Chapter 461 – Performance Over

Chapter 461 – Performance Over

The spot where the witch had been selling her wares was now empty, so Greta walked over and laid out the {Food Card – Black Bread} and {Food Card – White Bread} she had traded for.

She was completely penniless now and needed to earn some money before she could continue her journey.

If she happened to run into the witch again later, she’d at least have money to buy some potions.

People who had heard about a potion-brewing witch setting up shop here came running over, only to find the stall had changed hands. Their disappointment was immediate.

One look at what Greta had on display made them even more disappointed: “What kind of alchemist wastes their time turning black bread into magic cards!”

It was hard to know what to make of them. Call them unimpressive, and they were still magical items. Call them impressive, and all they could produce was black bread and white bread.

And the price was so much higher than regular black bread and white bread!

The only advantage was that the cards were easy to carry and the food inside wouldn’t spoil.

But black bread was hard enough to be used as a weapon! Who needed to worry about it spoiling!

When they saw that the stall owner was a mage and she told them which direction the witch had gone, they reluctantly gave her some business and bought one {Food Card – White Bread}.

Greta’s business was far more dismal than she had imagined.

The Duchy of Lance treated the troops stationed at the five southern border villages quite well, and since this area also counted as the Mage Empire’s border, the Empire provided subsidies too.

Most of the villagers were warriors who both farmed their own land and drew military pay — they wanted for nothing in food or clothing.

When they went out, they usually formed parties to hunt magical beasts in the uninhabited zones. These trips were never very long, there were plenty of rations to choose from, and much of the magical beast meat they hunted was edible too.

Visiting merchant caravans had their own cooks and carried provisions with their wagons.

Black bread had absolutely no market here, and black bread cards even less so.

Only the {Food Card – White Bread} sold a few copies, and not many at that.

But it was at least enough for a room at a cheap inn, plus a fried pork cutlet at the little shop next door. After eating, she went back to manning her stall.

Though business was dismal, Greta’s only cost was her own psychic power, which she could recover through meditation. Every card sold was pure profit, so she kept at it.

Mo Lan shook off the enthusiastic villagers and headed to where the merchant caravans were camped, spending all the money she’d earned selling potions on various miscellaneous books.

She shrank the books one by one and stuffed them into her beast-hide bag, then left with the bulging sack, satisfied.

As she walked, she held a newly purchased book in her hand, flipping through it.

This time she wasn’t acting — she had originally planned to buy books just to fully justify her reason for coming to Riverside Village, but she actually found some of the Duchy of Lance’s latest publications and couldn’t wait to start reading on the road.

She walked right past Greta’s stall without even noticing her.

“What a carefree and easygoing witch!” Greta watched Mo Lan’s retreating figure, full of admiration, and thought to herself:

“Someday, I’m going to become someone like her!”

Once out of the village, Mo Lan had already finished flipping through this magazine from the Duchy of Lance’s magic tower, published three months ago.

She pulled out her broomstick and flew across to the other side of the river.

After crossing the River of Origin and flying deeper into the Emerald Creek Plains, once she was sure no one could see her, she finally ended the act. She activated the broomstick’s invisibility function, drank the antidote to the transformation potion, turned around, and headed back to Riverside Village.

Through the magical familiar contract, she could sense that Zhizhi was still in Riverside Village, which meant Lilith and the others should be there too.

Following the bond of the magical familiar contract, Mo Lan found Lilith’s flying carpet above the Riverside Village market and successfully reunited with them.

“So? How was my performance?” Mo Lan asked.

“If I hadn’t watched you drink the transformation potion and change into that appearance with my own eyes, I would never have connected that witch to you,” Vasida praised.

“How did you manage to resist saying more to Greta?” Lilith asked. “If it were me, I’d definitely have chatted more with her to become friends — wouldn’t that make the contract go more smoothly later?”

Mo Lan shook her head. “I was playing an Advanced potion-brewing witch! If I showed too much warmth toward a little mage apprentice, she wouldn’t feel honored — she’d suspect I had ulterior motives. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Achieving the objective is enough, and things are just right the way they are now.

A witch who happened to pass by and made a deal with her.

It demonstrated a witch’s integrity in transactions without giving her cause for suspicion.”

All Lilith could say was: “You really are the best actress!”

“Why are you all hovering here?” Mo Lan glanced down from the flying carpet. “Greta’s selling her wares here?”

“You even walked right past her stall after buying your books!” Lilith said.

“The way she looked at your back was the same way we used to look at Lady Carmela,” Vasida said. “I’d say your performance was a success.”

Mo Lan smiled smugly. “Of course!”

Having inherited the experiential memories of so many actors and screenwriters from Earth, if she couldn’t pull off a performance like this, she might as well give up.

“By the way, how’s Greta’s business going? When will she save enough for travel expenses to the capital?” Mo Lan asked.

“Greta’s plan to make big money selling bread cards has probably fallen through. She set up her stall all afternoon, sold a few cards, booked an inn room and had dinner, and spent it all. She’s still out there selling right now,” Sylph said.

“She’s so lucky — why doesn’t she just stumble upon some gold coins or treasure! Selling bread like this, who knows how long it’ll take to save up enough for travel expenses!” Vasida said.

“Her luck doesn’t extend that far,” Mo Lan recalled the memories she’d read from Greta — there had never been an instance of finding money on the road. At most, she’d get a premonition when danger was approaching.

“Moira, take out the flying carpet!” Lilith said. “It looks like Greta’s going to be staying in Riverside Village for quite a while. Her inn is right across the way — let’s set up camp here too!”

“No need! Let’s head straight for Count Parluf’s territory!” Mo Lan said.

“We’re leaving already? Just abandoning Greta?” Sylph was still a bit worried.

“Greta’s already within the borders of the Duchy of Lance. Given the duchy’s favorable treatment of mages, nothing will happen to her — plus she has her lucky intuition!

She already escaped from the Kingdom of Watson. Compared to that, the Duchy of Lance is a much more peaceful environment for her.

The rest of the journey to the capital, she’ll manage on her own.

Besides, I can still track her location and check on her status through the card’s connection.

If we go to Count Parluf’s territory first and get our own identities established, then we’ll be Instructor Moira and three little mage apprentices — and we won’t be able to ride the flying carpet anymore.

We’ll have to take a carriage to the capital, and by then we might even arrive after Greta!

Tonight we’ll just camp in the woods north of Riverside Village for the night,” Mo Lan said.