One-Eyed Monster

The Great Witch would never reveal her true feelings in front of this young boy, even though her heart was filled with utter despair. She couldn’t show such a state of hopelessness to a boy who called her ”Your Excellency.”

No matter what, this boy was still very innocent, and she couldn’t let her negative emotions affect his bright future.

In her eyes, this boy was upbeat, pure, and full of sunshine.

The reason was simple. For such a long time, no one had consistently called her ”Your Excellency,” nor had anyone taken her divinations seriously. This boy’s respectful attitude toward her moved her a bit.

So even though she felt disappointed in herself, she couldn’t let her emotions affect this boy.

For a normal person, when faced with despair and disappointment, there would be no emotion for anything. Nor would they be considerate enough to avoid affecting others. When it’s dark in their world, how could they still care about others? When facing their darkness, they wouldn’t care about anyone else’s survival or death. At that time, everything they see in the world is black, and their emotions entirely affect everything around them.

But the Great Witch wasn’t like that. This was due to her inner kindness. Although she could be vain at times, afraid, and greedy, deep inside, she was still kind.

Only a kind person would be so cautious and considerate.

Igor looked at the Great Witch in surprise, unable to understand.

”How can you say it’s fine? This is a denial of your efforts!”

The Great Witch smiled at Igor. This boy was still very passionate, and meeting such a boy seemed to have dispersed some of her inner despair.

”I didn’t try that hard, just dove into a pile of books. I didn’t do as my mentor asked, so that’s where I probably let my mentor down,” the Great Witch began to reminisce slowly, and the sad emotions quickly spread within her.

This was Igor’s fault; he shouldn’t have mentioned the word ”effort.”

The Great Witch once tried very hard to prove herself, but in the end, she gradually walked a different path. Effort, for the Great Witch, is a taboo word, one that leaves her a little bit at a loss.

Because, when you feel you’ve put a lot of effort into something, and the result is a blank slate with nothing gained, the contrast only makes you feel useless. What’s more, there’s a heap of people around who aren’t as hardworking as you but achieve more than you. This comparison makes you feel very ashamed and makes others think you haven’t made any effort…

The Great Witch experienced these things, but fortunately, her mentor was someone who could see things clearly and advised her to step back to spare her from some harm…

”But, but,” Igor didn’t know what to say to comfort the Great Witch, as once sadness spreads, it can affect others.

”No matter what, I am still a Wizard. To me, that’s already a pretty good outcome.” Igor’s urgency warmed the Great Witch, who wondered why the boy cared so much about her. But having such care directed at her and not feeling warmth would be inhuman.

Similarly, only kind people can feel this warmth, and only kind people can appreciate these details.

”I’m grateful I didn’t turn to darkness. That once terrified me and made me doubt my choices, but now I’ve become clear, though I can’t advance to become a White Robe, it’s nothing significant.”

The scene seemed to shift, with the Great Witch comforting Igor instead of Igor comforting the Great Witch, a peculiar phenomenon indeed.

”Uh…” Igor found himself at a loss for words, feeling he was terrible at comforting others.

”Thinking about this period, I’ve gained quite a lot.” The Great Witch’s mood seemed good. Igor had dispelled much of her inner despair, and she suddenly realized that many things weren’t as worthless as she imagined.

”Gains?” The Great Witch’s words made Igor reflect too. He also wanted to know what gains he had made on this journey.

Time passed quickly. In a blink, Igor had been here for quite some time, but he still couldn’t figure out what he had gained.

”Yes, for so many years, I never properly reflected on these things. Now, I feel that many things weren’t as I imagined.”

The Great Witch’s words left Igor a bit confused.

”Back then, I only thought about proving myself, and now looking back, I realize how foolish I was.”

Igor suddenly felt that he didn’t quite understand these words, but they carried a profound insight that naturally reached his heart.

”I feel fortunate to have met a mentor who understood and knew me. She told me I had nothing left to learn from her. Initially, I thought it was a sadness, but now I understand that it was a wealth she bestowed upon me.”

Igor scratched his head, while the Spirit Book beside him yawned. The creatures discussing all around still marveled, unaware that the people in question were also expressing their own awe.

”She returned the power of choice to me, something I now understand only now. With this realization, the Great Witch felt a pang, and tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t comprehend why she didn’t realize this at the time, why she didn’t feel her mentor’s deep care back then.

The mentor only leads you through the door, and the rest is up to you to pursue.

Freedom, that’s what it means, right?

After experiencing all this, the Great Witch realized that she had always gone against her mentor’s intentions, walking an entirely different path.

Even on that opposing path, she gave up halfway.

Sometimes people are like this, stubborn and ignoring everything else. During that period, the Great Witch, Biggs, was solely focused on becoming the kind of Wizard the Wizard Alliance needed, never considering what kind of Wizard she wanted to become.

Only now did she feel what she truly wanted to do. Her previous self lived entirely under a set of standards.

”Freedom, so this is what it’s like. I finally get it!” The Great Witch suddenly felt enlightened, and her despair and disappointment vanished completely and instantly!

The Great Witch’s behavior startled Igor, as the emotional shift was too sudden. Just now, she was as composed as a calm lake, now as turbulent as the waves. What exactly happened!

”She let go!”

Unwittingly, a voice emerged, calm and level.