Chapter 601 – The Candy Shop Grand Opening

When Garona was outside, she couldn’t see any trace of the Alchemy runes on the Crystal glass windows at all. She had originally assumed that once inside, she’d be able to spot some traces, but the result was the same—nothing visible.

When she heard Mo Lan mention mage Alchemy while bringing out the Inverse-Space Shackle magic circle, she asked curiously, “Moira, what level have you reached in mage Alchemy?”

“I’ve mastered every Alchemy blueprint that the Imperial Magic Academy has,” Mo Lan said.

That single sentence stunned every Witch into silence.

Camilla: “The… the Imperial Magic Academy?”

“Isn’t that the highest institution of learning for mages?” Evelyn said.

Euphemia murmured, “Do the mages even know about this?”

“No wonder so many magic item cards bearing traces of human Alchemy suddenly appeared on the Card Shop a few years back!” Agnes said.

“The overachiever Sorceress—she truly lives up to her reputation!” Melinda exclaimed with a sigh.

“Don’t even get me started. I’ve been swept up in her pace too,” Bella said.

In truth, her own talent for Alchemy Magic wasn’t bad either—it simply couldn’t compare to her talent for light-element magic.

It was just that she’d focused all her energy on light-element magic, and her Alchemy Magic had only progressed to the point of making simple little trinkets.

Now she felt that focus or no focus, as long as you grind hard enough, nothing is beyond reach.

Mo Lan was a living example of that.

Mo Lan’s scalp tingled under their stares. Seeing the magical clock on the wall tick to the nine o’clock position, she hurriedly changed the subject: “It’s time! Open the doors!”

The moment nine o’clock struck, the doors of the Magic Candy Shop swung open on their own.

The magic loudspeaker at the entrance began repeating the store rules:

“Grand opening—free samples welcome! New customers may touch the coin slot on any candy machine to receive one free magic candy. Every candy machine offers a free sample!

To purchase candy, please proceed to the Candy Coin Exchange and knock to enter.

Ten Gem Coins can be exchanged for one Candy Coin. One Candy Coin may be used to purchase any single magic candy from the candy machines.

The Candy Coin Exchange admits one person at a time. All other customers, please queue in an orderly fashion.

This is a small, honest business. Light-Shadow Sprites and thieves are prohibited from entering the Candy Coin Exchange.”

The Hermits lined up outside listened silently through the entire announcement. Only when it began playing a second time did they start filing into the shop in an orderly manner.

It had to be said—the Hermits, stripped of normal human emotions, were remarkably good at following rules.

When told the doors opened at nine, the early arrivals queued obediently without a single complaint about the wait.

After the doors opened, they all listened to the full announcement before going in to get candy.

Only a few Hermits took issue when they heard that Light-Shadow Sprites and thieves were both banned from the Candy Coin Exchange.

“Light-Shadow Sprites are spirits of light—how can you lump them together with thieves?”

Hermits never believed that the thieves of the Holy City were Light-Shadow Sprites. Even if they witnessed a Light-Shadow Sprite stealing with their own eyes, they would only assume it was some ploy by a thief.

But once they entered the shop and saw the interior décor, every last trace of dissatisfaction was cast aside.

“Heavens! It’s so beautiful in here!”

“Is that the sun? I’ve never seen a sun emblem like that before, yet one look and you just know—that’s the sun!”

“This radiance… it’s so warm. It feels like truly basking in warm sunlight.”

“Is this paradise? Why does it feel like I’m walking on clouds?”

…

The candy shop’s interior design received unanimous praise from the Hermits.

Some Hermits even dropped to the floor on the spot, clutching their prayer instruments, and began praying.

Mo Lan and the Witches peered out through the glass window of the Candy Coin Exchange, and it looked like they were witnessing a large-scale religious gathering.

If not for the long queues already forming beside each candy machine, the décor she’d put so much effort into would have become a colossal joke.

Put simply, her design had taken the foundation of emphasizing the sun and light elements, then added motifs of sky and clouds.

The sky and cloud elements were additions she’d made based on her understanding of the Angels.

The Hermits’ preferences stemmed from being assimilated by the Holy Light. The Holy Light originated from the Angels of Heaven’s Peak. Heaven’s Peak hung suspended in the sky, and Mo Lan figured that this feeling of looking down upon all living beings from on high was something the Angels of Heaven’s Peak enjoyed—which meant the Hermits, assimilated by the Holy Light, would surely love it too.

She hadn’t expected them to love it quite this much. An entire crowd had dropped to their knees.

Fortunately, Mo Lan’s décor wasn’t overly realistic—more impressionistic than photorealistic. After the initial excitement passed, the candy shop’s announcements reminded the Hermits that this was, in fact, a candy store, and they gradually formed queues in front of the candy machines.

Once they received their free sample candies and ate them, discovering that their entire bodies felt renewed from head to toe—practically more radiant than an Angel descended from Heaven’s Peak, lacking only the wings—the Candy Coin Exchange grew lively as well.

Mo Lan no longer had time to watch the customers’ reactions outside. She was letting people in one by one to exchange their Candy Coins.

Thankfully, the Hermits showed little emotional fluctuation over anything unrelated to their worship of light. No matter how long the queue or how crowded the shop, they felt nothing at all. There was absolutely no need to worry about Hermits causing a scene.

They would simply avoid shops they didn’t like, then “kindly” offer some suggestions.

For this magic candy shop that felt like paradise itself, they were happy to wait as long as it took.

Especially after peering through the glass window and seeing the Witches inside the Candy Coin Exchange—thoroughly reformed, beautifully dressed, and impeccably mannered—they felt even more gratified.

Fellow worshippers of light, all of them. No wonder they could open a magic candy shop that felt like paradise.

The only regret was that the candy couldn’t fill one’s stomach.

“If this were a magic bakery, it would be perfect,” said Mary, the first to enter the Candy Coin Exchange. “Excessive sweetness just isn’t as practical as the satisfaction of bread filling your belly.”

“I’m sorry, but to achieve these magical effects, it has to be candy,” Mo Lan said with a straight face, lying through her teeth.

After handing over the corresponding Candy Coins, Mo Lan tapped the bell on the counter. “Next!”

She had already learned how to handle the “well-meaning” Hermits—get them to wrap up their conversations quickly.

Mo Lan’s targets were Angels, or at the very least, Hermits who knew Angels and could relay messages to them. Mary the seamstress was not on her list for further engagement.

Unfortunately, over a dozen people came through in succession, and none were the targets she was hoping for.

Not until Garona said: “Luwen is here!”

Only then did Mo Lan’s interest perk up.

Luwen… had he come to buy magic candy for that Light-Shadow Sprite named Miliel—or rather, that Angel?

Luwen collected his free sample candy first but didn’t eat it. Instead, he went straight to the back of the queue for the Candy Coin Exchange.

More than ten minutes later, it was finally his turn.

Luwen walked in without a word, pulled out eight 100-denomination Gem Coin Cards, and said: “Give me eighty Candy Coins.”