Fjord, Sleeping Island.

"I didn't expect you to be the first guest of Sleeping Spell," Tilly said with a smile, handing over a cup of steaming fish soup, "Thanks to your help in exploring the ruins of the Shadow Isles."

"You're too kind," Thunder took the fish soup. "Even without a commission, I'd be willing to go to that mysterious sea area a few more times. Frankly, without a witch accompanying me, the area east of the Shadow Isles would be an extremely dangerous forbidden zone for explorers." He took a sip of the fish soup and couldn't help exhaling hot air. "Ah... blacktail fish soup, it's truly delicious."

Fjord isn't fond of black tea or red tea ale, they are used to having a bowl of icy fish jelly in the heat of summer, and a cup of boiled fish soup when it turns cold. The taste of different kinds of fish is also very different, this point Tilly gradually understood after coming to Sleeping Island.

"So you couldn't wait to patronize Sleeping Spell?"

"To be precise, I can't wait to start the next adventure," Thunder said with a hearty laugh. "The sight I saw in the ruins' telescope last time shocked me – what is on that land, why would stone gates appear on the cliff walls, I can't wait to fly over and see."

"Is that so..." Tilly also poured herself a cup of fish soup. "You should know that I plan to go to Border Town myself, both to have a good talk with the lord of the Association of Witches, and to see the Demon's Month of the Western Region. You... won't come with us to take a look?"

He was silent for a moment, then grinned, "No, thanks, she should be doing well there, that's good... After all, adventures can be unpredictable. I lost her mother, and I don't want to lose her too. When the time comes, please..."

"I will," Tilly nodded, "After all, she is also one of us," she said with a slight smile, "But business is business. Although you've helped us a lot, the price of hiring a witch still has to be according to the list."

"Of course, business is business, this is the tradition of Fjord." Thunder drank the fish soup in one gulp and laughed loudly.

...

"So, which ones did he hire?" Seeing Thunder leave the palace, Ashes walked in from outside the hall and sat cross-legged beside Tilly.

"Magic Servant Moriel, Arbitrary Gate Trajectory, and Puppet Shadow." Tilly spread out the contract. "The final fee was set at four thousand gold dragons, a generous return, right?"

"Four thousand..." Ashes opened her mouth wide, "Where did he get so much money?"

"Don't forget, Thunder is the most famous explorer in Fjord," the Fifth Princess said with a light smile. "Whether it's discovering new sea routes or treasures excavated from various places, it can bring him a large fortune. It is because of this that he has the ability to repeatedly recruit large groups of experienced sailors to accompany him to explore those mysterious and dangerous areas. But with witches, the risks he takes are greatly reduced. Using money to offset risks has always been a worthwhile deal from ancient times to the present."

"But, is this really okay?" Ashes hesitated, "Establishing a bounty guild can indeed bring a large fortune to Sleeping Island, but the abilities of the witches will also be exposed, and if it reaches the ears of the church..."

Sleeping Spell is a brand-new guild established by Tilly. Here, explorers from the islands of Fjord can hire witches with suitable abilities to help them complete their expeditions. Of course, in addition to the main business, it also provides many convenient services, such as repairing damaged items, making exquisite works of art, quickly building houses, and killing flowers and insects - as long as it does not use the witch's ability to do evil, Sleeping Spell will accept it.

Of course, the premise of all this is to publicize their abilities.

Tilly took Ashes's hand. "Didn't I tell you, what I care about is not those gold dragons, but the hope that through the bounty guild, more people can understand Sleeping Island and establish close ties with us. I agree with one sentence Thunder said, fear comes from the unknown, and the same is true of witches. The fear of the islanders of Fjord and the residents of the kingdom towards us comes from nothing more than the slanders of the church and their own ignorance."

"I can't force them to actively contact and understand witches, so I can only actively promote myself and tell them that this is not the power of the devil, and the witch's ability is not mysterious and unpredictable - they awaken in ordinary people and are still essentially members of the human race. When there is more understanding between each other, this fear will no longer exist." She paused and continued, "As for the church, they never care what abilities we have. The capture of witches has always been the responsibility of the Judgment Army, and occasionally the Divine Punishment Army will be dispatched. Any ability is not much different in the face of Divine Punishment Stones."

"I hope you're right," Ashes said softly, "I only know how to fight and kill, and I can't help you much in this regard."

"You've already helped me a lot," Tilly smiled, "The most important thing to develop and grow Sleeping Island is to connect it with the islands of Fjord. Mutual understanding is a process, and all I'm doing is to shorten this process as soon as possible. In addition, the bounty guild can also play a special role," she stuck out her tongue and showed a sly smile, "That is to find new uses for some seemingly useless abilities, so that non-combat witches don't have to feel frustrated because their abilities are not very useful."

Ashes was amused by her expression, "You always have so many reasons, layer upon layer, making it difficult for people to refuse."

"Because what I said is all true," Tilly pouted, "Let's change the subject, Maisie hasn't returned to Sleeping Island yet, has something happened over there?"

"Maybe something delayed her," Ashes thought for a moment, "Or maybe..."

"What?"

"She doesn't want to come back," she shrugged, "The living conditions there are much better than in Fjord. I said long ago not to send witches there, what if Lian and Honey don't want to come back either?"

"Then let's go over there," Tilly said.

"Oh, then I'll go prepare... what?" Ashes was stunned for a while before she came back to her senses, "W-we go over there?"

The Fifth Princess pouted, "Didn't we agree to help him fight the evil beasts and pick up the other witches? If there's no Lian, the immigrants in Crescent Bay won't have any houses to live in next year."

"But there's still more than a month before winter, there's no need to go over so soon, right?"

"It takes a lot of time on the road. If Border Town really encounters any trouble, we can help the witches of the Association of Witches if we arrive early, and..." she winked, "I want to see with my own eyes what my annoying brother has become like."