Departure

“I’ve turned all this Earth Dragon meat into dishes.”

Isa wiped the residual water from her hands with a towel.

After Her Highness Su Ran had departed, Isa meditated for a whole night, then went to the kitchen early the next morning to cook the sliced Earth Dragon meat.

Because Isa had previously used a fire-type scroll on the Earth Dragon, the meat she had cut inevitably carried a burnt smell.

It took Isa an extra day of time and effort to completely remove the odor.

Finally, after two days of hard work, Isa was very satisfied with the dishes she had prepared.

After packing the Earth Dragon dishes separately, Isa recited the offering prayer that appeared in her mind, sending all the food to Her Highness Su Ran’s side.

After sending Her Highness Su Ran her favorite dishes, Isa began to clean the house.

Although Her Highness Su Ran had only placed this house here a short while ago, Isa still wanted to tidy it up before she left.

‘When the Church stops sending people to hunt me, I’ll come back here to live, and then I’ll meditate diligently to reach Her Highness Su Ran’s side as soon as possible.’

Once Isa had finished cleaning the house, she packed the clothes she needed to take and put on the Witch Set that Her Highness Su Ran had given her.

Although Isa was still a little unaccustomed to the light, fluttering short skirt, its defensive effects were significant, and it had noticeably reduced her injuries.

No matter how unused to it she was, she continued to wear it for her own protection, at most draping a cloak over it to keep it from prying eyes.

Laita City was about eighty kilometers from Noda Forest.

Even though Isa had entered a superhuman Sequence, she was only Sequence One, so her physical constitution was only slightly better than that of an ordinary person.

If she were Sequence Three or above, she could use her externalized magic essence to enhance her physical functions and move much faster.

But for now, to reach Laita City, she had to resign herself to spending a night on the road.

Sleeping out in the open was not a particularly difficult matter for Isa.

Besides, the house was stocked with a tent and other essential camping gear.

To Isa, the space ring bestowed by Her Highness Su Ran was a huge help.

At least now she didn’t have to constantly carry a large pile of camping equipment while traversing Noda Forest.

As she walked from the outer areas of Noda Forest toward its edge, Isa discovered that the number of magical beasts living in the forest was visibly decreasing.

At the very least, based on the situation two days ago, one or two magical beasts should have appeared by now.

The lack of harassment from magical beasts was a good thing for Isa.

At least she didn’t have to be on tenterhooks, worrying about a magical beast leaping out from somewhere to attack her.

After two days of meditation, the magic essence under Isa’s control had broken the one-hundred-and-fifty-point mark, meaning she had reached the ranks of a mid-rank Sequence One.

Next, she only needed to gain control over another fifty points of magic essence, and she could attempt to break through to Sequence

Two, bringing about new changes to her witch abilities.

Time gradually approached dusk.

Isa pushed aside the thickets blocking her view one by one, and what appeared before her was a muddy road.

Due to Laita City’s proximity to Noda Forest, the road between the forest and the city was only used by mercenaries, and with the added factor of occasional beast tides, the lord of Laita City had no inclination to pave a smooth road here.

With that kind of effort, he would rather find a way to repair the roads connecting Laita City to other cities, attracting merchants to his side to trade in magical beast materials.

The villagers living around Laita City were no strangers to the muddy roads.

When a beast tide occurred, they would follow these muddy paths and pay a hefty fee to enter Laita City, thereby escaping the threat.

She herself had encountered such a large-scale beast tide once before.

The muddy road lay right before her.

Isa turned her head, looking around for a landmark to determine her current location and how much farther it was to Laita City.

Based on what Isa could see, the position where she had emerged from Noda Forest was just a short distance away from Laita City.

Calculating the time, Isa should be able to reach Laita City by noon tomorrow.

The firewood she had gathered along the way burned with a crackling sound, sparks flying outward as it was consumed.

Even though the spiritual power of a superhuman could support Isa walking through the night, she did not want to arrive in Laita City with a weary body.

Because she didn’t know what she would encounter next, she needed to maintain ample energy at all times, allowing her to react swiftly to any surprises.

Spreading her unfastened cloak beneath her, Isa propped up her head, her deep eyes staring blankly at the stew heating over the campfire, lost in a daze.

‘What is Her Highness Su Ran doing right now?’

For a moment, Isa seemed to see Su Ran’s figure in the burning campfire.

Ever since she had stumbled into Su Ran’s embrace, Isa had spent the last two days constantly recalling the softness of Her Highness’s body and her fragrant scent.

‘That lustrous, translucent skin, so delicate it seemed it would break at a single touch… just thinking about it makes me want to drown in it, unwilling to pull away.’

Her deep eyes grew intoxicated, as if tinged with a pink mist.

Isa, who had been sitting on the cloak, unconsciously shifted her body to lie on her side, crossing her arms over her chest and gripping them tightly.

“Oh, Your Highness Su Ran…”

“I wonder if the dishes I made are to your liking?”

As the fantasies surfaced in Isa’s mind, the magic essence within her body gradually grew restless.

It wasn’t until the stew came to a boil again that Isa, to prevent it from burning, reluctantly and slowly rose, ending her thoughts of Her Highness Su Ran.

As of now, Isa had become a firm believer in the rumor that the Source of Witches’ devastating beauty could charm both men and women.

Isa took small sips of her stew and added two more pieces of wood to the campfire.

She planned to rest after eating, striving to reach Laita City before noon.

The flames in the campfire had already died out.

Isa was meditating with her eyes closed, absorbing the magic essence from the air.

In her meditative state, her five senses became sharper, and she heard the sound of a conversation coming from a distance.

“Lord Knight, I beg you, please let us rest for a while!”

“Walk faster! You followers of the witch!”

The plea did not elicit any pity.

Instead, it was met with the intensified sound of two whips cutting through the air, immediately followed by two miserable screams.

The keywords “Knight” and “witch” in the conversation caught Isa’s attention.

Since the sound was coming from a location not too far from where she was, Isa put her cloak back on, stored all her camping items back into the ring, and after completing these preparations, she decided to head over and see what was happening.