The Cornflower Witch Chapter 210

Cornflower, light blue cornflower, with serrated, funnel-shaped petals, and darker, tube-like floral bases. Multiple florets radiate outwards, creating a more beautiful overall flower shape.

Holding this blooming cornflower, Hylial gently pressed it to her chest, feeling a sense of fond attachment.

This feeling was like a key, unlocking the door to her memories, and many scenes from her childhood slowly resurfaced.

She remembered the place where she grew up.

Her name should be Hylial Mazetta, the only daughter of the current family head, Shyrley Mazetta, the ‘Aster Witch’.

The Mazetta family, a prominent family of the First Continent, was a poetic family that participated in drafting the first laws of the dynasty. Their ancestors had received many accolades such as ‘Crowned Poet’, ‘Duke of Flowers’, ‘Traveler of the Seven Continents’, and ‘Fairy-Favored’.

Over nearly a thousand years, the Mazetta family had risen and fallen many times. Today, the family has become a symbol and part of the dynasty’s history, one of the four great dukes of the current Blazing Sun Dynasty, and has a close relationship with the Dragon Blood Royal Family.

When her mother was growing up, the Mazetta family was in decline. Though their爵位 (noble title) remained, the various branches acted independently, without integration. It was only after her mother came of age and displayed astonishing talent that the Mazetta family was reunited, becoming one of the four true prominent families of the dynasty.

However, Hylial couldn’t recall what happened later that led to her being adrift outside the family.

It seems she needs to continue improving her strength to remember more.

Lying on the bed, Hylial recalled her childhood experiences in this life: the family mansion that seemed like an endless maze, and her childhood playmate, Elysia, the princess of the Dragon Blood Royal Family.

Speaking of Elysia, Hylial felt a faint resentment mixed with affection. The resentment stemmed from Elysia often playing tricks on her as a child, and Hylial being unable to beat her. The affection was that, despite their frequent squabbles, their relationship was actually quite good. Whenever Elysia found something fun, she would always seek out Hylial first to play and try it together.

However, after she was about ten years old, they rarely clashed. Perhaps they had matured a lot by then, and their elders had begun to teach them etiquette and manners.

As royalty upholding the bloodline of the Corona Dragon, Elysia had awakened some of the power of the ‘Dragon Eye’ affinity since childhood. This caused many peers to be unconsciously suppressed and frightened by her. Only a few children with similarly special bloodlines could play with her.

After her recollections, Hylial slowly fell asleep in bed, returning in her dream to the familiar family garden and seeing many faces she had known in childhood.

Because her mother was a model lady among the nobility at the time, many great nobles would send their daughters to the Mazetta family to learn etiquette and affairs. She had met many people back then, but unfortunately, she only remembered their appearances, and the backgrounds of those girls had long been forgotten.

The next day, Hylial awoke from her dream. Although she had only slept for one night, it felt as if a long time had passed, giving her a hazy, dream-like sensation.

“It’s better not to think about such distant matters for now,” the girl shook her head, temporarily setting aside her many memories.

Now, her task was to return to the Dark Mist Mountains outpost, deal with the accumulated issues, and then diligently improve her strength. This way, she could travel across the Cloud Sea in the future and return to her homeland on the First Continent.

After packing her luggage and belongings, Hylial strapped the materials she had acquired from her adventure onto her horse, and set off again, heading towards the Dark Mist Mountains.

Three days later, she returned to the Dark Mist Mountains outpost once more.

“Senior Hylial, you’re back.” Several students guarding the outpost gate greeted her.

“Yes, has anything happened recently?”

“Nothing major, just a few other outposts nearby sent people over to inquire about our situation and left some requests, hoping we could assist them.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Hylial led her horse to the stable, unloaded her belongings, and then returned to her office. A few people were already waiting for her there.

“Tell me the situation,” she said, coming to the table and looking over the documents and reports laid out on it.

“I’ll go first,” Albert stepped forward. Like Hylial, he was a Second-Order Gardener and the leader managing the greenhouse in her absence. “The potatoes planted a month ago are growing well and are expected to achieve ‘excellent’ quality at harvest.”

“Roughly how many Jin can be produced?” Hylial inquired carefully.

“Each mu can yield 800 Jin. We currently have a total of 35 mu of greenhouse land, of which 30 mu are planted with potatoes. The estimated final yield is 24,000 Jin of potatoes.”

“I see.” Hylial calculated mentally.

Potato yield was much higher than wheat, which didn’t mean wheat was inferior to potatoes. It was simply because potatoes had a higher water content. If the potatoes were sliced and dried, the actual weight difference between the two might not be so significant.

Without the water, 800 Jin of potatoes provided roughly the same nutrition as 150 Jin of wheat, meaning 24,000 Jin of potatoes were approximately equivalent to 4,500 Jin of wheat.

“Still not enough,” she thought to herself. It seemed she would have to find other ways to increase production later.

After addressing the issue of food crops, Grant, representing the scholars, stepped forward to report on recent matters.

“We have continued to reinforce the city walls and buildings within the outpost, and have inscribed corresponding ‘Castle’ formations within each building. This will greatly enhance their resistance to erosion.”

“If the previous construction was rushed, this outpost can now truly be considered stable.”

“Many students have been discussing what name the outpost should have. I wonder if Senior Hylial has any definitive ideas.”

“Is it already time for naming?” Hylial realized this belatedly.

Come to think of it, this outpost had been under construction for nearly four months. It was indeed time to give it a name, otherwise the association and others wouldn’t know what to call it. And since she was leading the construction, she had a great deal of autonomy in naming it; as long as it wasn’t too outlandish, the association would approve.

Naming, she thought, was truly a difficult task for her. The girl sat lost in thought in the chair behind the desk, her distressed expression amusing the others present.

Unable to come up with a suitable name for a while, Hylial happened to look up and saw the octagonal lantern placed on the table, suddenly getting an idea.

“How about ‘Lantern Town’? It’s not very big yet, so ‘fortress’ or anything similar wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“It’s located in a dark, unlit corner of the Dark Mist Mountains. Many people traveling here would hope to see a glimmer of light and warmth. The imagery of a lantern seems quite fitting,” she explained, feeling that this idea was particularly good.

Seeing Hylial’s decision, the other three also thought the name was good. Although it was rather simple, it was also very appropriate.

“In that case, we will henceforth refer to the outpost as Lantern Town!” Grant responded with slight excitement, then solemnly wrote the name in his notebook.

“I fully agree. Lady Hylial’s wisdom is astonishing,” Albert lightly complimented her.

“The name is good, but it is a bit too simple. I thought that being in the fierce winds of the Dark Mist Mountains, ‘Stormwind City’ would be more fitting,” Rachel, the knight girl beside them, retorted.

“That name is too grand; it’s not suitable right now,” Hylial shook her head helplessly, rejecting the name that was so familiar to her in her past life.

“Hehe, so Tia doesn’t object then? If it grows strong enough in the future, I strongly suggest changing it to ‘Stormwind City’!” Rachel raised her hand, enthusiastically recommending the name she had come up with.

“And then Tia would be recorded in history as the first Queen of Stormwind. Don’t you think that name sounds much more imposing?” The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Even Grant and Albert next to her were swayed and began to waver.

“Stormwind City” indeed sounded very powerful.