The Material Realm, once a vibrant world covered by oceans and greenery, teemed with life.
However, due to a catastrophe in the ancient past, the landscape of the Material Realm underwent tremendous changes. The oceans shriveled, the land drifted, and now, all that covers the surface of the Material Realm are vast, lifeless expanses of wilderness.
There are no ordinary plants here, only those that have adapted to the extremely arid environment struggle to survive; there is no respectable animal community, only burrowing insects seeking food and the small creatures that prey on these insects—you rarely see the original large animals.
And the worst part is, even though the environment here is already so dire, there are still a large number, you could even say countless Remnant Beasts living on this land as if cursed. They devour any living thing they see and even the dead. Like harvesters, they reap and lick this barren land over and over again.
No human could survive here. All those who foolishly attempted to conquer this endless wilderness were considered fools, and most of them, in the end, became food for the Remnant Beasts. To survive, people had to gather in cities to cluster together for warmth and eventually established city after city with the help of the kingdoms.
Of course, all these events are, for this boundless wilderness, stories of long ago.
Somewhere far from human cities, deep in the heart of the wilderness on a high slope, a white castle had been erected at some point.
This castle, just like something out of a fairy tale, was immaculate, well-proportioned, and magnificent. Around the castle, there was also a vast pasture, and even a small human village on the outskirts of the pasture. Some humans lived on this land that seemed like an Arcadia, engaging in farming, herding, breeding, and living joyfully in peace.
If anyone were to ask these humans where they came from and how they established such an enterprise here, the answer would likely be the same: they did not build this castle, but rather, the outcasts who drifted into the wilderness were taken in and sheltered by the castle's owner.
These humans mostly came from various human cities, leaving for the wilderness for a myriad of reasons—be it debt, crime, offending the powerful, or perhaps because they attempted to travel to other cities in small armored vehicles from the underground market and were met with disasters; or they simply couldn't continue living in their original cities and sought to end their lives. Without a doubt, most humans who entered the wilderness could not possibly live to see this castle, but there would always be those few lucky ones who stumbled upon this place. As more such people gathered, a village gradually formed.
Of course, there were also those who left the city and entered the wilderness purely in search of thrill and adventure, but they too were reluctant to live under the shelter of this castle. Instead, they mostly treated this place as a stopover for rest and resupply before leaving again, never to return.
As for why the castle's owner would kindly shelter these humans, the residents themselves were not very clear. However, there was one reason they believed, or rather, convinced themselves to believe—that the castle's owner was a group of Magical Girls.
Yes, although it sounds strange, there was a group of Magical Girls who did not live in the human cities nor in the Magic Kingdom. They had instead built a castle in the wilderness and lived here.
And since they were Magical Girls, then sheltering humans must surely be due to kindness and compassion, undoubtedly harboring pity for ordinary people and taking in this group of pitiful folk... right?
— "Ah, that tastes terrible. I mean, has the milk from the village been getting thinner lately? It's not fresh at all and it tastes downright rank. This isn't milk—it's more like cow urine!"
Within the towering castle, in a bright hall resembling a dining room, a girl with brown curly hair that was faintly yellowed at the tips, slammed the cup in her hand onto the table, her face full of exasperation. "Are these villagers even doing their jobs properly? How come I feel like if Semi did their farming and cattle raising, she could do a better job than these lazybones?"
"What do you mean I could do better than them?"
Sitting opposite at the long table, the Black Cat Fairy, who had been busily grooming herself, lifted her head with an odd look. "Since when have I fallen so low as to do your bidding?" Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire
"No, that's not what I meant."
Seeing that it seemed somewhat annoyed, the girl with brown curly hair shook her head and explained, "I was just trying to say that even you, a fairy, could do a better job with farm work than they can. After all, I've tasted the oranges you grew; they weren't half bad."
"Oh, you mean the fruit I grew."
Semi nodded upon hearing this, "Isn't that obvious? Having lived in the interworld for so many years, I definitely know more about cultivation in this godforsaken place than they do... Wait a minute, that's not right. I've never given you my oranges. How do you know what they taste like?"
"What does 'ah' mean?"
"Did I forget? I mean, didn't you give them to me yourself?" the girl innocently blinked her eyes.
"I absolutely did not give any to you! You clearly stole them, didn't you? You thief!" Semi shrieked.