The sound of iron chains scraping against the ground grew clearer.
The temperature in the forest seemed to plummet.
The source of the sound was a young girl with short, silver hair.
She had pale skin, a cold expression, and devastatingly beautiful features. Her deep blue eyes were dim and lifeless, as if nothing in this world could possibly pique her interest anymore.
She looked as if she had walked straight out of a snowstorm. Beneath a flawless, pure-white fox fur cloak, she wore a form-fitting combat outfit. An alloy collar was fastened around her slender neck, and heavy shackles were locked onto her hands and feet.
Like a criminal about to be sent to the gallows.
The girl undid the handcuff on her left hand, reached out, and caught a raindrop rolling off a leaf.
With a flick of her slender, long finger, the droplet flew out.
Everywhere the droplet touched was instantly coated in frost.
Winter had come, and all life was extinguished—
A thick layer of frost formed on the ground, reflecting the bright moonlight and bathing the earth in a silver glow.
The forest monsters, who had been baring their fangs and claws a moment ago, were now frozen into lifelike ice sculptures. Lian felt as if he had stepped into the Ice and Snow Kingdom from a dark fairy tale.
As a cold wind swept past, the ice sculptures crumbled into crystalline dust and dissipated into the air.
'This is the Power of a Witch?'
Lian was stunned. The girl before him embodied both beauty and Power—if his memory served him right, she had to be the legendary Guardian Witch!
Furthermore, the collar on her neck and the shackles on her wrists and ankles led to one conclusion: she was Bordering on Loss of Control.
These were the Empire's protective measures against a Witch losing control.
Lian was relieved to be saved, but he also started to worry about his own fate.
'Being saved by a Miss Witch who is Bordering on Loss of Control… is it a blessing or a curse?'
The silver-haired girl turned, looked at the survivors, and asked coolly,
"Who is the illegitimate child of Lord Moria?"
At that moment, all the survivors except for Lian showed expressions of utter terror.
It was as if the girl who had just saved them all was even more frightening than the forest monsters.
Lian could understand their fear.
A Witch who lost control could, at any moment, become a Catastrophe Level disaster, razing an entire city to the ground or even turning it into a forbidden zone.
"I am Lian Moria."
This time, at least, no one was fighting Lian for the identity.
The survivors from the caravan were all actively putting distance between themselves, the girl, and Lian.
The girl walked to Lian's side, lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, and curtsied.
"Lord Lian, the Lord wishes to see you. Please follow me."
As Lian stared intently at the girl, several conspicuous Entries suddenly popped up.
[Ice Witch] [Heart of Loyalty] [Bordering on Loss of Control]
According to the original owner's memories, the only being in this world worshiped as a True God was the God of Tiger.
The God of Tiger determined that everyone would receive their own original Entries at birth.
Entries were divided into Blue Common Entries, Green Advanced Entries, Silver Extraordinary Entries, Golden Epic Entries, and Red Catastrophe Entries.
The vast majority of people received Common Entries, while a small number would possess Advanced Entries.
As for original Entries of an extraordinary nature, only Witches could obtain them.
Therefore, Witches began to take on the duty of Empire Guardians. Their status was incredibly revered, yet also feared and dreaded.
Before gaining the [Bordering on Loss of Control] Entry, they were the most glorious beings in the Empire aside from the nobility, admired by all.
After gaining the [Bordering on Loss of Control] Entry, they became beings more terrifying than demons, monsters, or plagues. Everyone avoided them at all costs. They even had to be put in shackles and executed within a specified time to prevent their escape.
Now, the Miss Witch standing before him was a Guardian who was about to be executed.
No wonder the light had vanished from her eyes.
'Wait, why can I see her Entries?'
'Aren't these Entries only visible to the person who has them?'
According to the common knowledge of this world's natives in his mind, the Entries bestowed by the God of Tiger could only be seen by their owner if they had high Entry sensitivity, or after being scanned by a church's Term Detection Device.
'Does this mean I'm different?'
'Could it be a special ability that came with my transmigration?'
With a sense of trepidation, Lian rubbed his eyes and focused on the crowd that had backed away.
Sure enough, all sorts of Entries were floating above their heads.
[Greedy Scoundrel], [Wife Stealer], [Utterly Vulgar], [Intelligent Person], [Misfortune Physique], [Master Negotiator]…
Among these Entries, Lian found the reason why the original owner and the caravan had been so unlucky.
It turned out one of them had [Misfortune Physique].
Fortunately, this fellow with the Misfortune Physique was gravely injured. It looked like he wouldn't last through the next day, so he probably wouldn't be spreading his misfortune to anyone else.
Lian tried to look at his own Entries.
Blue Common Entries: [Beautiful Youth] [Blacksmith Apprentice] [Golden Hair]
Green Advanced Entry: [Illegitimate Child] Nobles will look upon you with contempt, while commoners will look upon you with envy. You need a powerful guard; otherwise, you're liable to get beaten up or even assassinated whenever you go out.
Golden Epic Level Entry:
[Entry Cleaning] You have the ability to remove Red Entries. For each Entry you remove, you will gain Entry Points, which can be used to exchange for new Entries in the Item Mall. Your Entry cleaning ability is directly proportional to your Physique. Please act within your limits.
Lian's eyes lit up. He actually had a Golden Epic Level Entry!
'Remove Red Entries! Doesn't this mean I can eliminate catastrophic Entries?'
'[Bordering on Loss of Control] is without a doubt the biggest catastrophic Entry!'
'In other words, I can cure the Witch of her loss of control!'
Lian was getting excited, but unfortunately, he couldn't find the interface for the [Item Mall].
It was most likely because he didn't have any Entry Points yet, so the mall hadn't opened.
'No matter. With this ability, my future is full of possibilities!'
Lian reined in his thoughts, looked back at the silver-haired girl, and asked,
"I don't know your name yet."
"Sophie Oma."
"Sophie, thank you."
Lian said sincerely.
Sophie raised her eyes, her silver eyelashes trembling slightly.
It had been a long time since anyone had thanked her. Even she had come to believe that everything she did was simply what was expected of her.
"It is my duty."
Sophie paused, then continued, "You should thank yourself. You didn't run around, and Tree Monsters prioritize attacking moving objects."
"Thanks, I'll remember that. Next time I run into them, I'll just lie down and play dead."
"The best method is to disguise yourself as an animal. Tree Monsters only like to hunt humans."
Lian committed this life-saving tip to memory and glanced at the group of people behind him.
"I can vouch for them. They're not infected with the Plague. They're a caravan that traveled here together from Blueberry Town."
Sophie nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.
Lian could clearly sense that Miss Witch was not fond of interacting with people.
She led Lian to a carriage—the very same one that had brought him to the Bone Forest.
There were still traces of blood on the carriage, but the frightened horses were unharmed.
Lian looked back at the caravan's survivors and said,
"Come on, let's head back to the city together."
Although refusal was written all over their faces, the surroundings were simply too cold. If they spent the night here, they would definitely freeze to death.
And so, the survivors chose to get on the carriage, squeezing into the space at the back.
Sophie flicked the reins, and the horses began to run.
The carriage passed smoothly through the city gates. The survivors immediately chose to get off, not daring to travel any further with the Ice Witch.
Lian didn't stop them, entering the inner city alone with Sophie.
"We have arrived, Lord Lian."
...