Chapter 1005: A Letter from the Desert
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
"Achoo!"
When Lorgar got out of her warm bed, she felt a dull, throbbing pain on both sides of her head. She smacked her lips, still able to taste the remnant flavor of the strawberry liquor between her teeth.
"Looks like... I'm having a hangover again."
"Aw..."
An almost inaudible moan escaped her lips.
Lorgar had been like this ever since she had returned from the war.
She blamed the chief, Roland Wimbledon for all of her misery.
All the witches who had participated in the war were well rewarded for their services. Some had received dozens of dollars while some received over a hundred dollars. Lorgar had received a remuneration of 35 dollars, which equated to around 100 gold royals.
It was common to reward soldiers and warriors after a war. Mojin warriors were willing to bet their lives on a holy duel not only because of the fame and glory the fight would bring to them but also because of the huge rewards they would receive afterward. Since the desert was always short of resources, the competition for food was fierce. To live a better life, the Mojins had to constantly fight for it.
But the members of the Witch Union viewed their rewards in a completely different way.
Every night after the learning session was over, the castle hall would be filled with noise and laughter.
As the witches now had excessive money to squander, they spent it lavishly on food and shared the food with the others. Andrea was particularly fond of organizing parties as she had received the greatest reward. In fact, she was the person who first started the tradition of carousing and revelry.
Lorgar had to admit that those pretty sheets of paper were magical. She didn't realize how much she had spent until she actually tallied up the numbers. It was seriously a huge amount.
But she just couldn't help it...
It was the first time the wolf girl had such an intimate relationship with her peers. After joining the Witch Union, she had soon been accepted by the other witches. Lorgar was quite flattered by their offers of friendship. Although witches were treated as Divine Ladies among the Mojin Clan and were highly respected by most clansmen, Divine Ladies rarely bonded among each other, because each of them represented different rival clans. They would keep a vigilant eye on each other when they met, and certainly would not dine or drink like friends.
Although none of the witches were tight on money, they could still not afford to have too many Chaos Drinks. Therefore, Andrea proposed a resolution through card games. The winner would have Chaos Drinks while the loser White Liquor. No magic was allowed, and those who participated in the game had to hold a God's Stone in their hand...
The end result—she ended up with a terrible hangover.
Lorgar would never admit the fault to be her own bad luck. So, she attributed everything to the chief.
Had Roland rewarded them with gold royals instead of paper bills, she would have saved up instead of spending them so recklessly.
"No, this has to stop."
The wolf girl patted her cheeks.
She kept reminding herself that the purpose of this trip was to polish her combat skills. If she continued to indulge herself in endless parties and games, she would forget all her fighting techniques.
Lorgar had never seen any of the God's Punishment Witches abandon themselves to worldly pleasure. They were always so dignified, solemn and self-possessed. That was what a seasoned warrior should look like!
Lorgar took a deep breath, pulled on a sweater and got off the bed. She planned to visit the Third Border City after brushing her teeth and washing her face.
Every single witch in the Third Border City was an excellent warrior. Since Lorgar was not allowed to leave the city alone, she thought it a good idea to learn some combat techniques from the God's Punishment Witches.
Just as Lorgar walked out of her bedroom, she noticed a piece of parchment wedged underneath the living room door.
After she had joined the Witch Union, she had moved to the Witch Building in the Castle District and shared a room with Sharon. However, most of the time she had the whole room to herself because Sharon only spent the nights in the building when necessary.
So she assumed this piece of parchment was for her.
Lorgar picked up the paper with curiosity and found it was a letter. She unsealed it and noticed it was her father's handwriting.
"My dear daughter, how are you doing in Neverwinter? I hope you aren't being bullied there."
Unlike the letters from the northern kingdom that always started with a long opening, her father's letter was simple and straightforward. The handwriting was as untidy as usual. Lorgar, however, felt a sense of belonging as she read the letter, as if she was back in the desert again.
Her tail began to wag excitedly behind her.
Although Lorgar had been determined to not rely on her family anymore when she had departed her clan, she felt happy to know that somebody was still worried about her.
"How can I be bullied? I'm not a three year old!" Lorgar mumbled.
She continued to read the letter. "Haha, I think I asked the wrong question. You're Lorgar Burnflame, Princess Lorgar of the Wildflame Clan. Nobody can bully you, only you can bully others. Am I right?"
"Our clansmen have moved to the Port of Clearwater from Iron Sand City. We've got a piece of fertile land close to the river. Although I don't know how well the chief treats you, at least he has kept his word to us. He did what he promised during the holy duel. As long as we have a job, we can remain fed and clothed. Therefore, there have been more clans coming here, though it has also created some unpleasant disputes over resources."
"But those northerners are different from the Queen of Clearwater. They prohibit any brawls for personal reasons and insist on resorting to legal measures. The process is slow but at least we aren't being used. Many of the Sand Nation have agreed to resolve their problems in this way, so overall, life here is peaceful."
"Apart from rebuilding the Port of Clearwater, our clan has also developed many farmlands in the suburb. We're planning to grow the wheat shipped through the inner river. Many people from Fallen Dragon Ridge came here to teach us how to dig a trench, fertilize the land and grow crops. I have to admit it's so easy for the northerners to sustain themselves. They can easily grow the food we have to go through so much pain to collect from the oasis, and they grow so much surplus. Now, everyone has begun to live like a northerner. I'm not saying it isn't good, but I just feel something is missing when we no longer need to hunt or train ourselves to be strong. My dear daughter, do you have any good idea to make up for this loss?"
"You should be asking my elder brother this question." Lorgar twitched her lips and continued to read.
"Now about you. If... I say, if the chief treats you well, you should find an opportunity to express your desire to serve him. I've heard northern nobles like a variety of girls. Perhaps he's that kind of person..."
The wolf girl rolled her eyes.
"Alright. Paws in. I'm just joking. Compared to that, I'm more concerned about your personal development. Have you encountered any of those horrible enemies? You should have become a lot stronger than when you left, right? Remember though, that you should always remain patient. Focus, and slowly work toward your goal."
Lorgar felt her cheeks flush red. She almost died of mortification.
Lorgar really had encountered the demons. There had even been a big war between them, to which she had contributed nothing. She had thought the front line would be the closest to the enemies, yet the demons had stopped somewhere 300 meters away from their encampment. As a result, instead of getting a closer look at her opponents, Lorgar had been attacked by a weird flying stone pillar and forced to retreat.
If she had known this would happen, she would have never chosen to stay at the front. The Artillery Battalion at the rear had, at least, got a chance to have a real battle.
In addition to this, she was also not accustomed to using the special firearms the chief specially made for her. They were powerful indeed but were, essentially, something external that could not help her improve herself. Meanwhile, she had a hard time controlling the weapons, so it was difficult for her to blend them in with her actual combat skills.
The recent carousing further made Lorgar ashamed of her lack of self-discipline.
She had an impulse to visit the Third Border City right away, but stopped as she read the last paragraph of the letter.
The wolf girl frowned as she read.
"Right, I'm having a little problem. I've got news that Iron Sand City is a little disturbed these days. It appears the big clans living there aren't very happy about so many people leaving the Silver Stream Oasis, although I don't know the details. It's up to you to whether to report this to the chief. If he is discriminating against you because of your appearance, you should give him something to worry about as a way of retaliation, shouldn't you?"
Lorgar did not even need to think it over.
She put away the letter and pushed the door open. Just as she was about to set out for the castle, she spotted Wendy at the other end of the hallway.
Lorgar walked up to her and made a curt bow. "Could you take me to His Majesty? I have something to report to him."
"Such good timing," Wendy said, chuckling and winking. "His Majesty wants to see you too. Follow me."