The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Chapter 459 The Witch
"They're finally here!" Lilith, Vasita, and Sylph hid on the flying carpet, eagerly waiting, and finally saw Moran swaggering over.

Moran looked up, pretending to gaze at the village across the river, and unwittingly flew right over Greta's head.

It was noon, and her wide witch's robe cast a distinct shadow on the ground, immediately catching Greta's attention.

Looking up, what a huge broom! And what a dashing witch!
It flew to the river she didn't know how to cross.

Seeing that the witch was about to fly away, Greta didn't have time to think and quickly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Miss Witch! Please wait!"

Moran was even more nervous than her, waiting for her to call her name, afraid that her performance would be in vain.

Hearing her voice, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His inner actor, channeling his inner Blue Star veterans, stopped the broom, turned around, and looked down, muttering in confusion, "Human?"

He then turned his broom around and flew back to Greta's vicinity, lowering the broom slightly but not completely landing on the ground. After sensing the magical fluctuations around her, he said:

"Master...apprentice? Why are you here alone?"

“Miss Witch, I am a magic apprentice who escaped from the Yara Empire. I want to go to the Magic Empire. Could you fly me across this river? I can offer you my most precious possession as payment!” Greta said.

"Oh? What is it?" Moran asked curiously, looking very interested.

Greta presented a card with both hands.

Moran drew his wand from his waist, used levitation to float the card into his hand, glanced at it casually, and asked with a puzzled look, "What is this?"

“This is a magic card that can heal serious injuries,” Greta said.

This is the only {Magic Card - Healing Severe Injuries} she has left.

She has nothing left but this card as a bargaining chip, and she begs the witch to take her across the river.

"Oh?" Moran showed an interested expression, flipped his hand, and put the card into the pocket of his robe. "Alright! But I'll only take you to the other side! I won't go any further!"

“All we have to do is cross the river!” Greta said happily.

If she hadn't met this witch, she really wouldn't know how she would have crossed the river.

The deal was done. Moran lowered the broom and, as if only now taking a good look at Greta, scrutinized her from head to toe. Then, he frowned and said:
"Do you need me to help you clean off the dirt?"

Greta looked down at herself, her hair a tangled mess of dust, her clothes wrinkled and covered in dirt and sweat, and her shoes with a hole in them that revealed her big toe. She gave a shy look and said, "I'll wash right away!"

With the effectiveness of her water-gathering spell, she'd be lucky to gather enough water for herself to drink; she simply couldn't take a bath.

The last time I took a bath was when I encountered the lame old wolf.

After that, she dared not go any deeper into the Cuixi Plain. The river in front of her was only the second time in a long time that she had encountered a water source.

However, she was too embarrassed to ask the witch for help. She had already given away her only magic card, "Healing Severe Injuries," as payment for crossing the river, and she couldn't afford to pay anyone else to clean her up.

She does have one more {Magic Card - Healing Injuries}, but its value is probably not enough to entice the witch, and she's reluctant to part with it.

The temple's scriptures didn't vilify witches; they were simply described as a race born with magical blood, mentioned only briefly. However, during class, the temple instructors said witches were a group of people who, relying on their magical blood, disrespected the gods and did whatever they pleased. They were helpful when happy, but bloodthirsty when unhappy, making them extremely dangerous, and one should stay away from them.

Although Greta no longer believed in the temple religion, she was still very careful when interacting with the witch, not daring to displease the witch in the slightest.

So she would never dare to try to get something for free!

Even if the person in front of her wasn't a witch, but a mage, given her far superior magical abilities, she would still have to be careful.

When Moran heard that she was going to wash it herself, she appreciated her sense of propriety. However, she thought that it would be a waste of time for her to manually wash it by the river in broad daylight, and the cleaning effect would probably be mediocre.

When we take her to the other side, it's her nose that will suffer.

Moran didn't say much to her. He waved his wand, and water elemental power immediately surged towards Greta. In a few breaths, he cleaned her entire body, including the grass net draped over her.

There's no odor at all.

However... the robes she wore as a prospective saint, having been corroded by the power of death and stained with sweat and dust for so long, were already on the verge of being damaged. With the wash of water elemental power, they were torn into tattered strips.

"Ahem, I'm sorry, I ruined your clothes." Moran touched her nose, a little embarrassed; this time it wasn't an act.

I meant to show off, but I ended up washing and tearing someone's clothes.

Greta has worn this outfit for so long, and she still has two {Clothing Cards - Inferior Mage Robes} in her hand, yet she's reluctant to change it, which shows how frugal she is.

"It's alright, it's alright! I was going to change out of these clothes anyway. Saint's robes are already a bit out of place in the Magic Empire."

Greta quickly said, "Your magic is amazing! You cleaned me up in no time!"

She suddenly felt her nose was clear. Before, she often felt her nose was stuffy and thought it was because she was always traveling and her body was too tired!

Now I realize it's probably because the fumes made it hard to breathe.

The mist from the river, along with the fragrance of grass and earth, filled her nostrils, and Greta felt much more refreshed.

Moran knew that mages' magic was not as flexible as witches', and they didn't have any spells like cleansing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen this spell to show the witches' power and subtly win their favor.

After all, no matter how well they hide it, once they officially sign the witch contract, their identities will eventually be revealed.

A gust of wind blew by, and Greta felt that the tattered rags she was wearing couldn't keep out the wind anymore, so she said, "Please wait a moment while I change my clothes!"

She materialized the {Clothing Card - Inferior Mage Robe}, put it on, then gathered her hair, tied it up with strips of lace from her old clothes, and then tied the remaining cards with strips of cloth and stuffed them into the large robe.

"Get on!" Moran patted the invisible cushion behind him.

Greta couldn't see the invisible cushion; she had always assumed Moran was just sitting on a stick.

He nervously squeezed his legs together and stepped on.