Rhine ignored Prince Henry's interlude about holding a ball. In the room, he and Aurora continued to organize the intelligence provided by the Sea Witch, listing important items one by one on paper.
"According to the Sea Hag's direct impression, even within the Witch Society, Black Witch Maleficent's mastery of black magic is definitely among the best," Aurora said, relieved.
"It's also possible she's just more flamboyant. That Black Witch has always been like that," Rhine said. "It's better to be cautious."
The two then listed the information for each Witch Society member separately on paper:
"The Witch Society has a total of 7 members."
"Besides the confirmed Sea Hag and Black Witch Maleficent, the other 5 members have hidden their real identities. When addressing each other, they only use nicknames and aliases."
"Unknown Witch Number One, nicknamed the Slave Owner. She seems to have a magical item that can move around, always appearing in various parts of the continent."
"Sometimes, when some members of the Witch Society need to meet in person, she is the one who travels around to gather everyone."
"Unknown Witch Number Two, everyone refers to her as the Middle Eastern Witch. Currently, it is only known that she lives in the Middle Eastern Countries and possesses powerful magic capable of covering an entire country. In the Witch Society's daily black magic exchanges, she has shared many formidable spells."
"Sigh, sharing and exchanging black magic with each other. This kind of organization is practically gathering all the major villains to nurture them like a voodoo ritual! Heaven knows what they'll nurture!"
"Unknown Witch Number Three, nicknamed the Queen."
"As the name suggests, she seems to be the Queen of a certain country. Through some magic, the Queen has made the king of that country incredibly infatuated with her, almost completely obedient, thereby indirectly controlling the country, barely meeting the Witch Society's entry requirements."
"Unknown Witch Number Four, nicknamed Red Heart, is quite insane and extreme. No one knows where she lives, and she rarely meets others in person. The Sea Hag has not directly communicated with her, so there is a lack of effective information."
"Unknown Witch Number Five, no common nickname, no information whatsoever."
"In the Sea Hag's memory, she has hardly ever spoken. However, when others mention her, they treat her with great respect and state that she is the founder and president of the Witch Society!"
"These 5 Witches, plus the Sea Hag and Black Witch Maleficent, are all the current members of the Witch Society!"
Aurora looked at the organized information, feeling a headache.
"This information is completely insufficient. These few snippets of intelligence are not enough to deduce the true identities of these Witches."
Rhine looked at the information on the white paper, finding some of it familiar but unable to confirm it definitively.
Except for… that one!
He focused his gaze on the entry marked below the Witch nicknamed the Queen on the white paper.
"Similar to the Sea Hag's situation, the Queen is also considered a fringe member. She doesn't seem to possess much powerful black magic, nor is she at all enthusiastic about magic."
"The only reason she has been able to stay in this organization for so long without being kicked out is that she possesses a magic mirror that knows almost everything."
"Sometimes, when other members of the Witch Society encounter problems, they will seek her out and ask her to help them question the magic mirror. Because that magic mirror is so useful, everyone is reluctant to let her go."
The Queen, a magic mirror that answers everything… isn't that too familiar? Rhine thought.
As a visitor from outside this world, he was all too familiar with this story.
Aren't you Snow White's stepmother?
So, in this organization, you're just a tool for answering questions!
Rhine pushed aside this stack of documents and began to read the section specifically about Black Witch Maleficent.
That was the enemy Aurora truly had to face!
"Black Witch Maleficent specializes in curses and plant-related black magic… No wonder her curse made the kingdom overgrown with thorns and thistles."
"Maleficent cannot be killed even by a sneak attack; it will only automatically trigger her magic to transform into a giant dragon."
"Her dragon scales are indestructible; external blows and most magic will only cause minor interference, but are not fatal. Unless there is a weapon sharp enough to pierce her dragon scales and a powerful warrior with the strength to match it, she is immortal."
"Black Witch Maleficent has a gloomy Gothic castle, inhabited by some dark monster servants."
"Every one or two months, she returns to her castle using magic, usually leaving within a week."
"If you are prepared for a battle, you can wait in her castle in advance, set up an ambush, and kill her!"
"As for the location of that castle…"
Aurora examined the world map.
"Strange, isn't this coordinate in the depths of the great desert? There's no one there at all. Could the Sea Hag's intelligence be wrong?"
The blonde girl was puzzled, pointing to a spot on the map—
That was a large desert east of the summer Kingdom and the Rose Kingdom, near the edge of the Western Continent, and quite close to the Middle Eastern Countries.
Could someone really build a castle in the middle of the desert?
A kingdom in the heart of the desert?
Rhine looked at the marked location on the map, suddenly feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
He remembered that 10 years ago, Oz's hot air balloon had drifted in that direction!
And in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the Land of Oz was surrounded by a great desert, which is why it remained unknown!
"In other words, Witch Maleficent's castle is built in Oz!"
Rhine speculated.
"Then, next week, we will bid farewell to Prince Eric and Ariel, leave the summer Kingdom, and travel towards this desert marked as an uninhabited area on the map!"
Just like that, Rhine and Aurora determined the next destination of their journey.
"If that really is where Oz is, then I can visit Oz in the Emerald City."
"After 10 years away from my homeland, Oz must be very excited to see me, a Magician from the Rose Kingdom, again, right?"
Rhine's lips curved slightly upward as he imagined this amusing scene.
Just then, the two heard a gentle knock at the door.
Rhine snapped his fingers, causing the doorknob to turn by itself.
Standing outside the door was Ariel, who had already become the Prince's new wife.
"Is something wrong, Ariel?"
Ariel said somewhat awkwardly:
"Magician Rhine, I heard you are planning to leave the summer Kingdom next week. I wish you a smooth journey!"
"Also, although it's very embarrassing, before you leave, could I trouble you with one more small favor… Uh, it's fine if you can't help. The Sea Kingdom and I already owe you an endless debt of gratitude."
"It's fine. Go ahead," Rhine said.
"For some time now, as you know, Prince Eric and I have married, and the Summer Kingdom and the Sea Kingdom will form an alliance. Related matters and agreements are being prepared, and I don't know much about this."
Rhine nodded, motioning for Ariel to continue.
Currently, the Summer Kingdom's understanding and perception of merfolk are still mainly limited to royal family members and some nobles.
But the King has already begun to promote it extensively throughout the country, aiming to completely clear the public's prejudice against merfolk within half a year. In many parts of the Kingdom, under the King's active leadership, merchant ships, fishermen, and merfolk have already begun initial cooperation. It is only a matter of time until humans and merfolk are completely reconciled.
This doesn't seem to be a problem, does it?
Ariel continued:
"My father, the Sea King, told me that many merfolk in the Sea Kingdom were incredibly surprised to hear that we are about to form an alliance with humans."
"Now, at my father's instruction, the secret of the immortal soul is also gradually being revealed in the Sea Kingdom. Most of the Sea Kingdom's citizens, upon hearing about the alliance, knowing that human sailors will no longer attack merfolk, that the Sea Kingdom can obtain crafts made by humans on land, and that they themselves will have the opportunity to gain an immortal soul, are very happy."
"Of course, there are also a small number of Sea Kingdom citizens who completely do not understand this. They believe that my story of falling in love and marrying Prince Eric is just an extreme isolated case, almost impossible to replicate."
"They believe that most humans and merfolk can never be together! They do not wish to ally with humans, nor do they believe that they can imitate me and gain an immortal soul through this cross-species friendship between the two kingdoms."
Rhine was not surprised by this: "Any policy will have its opponents. So, how does the Sea King plan to handle it?"
Ariel stated the Sea King's idea:
"My father said that a single story of a human and a merfolk falling in love might not be enough."
"If there are more successful examples of humans and merfolk falling in love and marrying, the upcoming alliance will surely gain more support from the Sea Kingdom's citizens."
"Coincidentally, I recently learned from my sisters' that my playmate from the sea fell in love with a human girl a few years ago."
"His name is Momo, he is a merman, but he does not have my noble status; he is just a commoner. After learning about my story, he was greatly encouraged and also hopes to be with that human girl."
As Ariel spoke, her expression changed considerably, clearly showing great concern for this childhood playmate. She genuinely hoped that her friend could also find human love, just like her.
It's understandable, after all, the summer Kingdom is just a foreign land to Ariel; the Sea Kingdom is her homeland, carrying her memories… Rhine thought.
"Indeed. The beautiful story of a Prince and a Princess, for most people, can only ever exist in storybooks," Rhine said meaningfully. "If a commoner from the Sea Kingdom and a commoner from the land can also successfully be together like the Prince and Princess in the story, that would indeed be very inspiring."
The Little Magician rose from his stool:
"Take me to see your merman friend."
…
At the same time.
A major piece of news was spreading throughout the summer Kingdom.
"Have you heard? Prince Eric's brother—the handsome Prince Henry—has returned to the country and is holding a grand ball."
"I heard that the girl who performs best at the ball even has a chance to be chosen by the Prince as his fiancée!"
"Oh my goodness, I really want to attend this ball!"