Although Shade could not say he had found everything of value during his previous hour of exploration, he was at least certain that "Upper Spring" did not exist here.
While looking around the ruins with Claire and the others, Shade again thought of the stone slab left by the Ancient Witch at the edge of the ruins last time, Mr. Charnam's letter, and the Star Dew he had left behind. But after checking the exploration directions of the other four groups, he saw that no one was heading that way.
"Let's go over there."
He led the two girls toward the stone slab. The three of them explored casually along the way, but this time they found nothing at all.
Claire had not expected to find anything here in the first place. After passing through the graveyard filled with toppled gravestones and seeing the stone slab left by the Ancient Witch at the cliff's edge, she knelt before it on one knee and reached out to trace the writing left by the Ancient Witch.
"Do you know, Stella?"
She suddenly spoke, startling the white-haired girl who had been curiously looking at the White Fog beyond the cliff:
"Teacher!"
"Modern Witches have very complicated feelings toward Ancient Witches. The ranks of modern Witches are utterly incomparable to those Witches of ancient times who held seats. If I had been born in the Fifth Epoch, I would not have been qualified to become a Great Witch at all."
"It is also a matter of the era."
Shade added, but Claire ignored him.
"The lowest-ranked Great Witches in ancient times were all Thirteenth Order. Most of the time, there was more than one or two demigod Great Witches in the Council as well. The eras before the Sixth Epoch were truly extraordinary. Modern