Witch Redemption

"No, this is not the Caribbean you are familiar with. The Caribbean refers to a food-loving ethnic group in the Empire, mainly the White and Yutt families. People from these two families are skilled in cooking and prefer light flavors. Their special soup is famous throughout Mori City."

Upon hearing this, number 86 added to number 47, "The price isn't low either."

Number 47 smiled and said, "The starting price for a meal is about five hundred browns."

Five hundred Brown would take at least half a month to earn in the poor, it's not something the average person can afford. These witches, number 47, also saved up for a very long time before they dared to come.

Moreover, unlike the poor, they are also ripped off because of their status.

This is why they make various budgets from the beginning; if the price exceeds their psychological limit, they have to switch to the next company.

…………

Caribbean restaurant, front desk.

Restaurant owner Hayden White has just run into a mess. This regional manager, who has been in the position for less than a year, is acting like a complete idiot. He actually tried to drive away the six witches who came to his door during this crucial time. Fortunately, he noticed something was wrong outside his office and came out in time to stop the farce.

"Give them whatever they want, at the normal price, and don't neglect them!"

Hayden waved for three beautiful waitresses in maid uniforms to go to a private room on the second floor, and then called out to the disgruntled regional manager, "Gabbie, you come in here."

As soon as the two entered the office, Hayden slammed the door shut, his fat face jiggling, and demanded, "Why did you stop them just now?"

"Boss, those people are witches!"

The young man, dressed in a neat and high-class tuxedo, answered with unusual composure, making no attempt to hide the disdain in his eyes.

"You think you can stop them just because they're witches?"

"Yes! According to Imperial law, witches are serious criminals! They are strictly forbidden from entering restaurants of two stars or higher!"

Talking back, talking back again, talking back to your mother's mouth!

Hayden walked toward his seat, his anger barely contained. This unruly young man was actually the seventh son of Duke Leo of the Dick family, and had considerable connections with the Imperial Royal Family. His appointment as the regional manager of this upscale restaurant was practically a direct appointment from above.

If it weren't for this level of consideration, this arrogant and vindictive guy would have been fired long ago.

Are you fucking an idiot?

The more Hayden thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, unable to contain his emotions, he grabbed a book on the desk, "Imperial Constitution: Special Provisions," and slammed it down at Gabi's feet.

The heavy book struck with a loud, crisp sound, and the torn pages quickly unfolded in front of the young man.

The young man couldn't make out the contents of the black and white paper, but having never seen his boss so angry, he finally felt a strange sense of fear.

"How many times have I said it? Imperial law is imperial law! Internal regulations are internal regulations! What the hell are you doing?"

"Who did this restaurant partner with? The Witch Cult and the Holy See! If it weren't for the Witch Cult and the Holy See supporting me, do you think I'd be where I am today?"

"Both the Witch Cult and the Holy See have stipulated that at this time of year, an exception can be made to allow the last few surviving witches to have a feast for the dead! Can't you even look at the special regulations?"

Hearing the reprimand mixed with insults, the young man's anger grew stronger and stronger. Finally, he couldn't help but retort, "Imperial law is above all else, Boss Hayden. I've read the special regulations you mentioned, but to uphold the dignity of the Empire..."

"Bang—" The sound of a hand slamming on the desk was like a thunderclap in a clear sky, representing the extreme of anger, directly interrupting the young man's subsequent words. Hayden almost blurted out that he was going to curse the young man's ancestors and say that if it weren't for the Witch Order and the Holy See, what would the Empire be?

But he held back; some things could be said, but some things absolutely could not.

In an era when women had low status, it was not a big deal to greet a young man's mother, but when it came to matters of imperial dignity, things became very difficult, and one could not explain oneself clearly.

After slamming his fist on the table, the flames of anger were suppressed by his inner reason.

Hayden calmed himself down, trying to relax. "Gabbie Dick, you're fired, effective today. Get the hell out of here."

The unexpected words left Gabby momentarily stunned. "Hayden White, what do you mean? You dare fire me? Do you know who sent me?"

"Who doesn't know about the appointment of the seventeenth prince in the Imperial Family?"

"You still dare to fire me? You think..."

"I have the Witch Cult and the Holy See behind me. Let me tell you, my biggest backer is the Undying Ellis!"

Before the empire's ten strongest individuals, the warden of the Witch Prison, what is the 17th prince of the imperial family?

"Get out of here immediately! Your dismissal papers will be delivered directly to your father, Duke Leo, by the Witch Cult tonight!"

He called over a few subordinates, who, without saying a word, dragged the stubborn young man out, and the entire office suddenly became quiet and deserted.

Hayden had never felt so pleased. Despite his anger, if it weren't for the fool sent by the Empire tonight to leech off him, he wouldn't have been able to kick this guy aside so easily.

"In short, notify the warden to take action."

He quickly used the telegraph machine in his office to send an urgent telegram to the warden of the witch prison in the capital.

After tidying everything up, he leisurely walked out of the office and, intentionally or unintentionally, went up to the second floor. He glanced at the quiet private room and thought, "Sure enough, it's the same as last year's batch and the year before's batch of witches."

Whether it was due to the extreme indifference among witches or some other reason, there was never any laughter at their banquets; only silence, like a farewell feast before death.

Haydn had witnessed similar scenes countless times in March, on the eve of the impending Red Night Torrent.

Those witches never knew that they had subconsciously chosen this restaurant, subconsciously responding to the immortal's arrangement, coming here, and then dying tragically the next day.

"Sigh, there are too many inside stories. I should have gotten used to it by now. Why bother with so much?"

Hayden shook his head, straightened his suit, and with his beer belly protruding, went downstairs again, thinking to himself, "I've gotten rid of a bloodsucker, so I can sleep peacefully tonight. Tomorrow I need to figure out how to get my son over here."

………………

The lavish banquet was actually quite different from the banquets Li Lan had eaten on Earth. The dishes here were all European in style, and the main utensils were knives and forks.

Whether it's pork, beef, or chicken, it's all there, but the vegetables are completely different. Common vegetables like cilantro are replaced with other ingredients here, and the results are naturally less than satisfactory.

"It still has a slight fishy smell."

Sure enough, I still miss the time on Earth, where the food was so much more sophisticated than what I have here.

However, I am still much happier than when I first came into this world.

No disappointment was visible on number 47's face; instead, he remained smiling.

"To remove the fishy smell, the best thing is to use ginger, scallions, and garlic. Hmm, you can mention these three things here? It's a pity we don't have them here," added number 86 with some regret.

"It's much better. We've been eating black bread for a year, with only white bread occasionally. We're going crazy," complained No. 93, while No. 94, his longtime partner, nodded grimly.

Then Need93 added, "If it weren't for the harsh laws in this godforsaken place and our special status, we wouldn't have to live such a tiring life."

Number 94 quickly took over, his face, half-hidden under the hood, revealing a serious expression. "Actually, I tried to cook those monsters before, but I failed every time. The Mimicry Chaos is a strong acid, so I couldn't process it. The Shadow Monster had no meat at all, and those Intelligence Crystal Monsters were even worse—completely inedible..."

Wow! Are you really that ruthless?

So thirsty! This witch, number 94, rarely speaks, but when she does, her words are always astonishing!

The entire banquet was filled with the smell of poverty, which made the newcomers Li Lan and Lana feel inexplicably sad. The thought of having to live a poor life with these seniors in the future was something they both really didn't want to do.

"What a pity, witches can't get drunk, and this wine doesn't taste very good now," complained number 86.

It is precisely because they cannot numb themselves in this other world and often have to face reality that they often feel inexplicable pain. Those who have been able to persevere to this day are all people with strong mental fortitude.

Then these senior figures brought up many things from last year, mentioning how a certain witch was like this and that.

However, Li Lan noticed that none of the numbers they mentioned were present, and she vaguely guessed what was going on, so she didn't dare to ask for the time being, for fear of ruining the atmosphere.

Those people they mentioned are probably all dead, right?

The banquet was uneventful and ended uneventfully. Near the end, even Number 86 couldn't help but urge, "You bunch of bastards! You've seen my adorable face countless times and taken advantage of me so many times. Now that we've finally gotten together, at least satisfy my curiosity!"

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense." Number 93 denied it on the spot. He wasn't as shameless as Number 86, who could shamelessly "show off" his body in the past, which was no different from running around naked.

Number 86 concealed the deep pain in his eyes, "At least, let me remember you."

Chapter 15: The Prelude to Malice

"There's not much need for that. Too many memories only cause pain, you should understand that, right?"

Even though he couldn't get drunk, number 47 still smiled, picked up his glass, and took a big gulp.

Like the alcohol on Earth, the alcohol in this world is just as fiery, with a hint of bitterness in its spiciness.

As if avoiding the topic, number 47 asked in a low voice, "Are you all prepared for what's to come?"

“Sigh,” Number 86 hesitated for a moment, giving up on trying to persuade the three stubborn guys, “Are you sure you want to face four at the same time?”

Numbers 93 and 94 listened to the two men's words and remained silent. In any case, the plan had been made a long time ago, and now there were only a few people left. They had long since reached a consensus on how to advance and retreat together when facing certain issues.

“If the first layer of insurance is broken, then there is a second layer. What we need to do is gamble that the second layer won’t attack us,” said No. 47, then turned his gaze to the bewildered Li Lan and Lana beside him and whispered, “After tonight’s events, they will probably not act rashly in the future.”

Li Lan noticed that these words seemed to be directed at him and Lana, and while puzzled, he also made a mental note of these seniors' words.

"Then all that's left is the target. Targeting innocent people seems... never mind, there's no point in dwelling on it now. Human life is cheap, and so are ours. How about we choose someone from our vicinity?"

"Let's go then, pay the bill, it's getting late."

The atmosphere inexplicably became heavy. Apart from the initial enthusiasm shown by the six witches in welcoming Li Lan and her companion, the group of people who were leaving suddenly became somewhat strange.

Li Lan didn't know what was going on with the atmosphere. He just vaguely sensed that the six seniors were hiding something, and they all seemed to have become somewhat excited and frightening.

………………

In a private apartment in the inner city, a young man, looking uneasy, scratched his somewhat messy golden curly hair on the living room sofa.

"Damn it! Damn it! Just a few witches! That fat pig Hayden actually fired me for that!"

The young man named Gabby Dick was so angry that he could hardly control his emotions, and several veins bulged on his forehead.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

After uttering a few curses, Gabby slammed his fist on the table in front of him, smashing a fist-sized hole in the elegantly patterned wooden surface. The stinging pain finally calmed him down a little.

As a descendant of a noble family, and with an older sister who is the favored concubine of the seventeenth prince in the imperial family, Gabi has been doing very well these past few years. Last year, the imperial family even appointed him to a lucrative position that could make him a fortune.

On the surface, he was appointed as the regional manager of this ultra-high-end restaurant in the border city of Morrie, but in reality, he wanted to infiltrate the White family and seize power. Everything was supposed to go smoothly according to plan, but who knew that he would make such a huge mess today?

Gabby knew from the beginning that this high-end club owned by the family here was no ordinary place, and that it had always been supported by the Witch Cult and the Holy See. After arriving, he had thoroughly studied its internal rules and regulations.

He knew, and had to know, what kind of day March 15th was.

However, on the eve of March 15th, his youthful arrogance led him to make a foolish and wrong choice. If he had another chance, he would never have stopped those six filthy, despicable witches.

But reality is reality, and there's no going back.

The immortal Iris, the woman who exists only in the legends of the Empire's history, actually personally informed her father, Duke Leo.

what's the result?

In less than an hour, his family contacted him, saying they would exile him and strip him of his title, leaving him with nothing overnight.

"Why is this happening? No! There must be something fishy going on here!"

"I only stopped those witches, I absolutely don't deserve this!"