Chapter 2668: Thirteenth Tier and Spatial Expansion

Miss Winslet had originally intended to speak with Miss Sylvia and Vanessa alone, but seeing the Duchess sit down, she thought about it and did not object.

Once the others had left, only the four Great Witches and Tifa, the witch apprentice, remained.

The Great Witch of Death looked at the other three witches:

"Margaret's arrival in Vista City this week made me discover some things. Vanessa, Emma, have you two known Xia De for a long time?"

"I thought there was some major event that required us to stay behind."

The opera singer said with some dissatisfaction; she was still thinking about returning to No. 6 Saint Teresa Square, worried that Xia De would feel bored at home:

"Yes, we have known him for a long time. Can we end the second part of the meeting now?"

"Wait, what are you three doing? Are you trying to split the Council? A being like Xia De, and you actually kept it hidden from everyone else?"

Miss Winslet immediately accused them, but compared to the impatient Vanessa, Miss Sylvia was much kinder:

"Flora, we all have our own concerns. Just like you right now, Xia De has helped you so much; would you really tell others about him?"

"I think she is just dissatisfied that we kept it from her, not that we kept it from everyone."

The Duchess added, and so Miss Owl, whose thoughts had been exposed, lifted her head:

"Don't look down on me like that. I just wanted to warn you to be careful and not let more people know about Xia De. After all, not everyone is as kind as I am... Is Xia De a God-Awakener?"

Then she saw that the three witches had no surprised expressions:

"Why don't you go see for yourself? It's not like Xia De intends to hide it from you."

"Then besides you three, who else in the Council knows of Xia De's existence? Don't think you can keep hiding it from me; I am certain there is someone else besides you three."

At this, Miss Jia Lin Na, Vanessa, and Miss Sylvia all laughed, and so Miss Winslet said with some worry:

"Don't tell me that besides the current Speaker and myself, everyone actually knows Xia De, and you plan to seize power after winning me over."

"Flora, your imagination is too rich. There aren't that many witches in the Council who know Xia De. You are definitely not the second to last."

Miss Sylvia comforted her, and so the Great Witch of Death asked suspiciously:

"Am I the third to last? No need to answer, I can almost be certain that Bella also knows Xia De. Xia De's elf friend once appeared in Moon Bay holding a sword; I guess he must have been there too. Miss Jia Lin Na, can't you keep your lover in check?"

The Duchess smiled there; she really wanted to tell the other party that it wasn't her place to keep him in check:

"Is there anything else you want to ask? Since this is within the Council, as long as you ask, we will answer you."

"Yes, Flora, go ahead and ask."

"Whether it's Xia De's identity or his past, we can answer."

"I won't ask. I want to figure it out myself; that's more interesting than you telling me the answer."

And so Flora Winslet stood up, pressing against the table, hesitated for a moment, then looked at them again with concern and asked:

"Besides matters related to Xia De, you shouldn't be hiding anything else from me, right?"

Miss Jia Lin Na and Miss Sylvia both shook their heads, while Vanessa considered it for a moment:

"Have I told you that I am already a Thirteenth-Tier Great Witch?"

"You are already a Thirteenth... You are already Thirteenth-Tier?!"

She suddenly raised her voice, her crisp tone exceptionally clear within the empty Council space. But Vanessa didn't mind, because she revealed a somewhat smug smile; anyone else would be just as smug:

"Yes, I think the Speaker should have already noticed, but because my Ring-Master level is still Twelve-Ring, she hasn't asked me yet. I plan to tell everyone after a while to prevent you from being too surprised.

Now that I think about it, this is truly incredible. I always thought that after the Speaker, the next Thirteenth-Tier witch to appear in our generation would be Miss Moon or the Megan and Audrey sisters who solved the mystery of the soul."

As she spoke, Vanessa released her Golden Staircase as proof. Because the Council's structure consisted of a circular open space at the bottom with endless stairs spreading upward into the fog, her Golden Staircase was almost parallel to those gray stone stairs behind her.

"Thirteenth..."

The Great Witch of Death looked at the familiar staircase, stunned for several seconds before looking down at her again:

"But why? If I remember correctly, didn't you promote to Twelfth-Tier at the beginning of this year?"

"Why did you become Thirteenth-Tier so quickly? Don't tell me your talent is astonishing; we are all sisters of the Council, how could I not understand you?"

And so Miss Sylvia on the side also asked curiously:

"Actually, I have this question too. Last time we chatted, Vanessa, you suddenly said you were Thirteenth-Tier, and I was very curious how you managed it."

Subsequently, the young Great Witch asked the Duchess:

"Miss Jia Lin Na, do you know how Vanessa managed it? She has always been mysterious and refuses to say."

Then they saw the red-haired witch reveal an angry expression, but she couldn't bring herself to say the reason for her anger:

"I don't know either. Let Vanessa say for herself what that feeling is like."

She said dryly, and then the beautiful Earth Witch tilted her head and thought for a moment:

"The feeling... both the soul and the body are very warm, and very at ease."

And so Miss Jia Lin Na Cavendish became even angrier, because she was certain that what Vanessa described was absolutely not the feeling of promotion.

Because of this small matter after the meeting ended, Vanessa appeared to be in a very good mood when she returned to No. 6 Saint Teresa Square, so she didn't even notice that Xilisi had changed into a new set of clothes.

And Miss Jia Lin Na, who arrived shortly after, appeared somewhat angry; the evidence was that the sound of her footsteps while walking up the stairs was somewhat too loud.

"Xia De, she told Flora she is Thirteenth-Tier!"

The Duchess said to Xia De as if filing a complaint. Xia De, who was in the study reading the information on the Moonlight Greatsword given by Ms. Helena Carter, said without even raising his head:

"Let her say it. At most, I'll let her interrogate me a few more times tomorrow. Miss Winslet is a very easy-going lady; these are all small matters."

After finishing, he heard no reply. Looking up, he saw the Duchess standing at the study door, pouting and appearing somewhat unhappy, so Xia De put down his notebook, stood up, and walked over:

"Although I don't know what happened, let's have a hug first~ Tell me about your meeting tonight."

Luweiya only returned home at eight o'clock that night, but because the maids were there, the late-night snack was already prepared. At this time, Miss Jia Lin Na was sitting on the sofa laughing with Vanessa, talking about interesting things at Yodel Palace, not looking at all like she had been angry just a moment ago.

When Luweiya sat at the dining table eating, she said to Xia De:

"Recently, I increasingly feel that the space in our home isn't actually very large. Now that just Vanessa and Xilisi have come to Tobesk, the rooms seem somewhat insufficient. What will we do if more people come in the future?"

Xia De sat on the short sofa in the living room; as soon as he looked up, he could see Luweiya in the dining room:

"I thought about buying the houses on both sides and then breaking through the walls to expand the space, but unfortunately, neither the Smith couple at No. 5 next door nor the researcher at No. 7 intends to sell their property here."

He caught an apple pushed off the coffee table by Little Mia, wiped it on his clothes, and handed it to Vanessa, who took a bite:

"Xia De, speaking of which, before Miss Feilian and the others left, didn't they list some Relics for you that could expand the house's space? You said that was written for you by Miss Delage. (Chapter 2514)"

"I have the list, but none of the Relics on it can be obtained immediately."

He recalled the contents of that list:

"Relics that can harmlessly increase the interior space of a house are at least Keeper-level Relics. If one wants to satisfy a larger usable space and concealment, then even Keeper-level isn't enough.

Among the Relics Fiona listed for me, the one I am more interested in is the Sage-level Relic 【Uncle Tom's Cabin】. The space opened up by this Relic is large enough to increase the current No. 6 Saint Teresa Square by at least two times, but the use of this Relic requires the existence of slaves in the house; that is too inhumane.

There is also the Sage-level Relic 【Gate of Infinite Space】. Installing the Relic on the wall at the end of the corridor can allow the corridor to extend, and the extended part copies the already existing corridor, and it can be nested in multiple layers. But this Relic is said to have been used to seal ancient evil things itself; I am worried that putting such a thing in the house will cause big trouble. Think about it, when going to the bathroom at night, suddenly discovering that you have entered a corridor you have never seen before...

Of course, the Angel-level Relic 【Bell's Mechanical Cat House】 is also not bad; as long as a cat is kept in the house, the conditions for use are met. But the problem is that this Relic went missing in the mid-Fifth Era; even in Fiona's era, only the containment data was left."

Little Mia, who continued to roll the apple on the coffee table to play, let out a meow, probably having understood the word "cat."

"Besides these, there are some others, but either the negative effects are too strong, or the Relic simply cannot be found.

I now feel that rather than trying to find a way to expand the space of No. 6 Saint Teresa Square, it's better to wait until Dorothy and Lei Qianya are stronger, and let them and Grace and Helen find a way to directly establish a semi-permanent teleportation gate connecting here and Miss Jia Lin Na's manor."

"That's a good idea! Just like during the Battle of Moon Bay, when we connected the Radiant Messenger and the Belindell Manor."

The Duchess immediately expressed, and so even Luweiya, who was eating a late-night snack, smiled and looked at her:

"The spatial environment of Xia De's home is very stable; opening a teleportation gate is not easy. And this is the city center; establishing a teleportation gate ultimately still has issues of safety and concealment. However, I think there is no need to be so anxious about this matter. In the short term, other girls should not appear in Tobesk at the same time; Xia De has plenty of time to think of a way."