Hearing Rhine's request, not only was the King confused, but even the 12 Witches, who were well versed in magic, could not make sense of it.
Defining a multi-part title and having others recite it—was this some kind of ritual?
Yet the tale of wishes being granted simply by reciting a name did seem to carry a certain mysterious charm. "Of course. That will be easy. Rhine, as you wish."
His Majesty the King did not refuse the request.
It could not have been simpler for him.
Rhine smiled and thanked the King.
This was another application of the Power of Prophecy he had invented. The inspiration naturally came from novels.
"Unlike the other magicians in this world, I have many fresh ideas from another world, another era. As the wishes I grant increase and the supernatural rewards I receive grow ever more numerous, I'll be able to recreate, one by one, the elements from Earth's entertainment works."
Thinking of this, Rhine could not help but feel somewhat expectant.
After his battle with the Black Witch, Rhine had come to deeply understand that compared to the truly powerful magicians of this world, he still had a long way to go.
That very night, the King's soldiers stormed into the Old Craftsman's residence. Acting under orders, they had come to arrest the fraudulent craftsman and sentence him to the gallows.
However, when they smashed open the door, they found that the Old Craftsman had already hanged himself from a roof beam.
After learning of the disaster at the banquet, the Old Craftsman had taken his own life out of guilt. In a suicide note he left behind, he begged for the mercy of the King and Sage Rhine, asking them to spare his family, including his wife and his younger brother Oz, who worked at a circus.
In the blink of an eye, several weeks had passed since the great battle in the royal palace.
The version of the incident spreading among the common folk had become something like this:
The infamous Black Witch—Maleficent—had been invited to Princess's Baptism Ceremony, only to suddenly fly into a rage at the banquet and attack the royal guard, causing many soldiers to be injured or killed.
Fortunately, the court's Magic Advisor, the Kingdom Sage, the Great Magician Rhine, had possessed extraordinary powers and kept the King and Queen safe and unharmed. This Court Magician had also led the 12 Witches to turn the tide and drive Maleficent away.
Now, Black Witch Maleficent was suspected to have fled to another country.
As for the crucial fact that "the Witch cursed the Little Princess and even the entire kingdom," it was deliberately concealed.
The sun rose as usual.
No one knew that the shadow of death had long since enveloped the skies above the entire kingdom.
During this time, another wondrous legend began to spread through taverns and around campfires.
"Have you heard? The story about that Wish-Granting Magician. Could it really be true?"
"Come on, Jerry, you're not a three-year-old child anymore. How could a fairy tale like that possibly be real?"
"But I heard someone say that the magician in the story, the one who can grant people's wishes, is the Great Magician Rhine, who once treated more than a thousand patients in the southern region and later became the Kingdom Sage!"
"It's perfectly normal for a story to have a real-life inspiration. Besides, Rhine is now a distinguished Court Magician. Why would he listen to the wishes of commoners like us?"
The legends came in countless different versions, but they all revolved around a mysterious boy magician who could grant people's wishes.
And nearly every version mentioned a strange title.
It was said that a starving child had once recited that title in despair and made a wish. Not long afterward, a colorful bird brought her bread and water.
After several cases of wishes apparently being granted, the legend spread rapidly. For a time, it became a bedtime story for many children and even showed signs of spreading beyond the kingdom.
Yet most people who made wishes merely to "give it a try" never witnessed any miracles.
Some doubted whether the legend was real, while others believed that only especially sincere wishes had a small chance of receiving a response.
Oz had not been doing well lately.
The circus's balloon pilot and star magician spent his days terrified and distracted.
"Oz, have you run into some serious trouble? I have a suggestion. Do you want to hear it?"
One of his colleagues at the circus tried to comfort Oz, whose face was pale and gray.
"No, no. Let me be alone for a while."
Oz waved his hand and sent the colleague away.
Only Oz knew that he could not tell anyone else about his fear.
A few days earlier, his older brother—the Old Craftsman who had served the royal court for many years—had committed suicide out of guilt after forging the gold plates.
Even more terrifyingly, according to rumors Oz had heard, the forged gold plates seemed to be the reason Black Witch Maleficent had suddenly lashed out during the Princess's Baptism Ceremony. It's over, it's over. My brother offended the Black Witch and caused this disaster.
Even worse, it seems my brother only thought of forging them because of an offhand joke I made!
If His Majesty the King finds out that I was involved, I'll definitely lose my life!
No, even if His Majesty doesn't find out, he might still take his anger out on me.
The more Oz thought about it, the more frightened he became. He trembled all over, on the verge of tears.
"Oz, I don't know what terrible trouble you're facing, but I have a suggestion—you could try making a wish to the magician from the recent legend. They say only especially intense wishes might be granted. Given the state you're in, maybe wishing will really work."
The colleague he had just sent away somehow returned and poked his head in from outside the doorframe to offer the suggestion.
"Make a wish to the magician from the legend?"
Oz froze, and a faint light appeared in his eyes.
He had also heard the recent legend of the Wish-Granting Magician.
It did not cost anything, so why not give it a try? But in the next second, Oz dismissed the thought.
What a joke. The legend's inspiration was said to be the Kingdom's Only Sage, the King's advisor, the Great Magician of the court—Rhine.
He had offended the King, yet he wanted to pray to the King's advisor and Court Magician, Rhine? Was he trying to get himself killed? If this Great Magician can really hear my prayers from afar, then it would already be mercy if he doesn't strike me dead with lightning!
Oz's heart was ashen, his expression bleak and his face clouded with misery.
As the saying went, what one thought of by day, one dreamed of by night.
That evening, Oz slept very uneasily.
He dreamed that the King's soldiers had come to arrest him and that he would be sentenced to the gallows, hanged alive.
In the terrifying nightmare, Oz burst into tears. With the attitude of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, he recited the title from the legend:
"Sage from beyond the world, Prophet of the Future, Wizard of Miracles and Wishes..."
"Please, I want to live. I want to safely escape this kingdom!"
As dream-Oz spoke those words, the real Oz murmured the same words in his sleep.
On a distant road, Rhine had packed his belongings and left the palace with Little Princess Aurora. Halfway through the journey, he heard the distant plea from within the jolting carriage.
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