Horn and Enoch sneaked into the carpenter's house through the back door, carrying the disheveled Annie. Along the way, Enoch became exhausted. It's important to note that Lien City is quite large, and carrying someone from the North District all the way to the West District is no small feat, even for Enoch, who is slightly stronger than Horn.
Wild witches, although considered supernaturals, don't differ much from ordinary people aside from being able to use some minor powers. In terms of physical constitution, they might even be slightly weaker.
It was the middle of the night, a time when old Douglas was expected to be asleep. However, to their surprise, not only was Douglas awake, but he also happened to stroll near the back door!
From Douglas's perspective, in the dead of night, his beloved disciple and the disciple's friend were seen stealthily carrying an unconscious and somewhat improperly dressed beautiful girl back to his house.
This situation seemed somewhat inappropriate for children!
The two hadn't expected to bump into Douglas, making the situation somewhat awkward.
"Um... Teacher, you're still awake? It's good for your health to sleep early," Horn said, giving Enoch a look. The two chuckled awkwardly as they passed by Douglas, leaving him bewildered as they quickly returned to Horn's room.
Douglas paced around with a frown, smacking his lips in contemplation before deciding it was unacceptable to let things be. He thought, what if these boys were up to something atrocious?
Where would that leave his dignity?
In Horn's room, Horn and Enoch were at a loss with the disheveled Annie. They had saved the woman, but what should they do with her now?
Both were young men in the prime of their lives, and leaving a visibly vulnerable woman lying there could potentially lead to unspeakable instincts arising.
Obviously, they couldn't just let her lie there, even if they harbored no ill intentions, as the girl could misunderstand upon waking.
But dressing her would mean seeing things they shouldn't... And who would do it?
"Let's just cover her with a blanket," Enoch suggested after some thought, leaving the task to Horn. Horn picked up the blanket to cover Annie. It was too dark outside to see clearly, but now, under the bright lights of the room, Horn realized how beautiful the woman was.
As Horn held the blanket, Douglas kicked the door open with a bang, causing Horn to drop the blanket...
Horn and Douglas locked eyes for a few seconds, creating an incredibly awkward moment.
"I-I-I didn't do anything, just covering her with a blanket," Horn stammered.
Douglas sighed and covered his face, "Alright, you don't look capable of doing anything indecent. What exactly happened? Come out and tell me."
Horn asked Enoch to stay with Annie while he and Douglas stepped outside. He sat down and detailed the events of the past few days to Douglas.
"So you're saying all the monster disturbances this past month were caused by this girl?" Douglas asked, stroking his chin.
"Yes," Horn nodded.
"You mean she just awakened?" Douglas continued.
"Exactly, though it seems unbelievable. In my memory, all wild witches awaken in childhood, like when my talents awakened at six. And it's been over a decade since then. But she seems to be about sixteen or seventeen, about my age," Horn shared his doubts with Douglas.
"No, there's no contradiction in that. I also awakened around the age of twenty," Douglas explained.
Douglas had traveled from Earth to this world around the age of twenty and awakened his wild witch talents upon arrival.
"This girl must come from a well-off family," Douglas remarked to Horn.
"Yes, she's likely the daughter of the Walker Commerce Guild's president. But how did you know?"
Horn was surprised, wondering how Douglas could know about Annie's affluent background without having gone with them.
"Do you know how the awakening of a wild witch works?" Douglas inquired.
"No," Horn shook his head. "Please enlighten me, teacher."
"The so-called wild witch doesn't become one after awakening. Whether one has the aptitude to become a wild witch is determined at birth. Wild witches begin accumulating magic power from birth, usually reaching the conditions for awakening by six or seven years old. At this stage, any significant stimulus can trigger the awakening. And the older one gets, the less stimulus is needed for awakening."
"But in my memory, all wild witches..." Horn remained puzzled.
"Because very few people in this world live carefree lives," Douglas sighed. "I'm actually quite interested in the spells this girl released. Causing such chaos during her confusion period suggests she's quite extraordinary. With proper training, she could become a valuable talent."
"Teacher, I thought you lost interest in wild witch matters. Why so many questions today?" Horn noted Douglas's unusual interest.
Douglas glared, then covered his mouth as realization struck, "Ah? You make a good point. I should get back to work." He then leisurely returned to his room to sleep.
Horn slapped himself, regretting his careless words.
During the final stage of the confusion period, wild witches exhaust their magic power and lose the ability to move. Annie was currently in this state, but most wild witches regain mobility after a few hours once their magic power recovers.
Although Annie hadn't woken up yet, she would eventually.
Horn pulled Enoch aside, "Enoch, where did you live before? Was it exposed?"
"In the South District. It wasn't exposed. Why do you ask?" Enoch scratched his head, puzzled by Horn's sudden interest in his former home.
Horn proposed, "We don't know her well enough to let her know our real identities rashly. What if she's mentally unstable or has some extremely dangerous habits? That would put us at risk."
"So, you're suggesting using my old place?" Enoch whispered.
"I plan to settle her in your place. Until we understand her to a certain degree, we won't let her know about this place or see our faces, until we can trust her," Horn explained.
"That actually makes sense," Enoch nodded. "Let's do as you said."