Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 61: The Badge of the Swordbearer

"This time… why is it you?"

Xia Ya closed the manor gate behind him, scanning the officer standing before him.

He had long suspected that Lieutenant Colonel Zieg was part of Isadella’s faction.

After all, back when the Ashen Order incident had concluded, Zieg had given him a few cryptic hints—he clearly knew at least some of the inside story.

But—

"What about President Diris?"

"She wanted to come in person."

"But every time she got within a street of your place, some sharp and overwhelming aura locked onto her."

"According to Diris herself, if she had taken even one step closer, a full-blown battle would have broken out."

Zieg spread his hands helplessly.

"Pretty sure it was that little girlfriend of yours—Ailora."

"Those two were deadlocked, so in the end, they sent me instead."

Xia Ya was speechless.

So that’s why Xiao Ai had been going on solo ‘walks’ so often lately…

She had claimed she didn’t care, but behind the scenes, she had been watching like a hawk.

Zieg didn’t waste time with small talk.

He pulled a wooden box from his coat and handed it to Xia Ya.

Xia Ya took it without hesitation and opened it immediately.

Inside the simple wooden casing lay a finely crafted badge—

A shield emblem.

Its design depicted the branches of a World Tree as the backdrop, with a silver-white sword piercing straight into the trunk.

Xia Ya extended his mental energy toward the badge.

He immediately sensed a faint distortion in the space around it.

"A magitech storage device?"

Xia Ya asked.

If Magitech could already support Teleportation Arrays, then producing similar space-compression storage wasn’t all that surprising.

However, based on his understanding of Western Continent’s Magitech advancements, space compression technology was still in its experimental phase—not yet refined enough for mass production of portable storage artifacts.

"It’s a prototype from the Magitech Academy. The pocket dimension compression and miniaturization tech isn’t quite stable yet, so it has a lot of flaws."

"It takes too long to open, making it useless for real-time item retrieval in battle. And its internal space is very limited."

"I remember you have a Spatial-type Summoned Beast, right? This thing’s storage function is basically redundant for you."

Zieg glanced at the World Tree and Silver Sword Shield Badge, a trace of envy flashing in his eyes.

"This badge also serves as proof of your status as a Swordbearer."

"Holding it grants you Second-Rank high-level clearance within both the Military Department and the Order Bureau—the only limitation being that you can’t directly command troops or access military resources."

"Additionally, the Empire’s intelligence network and covert outposts across the Western Continent will now be available to you."

"And the items you requested are all stored inside. Check them over."

Xia Ya picked up the shield badge, turning it over in his hand.

His mental energy seeped into the artifact, revealing its contents.

The pocket dimension inside was incredibly small—compared to Shan Shan’s Spatial Pocket, which had already reached Expert-level, this one was dozens of times smaller.

And yet, the tiny space was already packed full.

Inside, there was—

A pair of Magitech Alloy Discs, inscribed with intricate rune formations.

A Military-Grade Miniature Teleportation Array.

And a seemingly unremarkable black iron metal page, appearing plain and featureless.

The metal page was blank—no text or markings.

But the moment Xia Ya’s mental energy touched it—

His very soul trembled.

A force like sovereign authority manifested from within.

"This must be the Judgment Edict that Isadella mentioned."

"A decree imbued with the power of the Legendary-tier ‘Black King’… no wonder it feels like I’m staring at a Corrupted Object."

Xia Ya confirmed its authenticity.

Titled-tier and Imperial-tier represented the peak of mortal power.

But above them, Legendary-tier beings had already begun to grasp the Laws that governed the world.

The power of such a decree could only come from a Legendary-tier Beastmaster or a Transcendent-tier Summoned Beast.

It couldn’t be faked.

Or rather, forging something of this level would cost far more than simply obtaining the real thing.

Xia Ya withdrew his mental energy and turned his gaze toward Lieutenant Colonel Zieg—who was still standing there, making no move to leave.

"What? You want me to treat you to a meal or something?"

"Not quite. I just need you to sign off on this first batch before I can hand over the second shipment."

Zieg smirked.

He then retrieved a larger metal box from behind him.

The surface of the box was engraved with countless black maple leaves, interwoven with streaks of pure silver moonlight.

Xia Ya recognized the design instantly.

This was the signature insignia of the Shadow Council—the sovereign rulers of the Gray Underworld of the Western Continent.

Xia Ya gave Zieg a long, meaningful look.

"You sure wear a lot of hats, Lieutenant Colonel."

"So you’re with the Shadow Council too?"

"A double agent?"

"Not exactly."

"Her Highness and the Queen of the Night have some personal ties. The Shadow Council and the Military Department also have certain… collaborations."

"Most of the glamorous nobles you see? The dirty business they do behind the scenes—it’s the Shadow Council that digs up their secrets."

"You know how it is. We official military officers aren’t always in a position to get our hands dirty."

Zieg waved a hand dismissively.

"As for me? I’m just a liaison officer maintaining the relationship between the two factions."

"Both Her Highness and the Shadow Council are fully aware of my role. I’m just a glorified errand boy, really."

"This metal case was sent to you specifically by the Shadow Council. I don’t have clearance to know what’s inside—I’m just the delivery guy."

"So with that, I’ll take my leave."

Before his words had fully settled, Zieg had already turned away, striding swiftly out of the estate.

Within moments, he had disappeared down the streets of Black Lily District.

The Military Department was always like this—efficient and decisive, never lingering unnecessarily.

Xia Ya watched him go, then turned his attention back to the metal case before him.

"Finally… it’s here."

He had stayed cooped up in the manor for the past several weeks—not just to train Chi Hong—

But also to wait for these last few crucial components of his plan to arrive.

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And now, at last, everything had fallen into place.

Silently, Xia Ya reached out and touched the core mechanism of the metal case.

A soft click echoed—followed by the sound of gears shifting.

Ancient metal dials emerged from the surface—each inscribed with a sequence of numbers.

Xia Ya carefully rotated the dials, inputting the prearranged cipher key.

With a final, crisp snap—

The metal case unlocked.