Chapter 17 – Bi’er’s Gift

In the farmlands, two figures crouching low and tiptoeing about with suspicious stealth stood out like sore thumbs.

A little sprite who had been directing large butterflies to transport crops caught sight of them, casually smoothed out her little skirt, then fluttered her wings and vanished into thin air.

“Huh? Where did the sprite go?” Sylph looked up to check their bearings, her voice full of surprise and uncertainty.

Mo Lan raised her head too. “The big butterflies are still here, but the sprite seems to have disappeared!”

“You two—are you looking for me?”

A crisp voice came from behind them.

Mo Lan and Sylph turned their heads stiffly. “!!!”

Iridescent wings, grass-green hair, emerald eyes, a delicate porcelain face, rosy pink lips… if this wasn’t a sprite, what was?

“Hello there! I’m a new witch who just enrolled. You can call me Sylph. I’m so sorry for disturbing you… you’re really so adorable! Even cuter than the sprites in the books!”

An unbearably sweet and gentle voice poured from Sylph’s mouth, making Mo Lan rub her arms with goosebumps.

The sprite was cute, sure, but Sylph’s reaction was way over the top! Her voice was sickeningly sweet, and her eyes were practically shooting out hearts.

If Sylph’s usual gentleness was at a factor of one, then facing this sprite, she had cranked it up to a hundred—no, a thousand times over.

She looked exactly like some unhinged mother who wanted to bundle the sprite up and sneak her home to take care of.

The sprite seemed perfectly fine with this. “Hello there, Sylph!”

She turned to look at Mo Lan.

“I’m Moira!” Mo Lan said.

“Hello, Moira!”

“Welcome to the planting zone! I’m Bi’er, the intern management sprite for Field Number Eight!”

The sprite’s voice grew even more bright and endearing. “Don’t worry, I’m not like the rest of my kind—I don’t mind being approached! I’m so happy to meet you, my two equally adorable little witches! Here, this is for you!”

She flapped her wings, and two tiny leaf-wrapped bundles drifted down into Mo Lan and Sylph’s hands.

The leaves unfolded to reveal several fresh raspberries inside.

Sylph was flattered beyond words. “Thank you, Bi’er!”

“No need to thank me! I like the aura you two carry. As long as you have the time, just come visit me in the fields more often, chat with me, and tell me stories about the outside world.

I’ve been in the Witch Academy since I was born. I’ve heard the world out there is incredibly interesting…” Bi’er said, her face full of longing.

“Deal!” Sylph agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

It dawned on Mo Lan—so she was a little sprite curious about the outside world!

“Alright! I have to go now! Next time you come here, just call my name and I’ll appear! Goodbye, Sylph! Goodbye, Mo Lan!”

“Goodbye!”

Bi’er fluttered her wings and vanished from sight once more.

This time, even the large butterflies dancing among the fields had disappeared.

Mo Lan thought to herself that perhaps there were many more sprites toiling away in the farmlands—they simply never showed themselves.

Sylph’s excitement hadn’t waned one bit. “The books say that sprites very rarely reveal themselves and only appear before people they truly like.

That means Bi’er really likes us!

Do you think if we tell her more stories about the outside world, we might have a chance at receiving a sprite’s blessing?”

“Maybe!” Even Mo Lan was tempted. “Having a sprite help tend the garden and herb fields would save so much work! Unfortunately, I’ve lived in Emerald Creek Plains my whole life. When it comes to Valen, all I can really talk about are the meadows and waterbirds of Emerald Creek.”

“I’ve never left Starlight Forest either, but Mom and Dad have told me lots of stories. I’ll go back and organize them, pick out the fun ones, and come tell them to Bi’er next time,” Sylph said.

One of them coveted the sprite’s abilities, the other adored the sprite’s appearance, and all the way to the Ingredient Collection Station, they were still discussing how to raise their favorability with Bi’er.

Inside the Ingredient Collection Station, it looked much like a supermarket from Mo Lan’s previous life. Shelves of all sizes were piled high with ingredients.

Many of them Mo Lan had never seen before.

Two young witches were already inside the station. Their baskets were empty too, so they appeared to have just arrived as well.

The two of them were huddled together talking, and their excited manner looked awfully familiar.

Mo Lan and Sylph walked over and caught snippets about “sprites” and “stories” and such.

They were also holding raspberries and leaves identical to theirs.

Mo Lan and Sylph exchanged a glance. “Iris! Alba!”

The two young witches immediately hid what they were holding behind their backs.

Sylph held out her own raspberries. “You two met a sprite too?”

Iris and Alba: “Too?”

“The sprite you met wouldn’t also happen to be named Bi’er, would she?” Mo Lan asked.

“You know Bi’er too?” Iris and Alba were thoroughly confused. “Aren’t sprites supposed to rarely show themselves?”

The four young witches compared notes and found their experiences were nearly identical.

Each of them had happened to spot a sprite in the farmlands, greeted her, and received her gift.

Bi’er had told Mo Lan and Sylph that she liked the aura about them and wanted them to tell her more stories about the outside world.

She had also told Iris that she loved her passion for cooking, and told Alba that her hair was like the golden sun, so beautiful that a sprite couldn’t look away. She wanted to be friends with them and hoped they would come visit her often.

“So…”

Each of them had thought she was the lucky one—the rare person chosen by a sprite who seldom revealed herself, favored with a sprite’s affection.

They hadn’t expected that mere moments apart, other young witches had also seen Bi’er.

All four of them were dumbfounded.

Mo Lan felt something was off. “Do you think Bi’er showed herself on purpose?”

Iris’s eyes darted. “You mean it wasn’t us who stumbled upon her, but she deliberately revealed herself to draw us in?”

Mo Lan nodded.

“But don’t sprites only appear before people they truly like?” Alba said. “The 《Young Witch’s Primer》 says that once a sprite reveals herself to someone, it means she intends to bestow a sprite’s blessing!”

“Maybe this particular sprite just happens to like a lot of people?” Mo Lan said.

“Are you talking about Bi’er?” Lilith had appeared at some point without anyone noticing.

“You know about her too, Lilith?” Mo Lan asked.

“Every witch in the Academy knows her!

Starting ten years ago, every young witch who passes by the farmlands for the first time encounters Bi’er.

Every young witch is her friend, and she’s made it clear that she wants to bestow a sprite’s blessing and form a contract with a witch.

But to this day, not a single witch has won her over.

The moment any witch brings up the matter of forming a contract, she’s never seen again.”

Lilith continued:

“Everyone says Bi’er probably doesn’t actually want to form a contract at all—she just wants to trick young witches into telling her stories.

Gradually, fewer and fewer witches bother visiting her. After all, coursework is quite demanding, and no witch has the time to go tell stories to a sprite every day—especially when they can’t repeat any…”