Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Soon, Wayne and his men left.

By the time he remembered to thank his teacher, Cecil had already disappeared.

Inside the carriage, Lynch continued nagging Wayne: "Son, are you just going to let him go like that? That's the Bishop of St. George! He sent someone to kill you! Are you just going to let it go like that?"

Seeing his father being taken advantage of, Wayne said helplessly, "Then what do you want me to do? Kill him?"

"Of course! What's the point of reasoning with him now?"

Wayne glanced at Lynch: "He's a mid-stage sixth-tier Saint. If he really fights back to the death, at least half the people in the square won't survive today. I don't have any trump cards that can guarantee a kill, so forcing him into a corner won't do us any good."

Lin Qi opened his mouth, then closed it again. He clearly understood the significance of a sixth-tier Saint, but he hadn't yet calmed down.

He was silent for a moment, then muttered, "...But we can't just let it go like this."

"That's enough." Wayne closed his eyes again. "After today, St. George's reputation is ruined. Even if Caruso keeps his position, he won't dare to openly touch me again, and that's enough."

Lin Qi was still indignant after hearing this.

He wanted to say that he had even ridden the Pope, so what was a cardinal compared to that? But he swallowed the words back. It didn't seem like there was anything to be proud of, and it would only make him seem like a frivolous old man. So he hummed twice, leaned back in his seat, and stopped rambling.

The carriage was quiet for a while. Lin Qi leaned against the carriage wall, his gaze sweeping over Wayne's face twice. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and asked the question he had been holding back all the way.

"Son, those girls you saved...are they really not witches?"

Yes and no.

Lin Qi frowned. "So, is it or isn't it? Why are you playing riddles with me?"

Wayne turned his head away and didn't say anything more.

Lin Qi waited a moment, and seeing that he had no intention of explaining, he muttered in dissatisfaction, "Sigh, you child, you're still hiding things from your father..." He complained, but didn't press further, because he vaguely knew the answer. However, based on his experience of most of his life, some things were better left unknown. Knowing too much made it hard to sleep at night.

On the other side, Wayne's heart was still unsettled.

This was because he had encountered the ability to stop time for the first time. Such an ability was incredibly shocking to him. The overwhelming power of a high-level combatant was on full display. After this experience, Wayne gained a clearer understanding of his own combat strength. In the future, striving to improve his combat power and achieve a rank advancement was of paramount importance.

Soon, everyone returned home.

The other five witches, who were temporarily homeless, have been settled in by Tiffany and Emily. As for other arrangements, we'll discuss them tomorrow.

Alice found Wayne, who had returned, in the courtyard.

"Brother, you're back."

Wayne stretched his stiff shoulders.

"Yes. I'm back."

"How is the situation?"

"It went very smoothly."

Alice's panel appeared at that moment.

Alice's Current Status

Status: Happy.

[Note: She just witnessed everything through the magic crystal ball. Watching you stand in the square facing Carosso and the three cardinal elders, unyielding and methodically laying out the evidence of St. George's crimes before everyone... she admits she was mesmerized.]

[Note 2: She was slightly displeased that five more women had suddenly appeared in her household overnight. However, she didn't intend to show it, as that would make her seem petty. She had her own plans.]

Wayne glanced at the panel and smiled slightly.

Alice was never one to sit idly by and wait for death.

She quickly voiced her concern for the future: "So, brother, what are our plans for the future?"

Wayne did not answer; his gaze swept across the courtyard and toward the hazy sky over the capital in the distance.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke seriously.

"After today's events, the old guard won't make any major moves anytime soon. Even if Carrosso isn't giving up, he wouldn't dare to do it again in this sensitive situation. He needs time to clean up the mess in St. George's, and he also needs time to reassess my worth. Besides, our focus has never been on the old guard."

Alice's gaze flickered slightly.

"Brother, are you referring to... the Thousand-Year Purple Sun?"

"Yes." Wayne nodded. "The Millennium Purple Sun is drawing ever closer. The demonic tide, the abyssal rifts, the records of demonic beast mutations that Saint George has been hiding—everything is confirming the same fact: we don't have much time left. Before that day arrives, what we need to do is not just establish a foothold, but truly possess a force that we can be proud of."

"So, brother wants to use the royal family as a tool to unite those witches and truly make them his own?"

Instead of answering directly, Wayne looked at Alice and asked, "How long do you think it will take for the witches to gain the kingdom's public recognition like the necromancer sect?"

Alice thought for a moment and answered seriously, "It took the Necromancers nearly forty years to go from being publicly expelled to gaining legal status. The situation of witches is more complicated than that of the Necromancers, because the witches' curses are inherently uncontrollable variables, coupled with the opposing attitudes within the Church... If we take the public route, it will take at least two generations."

"We don't have two generations left," Wayne said calmly. "The Purple Sun of a Thousand Years won't wait for us. So, the path of public recognition is a dead end."

Alice nodded thoughtfully.

"So, what does my brother mean...?"

"Abandon worldly recognition, forgo overt legalization, and instead create a truly secretive underground organization."

"Hidden...underground..."

"Hmm." Wayne turned his gaze back to Alice's face. "Using the name of a merchant guild as a shell, with internal layers as the core. On the surface, it's an ordinary merchant guild that deals in herbs, potions, and magical materials, paying taxes and keeping accounts as required, no different from any other merchant guild in the capital. But secretly, it uses this merchant guild as a front to gather all the remnants of the Witch Cult and any external forces that can be trusted."

Alice's brow relaxed slightly, and her thoughts gradually became clearer: "In this way, the witches will have a completely legal public identity. Legally, they are employees, guards, and apothecaries of the merchant guild, and have nothing to do with witches. From now on, when they are active in public, they will use the name of a member of the merchant guild, not the identity of a witch. This is more thorough and more flexible than the protection provided by the Black Order."

Wayne nodded: "Public power is a double-edged sword. No matter how great the Black Order's power is, it is ultimately part of the Papacy's system. If one day the winds within the Papacy change, or the royal family's stance shifts, the Black Order can be taken back at any time. But a secret organization rooted in the people will not. As long as its roots are deep enough and its tentacles are wide enough, even if its power on the surface is uprooted, it can still survive in the shadows and find an opportunity to emerge again."

Alice became more and more excited as she spoke.

"The key is that it's our own stuff."

Wayne nodded in agreement, adding, "Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce has its advantages; it can operate across cities, legally possess armed guards, and establish channels for the flow of goods and personnel between multiple cities. The Black Order cannot offer these conveniences."

Alice looked at Wayne with admiration.

"Brother, you're a genius!"

"My sister is pretty good too."

Alice's eyes crinkled into a smile.

"So, bro, when do we start?"

Wayne yawned, the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days washing over him as things came to a head after everything was finally settled. He raised a hand to rub his temples. "No rush, let your brother get a good night's sleep first. We'll discuss this further when he's awake."

Alice paused for a moment before belatedly realizing that while the Marquis's mansion was in chaos last night, she was sleeping peacefully at the Sword Saint's mansion.

His older brother fought all night and then fought an even tougher battle after dawn. He hasn't closed his eyes yet.

"...Alright, brother, you should get some sleep first. I'll think of the framework for the Chamber of Commerce, and we can discuss the details when you wake up. Also..."

She didn't say anything else.

In fact, she had just been looking at the magic crystal ball and secretly prayed to the goddess on behalf of her brother. As for the method of prayer, there's no need to elaborate; it was simply very effective.