Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam

The Imperial Capital is truly a ghostly place.

This is the conclusion the Nightmare Witch reached after her investigations. Initially, she thought her visit to the capital would be spent in hiding.

Concealed in shadows, secretly controlling the empire's major nobles, extracting intelligence from them, and finally uncovering the hiding places of the Lindong Witch and Rowena. This idea of matching wits with the entire empire made her blood surge... until she found herself walking down the street unhindered.

Logic told Nightmare she should head straight to Rowena's mansion and give the two members of Dreamweaver a big "surprise," yet her body defied her thoughts and stopped in front of a mansion.

"Witch Occupational Transition Office."

The mansion appeared to have originally belonged to a noble, now requisitioned as an office.

Well then, let her see what the hell is going on in this place!

As soon as she entered the door, Nightmare was drawn in by the aroma of food. Although a witch doesn't need to consume food to regain energy, anyone who knows how to enjoy life would never ignore good food.

She immediately saw dishes like ham sandwiches, enoki mushroom beef rolls, long-grain rice with beef stewed in red wine. In her frozen memory, these were foods found only at noble banquets, and the sign on the wall contrasted starkly with these dishes—the self-service dining area.

Nightmare felt her mind freeze.

Self-service... What does it mean? Does it mean you can eat for free?

Ridiculous, such a trap is as clumsy as placing a bag of gold coins on a country road; surely there's poison inside!

"Grrrr——"

Nightmare intended to refuse, but her stomach betrayed her, making strange noises.

She had been rushing over the past few days, avoiding unnecessary trouble, passing through various cities without stopping, and hadn't had a warm meal in ages.

She stood her ground, staring at the tray, observing it for quite a while.

Then again, she as one of the strongest witches, naturally resistant to all poisons, decided to test if the Imperial Capital's poisoning skills had improved over hundreds of years!

Before acting, Nightmare sought out a staff member at the Witch Occupational Transition Office to confirm, "If I haven't misunderstood, is the food in the hall free?"

"Yes, Miss Witch, please help yourself."

The staff member gave her a warm smile, and even handed her a flyer, "While dining, you can learn about the specific details of our office."

It had been a long time since anyone smiled at her like this, even those under Dreamweaver only showed superficial respect and secretly wished to replace her. Nightmare frowned; this warm smile made her uncomfortable. She thought people of the capital must be ill, showing such enthusiasm to a witch.

Could it be that during her absence, witches have ceased to be part of everyday human life?

No, wasn't Lindong causing a war here just two years ago?

Following the principle of thoroughly testing "toxicity," Nightmare took a portion from every tray, especially nearly half a plate of ham slices.

Friends skilled in poisoning know that ham slices are the most toxic ingredient and must be carefully scrutinized.

After all, the office seemed sparsely populated, and leaving these items here would be wasteful.

Unconsciously, Nightmare's steps grew lighter. My goodness, this place felt as comfortable as her mansion! No, even more comfortable than her mansion; although she had servants, they were all believers of the Evil God, wearing distorted expressions, each smiling like a serial killer. Staying among them, she could never truly relax.

The ham slice entered her mouth, its salty flavor spreading across her taste buds.

Toxic... very potent! It reminded her of the taste from hundreds of years ago.

With eyes closed, taking a deep breath for a moment, the Nightmare Witch crossed her legs and placed the flyer on the table, initially glancing casually, but her eyes widened when she saw its content.

"Witches are no different from you and me, they are a group of humans pursuing magic."

"They are not inherently evil."

"They can be members of the Artisan Association, a magician you encounter in the Astrology Guild, or they could be your companions, friends, lovers!"

Who on earth wrote this, she wondered?

The Nightmare Witch nearly slammed down the table; what companions, friends, lovers—the witch is a lofty being, magicians and Elemental Shapers pale in comparison to their magical talent. They excel at manipulating hearts, mastering trickery!

No wonder the worker before was not afraid of her but smiled warmly and genuinely.

These simple-minded empire people were clearly deceived by the false advertisement on the flyer.

Well, let her continue looking... why is there an interview with Rowena below?

"Miss Rowena Responds to Journalists"?

During an interview, Rowena addressed several questions about the Lindong Witch. She openly stated that no one understands Lindong better than her, being Lindong's partner. When reporters asked about past incidents, Rowena disclosed the crimes of those targets—all this for the sweeping away of the empire's tumors!

Pope Julius' faction, Lofic Consortium's capitalists exploiting the lower classes…

This segment of the interview garnered widespread support among imperial residents.

Rowena further pointed out that the notion that "witches cannot control magic power and go berserk slaughtering innocents" is sheer rumor, Lindong is akin to a cat; although often hissing at people, rarely does she scratch or bite.