The Chief Priest of Gear City was severely punished for failing to maintain supervision.
The ceramics doll put away three paintings and said, "I will stay in Ximu Town for a few days. If you think of anything, come find me."
After leaving Baron Gledin’s estate, Ave finally breathed a sigh of relief, and only when the tuft of golden hair on her head confirmed there was no sign of the ceramics doll did she straighten up.
"Are you afraid of her?"
Ave’s behavior surprised Ethan a bit. He noticed Ave was tense the whole time earlier, her expression looked unnatural. He asked again, "What’s the deal with the Choir?"
"I’ll tell you when we get back."
Ave didn’t want to discuss it on the streets; once they returned to the apartment and locked the door, she flopped down on the sofa. "Simply put, these people are killing machines cultivated by the Church. They are selected from a young age and then stripped of emotions by Holy Word Art, being trained to act solely at the bidding of the Church."
Ave’s expression was somewhat complex when she mentioned Holy Word Art.
"You have had this magic cast on you as well."
From the first day he met Ave, her emotional fluctuations seemed somewhat abnormal; her face always lacked expression, which was in sharp contrast to the lively tuft of golden hair on her head, even somewhat overly lively.
"Essentially, it’s a kind of Sealing Technique to ensure they’re not swayed by emotions, thinking like machines. Even if the Church orders them to kill their own family, they would do it without hesitation."
Ave seemed unwilling to expand further on the topic of Holy Word Art. "You just need to know they’re very dangerous, and unless absolutely necessary, do not act against them. If a member of the Choir dies somewhere, the Empire might dispatch the Golden Fleet."
"Don’t worry, I’m not some psychotic killer."
Ethan reassured Ave. "Besides, it’s actually a good thing for us that the Choir is tracking the Witch; she might quiet down a lot lately."
"I’m going to rest first."
Ave crossed her arms, her golden hair drooping somewhat listlessly. She seemed to have shrunk a bit after knowing about the Choir’s arrival.
Ethan also felt tired; he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he returned to the bedroom.
However, for Baron Gledin and his subordinates, this busy day hadn’t ended. The ceramics doll brought news from Wolf Head Castle, where the bandits were utterly wiped out, leaving behind captive slaves they had taken to Wolf Head Castle. Many of them were people from the Empire, including those who had lost contact with their families for years, now humiliated and abused, making their resettlement an urgent issue.
Baron Gledin personally went to Wolf Head Castle with his men, and he was almost immediately frightened by the scattered, incomplete corpses everywhere. However, compared to those interrogated bandits, being able to die quickly had already been the greatest mercy granted to them by the Church.
Most slaves hid in the buildings, like startled birds, kneeling in plea when they first saw Baron Gledin.
Baron Gledin held back his fatigue and spent the morning understanding the situation at Wolf Head Castle. Most of the slaves hoped to be received by Ximu Town, longing to contact their lost families. A small number wanted to take some belongings and head to nearby neutral city-states, having heard of the Empire’s current state, seemingly feeling it was unsafe there too.
When Ethan opened his eyes, it was already evening, and Lindong was long awake, sulking while perched atop him.
She grumbled, "My sleep schedule is completely messed up too!"
Ethan suddenly found Lindong’s annoyed demeanor quite amusing. The more the cat mulled over it, the angrier she got, letting out a frustrated meow before simply rolling around on the bed, making a mess of the covers.
Thinking that this grumpy cat was his teacher made it seem even more amusing.
"Actually, staying up late isn’t all bad."
From past to present, Ethan had always been an advocate of staying up late; he even felt his concentration at night was much higher than during daylight.
The cat stopped rolling around, perked up her ears, and glared at Ethan, "No, it’s not good at all!"
She hadn’t been so repulsed by staying up late before, but recently, she discovered many drawbacks to it.
The exploration of life mystery books in the Saint Hilman Church library mentioned night being an ideal time, but once Ethan stayed up late, he was dashing around, and then lying in bed asleep by daylight, sometimes not even reacting when scratched!
Lindong realized if such habits were formed, the time for exploring the mysteries of life would be greatly reduced.
Though they haven’t progressed to that stage yet, pre-emptive measures must be taken, befitting a witch’s wisdom.
The cat sat up on the bed, assuming a rather dignified posture befitting a teacher.
She sternly asked, "Then what time do you plan to use for exploring life’s mysteries?"
"Exploring life’s mysteries? We can do it now."
The hard-earned authority evaporated, and the cat instantly puffed up, her tail stood on end, her voice quivering uncontrollably, "How could we do that now? They are all awake, especially Rowena; if you ignore her for a while, she’ll definitely come to spy, and I wasn’t fully prepared yet. But if you really can’t hold back..."
The voice grew lighter, with the last part audible only to herself.
"What’s Rowena got to do with it? Aren’t we discussing the mysteries of life?"
Recently, too many events had happened, indeed prompting Ethan to find a time to delve deeply into discussion with his knowledgeable teacher, considering his current understanding of mysticism was insufficient to unravel many issues.
"Speaking of life mysteries, teacher, I’ve always had a question."
The cat retreated slightly, seemingly a bit expectant.
"What do you think, is ’witch’ just a title, or have they transformed into a new species?"
As a scholar studying witches, Ethan’s research had recently hit a bottleneck. "I don’t think the academic world has a definitive answer yet."
A soft sound interrupted Ethan’s exploration; he looked up to see Lindong suddenly transformed into human form, feeling her cold gaze.
Though she still wore a maid’s uniform, the teacher’s prestige soared to its peak at that moment.
"Is this the mystery of life you wish to explore?"
"Teacher, this could be a major discovery regarding new species! What’s more—"
Ethan’s words abruptly ceased.
He was attacked by his teacher; Lindong spun around and straddled him, looking down at him.
She curled her lips into a smile perfectly suiting the Empire’s top criminal.
—"You rebellious student, you think I’m a new species?"