The mirror problem was finally solved by Soloya.
Using mercury from the lab, she applied a glossy coating directly behind the glass, creating a mercury mirror effect while eliminating the risk of mercury vapor poisoning.
Compared to mirrors with silver foil, fully molded mirrors reflect light more effectively. Roland even set aside a batch of crystal glassware to craft portable mirrors for each Witch. These small gifts, which allowed them to clearly see their own reflection, delighted all the Witches. Even Shuolan, usually so composed, couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but remark that although witches couldn't bear children, they were still fundamentally women at heart.
Unfortunately, these convenient daily necessities couldn't be sold to the public at low prices for the time being. The base material, crystal glass, was prohibitively expensive, and the laboratory required substantial amounts of glass to produce colorless, transparent containers. While Kaimoschuir possessed expertise in manufacturing colorless glass, the lab's overwhelming workload left no room for spare hands—most apprentices were busy refining the two acids and soaking gunpowder, while the chief alchemist, accompanied by two or three disciples, was focused on overcoming the challenge of mercury thionate. Until the industrial acid production method was developed, they had no means to manufacture anything else.
Beyond the mirror, the objective lens movement transitioned from finger-operated carriage to knob-controlled barrel adjustment. Roland only needed to give Anna a few instructions, and she immediately grasped the concept. After Blackfire's processing, the new fixed mount was swiftly fabricated. By selecting two sets of lenses with the highest magnification, the first complete optical microscopes were successfully produced.
With the afternoon sun shining brightly, Roland gathered all members of the Witch Alliance in the castle's backyard, and the first natural biology class officially began.
...
As Lily walked into the backyard, she noticed the plants had grown even more luxuriant.
The grapes on the wooden trellis had turned a vivid purple-red, and she remembered it had been less than a week since the last harvest. Lightning would occasionally strike, plucking a cluster of ripe grapes and tossing them to the crowd. The newly arrived clumsy bird from Border Town, however, simply perched on the trellis, pecking at the grapes one by one before swallowing them whole.
Under the central shade of the backyard, Your Royal Highness and Anna were chatting as if they were a couple, but Lily knew they weren't flirting. If she leaned in to listen, she'd hear a jumble of baffling terms and mindless debates—like what a ball looks like, the life-and-death debate over cats, or matter turning into waves. That's probably why Nightingale kept a distance of over five meters from them—long enough to make anyone doze off!
Wendy was always surrounded by books, always smiling and gentle. Sometimes she even felt that the gaze from the other person was like looking at a child. Lily sighed helplessly, glanced at Wendy's chest, then looked down at her own, and indeed there was a world of difference.
When will you be able to become that way, so you won't be a child anymore?
When all the witches had assembled, RolandYour Highness placed two gray-black metallic instruments on the table—likely the microscope he claimed could reveal the subtle world. Lily mused: 'Perhaps magnification does alter objects, but how can all things in the world be made of tiny spheres?' This notion remained hard to grasp. How could plump spheres possibly form a solid rock?
Your Highness. The guard brought a bucket of water, took out a few drops and placed them under the microscope—unlike Lily's expectation, the bucket was neither turbid nor dirty, but crystal clear under the light, seemingly empty. Could it be... that flowing droplets could actually be observed under the microscope?
"Something's moving in the water!" To her surprise, the sisters' exclamations of alarm rose and fell in waves. "Oh, it's escaped!" "More than one—seems like there are many." "Good heavens, are these insects? They're all so different in size!" "This one looks like a transparent crab..." Lily's heart sank. Was it a ball or insects? Your Highness was definitely lying! But... it was strange to see insects—there should've been nothing in the water just now! When it was her turn, the little girl couldn't pretend to care anymore. She squinted her eyes and leaned her head close to the microscope.
Then she saw the incredible scene.
Within the narrow aperture, bizarre creatures darted about wildly. Some were square-shaped with soft hairs all over, others resembled hybrids of beetles and crabs, while some looked like footed grains of wheat. Despite their strange forms, most were transparent—barely visible without shells or skin—allowing clear glimpses of their internal organs. Of course, these creatures had almost nothing inside.
"Your Highness, are these really all insects?" the book asked.
"What you're seeing are likely protozoa or unicellular algae. They shouldn' t be classified as insects, but rather belong to the category of microorganisms," Prince explained.
"Microorganisms?" "Yes, they are independent life forms, though much smaller in size. Beyond the two types you've seen, there are even smaller bacteria and viruses. Current microscope magnification isn't sufficient to observe these two types of microorganisms, yet they are responsible for food spoilage and various diseases," RolandYour Highness explained with growing enthusiasm. "These tiny organisms are ubiquitous and abundant. Fortunately, most are heat-sensitive, which is why we boil water before drinking, cook fish thoroughly, and avoid reusing bathwater." Though it was hard to imagine anything smaller than these, Lily couldn't help but shiver at the thought of having swallowed a host of worms while drinking water earlier.
And Your Highness claims these seemingly insignificant little things are the real culprits behind food spoilage?
If bread and meat porridge can be preserved, then water... should also be able to.
At this thought, she couldn't help but unleash her Magic Power, enveloping the droplet under the microscope.
The unexpected change happened.
A swarm of "insects" began to tremble, swiftly transforming their appearance. Their translucent exteriors dissolved into purple armor, with tentacles sprouting from their bodies as they devoured the unaltered insects around them. Wait... this wasn't mere devouring. Lily observed them assimilating each other at an astonishing rate. These tentacles, like razor-sharp blades, pierced through other microorganisms and transformed them into their own form.
Whether it was an illusion or not, she sensed these mutated insect swarms were still altering invisible life forms. Soon, purple light spots began to appear in the water. After a few breaths, the spots gradually merged into a single, pale purple carpet spreading across the field of vision. The tentacled insects lined up neatly on the ground like an army. As if sensing their attention, they raised all their tentacles upward, as if paying homage.
She saw the true nature of her abilities for the first time.