But Wendy wasn't as excited as she was, and asked in a skeptical tone, "Did he really say that?"

"Yes, he had saved Anna and Nanava before I got there, and the prince never thought that the witch's power came from the devil, he said it was our own power—" Nightingale stopped suddenly, realizing that the other man did not believe what she was saying.

Well, she thought, it wasn't Wendy's fault. If it were me, I am afraid that I would not yearn for it based on the description of a witch alone. Witches have been oppressed for too long, all the way from the East to the Desperate Mountains, there are too many living examples in front of them, betrayal, abandonment has become a common thing, and it has long been impossible to trust others.

Thinking of this, her excitement gradually subsided, maybe the trip would not go as smoothly as she thought.

"Wendy, you know my branching ability, which can discern whether someone is lying or not, in addition to seeing the flow of magic," Nightingale said earnestly, "I asked him why he took such a big risk to do this for a witch, and he replied to me, "Bordertown doesn't care about origin. He wanted all the witches to be freedmen. ”

"If he does, he'll be a thorn in the side of the church," Wendy frowned, "and even if the prince doesn't know what that means, don't you know yet?"

Nightingale couldn't help but chuckle, "I had almost the same idea as yours at first, and I asked him, 'Can this really be done?' and guess what he answered me?" she paused and said word by word, "You will never know the answer until you take this step." 」”

"Not lying?"

"Not lying. Nightingale affirmed.

"Sounds unbelievable," Wendy's tone softened slightly, she couldn't think of a reason for her longtime friend to deceive her.

"Yes," Nightingale agreed, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, and with the ability to prove it, she probably wouldn't have made up her mind so quickly. In retrospect, as Roland said to himself from the watchtower on the wall, he did rarely lie. In the past two months of getting along, except for the fact that he did not honestly explain the use of the ice mang, everything else made the nightingale very satisfied.

Of course, she didn't care about that little deception. It would be strange to be completely open to a strange witch who had just known each other for a short time.

"Tonight, when everyone is back, I'm going to tell the sisters this important news!" she said in a deep voice as she looked at Wendy, "I hope you can help me convince you." ”

When evening came, the witches who were busy outside began to return to the camp one after another. Seeing the nightingale return safely, everyone was very happy and gathered around to ask questions. Seeing the white cloth ribbon wrapped around their arms, Nightingale felt heavy in her heart, and after casually answering a few questions, she raised her hand to silence everyone.

This is followed by a longer story, starting with infiltrating the border town, continuing with Roland, Anna, and Nanawa, building walls, assembling a steam engine, and finally resisting the beasts, and Anna coming of age. The nightingale took out the "forcible seizure" of the steam engine design drawings from her bosom and proved to everyone that she was not lying.

Most witches live in isolation after joining the Mutual Aid Society, and it is difficult to imagine life in the outside world, and they listen attentively one by one. When the nightingale said that Anna had survived her adult days without suffering any pain, the crowd exploded. This was a lifelong event for witches, who endured a life of hunger and clothing, and ran to the desperate mountains in search of the legendary sacred mountain. If, as Nightingale had said, the lord of a territory was willing to accept them, and at the same time it was possible to avoid the suffering of demonic devourers, wouldn't it be more perfect than the abode of the Holy Mountain?

Just then, the crowd split up, and a witch with green hair and a half-serpentine face walked up to the nightingale.

"Dear Mentor, Hello. The nightingale bowed to her, and it was none other than the founder of the Mutual Aid Society, the snake demon Hakara. In the congregation, the sisters called her a mentor.

"I hear the stories you tell," her voice was hoarse and hollow, "do you want to tell you that what we are doing now is wrong?"

"No, Mentor, those aren't stories, I mean—"

"That's enough," she waved impatiently, "I don't know what you've encountered on your trip to Frontier to make you say something like that." A prince who sympathizes with a witch is as ridiculous as a frog," she sneered, turned and opened her arms, and asked aloud, "Sisters, have you all forgotten how those mortals dealt with you?"

Without waiting for Nightingale to explain, she continued to accuse, "Yes, mortals, those incompetent people are pretending to be the prestige of the gods, and are aiming their blades and whips at us. If there is no stone of divine punishment, why would they trample witches under their feet? Our power does not come from demons, but from the gods, and it is not the church that performs the duties for the gods, but us! Sisters of the Mutual Aid Society! The holy mountain recorded in the ancient books is the abode of the gods!"

What the...... Nightingale couldn't believe her ears, and although she had thought that the leader of the Mutual Aid Society had a strange personality and an extraordinary dedication to finding the Holy Mountain, she was far from madness. Although Hakara is not as approachable as Wendy, at least his concern for his sister is genuine and sincere. But I didn't expect her to be so hostile to ordinary people.

So, she had been suppressing her hatred and anger for the past few years? The so-called non-meddling in worldly affairs was just to accumulate strength in exchange for a thunderous revenge one day in the future? Nightingale wondered, what is it now that makes her no longer want to hide herself? Could it be ......

"We have found the clue to the opening of the Holy Mountain, just as it is recorded in the ancient books! In twenty days, when a bloody red moon appears in the night sky, and passes through the huge stone gate that rises from the ground, we will reach the final shore!" she turned back and looked directly at the nightingale, "You have been deceived by mortals, we have lived in a great deception since we were born. The sufferings of adulthood are the gods' mental and physical tests of our spirits, and only the strong-willed and unyielding are worthy of true strength. As for the church," she sneered, "a group of mortals who dare to act in the name of the gods, and sooner or later they will all go to hell." ”

"And you...... Child, it's too late to turn back," Hakala paused, "and forget the stories you said, and I can forgive you for your ignorance and mistakes, and re-admit you as a member of the Mutual Aid Society, and join us in finding eternity in the holy mountain." ”

The nightingale's heart has completely cooled down, and suffering is a test? The sisters who suffered from the phagogy on the day of awakening and did not survive are all unworthy elimination? This statement is exactly the same as that of the church. And the surrounding witches actually showed an expression of approval, and Wendy didn't stand up...... She suddenly felt uninterested, and before she blinked, the founder of the Mutual Aid Society and the guide of the witches in front of her had become a stranger.

She shook her head, "In that case, I'll take the sisters who are willing to leave with me and decide to stay here...... Good luck. ”

Just as the nightingale was about to retire, a slight tingling pain came from the calf. She looked down and found a black snake with a gleaming blue stripe biting her on the belly of her leg - it was a snake of magical power, silent, capable of wielding a variety of toxins, the snake demon Hakala's habitual ability.

The paralysis quickly spread throughout her body, and the nightingale opened her mouth to say something, but she was greeted by darkness.