Hitzfeld was a little annoyed. Her French was not very good. If Siesta planned to teach Claire French and let the two of them communicate in French, she didn't know whether her left eye would judge that the plot was "unimportant" and skip it all.
If that happened, she wouldn't be able to understand their conversation anymore, which would be very detrimental to her obtaining intelligence from the retrospection.
Fortunately, when they changed two trains and got off in a shabby pickup truck in a remote area, she attached herself to Claire and saw that there were many people around, and most of them spoke English.
[It should be to take care of the majority.] She thought so.
The witches' route is "research", with "seeking knowledge" as the main line and "research" as the branch. Even if Sista didn't say it, she could guess that there wouldn't be too many of these extraordinary people.
Because it is true that rational people are a minority. Compared with moderation, most people only care about wisdom.
Even though Hitzfeld was a mortal, she was qualified to talk about this - she had discovered when she was a student that everyone was pursuing IQ and wisdom, as if as long as they were geniuses they would succeed, and few people would educate their children to develop basic self-control.
She has always believed that the ability to exercise self-control - or to put it more intuitively - the ability to fully comprehend self-control due to mature cognition, is a more valuable quality than high IQ.
What to do at what time, when to work, play, rest and sleep... Even among adults, the proportion of people who can manage these things is not high.
They are always in the minority... What's more, Siesta was not sure at the beginning that she could take Claire away, and had to put her hope on the "face" of the witches' coven. This is enough to show that the power and influence formed by those who take the "knowledge-seeking" route are most likely not as strong as "human desires."
So their members may come from all over the world.
That's why Sista bought Claire and brought her back so abruptly.
People here try to speak English to facilitate communication for most people, and Sista's actions indirectly show that the witch coven is in urgent need of new blood.
[Is it because the leader of the witch coven is an ambitious person who wants to expand his power?]
Seeing Siesta leading the way, Hitzfeld looked around from Claire's perspective, and no matter how he looked at it, he felt that this place looked like a shabby village.
All kinds of thatched houses and wooden houses are piled up on both sides of the road, setting up their own stalls. People wearing cloaks or masks wander around here, occasionally stopping to pick out the items they like from the stalls.
The outline of a village is vaguely formed, and this place is more like a country market.
[No.] Hitzfeld denied his previous guess, [If Sista is not lying, and the core factor that determines the path is human will, then only on this point, the leader of any force cannot hide his ambition.]
What determines the witches' coven's path of "seeking knowledge and research" is their will. As long as this is true, the controller of the witches' coven is destined not to have the heart to dominate.
Unless that person... according to Sistah, is corrupt.
Ah, I don’t know if the word “depravity” here means what she guessed.
[But if they are not seeking hegemony, and are so eager to recruit new members... then they are feeling threatened by external forces.]
Hitzfeld thought this possibility was more likely.
[The "human desire" route?]
[It's not like...]
[But if we talk about "alienation", these guys who don't follow the rules shouldn't be very popular even in the circle of extraordinary people. They should be hunted down by the "seeking knowledge" and "human desires", and it's unlikely that they can exert such pressure.]
Here Hitzfeld had another doubt: she didn't understand why, even though the extraordinary people on Earth had such powerful powers, they still tried to stay away from the world as much as possible.
Even a supernatural family like the Felum only dared to build a castle on a mountain top in the wilderness. Even members of the witch coven like Sista had to hide their identities all the way, and even be cautious and pretend to be a Latino.
Why do they hide?
The "human desire" route must also include the desire for power. How can they resist... and not show their strength to the outside world?
This is something that has been seriously considered, and Hitzfeld believes they can actually do it if they want to.
Nuclear bombs and the like... those are weapons aimed at countries. When the iron wall of power begins to disintegrate from within, there is no chance that such weapons will be used.
But they didn't, they are still hiding from the world, and the extraordinary people are carefully hiding themselves, just like the wizards in the Middle Ages who are afraid of their identities being discovered.
What are they afraid of?
"arrive."
Just then she heard Sista speak.
The place where the two stopped was already deep in the center of the village. The buildings here were undoubtedly much more exquisite than those on the periphery, and already had the prosperous charm of a small county or small town.
Claire looked up, and Hitzfeld saw the general appearance of the high-rise building.
This looks like a clock tower.
It is not very high, only about four or five floors, and the bell only has one side. There is a gap in the middle of the stone tower, and you can vaguely see a hanging bell hanging there. It looks extremely shabby.
She began to doubt the times.
The model of that car should be modern...
But this looks like a Victorian French countryside...
There is an extremely conspicuous sign in this place with a line of French written on it.
Hitzfeld couldn't read it, but there was small English writing underneath, which translated to "Witch House".
[Isn’t this a bit too high-profile…]
Siesta brought Claire in, and Hitzfeld immediately knew there was a reason for this high-profile behavior.
Just looking at the interior decoration and service content, it is a witch experience store.
She couldn't say what exactly.
But maybe...
There are small spring-loaded electric airplanes displayed at the entrance of domestic supermarkets. You only need to pay one dollar to use them. If you pick up your children and start them, they will mistakenly think they are pilots and stop crying. She thinks the nature of the two is not much different.
Electric small planes can provide services that allow people to think they are pilots.
Witch houses can also offer services to make people think they are witches.
At first glance, this place looks like a clothing store, with robes of various styles hanging around. In the window are a series of objects that can be associated with witches, such as crucibles, beakers, tweezers, old brooms, pumpkin heads, cursed dolls, etc., and at the innermost counter there is a medicine cabinet like in a Chinese medicine clinic.
Hitzfeld looked at the sign next to the medicine cabinet and knew that it contained some herbs.
If this was a wizard cult cooked up by an ordinary person, then he had really invested a lot of money.
"What do you want?" A young woman in a black robe was standing behind the counter. She asked with a smile when she saw the two people come in.
She is very beautiful and qualified as a counter worker. Her youthful and beautiful figure is wrapped in a black robe and a pointed witch hat on her head. The clothes give her a bit of mystery.
“I want to sell my own merchandise,” Siesta replied.
The young woman narrowed her eyes.
She glanced to the side - Hitzfeld guessed that she was observing whether there were any strangers at the door or outside. After confirming that there were none, she spoke in a low voice, "The president is here today, and someone else has delivered goods. You can take her to the second floor and leave."
"Varied……"
Without waiting for Claire to say anything, Siesta carried her around the counter and went through the small door next to the medicine cabinet. She lifted the curtain and walked down from a place that others would mistake for a utility room.
When the door curtain is lifted, there is a spiral staircase with no end in sight.
The two walked for about five minutes and entered the underground floor. After passing through a tunnel lit by oil lamps, they could see an archway in front of them.
There were people in black robes standing on both sides of the arch. Upon seeing them coming, one of them pulled the ring on one side of the arch to open the door, and made a gesture to invite them in.
Claire looked at Siesta, who was motionless.
No way……
The little maid's face began to turn ugly.
"I can't be with you forever. You can't escape."
But Sista looked at her with a smile.
"Go."
"Remember, you still owe me fifty thousand pounds."
Chapter 51: The Witch's Trial 2
The archway closed behind her. Claire took a breath and looked up at the scene inside the door.
She found that it wasn't that no one welcomed her - this place was like a small mosque, with many cushions on the ground, and many girls her age or even younger sitting there, all looking up at this side.
"Hello, new partner." A blonde girl in jeans stood up from the crowd and walked towards her, saying as she walked, "My name is Farley, and I'm also a candidate apprentice. You're here to take the test as well, right? May I know your name...?"
"Claryn." Hitzfeld heard the body's answer, and at the same time saw her stretch out her hand and shake hands with 'Fally' in a formal manner.
Farley was very talkative, and with her guidance and introduction, Claire quickly understood what was going on in the hall.
As the other party said, this is a test.
Official members of the witch coven have the obligation to bring good talents into the coven. There are targets for how many members of different levels to be brought in each year, but this does not mean that they will be recognized as soon as they are brought back.
Their leader was willing to bring them back, which was only the first level of recognition from the witches. Next, they had to take two more tests, the first of which was the most difficult.
"There is no specific content for the assessment." Claire found her cushion and sat down. She saw Farley coming to the front, waving her arms and talking loudly. "On the way here, I asked my leader a lot of questions and even paid a small price. According to her, this second assessment is particularly difficult, and the content of each assessment is different, which means we have no experience to draw on."
She has the makings of an outstanding leader, Hitzfeld thought to himself.
Her voice was firm, and she was not afraid of the many eyes watching her. Her tone was steady, her words were concise, and she showed good logical reasoning. All this, coupled with her gestures, although she seemed a little immature, was too easy for her to unite these little girls and win their support.
Not surprisingly, most girls were willing to gather around Farley. They gathered together and chattered like orioles, exchanging information or simply complaining about the hardships of the journey.
But not everyone likes Farley. Claire noticed that there were a few other girls sitting in the corner - of course, they were about the same age as herself and Farley, so it would be more appropriate to describe them as girls. These people almost ignored Farley. Even if she spoke passionately, they just leaned in the corner and closed their eyes to rest.
So what exactly is the test, and when exactly does it begin?
Claire was a little overwhelmed at first.
She first observed the surroundings silently and found that this seemed to be just an ordinary reception room.
On the table next to them were several plates with cold roast meat, cakes and fruit, and next to them were jugs of either milk or water.
In addition, there were two cabinets around, one was a bookcase with only a dozen or so books scattered on it, and the other was a medicine cabinet, which was larger than the one she saw below.
She also tried her best to remember the appearance of these girls, counting that there were 23 people in total, and wrote down those who she thought were "powerful characters". Then she noticed that there was a girl with black hair and pale skin who was staring at the hourglass hanging under the chandelier.
Hourglass?
Claire raised an eyebrow, stood up from the cushion and stepped back to get a better angle, noting that the sand in the hourglass was almost gone.
Could this be——
"Bang!" The sound of a door closing.
Everyone turned around to look at the door, where Claire had just come in, and saw a fair-skinned girl about 13 years old walking out timidly with a look on her face that looked like she was about to collapse.
Claire only glanced at her and continued to look at the hourglass, just in time to catch the moment when the sand had completely run out.
At the same time, the black-haired girl in the corner murmured, "It's time."
"boom!"
"Bang bang!!"
In an instant, all the vents and windows around were automatically closed.
"Door!" Farley ordered, pointing at the archway.
Immediately, two girls who were willing to obey her ran over. After a while, they returned from the shadows in frustration, shaking their heads: "They locked the door."
The girls suddenly became panicked, and the chirping of the orioles sounded like screams, with endless panic in their voices.
"Don't worry!" Claire tried her best to comfort the people around her, "They won't leave us alone. There must be a way to get out. Maybe this is their test!"
"Test?" Farley was stunned and looked at Claire with a meaningful look.
In short, with her and Claire's efforts, the girls gradually regained their senses and began to discuss how to get out of here.
"There are two doors here."
Half an hour later, Farley, Claire, and the black-haired girl stood by the wall opposite the arch, staring at a black iron door embedded in the wall.
"Besides the archway, there is this. The keyhole of this door is actually in the shape of a spider... I think this may be the key to breaking the deadlock."
"It's a black spider." The black-haired girl suddenly said, "It's a witch's pet... It loves the magic potion made by the witch. Black spiders that are fed with different magic potions have different abilities. I think they want us to brew a pot of magic potion to attract the black spider to open the lock."
"Who are you?" Farley looked at her unkindly, "How do you know all this?"
The black-haired girl kept silent and ignored him.
Farley bared her teeth.
After all, she is still young and doesn't have such deep scheming.
"Are you sure?" Claire said, "We may only have one chance to try and fail..."
"I'm more than 80% sure." The black-haired girl glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and added: "You can call me Nice."
