Chapter 3246: Dialect

After landing, Miss Artist immediately hugged Xia De, closing her eyes with a look of lingering fear. However, she seemed fine, or perhaps she had already healed herself; in any case, her injuries did not appear to be very severe.

Miss Reinhardt, on the other hand, looked somewhat disheveled. She had nearly been struck by the magic sword in the demon's hand just moments ago, and she had also had to transport the elders to the ground, though at least she remained uninjured.

"Miss!"

Miss Larsen approached her teacher and spoke softly and quickly about the current situation. Meanwhile, the eyes of the Great Witch of the Sun darted between the unicorn burying its head in the crate and the two people embracing. Amidst this mix of surprise, bitterness, confusion, relief, and joy, she wondered why she suddenly thought of their recent discussion about mounts and chocobos:

"So you really do have a unicorn."

She said this to Xia De, her lips slightly pouting in displeasure, though Flora paid no mind to her colleague's expression. Flora finally released Xia De and, ignoring her colleague, looked at the eating unicorn, then complained to Xia De with a smile:

"Well, well, besides me, it turns out you have a second—no, a third unicorn out here!"

She was counting little Liana as well, though this was, of course, a joke.

Xia De explained:

"This isn't my unicorn; I found it. It was injured, and I wanted to help it find a safe place to recover. I suspect the white light Miss Reinhardt and I saw this afternoon, and the white light the old forest ranger saw twenty years ago, might all have been this one."

"Honestly, you just rode me, and now you've found another mount. You really are..."

"Flora!"

Miss Reinhardt, standing to the side, could finally take no more. She tried hard not to look at Xia De's hand, which Flora was forcibly holding, and complained to her colleague:

"Flora! Don't you realize that for an unmarried lady to be ridden by a m—a man... I can't even say it, even in a shapeshifted state, this is highly inappropriate. And!"

Her voice raised slightly; she had been holding these words in the entire time she was searching for Xia De:

"What is going on tonight? Why are you on this island? Why were you fighting side-by-side with him just now? Did you know this gentleman beforehand?"

Miss Artist smiled sweetly; she finally understood why everyone was so keen on such "games":

"Claire, don't be so agitated. Naturally, the Speaker sent me. She asked me to see what exactly was happening here. This island has been quite lively since daytime. Was that an Ancient Evil Spirit that rescued that Angel-level metal lifeform just now? This place is even more dangerous than I imagined."

"You've been following me all day?"

Thinking of her behavior throughout the day, the platinum-haired witch's face turned pale. Xia De wanted to change the subject, so he asked Miss Reinhardt again:

"How are the elders?"

"They're fine. Although they were all injured, they were prepared because they knew they would be facing the magic sword, so my grandfather's situation didn't repeat itself. No, wait, I'm talking to Flora—oh! I remember now, no wonder there were owls flying over our heads all day!"

Flora nodded with a smile:

"Yes, I followed you all day. But don't worry, I'm not the type to go snitching. Although I saw many interesting things today, aside from tonight's containment operation, I won't tell the Speaker anything. As for him..."

She grabbed Xia De's arm directly and gave him a look that said "don't say too much." Xia De understood what Flora wanted to say.

"You know, although I am known as a musician and painter, I have also written some collections of short essays. A long time ago, at a writers' banquet, I met this strange man. I originally intended to observe him and report back to the Council, but later I discovered he is a very unique person."

The smile on her face could not be hidden:

"In any case, this Mr. John Watson and I became friends. He occasionally provides me with some 'creative material'."

Only the "creative material" part of this story was true.

"He doesn't even know his identity as a Ringed Shushi has been exposed, let alone that I belong to the 【Witch Council】. I arrived on this island this morning and happened to run into him in town. It was only while having breakfast with him that I heard he actually knew you. When we had dinner together tonight, we ran into your follower going to deliver a message. After much consideration, I confessed my identity to him.

Oh, his expression at the time was truly interesting."

The owl wove a meticulous story like a spider, and the Great Witch of the Sun felt that all of this was simply inconceivable—even more inconceivable than the appearance of a real unicorn on the island:

"Then do you know about Vanessa and Sylvia?"

"Of course I do. A long time ago, I discovered that they also knew this man. At the time, the three of us even agreed to keep the secret that I am also a witch, hiding it from him alone. Although this man is just a travel writer, he is very talented. We have had many experiences collaborating on creative works."

Flora tightened her grip on Xia De's arm slightly. As for what "hiding it from one person" implied, it was very easy to understand.

"You, you all..."

Claire Reinhardt had already covered her forehead due to her colleagues' bold actions, so she did not see the helpless look Xia De gave Flora.

"Have you ever thought about what might happen if someone other than you had been sent to this island? So, he actually already knows three Great Witches of the Council, yet he hasn't let it slip?"

"It's four, plus you."

The Great Witch of the Sun instinctively wanted to refute this, but upon reflection, she couldn't. Flora continued with a smile:

"You see, you understand now too. In any case, I'll keep your secret, and you shouldn't tell anyone else about this—this is everyone's shared secret."

The platinum-haired witch felt she was facing even more challenges. However, she didn't feel repulsed by the fact that Xia De knew Flora; the more people who knew of this man's existence, the safer the future would be. She was only annoyed that she had fallen behind another person, though this at least proved her judgment was correct:

"Alright, let's talk about such things later. Right now, we should be discussing this."

She pointed to the unicorn beside Xia De, which was still chewing on an apple. Although it looked rather thin, as an adult unicorn, Xia De's body couldn't hide it at all:

"How are we going to handle this? And why can one just casually pick up a unicorn on this island? I've lived here for so many years, why haven't I picked one up?"

Miss Larsen and Flora both laughed, though the former was more reserved. But Xia De didn't think this was a coincidence or fate; he had his own hypothesis:

"I think the reason I encountered it is most likely because today Miss Flora... Miss Winstone turned into a unicorn and appeared on the island, and it thought it had met a companion. Plus, I was injured by the demon tonight, so it knew I wasn't an enemy."

That crate of apples had actually been finished by it; it really did look starved. Miss Larsen carefully stroked it, and the unicorn didn't mind, its blue eyes continuing to stare at Xia De, though Xia De didn't dare feed it anymore:

"I'll give you a midnight snack in a while; you're eating too fast. Ladies, I want to know how it encountered the demon and where it came from. I need someone to translate its words."

Unicorns don't actually have a racial language; their communication is through emotional perception and vocal fluctuations, so Xia De couldn't understand anything from just "Neigh~".

So the Great Witch of Death released Xia De's arm and transformed back into a unicorn in a white light. Only when the two stood together could one see that the injured unicorn was indeed thin, while the unicorn Flora transformed into was robust and beautiful:

"Neigh~"

"Neigh~"

The injured unicorn immediately walked over and gently rubbed against Flora, and then the two pure white holy beasts began to call to each other. But soon, Flora transformed back into human form, a look of confusion on her face:

"I don't understand its dialect."

Claire was quite puzzled:

"Unicorns have dialects too? Flora, are you discriminating against those of us who come from island life?"

"Absolutely not. I don't understand what it's saying. It must have been a long time since it communicated with its own kind, and the environment it was born in is also problematic... Sorry, I can't communicate with it either. I think we should find a Ringed Shushi who possesses the unique ability to communicate telepathically with unicorns."

The image of the small elf with pointed ears immediately jumped into Xia De's mind. Emilia possessed this unique talent; whether it was a unicorn of the Sixth Era or the Fifth Era, she could communicate with and care for them very well.

Flora was also hinting at Emilia, as she had seen the immature elf girl's skills while in the woodlands.

Xia De said:

"Tomorrow or the day after, I'll find someone to help. I happen to know such a Ringed Shushi. But the most pressing problem right now is how to house it? Its injuries cannot be fully healed immediately, and if we let it walk away, it will be hard to find it again."

Xia De gently stroked the injured holy beast. Because Xia De had provided food, it was quite friendly toward him, while it showed some awe toward the witches and the witch apprentice.

"Before we figure out the demon situation, it's definitely not appropriate for Miss Winstone to take it off the island. I can't keep a unicorn at Victoria Street where I live; the neighbors would have opinions, and there isn't much space there. Although I have another secret base on the island, it's too far away."

This referred to Sylvia's tower. The Great Witch of Space would certainly be willing to accept a unicorn, but in its current injured state, it wasn't suitable for it to climb to such a high place.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3247 =====