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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“Thank you for saving our village!”
“Safe travels, adventurers!”
“Come visit again, and we’ll feed you until you burst!”
The villagers waved goodbye early in the morning. Lina and her companions waved back from the carriage.
Kerry nodded. Being a good person really did pay off.
He had made some good memories in this village. He’d earned a lot of money, and above all, last night with Ellie had been incredible.
“Adventurer, brother!”
A booming voice called out from the village. It was one of the young men.
“Last night was amazing! Come again!”
“Yeah! We were so envious!”
Last night? Of course, last night had been amazing for him. But it had nothing to do with the young men.
Confused, he recalled Ellie’s incredibly loud moans from last night.
He finally understood the playful expressions on the young men’s faces.
‘Word has already spread?’
Well, with moans that loud, it wasn’t surprising.
“What do they mean, amazing last night, husband?”
Natasha asked innocently.
“…The young men came to my room last night and we hung out. I guess they enjoyed it.”
Lina nodded understandingly.
“Kerry is the hero who saved the village with the holy water. Even a small gesture from him would mean a lot to the young men.”
Why was she nodding so seriously? Their Regressor was surprisingly naive.
Lina continued with a serious expression,
“It’s quite a long way to the next village. Be prepared to camp out.”
It didn’t matter. He would follow their Regressor anywhere. It was bound to be a blessed land flowing with milk and honey.
He had never had it this good in this world. Long live the Regressor!
Lina explained their rough itinerary and fell silent.
Inside the carriage, the old woman was dozing off, and he could hear Natasha snuggling up against him.
Lina seemed to enjoy looking out the window. She did it very often.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she stared out the window whenever she wasn’t talking.
What was she thinking about?
At that moment, only one thought occupied Lina’s mind.
‘Victoria… I’ll definitely protect you.’
Green trees whizzed by outside the window, but Lina’s eyes only saw memories of her past life.
Several days had passed since they left the village.
As Lina had said, it was quite a long journey.
He had thought traveling by carriage would be comfortable, but it wasn’t.
Even in his modern world, he would have been tired after traveling this much by car.
How much more tiring would it be in a carriage on a rough dirt road?
But despite the fatigue, he didn’t forget to train.
The breathing technique the White Witch had taught him, to accumulate mana within his body, was easy to practice anytime.
Of course, he didn’t practice near Lina and Natasha. Even though they were warriors, they might sense something.
He mainly practiced accumulating mana when he was alone.
‘A man’s dream! The isekai dream of using magic! I can finally do it!’
With plenty of free time during this journey, his training was progressing steadily.
The mana, which had felt as small as grains of sand, now felt as big as peanuts. This was exciting.
He should visit the White Witch soon and discuss his progress.
“Kerry, it’s time to depart.”
Lina approached him as he was secretly training.
She looked beautiful, as always.
Perhaps because she had just washed her face in a nearby stream, she looked even more radiant.
As the carriage started moving, Lina spoke, as if she had something to say.
“Regarding the matter you’ve been worried about…”
“Yes, Lady Lina?”
“Do you remember what I told you about the White Witch before?”
“Of course.”
“I told you that the skeleton and pig’s goal was to resurrect the White Witch. I was looking for them with that in mind. I thought I had stopped the White Witch’s resurrection when we first met… but I also believed they hadn’t given up.”
“And?”
“But when we encountered them this time, they said something strange. They demanded the orb.”
“Husband! I heard it too! They were furious, demanding the orb.”
“Yes, Nasen didn’t back down until he was defeated.”
“That happened while I was away?”
“So, as you were worried, Kerry, we don’t have to worry about our paths diverging from theirs. They will definitely come to us.”
So that had happened while he was away.
“They believe we have the orb, and they probably know that we found the order.”
It was the assassination order for Victoria. It seemed only Lina knew who Victoria was.
He understood Lina’s confidence to some extent.
His concern was that they might perform human sacrifices while they were out of sight, but he couldn’t stop them if he didn’t know where they were.
Natasha fidgeted with her hair and said,
“But we don’t have the orb. And neither do they. Then where did the orb go?”
This was a topic that made him feel a little guilty.
“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Even if someone who doesn’t know how to use it finds it, it will just look like an ordinary orb.”
He was sorry, Lina, for knowing exactly how to use it. He suddenly wondered why Lina was so wary of the White Witch.
From his experience meeting her, the White Witch didn’t seem like such a bad person.
Of course, she had strange fetishes and had tried to rape him, but he could forgive her for that with his magnanimous heart.
“Lady Lina, you seem very wary of the White Witch. Is her resurrection really that dangerous?”
Lina nodded slightly.
“She’s a legendary Archmage… and I’ve heard she’s very cruel. The stories of the people who were sacrificed in her legends are proof of that.”
Honestly, the legends were so old that they didn’t feel real to him.
Kerry almost burst out laughing, remembering the White Witch sulking and crying on her bed.
Lina, sensing that he wasn’t taking it too seriously, continued,
“This is information I obtained while investigating the White Witch…”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“The White Witch is feared not only for her incredible magic but also for her followers.”
“Followers?”
The White Witch had mentioned her followers.
She had said that anyone could become her follower by receiving her Soul Brand.
“Her followers were willing to sacrifice their lives for her. And the most frightening thing is… that all of her followers were mages, capable of using magic.”
Mages were highly skilled individuals. They weren’t common, so all of her followers being mages?
“I heard that she used the orb you had to give her followers, who were ordinary people, the ability to use magic. Of course, they weren’t complete mages, but… an army clad in white, each capable of using magic, was incredibly threatening.”
Lina was talking about what she had seen in her past life. That’s what it felt like.
‘Did her followers also receive crash courses from the White Witch, like me?’
Wait, something didn’t add up. From the crash course he received, ordinary people couldn’t use magic even with the orb. They needed to be able to handle at least a minimal amount of mana. Could Lina be mistaken?
Or could the White Witch be messing with him?
He needed to confirm it immediately.
That night, Kerry finally managed to visit the White Witch after shaking off Natasha, who wanted to sleep with him.
“It’s been a while. It seems you’ve been quite busy.”
“…”
The White Witch spoke with her usual calm expression.
Right. He needed to hear her out first. He wasn’t a barbarian from this world who would rush in without thinking.
At least, not until the feminist within him awakened.
“Witch, I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I happened to hear… about your followers.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t know anything about my followers or history when I asked you before?”
“Well, I happened to hear about it. That’s not important. I heard that… if someone becomes your follower, even an ordinary person without magical talent can use magic.”
“…”
“If it’s magic that even ordinary people can use… I’d like a detailed explanation, following the five Ws and one H, as to why I’m struggling so much right now. Please be as specific as possible. The feminist monster within me is about to awaken.”
The White Witch, finally sensing his anger, flinched and her eyes widened in surprise.
“H-How did you hear about something that happened over a hundred years ago? More importantly, it’s all a misunderstanding!”
“Then please tell me what the misunderstanding is. I want to believe you. Make me believe you.”
“What I taught my followers wasn’t magic! I simply gave them the ability to mimic magic. You asked me to teach you magic, didn’t you? That’s the difference. C-Calm down and unclench your fist… you mustn’t awaken the feminist monster within you!”
“Sigh.”
Was the White Witch a fool? Or a genius?
Well, even a genius could become a fool after being locked up in a white room for a hundred years.
“Witch, didn’t I tell you… I have no intention of becoming a great mage. I’m just an ordinary person who wants to use magic. And maybe make a living with it.”
“With such talent… you have no desire for truth and achievement? …Such a waste of talent.”
“It’s my talent, wasted or not. It’s up to me how I use it. So, teach me how to use magic even if I’m not a mage. Like you taught your followers…”
“…Reconsider. Aren’t you truly wasting your talent?”
Kerry clenched his fist, and the White Witch quickly retracted her statement. She always made him resort to displays of force.
“So, what’s the secret to allowing even a magicless layman to use magic?”
The White Witch sighed deeply and began to explain.
“As you said, the talent to learn magic is very rare. Even with talent, it takes a very long time to learn, making mages highly valuable individuals. But every single one of my followers could use magic.”
Yes, that was strange. Even he, with his exceptional talent, was struggling to learn, so how could all of her followers have been mages? It felt unnatural.
“There are two main reasons for this, although it’s complicated. First, my Soul Brand allowed even those without talent to sense mana. And second, because of the orb. But even with all that help, there were those with such meager talent that they still couldn’t do it. They were also my followers, but…”
“…Just get to the point.”
“I allowed them to use magic by pre-charging mana into magic storage orbs.”
There was only one reason why Kerry couldn’t use magic even with the magic storage orb.
He didn’t have enough mana in his body to use magic. But she was saying that he could also store mana in the orb.
“Wait, then you should have taught me how to store mana in the orb from the beginning! Are you still upset with me? Because I punched you in the head?”
The White Witch flinched and replied,
“N-No, that’s not it! You asked me to teach you magic, didn’t you? So I did my best to teach you the proper way. If you only rely on the easy way, your skills won’t improve. That’s the risk of this method.”
“…”
Knowing the White Witch’s philosophy on magic, he decided to believe that she had no malicious intent.
“So, if I charge mana into the orb, I can use magic?”
“That’s right. And as I’m sure you’ve already guessed… once the stored mana is depleted, you can’t use magic anymore.”
“How many times can I use it with one charge?”
“It depends on the grade of the orb. With the lowest-grade orb you have… only once. You have to recharge it after each use.”
“…”
It didn’t matter. Magic was an unattainable dream in this world. The fact that he could use it even once was significant.
‘I’ll continue training… so someday, I’ll be able to use magic without the orb.’
“I’m satisfied with that for now. Then charge the orb for me!”
“…I’m not in a state where I can manipulate mana.”
“You’re always useless at crucial moments.”
“…That’s a bit harsh.”
The White Witch began to explain how to charge the orb himself.
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