Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

Qin slept through the night in the wind, snow, and moonlight, sharing a large blanket with the moon, and the next day she arrived at the door of the client's cottage.

The request was to recount my travels... I guess they wanted to hear stories from the outside world? Anyway, as long as I tell stories, that should be fine.

Although I'm not a talkative person, what can I do when faced with a request like this? But it's not like I can't speak.

Qin gently knocked on the wooden door.

Before long, a gray-haired woman opened the door, and with the ringing of the brass bell on the door, a pleasant melody began to play. If Qin wasn't mistaken, this should be the client, Victorique.

If I were to guess further, it would be that she's telling stories to her son or daughter?

After all, it's not like someone this old should have to listen to his stories.

“It’s cold outside, come in and warm yourself by the fire,” Victorica said.

"Thank you." This was the first resident in Roberta who was relatively polite to him. In the past, no matter who he met, people would always comment on him.

From what I could make out, their comments were mostly about how he was so poor yet so stingy—and it's true that the poorer you are, the more stingy you are, and the more stingy you are, the poorer you become.

"What would you like to drink? Hot tea or coffee?" Victorica greeted her guest with practiced ease.

If what she had just made was only a preliminary impression, Qin was now completely astonished by her refinement, which seemed quite different from the residents here.

“No need, let’s get started with my work. Are you going to tell your daughter or son a story?” Qin asked.

“Although I have a daughter, she’s not here now, and she’s not old enough to listen to stories anymore,” Victorica laughed. “She tells stories to me.”

Hmm... my guess was wrong. But it's just storytelling anyway, so what difference does it make who I tell the story to?

"How long have you been traveling?" Victorica asked.

“About six years. What would you like to hear, madam?” Qin said.

“How about this, if possible, I’ll ask and you answer, and I can also see if I have any good material,” Victorica said. “You’re not a mage, are you?”

"Yes. As you can see, I have no talent for magic."

Where are you from?

Beatrice, the city of witches.

"Never heard of it... Is it far from here?"

"It's quite far... Keep going north, across the Sighing Snowfield, and you'll see it around there."

"So...you crossed the vast snowfield alone when you were a child?"

Roberta is frequented by many travelers. As a relatively large kingdom spanning several miles, it is a top choice for many travelers to rest. After all, the more witches a place has, the more advanced it is, and naturally, the more popular it becomes.

But Qin is the first abnormal person who takes on so many commissions as soon as she enters the city.

Having once been a wanderer herself, Victorique could easily sense that Qin seemed to have a unique story. Having seen countless people of all kinds, this was the first time she had encountered such an enigmatic character.

She knew that if she went north, there would be a snowfield that even witches would find difficult to cross. For a time, she wanted to go in and take a look, but she got lost in the snowstorm several times within a month. It was only thanks to her extraordinary witch skills that she was able to return from that perilous place.

Just surviving there is incredible, let alone discovering that there is a kingdom there.

Even witches couldn't accomplish this, so how could this person with no magical talent possibly do it? Victorica subconsciously thought that Qin's reputation was undeserved and that he was just boasting.

But this thought quickly vanished. Qin's attitude seemed to be that she didn't consider crossing the snowfield a big deal at all; it wasn't an attitude of pride, but rather a statement of fact.

Moreover, judging whether the person in front of her is lying is an easy task for Victorique, the former Grey Witch.

The two talked about many places Qin had visited in the past.

The demon's kingdom, the two kingdoms separated by walls... Victorica herself had been to many of these places, so hearing Jean's detailed descriptions made it even clearer that Jean was not exaggerating.

It's truly rare... to be able to travel everywhere without magic. And to actually traverse the vast snowfields that even she had never been able to cross before?

“Would you mind if I transcribed some parts of your story?” Victorique asked.

This is also one of the primary reasons why she asked Qin to tell her stories about the outside world.

Elena's birthday is approaching, and she can't think of a gift for her. She happens to glance at her old book, "Nicole's Adventures," and remembers that Elena seemed to love listening to adventure stories when she was little. So she has the idea to pick up her pen again and write something new.

But she hadn't traveled for many years, and inspiration isn't something that comes easily, so she started collecting stories from travelers.

Since it's not published as a book, there's no need to pay copyright fees.

Qin wasn't the first to accept the commission, but she was certainly the first to be truly noticed by Victorica. Most of the other travelers who accepted the commission were spouting nonsense, and some even said things that defied common sense.

"Whatever," Qin said expressionlessly.

“Let me ask a few more questions,” Victorica said, pulling a gold coin from her pocket. “Do you recognize this coin?”

Qin glanced at it and noticed some cracks on the gold coin: "Hmm, how did it end up with you?"

“Mrs. Fursen and I have a long-standing relationship. She said that yesterday a young man deliberately gave her an extra gold coin when she bought something, and she asked me to find him and return it,” Victorique said.

Oh, so that grandma's name is Fulsen.

“I’m actually quite curious why you did this. As far as I know, you seem to give most of the money you earn from commissions to people in Roberta who are not living a very comfortable life,” Victorica said. “Even though the kingdom’s attitude towards you is not exactly friendly.”

Qin then took a good look at Victoria.

This person... seems far more powerful than I anticipated. Is it some kind of magic that allows me to trace back to the source?

Even Alice herself couldn't cast the spell perfectly. It seemed this gray-haired woman possessed remarkable magical skills, but she seemed to be quite enjoying her secluded life.

“There’s nothing I can’t say. I just feel that doing this will make my life more meaningful.” Qin sighed. “So that when I see my teacher next time, I can say with a clear conscience that I have done my best to live my life.”

Qin's answer was somewhat unexpected for Victorique.

"Your teacher?"

"Oh, her name was Alice, but she's in heaven now."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your sad memories."

"It doesn't matter. For her, going to heaven is the greatest relief. She's a very petty woman. She obtained what I once dreamed of with ease..." Qin said with a self-deprecating smile.

Qin remained expressionless as she spoke these words; in fact, her face rarely changed. Even if Qin tried to recall what emotions she should be experiencing, it would be difficult for her to control her facial expressions accordingly.

Seeing Qin's state, Victorique, who had originally intended to ask more questions, withdrew her previous question and instead asked another: "What do you think of this kingdom? Just tell me."

"He's hopelessly ill," Qin said bluntly, shrugging.

"In your eyes, is Roberta really that bad?"

“When arrogance becomes an excuse for laziness, and laxity becomes a pretext for slackness, how can one not be incurably ill?” Qin said.

If it were anyone else, Victorica might not have cared, but she was already quite certain that Jyn's experience far exceeded what one would expect for his age, so she wanted to see what Roberta was like in the eyes of an outsider.

After all, this relates to whether she was truly wrong to ask Fran to do something "bad" to her daughter that would damage her self-confidence.

“I have a daughter who became an apprentice witch at a young age.” Victorica sighed and slowly recounted something she had kept hidden in her heart for a long time. She didn’t know why she wanted to tell Qin this, but perhaps she wanted to hear Qin’s thoughts.

After all, Qin's experience was already enough for her to have some reference.

“She didn’t have many friends growing up. Her classmates said she was arrogant and disdained to play with them… After becoming an apprentice witch, her arrogant nature seemed to be unleashed, and she thought Roberta’s magicians were nothing special,” Victorica said. “Do you think she was always like this, or did Roberta’s upbringing shape her?”

"Even if she were your daughter, would you still think of her that way?" Qin said.

“It is precisely because she is my daughter that I do not want her to go down the wrong path. There are always people more capable than you in this world. If I had not met you, I would have thought that snowfield would have been impossible to cross. People always have to pay the price for their arrogance,” Victorica said.

She was terrified that Elena's arrogance would lead to an irreparable mistake, after all, her daughter resembled her too much when she was young.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t listen to what others say,” Qin said. “In my opinion, the people here are not qualified to judge a genius.”

Although she is not a sorcerer, Jean has an extra understanding of the witch selection mechanism.

Someone who becomes an apprentice witch at such a young age is undoubtedly a genius.

For someone like her to be born in Roberta, Jyn could already foresee the cold treatment she would receive. Sadly, however, her mother seemed oblivious to the harm this arrogant nation was inflicting on her daughter.

“I recommend you go and see for yourself. What others say is just hearsay,” Qin said. Then he stood up. “It’s getting late, so I won’t disturb Madam as she prepares lunch.”

After accepting three silver coins as a commission fee, Qin turned and left the house, then continued to look through the various commissions on the commission board.

About a month later, he had completed most of the tasks in the task list, and winter passed by unnoticed.

As early spring approached, Qin left the Kingdom of Peace and headed to the next kingdom.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will not retrace his steps.

This is neither the beginning nor the end.

Every day the sun rises precisely from the east, shining its light on every corner of Roberta, letting time erase any trace of the piano's presence.