Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Boom~"

The simple fireworks went off inside the church, scattering glittering multicolored particles that adorned the candle-lit environment in a hazy and dreamy manner.

"I declare, let the joy of tonight's gathering begin!"

Standing on a tall chair, Ruby announced loudly and cheerfully with a paper megaphone, then raised two fingers high, like a signal. Fireworks followed in quick succession, bursting within the hall, showering down spectacular sparks as children's cheers rose and fell.

On the long table at the center of the hall, an array of delicacies had been laid out, the most eye-catching of which was the five-tiered cake in the middle, with a bright red gem-like apple crowning its summit, exceptionally beautiful.

This was a special Transcendent apple ordered during shopping, to be awarded as tonight's prize to one of the children in the church.

Surrounding the centerpiece cake were various tasty dishes: golden-brown lamb legs seasoned with cumin, steaming aromatic layers of meat pie, melon slices as luscious as jade, codfish soup with the richness of milk, crispy fried dumplings, roasted vegetable strips sprinkled with spices, and a variety of cool, refreshing drinks. The array of colors together resembled a rainbow.

Tilan and the group of twelve, the children of the church, and Pastor Boise were all gathered in the church hall. Today, the usually austere pastor also showed a rare smile, sitting at the head of the table.

With the help of Valke and others, the pastor could quietly and comfortably enjoy the feast on the table, rather than constantly attending to and caring for the children of the church as on usual days.

"Thank you, thank you all, thank you angels, thank you to this wonderful world that allows us to gather here." He raised his little wine glass and then sipped from it, the wrinkles on his brow easing significantly.

"Pastor, you've worked hard too. Relax and enjoy tonight," Valke suggested, patting his back, amid the boisterous laughter and noise.

"Ah... I will, I will, Valke, you are very kind, and you've grown up," the pastor said, looking at Valke, who was now even taller than him, his eyes seemingly filled with a warm liquid.

Years of hesitation, anxiety, shame, self-abandonment, disquiet, were finally smoothing over at this moment. The efforts of the past finally paid off, allowing him to rest easy.

All his actions had not been for naught; they held value and meaning. Thinking this, he sat back in his chair, leaning slowly against the backrest, his body gradually relaxing.

The festive scene before him became blurred and indistinct through his tears, yet the brilliance of candlelight and the sounds of laughter were all the more beautiful.

Yes, what I've done has had some worth after all. Even if there were children who passed away too soon, children who turned their backs, children who disliked me, children who resented me, at least at this moment, I hold no regrets.

After all, I am only human, and to have today's joyous gathering is already a rare fortune. The loss from over a decade ago, the mistakes made along the way, the unease and shame, followed by prolonged anxiety and uncertainty, were finally easing away.

"I have no regrets anymore..." As this thought surfaced, the fatigue built up over the years started creeping into his heart, and he no longer resisted, letting it gradually engulf him.

In the midst of the children's chatter and dinner, various sounds filled the hall. Ruby and a few companions sat among the children, guiding and caring for them, watching them play rock-paper-scissors, competing loudly, eager to see who would be the first to win the bright red gem-like apple atop the cake.

"Haha, I won~" The victorious child raised his arms, his face smeared with cream while the other hand clutched an unfinished chicken leg.

"Aww, I lost." The child opposite sat dejectedly in his chair, the roasted ham in his arms no longer appealing.

"It's alright, there's still plenty of yummy food and drinks~" Ruby shook the bell on her wrist, drawing the child's attention, then handed him a cup of light green, fragrant fruit milk.

"Thank you, Sister Ruby~" After drinking the delicious beverage, the child's face lit up with a smile again.

On the other side, the black-haired and graceful Tilan sat in her chair with a picture book, telling stories to the children around her. Even amidst the noise, her voice was so clear it was as if she was whispering in their ears. As they listened to her stories, the children, despite holding treats, sometimes got so immersed in the tale that they forgot to eat.

Across the long table, Kinsenke twirled a lightweight toy gun in his hand, showing it off to the children around him before aiming at a target on the wall and firing. Several sponge bullets struck it with soft pops.

"I want to play, give it to me, big brother~"

"Me too, I want to play~" The children reached out eagerly, forgetting even the lavish dinner before them.

"Hahaha, no worries, I have plenty of these, haha." As he spoke, Kinsenke magically produced several colorful plastic toy guns from behind his back and handed them out to the excited children.

At the moment when everyone was joyfully gathered, someone noticed that Pastor Boise was slowly leaning to one side in his seat at the head of the table.

"Pastor, what's wrong, wake up," someone went over to support him and gently shook him a few times, but it seemed to have no effect, which caused them to panic as well.

This scene caught the attention of others, and before long the laughter in the hall ceased as people gathered around the pastor. Tilan approached Pastor Boise, placing her finger on his forehead, carefully sensing and checking on him.

After a while, she opened her eyes and looked at the concerned faces around her before speaking.

"It's okay, the pastor is just overly tired and has fallen asleep," she said, and only then did everyone relax.

"I'll take Pastor Boise back to rest. I'll also stay by his side, so everyone can continue with their dinner," Valke stood up and volunteered.

"I'll go too. The pastor needs some simple treatment," said Tilan.

Thus, Valke carried the pastor, and the two of them stepped out of the church hall, through the corridors, and into a quiet room in the back yard.

After placing the pastor on the bed and covering him with a thin blanket, Valke then turned to Tilan with a question.

"Is the pastor really just suffering from exhaustion?" He was somewhat skeptical because when he had lightly patted the pastor's back, he felt that the pastor's body was actually very frail and almost on the brink of collapse, but he hadn't expected that the pastor would not even make it through the evening's banquet.

"Fainting was indeed due to extreme exhaustion, but there are also quite a few problems accumulated in him. If not properly treated and nursed back to health, I'm afraid various accidents might occur in the future," Tilan explained as she placed her hand above the pastor, closed her eyes, and began to chant softly. A faint halo appeared, making the pastor's breathing during sleep much steadier.

"The spell I am casting now is the Calming Spell; it can soothe the mind and let him enter a deep and stable sleep. After tonight, the situation should be much better."

"However, we can't let the pastor go on like this alone," they sat beside the pastor and, while keeping watch, Valke also began to talk about the big and small things that happened during his childhood.

"As a child, I only thought the pastor sometimes had a bad temper or seldom cared about us, but later I discovered that he had too much to do," Valke shook his head as he looked at the sleeping pastor.

"Haven't you thought about hiring help?" inquired Tilan.

"He must have considered it, but the church isn't wealthy to begin with and can't afford high salaries. I guess others wouldn't want to come either, since there's not much of a future in it. Generally, it's older people who do this kind of work. And with just a few hundred people in this small town, there's too few, and nobody wants to come and work here."

"I hadn't considered it thoroughly before. Later on, I will use the scholarship from the Academy to let the pastor hire two more helpers. That should make things easier for him," Valke gave a sigh.

"That should help a lot," Tilan nodded, then she remembered something else.

"What about the children of your age, the ones who have grown up? Where are they now?" she asked.

"Some were adopted away, some found jobs and left on their own, and others... perhaps they went down the wrong path."

"Because of their poor origins and limited education amongst peers, the wages of their jobs are mostly not high. It's difficult to have any surplus to support the church. So, over the years, the number of staff at the church hasn't increased much. Even I myself got used to it and forgot that almost all of the church's work has been done by the pastor alone."

"We can't go on like this in the future," he stood up and started pacing back and forth, envisioning the future division of labor and plans within the church.

"It's not too late to realize this now. Once in a while, we could also contact old friends, have them send back emails. Even without financial support, seeing that the children from the past are now living stable lives, the pastor should feel much more comforted," suggested Tilan.

"All of that is no problem, but..." Valke remembered a familiar name.

If only he could come back, never mind, let's put a stop to such thoughts, he shook his head.

But after a long silence, he still slowly brought up that name, "Actually, among our group of children, apart from me who had the best talent, there was another child the pastor had pinned his hopes on... only the developments later on were not so wonderful."

"His name is Gleid, and he was also my best friend, or rather, brother." Slowly, Valke began to recall many memories.

When exactly did the two originally alike individuals start to walk down different paths.