Chapter 278

It had been about a week since Lizzy, who had no idea that the Witch’s Trial involved such an embarrassing display, sat on the altar next to Lara.

Unlike the chaotic commotion of the first day, by now, no one paid much attention to the naked figures of Lizzy and Lara on the altar. The sight of the two sitting there had simply become part of the daily landscape in the forest.

"Lilith, something’s coming from the direction of the lake. Can you snipe it with magic?"

"Yeah, no problem. This is easy now."

-Swoosh!

‘Screeech!’

-Splash!

"You're getting better at this, Lilith. I remember back then, you used to need triple casting just to hit something like that."

"That was so long ago. It’s been a year and a half since I joined the Academy. I should be able to handle this much by now."

With our backs turned to the altar, we casually chatted while handling any approaching threats. I usually dealt with aerial or aquatic monsters while Ethan took care of those on the ground. When I wasn’t with Ethan, we might swap roles depending on the situation.

By now, the naked forms of Lizzy and Lara were just another part of the forest scenery to us.

‘It’s strange how something that felt so provocative at first now seems so normal after seeing it repeatedly.’

In the game, events like this always felt a bit titillating. But Luminor Academy never actually showed the full month-long trial in real time. If it had, it would’ve been more tedious than anything, rather than exciting.

‘Lizzy seems to have moved past her embarrassment, too.’

The forest’s energy was slowly transforming Lizzy into a witch, and at the same time, filling her mind with the witches' pharmacological knowledge. The magic of the Witches’ Forest wasn’t just about the forest’s vitality—it carried the knowledge of the witches who had lived and passed away here, passed down to their successors along with some of their remaining life force.

Thanks to this, neither hunger nor fatigue troubled Lizzy or Lara. Their minds were likely too busy absorbing knowledge, akin to being taught by thousands of professors for a whole month.

The barrier created by the Elders kept leaves and insects from bothering them, allowing them to focus on their trial without distraction.

‘By the end of this, Lizzy might really become a powerhouse in this world. She could even become a hidden card in the fight against the Demon King.’

As I’d mentioned before, one of the main problems with “Witch Lara” in Luminor Academy was that she wasn’t an official “heroine.” In the game, a “heroine” meant a female character you could add to your party, and Lara, despite her exceptional skills as a pharmacologist, was only a one-time fling.

But if Lizzy became a fully-fledged witch and could join the hero’s party, she might bring a new approach to defeating the Demon King.

‘A witch who can act as a combat support and cover Lilith’s absence in battle might not be a bad idea.’

At the very least, if that stubborn protagonist tried to replace me in the party again, I could use Lizzy as leverage, proving that she could substitute for Lilith. That might buy me some time.

In about two weeks, that guy would probably show up here in the forest. If I could just get through this trial and deal with him, the long summer event would finally come to an end.

‘If he keeps spouting nonsense about not wanting the Saintess’s power, I’ll just have to force-feed it to him myself.’

I’d been patient long enough, but if he kept acting like he could treat me like an NPC, I’d upend the whole system if I had to.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Lilith has reached level 21!』 『Lilith has reached level 22!』

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The leveling event in the Witches’ Forest was progressing smoothly, helping me gain experience. It wasn’t constant hunting, but rather defending the altar, so there weren’t too many battles. Still, the monsters in the forest were high-level enough that I earned a lot of experience from each encounter.

I leveled up roughly once every ten days. Honestly, it had become routine by now, and leveling up this fast didn’t excite me like it used to. In the past, every level had been a matter of life and death, but now it just felt like a steady progression. I even had unused skill points, saving them for when I really needed them.

In terms of the story, I was progressing faster than the original Lilith, and my stats were significantly higher.

Thanks to my early investment in “maximum mana” and “luck,” these stats were climbing steadily as I leveled up. The old Lilith, who could only rely on mana blasts, was long gone. I had become a versatile, powerful version of Lilith.

As for Lizzy, surprisingly, even after nearly three weeks, she hadn’t given up on the Witch’s Trial. Unlike Lara, who had known about the trial since childhood, Lizzy had only learned about it three weeks prior, and her performance was impressive considering that.

In fact, given all she’d already exposed of herself, there was no turning back for Lizzy. It would be a tremendous waste if she quit now, after baring everything in front of everyone.

As the head of the Auguste family’s trading company, Lizzy had too much pride to quit now. She’d see this through to the end, considering the sunk cost.

I had also made sure to get a firm promise from everyone here not to spread any details about Lizzy’s trial. It would be cruel to ruin her prospects for marriage, especially since she’d already gone through so much.

‘Though, honestly, no one seems that interested in her or Lara’s nakedness anymore.’

Ethan had seen me naked in bed not too long ago, so he had no reason to look at Lara or Lizzy. While Lara had a voluptuous figure, she was taller than Ethan, which might make her intimidating. As for Lizzy, while she was around my height, I had her beat in the chest department.@@novelbin@@

So, except for when I specifically asked him to look, Ethan had hardly glanced at the altar. Occasionally, he’d turn his head to deal with a monster, but otherwise, Lizzy and Lara were just part of the scenery.

Prince Antonio, meanwhile, was smitten with Agnes, so he wasn’t interested either. If anything, his preference for Agnes's body type made the altar seem even less appealing to him.

...Though that preference might be a bit concerning, it wasn’t my problem, so I ignored it.

As for Karaham, Lizzy was his sister. His only thoughts were likely filled with concern and pity. He just wanted the trial to end safely.

With the trial nearing its final week, the time passed without much incident—until we heard voices approaching.

“W-We finally made it… haaa…”

“The terrain was tricky, we must have gotten lost. If we’d followed the path properly, it wouldn’t have taken this long.”

“On the way back, let’s stick to the path, Miss Selenna. No more talk about ‘Elves never lose their way in the forest,’ okay?”

“…Fine.”

The second wave of reinforcements for Lara’s trial had arrived. The stubborn protagonist and his hero party had finally reached the Witches’ Forest.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The hero’s party consisted of four members, including the protagonist himself.

The members were:

Hero (Gerald)

Saintess (Serista)

Archer (Selenna)

Princess (Seraphin)

Only three clear heroines, including the protagonist, had come to the forest this time. The others who were in more ambiguous positions in terms of story relevance had been left behind.

‘Well, this event wasn’t in the original game, so it makes sense.’

I wasn’t sure what combination of events they’d dealt with in the northern plains, but they had likely gone through their own challenges. Their journey involved handling noble power struggles, small-scale battles, and duels. They probably needed some time to recover.

Only the heroines who were most deeply tied to the hero, either through love or rivalry, had followed him here.

“S-Seraphin? What are you doing here…?”

“I came for the regular trade run with the witches, of course. Also, the hero said it was important to help Miss Lara with her Witch’s Trial.”

“I-I thought you were in the northern plains…”

“We were. It was a tough trip. But what are you doing here, Antonio?”

“I-I… naturally, I followed Lady Agnes when she came to the Witches’ Forest…”

“…He tagged along, despite my telling him not to.”

“Haa, Antonio. You’re going to drive me crazy. And that’s not how you approach women…”

“S-Seraphin…”

“…Princess, perhaps you could have this conversation a little farther away?”

Seraphin wasted no time scolding Antonio, with Sir Colt pulling them away to give them some privacy.

Meanwhile, Agnes exchanged a few brief greetings with the other two heroines from the hero’s party, leaving the hero himself to approach me.

“Is the event going well? Where’s Ethan?”

“The trial’s in its fourth week. About one week left. Ethan’s guarding the altar with Karaham.”

“…Karaham? You mean the Karaham from the Auguste family?”

“Do you know any other Karaham in Luminor Academy?”

“I know, I know, but why is he helping with Lara’s trial…?”

The hero seemed perplexed by the fact that an event was happening without his knowledge.

Rather than explaining everything, I figured it would be faster to just show him.