369 – Change

First of all, I dont really mind those aggregator sites that take all the novels as long as there’s credits, so I just want to leave here the original source address, therefore all upcoming chapters will have this small message:

Join the discussion at releasethatwitch.wordpress.com

And the second thing, Paper’s name is read as White Paper, just letting you guys know since in this chapter there’s this reference to that fact, and i dont want to be lynched by people thinking the sentence makes no sense.

Well, that’s all, enjoy the chapter.

 

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The bathhouse pool inside the bathroom was filled with hot and steamy water.

Wendy moistened the soap and with it, she washed over the little girl’s body, her ears, armpits, even her fingers, leaving no place spared. As she saw the smudge and dirt slipping along the soap’s foam, exposing the little girl’s delicate skin underneath, she felt a unique satisfaction.

This was a feeling she had not experienced for a long time. When she joined the Cooperation Association and became a fugitive, every new witch that joined was frightened, or had fallen into despair, so the task of calming them down fell to her, to ignite the flame of hope inside them, so that they could long for a better life. That had happened with Leaf, same with Lily, and even Nightingale… But after they came to Border Town, the witches’ life had changed drastically, there was no longer the need for anyone to worry about their survival—although she did not think this was a bad outcome, and was very grateful to Roland for everything he had done for all the sisters, even causing Mystery Moon to become a more cheerful person, but without any witch needing to be looked after, Wendy felt slightly lost.

Now, she had finally revived that joy of playing the role of a big sister.

“Close your eyes, I’m going to pour water.”

“Ok,” the girl’s voice was gracious and soft, like a drop of water dripping from a blade of grass.

I’ll have to give him credit, His Highness’ decision was perfect.

The water ran across the girl’s hair, and down over her back, taking with it the bubbles that had turned into a greyish-brown foam. It was after rinsing three times, that the color of the water returned to normal.

Without the cover of her clothes, her fragile body was fully reflected in Wendy’s eyes. What a skinny child, Wendy couldn’t help to think, Her spine can be clearly seen in her back, her arms are so thin I could wrap my hand around them, and her skin is not white like paper, it shows a yellowish tone, probably caused by the long starvation she had suffered. The name Paper is completely inconsistent with her appearance.

But luckily, she was a witch, so as long as she was nursed back to health, it wouldn’t take long before she returned back to normal.

After her body was thoroughly washed clean, next was the pleasant bathhouse pool soaking time. After Wendy confirmed the water’s temperature, she carried her into the tub, and the two of them were swallowed by the slightly hot water, but as long as they endured the initial discomfort of the hot water, the feeling of warmth would quickly turn into feelings of happiness.

Inside the bathhouse pool, Paper couldn’t help but letting out a moaning sound, it probably had been a long time since the last time she had taken a hot bath, and after tightly holding Wendy, the girl gradually loosened up. Wendy turned the girl the other way around, letting her rest in her bosom, carefully parting her hair which was already scrunched up.

“When did you discover that you had become a witch?”

“Two… years ago,” Paper replied in a low voice, “I believe it was also in the winter.”

“That’s not surprising,” Wendy said and smiled, “most witches will awaken in the Months of Demons, it is said to be the most magic-abundant days of the year.”

“It is not because of the power of the devil?”

“Of course not,” she patted Paper on the head and continued, “Being a witch is a very, very normal matter, apart from having the ability to perform incredible deeds, we are not that much different from ordinary people. Did you know? Hundreds of years ago, the witches were regarded as being loved by the gods.”

“Really?”

“It’s true.”

In fact, the differences are quite large, such as the the overall improvement of the body, the physical appearance, and the inability to give birth to descendants, Wendy thought, but these can be taught slowly in the future.

“Uhh… what is magic?” Paper timidly asked.

“A natural form of power, like the radiance emitted by the sun that reaches everywhere,” Wendy expressed her thoughts, “Well, not quite like that, the sun sets at times, but magic is always there. In other words, you can think of it as a part of your body, and is a part that is always growing.”

“Always growing?”

“Yes, as you grow older, your magic will also grow stronger, so in order to accommodate that, you need to improve your body’s ability to withstand it, otherwise there will be a backlash.” she carefully explained, “The Church is just taking advantage of this fact, spreading lies that witches are swallowed by the evil demonic power, which couldn’t be more wrong. All you need to do is keep practicing your ability in order to increase your magic capacity, so that there won’t be the need to worry about it affecting your body. If you awoke as a witch two years ago, you should have experienced your first day of awakening already, it must have been very painful… that time.”

The little girl just nodded her head lightly.

“Rest assured, now that you are in Border Town, everything will only get better,” Wendy spoke softly, trying to comfort her, “if you start practicing soon, this year’s day of awakening should be easy to pass through.”

Just as she was speaking, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Lily came running in with a towel in hand, “I heard a new sister arrived? Where is she? Mystery Moon said she would love to see her!”

“It is clearly you that is the one eager to see her!” said Mystery Moon as she went inside the bathroom, giving her a condescending look, “now let’s hurry to bathe, I might have to practice my abilities in the afternoon.”

“Don’t worry, it would be fine if you relax for one day, His Highness won’t come troubling you, you’re not Miss Anna after all.”

“…You traitor!”

As Paper saw the two people barge in, she immediately sunk herself, submerging her body inside the water.

“Oh, is she the new witch?” Lily approached and then lay at the side of the tub, looking at Paper with great interest, “You look as big as me, but don’t worry, you can still call me elder sister.”

“What’s with you calling yourself elder sister?” Mystery Moon raised her voice, “You have never called me that.”

“They both are witches from Border Town,” Wendy introduced them with a smile, “despite how they look like now, when we first arrived here, they were pretty much the same as you… especially Mystery Moon, she wasn’t any braver than you, and her speech was also very soft-spoken.”

Cough, cough, “I was afraid that His Highness would be disappointed by how weak my ability was.” Mystery Moon mumbled.

“His Highness has already told me many times, he said that your power has enormous potential,” Wendy slightly shook her head, “and as long as you complete 《Elementary Physics》, your ability might evolve beyond your imagination.”

“Leaving the books aside, she didn’t even understand the words entirely, but since she barely passed the test last time,” Lily shrugged, “I’ll make sure to teach her in the evening. If we wait until you learn all the weird formulas in the books, maybe at that time, His Highness Roland might have unified Greycastle already, and would no longer need your help as a witch.” Ignoring Mystery Moon, who had both her brows furrowed, she turned to the girl at the bosom of Wendy and asked, “By the way, what is Paper’s ability?”

“…Letting snow melt.” The little girl hesitated before answering.

“And what else?” Lilly asked with curiosity, “Can you make the melted water turn back into ice?”

“No,” Paper replied quietly, “but also… I can also turn hot water into cold water.”

“So, it is some sort of temperature control?” Wendy pondered, “But making snow melt is a temperature increase, and having the hot water cool down is a temperature decrease, if you can’t do the opposite, then your power doesn’t seem like temperature control. Have you only tried using your ability on water?”

“With other things, the change is not that big.”

“Try it with this,” Lily carried over the basin filled with soapy water that she was using to wash herself.

The girl cautiously placed her hand inside the basin, and soon, the steaming water cooled down. But then, in front of the crowd’s eyes, the blurry soapy water had a peculiar change, the floating bubbles gradually vanished, turning into white particles that welled up and also eventually disappeared, leaving behind a basin filled with clear and transparent water.

 

 

 

 

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