Morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Feywonder family cottage, spreading a warm golden blanket across the small rug. In the kitchen, Aivina, wearing an apron printed with a bear cub pattern, was focused on her work. The main dish for breakfast today was Honey Cloud Cake—a sweet pastry made from glutinous rice flour, honey, and milk, steamed to perfection.
White steam curled out of the steamer, carrying a faint sweetness that filled the entire kitchen.
Aivina lifted the lid, gently poked one of the round, plump cakes with a small bamboo skewer. It was just the right firmness, springy and elastic.
She nodded with satisfaction, carefully picking them up with tongs and placing them onto a white porcelain plate.
Before the heat dissipated, she drizzled a small spoonful of homemade caramel honey sauce over each cake.
The golden sauce slowly dripped down the snowy-white cakes, shimmering in the morning light.
After finishing, she hummed a cheerful little tune.
It was a song her mother had taught her when she was little.
As she thought about it, a smile unconsciously tugged at her lips, recalling those sweet memories.
In the hall, three people sat around the dining table.
Leya was buried in the food in front of her, her face full of bliss.
Her cheeks were puffed out like a hamster’s, her mouth stuffed with Cloud Cakes, yet she was still frantically shoving in another piece.
“Don’t steal mine!”
Her tail was shaking wildly behind her, almost blurring from the speed.
Yilena sat across from her, unusually quiet.
The sunlight traced soft contours on her face. With one hand holding a cup of black tea, she flipped through a newspaper just bought from the street with the other. Her pink hair cascaded gently over her shoulders, the morning light settling on her.
She didn’t speak, just occasionally sipped her tea, occasionally turned a page, silent in a way that wasn’t like her.
And Yiruo sat beside Yilena, a full serving of Cloud Cake in front of her, but she hadn’t touched a single bite.
If you looked closely, you’d notice her gaze occasionally drifting over the newspaper, sneakily landing on the witch sitting quietly next to her.
Her mind was in a mess.
Deep blue strands of hair slipped from her ears, covering half her small face.
Last night…
She only remembered going into the bathroom with Yilena.
What had actually happened?
Then her memory seemed to be cut off, leaving nothing but a blank.
She only remembered that they had bathed together, but when she woke up this morning, her and Yilena’s positions were more intimate than usual, and…
She glanced slyly at the witch quietly sipping tea beside her.
Yilena was wearing a turtleneck sweater today, covering her neck.
Just as Yiruo was about to look away, she found Yilena squinting, sneaking a smile at her.
Yiruo’s face started to heat up again.
At that moment, a glass of milk suddenly appeared in front of her.
“——!”
Yiruo jerked her head up, leaning back so hard she almost fell off her chair.
Aivina stood before her, holding the freshly heated milk, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
“Little Yiruo?”
She tilted her head.
“What’s wrong?”
Yiruo steadied herself, scratched the back of her head, and forced a laugh:
“N-nothing! Just… didn’t sleep well last night, a little distracted.”
Aivina looked at her, her gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds.
The blush on that small face hadn’t completely faded yet.
But she didn’t press further, just curved her lips and gently placed the warm milk in front of Yiruo.
“Drink it while it’s hot. Warm milk can neutralize a bit of the sweetness, since the Cloud Cakes have quite a bit of sugar.”
Yiruo looked down at the round, soft cake in front of her, still glazed with golden caramel honey sauce, exuding an enticing sweet aroma.
She picked up her fork, carefully cut off a piece, and put it in her mouth.
Soft, chewy, sweet.
And a faint honey fragrance dissolved on her tongue.
Yiruo’s eyes brightened slightly.
Aivina watched her like that, smiled with satisfaction, and sat down in her own seat.
The table returned to calm.
Until Leya finally swallowed the food in her mouth, grabbed her black tea, took a big gulp, and let out a long breath.
“Ha—I’m alive!”
She set down her cup, then suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up.
“Oh, oh! Speaking of which, Walpurgis Night is coming soon!”
Her mouth was still full, making her speech a bit slurred, but her excitement was impossible to hide.
Yiruo was taking small sips of her warm milk; at the mention of that term, her movement paused slightly.
Walpurgis Night?
She remembered Yilena mentioning it before, but at the time Yilena had just casually brought it up without going into detail.
Aivina saw Yiruo look at her, and was about to explain.
But a familiar voice spoke first.
Yiruo turned her head.
Yilena had put down her newspaper, her big blue eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
She straightened her posture, cleared her throat, and suddenly switched into some strange mode.
“This is the time for the almighty Witch to tell this story~!”
Leya burst out laughing.
She leaned over to Yiruo’s ear and whispered:
“Let me tell you a secret—the Witch loves telling this story the most. In a way, it’s her autobiography~”
Yiruo blinked.
Autobiography?
She looked at Yilena’s face, which was screaming “Come listen to my story,” and somehow felt a flicker of curiosity.
She straightened up and looked seriously at Yilena.
Yilena nodded in satisfaction, and slowly began:
“A long, long time ago—well, actually, not that long ago~ About twenty years ago!”
“One day, a beautiful adventurer like a flower came to a small town called Huyili.”
She paused deliberately here, her gaze drifting toward Yiruo, as if expecting a reaction.
Yiruo: “…”
Leya added quietly beside her:
“She’s talking about herself.”
“I know.”
Yiruo’s face was expressionless.
Yilena didn’t mind at all, continuing:
“Back then, Huyili was nothing like it is now~”
“It was just an unremarkable border town, gathering all kinds of people—refugees, bankrupt merchants, beastmen driven out of their tribes, half-bloods with nowhere to go…”
“Everyone thought it was just an ordinary, unnoticed little place.”
Her voice softened a little.
“But when that adventurer came here, she found…”
“That the people here lived together in harmony.”
“Different races would sit in the same tavern and drink.”
“Strangers would greet each other, help each other.”
“Those who were seen as outcasts elsewhere could live proudly here.”
A gentle smile curled at the corner of Yilena’s lips.
Yiruo listened quietly.
She remembered when she first arrived in Huyili—the warm neighbors, the welcoming smiles.
If she could stay here forever, that would be nice.
Indeed, just as Yilena said.
Yilena continued:
“But then, right at that time—something nobody expected happened.”
Her tone dropped slightly.
“A cult called the ‘Truth Society’ secretly infiltrated Huyili.”
“They captured the town’s residents and conducted inhumane human experiments. Those who were taken never came back.”
“In an instant, fear spread.”
“No one dared to walk the streets anymore. Every household locked their doors and windows. The once harmonious town turned into a prison of panic.”
Leya put away her smile and listened quietly.
Aivina lowered her eyes, her expression complicated.
“Just then.”
Yilena’s voice suddenly gained strength.
“The head of the Hartbell family stepped up.”
Yiruo instinctively glanced at Aivina.
Aivina’s expression shifted slightly.
“That family head was named Alfred Hartbell.”
Yilena continued.
“He led the able-bodied men of the town, taking up arms to face those cultists head-on.”
“In those dark days, he gave everyone hope.”
“Under his leadership, the resistance slowly destroyed the cult’s strongholds, rescued the imprisoned people one by one.”
“And that beautiful adventurer also joined the resistance, becoming one of its members.”
Yilena paused, her gaze falling on Yiruo.
“The story seems pretty good so far, doesn’t it?”
Yiruo nodded.
“But—”
Yilena’s voice lowered again.
“Those Truth Society lunatics, before their defeat, did one insane thing.”
“They released all the failed experimental potions.”
“But what they didn’t expect was—the magical power of those potions stacked together awakened something that shouldn’t have existed in this world.”
“An Abyssal Rift.”
Yiruo’s pupils contracted.
“The rift tore open outside the city, and countless monsters surged out.”
“Those monsters were even more terrifying, more insane, more unreasonable than the cult.”
“The people who had just seen hope fell into despair again.”
The table was silent for a few seconds.
Then Yilena suddenly cleared her throat, revealing a proud smile.
“And right then—”
She pointed at herself.
“That adventurer finally revealed her true identity.”
“She was actually—”
“The world’s one and only Witch~!”
Leya immediately cheered beside her:
“Ohhh! The protagonist appears!”
Yiruo’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
But Yilena had already completely immersed herself in her story.
“She stepped forward, using real magic to lead everyone in repelling the monsters, and sealed that Abyssal Rift with her own hands.”
Her smile softened a bit.
“After the war, the people wanted to thank her, wanted to know who she was, wanted to make her stay…”
“But she disappeared.”
Yiruo was silent.
“Just as she came, she left quietly without a sound.”
She could picture it.
A lonely witch appearing when people needed her most, then silently leaving after it was all over.
Seeking no reward, leaving no name.
For some reason,
She felt that behind Yilena’s always-smiling face, there was something hidden.
“What happened next?”
She asked softly.
Yilena snapped back to the present, her smile brightening again.
“After that—to commemorate the light that came after the darkness, the people designated this month every year as Walpurgis Night.”
She rested her chin on her hands, her blue eyes curving into crescents.
“Also known as—the Witch’s Night~”
The table was quiet for two seconds.
Then Leya immediately applauded:
“Great! Well told! As expected of the Witch!”
Yilena stood gracefully, as if taking a bow.
Aivina smiled helplessly and continued her breakfast.
Yiruo looked down at the now-cold Cloud Cake in front of her.
She suddenly felt that this person who always liked to tease her might be more complicated than she imagined.
In her mind, the figure of “that beautiful adventurer like a flower” gradually overlapped with the smiling witch before her.
“What are you thinking about, Little Yiruo?”
Yiruo looked up, meeting those blue eyes so close to hers.
She was startled for a moment, then whispered:
“…I was wondering, why did that adventurer end up staying here after all?”
Yilena blinked.
Then she laughed.
That smile was much softer than usual.
“Because—”
She reached out and gently ruffled Yiruo’s hair.
“This place is really beautiful.”
“She wanted to have a home here.”
“To have people she loves, and who love her.”
Sunlight spilled down, covering the entire table.
Yiruo touched her tousled head, looked at that gentle smile, and felt—
Today’s warm milk seemed sweeter than usual.