Circe barged in, interrupting the conversation between me, Mum and Joanne. I could see the bucket full of mud on the patio behind her before the door closed.

“Where’s Master?”, she asked.

Her mother indicated to the workshop. With a “Thanks!”, she was off. Joanne smiled softly after her.

“I think it might be nice for you to live in the village for a bit, Mum”, I said.

She looked down at the table.

“There would be the question of where you can stay”, Joanne said, “but that is something we can solve. I suppose the forest might be a good option. We could have you join the hunters to keep the village safe. They are often worried about something dangerous emerging from the trees.”

Mum blinked.

“Dangers are many”, she said, “We need a safe nest.”

“Of course. We could build something for you near the wall. That would have to be paid for, though. If you are willing to work it off, that is a possibility.”

“Pay?”, Mum asked.

“People use money as a valuable object to facilitate trade”, I explained.

“What?”, she asked.

“If you want something, you have to give something back. That’s how most societies work. Money is that something. As long as everyone accepts the value of money, you can make trading much easier. I can get some metal from a smith for a bit of money. Whatever he needs, he can buy with it. Clothes, for example. The tailor then buys something with the money they got. And eventually, I have something to give that others will pay for and I get my money back.”

“But where does it start?”

“It starts with people trading things. Like the smith makes some knives for the hunter and the hunter catches some food for him. But a knife is worth much more than some food because you can use it for much longer. So the hunter makes catches for the smith for a month. Then, the hunter gets a lot of things from everyone he doesn’t need. So he takes money instead to use when he needs something.”

“That is not balanced”, Mum said.

“It is also rather simplified”, Joanne added.

“Yes. It’s just for you to get a basic understanding, Mum”, I turned to Joanne, “And I can pay for a home. Probably.”

“I see. I can have you talk to Shank. He will be able to build what you need with his brother and their sons.”

“Good. Mum, do you want to come along?”

She hesitated a moment before nodding. It was almost a proper nod rather than the head-bobbing us owls are more used to.

“Thank you”, she said.

I bent forward to preen her side.

“You’re welcome.”

Half an hour later, my family left once again. Mum would come back the next day to meet Shank with me. Yuuna was showing some interest in witchcraft herself and was apparently considering dropping her [Hunter] Class. Even though she was approaching level 50 in it, there was something about magic she was just more interested in. I could relate. [Hunter] had simply been the easiest choice besides [Assassin] and it had sounded more useful to her.

Joanne left as well, looking slightly intimidated but also very intrigued. She still had some reservations about the longevity of this relationship between humans and owls, primarily due to the Crimson Church likely wanting to confiscate the node my family was using. We would deal with that when it came to it, I assured her.

Mira brought Circe and me outside after everyone had left. We had to prepare the materials.

“What are these for?”, I asked. The arcane speakers had been left in the witch hut and I was using one for convenience’s sake.

“A ritual”, was all the answer I got.

Then we were made to grind the nettle leaves, cut the bark into thin strips and soaked the chicken-in-the-woods in the mud water. We were done quickly and Circe and I piled on the questions.

“Tell us, Master!”, the girl pressed, “What’s this ritual?”

“I want to know as well.”

Mira smirked.

“You have three guesses. If you can not figure it out, you will have to be patient.”

“Uhm… Something to make the weather nice for the festival?”, Circe guessed.

The woman laughed.

“Not a bad idea, but no. That is beyond me unless everything aligns. Two guesses left.”

“Wait, we share guesses?”, I asked in mock outrage.

Master nodded.

“Alright, then. My turn.”

I looked around through the clearing. The ingredients were very natural and, besides the water, all plant-based. Wait, were fungi plants? Similar enough, anyway.

“Is it something for helping the fields grow?”, I asked.

“Oh? No. It is not that. You are creative.”

“My turn!”, Circe said.

“Nope! We have to guess together.”

“Oh! Yeah, makes sense.”

She rubbed her nose while I thought about it again.

“I do think it has something to do with the forest”, I mused.

“I think it’s the festival”, Circe said, “There isn’t anything else I could think of.”

“Really? Is it…”

“Hey! Slow down!”

“Right, sorry. I was wondering if it was Master’s gift for the ceremony.”

“That makes sense… Kind of?”

“Is that you guess?”, Mira asked.

We looked at each other. There was a short nod, then we turned to her.

“Yes!”, we said together.

She slowly panned her smile from me to Circe.

“You are close but not exactly right. The [Witch] does not bring a present. They have a much more important job during the ceremony.”

“… really?”, Circe asked.

“Yes, really. Do you know what your father’s Class is?”

“It’s… [Village Head], right?”

“Correct. And your brother, Thomas?”

“He’s… a [Leader].”

“And when he takes over the position of your father, how do you think that will happen?”

“With Class evolution”, I said.

“Not wrong and yet far off”, Mira smiled, “There is something more leadership Classes need to reach their evolution. They can not simply reach level 100 and upgrade. They are stuck at level 99 until their Class is validated.”

“Why have I never heard of that?”, I asked.

“There is a reason these Classes are rare even in leadership positions. At least in many countries. Eterios is a little different.”

“… is that this country?”

“Indeed. The three countries directly bordering the Crimson Cathedral all have this same policy: Their leaders all have to be confirmed. Which can happen in two ways. Either a higher-ranked leader appoints a new lower rank, or a group of people elect their leader. There does need to be something more, though. For both of them.”

“Really?”, I asked, “A ritual?”

“Yes. That is why we witches are so highly regarded. We are not only capable of medical treatment and decent combatants, but we can also assist the evolution of a leadership Class.”

“That just seems… wrong. I don’t know.”

“Oh, is that because of the Peasanting?”, Circe asked.

“Yes, Circe, that is exactly it.”

“The what now?”

“You would not know, right. I forgot. The Peasanting was a time in human history, over twelve centuries ago. Back then, there was no Crimson Church. [Kings] and [Queens] were ruling unchecked, [Lords] and [Ladies], [Dukes], [Barons], [Viscounts]. All of them had no control. And yet, their Classes were not difficult to earn. You only needed a few people to recognize you as one and the [King] Class would be offered to you. The ramping poverty and corruption soon led to many peasants calling each other ‘majesty’, ‘highness’ and so on, taking on leadership Classes of their own.

“Now, you should know that these Classes are very powerful. Especially in human hands where you could easily reach your third Milestone, most everyone had some kind of compulsion ability as well as resistance to it that came with the Skill. Suddenly, the rulers no longer had the power to control the peasants. They were made equal. They were made peasants. As such, it was called the Peasanting.

“Eventually, the system recognized an overabundance of leadership Classes and restricted all but the most basic form of [Leader]. Anyone wishing to acquire a better version needed a superior to appoint them or a large enough group of people to recognize them. A [Village Head] only needs half of their hometown to accept them while a [King] needs the support of a third of their populace, recognition from other leadership Classes and a sufficient army. And even then, they need a ritual to be cast for their Class to evolve.”

“The system just… changed things?”

“Yes. Nobody really knows why or how but from that event, the Crimson Church was born. They were the first to figure out who could do the ritual and from there took control of the human plains.”

“And who can do the ritual?”, Circe asked.

“There are two Classes I know of that can do it. [Witch] and [Thaumaturge].”

“So that’s why they’re collecting all thaumaturges?”, I asked.

Mira smiled.

“It is certainly part of it. But they would have every [Witch] answer to them as well, which they do not. No, I believe there is more to it.”

“… It’s because witches are imprecise in their magic, right? A thaumaturge can perfectly replicate their craft but a [Witch] always needs to adjust for every tiny alteration.”

“That may be the answer. You will have to ask the Church if you get the chance.”

“Witches are awesome!”, Circe complained.

“I know. Witches don’t have to deal with flux or warp at all. They also get a familiar, which I have never heard of for a [Thaumaturge]. And very few thaumaturges get access to an active magic Skill.”

Circe smiled with her nose held high and hands on her hips.

“Yes, we are awesome”, Mira smiled, “Now, let us clean this up. We will not need it until the festival.”

We nodded and moved everything into the workshop. It was another five days until then, after all.