The lightning darted through the hilly terrain south of Border Town, filling the parchment sheets with grid patterns in its grasp.
Her latest assignment is to collaborate with Soraya on mapping the Western Frontier.
Flying with Soraya would drastically reduce altitude, making it impossible to traverse dense forests. Thus, she first sketched rough outlines, which Soraya then pieced together to form the complete map. With Magic Power's brush, the map appears as if viewed from above, with every detail rendered with striking realism.
When the parchment was filled, Lightning turned back to Border Town. After months of training, her flight speed had increased remarkably. At full speed, her estimated speed reached nearly 120 km/h, according to RolandYour Highness's calculations. At this pace, the relentless gusts made it nearly impossible for her to keep her eyes open.
She had long believed this was her ultimate limit, but just two days ago, Her Highness gifted her a remarkable headband—crafted from cowhide with two copper rings encircling its center. Each ring features a pure, transparent glass insert, designed to shield her from wind's torment.
His Highness explained that these were windproof goggles, crafted as a side project while making glassware, and added that they made him look more like Little Izrael. Lightning didn't know who Izrael was, but she understood that simply joining the cowhide, copper ring, and lenses together was no easy feat. Each piece of leather had double stitching, the inner side of the copper ring was tightly wrapped to prevent skin scratches, and there were belt-like buckles at the back for adjustable tightness—clearly not something hastily made.
She immediately fell in love with this gift and wore it on her head almost every night before sleep. Now, whenever she removes her windproof glasses, she can imagine flying as fast as she wants, no longer needing to worry about the howling wind in her ears.
Before long, lightning flashed across the town. Just as he was about to return to the castle to hand over the grid map to Soraya, a white figure suddenly darted past his eyes. Turning his head, he saw a pigeon with outstretched wings gliding toward the Long Song Fortress. While pigeons were common birds, this one stood out—its plumpness alone would have kept it busy for a full day of pecking.
Lightning swallowed hard, recalling how she had once fished and hunted birds on the deserted island, cooking them over a campfire. Though Her Royal Highness's provisions were plentiful, a month of buttered bread and mushroom soup had grown tiresome. If only she could catch a pigeon to roast... She touched the small pouch at her waist, filled with salt and pepper, and resolved to act.
With a sudden turn, the lightning bolt shot straight toward the pigeon, which quickly noticed the unexpected intruder. The bird folded its wings and dove downward, seemingly trying to dart into the woods to escape the aggressive pursuer.
Lightning paused momentarily, surprised by the pigeon's cleverness. She grinned, then abruptly turned and followed it. Ever since the young girl had lured the hybrid demon beast with the Evil Moon, she was convinced nothing could escape her watchful eyes.
The pigeon alternated between soaring above the treetops and diving low to the ground, yet the gap between them kept narrowing. No matter how hard it flapped its wings, it could never shake off the lightning.
The forest retreated rapidly, sunlight filtering through the dense branches, creating alternating patches of light and shadow. When it finally pierced through an open stretch, the surroundings suddenly became vast and bright. Seizing the moment, she accelerated to her limit, instantly snatching the pigeon from behind and pinning it to the ground.
The pigeon struggled desperately but couldn't break free from her grip. As Lightning drew the knife from her waist to finish off the prey, the girl suddenly cried out, "Don't cry! Help me!" The little girl shuddered so hard she nearly dropped the knife. But she quickly snapped back, "Are you a Witch?" The pigeon nodded repeatedly.
"I thought I could try something different," Lightning sighed regretfully, retracting the knife. "My name is Lightning. What's yours?" The other figure swelled into a ball before morphing into human form. "Macy, you actually want to eat a bird!" she accused.
"I've had my fill of this before," Lightning shrugged, pulling her up. Suddenly, a bead rolled from her arms, bounced twice on the ground, and landed in a small pit. As Lightning picked it up and tried to return it to Maxie, she noticed a peculiar talisman carved on the glass-like red bead—it looked strikingly familiar.
She frowned in deep thought for a moment, then drew the thin cord from her neck and pulled out a deep red pendant from her chest. Only when she held both in her hands did she notice that the talismanic patterns on them were identical.
"Wait?" Maxi leaned out from behind. "You have a tracking talisman too?" "A tracking talisman... what is it?" "You don't know? It can be detected by the magic stone and track the holder's location." She paused. "Wait, why would I tell you? You were about to eat me earlier." "Do you have a magic stone?" "Do you—don't you?" Maxi shook her head.
"So you can locate my position?" Lightning asked curiously.
"No, you need the matching magic stone to locate the corresponding talisman," she shot back sharply. "And only witches can use it. You don't know anything about it—how did you get it?" "My dad gave it to me when I was little," Lightning returned the bead. "What about yours?" "I won't tell you," Maxi made a face, then eyed Lightning curiously. "So you're the Witch from the Guild of Aid? Ash mentioned you're reluctant to leave Border Town." "Are you on her side?" Lightning pouted. "I thought you were a newcomer drawn by rumors. Everyone's doing fine here—why leave?" "Because of danger. The Church might send troops anytime." "An explorer wouldn't flinch at danger," Lightning blushed slightly. "Not that time to the stone tower. Next time we visit the ruins, I'll be the first to enter the basement. RolandYour Highness has some incredible inventions—once you see them, you'll be hooked. One weapon fires fist-sized iron balls that shatter anyone who touches it." "Really? Can you show me?" Maxi exclaimed.
"That won't do. You'll have to join the Witch Alliance and become one of us." "But I need to take Ash back..." She hesitated for a moment.
"Why don't you finish delivering and come back later?" Lightning urged. "There's plenty to explore here—water-heating machines that move on their own, weapons that can strike enemies from a kilometer away. Uh... how far is a kilometer? It's a long way, and the people look no bigger than tree branches." She gestured with her hands and feet. "And the hide-and-seek forest has even more fun. Stabbing beehives or picking mushrooms is nothing compared to hunting birds and wild boars. You can skin them, roast them over a campfire until they're glossy, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. The meaty aroma will fill your mouth." "Really?" Maxie couldn't help but lick her lips.
"Why would I lie to you?" Lightning snatched the other's shoulder. "Why don't we just hunt a bird and roast it for a meal?"