Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Without the harvest at the end of autumn, we must find another way to get food to last through the winter."

"On the way, we can check 'Red Pomegranate'; if there's nothing there, we can head to Shilin Mountain Castle, though food prices there are surely not cheap," said the moose leader, pressing his hand against a wound. His old injuries hadn't healed, and he'd gotten plenty of new ones.

"But we also lack things to trade." The settlement had been raided twice in succession, leaving many commodities destroyed.

At this point, those present appeared a bit troubled, struggling to think of anything suitable for exchange.

"Why don't you let Hexia make some winter clothes to sell at the Mountain Castle? We seized some hunting pelts from the Blue Skin camp yesterday," Flan explained while sharpening a pencil by the side.

"This..." It was indeed a good idea, but Hexia was currently the benefactor of the settlement, considered a distinguished guest, so they hesitated to impose the trouble on her.

"Let me do it," Hexia didn't mind such a trivial matter, and instead was slightly interested, wanting to try her hand with those pelts, as she hadn't made many clothes since learning the tailoring craft.

"Apologies for the trouble, Hexia, but after the clothes are made, half will belong to you." Though the pelts were their spoils, processing them was no simple feat.

On this land, a skilled tailor was very rare. In ordinary settlements, there were at most 1-2 who could only manage simple repairs. To create a complete garment from scratch required considerable learning. It was said only at the Mountain Castle were there tailors skilled enough to tailor to one's form, and they had substantial incomes, respected as upper-middle class at the Mountain Castle.

Everything seemed scarce, Tilan mused upon hearing their explanations.

After spending over half a month at this settlement, through conversations and accounts from several people, she gradually gleaned much about the land.

Due to missing legacies and environmental turmoil, true mastery of a craft was exceptionally rare. Sura had mentioned before, like the silver snow gown from Ores, was likely only possible for legendary tailors of superpowers to create. Hence, she was particularly astonished and easily convinced by Tilan's assertions.

Legendary. An authority in a certain realm. Currently on this land, only two could be called legends: one was the leader of Shilin Mountain Castle, 'Gray Feather Scholar,' who knew ten languages and in youth had visited the Northern Continent, studying many texts and knowledge. Upon returning, based on his learning, he led the Grey Feather Species to establish 'Shilin Mountain Castle,' becoming the heart of this land, meticulously devising the laws and taxes within the castle, recognized as a wise man of the land.

The other was the queen of the Wolf Blood Species to the west of the plains, possessing long sharp claws, draped in a black raven cloak. Her claws could easily rend steel, so there were few war machines roaming the western plains under her rule, though her domains were rather loose and savage—far less orderly and powerful than Shilin Mountain Castle.

With only hearsay, Tilan found it difficult to grasp how strong these two were specifically; yet from the description of tearing steel, they were at least Sequence 4 Transcendent, more likely Sequence 5 Transcendent, as Sequence 5's strength compared to Sequence 4 would take a qualitative leap, forming overwhelming dominance.

Given her current status, she should have no opponent on this land, though it felt like going back to bully children in kindergarten after attending university. Compared to the Federation's well-established cultivation system, with generations of talent and masters iterating, transcendent sequence cultivation in this world was not only severely disrupted but, due to chaos and lack of education, even those with superior talent could easily go astray.

With the safety afforded by her strength, Tilan felt much relieved from the worries she long harbored. Returning might not be possible soon, but this period served well to rest and consolidate her previously hastily learned skills.

Besides, she felt there should be many relics left from the Fifth Epoch on this planet, perhaps enabling her to uncover some past events unknown or unrecorded by the Federation, gaining insight from the perspective of the Black Sun, understanding how they viewed that chaotic and mad era.

At dusk, Tilan sat on a mountain wall, watching the distant sunset. At this point, Ores also sat beside her, resting her head on Tilan's knee, eyes closed in a nap. Having lost her memory, she'd become somewhat lazy, or perhaps this was indeed Ores's nature, previously masked by strict upbringing, which kept her mindful of etiquette and bearing before outsiders.

Her fingers lightly stroked Ores' hair, twirling some strands around her fingertips, occasionally contemplating whether to trim her hair since it was getting long.

Distant orange-red twilight and blue-purple night sky gradually blended, as the sky darkened.

The ground's stones were coarse and dry, feeling slightly grainy—likely the result of perennial wind erosion—the sky and earth here were particularly tranquil, regardless of being seated for an entire day, no sign of animals or sounds of chirping could be heard.

Actually, she quite enjoyed this quiet sensation, allowing solitary reflection and thoughts in the wind, especially evening breezes—neither sweltering nor chilly—brushing over her clothes and skin, particularly comforting.

If only there were a few large trees. In such case, with shade from their canopy, occasionally hearing leaves rustle, it would be especially leisurely and pleasing.

Before it was completely dark, Tilan gingerly helped Ores, coaxing her to stand up. Despite being awake, she snuggled a bit more onto Tilan before reluctantly rising.