When Roland entered the office, he was surprised to find not the nightingale but Wendy waiting inside.
"What's wrong?" He poured himself a cup of warm water. "Where's the Nightingale?" "She's gone to meet the sisters." "Is that so?" Roland raised his glass, about to take a sip, when he sensed something was off. "Wait, what sisters?" "The sisters of the Guild of Mutual Aid. They've come to Border Town," Wendy replied.
"Didn't they go to find the Holy Mountain?" he abruptly stood up. "How many people came? Where's the one who tried to harm Nightingale... She's called the Serpent Demon Hakkara, did she come too?" "No, Your Highness... They didn't find the Holy Mountain. In the wilderness, they encountered terrifying monsters, and only seven survived." Wendy repeated Ye's account before bowing in apology. "You were still napping when we went. Please forgive my impulsive decision to send Nightingale and Lightning to fetch them." "No problem," Roland waved his hand. "You know I won't blame you for this." "What abilities do they have?" "I'm not sure either, but Ye mentioned they're not combat-type witches. Maybe..." Wendy hesitated. "They're not very useful to you." "Non-combat-type?" Roland's heart swelled with anticipation. Under the constraints of God's Stone and range limitations, witches' combat capabilities were actually quite limited. Production was their true strength. If there were a shaping specialist witch, he could fix the rough craftsmanship and leap into mass production. If there were a power-generating witch, Border Town would be as bright as day at night. Next, becoming the King, marrying a witch, reaching the pinnacle of life, and leading everyone to achieve the Four Modernizations—just thinking about it gets exciting.
"Your Highness, don't you need them..." Perhaps the prolonged silence had made Wendy anxious, she whispered.
"No, how could that be," Roland turned to God and said, "I'll take as many witches as I can handle." As the sun set, Nightingale and the remaining sisters of the Confraternity returned safely to the castle, while Roland had prepared a lavish dinner in the castle hall for the cleansing feast.
The Witches were clearly starving, yet they all appeared unusually reserved during their first meal in such an environment. Most had never met Lord before, let alone the fact that he was a Prince.
Fortunately, besides Roland himself, two local witches Anna and Nana Wa demonstrated the techniques. With Lightning's infectious energy—though it was unclear why—everyone gradually relaxed, and the banquet finally buzzed with conversation.
Roland munched on his fried bread slices, his eyes darting between the women before him—each with a distinct style, yet all radiating beauty. This was the magic of Magic Power: even when technology eventually replaced witches, their allure would remain an eternal spectacle.
The model community built by Karl remains unfinished, so the witches are temporarily housed in the castle. With four single rooms left on the second floor, Roland decided to convert them into shared accommodations. After all, the large beds were originally designed for visiting Nobles and could easily accommodate two people.
When dinner ended, Prince finally got to the long-awaited Q&A session.
The witches took turns entering the office with Nightingale's company, while Roland, acting as an interviewer, meticulously noted down their traits. For the first time, he used the God's Stone to test their abilities, making the entire process resemble a job fair. When the last witch finished her question, he let out a sigh of relief and stretched lazily. If not for the fear that Nightingale might be eavesdropping nearby, he would have hummed a tune like 'Super Star.'
Although the discovery of specialized shaping and power-generating witches delayed the modernization project, these witches still brought Roland a great deal of delight.
First and foremost, there's this witch named Ye Zi.
He laid the parchment sheets out on the table and pulled out the notes about her.
Before reaching adulthood, Ye's ability was limited to enhancing plant fruits. Upon reaching adulthood, this ability was significantly enhanced and evolved into a specialized skill: manipulating plants.
The first ability enhances fruits and seeds to boost yields while amplifying herbal potency. Her branch abilities allow her to alter plant traits and characteristics. She claims that infusing Magic Power into plants can make withered branches sprout green leaves, command weeds to entangle enemies, and even merge herself with a tree.
The larger a plant's size, the more Magic Power it consumes to control. That's why she prioritizes weeds in combat—they work faster and require less Magic Power.
The ability is cast through physical contact and can be transmitted via solid surfaces (e.g., the ground), with a range of approximately five meters.
Undoubtedly, this witch with her emerald-green long hair is a prime candidate for agricultural development, her significance being self-evident. Industrialization demands substantial population, which in turn relies on adequate food supplies. These provisions can be either locally produced or imported through trade. Without efficient production capacity, the former would confine most human resources to the land. The latter, however, remains impractical in an era of underdeveloped transportation infrastructure.
With the acquisition of a Druid, Roland now has the potential to sustain a large contingent of industrialists using a small number of peasants, thereby accelerating the industrialization of his domain.
In his future research direction, he decided to focus on improving crop varieties. Whether it's wheat or barley, any variety that could boost yields would significantly increase the population capacity of his territory. Additionally, he heard that the fjords produced some uniquely flavored foods. According to Lightning's description, these resembled potatoes and corn. If the rumors were true, plans to introduce these two crops should be prioritized. After all, wheat itself isn't a high-yield crop.
After completing her exercise plan, Roland set aside her materials and pulled out a second sheet of paper from the table.
The second witch to be questioned, Shujuan, is the oldest among the seven, now approaching forty.
This is an exceptionally rare age within the Witch community. The older one gets, the harder it becomes to resist the backlash of Magic Power. Yet from her ability description, Roland could understand why the Scroll had survived until now.
Her most remarkable ability is an extraordinary memory that solidifies into adulthood, bordering on photographic recall. She also possesses a fascinating side ability: the Book Scroll can instantly materialize any book she has read. Roland christened this power the 'Book of Illusion'.
Her core abilities remain active almost continuously, allowing her to safely pass through the Awakening Scroll each time. This explains why she, despite her humble origins, became self-taught... This ability is particularly beneficial for learning, especially for text memorization that requires repeated practice. Each activation of her branch abilities drains her entire Magic Power, and the duration of the Illusion Book depends on the remaining Magic Power, typically lasting between thirty minutes to an hour.
Clearly, Shujuan is a natural-born teacher. If she were to expand her educational influence in the future, she could easily dominate all fields. Hmm... For now, Roland thought, her abilities don't require practice—she might as well keep them handy. When she has time, she could write some basic math and physics textbooks to teach her. Once the time is right, she could shine in the education field.