Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

Not far from the kingdom of Melunir, there is another kingdom called Celial.

Ten years ago, the two kingdoms were at war. Mernil sent a dozen witches into the country to carry out war sabotage, while the opposing kingdom, according to reliable intelligence sources, only had one witch. By all accounts, this was a one-sided victory.

The truth is, those dozen or so witches who were sent out have not returned yet.

Both Melunir and Celial suffered heavy losses in this war, and a peace treaty was subsequently signed between the two countries, ending the great war.

However, the rifts caused by the war cannot be repaired by a treaty. Even now, Celial is refusing entry to people from the Kingdom of Melunir, seemingly quite bothered by the war of that year.

These are the rumors about that war that I heard in the kingdom of Merunir.

Now, almost ten years have passed since the war ended.

Since it's a trip, I'd like to visit even the most ordinary country. Although Celial refuses entry to people from Melunir, he is not prejudiced against foreign travelers passing through.

Before they set off to leave this kingdom, the bunch of spider lilies withered and died.

Even the most resilient flower will wither if it is taken out of the soil and not watered. Of course, Qin's poor care also contributed to this; otherwise, it could have bloomed for a few more days.

Irena didn't seem to care that her two copper coins had vanished, since they were for Qin. As long as he was happy... No way! My money just evaporated like that. Of course I was unhappy, but it would be a lie to say I didn't care.

There is a shortcut from Melunir to Celial.

This saves Elena the trouble of looking at a map; she can just follow the road.

Along the way, benches were specially built from time to time to make it convenient for passersby to rest when they got tired—it was really thoughtful. I heard that the Kingdom of Merunier built them on its own initiative because it felt ashamed of its past aggression.

When they were halfway there, Elena saw a man wearing a top hat sitting in a chair with a cane, and beside him was a furry creature of an unidentifiable species.

If I had to use a metaphor, it would be like a mop without a handle.

This creature, however, seems to breathe like a dog.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

“As you can see, I’m waiting for someone here,” the man said, responding politely to Elena’s inquiry. “My name is Nord, and I live in Melunir.”

"Yes, I am the witch Elaina, currently on a journey," Elaina introduced herself. "This is my travel companion behind me, her name is Qin."

"Traveling—it's great."

"Excuse me for asking, who are you waiting for here? You must have been waiting for a long time, the weather is so hot and humid, you're sweating profusely."

“My wife—she is indeed quite unpunctual, haha, I have been waiting for her for ten years.”

Ten years is a key word.

In this region, no one is insensitive to the word "ten years".

"Your wife?"

“Yes, ten years ago, she went to Celial as the representative of the kingdom’s witch to participate in that invasion war and never came back, so I’m waiting for her here,” Nord said. “Ah, I don’t wait here all the time, after all, I still have a job. I just come here every now and then to sit and wait for her.”

"Well……"

“I know what you’re trying to say, and others have told me that she may have died long ago.” Nord’s tone wasn’t one of sadness. “But there’s never been any definite news that she’s passed away, is there? As her husband, I should wait for her. After all, she’s my wife.”

That's really optimistic.

"Sigh, if it weren't for the fact that Celial doesn't welcome people from Melunir into the country, I might have gone to that kingdom to find her. Now, I can only wait here a little longer."

Upon hearing these words, the strange creature breathing next to Nord seemed to shudder.

"By the way, what kind of species is this? Is it your pet?" Elena asked.

"I don't know either. It's been waiting with me for ten years. Even so, I don't know what kind of species it is. It just appears and waits with me when I'm sitting here. It's quite cute."

This mop-like creature... is cute...

Ah ha ha……

Your understanding of cuteness is truly ahead of its time; we can't even begin to grasp it.

"Are you going to Celial, Miss Elena?" Nord asked, stroking the furry creature. As it was stroked, the strange creature rubbed against the man's hand obediently, creating a rather harmonious atmosphere.

"Yes."

"If possible, could you help me find out about my wife? Please, although I probably can't afford to pay much."

"I'll try."

After bidding farewell to the man who was waiting for his wife, Elena resumed her journey to Celial. Since the distance wasn't too far, she soon arrived at the city gate.

Irene's arrival was met with little resistance.

After a simple identity check, I was allowed to enter the country.

At this moment, the entire city of Serial seemed to be preparing for some kind of celebratory ceremony, and a festive atmosphere permeated the whole country.

“Miss Witch, if possible, I hope you can stay for three days. It’s our kingdom’s celebration, and you definitely can’t miss it,” the innkeeper said when we rented a room.

"celebration?"

"Yes, it's the tenth anniversary celebration of the end of the war."

Because she had a small request from Nord, Elena didn't mind staying a few more days. Finding out his wife's whereabouts shouldn't be too difficult; after all, their invasion of the kingdom was known to everyone there.

It's just that bringing up this matter suddenly in this kingdom is never a pleasant thing.

Over the course of three days, Elena had essentially explored the entire small kingdom, finding it as unremarkable as Melunir. Unfortunately, she hadn't found a single clue about Nord's wife.

Because the topic was sensitive, she couldn't bring herself to ask directly, so she could only go to the streets and alleys to hear rumors.

On the third day that the boss had mentioned, the kingdom's celebrations began as he had predicted.

In the center of the square, a group of hairy, strange creatures huddled together, surrounded by the kingdom's guards, who held guns and aimed them at the creatures.

All of this left Elena somewhat confused.

"Do you know what kind of creatures they are?" Elena finally couldn't help but ask, as many people on the street stopped to watch the celebration.

"You mean them? Hah~ They're the witches who invaded our kingdom ten years ago," a passerby said. "Everyone in the country knows about it."

what?

"At that time, our kingdom's only witch sacrificed her own life to curse all the witches who invaded our country, turning them into these inhuman and ghostly creatures. But it seems that it was at the behest of that witch that those witches became invulnerable to swords and bullets after they were transformed into these strange creatures."

Oh, I see.

"The curse lasted for ten years, and today is the day the curse is lifted. That's why our country is holding such a grand celebration."

So, today, these creatures will revert to being witches and will no longer be invulnerable? Are these soldiers holding guns to shoot these creatures who are about to turn back into witches?

Indeed... after all, people always have to pay the price for their mistakes. They were invaders who caused irreparable disaster to this kingdom.

As time came, the curse finally disappeared, and just as the passerby had said, all the hairy, strange creatures instantly transformed back into witches.

"I'm finally back!" "Ten years... I've waited a full ten years!" "Mommy, I want dessert!" "Man, give me my man—"

The square was bustling with noise.

At the same time, the soldiers opened fire. To these witches without wands, they were just ordinary people. If a bullet came, they would die if they were hit.

But instead of bullets, the gun fired fireworks.

Then all the soldiers danced wildly, and the crowd in the square danced joyfully. The witches who had just regained their human forms also danced wildly with the local residents.

The whole room was filled with joy, except for a bewildered Elena and Qin, who was just casually flipping through a book to pass the time with a blank expression.

Huh? How did the script turn out like this?

I thought these soldiers were going to shoot the witch.

"Miss, what are you still wondering about? Let's dance together!" a passerby said with a smile.

"Um... are you guys that close to them?"

“We reconciled ten years ago. They have already fully reflected on the mistakes they made. This is what our self-sacrificing witch would have hoped to see.”

"Huh? So you're refusing entry to people from Melunir..."

"If I told you that our kingdom turned your kingdom's witches into these balls, do you think we could ever reconcile? So, we've only been able to wait until now—alright, alright, let's dance together."

After the entire celebration concluded, Elena left the kingdom.

I walked back along the path, but the man who had been sitting there waiting for his wife for ten years was gone, along with the strange, furry, spherical creature that had been waiting with him.

He should have already received it by now.