Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

"Excuse me, is this the Gray Witch's room?" A knock on the door forced Qin to switch from reading mode to reality. Reluctantly, he yawned and went to open the door.

"Ah—Miss Gray Witch, I have a request for you... Huh?" The official at the door froze instantly when he saw that it was a man who opened the door. "I'm sorry, I may have the wrong person."

“This is indeed the room booked by the Gray Witch Elena. What do you want with her?” Jean asked.

"Isn't she here?"

About two weeks ago, she said she was going to go to a specialized facility of the Magic Integration Association to study magic in order to pass the time. She hasn't come back since.

But Qin doesn't like people who ignore their problems.

"You haven't answered my question yet, sir," Qin said expressionlessly.

Perhaps frightened by Qin's gloomy appearance, the official's tone became hesitant: "Um... our kingdom... has entrusted something to Miss Gray Witch... since she's not here... then..."

"Tell me about the request, and I'll pass it on to her if I see her," Qin said.

The official sighed: "Please help our kingdom expel an orc."

……

It's the dead of winter, and at this time of year, almost everyone stays huddled up somewhere and refuses to come out.

People usually rely on fireplaces in their rooms to keep warm, or simply seal themselves in bed like hibernating turtles. In short, it's incredible to see people walking on the streets in such cold weather.

A little girl wearing a hood walks unsteadily down the desolate street, her gaze drifting blankly among the various dazzling restaurants steaming with delicious aromas.

"I'm so hungry..." she couldn't help but mutter.

My stomach started growling uncontrollably.

She was reluctant to interact with people, but thinking of her starving sister, she approached a bakery.

"Could... could I have a piece of bread?" the little girl, Alice, asked tremblingly.

The bitter cold made it difficult for her to speak clearly in one go.

No—I won't sell you bread.

"Waaah... But I already paid!"

"Keep your money safe, I don't need it. You should leave now."

Ailige walked through shop after shop, only to be met with rejection every time. She saw the disgust in people's eyes, an expression as if they were seeing a rat being chased and killed in the street.

I'm a human being too...

Alice subconsciously touched the coiled horn on her forehead. Even though I'm just an orc...

No, my sister is waiting for me. Alizee rallied her spirits and prepared to continue her search for food.

I can only try my luck at that honest shop; although they only have apples, at least they're food.

An honest shop is one where there are no staff members supervising the business; customers put the amount of money they take into the collection box on their own initiative. If someone is present, they can't sell her anything; she can only try her luck at such honest shops.

But even if they go there, if passersby notice them, they will stop themselves from buying things and condemn themselves severely.

She'd had enough of this kingdom—if it weren't for her sister's disability, she'd dream of escaping with her. But now, they had to endure the harsh winter.

Alizee, full of energy, arrived at the Honesty Shop. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she reached out her hand towards a green apple. Anyway—anyway—these people don't want to sell me food, so—not paying is fine, right?

She tried to convince herself.

When he reached his hand into the air, he found that the apple had already been taken by someone else.

Huh?

She subconsciously looked up at the person holding the apple.

Two empty eyes were able to gaze at each other.

“Do you need this? Can we talk?” Qin said, handing over an insect.

"No—no—no—" Alice roared frantically, swatting the insect away. "Are you here to mock me too? Just because I'm an orc!"

"I knew it? Even outsiders are like this." Qin thoughtfully picked up the insect that had been swatted away, wiped it clean, and then stuffed it into her pocket. "I can take you away from here."

“I…don’t want to…” Alice weakly turned her face away.

“You really want to leave here, don’t you? I can help you. Now, you should try to trust me, right?” Qin handed over the apple. “Take me to your house.”

Alice's first thought was to resist, but for some reason, the words that were originally harsh suddenly became much softer when they reached her ears.

Qin crouched down to meet Elise's gaze, her left eye glowing a soft, blood-red light: "I will leave with your sister. Can you trust me?"

Alice's symptoms of stress are severe, so the only option is to use illusion magic to distort her already distorted perception to a certain extent.

"What's your name?" Ailige asked tremblingly.

“You can call me Qin. Please take care of me for the next few days, Ellie,” Qin said.

"you know me."

"nature."

……

Alice carefully carried the apple back home.

This place can perhaps still be called a home because it still retains the shape of a house, although the roof is riddled with holes and the only shelter it gets from the wind is the broken walls and ruins.

She and her sister came to this kingdom and settled here; it is their last refuge.

As soon as she got home, she rushed to her younger sister Milina and gave her an apple.

"I'm sorry, Milina, I'm late. You must be very hungry."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I can only bring back apples for my younger sister. I bet Milina is already tired of them."

Qin watched silently from the side, then her gaze fell on the small package placed in front of the house.

When she returned, Alice had already opened it. She saw a pile of dead insects and foul-smelling oil, which terrified her so much that she immediately kicked it away.

It must be that the neighbors nearby couldn't stand her and her sister and deliberately sent it to disgust her.

Qin silently bent down and squatted down, collecting the dead insects one by one into her pocket.

When Ailige saw this, her first instinct was to stay away from this strange man, but thinking of his promise, she suppressed her strange thoughts and chose to get closer to him.

She had always wanted to leave, but because her sister was disabled, she couldn't leave on her own. Moreover, how she would survive if she left was a huge problem.

As Qin said, she could only try to believe Qin.

Influenced by the harp's magic, she unknowingly received strong magical suggestions.

"How can you help me and my sister?" Alice asked.

“I will take you back to your old home near you. There, I will tell you how to survive.” Qin put the last insect corpse into her bag.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Qin said, standing up. "Take your sister and set off now. I'll ensure your safety along the way."