“Ohhh, don’t go getting my hopes up, girl.” He had a complicated expression with doubt mixed in. Here the crimson haired man had resigned to his fate, but suddenly he was told there was no need. “You really found the cure? Truthfully?”

“A sorcerer does not lie. You will be the first recipient.” Cira instructed Delilah to get the ball rolling.

Each of the alchemists had their own jar and little measuring spoons with a beaker point on one side. As these utensils were also made of mana crystal, there was no need to worry about drips or inaccurate dosing from liquid left behind. He leaned his head back as asked and she poured the soul remedy in his mouth. After gulping it down, his eyes went wide.

“Whoa… I feel kind of funny.” He gazed around as if he were seeing many things anew, then turned back to Cira with an uneasy look, “You sure this is okay to drink? My… my insides don’t feel right.”

“I am, but did they feel right before? It appears your aura is already responding. You don’t have much, but it’s working towards repairing your body. That funny feeling is likely your bones moving around at a glacial pace.”

“What… You mean it worked?! I’m really going to get better!” He tried jumping up, but a standby nurse stopped him. The man settled into another fit of coughs, “How long until I’m healthy again?”

“You’ll need another treatment in a year, then one more after the next. That said, we can see how much progress we’ve made. Let’s try… Greater Heal.”

A golden light enveloped the man and before everybody’s starlit eyes, the massive protrusion in his side started receding and his chest sunk back into the rest of his torso. His teeth were clenched, and he grunted in pain as his body parts slowly worked towards their natural position.

“We… we really did it!” Nanri grabbed Cira by the hands and hopped in excitement, “Cira!”

“Hey hey, I know, but we’ve just started—” She winced as a group of excited kids started cheering as well. While she couldn’t blame them, it was inappropriate, so she reprimanded them, “This is no spectacle.” Noisy chatter could be heard now from the rest of the plague ward, the word ‘cure’ being thrown around quite a bit. She sighed, “Do it again and you’re out of here.”

The priest was adhering to his rule without issue, which Cira did appreciate, but the five remaining recruits all shut up and straightened their backs. The girl was the only one who held her composure and was writing down notes the whole time still. Cira liked the studious types.

Unfortunately, the man’s condition did not completely recede. While his shoulders and chest seemed perfectly normal now, his ribs couldn’t quite make it all the way. The color had returned to his face though, and despite the nurse’s best efforts, he made his way to his feet. He hopped around, did a little dance, and threw his arm over Cira.

“How will I ever repay you? You really are an angel.” His unkempt red hair flowed into her face, and she blew it away making spitting noises, pushing him away as gently as possible.

“Just don’t die until you’re healthy again. That’s enough for me.” With the first test complete, she turned the others loose on the rest of the critical patients. “Nanri, come with me. We’ll wrap this test up nice and tidy. I guess you kids should come too.”

“Oh, okay.” She quickly followed Cira behind, who was pacing back towards the cure factory, Earth Vein timidly in tow.

“This first dose will be meaningless if they continue to consume the food and water here. I need to set up a temporary supply.” She looked over the yet-to-be-filled chasm.

“And how do we do that?” The witch wondered.

“I’ll have you work on the water. Build a large, round tank, say, right here.” She wanted it closer to the final platform rather than her workshop. “A couple stories tall should work, maybe one wide. I’ll come back later to dump more mana into it, so it doesn’t have to last long for now.”

“Got it!” It seemed Nanri had figured out a trick, because the titanium sphere she used to use to cast magic lit up, firing up a spell. While she worked on that, Cira started on food supply.

This was cheating, because it used ingredients from home, but there was no use getting upset about it. Just like they had in Uren, she conjured a deep platform with plenty of space to hold dirt. Essentially forming one side and extruding it from the bend in her bridge to the backside of the workshop.

This process didn’t take long at all. She had been free handing everything, but decided it’d be faster if she broke out the orichalcum. Once it lit, dirt started pouring in to fill the basin from various points in the air above. This was another process that would take time, so she left her staff to its work and went to check on Nanri. As she turned, she met the wide-eyed faces of Earth Vein.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“You… you’re incredible.” The girl spoke with bated breath. Even her hand had paused, and she spoke timidly. “Can I… Can I ask a question?”

“Sure, I guess.” The sorcerer replied.

“I know the Titan Witch… but who are you?” with starstruck eyes, her pen trembled.

A grin crept onto Cira’s face. The endearingly curious gaze the girl wore warmed her heart. “My name is Cira,” She leaned in close, “But some call me the Hidden Witch.”

The girl gasped, jotting it down with an ecstatic look on her face. Hmm, I should give these kids something to bring back. Something to roll around in their heads for a while as they work their way up the corporate ladder. She had to think about it for a minute and then continued, “Why do you kids work for Earth Vein? What drives you?”

One of the boys spoke up first, as if it were a pop quiz, “To bring prosperity to the Empire, of course.”

Not… the Gandeux? Or Earth Vein? What in the world is the Empire?

“Oh, oh!” The next boy tried, somehow looking excited, “Bringing wealth to Earth Vein!”

This wasn’t a satisfactory answer either, and it showed. She turned her gaze to the girl, her last hope, and listened to her answer, “It’s… it’s to bring wealth to everyone in the Gandeux Sky!”

Not quite… but better. I need to be careful with this one, “Wrong. You’re all wrong.”

They’re faces wilted, hopes shattered, and the Official started sweating, having heard some decent answers himself, “Um… Madam Witch, I think maybe the students could use a little clarification.”

“Of course. It needed to sink in first.” She held the girl’s gaze, “You’re not doing so bad, but still way off. None of what anybody just said is a good enough reason. How is… the Empire going to reach prosperity if you think like that? That’s not motivation… You’ll burn out before you ever make something meaningful out of your life.”

The boy sputtered, failing to form words. The look on his face was deciding whether to question his own beliefs or reality itself. Cira moved on quickly, “And you. Earth Vein doesn’t need wealth! Where did you get that kind of stupid idea? If there’s one thing they have, it’s that. Try again.”

Like a seal in a spotlight, the boy was frozen solid with wide eyes. He eventually managed another answer, “M-my life…?”

“No, you dullard!” Cira scoffed, throwing her hands out in disbelief, “You’re going the wrong way! Good grief… Girl.”

She straightened up upon being addressed, “Y-yes, Madam Witch?!”

“I like you.” The girl flinched, “You’re a real studious type, and you’re not as foolish as these ones. You’ll go far one day, I’m sure.”

“Oh. Um… Thank you!” She blushed, hiding behind a notepad.

“But you’re still wrong.” And then she deflated, “You’re on the right track though. Wealth does bring prosperity, and that’s all well and good, but you’re thinking too big. You’re not nearly selfish enough.”

“Wh…what do you mean?” Everyone’s eyes were on Cira.

“You must only work to better yourself and your station, never mind the voice from above or what someone else needs. Especially not what they want. And looking at you now, there’s nothing you can do for anyone.” The girl choked, now looking up at Cira meekly, “If there are other things you care about, that only means you have a good head on your shoulders, but altruism is a luxury of the capable.”

“Are you saying… we should just keep our heads down until we’re strong enough to help the people we want to help? Since Earth Vein has the wealth, they’re already capable, so they’ll just take care of it in the meantime.” At the girl’s words they all nodded at each other.

Cira planted her face in one of her palms, shaking her head, “Wrong again… Way off.” The girl’s pen wagged as she frantically scratched something out, “Maybe I’m not explaining this well enough. You’re not some cog in a machine that magically rains wealth down on the people. If anything, that machine is a vortex of it. And if you focus only on others, you will wither away long before you can help anybody when it really matters. Naturally this puts the onus on you to get yourself there with your own effort, but your challenge will be to not lose heart until you’ve learned to spread your wings, else you will have lost the qualifications to take anyone under them.”

“So…” The girl was scrawling down on her paper again, “So what do I do…?”

“That’s easy. You’re already halfway there. Prosperity comes in many forms, and wealth is just one of them. I’m certain you will bring one or both to many some day. Just make sure to follow your heart along the way, no one else’s. And remember this conversation when you get there. I hope your conviction won’t have changed by that point.”

The girl looked at her with awe, “It… it definitely won’t! I swear it!” She clenched her fist as she gazed up at Cira.

“Good girl…” She gave her pats on the head and earned some giggles. So easy. Then she turned to the boy from earlier, “And you!”

He shrunk back, “Y-yes?!”

“I ask you again. What is it that Earth Vein needs?” He seemed to be cracking under the pressure. Then turned red, and glanced around as if backup would come for him. It was futile.

“I—I don’t know! Please tell me…” He hung his head.

After a sigh, Cira relented, spinning the answer before putting a hand on her best student’s shoulder, “They need more people like this girl.”

She blushed and tried to hide her face again. It elicited a grin from Cira, and she made her way back to Nanri. Her dirt was about half full and the recruits followed her like ducklings, leaving the Official to stand there with a strained expression. He’d never heard such strange words from a witch before.

“Hey Nanri,” Cira stood next to her, “How are you doing over here?”

“Very well,” She shined, “Any day now and I can probably turn this orb back into a staff. I think that armor I made really helped my control. I should be done here in just a couple minutes.”

The two chatted about nothing in particular while they finished their work. It was nice having a moment of downtime with the Witch. She enjoyed having her around for this adventure. Recalling how long it had been since she found someone she could have a conversation with, she hoped it wouldn’t take so long next time.

She pulled away with a bittersweet feeling hanging over her as the dirt finished pouring into her new structure. She took a smaller pouch off her waist and started pouring the contents into her hand.

“What are those?” Nanri asked.

Holding her palm up with a small pile of black pebbles, Cira explained, “These are a very rare and precious seed. It will take me years replenish from just one, but I don’t have time to dally on this problem.”