Chapter 546 – Merfolk Beach

Chapter 546 – Merfolk Beach

Under the setting sun, magical ships sliced through golden waves as they sailed into the harbor.

On a bench by the docks, Mo Lan cradled a cup of sweet milk, sipping it while nibbling on the bear-shaped cookies Sophie had given her.

The bear cookies were fragrant and crispy. Paired with the sweet milk, a rich milky aroma blossomed on her tongue, leaving a lingering aftertaste—though for her taste, they were just a touch too sweet.

Seabirds circled the docks begging for food. Mo Lan copied what others were doing, taking two bear cookies and raising her hand high with her palm spread open.

Two seabirds immediately flew over, landed briefly on her palm, snatched the cookies, and took off.

Zhizhi: (○o○)!

It looked down at the bamboo tube it was clutching, then raised it high into the air, gazing expectantly at the birds above.

A seabird was drawn by its gesture and flew over. Upon catching a whiff of alcohol, it gave the bamboo tube a disdainful peck and flew away.

Zhizhi: ……

Clack looked at Mo Lan, then at Zhizhi, and with immense reluctance raised the soul essence pudding in its hands.

A seabird flew over: “!!!”

Yet another one trying to trick birds with random nonsense!

This particular bird had a temper. Its tail feathers gave a shake, and a suspicious white blob plopped right onto the gleaming silver skull.

Zhizhi, who had just been fuming at the seabird, immediately burst out laughing.

Mo Lan couldn’t help but laugh at these two clowns either.

Bird droppings were pretty disgusting though, so Mo Lan casually hit Clack with a Cleaning spell for a thorough head scrub.

Traveling as a Witch really was the best! The Cleaning spell was always at her fingertips, she could hop on a broom whenever she pleased—so convenient.

Her Communication Card chimed with a new message notification. Mo Lan took it out to check.

【Rose: Are you Senior Moira?】

So she’d been recognized.

【Moira: Yes.】

An explosion of delighted shrieks erupted within the Witch Knight Society.

“It really is her!” Rose was overjoyed.

“Quick, quick! Ask if she wants to go drinking!” Dora said.

“That’s a bit too forward. Just say we’re planning to go to the Merfolk Tavern tonight and ask if she’d like to come!” Leah said. “It’s Senior Moira’s first time in Moon Harbor—she’s definitely interested in the Merfolk!”

Rose replied to the message as suggested.

【Moira: Don’t you all have work tonight?】

Mo Lan had seen their delivery price list—it even included late-night delivery services!

“Work?” Dora rummaged through today’s orders. “There aren’t any rush orders tonight…”

Just as she was saying this, the shop door swung open.

“Hello! I’d like to send a small parcel to the Morning Star, which departed this afternoon. Rush delivery…”

The three witches exchanged glances.

Rose immediately said, “I’m sorry, we’re on holiday today. We’re not accepting rush orders tonight.”

Money could be earned any time, but Senior Moira wouldn’t always be around.

“I can pay extra! Double the rate!”

That was a big order!

Leah gritted her teeth. “Would tomorrow morning work? We guarantee delivery within one day.”

“That works too.”

The witches breathed a sigh of relief.

After seeing the customer off, Dora hurried to flip the sign at the door—the words “Closed” now faced outward, lest any more customers come in.

Leah grabbed the broomstick by the entrance and called to her companions, “Let’s go, let’s go! To Merfolk Beach!”

“Wait! Let me take off my knight vest,” Rose said hastily.

The three of them hurriedly locked up and headed out.

At the docks, Mo Lan also took her broomstick back out.

She had booked a room at an inn on the seaside boulevard with an ocean-facing view.

She’d originally planned to enjoy the sea breeze at the docks a while longer before heading back to rest.

But the Merfolk Tavern Rose mentioned had piqued her interest.

Mo Lan had read plenty of books about the different races, but she hadn’t actually seen many of them in person.

She’d chosen this bench at the docks not just for the scenery, but more because there were many Dwarf magical ships here.

They brought not only goods from other places, but also many members of other races who had come to Moon Harbor for sightseeing or to make a living.

Besides the Dwarves, there were all sorts of Beastmen bearing various bestial features.

But the Merfolk, supposedly the most commonly seen race in Moon Harbor, were nowhere to be found.

“Merfolk Beach?”

Mo Lan recalled the map of Moon Harbor in her mind, then mounted her broom, scooped up Zhizhi and Clack and set them in front of her, and flew north.

The docks and magical ships were concentrated in the middle section of Moon Harbor’s bay.

The waters in this area were the deepest, and the reefs had been specifically cleared away, allowing even the largest magical ships to pass through unhindered.

Both the southern and northern stretches remained in their natural state, unsuitable for large magical ships to navigate.

Merfolk Beach lay beneath the cliffs at Moon Harbor’s northernmost point, where hidden reefs were densely packed—even small boats risked being wrecked there.

Who would have thought it would become the ideal spot for Merfolk to visit Moon Harbor.

When she arrived at the beach, Mo Lan looked left and right but couldn’t spot any trace of the Merfolk Tavern Rose and the others had mentioned.

“Senior!”

Mo Lan turned toward the voice. Three witches on broomsticks were calling out to her and waving.

They seemed a little nervous, so Mo Lan said, “You’re Leah—outstanding talent in wind-element magic. And you’re Dora—outstanding talent in water magic. Am I right?”

“Senior! You actually remember us?” Leah and Dora were thrilled.

“Senior, Senior! What about me? Do you remember me?” Rose asked.

“Of course I do. You already introduced yourself this afternoon—Rose…”

So Senior Moira hadn’t actually recognized her after all! Rose had just begun to feel disappointed when she heard Mo Lan continue, “…I remember you’re one of the rare ones with a talent for Mind Magic!”

Rose’s spirits soared. Senior Moira did remember her.

It had only been a single meeting at the enrollment ceremony, yet their senior remembered all their names and magical talents.

The sense of distance from years apart from their senior vanished in an instant.

“How long have you all been in Moon Harbor?” Mo Lan was quite curious about them too.

“We all did pretty well on our graduation exams, so after graduating we left the Wilds. Moon Harbor was a city all three of us were interested in, and it’s not particularly dangerous, so we came here together. And we’ve been here ever since,” Rose said.

“What made you think of opening a Witch Knight shop?” Mo Lan asked.

“We got the inspiration from 《The Earth Business Compendium》,” Rose said.

Mo Lan was puzzled—she didn’t recall writing anything about food delivery or courier riding services in 《The Earth Business Compendium》.

Leah picked up the thread: “Step one of starting a business: assess your own abilities and resources. What you can do that others can’t is your advantage.”

Dora followed right after: “Step two of starting a business: research the market environment, market demand, and competition. High demand and few competitors is ideal.”

Rose concluded, “Only we witches can ride brooms. There’s not a single flying delivery shop in all of Moon Harbor, and the humans here are especially fascinated by witch brooms—so that’s how we came up with the idea!”

“Brilliant!” Mo Lan praised.

It really was a great business.

“By the way, where is the Merfolk Tavern?”

Mo Lan had been here for quite a while now and still hadn’t spotted it.