The Cornflower Witch

At seven in the morning, Sylutia opened her eyes inside the swaying carriage, drew back the curtain, and let the small round window spill light onto her face.

She sat up, let her mind wake slowly, then rose to wash and change clothes.

Two ribbons, one blue and one white, tied her straight long hair into a high ponytail, leaving just a little at her temples to fall down and frame her slightly youthful cheeks. Combined with her gentle eyes, she had an approachable beauty, like a girl from a morning in a dream who would accompany you to school.

Compared to Sylutia in her silver-haired state, the dark-haired version was much more understated and easy to get along with.

Changing into the outfit tailored for her by the Inspection Department, Sylutia stood before the small room’s mirror.

The girl in the mirror wore a white shirt underneath and an indigo jacket over it. Her deep-blue short skirt paired with black thigh-high socks allowed ease of movement.

After checking her clothing, Hedra stepped out of the small room. Cerise had long since been waiting outside.

Seeing her, Sylutia couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Slept for a while,” came the reply, indicating no problem.

“Transcendents with the Slumbering Winter aspect can not only use cold and freezing abilities, they also gain extra benefits for sleep. They can choose long-term hibernation to pass time, or take short, deep sleeps to quickly restore stamina.

“The day-type three aspects all represent vitality, only manifesting differently.”

Besides Cerise, four other Inspection Department members were on duty outside. When Sylutia emerged, the group straightened and saluted at once.

“Good morning, Miss Hedra!” The girl nodded in response and asked about the prior night’s conditions.

“Everything was normal last night. The shift changed at six this morning.”

After learning that, Sylutia led them to inspect the carriage where the Scorching Sun Crystals were stored. Several carriages had guards posted, plus a few mages responsible for maintenance. The furnace badges on their chests marked them as members of the Scorching Sun Furnace school.

When they saw Sylutia approach, they gave a simple nod and stood aside to let the girl and her team check and take inventory.

When the inspection finished, Hedra stepped forward and asked curiously.

“How long would these Scorching Sun Crystals usually power a large machine?”

One of the mages stepped up to answer. “Miss, if it’s a Fourth Tier Black Steel Spider, a single crystal supports about twenty minutes of combat. We load three crystals each time, enough for a full engagement.”

“A Black Steel Spider paired with two close-combat Cold Fang Shears, two rapid-fire hand cannons, and a core-melting volley cannon matches a Fourth Tier war beast in strength.”

“If it’s a Fifth Tier War Fire Scorpion, three Scorching Sun Crystals support about ten minutes of combat. As for Sixth Tier war machines, Scorching Sun Crystals are unsuitable.”

“Is producing these Scorching Sun Crystals very costly?”

“Extremely costly. The Alliance issues orders to the Scorching Sun Furnace school every year. The school then assigns the orders to various workshops to prepare materials and manpower.”

“If a team consists of one Fourth Tier mage with three assistants, once proficient in the refining techniques, they can craft three Scorching Sun Crystals in a day.”

Three a day? Doing the math, one alchemy team could produce about a thousand crystals a year. A medium workshop with five teams yields roughly five thousand. The train was carrying what amounted to a year’s output from twenty workshops; ten support trains would represent two hundred workshops’ annual production.

It was clear the Alliance was making a huge expenditure, pulling from a lot of strategic reserves.

The issue in producing Scorching Sun Crystals wasn’t just manpower, it was obtaining the required raw materials. They probably all came from Eighth Tier native gemstones and ingredients, consuming the Alliance’s stores on an enormous scale.

Sylutia heard that some raw materials could be transformed from their native aspect materials by a few methods.

This was the advantage of the Gold Steam aspect, skilled at reforging and transmutation. It could convert materials of other aspects into its own, though the process consumed a lot and wasn’t very efficient.

At present the highest conversion efficiency belonged to Scorching Sun and Dead Embers aspects: the former could retain about seventy percent of power, the latter about fifty percent.

There was also refinement and tier-lifting, such as first producing Second Tier raw materials, then using secret arts and rituals to condense them into Third Tier crystals, and finally using those to craft Fourth Tier Scorching Sun Crystals.

Each alchemy team producing a Scorching Sun Crystal needed nearly ten upstream material-prep teams to meet consumption.

All told, it would take roughly twelve hundred workshops working a full year to produce such quantities, and that didn’t even account for the many consumed inputs.

No wonder most of the Alliance’s central mines were exhausted. Their hunger for resources likely prompted the campaign into the western mountains a few years back, to seize territories infested by monsters and other races.

From these Scorching Sun Crystals, Sylutia glimpsed one corner of the Mage Alliance’s vast alchemical system.

After leaving the Scorching Sun Crystal carriage, Sylutia went to the dining carriage. It was already nine o’clock and many people were here.

“Miss Hedra.” The attendant in the carriage saluted politely upon seeing the girl, then led her to a small secluded compartment curtained off and set with a table covered in fine white cloth.

“Please sit. What would you like to eat? We’ll prepare it immediately.” He welcomed the girl warmly.

“Just a simple breakfast.” Sylutia did not have high demands.

“How about a steamed oatmeal bread with amber golden egg soup?” he inquired.

“That’s fine.”

“Very well. Please wait a moment.” He smiled, promptly noted the order, and strode to the kitchen carriage with a look of pride, as if bearing an important mission.

Soon, Hedra’s keen hearing picked up voices from the noisy kitchen carriage.

“Everyone! Miss Hedra is waiting to dine. She wants a perfect breakfast: steamed oatmeal bread and amber golden egg soup!”

The chefs responded enthusiastically. The two strongest Fourth Tier chefs began preparing immediately. One selected the finest premium dough, made from outstanding Second Tier·Rare oatmeal of Outstanding quality, while the other retrieved a carefully preserved Golden Goose Egg from the chilled cabinet, its quality Third Tier·Rare. They then led several apprentices to craft the meal meticulously.

After the dough was mixed, it was placed in a dedicated oven. Scalding steam imbued with Gold Steam power blasted against it, heating and expanding the internal bubbles so the steamed bread became soft. The steam was then withdrawn and replaced with gentle flames to make the exterior lightly crisp, releasing the oatmeal’s original fragrance.

Meanwhile, the golden goose egg underwent a series of treatments until it turned amber-transparent, the yolk flowing like molten gold. It was carefully sliced in half and placed into the prepared broth.

The broth was made by simmering kelp to extract umami, then adding a small amount of high-ranking beast bone stock before straining to clarity. The halved amber golden egg lay quietly at the bottom, clearly visible like a piece of crystal sculpture.

[Steamed Oatmeal Bread] (Third Tier·Rare)

[Amber Golden Egg Soup] (Fourth Tier·Excellent)

This meal would cost a lot if ordered outside—perhaps seven to eight hundred gold coins—but that was the perk of being on assignment. All expenses were covered as part of the train’s running costs; the girl did not need to pay.

When the attendant served the delicate breakfast, even Cerise felt it was extravagant and marveled at how the mage lords could indulge themselves. Such warm, high-standard treatment was likely due to the girl’s current status aboard the train.

The chefs were the easiest to approach among the train’s higher-ups; they would be keen to learn the girl’s identity and background.

Faced with such a refined breakfast, Sylutia felt a little surprised, but it would be rude to refuse. She tasted it slowly and expressed thanks to the train’s staff.

The first day of the long journey to Candela was peaceful and pleasant.