Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Wayne picked up the holy book.

Celine was quite polite.

"Your Excellency, thank you."

She stood up and buttoned her collar back up.

Wayne nodded.

"Remember to drink water regularly and don't overwork yourself."

Celine smiled.

"I will."

She walked past Wayne, her steps much lighter than before, her high heels clicking crisply on the wooden floor. She stopped at the doorway without turning back.

"Your Majesty Bishop."

"Um."

"Can I come back to see you for treatment in the future?"

"Yes, I'm at your service anytime."

Celine nodded and went out the door.

The corridor fell silent again.

Wayne stood by the window and looked down at his hands.

Another one has been cured.

Today's performance targets have been met.

He turned and walked out.

As she passed through the lobby on the first floor of the Rose Courtyard, the madam was doing accounts behind the counter. Seeing Wayne come down, she looked up, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment before shifting to what was behind him.

"Where is Madam?"

"I'm leaving now."

"Oh." The madam lowered her head and continued calculating the accounts. After a while, she raised her head again. "Your Excellency, your performance today has saved the reputation of my Rose House."

Wayne looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Just imagine, the mayor is hanging out of my window, naked, and the whole town can see him. Who would dare come after that? People will say, 'Oh, that brothel is no good, even the mayor couldn't get in.'"

She paused for a moment and then continued.

"Now look what's happened. You say it's demonic possession, then it's not a problem with my window, it's a problem with the demon. And who can stop a demon? Everyone can still come and have fun as usual."

She stood up and bowed to Wayne.

"Your Excellency, thank you."

You performed exceptionally well in today's play.

Wayne looked at her.

"You also think I'm acting?"

The madam blinked.

"Sir, I've been in this business for thirty years. I can tell the difference between what's real and what's fake at a glance." She paused, "But that black smoke today, it was fake, wasn't it?"

Wayne did not answer.

"Never mind, whether it's true or false doesn't matter," the madam waved her hand.

"As long as it saves lives, that's enough."

She looked at Wayne with great interest.

"Sir, if you come to play again in the future, I'll give you free time, as many times as you like."

Wayne smiled politely and walked away.

The Rose Courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Soon a group of girls poured out of the stairwell.

They surrounded the madam behind the counter.

"Mom! Is what you just said true?"

"Is Wayne really free?"

The madam leaned back in her chair.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

The girl in the red dress's eyes lit up.

"That's great!"

Someone said dejectedly.

"What's so great about it? Do you think they'll actually come?"

"Why won't you come?"

"Lord Wayne is a respectable priest! Have you ever seen a respectable priest frequenting a brothel?"

"Didn't you come today?"

"They came to rescue the mayor, not to solicit prostitutes!"

The woman in the red dress pouted and muttered, "Maybe," her voice barely audible.

A slow, deliberate voice came from the corner.

"Save your breath."

The speaker was a young woman in her early twenties sitting by the window, holding a handful of sunflower seeds and popping them into her mouth one by one.

"Mr. Wayne is not that kind of person."

The woman in the red dress turned to look at her.

How did you know?

"I just know."

The woman eating sunflower seeds is named Laura. Lately, she's been going to church every day and has even formed a "Wayne Exchange Group" with some senior believers. Every time she goes for prayer and healing, she tries to seduce Wayne, but to no avail.

Perhaps because it was in a church, she wasn't very bold.

If she had been like a certain knowledgeable witch, able to lock Wayne in a room to conduct academic research, perhaps things would have been different. Unfortunately, she didn't have that talent, nor that determination...

A girl muttered, "Do you think Mr. Wayne doesn't like women?"

A girl in a green dress tapped her on the shoulder: "Don't like women? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear the noise from next door?"

The girl's face flushed instantly.

"I...I didn't hear that."

"Didn't you hear me?" The woman in the green dress laughed. "Where are your ears? Want me to blow on them for you?"

As they spoke, a group of women burst into laughter.

Laura, sitting in the corner, was still eating sunflower seeds. She spat the shells into her palm and slowly said, "Have you guys noticed that wooden plank above our heads?"

The laughter stopped.

Several people simultaneously looked up at the second floor.

"That is..."

Laura smiled.

"The wooden planks are broken, and it leaks when it rains."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

"That's true!"

"That's the house upstairs!"

"Maybe there's a leak somewhere?"

Then the laughter grew even louder.

"Shh! Keep your voices down!" The madam stood up from behind the counter and pressed her hand down. "Are you out of your minds? That's the mayor's wife! If word gets out, do you even want to work on this street anymore?"

The laughter gradually subsided, but the smiles on the girls' faces hadn't completely faded, and a secret excitement lingered in their eyes and brows.

The madam sat down again.

"That bishop is indeed quite capable."

Laura leaned on the counter, her chin resting on the back of her hand, her eyes bright: "Mommy, you said, Lord Wayne, he..."

"What about him?"

"Will he come here too?"

The madam glanced at her.

"You haven't given up yet?"

"I was just asking."

The madam pushed the abacus away and leaned back in her chair.

"I've told you before, after working in this line of work for so long, I've seen all kinds of people. Serious ones, unserious ones, those pretending to be serious, and those pretending to be unserious—I can tell them apart at a glance."

She paused.

"But I can't see through that adult."

Launa's lips twitched.

"So he's not coming?"

The madam leaned back in her chair, her gaze shifting from Laura's face to the faces of the other girls, looking at them one by one.

"Don't you guys go to church every day?"

Launa drew a circle on the counter with her finger.

"That's for going to church."

"Going to church?" The madam chuckled. "Does going to church require changing clothes three times? Does it require applying half a box of rouge to your face? Does it require lowering your collar by two inches?"

Laura blushed.

"That, that's...that's the kind of person the goddess likes to be clean."

"I don't know if the goddess likes clean people," the madam said meaningfully, "but I do know you're not going to see the goddess."

"You lot," she said, her tone softening slightly, "have your thoughts written all over your faces. You want to seduce someone, but you don't dare. If you go, you don't dare say it; if you say it, you don't dare do it; if you do it, you don't dare admit it."

She paused.

"At this rate, you'll never succeed in hooking someone."

Launa lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers on the counter.

"Mom, what do you suggest we do?"

The madam snorted and said.

"You girls, all you do is hang around people, but you don't know what you're doing. They're treating you, so you just lie there quietly, and leave as soon as it's over. Can't you say a few more words? Can't you stay a little longer?"

"I...I already told you."

"What did you say?"

Laura opened her mouth, thought for a while, and realized that every time she went to church, she said "Thank you, Your Excellency Bishop," "You've worked hard, Your Excellency Bishop," and "Goodbye, Your Excellency Bishop." She repeated the same few sentences over and over, and even she found it boring.

"That's settled then." The madam leaned forward, lowering her voice by half an octave. "Listen carefully. Opportunity favors the prepared. If you want someone to remember you, you have to be the first person they think of among all these people."

Laura blinked.

"How can we make him remember us?"

"You'll have to figure that out yourselves..."