“Boss, we were just praying. Is something wrong?”
The witches were genuinely confused.
“What kind of prayer is that?”
“It's a meditation mantra. It helps focus our spirit power more effectively.”
Hmm?
An ability with such embarrassing requirements?
Lan Qingyou looked at Alice skeptically.
“I invented it! I finished the theory the day before yesterday and only started promoting it to the Witch Group yesterday. It’s already received rave reviews! Pretty impressive, right?”
Alice tilted her chin up and pointed a thumb at herself.
She seemed quite proud of it.
Lan Qingyou massaged her throbbing temples and extended a finger.
“What?”
Alice looked bewildered.
“The method, the thesis. You should have them, right?”
“Haha, Boss, you're so mean. Do I look like the type who would honestly write a thesis?”
Laughing, Alice used her card to send her meditation method to Lan Qingyou.
Lan Qingyou intended to check the meditation method immediately, but at that moment, the monsters on the giant tree reacted.
Flutter, flutter—
One bird after another flew from the Perching Giant Tree to the open space in front of the platform, eyeing the ten people inside the magic circles with scrutinizing gazes.
Some witches had two monsters in front of them, some had three or four, and some even had six or seven.
Naturally, some were of the same species while others were different. It depended entirely on the individual, without any behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Hmm... Steel Wool, you rascal, you're actually mixed in there too.
Chirp, chirp—
As if sensing Lan Qingyou's internal roasting, Steel Wool did a full 180-degree turn with its head.
Fine, fine. You little street loiterer, don't bother coming back later. I have Spoon anyway.
Deng-deng-dong!!!
Steel Wool immediately snapped its head back, staring at Lan Qingyou with its large yellow eyes in total disbelief.
Seeing Lan Qingyou turn away and ignore it, the creature shamelessly flew over to her flying magic broom and began nuzzling her arm with its head to suck up to her.
Lan Qingyou didn't have time for this fellow right now.
She was here to observe, so she began introducing the various monsters to the witches.
After the introductions and a thorough understanding of the creatures, the witches each selected one or two.
“You don't plan on using a familiar contract?”
Lan Qingyou was a bit surprised by their actions.
She had assumed they would grab their choice and immediately sign a contract to make them their familiar.
To her confusion, not a single one of them did so.
“Not for now. We were thinking of living and fighting together first to see if our compatibility is good.”
One witch replied, while another gave an even simpler explanation.
“It's all taming anyway, so why use up a familiar slot?”
True.
A familiar contract relied on spirit power. Even someone like Lan Qingyou felt that three or four was basically her limit, let alone other witches.
Even with their attributes having increased by a hundred points, it wasn't enough.
Most of these witches already had one familiar, leaving them with at most one more slot. They couldn't afford to waste it.
Therefore, after much consideration, the members of the Witch Group had agreed on this solution.
According to what that witch just said, since it was all taming, there was no need to rush.
If they got along exceptionally well, it wouldn't be too late to sign a contract then.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the creature had to be useful.
As for whether any of them would be foolish enough to follow the 'cute is justice' mantra, Lan Qingyou felt that was unlikely.
“Who else hasn't called yet?”
After finishing her explanation to the other witches, Lan Qingyou asked.
“Me.”
“And me.”
Alice and another witch wearing an orange-red witch's robe stepped forward.
“...Pandora, you're actually in the first batch? Don't you have research to do today?”
The newcomer was Pandora, the one who never missed a chat in the group but was always supposedly in the middle of research.
Lan Qingyou couldn't help but roast her upon seeing her.
Honestly, she had been so distracted by those edgy lines earlier that she hadn't even noticed this girl was there.
“I'm researching, I'm researching! I just happened to run into them. I thought it would be a hassle to wait, so I came with the first batch. The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can go back to my research.”
Look at that! That's what you call a professional!
Only Pandora could pull excuses out of thin air with a straight face and make them sound so dignified.
“Fine, fine. Just get up there.”
Too lazy to argue with Pan-Pinocchio-dora, Lan Qingyou directed the two of them onto the platform. After this group was done, there were still three more batches waiting.
At their current pace, they could probably handle two batches a day.
Of course, if they were in a hurry and didn't mind the trouble, they could pull a night shift and finish everyone in a single day.
“Dance, dance! Let us dance together in the dreamscape and feel those fleeting joys.”
Unlike the others, Alice stood on the magic circle with her eyes closed, but she was positioned sideways, clapping her hands rhythmically to a beat.
She looked like a total ADHD patient.
In comparison, Pandora's side wasn't quite as eye-catching, though it was as edgy as ever.
“Arrow that pierces the darkness, demon god that shatters ice and snow, follow my will and come to my side. Become my blade, become my shield...”
Could being edgy really provide a boost?
“Wow! You're all so cute! I can't choose! How about I just take you all back with me?!”
!!?
Did the face-slap have to come this fast?
Lan Qingyou looked up to see Alice surrounded by seven blue birds the size of sparrows.
Yes, seven—the highest number seen so far.
This girl clearly...
Whatever. Maybe these little guys just like idiots.
“These are mountain bluebirds. They have beautiful voices and can mimic any sound. You can even have them sing as long as you teach them the songs you want to hear.”
Seeing that Alice and the seven little ones seemed to have taken a liking to each other, Lan Qingyou didn't say much else and simply fulfilled her 'duty' as the narrator.
Although seven seemed like a lot, these mountain bluebirds were residents of the lowest level of the Perching Giant Tree and were only D-rank. They weren't particularly powerful, so she should be able to tame all of them.
Actually... it would be more accurate to say these little things were already flirting with Alice. There was no need for any complicated taming or relationship-building process.
“Ohh, so they're singing birds? There are exactly seven of them, which fits perfectly with a seven-line staff.”
And so, Alice placed the seven birds onto her flying magic broom one by one with a look of immense satisfaction. Then, she looked over at the other side.
“Pandora, how's it going on your—”
Alice froze mid-sentence.
In front of Pandora... not a single monster had responded.
Rate on N.U.
