Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Leon's face changed from white to green, from green to red, and then from red to white.

He desperately wanted to forget, bury, and pretend that what happened in the camp had never occurred.

Unexpectedly, Wayne knew.

Even the goddess knows.

Wayne spoke calmly.

"You're thinking I'm in cahoots with human traffickers, or even that I'm colluding with that witch, aren't you?"

Leon's body stiffened.

He did think that just now.

Wayne continued.

"This place is 120 miles from the border of Kangde. The human traffickers' camp is north of Maple Forest, even further from Frost Town. I have to see dozens of patients every day, distribute medicine, perform exorcisms, and deal with all sorts of absurd things happening in town. Do you think I have time to travel 120 miles to collude with a human trafficker?"

Leon didn't say anything.

"Besides, what would a priest like me gain from colluding with human traffickers? A few gold coins? A few henchmen? Or her runaway camp?"

Wayne stood up from his chair.

He walked up to Leon, half a head shorter than him, but Leon felt as if he were being looked down upon.

"What happened in the camp wasn't told to me by the traffickers, the witch, or anyone else."

Wayne looked at him.

"It was the goddess who told me. The goddess knows everything. Everything you do, every thought you have, everything you think you've hidden well and that no one will ever know, the goddess sees it all."

He paused.

"Including your cousin's matter."

Leon's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.

His body began to tremble, like the kind of trembling one feels when someone is stripped naked and thrown into the freezing cold.

cousin.

He thought no one would ever know about this.

He thought it was something that happened ten years ago, that it was all in the past, and that no one would care or remember it.

He thought he had hidden it well.

That summer, you went to your aunt's house. Your cousin was eight years older than you. She was very beautiful, with two dimples when she smiled. You enjoyed playing with her and felt happy being with her. But you didn't know what that happiness was. You only knew that you did whatever she asked you to do.

Wayne's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a hammer blow, striking Leon's heart again and again.

"She tells you to drink water, so you drink water; she tells you to lie down, so you lie down. She tells you not to tell anyone, so you shut up. You think it's a game. You don't know what it is."

Leon's tears fell.

The tears fell on their own, welling up in their eyes and streaming down their cheeks uncontrollably.

"After that, you changed. You stopped liking to hang out with girls. Not that you didn't like it, but you were afraid. You were afraid they would get close to you, afraid they would touch you, afraid they would say things you didn't understand but that would scare you. You started to like men. Not because you were born liking men, but because you were taught to be afraid of women."

Wayne reached out and placed his hand on Leon's head.

"Child, the goddess has mercy on you."

Leon's sobs went from being suppressed to being released.

He knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the stone slab, his shoulders shaking violently, his whole being like a dam that had finally burst.

Ace stood to the side, at a loss for what to do.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say. He raised his hand, intending to place it on Leon's shoulder, but then withdrew it. He turned to look at Wilford, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met briefly in the air before simultaneously looking away.

Wayne's hand was still on Leon's head.

Water seeped from his palms, trickling down Leon's hair. It wasn't healing, it was soothing.

Leon cried for a long time.

After a while, Wilford changed his posture, shifting his weight from his left hip to his right hip.

Finally, Leon's crying subsided.

From wailing to sobbing, from sobbing to choking, from choking to occasional, intermittent gasps for breath.

He looked up, his eyes red and swollen.

"Your Majesty Bishop..."

His voice was hoarse.

"Um."

"Goddess...do you really know?"

"Know."

"Then why didn't the goddess stop it?"

Wayne was silent for a moment.

"The goddess gives everyone freedom. The freedom to choose, the freedom to make mistakes, the freedom to get hurt. She doesn't stop you, because if she did, you wouldn't grow up."

He withdrew his hand.

"But she's always watching. She knows every wound you suffer, every tear you shed. She keeps it all in her heart, and when the time is right, she'll repay you."

Leon lowered his head and looked at his hands.

"Is she... still alive?"

"It's still there."

Leon knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the stone slab.

"Your Excellency," Leon's voice forced out, "I am willing to atone to the goddess."

Wayne looked at him.

"No need."

"The goddess doesn't need your atonement," Wayne's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. "The goddess only needs to live well."

Wilford sat in his chair, watching this scene in silence for a long time. He looked at Wayne and spoke.

"Your Majesty Bishop."

Wayne turned his head.

"Um."

"And what about the thing in his belly..." Wilford's voice was a little dry, "...is it actually a child?"

Wayne looked at Leon.

The panel appeared.

[Details of Leon's Curse]

[Witch Grafting - Abyss Embryo]

[Embryo: Tanayu the Arrogant Demon]

[Current Status: In the process of gestation. Leon is still standing because the demon doesn't want him to die too quickly. Death would be meaningless, and the demon also needs a complete vessel to experience the process of "birth."]

[Note: The witch is a follower of Tanayuu. Her goal is to find a suitable body for the Demon of Pride. Leon's physique is unique, possessing both masculinity and femininity, with high muscle density and unusual hormone levels, making him the most suitable vessel for the birth of a demon.]

[Note 2: The embryo only manifests at night. During the day, Leon's male characteristics suppress the demon's activity; at night, his body transforms into a woman, and the demon becomes active. This is not a coincidence, but the demon's choice. The female body is more suitable for pregnancy, and the demon understands physiological structure better than anyone else.]

[Note: Do not provoke arrogance, for arrogance holds grudges.]

Wayne withdrew his hand.

"It's a child."

Wilford breathed a sigh of relief.

"But he's not a child either."

Wilford's initial relief was quickly replaced by a renewed sense of unease.

"What do you mean?"

Ace's voice came in from the side.

Wayne turned around and looked at Ace.

"Human embryo, demon soul."

Leon knelt on the ground, his hands supporting him, his body trembling slightly. Ace stood beside him, his expression anxious.

"Can it be cured?"

Wayne looked at him.

"cannot."

The lobby fell silent for a moment.

Ace was completely panicked.

"What do you mean you can't? You can exorcise demons and cure diseases, so why can't you cure evil spirits?"

Wayne did not answer immediately.

He turned around, picked up the scroll from the table, turned to a page, and read a passage.

"When a demon possesses a person, it must not be forcibly expelled. Forcibly expelling it will result in the death of the person, but the demon will not die."

He closed the scroll and looked at Leon.

"I believe he has also read the Holy Scripture. The Holy Scripture contains many records about the birth of demons. Generally, the host will not die, and will even receive corresponding rewards. However, if an abortion is forcibly performed, death will suffice."

Ace's lips were trembling.

"So... so we just wait like this? Wait for him to be born? Wait for him to be eaten by a demon?"

Wayne looked at him.

"The holy book doesn't say that the host will be eaten."

"Then what should I say?"

"The reason demons choose hosts isn't out of hatred, but out of need. Demons need human bodies to descend to earth; that's the rule, and even demons themselves can't change it. In exchange, demons give their hosts something: power, lifespan, wealth, or something else entirely."

He paused.

"As for what to give, that depends on the devil's mood."

Ace turned to look at Leon. Leon was still kneeling on the ground, his head bowed, his shoulders slightly slumped, and his expression unreadable.

"Leon," Ace said softly.

Leon didn't move.

"Leon, did you hear that?"

Leon's shoulder twitched, and he slowly raised his head to look at Wayne.

"Your Majesty Bishop."

"Um."

"What's that demon's name?"

"This is not something you should know, child."