Chapter 341

Chapter 341 – Formulating a Plan

  After passing through the magic mirror in the wardrobe, Lolan Hill returned to her dormitory once again.

  As soon as she pushed open the door, another sleeping girl in the room also woke up.

  Cuti rubbed her eyes slightly and looked at the returning Lolan Hill in the darkness. Despite the dim environment, she still recognized the silver-haired girl without any hindrance.

  ”Lolan is back. Did you bring anything good to eat?” Cuti asked.

  ”Sorry, I didn’t.” Lolan Hill walked over, looking at the somewhat disappointed Cuti, then took out an amber-colored maple candy from her ring and placed it in Cuti’s mouth.

  ”Eat some candy and go back to sleep.”

  ”Mmm.” Cuti nodded and quietly lay down, but her bright eyes continued to look at the girl beside her, revealing a hint of attachment.

  ”Alright, go to bed early. I’ll take you to class tomorrow.”

  ”Okay, Lolan.” Cuti obediently closed her eyes.

  Seeing that Cuti had fallen asleep again, Lolan Hill turned around and looked at the ceiling.

  She seemed to have forgotten something. Although the girl beside her was obedient and well-behaved, she was a true fire witch, and one of the most powerful witches among all.

  How could she have forgotten this ace card? Lolan Hill thought to herself. Perhaps it was because Cuti was too obedient, causing her to develop a kind of illusion.

  Thinking about this, hearing the gentle breathing of the girl beside her, Lolan Hill felt a sense of peace and relief.

  At least, few people could touch her when she was around Cuti.

  The curtains by the bedside were gently pulled shut, and the room became silent once more.

—

  The next day, at the Fortress Academy.

  After finishing the day’s classes, which were still relatively early, around three in the afternoon, Lolan Hill brought Cuti to the activity room of the Black Swan Castle.

  Bumansa and Lily had already arrived, which was the result of Lolan Hill’s advance notice.

  ”Is our club finally going to hold an activity?” Lily asked Lolan, showing some curiosity about today’s gathering.

  ”No, there’s something else,” Lolan Hill said seriously for once. She decided to stop Ousuna’s expansionist behavior.

  ”Do you know anything about this student, Ousuna?” Lolan turned her gaze to her companion with chestnut hair.

  ”Yes, I know quite a bit,” Bumansa began recounting the information she had recently obtained from ‘Honey Bud.’

  ’Honey Bud’ was merely a club composed of students who loved gardening and flowers, but many of its members were young ladies from noble families, with extensive social circles. As a result, they often received various pieces of information. After Ousuna’s rise, most of the demon sequence students at the Fortress Academy aligned with her, while the remaining natural sequence clubs started to become nervous and pay attention. Many people investigated Ousuna and ‘Black Veil.’

  ”According to our president’s summary, Miss Ousuna seems to have a particularly enchanting ability that makes many students follow her almost fanatically.”

  ”So how did she do it?” Lolan Hill was curious now.

  ”This is the crux of the matter,” Bumansa continued as she sat at a small table with Lolan and others.

  ”Although Ousuna hid herself very well, senior students from the natural sequence managed to find some clues.”

  ”They used various birds they controlled, observing the process of the ‘Black Veil’ ritual without attracting attention.”

  ”At first, the new members weren’t so easily convinced by Ousuna, but during the ritual, the club leaders distributed special food. Some claimed it was an ancient legacy, while others said it was a superlative potion that could enhance oneself. There were different claims, making the new members drink or eat it.”

  ”Afterward, these new members would become mentally confused and blindly follow the commands and actions of others. At this point, Ousuna would guide them in front, eventually hypnotizing these students into complete belief in her.”

  ”Isn’t that just hypnosis?” Lily asked from the side.

  ”No, hypnosis is difficult to succeed if someone has strong resistance, and extraordinary beings aren’t easily hypnotized either. But the strange thing about this ritual is that even if you resist and despise it, as long as you drink that substance that increases your strength, you will become mentally confused and easy to manipulate.”

  ”Logically speaking, if it were hypnosis, there should be cases where it fails. But strangely enough, no one has heard of anyone breaking free and regaining consciousness after the ritual.”

  ”I see,” Lolan Hill lightly tapped the tabletop with her fingertips, contemplating the information about Ousuna.

  The plague witch (pseudo)—just this title alone was intriguing. Recalling Ousuna’s combat methods in front of everyone in the past, most of them were related to poison, disease, and corruption.

  If she realized these through her innate powers, everything made sense.

  First, she transformed some chaotic phantom product into something akin to a virus and spread it among the students. Those infected might feel a bit unusual, but they would ignore it due to their significant increase in power, believing it was just a minor side effect of the superlative potion.

  But what if it went further? Would it gradually erode the entire person, turning them into a mindless, frenzied monster?

  Thinking about this, Lolan Hill thought that if she could obtain a sample, like that superlative potion that hadn’t been consumed during the ritual, she could analyze it and deal with it. Perhaps she could even create a specific antidote.

  ”In that case, did they manage to seize a sample?” The girl picked up her teacup and asked.

  ”No, the Black Veil members discovered the bird stealing food and knocked it down. The subsequent rituals were conducted in a more concealed basement, making it impossible to observe,” Bumansa shook her head and recounted the latest information she had obtained.

  Now, the natural sequence clubs were starting to unite, and some students were gradually realizing the abnormality and danger of the situation.

  That is to say, this special ability only shielded the teachers and sages within the school, not the students themselves?

  Lolan Hill noted this feature. Thinking carefully, perhaps it was already the limit of that witch to make so many high-sequence teachers lose their observational abilities. She had to cover up too many people and places.

  There were more than twenty level-eight sages registered at Emanas campus alone. Besides sages, there were also over ten other individuals residing and researching here. With so many powerful figures failing to detect it, it was already quite impressive.

  Now, they needed to consider whether there were other unknown helpers besides the unnamed witch. If there were other level-nine beings secretly supporting her, it would be a whole different story.

  ”Regardless, waiting like this won’t yield any results,” Lolan Hill said.

  ”I want to get a sample of their potion to analyze it. Only then can we understand the source of all these anomalies.”

  ”Lolan finally asked us for help. Suddenly, I’m getting excited,” Bumansa said to Lolan Hill.

  Lily raised her hand excitedly from the side. “Are we starting a big adventure?”

  ”I want to join too,” Cuti raised her hand, looking at Lily.

  (End of Chapter)