Chapter 1019: The Secrets of the Witches
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
When Honey was summoned to the office, she was apparently very glad. Once she entered the office, she examined the mahogany table very carefully, as if she wanted to look through it.
“What’s wrong?” Roland curiously asked, “Is there something about this table?”
“Do you put precious things inside?” Honey even sniffed at the table and asked, “Or does it maybe have some other functions, such as automatically heating up at night?”
“How could it…” he could not help laughing, “This is just an ordinary table. There is nothing but documents and official letters inside.”
“Oh, really?” said Honey suspiciously. “Then why does Sister Nightingale bend over it for a long time every night?”
“Wait, what?” Roland and Wendy were stunned, while Nightingale immediately leaped up from the couch.
“Grayhair told me so when I trained it, although it could only express it with its actions.” Honey replied seriously, “Sister Nightingale always sits in your place when nobody is around and leans her face on the table— Em—”
Before she could finish her words, Nightingale already jumped forward and covered her mouth tightly. “I, I was just a bit sleepy and leaned on the table for a while! How could a, a bird know what I was doing? You must have got it wrong!”
Wendy put her hand on the forehead, speechless.
“Ahem,” Roland coughed and said. “Maybe Grayhair did not see it clearly? After all, it is very dark in the night…”
Honey mumbled in Nightingale’s palm, “But Grayhair is an owl.”
There was a brief silence in the office.
“Anyway, you should be mistaken,” Roland cleared his throat and waved his hand at Nightingale who blushed at Honey’s words. The latter stamped and disappeared into the Mist.
It seems that she will not show up for some time again.
“Really? I got it.” Honey did not continue to ask, “If the table could heat up, I would have wanted one.”
“Why?” asked Roland, raising his eyebrows, “Isn’t there a heating system in both the Castle and the Witch Building?”
“But not in the garden. When Sister Leaf is away, it’s very cold there. Grayhair and other birds have been unwilling to move as of lately. I was afraid that they would catch a cold, so I built a platform under the olive tree and slept with them in my arms. If the table could heat up, they’d be more comfortable.”
“Is that why she was so interested in the table?” thought Roland. He noticed that there were several feathers on Honey’s soft curly hair which looked like a disheveled nest at first glance. He realized that he had indeed ignored the living environment of the Animal Messengers. He thought that they had the ability to adapt to nature but ignored the fact that it violated natural rules to have them fly in the wind and snow during the Months of Demons.
“Although the table can’t give out heat, I can have people build a heated brick bed in the garden, ” he laughed and gestured, “It’ll be almost as large as a bed, so you can get all the animals you train to sleep on it. How about it?”
“Really?” Honey’s eyes lighted up, “Thank you!”
“It’s nothing, but can you really talk to them?”
Honey rubbed her head shyly, “In fact, as Sister Nightingale said, most animals can’t speak, so they can only use simple actions to imitate what they see. I often fail to guess what they mean, so it can’t be counted as a real conversation.”
“I see, ” thought Roland, “although the magic power can make trained birds and beasts follow Honey’s orders, it can’t endow them with human-like intelligence and transform them into another species.” He asked, “What if you order them to look for anecdotes and then indicate directions to you?”
“Anecdotes?”
Honey pondered for a while. While Roland was thinking how to explain the word “news”, she suddenly asked, “Sister Wendy and Scroll often get together to drink and sing on the balcony once they get drunk. Is that an anecdote?”
“I’ve never heard of it.” Roland was surprised. Wendy, as the head of the Witch Union, was gentle and warm as a spring breeze. As the Minister of Education and the teacher of primary courses for witches, Scroll was patient and full of intellectual beauty. She might not smile often, but she was concerned about every sister in the Union. It is difficult for him to imagine the scene of the time when they were drunk, and more than once, according to what Honey said. He could not help asking, “Why have I never heard them sing?”
“Because they generally meet when you’re out. After all, only when Sister Nightingale is away, they can easily drink her beverage.” Honey said, “They’re not just singing. Greentail tells me that they sometimes talk about you— Em—”
This time it was Wendy who covered her mouth and explained, “I was only ha-happy for Your Majesty’s achievements. What’s more, she said that the bird can’t speak, so how could they understand what we were talking about? “
“Greentail is a parrot…” Honey mumbled.
Seeing that everyone was falling into silence again, Roland quickly changed the topic and said, “Well, that is indeed an unusual anecdote. You’re qualified.”
“Qualified?” she asked confused.
“Wait, Your Majesty. I suddenly feel that it might be inappropriate for her to serve as the core member of the Ministry of Public Relations and Communications…” Wendy said, coughing.
“Don’t worry. All articles are ultimately released only once they’re reviewed. The newspaper will mainly about the public events. There won’t be too much about the witches.” Roland made the final decision, “In addition, common people can’t enter the Castle District, so you can rest assured. After all, only her Animal Messengers can quickly get news from all over the country.”
“Your Majesty, may I know what on earth you’re talking about?” Honey shouted while raising her hand.
“Of course,” Roland tried to suppress his smile. “It’s a very interesting job. Come here and I’ll explain it to you in detail.”
With the news center and the newspaper printing technology, the next step is to recruit hands and establish an interview-writing system. Barov is undoubtedly the most appropriate one for the job. As for the position of the minister, Roland decided to take the position himself.
Taking into account the degree of acceptance of people, the newspapers would be issued only in Neverwinter once a week. In addition to the major events that take place in various locations, there would also be sections that would record non-governmental news and trivial things of life. With the official background of the City Hall, Roland believed that before long the newspaper would be the most credible channel of publicity, which would greatly improve the current lack of publicity. At the same time, it would also provide a wealth of talks for the public in the taverns as to squeeze the rumors out the market.
However, these were just official records. What Roland was more interested in were the words Honey had not finished.
Of course, he does not have to be in a rush. Since he would be the minister, he could summon Honey alone and ask her about the hidden anecdotes. For instance, what did Wendy and Scroll say when they were drunk?
He was really curious about it.
