After the meal, Dorothy lay on the living room couch, watching the Magic Shadow Curtain on the opposite wall.
It was essentially a magical version of a giant screen TV.
She rubbed her plump belly and lazily flipped through channels, enjoying the leisurely post-meal routine.
She had eaten too much, but it wasn’t her fault for being greedy. The ingredients in the world of the Angel Witch were simply too high in quality.
These ingredients, bursting with magic power, could be considered divine treasures. Eating and digesting them increased a witch’s magic power, a method of power enhancement usually only affordable by the wickedly wealthy—a way for big spenders to enhance their strength by splurging.
Dorothy felt that just the meal she had today could increase her magic power by about 300 mana, which was almost equivalent to her natural increase over the past six months.
Damn, having money really meant you could do whatever you wanted.
Of course, the most critical aspect was that these high-grade ingredients were indeed delicious, which is why Dorothy hadn’t been able to control herself and had overeaten.
This feeling was quite rare for witches, as their digestive ability was extremely strong. Ordinary food would never make them feel full, not even if they ate as much as a mountain; only those ingredients containing magic power could slow down their digestion enough to make them feel stuffed.
So, experiencing this sensation she had only felt in her past life, Dorothy found herself quite nostalgic.
In the kitchen, Sophia, also with a rounded belly, was directing invisible hands of magic power to clean the messy dishes from the recent feast.
Continue your adventure with empire
Just after the meal, the Angel Witch had taken it upon herself to do the dishes. This pure white girl seemed a bit too independent. Dorothy had already told her that taking care of kitchen matters would be considered her future rent.
But Sophia still appeared unwilling to take any advantage, resolutely announcing she would handle the dishes from now on, and Dorothy only needed to take care of the cooking.
Dorothy didn’t say much about it; she loved cooking, but she didn’t at all enjoy doing the dishes or any other cleanup work. She could find joy in the cooking process, but dishwashing was just boring and dreary.
Now someone else was voluntarily taking care of this aftermath work, and Dorothy was more than happy to relax. She continued to lie on the comfortable couch, watching TV while playing with her kitten.
She took out an assortment of soul shard materials she had previously purchased at the market and shaped these bizarrely formed soul shards into the likeness of little dried fish, then tossed them one by one into mid-air.
The rarely awake kitten, Buster, was exceptionally agile and jumped around, catching the soul dried fish tossed by its owner.
Even though each "dried fish" was much larger than the not-yet palm-sized kitten, Buster gobbled them down one by one, enjoying the feast immensely. The little fellow’s sleek, shining fur became even smoother, and the white fur on its chest and paws became even purer.
As a member of the Spirit race, soul shards were the best cat food for Buster. Only by absorbing enough soul energy could the little one’s spirituality grow better, though the food was indeed quite expensive.
Once the little fellow’s belly was rounded, and it could no longer jump about, Dorothy collected the remaining cat food, picked up the little one, and placed it on her lap, stroking its fur.
"Purr..."
Buster, enjoying its owner’s caress, let out a comfortable purring sound and soon fell asleep again.
It was still too young and needed long periods of sleep to grow faster. The "cat food" it had just eaten also needed to be absorbed during sleep.
"Is this a psychic magic wand?"
Sophia, having completed the cleaning, once again came to the couch with her bulging belly, lazily lay down on the other end, and curiously looked at the kitten on the mistress’s lap, her eyes showing some surprise.
Thus, witches had a choice between these two types of battle robes: one was installment-based with a high-risk, high-reward evolution and included as a pet, the other was a straightforward purchase with stable quality and inheritability. Depending on their luck, one might even raise a capable familiar—the decision was up to the witches themselves.
In the past, Dorothy didn’t have a choice; she couldn’t afford either type.
She had never imagined that now there would be a precious Armored Beast Egg right in front of her.
And...
"Good heavens, it’s a Divine Egg, is this the offspring of the Mother of Armored Beasts?"
Feeling the powerful Magic Power within the egg she was holding, Dorothy was also startled.
Although the witches’ technology adjustment theoretically allowed any Armored Beast egg to grow to its Ultimate Form, it’s similar to how theoretically all witches could also become Witch Kings—the future was uncertain.
In fact, the better the bloodline of an Armored Beast, the easier it was to grow, requiring fewer resources for evolution and less likely to deviate from its path.
As for those with mixed bloodlines, it was a matter of luck; although most people ended up with aberrations, there would still be those few fortunate ones who managed to cultivate something exceptional, right?
Now Dorothy could clearly feel the exceptional grade level of the egg in her hand.
"Yes, it’s a Second-Generation Bloodline. My Angela is the child of my teacher’s Armored Beast Dolag, and you, miss, have Angela’s child. Angela just reached maturity, and this is her first child,"
Sophia nodded and explained.
"Although Armored Beasts can split and lay eggs as soon as they mature, other than the Mother of Armored Beasts herself, the first child is the only one that doesn’t degrade in grade. Subsequent offspring suffer a drop in bloodline level, and this method of splitting and laying eggs is quite taxing for the Armored Beasts. You should be mindful of this in the future, miss."
However, Dorothy looked at the precious Armored Beast egg in her hand, somewhat conflicted.
Although it was a gift from her own mother, her relationship with this mother was quite complicated, and her nature of disliking owing others was acting up again.
She didn’t know how to repay Euphilia for the debt of giving birth, and taking on more debt would complicate future dealings—increasing her indebtedness would only make it harder for her to break free from her mother’s embrace and attain freedom.
Sophia could see her thoughts, lightly snorted, and was speechless about this pretentious miss.
"Anyway, the gift has already been given to you. Our teacher also said it’s just a birthday gift from a mother to her daughter as compensation for not being there to raise you, so you shouldn’t feel burdened by it. You can either accept it or sell it; she won’t interfere with your decision."
After saying this, the pure white girl couldn’t help but feel heartbroken and left to return to her own room.
..... Little Witch nibbling on lemon .....
On the couch, Dorothy thought for a moment and then sighed. Using Magic Power, she forced a few drops of blood from her fingertips and pressed her bleeding fingertip against the Armored Beast Egg, drawing a Magic Array on the shell.
This was the Familiar Contract.
"I, Dorothy Euphilia...Yemengade. Nidhogg, by these names, establish a pact with you. Awaken, my familiar, I bestow upon you the name—Fafnir...."
Accompanied by the solemn pronouncement, the egg of her Armored Beast shattered, and a small figure emerged from within, its watery large eyes curiously staring at her for a moment before uttering its first cry upon arriving in this world.
"Roar....."
A tender Dragon Roar echoed within the room.