The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

The Magic Mirror continued answering Aurora's follow-up question:

"The Land of Oz is ruled by a monarch named Oz. This country is not marked on any maps—it lies hidden within the Great Desert between the Western Kingdoms and the Middle Eastern nations. Since it's not located on any major trade routes, it remains isolated, and very few kingdoms on the continent are even aware of its existence.

"In the Land of Oz, the witch known in the Coven of Witches as Slave Master is called the Witch of the East. Aside from her, Oz also has Witches of the West, South, and North.

"In her homeland, the Witch of the East enslaves the Munchkins—a race native to Oz. That is why she refers to herself by the codename 'Slave Master' within the Coven."

So the true identity of the Coven member Slave Master was the Witch of the East from the Land of Oz!

Although they had suspected something along these lines, hearing it confirmed still made Rhine's eyes sharpen.

"It makes sense. The Witch of the East owns a pair of Silver Shoes that allow her to travel long distances instantly—it matches the intelligence we gathered."

"In the original story, when Dorothy's house was blown into Oz by a tornado, it landed on the Witch of the East and crushed her to death, and those Silver Shoes ended up in Dorothy's possession."

"It wasn't until the end of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that Dorothy learned how to use the shoes' magic to leave Oz and return home."

What surprised Rhine the most was:

"A villain who dies right at the start of the story… is deeply connected to the mysterious and terrifying Coven of Witches?"

But considering the nature of this fantasy continent, where countless stories intertwined, the Witch of the East was far stronger than she had been in the original tale. There was no way she'd be taken out by something as simple as a falling house.

The Sea Hag had informed them that the Witch of the East was highly engaged in the Coven's magical discussions and had mastered multiple spells from various witches.

And on top of that, she could travel freely across the continent, gathering spells and potion formulas. She was undoubtedly far more powerful than the insignificant side villain she had originally been.

"The Coven is like a den of vipers, constantly strengthening each other. The way they share magic makes all of them stronger," Rhine thought grimly.

The Magic Mirror then proceeded to answer Aurora's final question:

"The magic artifact that allows the Witch of the East to travel across space is a pair of Silver Shoes. These shoes can traverse vast distances instantly, stepping across mountains, rivers, and entire kingdoms in a single stride.

"With these Silver Shoes, the Witch of the East can go anywhere on the continent—even as far as the Eastern Empire, or places she has only heard about but never visited…"

Rhine's thoughts immediately shifted:

That's way stronger than my Teleportation Magic. If I had a pair of Silver Shoes, traveling would be so much easier in the future.

His own Teleportation Magic had strict distance limitations. A long-distance teleportation that spanned multiple kingdoms drained an immense amount of energy, forcing him to rest before teleporting again. More importantly, he couldn't teleport to places he had never been before or didn't know well.

At the same time, Aurora's suspicions were confirmed by the Magic Mirror's response:

"So, as long as the Magic Mirror believes I'm the Queen, I can fully access its powers and use it to spy on secrets."

This type of owner-restricted magical artifact could be deceived.

Aurora was thrilled and immediately pressed on:

"The Coven of Witches has members known as Red Heart, Middle Eastern Witch, and their leader, the Mysterious One. Which nations do these three witches come from?"

The Mysterious One was the most enigmatic member of the seven-person Coven. Besides Sea Hag, Maleficent, the Queen, Slave Master (the Witch of the East), Red Heart, and Middle Eastern Witch, she was the final and least known member.

According to the Sea Hag's intelligence, this Mysterious Witch rarely spoke. Even when the others mentioned her, they only referred to her as the Mysterious One.

There were hints that she was the founder of the Coven, its nominal leader, and that the other witches held deep reverence for her.

The Magic Mirror answered one by one:

"I cannot see Red Heart. She seems to exist outside of this world, as if she is not located anywhere on this continent but within some kind of hidden realm beyond reality.

"The Middle Eastern Witch resides in the Middle Eastern lands, but I cannot see her either. My perception is mainly limited to the Western Continent, the land where I was created.

"My knowledge of the Middle Eastern lands and the Eastern Empire is extremely blurry. Furthermore, this particular witch seems to have some sort of interference magic that blocks divination and prophecy.

"As for the leader of the Coven—the most mysterious witch…"

The Magic Mirror hesitated for a moment, then spoke:

"She is the founder of the Coven—the original, most fearsome, and most ambitious witch.

"She is currently in… the Eastern Empire."

"I will try to look closer… see if I can glimpse anything…"

Suddenly, the Magic Mirror screamed in agony.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

The mirror shook violently, its surface rippling like a stormy sea.

Cracks began spreading across the mirror's glass.

"STOP LOOKING!" Aurora immediately canceled the command.

She was certain that if the Magic Mirror continued trying to see, not only would it fail to get an answer, but the entire mirror might shatter completely!

The Magic Mirror immediately ceased its magic, and the spreading cracks finally stopped growing.

"I—I thought I was going to break into pieces…"

The mirror gasped, sounding genuinely terrified.

"She's too powerful! That founder of the Coven, that Mysterious Witch, she's unbelievably terrifying! Just trying to look at her caused a backlash…"

Aurora was stunned.

Rhine, deep in thought, murmured:

"So, even the Magic Mirror isn't capable of seeing everything…"

Piecing together the information they had gathered, Rhine now had a solid grasp of the Coven's internal hierarchy.

Although the seven witches technically held equal status, their actual influence varied greatly.

At the lowest level were the two most expendable members: the Queen and Sea Hag.

The middle tier included four witches who acted as the backbone of the organization: the Witch of the East, Red Heart, Maleficent, and the Middle Eastern Witch.

But the most mysterious and frightening of them all was the Coven's founder.

The only confirmed detail was that this Mysterious Witch was currently in the Eastern Empire—that prosperous, mystical, and beautiful land of the East.

But whether she was simply visiting or had lived there for a long time remained unknown.

"All right, that's enough for now. Thank you for your help, Magic Mirror. I won't trouble you with more questions about the Coven for now."

Aurora gently touched the mirror's cracked surface, offering it a comforting smile.

"The Queen is being so gentle today…" the Magic Mirror remarked in surprise.

Recalling the unusually serious questions she had been asking, the Magic Mirror sighed:

"My dear, great master—my beautiful Queen—you're being so serious today. This is completely unlike you!

"To think that after all these years of being in the Coven, you never cared about its secrets before… You never even tried to learn magic from them…"

The Queen's primary concerns had always been where a woman more beautiful than herself might appear, how to make the King even more obsessed with her, and other such trivial matters.

The only real benefit she had ever received from the Coven of Witches was a few bottles of youth-preserving potions.

"What a drastic change in my master! Not only did she spare the girl who is more beautiful than her—Aurora—but now she's asking about serious matters." The Magic Mirror thought.

Aurora froze for a moment.

Right then, Rhine chimed in at just the right time:

"Your Majesty, see? I told you—you've been wasting this Magic Mirror all along. This is how you should be using it!"

"Lord Rhine is right." Aurora nodded, pretending that her sudden change was all due to the influence of the great magician Rhine.

Then, slipping back into her haughty Queen act, she declared to the Magic Mirror:

"From today onward, I will change! I will no longer concern myself with petty matters like who is more beautiful than me. I shall become a legendary Queen and a great witch!"

Seeing its master change for the better, the Magic Mirror was overjoyed.

"That is wonderful, my great and beloved master! You shall undoubtedly become the greatest Queen and Witch this continent has ever seen!"

Aurora followed the script Rhine had prepared for her and continued:

"Yesterday, after a long discussion with the great magician Lord Rhine, I realized that I had been wasting a precious treasure like you, Magic Mirror!

"Instead of using you properly, I let the Coven of Witches exploit me—exchanging cheap little potions for the knowledge you provided!

"Luckily, after an eye-opening conversation with Lord Rhine, he explained to me the correct way to use the Magic Mirror!"

The correct way?

The Magic Mirror was stunned.

What does that mean?

Surely she doesn't just mean gathering intelligence on the Coven, right?

As the Magic Mirror was lost in thought, it suddenly watched in horror as the Queen—who was Aurora in disguise—pulled a thick stack of papers from her pouch.

Each page was filled with densely packed writing, covering every inch of space.

"The 1,024 questions listed here are what Lord Rhine and I have compiled for you to answer immediately," Aurora said with a smug expression, watching as the Magic Mirror—despite lacking a face—visibly froze in shock.

Then, as if dealing the final blow, she added:

"Of course, these are just the beginning. There will be many, many more questions to follow."

The Magic Mirror trembled, ripples spreading across its dark surface.

If it had a jaw, it would have dropped straight to the floor.

You've got to be kidding me!

My great and beloved master, Your Majesty the Queen—just what in the world are you planning to ask?