The girl shook her head:
"No, I'm not some sorceress. I'm just a normal little girl named Dorothy. I was brought here by a tornado from a very far-off place—at least, I think it was very far-off.
"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know who this Eastern Witch you speak of is."
The Munchkins were a bit disappointed; this was the second time today they had mistaken a girl for a "powerful sorceress."
The Northern Witch then said:
"Dear Dorothy. In any case, it was your house that fell on the Eastern Witch's head, giving Aurora the chance to kill her."
"You and Aurora both helped the Munchkins, freeing them from the evil witch's tyranny, so I must thank you too."
"I killed someone?" Dorothy was stunned.
Only after the Northern Witch and the Munchkins explained did she barely grasp the situation.
She asked the Northern Witch many more questions before learning that she had arrived in an isolated country called Oz Country, surrounded by deserts.
"This is terrible, I can't go home!" Dorothy frowned, looking worried.
"Where is your home?" the Munchkins asked.
"On the grasslands of the Sass Kingdom," Dorothy replied.
The Munchkins and the Northern Witch looked at each other, all indicating that they had never heard of that place.
Aurora was quite speechless about this.
Hey, your Oz Country is isolated from the world, what's the point of asking Dorothy where she's from? No matter where she's from, as long as it's outside Oz Country, you surely haven't heard of it, right?
Of course, if Rhine were here, he would definitely be thinking to himself:
"Good thing, Dorothy, you're not from Kansas, USA. After all, America doesn't exist in this world!"
Dorothy cried, a strange sense of loneliness overwhelming her, because she was surrounded by such strange people, and she couldn't go home. She would never see her aunt and uncle again, destined to stay with these strange people forever.
Her tears saddened the kind Munchkins, who immediately took out handkerchiefs to wipe their own tears.
"Dorothy, I have a way to send you home! And naturally, I have also heard of your hometown," Aurora suddenly said.
"Really?" Dorothy was ecstatic.
"That's a kingdom on the Western Continent, not too far from my home, the Rose Kingdom. There are probably two or three kingdoms in between," Aurora said.
Dorothy, who had just been crying, suddenly burst into laughter.
She was delighted to find another girl like herself who came from the world outside Oz Country.
Dorothy immediately felt that even though she was far from her aunt and uncle, she wasn't alone in this foreign land.
There was another little girl of similar age, just like her, who also came from the outside world and was also regarded as a hero by these little people.
Dorothy showed an excited expression and asked her new friend, whom she had known for only half a minute:
"But Aurora, how do we leave Oz Country?"
Aurora confidently took out a silver shoe.
—It was the one the Eastern Witch had worn before; after the Eastern Witch was killed, Aurora naturally took this trophy.
"This is the Eastern Witch's shoe. It has magical power. As long as you wear both, you can travel anywhere on this continent within three steps. Naturally, it can easily take you home."
"However, there's another shoe with my teacher—he, like me, also ended up in Oz Country."
"My teacher is a powerful magician. As long as we find him, whether by the power of the shoes or his original magical abilities, he will surely be able to send you home!"
Dorothy's eyes lit up when she heard there was hope of going home:
"Then where can we find your teacher?"
Aurora then turned to look at the kind-faced old woman beside her:
"Respected Northern Witch, the Munchkins all say you are a kind witch and skilled in divination. Can you tell me where my teacher is?"
"Oh, and there's also an evil witch named Maleficent who is currently in Oz Country. Can you find her hiding place?"
The Northern Witch took off her hat, placed its tip on her nose, and asked in a solemn voice:
"Where is Aurora's teacher?"
The hat immediately transformed into a slate, with large white chalk letters written on it:
"In the Emerald City."
The old woman told Aurora:
"It seems you must go to the Emerald City. Your teacher ended up there. This city is in the center of the country and is ruled by Oz."
"Who is Oz?" Aurora and Dorothy asked simultaneously.
Although the Magician Oz was from the Rose Kingdom, when he left the Rose Kingdom, Aurora was still a baby in swaddling clothes. Naturally, she hadn't heard about this circus master during her upbringing.
"You should have noticed, this place is called Oz. Oz himself is a magician," the Northern Witch said.
"Is he a good person?" Dorothy asked with some concern.
"He is a kind magician. But I cannot be sure if he is human, as I have never seen him, and almost no one has seen Oz's true form."
"Is he a very powerful magician?" Aurora's focus was completely different from Dorothy's.
She thought, since Oz is a kind magician, if he is as powerful as her teacher, he can surely help her and her teacher defeat Black Witch Maleficent together!
"Of course!" the Northern Witch said decisively. "All four of us witches from the east, west, south, and north combined are probably not as powerful as Oz!"
So Oz is such a powerful magician. No wonder this land is named after him, Aurora thought.
Next, the Northern Witch tried to divine the whereabouts of Black Witch Maleficent, but she failed.
This result did not surprise Aurora at all—
That powerful Black Witch must have means to block divination and prophecy.
"Dear Aurora, my magic cannot find the evil witch you mentioned, Maleficent, but since you are going to the Emerald City to find your teacher, you can ask Oz for help in finding her. Oz is a particularly powerful magician, he will surely have a way," the Northern Witch said.
Aurora nodded: "I understand. But I believe Oz's magical attainments are not greater than my teacher's."
"My Aurora, you must never say that to outsiders. Especially don't say that in the Emerald City; everyone will only think you are belittling and disparaging Oz."
When the Northern Witch mentioned Oz, she couldn't help but lower her voice:
"Oz might be the most powerful magician in this world! If anyone in the world could surpass him, it might only be Oz's own teacher!"
The Northern Witch had long heard that before the Magician Oz came to Oz, he was a disciple of an incredibly powerful and legendary magician.
As for the name and identity of Oz Country's legendary teacher, the Northern Witch had not inquired.
Hearing the Northern Witch boast about their magician in Oz, Aurora's competitive spirit as a little girl was immediately ignited.
"Hmph, it's just an isolated, unsophisticated little kingdom. My teacher is a great magician whose name is known in many countries!"
Aurora thought and said:
"No, I don't believe Oz can be more powerful than my teacher."
"Just imagine, if Oz were a good person and possessed particularly powerful magic, why didn't he rescue the Munchkins from the Eastern Witch's clutches?"
"Moreover, respected Northern Witch, haven't you yourself never seen Oz? You've only heard rumors about him."
"Perhaps he's not as powerful as rumored?"
"I dare say my teacher definitely has more powerful magic than your Oz! We can make a bet."
The Munchkins were astonished to see Aurora so assertive, still believing Oz was inferior to her teacher.
In their minds, Oz was surely the most powerful magician in the world!
The Northern Witch sighed when she saw Aurora wanted to bet with her.
Indeed, she's a stubborn child who wants to win every argument!
"Little girl, you'll know when you get to the Emerald City," the Northern Witch said.
"How about this. If you get to the Emerald City and find that Oz's magic is not as good as your teacher's, I will personally apologize to you."
"If the result is the opposite, then you will apologize to me—if we meet again in the future."
Having made this bet with the old woman, Aurora's childish competitive spirit was satisfied, and she left happily.
And so, Aurora and Dorothy, the two girls, accompanied by the little dog Toto, set off for the Emerald City in the center of the country.
They were going to find the two magicians, Rhine and Oz.
One wanted to leave Oz and return to her homeland; the other wanted to reunite with her teacher, find Black Witch Maleficent, kill her, and lift the curse on the Rose Kingdom.
The two girls, each with a different dream, embarked on their journey together.