Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 48: Xia Ya’s Utopia

Weaving dreams was the natural specialty of the Succubus race.

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They weren’t particularly adept at creating nightmares to kill their enemies, but they excelled at crafting beautiful dreams.

Especially the royal-blooded succubi blessed by the Dream Dragon—their illusions were so lifelike that one could mistake them for reality, becoming forever trapped within their enchantment.

And that was precisely why Isadella had activated Diris, a deep-cover agent she had concealed for years.

The silver-haired Imperial Princess had indeed taken an interest in Xia Ya Egut—both in his identity and the potential and abilities he had displayed.

But his origins remained a mystery, shrouded in uncertainty.

The possibility that he might be the resurrection of an ancient figure meant Isadella had to assess his nature.

After all, if an enemy of the Empire’s past were to become the Wielder of the Sword, that would be an unthinkable disaster.

Verbal interrogations could be deceptive—all nations trained their covert agents to resist questioning, and background records could always be forged.

But inner worlds never lie.

This was a dream world shaped by one’s subconscious, a reflection of the truest depths of their soul, stripped of all deception and disguise.

The dream woven by Diris, the royal succubus, revealed a person’s most perfect, ideal world—

A so-called—

“Utopia Beyond the World”

For most commoners in the Western Continent, their ultimate fantasy would likely be sleeping in the grandest palace, holding the most beautiful women, and hoarding immeasurable wealth.

Even among powerful figures, their dreams would only be a more refined version of this—

Perhaps swapping out the village’s prettiest girl for a dragon-riding queen, or replacing piles of gold coins with rare transcendent materials.

After all, no matter how powerful one was, human desires were fundamentally the same.

However—

Inside Xia Ya’s utopia, Isadella saw something entirely different.

Her gaze locked onto the surface of that azure planet.

A tower-like “Space Elevator” transported countless passenger-filled platforms into the vast expanse of space.

And at the end of the Space Elevator, floating within the deep and endless cosmos—

Were magnificent cities, constructed entirely of silver-white metal.

Some were built upon orbiting satellites, while others floated independently.

These metallic cities, scattered across the dark starry sea, formed a grand celestial network, gently rotating around the planet—

Like the mythical floating cities from ancient legends, suspended in the heavens, never to fall.

Isadella watched as countless people traveled between the planet and space cities, either by Space Elevator or by ships—

Ships that resembled the Empire’s Magitech Airships but were far superior in every way.

And from these people, Isadella sensed nothing extraordinary.

They were merely ordinary civilians—commoners.

Yet they moved through this vast, boundless world as if it were normal.

In the Western Continent, venturing into space was a privilege reserved for the Legendary Tier.

Even Titled Beastmasters needed specific Summoned Beasts to accomplish such a feat—and even then, the risks were immense.

But in this world—

What was once a privilege of the Legends had become an everyday occurrence for the common people.

—

“…What exactly goes through your mind on a daily basis…?”

Diris’ black demonic wings twitched unnaturally, and her heart-shaped tail stiffened in midair.

The succubus princess stared at the magnificent sea of stars beyond the door, momentarily struck speechless by sheer awe.

As a favored one of the Dream Dragon, she could borrow the power of an ancient dragon that ruled over fantasy to fuel her dream-weaving.

That was how she managed to manifest such an intricate and hyper-detailed dream world.

Yet even she was shocked, utterly unable to comprehend Xia Ya’s mind.

Other people dreamt only of indulgence and pleasure—but his daydreams were so extravagant, they bordered on the absurd.

Xia Ya ignored Diris’ complaints.

He simply stood in silent contemplation, gazing at the world beyond the door, his expression carrying a hint of nostalgia.

“A world where both civilization and Magitech have advanced to great heights.”

“A world where there is no hierarchy.”

“A world where everyone can learn knowledge freely, without fear of poverty or hunger.”

“A world where even those without strength can travel among the stars at will, following their hearts to explore the cosmos…”

“Don’t you think that’s… beautiful?”

Diris finally snapped out of her shock.

The succubus girl looked at the distant sea of stars.

After a long pause, she gently nodded.

“…It is beautiful.”

“But it’s too unrealistic…”

A trace of regret flashed through her pink demonic eyes.

“If we could, of course, we would open more academies, lower the entry barriers, and even distribute books on a massive scale.”

“We would strip the nobles of their exclusive right to Beastmaster training and higher knowledge and make it accessible to everyone.”

“But… that’s just a dream.”

“To train even one Beastmaster, to awaken their Soul Pact, already requires an astronomical amount of wealth…”

“And to educate every single Imperial citizen—the resources required would be beyond measure.”

“As for what you envision… a tower that lets mortals ascend to the stars, a city floating in space—”

“Just one of those alone could exhaust the entire Imperial treasury and all the wealth of the Western Continent’s powers… and even that might not be enough.”

Diris’ black wings lightly fluttered, brushing against Xia Ya’s arm, leaving a faint ticklish sensation.

Lack of resources.

That was the original sin.

That was why the wars of the Western Continent never ended—because resources were limited, but ambition was limitless.

Every nation, every faction, yearned for growth—but resources were finite.

Thus, conflict was inevitable.

And Xia Ya’s so-called utopia—

Was ultimately just a dream, an illusion with no foundation in reality.

But before the succubus princess could finish voicing her regrets—

She heard a soft chuckle beside her.

“…So the root of all conflict and suffering—”

“…is simply the lack of resources.”

Xia Ya’s voice reached Diris’ ears—

And, through the Starrealm’s communication pathways, echoed simultaneously in the ears of Isadella and Fioren.

“But—”

“The energy that nations and factions have fought over for countless years, spilling oceans of blood in the process…”

"In the vast sea of stars, it isn't even a mere drop in the ocean."

—

The light screen flickered slightly as the perspective zoomed out.

The once vast azure sphere now shrank into something minuscule, almost insignificant.

In its place, a brilliant crimson sphere, radiating fiery light, dominated most of the screen’s space.

Beyond these two celestial bodies, a near pitch-black void stretched endlessly, dotted only with fleeting specks of starlight, illuminating the profound darkness.

Everyone watching the dream projection instantly recognized this blazing celestial body—

The Sun.

But it was not the Sun as Diris and the others knew.

Encasing this scorching star was a colossal sphere, woven from countless black metallic rings, layered one after another.

Around the crimson star, dazzling flares of light and heat pulsed rhythmically, as if the Sun itself was breathing.

And with each rise and fall, those dark rings expanded and contracted, absorbing every radiant surge from the Sun’s surface.

On the light screen before Isadella and Fioren, the dream’s conceptual manifestation once again materialized in the form of text—

"Dyson Sphere."