Chapter 147: Are You Going Back Home to Visit Family?
“I read the materials you gave me just now. In the beginning, the great magician’s goal for magic was actually the same as stage magic, to bring happiness to people. As for this fragrance I made, my original purpose was to deal with poisonous gas. That’s why it feels a bit like a field-type magic to you…”
“...Some poisonous gases are very hard to handle, so I had to create a small area to counter them. But now that I think about it, it can also be used as a fragrance. I guess it accidentally matched the original idea of the great magician. For example, things like breathing fire or fireball performances written in the records are actually the early forms of basic magic today.”
“Mm.”
Victoria nodded in agreement. What Peiya said was already very close to the truth. If there was any difference, it was small.
“Actually, you know, those ‘magic tricks’ were later used as examples when people wrote teaching materials. The collection left by the great magician was basically an early showcase of magic. I gave you those materials because I thought you would understand their original idea. And it seems I was right. Maybe only you can truly understand them, at least a little.”
Victoria looked into the distance.
“Where are you planning to go this time? I see you even changed your outfit.”
“Blackwater City.”
“I knew it. The things you asked me before didn’t seem simple at all. Let me tell you a bit more about Blackwater City. I already told you the main points before, it’s a cursed city. But from what I know, the curse didn’t appear for no reason. People there are not born with it. It comes from something called Blackwater…”
“...There was a time when black rain fell over the city. That’s also where the name ‘Blackwater City’ comes from. And according to rumors, that black rain was a punishment from the gods, because the city angered them.”
“Gods?”
Peiya looked confused. She didn’t know much about things like gods. After all, she was mostly a self-taught mage. Those complicated historical stories, she didn’t have the time or access to learn them.
Most of that knowledge was controlled by the Holy Academy, so for ordinary people, it was very hard to find out.
“That’s right! Gods. In this world, there have always been rumors that beings like gods exist above us. Some people believe that the great magician didn’t have a good ending because his understanding of magic touched the power of the gods. That might have made the gods angry, leading to punishment. Of course, this is just a theory. There’s no solid proof, and not everyone agrees with it. You can just treat it as something to think about.”
“Mm. I really don’t know much about official history. Thank you, Victoria.”
“You’re welcome. Honestly, I don’t fully understand this part of history either. There’s one thing that still confuses me. What exactly is the relationship between knowledge and the Holy Academy? From what I’ve read, the great magician discovered magic and was later targeted by the gods…”
“...But then why would the gods create the Holy Academy afterward? Right now, there are two main opinions. One says the Holy Academy was founded by the gods. The other supports the magicians and believes that knowledge should belong to everyone. These two sides have been arguing for a long time, and neither can convince the other.”
Victoria rubbed her head. She didn’t fully agree with either side. “But honestly, I don’t really support either view.”
“Why?” Peiya asked curiously.
“I don’t know. I just feel that this topic was made to make people argue. Personally, I think both sides probably contributed. It’s just a matter of how much.”
Peiya nodded. “That actually makes sense. Victoria, you’re pretty smart.”
“What do you mean ‘pretty smart’? I was never dumb, okay?”
Victoria complained a bit, then continued, “By the way, have you thought about the Holy Academy? I’ll be going back soon to take my orders, so I probably won’t stay at the church much longer.”
“You’re going back?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot to do at the church, and the Holy Academy is about to have final exams. But with the potions you made for me, I think I’ll definitely pass.”
“That’s good.”
Peiya took the materials and left the church. She went to the warehouse Maya had shown her before and asked the Red Tiger, who was training inside, for more detailed information about the Beast Tamer Association.
She tried asking deeper questions, but from the way Red Tiger looked, he probably didn’t know much either.
In the end, she had to give up. It seemed she would only get real answers after meeting Elise’s parents.
Thinking about that, Peiya suddenly felt something was strange.
Why did meeting Elise’s parents make her more nervous than meeting her own parents?
Oh… right. She doesn’t have parents.
Case solved.
A bit of a dark joke.
Peiya had almost forgotten what her parents even looked like. It felt like she had never seen them since she was born.
“Hunhun, have you ever seen my father and mother?”
“Huh? Master, why are you asking that? I was created by you, how would I know if you have parents? Please don’t make it hard for me…”
“Oh… so witches are basically orphans?”
“Well… kind of, but not always. Maybe there is some higher being that could be your ‘mother.’ But even if that’s true, it probably doesn’t matter much. If she became such a powerful being, her divine side would be stronger than her human side. That means she wouldn’t care about you that much. Even if you found her, it might not end well.”
Hunhun spoke honestly, hoping Peiya wouldn’t expect too much.
“Witches’ backgrounds are usually… quite unusual. But it’s okay. I’ll stay with you, Master.”
“Mm. Thank you, Hunhun.”
Peiya let out a long breath and stood up. She also needed to start preparing some gifts for meeting Elise’s parents.
What should she give?
Usually, you should think about what the parents like. But for Peiya, Elise’s parents were completely unknown, she had never even met them.
After thinking for a while, Peiya decided to make some snacks. Since it was their first meeting, there was no need to bring something too expensive.
Something practical would be better.
After deciding on that, Peiya started preparing the materials. Cooking wasn’t difficult for her. The harder part was preparing other small gifts.
She searched through her storage and finally decided to bring some of her old alchemy potions as well.
A simple strategy: bring more, just in case.
Then, when the day came to meet Elise, Elise looked at the large number of bags Peiya was carrying and asked,
“What is all this?”
Elise felt confused. They were just going home for a visit, why did Peiya bring so many things? It looked like she was planning to move in.
“These are some gifts I prepared. I’m not sure if it’s enough.”
???
You call this “some gifts”? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were going back to your parents’ home for a big family visit.