At the time, she hadn’t understood the question.
It was only after her exile from the City of Glow—after those weeks of no shelter and no food during the escape—that she had begun to understand what the weight of living actually felt like. How straw burned and straw prickled and straw kept people from freezing. How nothing was worthless to the person who needed it.
Andrea hadn’t expected to hear that question again from a Taquila survivor.
“Why shouldn’t I know about it?” Carol asked, leaning against the railing and watching the current.
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Andrea felt the slight heat of embarrassment. “I thought ancient witches never needed to concern themselves with things like that.”
“Because common people took care of everything?” A quiet gleam in Carol’s eye. “I was never very different from them, in truth.”
“How could that be?”
“How much energy could the Union spare for a weak non-combat witch?” She looked at the water, as if reading something in the surface. “My ability and magic power ranked at the bottom when I awakened. I was nearly forgotten in the latter years of the war. When my allowance was cut, I lived with common people. When the city fell, I borrowed their endurance to last until the very end.”
“But in the Kingdom of Dawn, your abilities were—nothing like a non-combat witch’s.” Andrea remembered the battle clearly. Even Ashes the Extraordinary would have struggled against her.
“Three hundred years of training changes most things.” Carol opened her hand and slowly closed it again. “In a strange way, I consider myself fortunate to have become a God’s Punishment Witch. I’m no longer overlooked. I’m stronger than I was. I can do something that matters.” A pause. “And since we met His Majesty, that’s been its own kind of reward.”
Andrea recognized it then—this wasn’t a casual conversation. She asked, “Why are you telling me this?”
Carol looked up. “Because I envy you.”
Andrea stared.
“With your ability, even in the days of the Union, you would have stood among the best combat witches. A High Awakening at your age—you could have risen to Taquila’s highest rank.” The words came without bitterness, light as the wind off the river. “My greatest wish in those days was to join the Blessed Army and receive Lady Natalia’s blessing before battle. For you, that would have been effortless. Now I’ve reached the ceiling of what I can become. You haven’t come close to yours.”
She paused. “The stronger you are, the harder the trials. But remember—no matter what hardship you face, you are already someone others would choose to be.”
The meaning settled slowly through Andrea’s chest.
Comfort. Carol had noticed the shadow hanging over her since her father’s belated apology and the farewell to her childhood, and she had chosen to share her own past rather than speak around it. These kinds of setbacks were nothing to a Taquila survivor—a fact that didn’t diminish them, but reframed them. What Andrea still had was more than what she’d lost.
“Thank you,” she said, after a silence.
“I only told the truth.” Carol straightened and walked back toward the cabin.
“About your question earlier,” Andrea called after her. “The straw—they bury it as fertilizer now. Nobody needs it for fire in Neverwinter anymore.”
The God’s Punishment Witch didn’t look back, but raised one hand.
Andrea turned to face the direction of travel. The river was narrowing; the current quickened slightly. Something lifted in her chest—specific and unnamed.
I wonder what Her Highness is doing right now. Ashes will have stayed close.
Shavi must be missing me. We’ll play cards all night the moment I’m back.
And Maggie—she must be out there in the wastelands with Lightning, watching the demons’ every move—
“Coo!”
Something barrel-round and unerring dropped from the sky, aimed at her face.
There was no pigeon heavier than Maggie.
Andrea caught her by reflex, spat out a feather, and held the creature at arm’s length. “You’ve gained weight again. What about the demons in the northwest? Don’t tell me you’re slacking off.”
“Definitely not, coo!” Maggie ruffled her feathers with great dignity. “His Majesty sent me personally, coo!”
“I’m almost there—”
“I don’t know the reasons, I only know I’m absolutely not loafing, coo.” Maggie dropped to the deck, shifted forms, and the ship sank a full meter. “Get on. They’re waiting, coo!”
Andrea climbed onto her back before the hull could voice an opinion. “Who—exactly—is waiting?”
“Countess Spear and Miss Camilla, coo!” Maggie spread her wings and launched them toward Neverwinter.
They weren’t in the Witch Building or the castle.
An hour later, Maggie set Andrea down on the grassland outside the boundary wall. Spear Passi and Camilla Dary were there, as promised. So were Anna, Sylvie, Lightning, Summer, and a loose gathering of other witches. Roland was there as well.
“You sent her to fetch me just to test a new weapon?” Andrea pressed a hand to her forehead once the explanation was finished. “Even without Maggie, I would have reached the inland river pier by tonight.”
“We couldn’t wait a day,” Roland said, and gave her the condensed version of events—the demons’ accelerated patrol range, the First Army marching tomorrow, the tunnel that required the anti-patrol strategy to function. “Before the army reaches the tunnel entrance, the weapon made specifically for you needs to be calibrated and ready.”
“I see.” Andrea looked north. The demons’ movements always produced this—a specific cold unease settling below the sternum, shapeless but real. It was still some time before the Bloody Moon; the demons had no business being this active. Whatever they intended, it demanded full attention. The overnight card plans would have to wait.
“Understood,” she said.
She turned to examine the object in the center of the assembled group. Weapon was a generous term. Gun seemed wrong for something of that proportion—the barrel alone was as long as an adult was tall, and the overall mass made it clear that no ordinary soldier would be carrying it while marching. The only person capable of moving around with a thing like this was Ashes.
“What kind of weapon is this?”
“Anti-armor—no, call it an anti-Devilbeast sniper rifle,” Roland replied.
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
At that time, she did not understand the question. It was only after she was exiled from the City of Glow and experienced those days without shelter and food during the escape that she began to realize the heavy burden of “life”.
However, Andrea did not expect to hear this question again from a Taquila survivor.
“Why shouldn’t I know about it?” Carol asked, winking and smiling at her.
“No, I didn’t mean that…” Andrea was a bit embarrassed and answered, “I thought you ancient witches never had to pay any attention to these matters.”
“Because the common people took care of everything?” Carol asked, leaning on the railing, “In fact, I was never very different from those common people.”
Andrea was a little surprised and asked, “How could that be true?”
“Although there is a fundamental difference between a witch and a common person, how could the Union spare too much energy for a weak non-combat witch? Unlike Phyllis, my ability and magic power were of the lowest rank after awakening, so I was almost forgotten by the Union during the latter part of the war.” She looked at the waves as if she was recalling the past days. “During the days when I lost the allowance, I lived with a group of common people. After the city was invaded, I also relied on them to persist right up till the very last moment.”
“But in the battle in the Kingdom of Dawn, your abilities were completely unlike those of a non-combat witch…”
Even Ashes the Extraordinary would not have been able to defeat her.
“Training for hundreds of years is enough to change everything,” said Carol, opening her hand and clenching it slowly. “In fact, when compared to those previous companions, I even feel a little fortunate that I’ve become a God’s Punishment Witch. At least I’ve become stronger now. I’m no longer ignored, and I’m able to do something for everyone. Since we met His Majesty, it’s also been a new kind of reward.”
Andrea suddenly realized that she might not have started talking to her for no reason. She asked, “Why… do you tell me these things?”
Carol looked up and answered, “Because I envy you.”
Andrea was stunned and stared blankly at her.
“With your ability, even in the days of the Union, you would have been an excellent combat witch. Since you were able to have a High Awakening at such a young age, you could have become one of Taquila’s superiors.”, The God’s Punishment Witch said lightly, “Did you know? At that time, my greatest wish was to join the Blessed Army and get a blessing from Lady Natalia before a battle. You could achieve it easily. Now I’ve lost the possibility to become stronger. On the contrary, you’re still far from your limits.”
Carol paused and said, “The stronger you are, the more challenges you’ll meet and the more setbacks you’ll encounter. But don’t forget, no matter how much hardship you experience, you’re already enviable.”
Hearing that, Andrea suddenly understood.
She was comforting her.
After her father’s belated apology and the farewell to her childhood playmates, she had been feeling down for quite some time. It was only as she was getting closer and closer to Her Royal Highness that her mood gradually improved. Apparently, the God’s Punishment Witch had noticed this and chose to share her past experiences with her at this time.
That was right. These kinds of twists and turns were nothing to a Taquila survivor. As a witch, what she blessings she still had were far more than what she had lost.
“Thanks,” whispered Andrea, after being silent for a moment.
Carol shook her head and replied, “I just told the truth.” Then she stood up and walked back toward the cabin.
“By the way, about what you just asked,” Andrea said loudly towards her back, “They bury the straw as fertilizer. After all, they don’t need it for a fire in Neverwinter now.”
The God’s Punishment Witch did not look back, but made a gesture of “I understand”.
Andrea also could not help raising her lips. She turned back to face the direction of Neverwinter, her heart full of expectation.
I wonder what Her Highness is doing right now? Ashes must make sure she stays next to her.
Needless to say, Shavi must be missing me. When I go back, I’ll absolutely play cards overnight with her.
And when I traveled with Lorgar last time, Maggie helped to inform us of our journey in advance. At this moment she must be in the wastelands with Lightning, watching the demons’ every move.
“Coo!”
A chirp came in the sky.
“Uh… Is this an illusion?” She seemed to have heard Maggie’s cry.
As soon as Andrea looked up, she saw a fat pigeon descend from the sky and head straight for her face.
It’s her indeed!
She could not find another pigeon heavier than Maggie.
“Ahem, you’ve become heavier!” Andrea pulled the pigeon down and spat the feather out of her mouth, “What about the demons in the northwest? Don’t tell me that you’re slacking off again!”
“Definitely not, coo!” Maggie argued, “It was His Majesty that told me to pick you up, coo!”
“But I’m coming soon…”
“I don’t know either, but I’m absolutely not in the middle of nowhere, coo,” said Maggie as she landed on the deck and turned into a Devilbeast. The ship immediately sank by a meter. “Hurry up. They’re waiting for you, coo!”
For fear that the ship would soon turn upside down, Andrea immediately climbed onto her back and asked, “Wait… who… are ‘they’?”
“Countess Spear and Miss Camilla, coo!” Maggie spread her wings and carried her toward Neverwinter.
…
They were not waiting for her in the Witch Building or Roland’s castle.
An hour later, Andrea was directly brought to the outside of the boundary wall by Maggie. Besides Spear Passi and Camilla Dary, Anna, Sylvie, Lightning, Summer, and some other witches were also waiting for her on the grassland.
Roland was naturally there, as well.
“So you let her pick me up just to test a new weapon?” Andrea could not help holding her forehead after listening to the explanation. “Even if she hadn’t come, I would have arrived at the inland river pier by tonight.”
“But we can’t afford to be delayed for a day,” said Roland, simply telling her the news about the demons’ strange move. “The First Army will start off
tomorrow. Before it arrives at the entrance to the tunnel, the weapon specially made for you must be adjusted to a usable state.”
“Is that so…” Andrea slightly frowned. The demons’ actions always gave her a feeling of unease. There was still a while before the appearance of the Bloody Moon, so the demons seemed to be far too active right now. Anyway, they would have to attach great importance to any movement of the demons. The overnight card playing plans had to be temporarily postponed. She replied, “Got it.”
She turned to look at a peculiar “gun” among the crowd. It was strange to describe it as a gun, as it was far too large. The barrel was as long as an adult. It did not seem to be the type of weapon which could be carried by an individual while marching and fighting.
It was only possible for Ashes to move around with it.
“What kind of weapon is this?”
“Anti-armor… No, you can call it an anti-Devilbeast sniper rifle,” Roland replied.