Chapter 423 – Reproduction and Love

Fayeth was right—some races really were not advisable to casually choose.

Though Mo Lan hadn’t yet finished reading the books on witch reproduction, she already knew that a witch’s physical structure was identical to that of a human woman, and the method of reproduction was the same as well.

However, during the process of reproduction and gestation, a witch would temporarily lose her magical power. All of her magical power would transfer into her physical body, making her flesh as resilient as a dragon’s.

No matter what race the partner was, a witch’s body would never be damaged by the process of reproduction. But the discomfort caused by incompatible body sizes would not be reduced in the slightest.

Although Mo Lan had died in her previous life without ever having been in a relationship, she had inherited Earth’s memories, and her knowledge of reproduction was anything but lacking—not only regarding humans, but animals as well.

Witches already had remarkably little damage from childbirth compared to most.

Giving birth to a cute little witch held some appeal for Mo Lan, but finding a male of another race to date held absolutely none.

There were many beautiful love stories, but not much beautiful love.

It was this way on Earth, and it was this way in Valen too. Otherwise, Mind Witches wouldn’t mostly end up sealing away their hearts, treating romance as a game.

Doing as Shana’s mother did—seeking out handsome males of various races, keeping feelings out of it, only enjoying the pleasures of physical intimacy, playing around before moving on to the next—struck Mo Lan as an utter waste of one’s precious time.

Lilith noticed Mo Lan’s serious expression. After a long pause without answering her question, Mo Lan even shook her head, and Lilith understood at once:

“Looking at those anatomical diagrams of other races, you probably still didn’t find a single one as interesting as a magic textbook, did you?”

Mo Lan nodded.

“What are you two talking about? What anatomical diagrams of other races?” Vasida asked curiously.

Sylph was quietly blushing off to the side.

Lilith seemed to have discovered a whole new world: “Sylph, you looked at them too?”

Sylph nodded. “Elves all use the Tree of Life to nurture little elves, so I was curious about how my mother and father actually brought me into the world. I passed by the reproduction section of the library and went in to have a look… It turns out I didn’t grow on a tree after all—I was born from my mother’s belly.”

Vasida had never even noticed the reproduction section of the library, nor had she ever paid attention to such matters. Hearing this now, she said in confusion:

“Born from a belly? My mother said she made me using her own blood and my father’s flesh and bone. Isn’t that how it is for everyone?”

“No! I came out of my mother’s belly. My father planted a seed inside my mother’s belly, and after the seed sprouted, they used magic to take it out—and it was already a tiny me.” Sylph said.

“My mother said that my father bit her, and then she bit my father back, and then she got pregnant and gave birth to me,” Lilith added. “As for where I came out from, I have no idea.”

Watching the three of them discuss this so earnestly, Mo Lan genuinely felt her scalp going numb.

Thinking about it carefully, the 《Young Witch’s Primer》 never mentioned any of this, and the Witch Academy didn’t offer any corresponding health education courses either. Witch mothers just made up stories off the top of their heads.

Only 《A Witch’s Guide to Living in the Wilds》 and 《The Valen Complete Travel Guide》 had repeatedly emphasized that before preparing to reproduce with a male of another race, one must first study the books in the Witch Council’s reproduction library.

And so it was that Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph were all eighteen years old and still didn’t know how they’d been born, taking the stories their witch mothers told them as truth!

Lilith and Sylph had at least glanced at some reproduction books, but only scratched the surface without any systematic study, and hadn’t figured out the actual situation at all.

Mo Lan summoned her Grimoire. “Say no more—let’s copy down all those reproduction books first! Once we’re done copying, we’ll find a place to set up camp, and I’ll give you all a proper lesson on basic biology before we continue on our way.”

Either know nothing at all, and you wouldn’t be curious. Or know everything thoroughly, and you could avoid every pitfall.

This state of half-knowing was the most dangerous of all!

This biology lesson could only be taught by her—she had read the most reproduction-related books out of all of them.

And then there was the experience from her previous life. Though that experience wasn’t applicable to most races in Valen, when it came to humans, it was still very much relevant.

Humans were also the ones most likely to entrap a witch, because with their similar appearance and deep ancestral ties, humans were the race that best matched a witch’s aesthetic preferences.

“Is it really that serious?” Lilith didn’t understand. “I get the feeling that whenever reproduction comes up, you get especially tense, Moira. It’s not like it’s something terrifying.”

“It is terrifying!” Mo Lan said. “The partner you reproduce with, the process of reproduction—there are far too many uncertainties involved. If you don’t understand them clearly and try recklessly, it could cost you your life! And especially the love that can develop during the process of reproduction… it makes it all too easy to lose your head!”

“Love can make you lose your head, sure, but we’re witches, aren’t we?” Vasida said.

Lilith and Sylph both nodded in agreement.

Sylph said: “Only races that have loyalty to their partner carved into their very bones could possibly be worthy of love—like pureblooded Elves and Merfolk. Having a romance with a race that’s forever faithful to their partner doesn’t seem so frightening, does it?”

Lilith said: “It doesn’t need to be that restrictive either. Regardless of what race they are, once they’ve signed a Wilds Covenant, then we can talk about love.”

Mo Lan was stunned.

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph might have only a half-baked understanding of the witch reproduction process, not even knowing how they themselves had been conceived.

But their views on reproduction, love, and partnership seemed quite different from the naive, unworldly young girls she had assumed them to be.

To confirm this, Mo Lan asked: “How do you view the relationship between reproduction, love, and partnership?”

“Reproduction is reproduction, and love is love. Reproduction is for having a little witch, and love is for having a partner.

If you want an adorable little witch, then reproduce.

If you want a companion by your side, then fall in love.

There’s no necessary connection between the three, is there?”

Lilith said:

“Besides, I think only someone who’s signed a Wilds Covenant can truly count as a partner. Anything else is just a lover. You can have many lovers, but you can only have one partner.”

“An undead servant contract or a magical familiar contract counts too!” Vasida added.

Sylph nodded as well. “Moira, don’t you think so too?”

“Of course I do,” Mo Lan said. “I was just worried that you didn’t think this way—worried that once you suddenly came into contact with males of other races, curiosity and fantasies of love would cloud your judgment and you’d end up being deceived.”

“How could that happen! There are so many love swindlers out there—what witch doesn’t approach romance with the utmost caution?”

Sylph said: “Moira, you were human in your previous life, so please don’t let yourself be fooled by human love stories!”