever sounded from the next room.
Sometimes, when I could not sleep at night, I could clearly hear the sounds of the steward and Mother having an affair in the grass.
The new nobles in the academy only knew how to compare themselves with one another. Like animals, they showed off their power by loudly praising the deeds of their ancestors. When they quarreled, they only flapped their lips and spat at each other. The military nobles did not even have the courage to swing a fist. The religious nobles only watched from the shadows. The royal nobles, even more so, liked acting as puppeteers and manipulating others.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Sometimes, I wonder whether the nobles who first drove out the Orcs were like this too. Sometimes, I wonder what my own noble parents would have been like if they were still alive.
Today, I placed expectations on an evil older brother who bullied me for fifteen years. Although he says strange things like “I am Fick, and Fick is me,” he still barely counts as a noble.
W̄ eb n ǒ v̂ еl̇ Е n̆ ü.m a
This new expectation came with a new feeling. It was so strange. I had never experienced it before.
As long as I imagined him saying expressionlessly, “I have decided to leave now,” that feeling would flare up.
It was not as painful as sadness, and it was not as intense as anger. It was neither joy nor sorrow. It only felt as if a layer of fog had risen in my heart—a very calm layer of fog. The fog was not large, yet it was enough to cover the sun and leave me exposed to the wind and rain.
The light from the window fell on her, dyeing her silver-gray hair a faint gold.
“I have decided not to leave.”
“Re-really? Do I need to pay some kind of price? My soul, or ten years of my life?”
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Her heart was full of inexpressible happiness, and she even suspected that Fick was joking.
“Really. Because I discovered that living alone is very troublesome. I would have to cook, wash dishes, and wash underwear. As you know, devils hate holy water. By extension, I hate water too. As for the price, Alice will do all of that for me for one year.”
“So that means Big Brother needs me very much?”
“…Say that again and I am running away.”
“No, no, no. I need you. I really do need Big Brother Fick.”
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