The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

The witches' use of the hermits as tools to resist the invasion of the Holy Light greatly comforted Moran, who was constantly troubled by the hermits.

"So it seems that my impatience with the hermits allows me to pretend to be sociable and remain clear-headed when interacting with them, so as not to be assimilated by the power of the Holy Light?"

“That’s right! It’s great that you think that way,” Bella said.

"Don't worry! With us here, it'll be difficult for you to be assimilated by the power of the Holy Light!" Garona said.

Moran thought of the rules in the "Eight Times Speed ​​Gossip Alliance Group Chat"—that if you don't speak for a day, you'll be bombarded with calls from other group members, and if you don't participate in gossip discussions for three days, other group members will come knocking on your door—and nodded in agreement.

At this frequency of communication, if anyone is assimilated by the power of holy light and shows signs of having their emotions consumed, everyone else can immediately notice.

At this stage, assimilation is not yet severe. As long as someone intervenes and engages her in activities that stimulate her emotions, she can return to normal.

Even if assimilation reaches the point of developing phototaxis, and one's mindset has changed, if you pack a person up and leave them outside the sacred mountains for a period of time, they can escape the influence and return to normal.

The White Witches regard the Holy City and the Sacred Mountains as their sacred training grounds, but so far, not a single witch has been assimilated by the power of the Holy Light into a hermit. This is all thanks to the members of the "Eight Times Speed ​​Gossip Alliance" who supervise and help each other.

"Everyone's here. Does anyone have anything interesting to share today?" Garona asked.

Everyone shook their heads: "If there's anything, we'll talk about it in the group chat right away. There's really nothing new."

“There’s nothing new here in the Holy City, but there’s something new in the Dragon Clan!” Euphemia said. “I heard from a friend that the Brass Dragon Knottak, the master of Delicious Island, has started recruiting chefs throughout Valen for the first time in a long time. The conditions are very good, and there’s only one requirement—that he can cook the dishes he specifies. Many spellcasters who want to find a sugar daddy have started to improve their cooking skills.”

"As the owner of Delicious Island, he actually needs a chef?" Garona said.

"I heard it was to complete a recipe left behind by a five-star chef," Euphemia said. "I also heard that the chef was a witch who had captured the hearts of dragons through their stomachs, but only stayed on Delicious Island for a month before disappearing!"

“No wonder!” Camilla said, “Apart from the witch, which chef who goes to Delicious Island can leave? Unless the dragons are no match for them, anything that interests them will either be taken back to decorate their dragon nests or captured and enslaved.”

"..." Moran felt a pang of guilt. She seemed to have forgotten to turn the dishes she designed for the dragons into food cards and put them on the shelves for Dawn to learn.

It's really not her fault; she was planning to put it on sale once she reached the Sacred Mountains.

Upon seeing the sacred mountain range, I was immediately drawn to its unique topography and ecological environment, which were completely different from other mountains and forests.

She had long forgotten about the dragon race.

Now she is the White Witch Moran, still in the Holy City at the foot of Paradise Mountain. Angels have a history of secretly sending out light and shadow fairies to spy on her. It's no problem for her to chat with everyone in witch language and send messages using communication cards, but openly summoning the Book of Cards is still risky.

Therefore, this food card cannot be made now.

"Moran? What's wrong?" Garona noticed Moran's subtle expression.

"Um, that witch, it should be me..." Moran didn't hide anything. Knowing the witches present, even if she didn't say anything, they would smell the gossip and guess the gist of it.

"Wow~" Evelyn exaggeratedly covered her mouth: "A five-star chef?"

“As expected of you! The rumors were absolutely true,” Bella said.

“Then you could open an angel dessert shop!” Melinda said. “I recently researched theft cases by the Fairies of Light and Shadow in the Holy City over the past hundred years. Apart from the hair care potions from Edwin’s Hair Salon, the most frequently stolen items are all kinds of candies. I think that these candies are very likely stolen and eaten by angels.”

“Angels? Desserts?” Bella said. “I can’t imagine it.”

“Yes! The hermits in the city have lost their appetite and desire for material things. As for clothing, they will choose whiter, more holy, and more dazzling clothes in order to get closer to the light they worship. As for food, they really only care about filling their stomachs. Now, apart from bakeries, there is no other food and beverage shops in the holy city. Do angels really like candy?” Agnes said.

“The Light and Shadow Fairies are not an autonomous race at all; they are merely energy entities used by angels to spy on the human world. The fact that the Light and Shadow Fairies steal candy is definitely for the sake of the angels, which speaks volumes,” Melinda said.

“Wait! In the Holy City, it seems that only the Holy Light Tree in the Sacred Cemetery has Honey Light Vines growing on it!” Evelyn said.

“That’s right! Every time I went to the Sacred Cemetery to collect the sap of the Holy Radiance Tree, I had to sing along to the swaying rhythm of the Honeylight Vine before they would give me a spot. Gradually, I got lazy and stopped going,” Agnes said.

"The honeyfruits that grow on the honeyfruit vine can be boiled into syrup to make honeyfruit candy, but this candy is too sweet and cloying, and eating too much of it will make your tongue glow, so few people can stand it..."

Moran said, recalling the news about the Honeylight Fruit:

"The Holy Radiance Tree is a species brought to Valen by angels. It was originally only found in the Holy City, but later it gradually spread to various parts of the Holy Mountains. The parasitic vines that originally clung to the Holy Radiance Tree mutated, and this is what became known as the Honeylight Vine."

The Honeylight Vine loves to twine around the Holy Radiance Tree, but it's not a good thing for the Holy Radiance Tree. The Holy Radiance Tree will have its nutrients drained by the Honeylight Vine, resulting in slow growth and malnutrition.

Generally speaking, traces of the Honeylight Vine can only be found on wild Holy Radiance Trees…

The witches' eyes lit up; the familiar scent of gossip was coming!

“I know, I know! The nectar vines in the Sacred Cemetery were planted by that hermit in the cemetery!” Bella said. “Once, when I was collecting sap from the Holy Radiance Tree, the Holy Radiance Trees in the cemetery begged me for help. They wanted me to tear down all the nectar vines, but Lu Wen stopped me. He said he liked the flowers of the nectar vine and thought they were as dazzling as holy light, so he specially transplanted the nectar vines from the Sacred Mountains!”

Lu Wen was the hermit who lived alone in the sacred cemetery.

“Besides him, I’ve never seen any other hermit who likes the flowers of the Honeylight Vine. The hermits’ tastes are so consistent, there must be something wrong with him!” Garona said.

“There are no candy stores in the Holy City. Could he be growing those for the angel behind his Light and Shadow Fairy?” Camilla voiced the speculation in the minds of all the witches.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to open a magic candy shop in the Holy City!" Moran said. (End of Chapter)