“We don’t need to worry about the witches in the Supreme Council; someone will notify them. However, we need to find those who were randomly sent Witch potions.”
“Here are the Witch potions the Clan Leader gave me. There are a hundred for each of you. When you teleport out tomorrow to search for those witches, observe the people you encounter. If they are willing, give them a Witch potion.”
As she spoke, Susie handed the Witch potions Lan Qingyou had given her to the other two witches, excluding Diana, the Witch of Knowledge.
“A hundred of them? That’s quite a generous move.”
“Don’t be so surprised. The Clan Leader said there will be even more later—enough to make you question your life choices.”
“Oh? How many?”
“Hundreds of thousands.”
“...”
“Wait, why don’t I get any?”
While the others were chatting and laughing, Diana, the Witch of Knowledge, noticed something was off.
“Susie, you’re not trying to use emotional manipulation to get the others to ostracize me, are you?”
“As expected of someone so knowledgeable—you certainly have a vivid imagination.”
Susie’s mouth twitched at Diana’s words.
“What does it have to do with me? The Clan Leader is very interested in your Away Scrolls. She’ll want to talk to you about them in a few days once she’s finished with her current tasks.”
“Huh? The Clan Leader is interested in that stuff?”
Hearing that the Origin Witch was interested in her research, Diana immediately perked up.
“Yes. She said the description sounded familiar.”
“Uh...”
Hearing that Lan Qingyou was familiar with her research made Diana feel a bit dejected.
There was no helping it. If the other party was familiar with it, it meant their research directions were similar, or perhaps Lan Qingyou was even further ahead.
For a researcher, that was never a good thing, no matter how you looked at it.
Whatever, it would only be a few days.
Once the Origin Witch was done with her work, she would know the specifics.
The four then dispersed to attend to their own business.
However, none of them were at peace.
Their current state of mind was almost the same as when they first collectively transmigrated.
If someone with ill intentions stirred up conflict, the relatively safe life they had worked so hard to maintain would be shattered.
Lan Qingyou’s idea of gathering all their clanspeople to occupy a single region was entirely for self-preservation.
She heard that District 666, where Lan Qingyou was located, originally had few exits, making it a place that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
They had to go; there was no question about it.
At the same time, they carried the burden of expanding the race.
With a hundred Witch potions each, they could make a fortune just by selling them.
But even if they sold them, the buyers would just turn into witches.
The act of reselling would be exposed once everyone was gathered, so they weren’t stupid enough to try and flip such items.
...
Back at her side, Lan Qingyou felt a sense of relief after her chat with Susie. She organized her thoughts and realized she still had quite a lot to do.
She began sketching and writing in her notebook, listing her tasks one by one and then arranging them into a schedule based on priority.
“This makes it much more intuitive.”
Looking at the schedule in her notebook, Lan Qingyou nodded and flew out of the shelter.
This time, Steel Wool and Spoon followed her. After all, she was just circling the habitat, not going far.
Indeed.
The most urgent thing Lan Qingyou needed to do right now was one thing.
She had to install the teleportation magic circle; otherwise, everything else would just be talk.
She had previously obtained a teleportation array from the Golden Plains that wasn't carved by the Magician. With a few modifications to make it her own design, she could use it without any worries.
Of course, it also had to be paired with the teleportation equipment from Chariot’s side.
That item had been sent over immediately after Olf returned.
Now, she just needed to find a place to set the teleportation array down.
The outer ring of the habitat was so large she could put it anywhere, but Lan Qingyou wanted to find a spot with a bit of character.
After all, because of her, there was no such thing as an Adventurers' Guild in the Abandoned Land yet.
Naturally, there was no such thing as installing a teleportation array inside a guild hall.
However, when Lan Qingyou flew out with Steel Wool and Spoon, she discovered that quite a few people were already living on the edge of the outer ring.
These people were living in simple wooden huts they had built, or in hollowed-out tree trunks. Some had even woven tents out of vines and wooden boards.
What left Lan Qingyou even more stunned was that she actually saw rice fields on her own territory!
Wait!
If she remembered correctly, this direction should have been swampland.
Confused, Lan Qingyou tilted the front of her Magic Broom to descend and take a closer look. She discovered people nearby using earth magic to reclaim the swamp.
On the other side, someone was using light magic to provide illumination.
Since they were inside the barrier, they could move about freely even at night without worrying about the increased number of wandering monsters.
They didn't even have to worry about mana turbulence or the mana tide, so why would they care if it was night?
Well, well, well.
It turned out that people had already moved in without her knowing.
While she was satisfied with the result, it felt a bit wrong for them to enter without saying hello.
No.
The real question was, how did these people get in?
The fact that others could enter and leave her barrier at will was something she couldn't quite wrap her head around.
So, she didn't disturb the people living on the outermost edge of the ring near the barrier. Instead, she wandered along the edge of the barrier, attempting to find the answer to how they got in.
Finally, when she saw a person entering and leaving the barrier at night, she discovered the clue.
Protection.
Indeed.
That single word explained everything.
To them, this place was the ultimate sanctuary—a place more desirable than the shelters they had upgraded step by step.
Longing, admiration, hope, desire...
These intensely positive emotions created a resonance with the inherently positive barrier. As a result, the barrier did not repel them, allowing them to enter and leave freely.
“Hmm... I didn't expect something like this to happen.”
Seeing the defense power of the barrier slowly increasing through her Magic Eye, Lan Qingyou was speechless. She couldn't find the words.
Defense power?
What exactly was this thing that hadn't existed before?
Lan Qingyou couldn't help but rub the bridge of her nose; she had never seen anything like it.
From its manifestation, this defense power seemed more like a bonus derived from a collective wish, but Lan Qingyou couldn't judge exactly what it was. She didn't even have a direction for a guess.
Whatever.
Since things were already like this, she would let it be for now.
Mysteries always reveal themselves when they need to be solved, don't they?
Rate on N.U.
