Chapter 483 — The Program

Rebecca saw this too, and wanted to comfort Gibri once more, but before she could open her mouth, the bell signaling that the equipment was ready suddenly rang out.

Gibri raised her head. She looked at the technicians emerging from the studio and the control operators walking into the room, then drew a deep breath.

She stood up and nodded to Rebecca: "I'm going in."

Rebecca flashed a brilliant smile and shook her fist against her chest: "Go for it!"

After sitting down at the focal point of the three Magic Net terminals, Gibri felt her whole body go somewhat light and floaty; an unreal sensation seized her heart, making it beat disgracefully fast.

She was still scared to death.

Wright also entered the studio. This man, built so powerfully that he did not look like a priest at all, sat down across from Gibri and revealed a faint smile; Emily, floating behind him, smiled faintly as well.

In that instant, Gibri felt her nervousness seem to ease.

She looked at Emily, watched this spirit girl with the big eyes and innocent smile obediently vanish into the holy-light resonance beside Wright, and suddenly realized what she had come here to do.

She felt she was ready.

"Equipment in position—countdown to broadcast, five seconds."

A voice came from somewhere; Gibri did not try to trace where it came from, but settled herself on the sofa and turned her head toward those three complex, vast, and cold magical machines.

She remembered the first time she had used her clumsy "divination spell" to hoodwink a certain merchant in exchange for the next day's food—she had been scared to death then too, just like today.

"...Four... three..."

When she had drifted through the poor streets and back alleys of the Southern Region, among adventurers and mercenaries, she had always used lies to protect herself and honeyed words to deceive others—but at the very, very beginning, she had not wanted to deceive anyone at all. Back then, she had only wanted a full meal.

"...Two... one..."

Now she could eat her fill.

Today she was going to speak some truths.

"Begin!"

A smile spread across Gibri's face, sweet and warm:

"Hello, everyone in the audience. I'm Gibri, and you may call me Miss Witch.

"I'm sure you're all wondering about the scene before your eyes, wondering what a stranger suddenly appearing in a magical projection might be up to—and I believe you'll soon find out.

"Welcome to the first episode of Witch Time. Today, we're going to talk about what has been happening in Frostgate City..."

In a room adjoining the studio, a magic-net terminal set up for testing came to life. As radiance of magic filled the holographic projection crystal, a steady, clear image appeared above it, and with it came Gibri's sweet voice.

Gao Yang watched the image and listened to the voice, then tilted his head slightly toward Heddy beside him: "She's doing well—Amber's recommendation holds up."

"Better than expected, certainly," Heddy nodded. "As long as she keeps it up, we're fine."

Just then the door was suddenly pushed open, and Rebecca strode in beaming, her steps light, and announced cheerfully the moment she entered: "Lord Zuyan! The latest feedback is in—magic-net terminals everywhere have booted up smoothly!"

Then she noticed the test audio and image in the room and lit up at once: "Miss Gibri is doing wonderfully!"

"Mm..." Gao Yang stroked his chin, then suddenly looked puzzled. "But I remember this program is called Cecil Miscellany... I was the one who came up with that name..."

Rebecca blinked: "Eh, is that so?"

"...Looks like she forgot her lines and improvised one," Gao Yang said, turning back toward the test broadcast at the center of the room with a peculiar expression. "The cue cards on the table couldn't save her... though the name she made up isn't bad either."

Witch Time it is, then... it does have a certain flavor of this world.

:.: