"As we all know, your name is praised as the god of medicine in some places. A mere curse should not be a problem."
"I don't know any medical skills."
Angelica rejected the God of Medicine's praise unhappily, saying that her medical skills were at best at treating wound infections in the wild. When Angelica first arrived in the other world, she found that most doctors only had one method of treating illnesses: bloodletting.
What to do if you have a cold? Bleeding; what to do if you are in a coma? Bleeding; what to do if you are infertile? Bleeding again. If the condition does not improve, it means that not enough blood has been let out, and there is no way that the method is wrong. After all, Angelica, who had received compulsory education, could not stand this backward medical treatment, so she used her half-baked knowledge to improve it.
As a result, she was praised as the god of medicine in some places... The reputation of witches on the mainland is rather subtle, but the "black" witch is an exception. She has advocated many advancements, especially among women.
The "Black" witch invented many cosmetics and toiletries, and greatly improved the way to deal with uninvited relatives every month... In fact, Angelica's original intention was to improve her living environment. Angelica couldn't stand living in a different world without a toothbrush and toilet paper for a day.
"But I do have some ideas on how to deal with the curse. Your Majesty, please do not allow anyone to approach the princess' room. Let that perverted elf be the guard."
"I have a name! Slude! But being insulted by a straight ball actually feels inexplicably refreshing...!"
Angelica returned to the princess' room again. Slud was responsible for staying outside the room to guard it, and Andrew and Merlin were not allowed to approach.
"Vulpecula, Sequence VII. Silence."
"Ms. Angelica, what are you doing...?"
"Set up a sound-isolating barrier to avoid causing troublesome noises."
Ecclesia suddenly realized what was going on, and Angelica sighed heavily upon seeing this.
"You are so naive. The barrier that cannot make any sound means that the princess's call for help cannot be transmitted to the outside. I can do whatever I want to the princess in the room."
"Hmm...does it hurt? I'll try to bear it."
Ecclesia clenched the quilt nervously, and she didn't seem to consider the possibility that Angelica might do something bad. Seeing her like this, Angelica lost all her desire to tease her. From Ecclesia's point of view, she simply thought that Angelica, who was so beautiful, couldn't have any bad intentions.
Angelica moved the soft chair from the bedroom, put the broom against the wall, and stretched leisurely.
"I will try my best to control the intensity. Let me tell you what I am going to do first. Your curse will reset in the early morning, so I will wait until the early morning. When the curse starts working again, I will use other magic to intervene in a new calculation and disrupt the curse formula. During this time, please rest assured, Princess, and just treat me as an air man."
Ecclesia nodded, even though she had little idea of what Angelica was going to do.
However, with such a shameful curse and a stranger in the bedroom, Ecclesia tossed and turned and could not fall asleep no matter what.
"Can't sleep? Princess, do you want me to use magic to help you sleep?"
"Thank you for your kindness. This request may be a little presumptuous, but could Miss Angelica please chat with me for a while? I might get tired of it after a while."
"oh?"
Miss Witch gave a playful smile.
"Princess, do you need a bedtime story?"
"Well... when I was little, my teacher often told me stories by my bed after I had been studying magic all day. Maybe it's a habit I developed at that time."
Ecclesia did not feel inferior because of Angelica's teasing, she admitted this habit generously. In fact, Ecclesia was indeed past the age where she had to listen to stories, but whenever she had insomnia or was in a bad mood, listening to stories always helped Ecclesia forget her troubles and fall asleep quickly.
"Merlin? Humph, when I was learning magic from him, he always said that the stories I told were too dark and heavy."
Angelica complained in dissatisfaction, but it aroused Ecclesia's interest.
"Ms. Angelica is familiar with the teacher?"
"He is my disciple."
"disciple...?"
"I am a witch."
Angelica simply explained that witches are immortal and immortal, and Ecclesia would understand.
"Then I think I should thank you. Your magic has brought peace and prosperity to the Kingdom of Pilsen."
"There's nothing to thank him for. I only taught him magic because he was a fool."
Fool?
Ecclesia was puzzled by this. Could it be that even Teacher Merlin was not a genius in the eyes of Miss Witch?
"The teacher is one of the greatest magicians in the history of the Kingdom of Pilsen. Some bards even believe that the teacher is comparable to the founding monarch... Of course, I think so too."
"I don't deny that. He is indeed talented."
"But why did Miss Angelica say the teacher was stupid?"
"Let me ask a few more questions. Since my stupid disciple has become the chief magician of the palace, he must have a title or something. What does he call himself?"
"Flower Magician."
Ecclesia gave an answer immediately. Not to mention coming to the neighboring country of the Kingdom of Pilsen, the reputation of the Flower Magician had already spread far and wide. Even in the Boppard Parish where the witch lived in seclusion, the Flower Magician was not a strange name.
If Merlin had not publicly served as the chief magician of the court of the Kingdom of Pilsen, poaching might have caused serious diplomatic problems, otherwise there would have been countless olive branches thrown to Merlin. In a sense, the Kingdom of Pilsen was able to maintain peace for a long time, and the existence of the powerful flower magician was also a deterrent.
"He actually used this name... Let me ask you one more question, does he have a family?"
"...No."
Ecclesia answered honestly. In fact, this question troubled many people in the Kingdom of Pilsen. People believed that the bloodline of a great magician like Merlin would definitely inherit his magical talent. Countless cases in history have proved that the inheritance of bloodline is very important, so it is easy for powerful magicians to be born among the nobles.
But Merlin did not do so.
Merlin visited the Kingdom of Pilsen when he was young. With his talent, he rose from a commoner to the position of chief magician of the court. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Merlin took a fancy to any woman in the kingdom, the royal family would do their best to help Merlin win her.
However, to this day, Merlin is still alone, and no one knows why.
Miss Witch smiled.
"He is indeed a fool."
Seeing Ecclesia puffing up her cheeks in indignation, Angelica roughly understood what the princess was thinking.
"He must be very good to you, right? I think he probably treats you like a daughter or granddaughter."
"For me, the teacher is my second father. Although he is old enough to be my grandfather, his mentality is always young."
"I can see that."
After all, decades have passed, and that kid still remembers using his boots to irritate him. Should we say that he has not made any progress or that he has not forgotten his original intention?
"The teacher adopted Slude as his adopted daughter before I was born, and also said..."
"More?"
"It is said that... after he leaves, Slude will take over as the Chief Magician of the Palace. The position of Chief Magician of the Palace is not hereditary, but considering that the teacher has devoted himself to the kingdom and Slude's magical talent is worthy of the title of a true genius, we have decided that Slude will become the successor Chief Magician of the Palace."
Ecclesia couldn't help feeling a little sad, she respected Merlin from the bottom of her heart, so when Angelica complained that Merlin was a fool, Ecclesia protested with dissatisfaction.
Although magic exists in the other world, due to factors such as medical level, the average life expectancy of humans is about 60 years old. Merlin has extended his lifespan through his inherent magic, but everything has an end.
Merlin, who was in his seventies, adopted Slud, believing that Slud could inherit his mantle and continue to protect the Kingdom of Pilsen.
"Ms. Angelica, can you help the teacher?"
Ecclesia asked sincerely. Originally, she needed Angelica's help, but now she was the one asking Angelica for help.
Angelica was not surprised by this, as people always believed that an ageless and immortal witch could do anything.
"Let me talk about something else first. You want to hear a story before falling asleep anyway. How about the story of the mercenary group?"
"Eh... well, I don't mind..."
"Projection sequence 2 space warp is a convenient magic that can quickly move across the continent. A long time ago, I was still young and had not yet mastered the space warp. If I wanted to travel across the continent, I had to find ways to get the money for the trip. At that time, I was looking for a medicine called St. John's wort."
The St. John's wort in the other world is a rare herb, and its name is the same as the herb in the world Angelica lived in before she crossed over. However, Angelica before crossing over was just a social outcast, and she had no knowledge of herbs at all, so she could not tell the difference between the St. John's wort in the two worlds.
"I was passing through a certain town and helped the tavern to deal with a group of drunken mercenaries. Then it suddenly occurred to me that if I were with the mercenaries, I would have food, clothing, shelter and transportation... Ahem, no, I have a strong sense of justice, so I decided to educate them."
"Is this really the reason?"
"Of course, being on the way is secondary."
Angelica said confidently.
"In the end...I was fooled."
"Huh?"
"I'm so stupid, really. I only knew that mercenaries were all uneducated men, but I didn't know there would be a group of mercenaries who couldn't even take care of themselves. Those guys simply didn't take a shower when they couldn't find a water source. They stunk so badly that even wild boars ten kilometers away shook their heads. The way they repaired their armor was so crude that it was hard to look at. In the end, I had to find a water source and teach them how to maintain their armor... Oh, and the food they provided was not delicious at all. I should have thought about what good food the mercenaries could get."
Angelica held her chin with resentment.
"In a few days, I will almost become their old mother. Princess, guess how they will repay me?"
"From now on, I will work hard to improve myself?"
"No, they shouted, 'We don't have anything else to offer, so why not give us our bodies!' and proposed to me. In the end, I beat them all up. Anyway, no one could beat me. I advise the princess to stay away from the mercenaries. They never follow the etiquette of chivalry. All they know is how to trick women into bed."
A simple princess like Ecclesia would probably be able to count the correct words in just a few nights.
"During the time I was with the mercenary group, the number of women who came to me after being made pregnant by those bastards was close to three digits, and I had to pay out of my own pocket to send them away. If I hadn't used magic to directly avoid the dangerous period, I'm sure the number of deaths would have been even higher."
"It sounds like a very chaotic place. Miss Angelica, won't it be dangerous if she stays in the mercenary group?"
"As long as you are strong enough, it's fine. And after a while, even the rudest men will learn to respect me. Later, they gradually learned to restrain themselves in front of me and even called me princess."
"Eh? Miss Angelica is a princess?"
"They thought that a girl as cute as me must be a princess from some country, and they imitated the oath of a knight to pledge allegiance to me. The leader of the mercenary group even decided to let me rename the mercenary group."
"That's great... Miss Angelica must be very touched, right?"
"Not at all."
Angelica said in a muffled voice.
"I am more like a servant in the mercenary group, not a princess."
However, to outsiders, the beautiful girl surrounded by a group of rough mercenaries is definitely a delicate flower protected by fully armed knights.
By the way, Angelica was so angry that she changed the name of the mercenary group to the Black Beast Mercenary Group, and it was well received. They said it sounded like a pig rushing forward, and the only flaw was that it sounded like an orc mercenary group. Angelica calmed down and thought about it carefully. For those who didn't know the meaning behind this name, it didn't seem to be out of place.
However, even if Angelica mentioned the name of the mercenary group, it was still a very unfamiliar organization to Ecclesia. There were many mercenary groups on the continent, but only a handful of them were famous. Many mercenary groups only existed for a short time before disbanding.
After all, the nature of the mercenary group itself determines that it is not easy to pass on for a long time, not to mention...
"Ms. Angelica said that, so she must still be in contact with them now? It sounds like you have a very close relationship."
"No. I can't contact them even if I want to - because they are all dead."
But witches are different, they won't die.
Ecclesia's playful smile froze on her face. In fact, Angelica's encounter with the Black Beast Mercenaries happened about seven hundred years ago, and now Angelica can hardly remember what they look like.
Angelica was not good at memory. She had lived for nearly twenty years before she traveled through time. At that time, she could no longer remember what her deskmate in elementary school looked like. At most, she could only remember his name.
"I've said before that my decision to stay with the mercenary group was just a temporary one. Not long after, I separated from them. Many years later, I inquired about the whereabouts of the Black Beast Mercenary Group again and found that they had suffered a devastating blow during a mission. Only a few members survived. After that, the Black Beast Mercenary Group, which could no longer be maintained, announced its disbandment."
Angelica narrated the past in a calm tone.
"I managed to find one of the surviving members. He is now a poor old man. Mercenaries are essentially professions that rely on the goods in their hands to make a living. When they are old, they naturally have no other ability to make money. They don't save money to marry a wife. If I had come a little later, he might have starved to death. But he was still very happy to see me, and handed me something he had kept for a long time."
"What is it?"
"St. John's wort seeds are treated with magic and can be preserved for a long time. It was then that I learned that the Black Beast Mercenary Group was destroyed because I mentioned that I was looking for St. John's wort when I was in the mercenary group. Later, they heard that there seemed to be a lot of St. John's wort in a certain place, so they accepted a commission that was beyond their capabilities. The destination happened to be a place with a lot of St. John's wort."
"…"
"They are so stupid. The witch has plenty of time, there is no need for them to go out of their way to look for her."
In fact, Angelica found St. John's wort half a year after she parted ways with the Black Beast Mercenaries. She didn't expect that the Black Beast Mercenaries would remember this, even though they hadn't left any means of contact when they parted. It had been decades since Angelica went to find the Black Beast Mercenaries again, which was just a blink of an eye for Angelica.
"The last member of the group was sick with diseases, and I witnessed the end of his life. Princess, you must want to know why I didn't help him, right? The reason is that I can't do it. Witches are not omnipotent, never have been. Death cannot be defied. All I can do is make his remaining life less painful."
If you really want to say it, the witch does have a way to turn people into liches, but that requires sacrificing the soul.
Ecclesia lowered her eyes sadly, not only because she was sad that her teacher Merlin had not much time left, but also because she felt sorry for the ending of the Black Beast Mercenaries from the bottom of her heart.
"Well, how about the story of the mercenary group? Are you tired?"
"…I feel even more sleepless."