Chapter 693: Utopia
……
Dinner was delivered by a servant.
Before even lifting the lid, Annie could smell the mouth-watering aroma. Inside the iron box was a thick stack of golden-brown baked bread, clearly made from finely ground wheat flour that had been kneaded and fermented. In addition, there was a small packet of butter and a pot of meat broth, enough for five people to enjoy.
"Spoons, bowls, and plates are in the kitchen cupboard. Breakfast will be delivered tomorrow as well, so there's no need to save any food overnight," the servant said methodically. "Before you receive your official resident ID, please do not leave the diplomatic building without permission. Also, the basement is off-limits. If you want to practice your abilities, you can go to the rooftop terrace. There is a service room on the first floor where I will be sleeping. If you need anything, please feel free to come and find me. Unlike an inn, all services here are free."
The five of them listened in a daze, and even after the servant bowed and left, they were still stunned for a moment.
"Is this how great nobles entertain guests? It's just like in the plays," Amy exclaimed first. "Except the lines are a bit off."
"Like what?" Broken Sword and Hero asked curiously.
"Like 'Esteemed sirs, I am honored to serve you'... That's usually how it starts."
"We're not nobles, so he wouldn't say that," Seventy-Six chuckled. "Anyway, let's eat first. I'm starving."
"You're right." Everyone swallowed hard in unison.
This is bad. Is this a honey trap set by the King of Graycastle? A sense of unease rose in Annie's heart. It seemed like a move to win them over, but the head of the Witch Union hadn't even asked about their abilities. The contradictory actions made it difficult for her to gauge their intentions. If it were just her, it would be fine, but now that she had four companions, she had to be even more cautious and never make the same mistakes as before.
The safest way, without a doubt, was to stay away from the Western Region—the Church had now declared its demise, and their greatest enemy no longer existed. As long as they found a village or small town near a large city, they could hide their identities and survive, just like they did in Dawn.
Unfortunately, that method was no longer feasible.
Watching Seventy-Six stagger to the table, she couldn't help but sigh. In any case, the Witch Union did possess the ability to heal the disabled, and the described prospects were quite enticing. Now that she had seen a glimmer of hope for Hero to stand again, she naturally couldn't just take the four of them and leave.
Oh well, let's fill our stomachs first.
When Annie put a piece of buttered bread in her mouth, she immediately felt an unprecedented soft and sweet flavor fill her mouth. The bread, so fine that it contained not a single grain of grit, practically melted with one bite and easily flowed down her throat without much chewing.
Damn it, this honey trap… is a little too fierce.
Although she was thinking this, she found that her hand was uncontrollably reaching for the next slice.
For a time, the only sounds in the room were those of eating and drinking.
It wasn't until only a few crumbs remained in the iron box that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Will we be able to eat food like this again in the future?" Broken Sword reluctantly licked each of his fingers.
"Probably… not likely," Amy picked up the broth pot and poured the fragrant meat broth evenly into five bowls. The golden broth was dotted with scallions and circles of oil, making it look particularly tempting. "This kind of bread is probably something only the upper nobles can afford. The bread my father ate most often was just coarse bread."
"It's already good to have coarse bread. Don't forget when we first arrived in Dawn, it was difficult just to fill our stomachs." Hero blew on the steam, eagerly took a long drink, then exhaled a warm breath, her low murmur filled with long-lost satisfaction.
"Lady Wendy said that joining the Witch Union would have many benefits... I wonder if that includes food?"
"She said before she left that she would take us to visit Neverwinter City and the Witch Union tomorrow. Let's ask her then."
"I hope so."
Hearing her companions discussing the possible benefits that the Witch Union might offer, a premonition vaguely arose in Annie's heart that they might be staying in this city for a very long time.
……
After taking a bath, the group went to bed early—a suite consisted of a living room and four bedrooms, and after some discussion, the five quickly decided on their room assignments. As the witch with the most strength, Annie naturally chose to share a bed with Hero, who had great difficulty moving around.
The bed was very soft and had no musty smell, indicating that it was frequently cleaned. Only a few small embers remained in the fireplace, and the flickering dim light reflected the furnishings in the room onto the white stone walls. The black shadows swayed gently, as if dancing with the howling wind outside the window.
She carried Hero into the bed and then blew out the candle.
The warmth of her hands quickly warmed the large bed. Hero snuggled into her arms and said softly, "It's been almost a year since we left Wolfheart, right?"
"Well... if you count from the day we arrived at the Dawn border, it's been almost a year and two months," Annie nodded.
"Then how long has it been since we left our hometown?"
This question made her fall silent. In fact, Annie had long forgotten the exact time she left her hometown, only remembering that it was a remote village located northwest of Wolfheart. After her identity as a witch was exposed, she had constantly traveled eastward, her footprints covering most of Wolfheart, until she was betrayed by the Bloodfang Association and stopped on the outskirts of the royal capital.
Broken Sword and Hero were the same.
They had been forced to leave their homes for their own reasons. They had experienced many hardships along the way, and finally met Annie in Wolfheart City, which led to their later escape together.
"It's been almost five years for me," Hero said in a low voice. "In these five years, I've been hiding from the Church's pursuit everywhere, almost without stopping for a moment. When I was in the royal capital, I thought I could finally stop running, but I didn't expect that even after losing my legs, I would still have to continue running."
Annie couldn't help but hold her even tighter.
"Lady Wendy said... this is the home of witches. Can we really settle down here?" Hero's voice was intermittent, like the faint sound of the wind outside the window, as if asking her, yet also talking to herself. "I don't want to wander around anymore."
Annie suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her eyes. "Don't worry, we'll have a house of our own, and you'll be able to regain your legs. You can go anywhere you want—not as a fugitive, but on a leisurely trip."
"Really..." Hero paused for a long time. "If only I had been born in Graycastle from the beginning." In the end, her voice was almost inaudible.
Annie opened her mouth, just about to say something, when she heard the sound of even breathing in her ear.
The girl in her arms had already fallen asleep.