Release that Witch

The surface of the vast sea regained its former clear blue hue. The Charming Beauty sailed forward, riding the wind and waves. The hull moved up and down in the glittering waves, making rhythmic creaks.

”Set the sail full! Boys, move!” One-eyed Jack shouted, ”We can make it to the Shallow Beach today.”

The sailors on the mast were singing a work song together and pulling the three-finger thick hessian rope, releasing the sail bit by bit. With the ever-changing weather on the sea, they had to repeat such release and roll-up movements several times a day. Lotus watched the sailors, as flexible as monkeys, climbing back and forth over her head.

”So troublesome,” the old captain walked towards the witches and said. ”It would be so much easier if I had a boat such as those in Crescent Moon Bay, they can navigate without sails. What’s the thing called again?”

”Paddle steamer,” Lotus said, raising her eyebrows. ”It was made by His Highness, Prince Roland himself.”

”Why don’t you ask His Highness to build one for you?” Honey asked, teasing the seabird on her shoulder, ” His Highness may not do others such a favor, but he may do it for you.”

”You little brat, you make it sound like I’m very close to him.”

”Well, you’re close to Lady Tilly,” Honey stuck her tongue out and said, ”and His Highness Roland is very kind to Lady Tilly.”

Jack smoked his pipe heavily, feeling a pain in his chest. ”... Never mind. I heard from those merchants that one paddle steamer costs more than 1,000 gold royals. That’s the amount I’d never have even if I were to sell all of you.”

”That’s not for sure,” Breeze said jokingly. ”In Sleeping Spell, the reward for Lotus is counted by hundreds of gold royals. Besides, last time a merchant named Durat Kimshoe intended to employ her for a long term with 1,000 gold royals. That’s only Lotus, so the four of us would be worth much more.”

”Breeze!” Lotus punched Breeze angrily. ”You knew what he was up to. I don’t want to hear that man’s name ever again!”

”Just kidding.” Breeze held Lotus into her arms and said gently, ”How could I ever sell you. When Lady Tilly heard about Kimshoe’s proposal, she practically negotiated with the entire chamber of commerce of Crescent Moon Bay. After that no one would dare do such a thing anymore.”

”You two seem to get along well.” Jack spouted some smoke rings. ”But the other two over there do not seem to have much to talk to you.”

On hearing that, the three of them fell into silence for a moment. A while later, Breeze broke the silence. ”They were witches from the Kingdom of Wolfheart.”

The old captain felt confused. ”Aren’t you all the same?”

”They support Heidi Morgan more than Lady Tilly.”

”Morgan...” The captain stroked his chin and thought for a while. ”Is she a noble in the Kingdom of Wolfheart?”

”Only from a branch.” Breeze waved one hand. ”Nothing serious. It’s just we haven’t been together for long, so we can’t open our hearts to each other yet.”

The old man seemed to have realized something, so he did not pose more questions.

Lotus did not know much about the nobles in the kingdom. She only knew witches from Sleeping Island were not as close as the witches in Border Town were. Among the witches in Border Town, most of them were from the Kingdom of Graycastle, and a small group of them were from the Kingdom of Dawn and the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Since Tilly was the organizer of the migration operation and had the noblest status, all of them, including the foreign witches, just regarded her as the leader. But after the church in Fjord Islands was eradicated, the situation had changed.

Lotus, who had returned to Sleeping Island after the Months of Demons, could clearly sense it. After only a few months’ time, the witches from the Kingdom of Wolfheart had moved in together, and they seldom talked to other witches when they ate in the dining hall. According to Molly, they were all members of the Bloodfang Association, an organization similar to the Witch Cooperation Association of the Kingdom of Graycastle, with Heidi Morgan as its leader.

In the beginning, there were just over 20 witches from the Bloodfang Association on Sleeping Island. They were a minority on the island, which was nothing special. The extraordinary thing was that 18 of them were combat witches. In other words, the Bloodfang Association had carefully selected its members before the enrollment, and only those witches who were powerful could join in, which was totally different from the way the Witch Cooperation Association and Sleeping Island enrolled witches. Because of this, the Bloodfang Association was very competitive. When Tilly had carried out her eradication plan, the small group of witches from the Kingdom of Wolfheart alone took care of the Twin Dragon Island cathedral which had the most believers.

And because of this, Heidi Morgan thought the Bloodfang Association was the core of Sleeping Island. Although Morgan did not express her opinion in words, Lotus could feel it. Lotus did not like the argument that combat witches had higher status than non-combat witches, and she agreed with Lady Tilly’s idea of ”witch equality”. Unfortunately, not everyone shared her opinion. While Lady Tilly was away, Heidi had fought several times with Camilla Dary, Chief Butler of Sleeping Island. Luckily, Camilla, who was also a noble in King’s City, did not appear dwarf in front of Heidi and calmly quieted the conflicts.

At this thought, Lotus sighed helplessly. She was not worried about Lady Tilly’s safety. After all, Ashes, the most powerful witch from Sleeping Island, was a faithful supporter to Lady Tilly. Ashes was the only Extraordinary who could fight wearing a God’s Stone of Retaliation. In her presence, all the other witches from the Bloodfang Association would not stand a chance to win. What worried her was this trip. Honestly, she did not want to stay with the witches from the Kingdom of Wolfheart.

And also, the witches being chosen for this trip were a weird combination—except for herself and Honey, two of the other three witches were combat witches. Normally, Lady Tilly should have known that His Highness Roland preferred assistance witches because those bizarre weapons he owned were enough to enable the commoners to defeat the Judgement Army of the church. To what end did she send the witches from the Bloodfang Association?

She racked her brain but failed to find an answer, so she decided to put these distracting thoughts aside.

Maybe Lady Tilly had her own concerns beyond her comprehension.

...

As the sun moved to the west, the golden Shallow Beach shone in everybody’s eyes.

At the same time, a hot air balloon appeared, floating in midair along with a strange, giant bird.

”Oh God! What’s that?” The sailors on deck exclaimed when they saw the strange bird fold its wings and dive towards the Charming Beauty. As the bird drew closer, its sharp claws and bloody mouth became visible to the sailors.

”Is there an enemy?” Hearing the shouts, the Bloodfang Association witches rushed out of the cabin and were startled by the giant beast. ”What’s that monster?”

”Whatever it is, just catch it!” The other witch soon calmed down. ”A target’s size makes no difference to us.”

”Wait a minute... That’s not the enemy.” Lotus hurried to stop them. ”It flew alongside the hot air balloon.”

A witch from the Bloodfang Association quickly glanced at her. ”A hot air balloon?”

”It’s a vessel that His Highness Roland uses to transport witches.” Breeze stepped in front of them to stop their argument. ”Relax. You can trust Lotus’ judgement.”

The horrible giant beast was getting closer and closer, making resounding roars. But Lotus could feel the roars were not for intimidation.

”Oh-oh-coo!”

The giant figure of the beast disappeared just as it was about to hit the sail of the boat, and a white pigeon landed steadily on Lotus’ head.

”You’re here finally,” Maggie rubbed her forehead and said. ”Welcome back, coo!”