Chapter 43 | The Horror Game Gave Me a Witch's Talent

Cen Yao briefly explained her quest, the treasure, the bodies, and her plan to return to the palace.

There was only one key point.

She needed to take them to the high tower.

Once there, she could craft bodies for them that could be seen by ordinary people, walk, and speak.

The Queen could then return to the palace with the Little Princess and become the queen of this country.

After Cen Yao finished speaking, the corridor remained silent for a long time.

The Queen looked down at the Little Princess in her arms.

The Little Princess also looked up at her with her blue eyes wide.

After a long while, the Queen asked softly, “Queen?”

Cen Yao nodded.

“Don't you want to?”

The Queen did not answer immediately.

She had once been the Queen.

But the title of Queen had brought her neither nobility nor safety.

She was the King's wife.

But she was also just an ornament of the kingdom.

A woman meant to give birth to an heir.

Had she ever been loved?

Perhaps she had.

But that love was too thin—so thin that when the King reached out to tear her apart, he did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.

She and her child had both become sacrifices to power, greed, immortality, and lies.

After a long time, the Queen raised her head.

The remaining weakness in her eyes faded away bit by bit.

“I am willing.”

“I do not want to be anyone's accessory ever again.”

“Nor do I want my daughter to follow in my footsteps when she grows up.”

The Little Princess did not understand, but she seemed to sense her mother's emotions, reaching out a tiny hand to gently touch her face.

Cen Yao watched this scene and nodded.

Then it was settled.

Over the next day, Cen Yao was so busy her feet barely touched the ground.

First, she brought the Queen and the Little Princess back to the high tower.

The System quest did not complete immediately.

But the moment they stepped into the high tower, the quest progress finally shifted to a submittable state.

Cen Yao was in no hurry to submit it.

She began to craft the bodies.

The Queen's body was relatively simple.

She was already an adult female, her soul form was stable, and the power of the rainbow flower integrated well with her soul.

Cen Yao used a soul crystal as the core, moon-silver as the skeleton, and ground stardust ore into powder to mix into magic clay. Then, using the Queen's appearance from when she was alive as a template, she sculpted the body bit by bit.

The final product was almost identical to the Queen in life.

Blonde hair.

Green eyes.

A pale but beautiful face.

Only, this body had no breath and no heartbeat.

She certainly didn't have the ability to make a body that could age naturally; that wouldn't just be crafting, that would be resurrection.

It was enough for the Queen to walk, speak, and be seen, and enough for her to stand before her subjects once more.

The Little Princess's was more troublesome.

Cen Yao made two for her.

One was her current infant state.

Without the Little Princess, the Queen's coronation would be very difficult to carry out.

A princess who had once been declared sickly by the King and had suddenly vanished had to make an appearance.

The other was a body for her when she reached adulthood at eighteen, which Cen Yao temporarily sealed in a crystal coffin, saving it for when the Little Princess grew up.

Of course, this so-called growing up was merely growing up in terms of her soul form and cognitive maturity.

She currently lacked the ability to make a body that could truly grow naturally with age.

What about the other ages in between?

Cen Yao very responsibly wrote down a list of materials, basic methods, precautions, and potential points of failure into a thick manual and handed it to the Queen.

“You can make them yourselves in the future,” Cen Yao said, slapping the manual onto the table, her tone sincere.

“It's just that the steps are a bit troublesome, the materials are a bit expensive, and it takes quite a bit of manpower, financial resources, and time. Also, the final product probably won't be as exquisite as mine.”

“...” The Queen silently looked at the manual, which was thicker than a brick.

Cen Yao scratched her head.

“But at least it's usable.”

Queen: “...”

She suddenly felt that Lady Witch was not always entirely reliable.

By the time the Little Princess's infant body was completed, it was already the evening of the seventh day.

Outside the high tower, the sun was slowly sinking behind the mountains.

The orange-red afterglow spilled into the room at the top of the tower, casting a warm light over the materials, magic runes, and tools scattered across the floor, as well as Cen Yao's messy hair.

Cen Yao sat on the carpet, feeling completely drained.

The aftereffects of working continuously had caught up to her.

Now, she found even raising her hand to be exhausting.

The orb quietly lamented from the side, “Host, you really seem to have been milked dry this time.”

Cen Yao was expressionless. “Shut up.”

The orb immediately shut up, quiet as a mouse.

The Queen had already adapted to her new body.

Standing by the window, she looked down at her fingers, a complex mix of emotions in her eyes.

It was not the body of a living person.

There was no warmth, nor was there a pulse.

But she could touch her child, she could live under the sun, and she could truly hold power.

For her current self, this was already exceptionally good.

The Little Princess had been placed inside the infant body.

She didn't seem quite used to it yet. She blinked her blue eyes at Cen Yao, her tiny hand clenching and unclenching.

In the next second, she offered Cen Yao a very faint smile.

Though Cen Yao was as exhausted as a dead fish, seeing this smile, she couldn't help but curl her lips slightly.

“Alright.”

She stood up, holding onto the edge of the table to steady herself for a moment before walking over to the high tower window.

This tower was very high.

Originally, there was no passage for ordinary people to go up and down.

A witch could fly, so she naturally had no need for stairs.

But the Queen was now carrying a child; she couldn't very well jump out of the window.

Cen Yao raised her wand and tapped gently against the wall outside the tower.

Vines grew wildly from the base of the tower, winding up the high tower loop after loop. They intertwined, reinforced, and spread out, finally turning into a long ladder wrapping all the way down the tower.

Handrails thoughtfully grew along the edges of the long ladder.

Every so often, a few pale white flowers bloomed to provide illumination.

Cen Yao couldn't help but take a look.

These little vines were surprisingly considerate!

Sometimes Cen Yao also wondered why her magical creations were all so spirited.

She had never heard the orb mention that magical creations could think for themselves!

Whether it was Little Dark, Little Vine, the Little Phoenix, or even the magic threads she had condensed earlier, they all seemed to have their own little thoughts.

She remembered when she first saw her magical creations, the orb had been shocked for a long time!

It said it would go look into it, but she didn't know if it had found anything yet.

She pulled a large bag of gold coins from her robe—it was as big as two basketballs—and handed it to the Queen.

She had swiped this from the palace, so it could be considered returning it to its rightful owner.

The bag landed on the table with a heavy thud.

The Queen was slightly startled.

Cen Yao said, “Travel expenses.”

The Queen looked at her.

Cen Yao counted on her fingers, “Hiring guards, buying a carriage, changing clothes, food, lodging, bribing town officials along the way—which of these doesn't require money?”

She paused, looking at the Little Princess in the Queen's arms.

“After all, as a female ghost and an infant, you can't exactly expect to walk back to the palace smoothly on your own, can you?” After all, Cen Yao knew only too well how many monster NPCs were in this area.

These words were quite blunt.

Yet, hearing them made the Queen's eyes grow warm.

She looked down at the bag of gold coins, her voice softening significantly.

“Thank you.”

Cen Yao waved her hand.

“Don't thank me too early.”

She picked up the manual from the table, grabbed a few bottles of spare potions and a communication crystal, and stuffed them all into the Queen's arms.

“Keep these safe.”

“If you run out of calming potion, make more yourself according to the formula.”

“If there is any abnormality with the dark wizard, go to the secret chamber to reinforce the seal.”

“Before your coronation, it's best to contact the dwarves. They have craftsmanship and weapons, and they don't care much for the nobility's nonsense, which can help you stabilize part of the situation.”

“Also, don't be in a hurry to kill too many people.”

The Queen raised her head.

Cen Yao said seriously, “Killing is easy, and so is settling scores. But if you want to sit securely on the throne, you must let them know that you are not a ghost returned for revenge, but a queen who can keep this country running.”

The Queen listened quietly.

The setting sun fell upon her blonde hair. Holding her child, her figure was still slender, but she no longer seemed as weak as before.

She nodded.

“I will remember.”

Cen Yao looked at her, suddenly feeling that this was actually quite good.

In the original fairy tale, the witch whose treasure was stolen would bring the princess back to the high tower.

The King and Queen would continue living their lives.

The Little Princess would grow up, meet a knight, reunite with her parents, and then be taken away.

Everyone would fight over her, use her, and arrange her life.

But now, a tear had been ripped into the storyline.

The Queen would become the queen.

The Little Princess would no longer be the Rapunzel locked in a high tower.

They would walk back to the palace on their own.

They would judge the mess left behind by the King themselves.

They would decide their own future.

Cen Yao truly felt that this ending was much more pleasing to the eye than the original fairy tale.

The wind blew in from outside the high tower, carrying a hint of evening chill.

Cen Yao looked up at the sun, which was almost fully set.

It was about time.

She opened her quest panel.

Beside the main quest, a prompt indicating it was submittable finally lit up.

【Retrieve the Witch's treasure within seven days and bring it back to the high tower.】

【Current Status: Completed.】

Cen Yao felt a wave of relief.

All that hard work hadn't been in vain.

As if sensing that she was about to leave, the Queen held the Little Princess and bowed slightly to her.

This time, it was not a queen pleading with a witch.

It was more like a queen about to be crowned bidding farewell to another witch who had helped her.

“Lady Witch.”

The Queen's voice was soft, yet very steady.

“I will remember your kindness.”

Cen Yao thought for a moment, then said seriously, “Forget about the kindness.”

The Queen was startled.

Cen Yao said, “Just govern the country a bit better in the future.”

“At least don't let another king easily steal other people's things and drag everyone into hell.”

The Queen's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded slowly.

“I will.”

The Little Princess leaned on the Queen's shoulder, reaching her tiny hand toward Cen Yao.

She couldn't speak yet.

She only let out a small, soft “Ah.”

Cen Yao hesitated for a moment, then reached out her finger for the baby to hold.

The baby's hand was very small.

The newly made body lacked the warmth of a living person, but it was made very soft by the trace of rainbow flower power within her soul.

The Little Princess squeezed it briefly, then quickly let go.

Cen Yao whispered, “Grow up well.”

The Little Princess crinkled her eyes.

In the next second, the System notification rang out.

【Ding—Congratulations to player Cen Yao for completing the D-rank rookie dungeon "The Little Princess's Full Moon Feast".】

【Main Quest: Retrieve the Witch's treasure within seven days and bring it back to the high tower. Completed.】

【Dungeon evaluation in progress...】

【Detected that the player solved the hidden plotlines: The truth behind the theft of the rainbow flower, the truth behind the Queen's death, the truth behind the Little Princess's pollution, and the dark wizard's conspiracy.】

【Detected that the player saved key NPCs: The Queen, the Little Princess.】

【Detected that the player sealed the hidden boss: The dark wizard.】

【Detected that the player altered the dungeon's final direction.】

【Final Evaluation: S.】

【Basic rewards in progress...】

【Hidden rewards in progress...】

【Rewards will be distributed collectively upon the player's return.】

White light rose from beneath her feet.

Cen Yao watched as the figures of the Queen and the Little Princess grew increasingly blurred by the light.

Before she left, she suddenly remembered something and raised her voice, “Oh, right!”

The Queen raised her head.

Cen Yao warned very solemnly, “Go down the stairs slowly, don't fall!”