Chapter 1146: Witch Tea Parties and Social Compatibility
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1146: Witch Tea Parties and Social Compatibility
Faced with the sudden shift in her attitude, I realized that my identity seemed even more terrifying than I had anticipated.
"I should have realized sooner. There is only one Little Witch in the Main World—the number one Little Witch who reached the threshold of the Saint Realm while still in the Extraordinary realm, achieving a Domain before even ascending to Transcendent status."
"Please, just call me Xiao Han," I said. "There’s no need for formal titles."
"If that is your wish, I shall call you Xiao Han. It is both our honor and our good fortune that we took the liberty of inviting you to the Secret Pact Merchant Group. If you ever need anything in the future, please do not hesitate to find us."
As Sally spoke, she made a show of searching through her things before producing a business card.
I took it. The card was crafted from an unknown transcendent material using specialized alchemical techniques, with the words "Secret Pact Merchant Group" engraved in the Witch tongue. Just by holding it, I could sense it had numerous functions.
It was countless times more advanced than my own simple card, which was just an engraving of a reverse summoning rune.
"This is the business card of our Secret Pact Merchant Group, and also our most prestigious membership credential. It ensures seamless communication under any circumstances within a single world. It can even manage simple, single-signal transmissions across short distances between worlds. If you need anything, you can contact me directly through this," Sally explained, keeping the introduction brief.
In truth, even without an explanation, injecting mana into it would project a specific magical image containing detailed instructions.
The Void was simply too vast; there were no universal communication methods or devices. Consequently, these specialized cross-world communication devices, which were nearly impossible to mass-produce, were extremely expensive.
This was true even if the "cross-world" title only applied to short distances between worlds in the Void and the transmission of single bits of information.
Even the "Primal Dream" only allowed for Void-based information exchange between Witches; it didn't work between Witches and other races.
"Thank you. This is the most exquisite business card I’ve ever received," I said, turning the card over in my hands. Then, remembering something, I pulled an item out as well.
It was a cubic crystal—a simulation of a consciousness space crystal—containing a Great Knowledge Seed.
"This is for you."
"This is..." Sally’s eyes flashed with instinctive confusion for a split second before she immediately reacted.
A look of profound shock crossed her face. "If I’m not mistaken... is this a Great Knowledge Seed?"
"You’ve heard of this too?" I was surprised once again. Just how much of my information had been leaked throughout the Void?
"You're joking. Rumor has it that Yang... er, Xiao Han, you have mastered two Great Spellbooks, and you are one of the few Little Witches in the entire Void who shares the power of a Great Spellbook almost selflessly."
"Our merchant group has also acquired intelligence regarding the Great Knowledge Seeds. We even spent a considerable price to obtain two of them. When paired with the derived Great Knowledge Sharing Spell, it allows for information transmission across the Void... This is far more precious than the card I gave you."
"I didn't think that much about it," I replied. "I just thought it would make it easier to stay in touch."
"As expected, your humility is as pure as the rumors say."
"It’s not quite like that... really..." Although I could tell this was just her professional flattery, I had to admit it was quite pleasant to hear.
Next, Sally personally escorted me into the Secret Pact Merchant Group headquarters with the highest level of etiquette.
And I do mean the highest.
Every living soul in the headquarters who could still draw breath rushed out to welcome us.
The blooming ceremonial displays were so grand that the commotion on the surface could be seen from outside the planet. The scale was even more magnificent than the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the headquarters was first completed.
I had a feeling that ever since I arrived at the Frontline World, things had started moving in a strange and uncontrollable direction.
If I hadn't stopped her, Sally would have loved to arrange a full tour of the headquarters to showcase the strength and elegance of the Secret Pact Merchant Group from every possible angle.
Finally, after canceling that series of tedious temporary arrangements, Sally and I sat down to chat in the headquarters' highest-specification reception room.
I held a cup of fragrant coffee—a specialty from some unknown world—and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at a breathtaking ocean view. From this perspective, even the surrounding buildings seemed like deliberate compositional elements within the frame of the window.
"Do you not care for this kind of atmosphere, Xiao Han? There’s no need to feel tense. This is just a building and interior decor made of basic stone and materials. Your presence here is an honor for this place."
Seeing that I wasn't speaking, Sally took the initiative to start a conversation. Though we hadn't known each other long, she was observant.
She was, after all, a Witch who had lived for untold years. Her judgment of other Witches was very sharp.
From our brief contact, she had already concluded that this Little Witch before her seemed to have a bit of a disconnect in her self-perception.
"It’s nothing... I just felt like the journey here was a bit over the top." After calming my heart, I quickly returned to my usual state of mind.
Perhaps it was because I hadn't felt that "smallness" of seeing the world for a long time, so I had unconsciously lingered in that sensation a bit longer.
"Does it feel a bit inconsistent with your humble nature?" Sally picked up the thread. She felt that in that instant, Xiao Han seemed different than before. This abrupt shift made her a bit uncertain for a moment.
"Yes. I’ve lived in the Core World of the Main World my entire life. That single planet was my whole world. Thank you for showing me the sights."
"You're very welcome. It is my honor as well," Sally said quickly. "I wonder, Xiao Han, do you have any other plans or ideas for your visit to the Frontline World?"
"Not really. I actually just finished up some business. I met a Transcendent Witch from outside the Main World in an Expansion Realm, and after hearing about the changes in the Frontline World, I came over to take a look... I didn't expect the changes to be this massive. The last time I was here, it was a desolate life forbidden zone. There wasn't even a single planet."
"Such is the great power wielded by Transcendent Witches. You feel this way, Xiao Han, likely because you have never witnessed the miracles created by the Witch race before."
"Mhm... I really haven't seen much. Every Witch sister I met at the Witch Academy was very gentle, or they were busy with academic research. I didn't even know where they were... The only thing I've seen was my Witch Mentor confronting the other three Great Transcendent Races, but I've never seen an actual battle."
"Then the Main World sounds very peaceful indeed. It seems Dean Mei Lind is quite skilled at managing the Witch Academy," Sally agreed with a sigh.
"As a being of the Main World, Xiao Han, how do you view its future development?"
"The future development of the Main World... I haven't really thought about it. After all, my sense of belonging to that world isn't very strong. Compared to the Main World, I actually yearn more for the freedom of the Witch race."
"Is that so? What an unexpected answer."
Just as Sally was about to change the subject and continue the conversation, several Witch figures appeared outside the Secret Pact Merchant Group headquarters. The mana pressure they radiated made their presence impossible to ignore.
Clearly, these "uninvited" Witches were not from the Secret Pact Merchant Group.
"My apologies. It seems I must introduce you to some uninvited new friends," Sally said, rising with a sigh.
The Secret Pact Merchant Group had held such a grand ceremony; such a commotion naturally couldn't escape the eyes of other Witches.
Then again, was this... intentional?
After all, this was a way to flaunt that the Secret Pact Merchant Group had established a connection with that specific Little Witch from the Main World.
Whether they had actually established a deep connection wasn't important; what mattered was that others believed they had.
Furthermore, the fact that I had just gifted her a Great Knowledge Seed could be interpreted as a subtext that we could stay in frequent contact in the future.
"Was the welcome too grand?" I stood up and set down my coffee cup. I understood her little scheme, of course, but I didn't care.
"Perhaps. That was an oversight on my part."
Sally pushed open another door in the reception room, leading to a semi-open observation deck at the very top of the headquarters. It was designed like a hanging garden.
One side of the sky garden was even set up to host a small Witch tea party.
When I followed Sally out and appeared before the group of Witches, I could see the surprise in their eyes, but there wasn't much confusion.
This meant that by the time they arrived, they already knew who I was.
Their information-gathering capabilities were, I had to admit, incredibly efficient.
Upon seeing me, these Witches showed perfect grace, stepping forward one by one to greet me. Nothing felt inappropriate or offensive throughout the entire process. This was the first time I realized that social interaction could be so... natural?
It seemed that once you became famous, the Witches around you became very easy to get along with.
Sally, on the other hand, was tactfully ignored by the group.
Although I knew I was being "socially accommodated" by them, not everyone received this kind of treatment.
Through a brief round of meetings and introductions, I realized that many Void Witch factions had arrived in the Frontline World.
Merchant groups were only a part of these forces. There were many different sects and powers within the Witch race, such as various trade unions, the Little Witch Mutual Aid Society I had heard of before, and so on.
There were also factions based on the bloodlines of races that had submitted to the Void, such as the Elf Witch faction, the Succubus Witch faction, and the Pure-blood Witch faction.
Then there were interest groups based on various crafts, like alchemy, potions, and master artisans.
Or simply small groups of Witches formed through shared interests or like-minded goals.
There were even bizarre groups where the entry requirement was possessing a specific "Extraordinary Item." I met one such person here—a Rust Blade Witch who called herself a member of the "Rust Blade Pavilion."
The Extraordinary Item they held was a "Rust Blade," a weapon that had a layer of rust on its blade from the moment of its creation.
It sounded incredibly strange.
Under Sally’s impromptu arrangement, this hasty meeting evolved into a small tea party.
I had to admit, Sally was truly capable. According to her, the Secret Pact Merchant Group usually didn't have the chance to interact with so many powerful factions; this time, she was entirely riding on my coattails...
Of course, she only said that. Her ability to use the situation to launch this small Witch tea party was a testament to her own skill.
The tea party wasn't what I had imagined—I wasn't surrounded by Witches debating complex topics. The overall atmosphere was... incredibly relaxed!
And without realizing it, I felt like I had made contact, to varying degrees of depth, with the representatives of every faction.
Looking back, I felt like I had been "played" by them. Perhaps this was the "social maneuvering" of representatives from great powers?
A "naive" Little Witch like me felt like I had been effortlessly handled by them without even knowing it.
And yet, I felt relaxed and happy the entire time.
Maybe this was what a social win-win looked like?
However, the group that left the deepest impression on me was the "Rust Blade Pavilion," because when they met me, they gave me a very special greeting gift.
An Extraordinary Item—a Rust Blade.
According to their explanation, this meant I could identify as a Witch of the "Rust Blade Pavilion" from now on.
The Rust Blade Pavilion was an extremely free and casual organization. As long as you held a Rust Blade, regardless of how you obtained it, you could claim the status of a Rust Blade Pavilion Witch.
How free was it?
Even if you held a Rust Blade, you could choose to reject the identity.
But if you actively acknowledged it, the Rust Blade Pavilion would open up even more rewards to you.
I had to say, this Rust Blade Pavilion was truly bizarre.
According to them, if you couldn't understand the purpose of the Rust Blade Pavilion, you could just view it as a group of Witches who had nothing better to do and decided to start an organization.
You could ignore it, but as long as you held a Rust Blade, the Rust Blade Pavilion would always be your final retreat and backing when you had nowhere else to go.
However, the tea party soon came to an early end due to the arrival of another Witch.
The Witch who arrived was none other than the Dean of the Main World’s Witch Academy: Mei Lind.
"How rare to see everyone gathered here."
Mei Lind’s arrival immediately caused all the Witches to treat the situation with the utmost gravity.
In the Witch Academy, calling Mei Lind "Dean" was one thing, but in the entire Main World, her status was that of the nominal and actual leader of the entire world.
The weight of being someone the Primal Witches invested in was obvious. And the future development of the Main World... it was an existence striving to become the second Witch World after the Great Library!
After all, the fact that the Main World’s development potential had almost no upper limit was enough to make the entire Witch race go mad for it.