Perfikot is one of the strongest alchemists of the current age, while Weir was once a legendary alchemist. The two could talk endlessly just about alchemy.

But Perfikot and Weir did not discuss alchemy; instead, they talked about the current affairs of the Empire.

"So, what exactly is the problem that the Empire faces, requiring such a strong investment in the development of the Northern Territory?" Weir asked first, as this was the issue she was most concerned about.

Although Weir had stepped down from her position as the president of the Alchemy Association many years ago, it did not mean her network from that time had also disappeared. It wasn't difficult for her to inquire about some news.

So Weir was clearly aware of how much manpower and resources the Empire had invested in the Northern Territory during this time, which was quite unusual for the Empire.

The Empire had developed colonies before, but at that time, there was never such a large scale of investment; it was merely maintained at a level that guaranteed local development. Besides that, immigration was merely encouraged by official calls without formal official immigration organization.

Compared to the Northern Territory where factories and research institutions were established, along with bringing in the Guard Army and Steam Knight Order, organizing official large-scale immigration, the difference was like night and day.

Especially the fifty thousand immigrants this time, hired officially by the Empire, even if each person was given only a hundred pounds a year, it'd still be millions of pounds of investment, which is astronomical for the Empire.

Even with the influence of an alchemy genius like Perfikot, it shouldn't be this exaggerated.

Weir had also reached similar heights back in the day; regardless, she was once the president of the Alchemy Association. Back then, the Empire had not placed such a focus on one alchemist.

Does the Empire make this level of investment in alchemy? How come I didn't know?

Therefore, Weir straightforwardly judged that the Empire must have encountered a very major problem; otherwise, it wouldn't invest so heavily in the Northern Territory.

As for what the problem was, it's hard for Weir to judge, but she had some suspicion that it might be related to the incident they caused back then.

However, Perfikot gave Weir a deep look and asked her, "In what capacity are you asking me this? As a former Sect Leader of the Witch Workshop? Or as a legendary figure of the Empire? Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking me these questions?"

Perfikot certainly knew that the young girl in front of her, who looked even younger than she did, was an alchemist more formidable than her, but she wouldn't directly tell the other about the world-ending matter.

After all, Perfikot didn't know what kind of person Weir truly was back then. What if she was one of those who pursued the so-called "truth," disregarding all external matters? Or what if she pursued power at any cost?

One must take into account that the term "witch," whether in the original world or this one, was never a good word, especially in this world, where witches were hunted by the church before the industrial revolution.

Of course, just like the original world where the church didn't actually conduct witch hunts, the church in this world does hunt witches but limits it to the truly extraordinary, not the ordinary women slandered as witches.

If someone is indeed accused of being a witch and needs a series of verifications, hiding in the church's sanctuary might instead offer them protection.

Sounds counterintuitive? But it is indeed so, as in the original world's church doctrine, witchcraft does not exist; only heretics or undiagnosed madmen would think someone a witch.

Thus, from the church's doctrine, witch trials have no foundation in belief or law.

As for how witch trials evolved into a wave sweeping through medieval Europe, that's another story, unrelated to this text.

In this world, witches are a special extraordinary profession; they indeed fit the legendary description, capable of altering weather, cursing others, etc. Most crucially, witches can extract magic power from innocent blood.

If it's merely the ability to curse or alter weather, witches wouldn't be so discriminated against, but they inexplicably developed a method to obtain magic power from living beings, which quickly became standard among witches.

This method originally only extracted essence and life force, causing slight harm to people yet not fatal.

But later, a witch improved it, transforming it into directly extracting blood to convert magic power, greatly enhancing efficiency while also draining life force completely from individuals.

This swiftly led to witches being universally reviled and becoming forbidden in this world.

And now Weir dared call herself a witch, making it hard for Perfikot not to suspect whether she's one of those witch remnants.

Despite Weir's body regressing to a youthful state, her mind did not. Although the damage to her soul makes it difficult for her to maintain an energetic state, she had made some preparations for today's meeting, ensuring she won't embarrass or overlook anything in front of Perfikot.

Naturally, she noticed Perfikot's concerns about her, so she openly stated, "My former name was Sanderion, the previous president of Alchemy Association. People at that time called me the Crystal Sage, the Glass Witch, and alongside the previous Magic Association president and the Royal Astronomical Society president, known as the Three Sages of Victory."

Upon hearing Weir's self-introduction, Perfikot suddenly realized, recalling this name from her grandfather's diary.

"I didn't expect you to be a legendary figure from almost a century ago! I read about you in my grandfather's diary. I recall the head of the Knight Association back then was considered the fourth sage alongside you, but it seems like he's disappeared from historical records?" Perfikot looked at Weir, curiosity in her eyes.

These stories, though tales from almost a century ago, with the person right before her, made Perfikot inevitably curious.

"He was unlucky. We four were backlashed by the incident back then; he was directly erased from all existence traces, and I turned into a child." Weir explained helplessly but then earnestly asked Perfikot, "So can you now tell me, what exactly is the Empire facing?"

Confronted with Weir's inquiry again, since Perfikot already knew who she was, she no longer held back, nodded, and said, "The Empire isn't facing any problem; it's this world that has issues—the world is nearing its end."

"Ah?" Weir's little face was full of bewilderment.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.