Chapter 611 – Closed for Business
by spirapira【Moira: There’s nothing left worth learning from holy light magic or faith magic, and I have no reason to stay in the Holy City any longer. I’ll probably be preparing to leave soon. Thank you all for your help during this time.】
【Agnes: Huh? You’re leaving already?】
【Bella: Even if you leave, you’re still a member of the Eight-Times-Speed Gossip Alliance! Remember to share gossip in the group chat!】
【Melinda: That’s right, we’re very interested in gossip from other places too!】
【Garona: Before you leave, let’s do a real rainbow-robes city parade with us!】
【Moira: Sure.】
……
Having decided to leave, Mo Lan immediately posted a “Closed for Business” notice on the door of the Magic Candy Shop.
The Hermits who had come early to buy magic candy stared at those four big red characters—”Closed for Business”—on the white paper, and suddenly felt as though the sky was falling.
“It’s only been open for three days! How can it already be closed?”
“Does the Witch not know the difference between ‘closed for business’ and ‘temporarily closed’?!”
“No! I really can’t live without these amazing magic candies!”
“Boss! Boss, come out here!”
“This Witch finds running a shop rather boring, and has decided to put the magic candy recipes on the Scales of Knowledge in the coming days and sell them to the Dawn Society. Those interested in magic candy can follow the Dawn Society’s Card Shop. —The Boss of the Magic Candy Shop.”
“Everyone, look! The boss says she’ll sell the magic candy recipes to the Dawn Society!”
“Really? I searched, and there’s nothing there yet!”
“It says ‘in the coming days,’ doesn’t it? We’ll probably have to wait a few more days!”
“As long as we can still buy them in the future, that’s fine. I’d better start saving up Gem Coins.”
……
Luwen and Miliel, who had been worrying about how to get the Magic Candy Shop’s owner to leave the Holy City sooner, saw the notice and felt as though a miracle had dropped right into their laps.
It wasn’t as though the two of them hadn’t considered having Miliel come out through the Gate of Heaven, go directly to the Magic Candy Shop to pick a fight with the owner, make it impossible for her to continue doing business, force her to leave the Holy City, and hand the magic candy recipes over to the Dawn Society—so they could buy as many magic candies as they wanted.
But yesterday, two Angels on the verge of advancing had come, and both had obediently bought only thirty candies.
Luwen and Miliel knew full well that Angels would never follow the rules of those they considered “ants.” If they did follow them, there was only one possibility—the other party was no ant they could crush at will, but a true colossus.
Yet after just one night, the owner had decided on her own that running the shop was boring and was preparing to leave!
“Even the heavens are helping us!” Luwen said to the Light-Shadow Sprite hidden beside him.
“Yes!” Miliel said. “We’ll be able to stay together even longer now.”
Just as they were talking, the door of the Magic Candy Shop was suddenly opened from inside.
Mo Lan stepped out, her purple hair and purple eyes restored, wearing a purple Witch’s robe.
The Hermits immediately scattered in all directions as if they’d encountered a plague god.
“Has a new Witch come to the Holy City?”
“She doesn’t seem to be a new Witch—she’s the candy shop’s owner. Her face hasn’t changed! I heard Witches have potions that can change hair and eye color.”
“Wh-what… How did she turn into this?”
“I originally thought she was different from the other Witches! Now it seems she never truly accepted the light or worshipped the light from the bottom of her heart!”
“Boss! This really isn’t right! You looked so beautiful before—if I had your looks, I’d laugh myself awake in my dreams! But now… it’s just too ugly!”
“That’s right! Dye it back!”
Previously, Mo Lan had always gone along with the Hermits’ “suggestions”—even when she didn’t intend to listen, she would at least humor them with a few words. Now that she wasn’t planning to stay in the Holy City any longer, she had no intention of continuing to put herself through that.
Hearing their words, she fired back directly: “I think I look quite good like this. You lot, on the other hand—all white, like a flock of ignorant little lambs. The kind that get slaughtered for meat and still think they’ve been redeemed. Tsk~”
Having been assimilated into fanatical believers by the Angels’ Holy Light, and feeling so proud of it—weren’t they exactly like ignorant lambs being raised by the Angels?
The Angels weren’t keeping them here to take care of them. They were there to give newly advanced Angels practice harvesting faith power!
Mo Lan wasn’t worried about her remarks making the Angels suspicious, either. After all, the High-Ranking Angels, who had lost their emotions and retained only cold rationality, had no interest whatsoever in this Mainland that could no longer provide them with faith power.
The only ones who would bother sending Light-Shadow Sprites to secretly observe the Holy City and the Sacred Mountains were the low-ranking Angels—and if one came, she’d beat it; if a pair came, she’d beat them both.
“You…”
When it came to verbal sparring, the Hermits—who had lost all their emotions and retained nothing but worship of the light—were no match whatsoever for Mo Lan at full firepower.
After leaving an entire crowd of Hermits speechless, Mo Lan headed to the Holy Song Lily of the Valley tea restaurant in high spirits to meet up with the other Witches.
Luwen watched her departing figure and said to Miliel in his mind, “So she was never influenced by Holy Light at all!”
“Witches truly are an enviable race!” Miliel said.
If the Angels had also allowed their people to keep their own emotions instead of forcing them to give up feelings for the sake of power, she and Luwen wouldn’t be struggling so much now.
Inside the Holy Song Lily of the Valley tea restaurant, Witches dressed in different colored clothing had all gathered together.
“Everyone ready? Let’s go!” Garona said.
“Wait! I prepared these for everyone!” Mo Lan produced a crate of multicolored smoke bombs in various hues. “Tie these onto your brooms! They’ll absolutely fill the Holy City’s sky with different colors!”
After hearing Mo Lan’s description, the Witches were filled with anticipation for the colored smoke bombs.
They each picked smoke bombs that matched the color of their outfits, tied them firmly to their brooms, then mounted up and flew out one after another.
The moment they rose into the sky, they lit the smoke bombs.
Instantly, plumes of multicolored smoke burst from the tails of their brooms, spreading across the sky like a real rainbow.
“Wahoo~”
“Now THIS is a real rainbow!”
“Hahaha! Look at the Hermits—they’re practically dying of rage!”
“We’re basically helping them rediscover a bit of their own emotions, right?”
“Another day of doing good deeds!”
……
On the ground, the Hermits lost all expression on their faces, stunned by the dazzlingly colorful sky.
“What sacrilege! The Holy City has been polluted by Witches!”
“O Light, why have you not yet sent a messenger to purify the sky above the Holy City!”
……
In the Sacred Cemetery, Luwen and Miliel gazed up at the sky.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen such vivid colors!”
“How beautiful!”