"What?"
Aurora was stunned after hearing what the Soldier said.
This answer was completely beyond her expectations.
Not only Aurora, but her companions were also stunned.
The Soldier spread his arms and said vividly:
"Not long ago, Great Magician Rhine, Great Oz's teacher, also came to Emerald City to see his student. The two Magicians have been together all day recently."
Aurora was confused, and she confirmed with the Soldier, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course," the Soldier said vividly, "All the Soldiers in the city know!"
"What does Oz's teacher, the Magician named Rhine, look like?" Aurora confirmed again, fearing that there might be a case of a repeated name.
The Soldier answered quite naturally, his tone full of awe:
"As a versatile Magician, Great Magician Rhine must have many different forms, but this time, he appeared as a handsome silver-haired boy."
It really is the teacher! Aurora was horrified.
Why have I never heard the teacher say he had a student? She was puzzled.
"However, the teacher was already a Magician long before I was born. Perhaps he had a student then?" Aurora couldn't help but think of this possibility.
Watching the Soldier walk away, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Pinocchio, and Lion all looked extremely shocked.
All the companions looked at Aurora, surrounding her like stars holding the moon.
"So, Great Magician Rhine, who gave me life, has this other identity." Pinocchio sighed.
Dorothy tilted her head and thought for a long time before she finally sorted out the relationship between Aurora, Oz, and Rhine.
She widened her eyes and looked at Aurora with an incredible expression, saying in an admiring tone:
"Aurora, you never told us that your teacher is also Great Magician Oz's teacher!"
I didn't know either… Aurora also looked bewildered.
Dorothy then said:
"Uh, this also means, Aurora, you and King Oz are actually peers! Oz is your senior, right?"
Dorothy was smug about being able to summarize this relationship.
This was not an easy task for Dorothy—
She had to rack her brains to connect Aurora, a girl her age, with someone who held titles like "Monarch of Oz" and "Great Magician," and to see them as fellow students.
Dorothy quickly made a deduction:
"Since Oz Country is your teacher's student, and your teacher is a Great Magician, then Oz Country must also be a true Magician!
"That is to say, the brown-skinned evil Magician from before was lying to us?"
Aurora scratched her head blankly: "Perhaps."
Everyone was overjoyed.
"Since Oz is a true Great Magician, he will surely be able to grant me a clever brain." Scarecrow said happily.
"And my heart." Tin Woodman said.
He remembered the Munchkins girl he loved. As long as he got a heart, he could marry that girl.
"And my courage." Lion said.
Aurora suspected that they thought Magicians were omnipotent, but she didn't point it out.
Although Aurora was reluctant to admit it, upon learning that her teacher was also Oz's teacher, and seeing her companions' surprised expressions, she felt a bit of pride and smugness in her heart.
She had made a bet with Northern Witch out of spite, saying that her teacher's magic was more superb than Oz's, and it turned out she had won the bet!
"Actually, I was just speaking in anger at the time, there's no need to really make Northern Witch apologize to me."
Aurora recalled the kind old woman and muttered to herself, planning to pretend to forget about it the next time she saw Northern Witch.
And so, everyone happily returned to their respective rooms, awaiting Oz's summons.
The small rooms here were truly beautiful and lovely! There was a soft and comfortable bed, the wardrobe was full of beautiful silk clothes, and green little bookshelves were placed on the windowsill.
Dorothy casually pulled out a book to read and found that it was full of all sorts of beautiful illustrations and many strange and fun stories, which made her laugh heartily.
"I love it here so much!" Dorothy flopped onto the soft bed, reading and laughing.
Aurora was also assigned a similar room.
But unlike Dorothy, who was her age, she had little interest in the things in the room. Whether it was the soft bed or the picture books with bizarre stories, she was not interested.
Her journey itself was much more exciting than those picture books!
Aurora lay on the bed, feeling the softness and comfort from behind her, her mind still replaying the conversation from earlier.
"Did the teacher really take a Magician apprentice named Oz before I was born or at least before I grew up?"
As Aurora thought, she turned over and suddenly saw Rhine sitting by the bed, smiling and looking at her.
"Teacher? You're here? You really are in this palace, with Oz? Is he really your student?"
Rhine smiled: "Come with me to see Oz, and then you'll understand everything."
He placed his hand on Aurora's shoulder, and their figures quickly blurred and disappeared from the room.
Soon after, when Aurora returned to the room, she already knew the whole story.
…
A few hours later.
The Soldier who had left earlier returned and told Dorothy and Aurora's group that Oz would summon them.
So, the group followed a girl in green clothes to a spacious and magnificent hall in the palace.
It was an empty and beautiful Emerald Hall, filled with court ladies and gentlemen, dressed in splendid and expensive clothes, sitting in their respective places, chatting with each other.
"Are these the members of Oz's court?"
Dorothy thought, turning her head to ask a lady who was drinking tea:
"Excuse me, have you seen Great Oz? What does the King and Great Magician look like?"
The lady put down her green tea and shook her head:
"No, like most people here, I have never been allowed to pay homage to Great Oz, but we still have to come every morning for court."
Another minister added:
"Even in the court, only a very few people have seen Oz. It is said that the terrible Oz will show different forms to different people—after all, he is a versatile Magician."
And a gentleman lowered his voice, saying to them in disbelief:
"Are you really going to see the great and terrible Oz?"
Dorothy listened to the ministers' words, her thoughts swirling.
If she hadn't known anything, hearing these words, she would certainly have found Oz very terrifying and strange, as even the court ministers hadn't seen him!
But now, Dorothy remembered Maglido's words and began to suspect that Oz's terrifying nature was merely a disguise.
"Never mind, whether Oz is a Great Magician or not, he shares the same teacher as Aurora."
"Since Aurora is so lovely, I hope Oz is also an easy person to get along with."
Dorothy prayed silently.
Just then, a bell rang.
The guiding girl said to Dorothy and her group:
"This is the signal that Oz is ready to receive you. You may enter."