Hearing Tarantula’s demand, Wang Yue swayed as if struck, her face turning pale. She hesitated. “But…”
“Obey, or die.”
Tarantula watched her expression through the dim light filtering into the room. From the little girl’s eyes, he keenly captured a flicker of terror.
To prevent her from harboring any delusions of luck, he continued, “A disobedient mole has no reason to live.”
Wang Yue couldn’t stop herself from shivering. Her eyes grew distant, and she murmured, “I can’t… She’s innocent… She…”
“Don’t be fooled by their cute exteriors. Not a single witch is innocent. Even in the Evernight Realm, they are unwelcome. A witch who loses control forgets all ties of blood and friendship. There are even those with Taboo Names who have committed the atrocity of destroying entire towns during a collapse; they are the very incarnations of calamity.”
“You’re lying! They aren’t like that! They’re good people!” Wang Yue argued passionately.
“Don’t be naive. Bring her out quickly, or it’s you who dies.”
Wang Yue’s face twisted in a painful struggle. After a long silence, she finally made her decision.
“Fine…”
Her eyes were frantic, looking like someone who had just committed a grave sin. She raised a hand to cover her mouth as if masking her guilt, and stumbled out of the room.
Half an hour later, Wang Yue and Dorothy appeared on a deserted path in the northern part of town.
Due to a river diversion several years ago, the northern part of Crowsnest Town had become a flood zone. During the rainy season, the water would overflow and submerge the streets. Even though most of the buildings in Crowsnest Town were made of brick and stone, they couldn’t withstand being soaked for an entire season. The residents had all moved away.
As the town shifted southward, the northern district fell into ruin. Almost no one left the town through this route. Moss spread across the walls, and vines entwined everything in sight. Paint peeled from the walls, and window frames were broken. The entire area looked abandoned.
The two girls walked one after the other, stepping through the standing water. The little maid looked around with bright, sparkling eyes and asked curiously, “Master, where are you taking me?”
Wang Yue forced a smile and said, “I’m taking you… to eat something delicious.”
“Wonderful!” Dorothy’s sweet, crisp voice echoed far down the empty, abandoned street. She spun around and asked, “Is it grilled salamanders? I want to eat grilled salamanders!”
“Mhm, this time I’ll let you eat your fill.”
Wang Yue kept her head down, looking heavily preoccupied.
“Grilled salamanders~ grilled salamanders~” Dorothy sang as she marched forward, her arms swinging, her face overflowing with happiness.
Just as they were about to leave the town’s perimeter, a doubt suddenly crossed her mind. She turned her head and asked, “Master, didn’t the Housemother say we aren’t allowed to leave the town?”
“The Housemother also said you aren’t allowed to bring snacks from the cafeteria back to the dormitory. Don’t you do that every day?”
“Eee…” Dorothy stuck her tongue out shyly.
The water grew deeper, and the lights of the town faded into the distance. Suddenly, the sound of splashing came from ahead, and a group of people emerged. They were all tall men dressed in hunter’s gear, equipped with hunting knives, tightened leather belts, and buckskin bags.
Tarantula looked at the pink-haired girl and flashed a satisfied smile. He clapped his hands in praise. “Excellent. You’ve fulfilled our agreement.”
In truth, one or two heretics were of little consequence. The key was forcing the target to commit an immoral act, constantly lowering their moral threshold to make them easier to control. This was a common tactic used by criminal organizations.
Dorothy looked at the newcomers in confusion. It wasn’t until she was bound by the Church’s hunting squad that she looked at Wang Yue in a panic and screamed, “Master!”
Wang Yue turned and sprinted away as if fleeing for her life. She turned a deaf ear to the girl’s cries. Before she knew it, her face was covered in tears.
After walking a distance down the street, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She was extremely satisfied with her acting; she even began to suspect she had some sort of histrionic personality disorder.
Before long, ‘Dorothy’ would escape the hunting squad and return to Crowsnest Town in the form of Ed-Bear.
Back at the inn, Wang Yue stood by the window and waited for half an hour. Another crumpled ball of paper was tossed through the window. She repeated her previous actions and returned to the meeting spot.
When she knocked and the door opened, she was met with Tarantula’s roar!
“Why?! Tell me why, damn it!”
“What happened, sir?”
“That little girl! Why did she scramble away like a macaque?!”
“I don’t understand at all. What are you talking about?”
“Ropes were completely useless against her! She leapt into a tree with one bound and vanished!”
“Her? Dorothy?”
“Who else?!”
“Oh my god, I knew she had hidden talents. She eats three times as much as a normal girl!”
Tarantula hissed for breath, glaring at her. “Stop playing dumb. You must know something!”
“How would I know she had hidden talents? Aside from her huge appetite, she seemed perfectly normal,” Wang Yue said with a troubled expression.
“I’m not talking about that… It’s the school… There’s a big secret inside Balor Academy…”
“My lord, you overestimate me. Before I became a mole, I was a farmer. Farming is what I’m best at. You might have even eaten the vegetables I grew… Forgive my lack of insight, but even if there is something in that school, I wouldn’t be able to see it,” Wang Yue replied submissively.
Outside the window, a light suddenly flared.
She jerked her head around. “Eh? Is there a fire?”
Tarantula’s figure blurred as he rushed out the door. Wang Yue followed him and saw gorgeous streaks of purple light rising from the horizon in the direction of the academy at the end of the street.
The light was exceptionally vivid against the dark sky, curling and twisting with graceful ease.
“Is it dawn?” Wang Yue asked, confused.
“Ignorant fool,” Tarantula snapped. “That is the Corona of a Hush-Name Witch!”
“A Hush-Name Witch?” Wang Yue genuinely didn’t know about this.
Tarantula’s expression gradually shifted to confusion as he muttered, “But a Corona is supposed to be condensed. Why is it dispersing… Could multiple Hush-Names be gathered together? What on earth are they doing?”
“Do Hush-Name Witches glow?” Wang Yue continued to play the fool.
“It seems the school really is hiding secrets. It’s just that a useless person like you lacks the eyes to discover them.” Tarantula turned his head, looking at her with disgust.
“Cough, let’s not resort to insults,” Wang Yue cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “I’ve heard that there’s a mysterious cave beneath the academy. The Dean often goes there alone, descending a deep staircase to the very bottom. There are prophetic tablets there regarding the destruction of the world…”
Tarantula took a step back as if he had been frightened. “How do you know that?!”
I’m just making shit up…
Seeing that the line worked, Wang Yue struck while the iron was hot. “The Church bestowed a ‘Puppet’ upon me, but it’s too weak to be of any use. I need more effective tools. For instance, relics that can submerge underground, relics that can hide one’s existence, relics that can resist the encroachment of darkness… Didn’t you take most of the Special Grade Relics from the City of Enoch? Give me a few more to use!”
“What do you think Special Grade Relics are? Something you can just hand out? Special Grade Relics are held by powerful individuals; they are symbols of authority themselves. Power is authority!” Tarantula roared.
“The Bishop must still have some, right? Pass the word to him. High investment, high reward. Relics aren’t consumables; if I finish using them, I can just give them back. Though I may desecrate the gods and toy with faith, I am absolutely loyal to the Bishop. After all, the Bishop is a man destined to become the Pope!” Wang Yue exhorted.
“You certainly have a silver tongue, kid. But you have a point. Whatever we discover will be credited as an achievement. It’s better than doing nothing.”
Wang Yue left the meeting spot. No matter what the Church sent her, she was going to take it all. Saying she would return them was just talk—who would spit out meat that had already fallen into their mouth?
