The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 48: Reward – The Sea Hag’s Potioncraft

"Answering before the question?" Ariel was utterly baffled by the young man’s statement.

"What does that even mean? How can you give an answer when the question hasn’t even been asked?"

Aurora, with her sharp wit, quickly caught on to Rhine’s hint—

Before the Sea Hag had asked the final question, she had, in fact, already given the answer once!

And that answer was...

"Love," Aurora said. "The answer is love, isn’t it? Um, human love for mermaids!"

It was the same answer she had just given a few minutes earlier to the first question! Of course, the correct answer to the first question had been "immortal soul," so her earlier response was wrong.

Rhine smiled.

"How intricate are the workings of fate, that the wrong answer to the first question turns out to be the correct answer to the final one.

"Oh wise Sea Witch, even before you posed your question, my friend had already given the correct answer!

"Is this not yet another sign of destiny?"

Rhine understood well that in such a fantastical world of magic, destiny was no abstract concept but a tangible force.

He himself had once bestowed Aurora with a blessing, placing upon her the prophecy to "defeat the Black Witch."

Though the prophecy could not fulfill itself automatically, fate always orchestrated bizarre coincidences to bring about its intended outcome!

During the first question’s discussion, they had essentially answered both questions simultaneously!

Ariel chimed in to support her new friend:

"Yes, that’s right! My grandmother just told me recently that while merfolk lack immortal souls, a human’s love can grant us one. And at the same time, the human’s own soul remains intact."

She spoke these words with a smile.

The Sea Hag was stunned.

Moments later, she burst into laughter.

"So that’s how it is. For a non-human creature to gain an immortal soul, the method is so simple, yet so impossibly difficult!"

At the mention of "impossibly difficult," Ariel’s expression shifted ever so slightly, an almost imperceptible flicker.

In that instant, Rhine felt a searing surge of energy pour into his own soul, slightly increasing his magical power.

The wish had been fulfilled!

Though it was Aurora who had voiced the answer, it was, in essence, Rhine, the magician, who had truly resolved the Sea Hag’s lingering question.

"Another wish of a Child of Destiny fulfilled. I wonder what reward I’ll receive this time," Rhine thought with great anticipation.

An immense ocean of knowledge flooded into his mind, etching itself into his memory and soul.

It was the art of potioncraft—the knowledge of using various ingredients to brew magical potions. The memories of the Sea Hag preparing her potions from peculiar materials flashed through his mind.

"The Sea Hag’s Potioncraft!"

This time, the reward for fulfilling the wish wasn’t a new spell.

Instead, it was a flawless copy of the Sea Hag’s potioncraft, granted directly to Rhine!

Rhine recalled how, in the original story, the Sea Hag had fulfilled the Little Mermaid’s wish by brewing a potion that transformed her tail into human legs.

Potion-making was evidently one of the Sea Witch’s greatest skills.

Now, Rhine had acquired her expertise as his own!

Compared to Rhine’s initial potion-making abilities from when he had first transmigrated as a magician, the Sea Hag’s knowledge was vastly superior.

Yet, the two sets of knowledge didn’t conflict. Instead, they complemented and enhanced each other.

Rhine realized that by integrating the two, he had now surpassed the Sea Hag as a master of potioncraft.

"How peculiar! This time, the reward wasn’t a spell that materialized the wish’s content."

Rhine was initially surprised, but the reason quickly became clear to him.

Previously, the wishes he fulfilled had come from ordinary people, the King and Queen of the Rose Kingdom, Magician Oz, or the soldier who acquired the Tinderbox.

None of them had supernatural powers or exceptional skills.

Thus, the power of their wishes manifested in its purest form—as magic that embodied the content of their desires.

However, when the wish involved a Child of Destiny with supernatural abilities or extraordinary talents, the power of the wish instead replicated those abilities and talents!

"This is incredible," Rhine marveled at the wondrous nature of his "Wish Magician" physique.

He could hardly wait to grant the next fairytale protagonist’s wish.

"Very well. Two humans. I’m not sure if I should admire your wisdom or your luck," the Sea Hag sighed deeply. "You’ve answered my three questions, so as promised, I must share everything I know about Maleficent."

She plucked a strand of her seaweed-like hair and scraped a bit of slime from her pet toad using a dagger, then crushed them together in a mortar while chanting an incomprehensible spell.

Soon, a bubble rose from the mortar, and strange images flickered on its surface—they were patterns of memory.

"These are my memories of Maleficent. Place the bubble on your forehead, and you’ll be able to read them," the Sea Hag explained.

The bubble drifted toward the giant fish that Rhine and Aurora were riding.

The fish snapped up the bubble, swallowing it whole. Inside the fish’s belly, the two children caught the bubble as casually as picking up a ball from the ground.

Rhine tossed a coin into the air, performing a simple divination. Once he confirmed that this bubble held the answers they sought, he stowed it away without immediately reading the memories.

"Thank you, Sea Witch, for keeping your promise.

"According to our original agreement, the three questions were merely the first payment in exchange for the secrets of the Black Witch, Maleficent.

"Now, tell me—what is the second price we must pay? This price will secure the information about your coven of witches."

Rhine was certain that this second payment wouldn’t be as simple as answering questions—it might even take a long time to fulfill.

"Help me gain the recognition of the Sea Kingdom, its king, and the other sea creatures!"

The Sea Hag gave a self-deprecating smile.

"As you know, in this oceanic kingdom, everyone sees me as a nightmare. They avoid me and tell terrifying stories about me as if I were the villain.

"But all I’ve ever done is what any merchant would do—charge a price for my goods.

"Sure, I’ve studied some black magic—but I’ve never used it to kill any innocents. Yet, I’ve been turned into a monster to frighten children.

"If you can help me earn the recognition of the Sea Kingdom, make the merfolk no longer fear or despise me, I’ll reveal everything about that coven of witches!"

Rhine sighed softly, once again feeling the blazing power of a wish emanating from the Sea Hag.

In the original The Little Mermaid, this Sea Witch had embodied every traditional element of an "evil witch"—ugliness, strangeness, fearsome pets, and a nightmare-like bone-strewn lair.

Yet, she was an honest merchant, not a malevolent villain.

In this beautifully poetic tale, there wasn’t a single true "villain." Every character had their own kindness.

Of course, perhaps her image was too fitting for an antagonist, and stories often need enemies. In Disney’s adaptation of The Little Mermaid, this Sea Witch was directly transformed into an evil main villain.

Aurora’s eyes showed pity.

She recalled the fear and disdain the merfolk had expressed when mentioning the Sea Hag and began to feel some sympathy for this Sea Witch.

"Sea Witch, this is not a task that can be completed overnight. If someday my companions and I fulfill your wish, I will return to exchange it for your answer."

The deal was sealed, and the wish had been accepted. When it would be fulfilled, only time would tell.

Rhine turned and pointed in Ariel’s direction.

"Now, it’s time for our friend here, Princess Ariel, to make her wish."

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