Chapter 319 – The Juice Punishment

Chapter 319 – The Juice Punishment

The little witches lay on the lawn until none of them wanted to move anymore. Vasida simply set up the constant-temperature magic circle on the rooftop grass, and everyone slept right there on the lawn.

The next morning, when the first rays of sunlight pierced through the darkness, the six of them sat up wrapped in animal-hide blankets and were greeted by the sunrise.

A magnificent sunrise that cleansed the soul.

“Next, it should be my place, right?” Cheryl said.

“Vasida’s place should be closer to my home, shouldn’t it?” Alba said.

The two of them pulled out their maps for comparison. Cheryl’s home was closer to Greengrass Plains, but Alba’s home was a bit closer to Vasida’s place.

Their two homes weren’t far from each other either.

Mo Lan marked her own map and estimated the distances. “We should reach Alba’s place by noon, and we can stay overnight at Cheryl’s by evening.”

The group set off once more.

Alba’s home was also by a river, though on a small riverbank.

The riverbank was separated by a stretch of cliff face, which served as a natural protective wall.

The riverbank wasn’t large. A small wooden cabin stood right against the cliff, and the remaining space had all been cleared into farmland with various crops planted.

Her cabin was identical to the type they’d learned to build in Wilderness Survival Class.

After all, this was a bet she’d joined on short notice—every detail was purely practical.

“Not bad, right?” Alba was quite satisfied. “This is the safest place I could find. No defenses needed—wild animals simply can’t get in. Other than being far from Greengrass Plains, there are no downsides!”

“It really is nice!” the little witches all agreed.

Only Mo Lan, after examining the soil on the riverbank and the weeds that originally grew there, said, “Alba, you need to watch out for the river’s flood season here. About half the riverbank might get submerged. Your fields near the river could very well flood, though your cabin should be fine.”

“Yes, yes, exactly! When the rainy season came last year, half my fields got flooded! This year I only planted short-growing-cycle vegetables in the outer half of the fields,” Alba said.

Seeing that she had it well in hand, Mo Lan was relieved.

Alba sidled up to Cheryl. “How do you think my place compares to yours?”

“About the same, I’d say,” Cheryl replied.

Only after they reached Cheryl’s home did they realize her assessment was spot on.

Her home was on a mountaintop.

The mountain had steep cliffs on all four sides, with a flat area of roughly a hundred square meters at the summit.

Cheryl’s small earthen house stood on this mountaintop plateau.

Just like Alba’s, it was a structure they’d learned to build in Wilderness Survival Class.

She had originally planned to reinforce it with the Petrification Spell, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

With the earthen house occupying the mountaintop, there was no room left to grow anything up there.

However, she had made use of every slightly flat spot on the mountain’s cliff walls—a patch here, a patch there—which added up to a decent amount of crops.

Neither of them had added any extra decorations to their homes.

Were it not for the flood risk at Alba’s place, it would have been impossible to distinguish between the two.

As things stood, everyone unanimously agreed that Cheryl’s home was slightly better than Alba’s.

Currently, Alba was ranked last.

But she wasn’t worried. “We still haven’t seen Iris’s place!”

Iris sighed. “How about we just skip it, and I’ll drink the Breadfruit juice? My home is smaller than all of yours.”

“We still need to see it for it to count!” Alba said.

“That’s right. We also need to know where your home is so we can stay in touch later,” Mo Lan said.

In the end, they went anyway.

After flying above a forest of tall trees, Iris said, “We’re here.”

Everyone looked around but couldn’t spot any sign of a dwelling.

“Follow me!” Iris flew down into the forest, and just as she was about to reach the canopy, she suddenly picked up speed. “Lucky day today!”

With the dense foliage above, none of them had noticed the deep natural pit hidden below. The opening was just wide enough to fit all six of them descending on broomsticks at once, and by eye it looked over twenty meters deep.

At the bottom lay fallen leaves, dead branches, and several obviously hand-sharpened wooden stakes. A wild boar with its leg impaled on one of the stakes had been trapped there for who knows how long, already on its last breath.

Iris hovered midway in the pit and put it out of its misery.

“Iris, is this a hunting trap you set up?” Vasida called from the opening.

“That’s right,” Iris nodded. “It’s also my home.”

“Your home?” Mo Lan and the others were stunned. “How can anyone live in here?”

“Drop down a bit and you’ll see,” Iris said.

Mo Lan and the others descended slowly into the pit on their broomsticks, and only then did they discover there was more to this pit than met the eye.

About six meters from ground level, a small space had been carved out of the pit wall.

It was very small. A narrow wooden bed sat in the corner, with a bit of open space beside it—just enough to fit a portable kitchen.

On the other side of the open space was a small doorway, only passable by crouching. Inside hung cured meats for preservation, and the floor was covered with a layer of plant ash.

“You live here?” Mo Lan had to hand it to her. Would it have killed her to carve this stone chamber a little bigger? Or at least build a wall to separate the chamber from the trap?

As things stood, any wild animal that stumbled into the trap would fall right past Iris’s eyes to the bottom of the pit.

“It’s enough for me. I’m only living here for a year anyway,” Iris said. “I have a place to sleep, a place to cook, and a place to store meat. It keeps out the wind and rain, and even helps me get meat.

I also planted a few passion trees in the forest outside. Basically no wild animals will gnaw on those trees.

I was planning to dig out another stone chamber next to this one to grow some vegetables and grain. During the day, if I don’t cover the pit opening, there’s actually some light that gets in. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I lost. Where’s the Breadfruit juice? Give it here and I’ll drink it!”

Seeing her like this, Mo Lan and the others couldn’t bear to punish her.

She had only been roped into the competition later, after all.

Vasida, who had originally placed last among the initial three, felt the most guilty. “You were all pulled into this midway—it’s not really fair to compare with us. The loser should be me.”

“I agreed to the bet myself. You bet, you accept the outcome!” Iris said nonchalantly. “It’s just unsweetened fruit juice. It’s not like I haven’t gnawed on raw Breadfruit before.”

Sylph produced the punishment drink—the unsweetened Breadfruit juice she and Vasida had prepared together on the day of the Academy ceremony.

Vasida quickly poured half of it away for herself. “We both lost. Let’s drink it together!”

“Fine!” Iris didn’t refuse this time.

The two of them tilted their heads back to drink. They had planned to gulp it all down in one big swig, but the very first mouthful was so sour they couldn’t take it.

Iris instantly regretted it. “This isn’t fair—let’s just have Vasida drink it all!”

Vasida hurriedly countered, “I was competing against Moira and Sylph, and you were competing against Cheryl and Alba. We both lost, so half each is perfectly fair.”