Volume 3 Chapter 74 The Witch’s Overly Mischievous Prank II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(If someone good at this was watching me closely, then maybe, but I haven’t felt watched at all. Not just me, but Natra and Rufna too. It’s too hard to trick all of us. Besides… even if they were watching closely, they would have fallen behind once we flew from Châtillon to Izerland. Using teleportation right away would alert the Châtillon magicians and Christy, ruining the plan… Wait a minute.)
Kian reached the hilltop and stopped in front of a moss-covered stone wall and a single house.
He felt nothing from inside.
Priscilla. Yes, Priscilla was there. She knew his schedule in detail and even sat with him at meals. She could easily slip something into his dish.
’Hmph, that witch could make a sleeping potion for you. Maybe something extracted from the ‘Thorn Demon’ seeds her older brother and sister-in-law have a lot of. There would be no trace of the deal left.’
”…I’m scared of the ‘Thorn Demon’ poison. It sounds like it could leave lasting effects.”
’Don’t worry, your body is much tougher than a human’s. That demon poison might even make you stronger.’
”────”
He doesn’t know what kind of poison was served, but Rufna should be taking care of it. All he can do now is hope there’s no problem.
Kian shook off his worries and silently jumped over the wooden fence, walking up to the door of the house with the red roof.
(This other world is well-made. The grass and wooden fences feel and smell just like the real thing. I don’t know how hard it is to create a magic like this, making a ghost’s memory world in another dimension, but Priscilla with her powerful treasure could probably do it easily. Everything points to her being the most suspicious.)
But if Priscilla is the culprit, then what could her goal possibly be?
Kian still hasn’t done anything in this other world, and it feels like she’s just teasing and playing with him.
If she has a clear intention, maybe she wanted to show Kian this world.
’It’s not necessarily the work of that dragon Witch, but it could be Lady Christina. She’s the top of the Elixir department in the Royal Capital, right? She might be able to mix up drugs that make you faint or see hallucinations. She probably knows that if you lose consciousness, she can manipulate your mind.’
”Christy wouldn’t.”
’Hard to say. Maybe she’s trying to lock you up in this world forever because she found out about your affair.’
”……”
Kian’s sharp observation about the ‘glasses’ leaves him speechless.
But still, he thought Christy couldn’t be here.
He planned to confess about the Harem to her, but from their past interactions, he knows she’s a good girl who would understand if he explained properly.
At least, he hopes she wouldn’t attack him right away but would first ask why he cheated.
He wants to believe that.
’Can’t you say for sure?’
”I’ll consider it as a possibility, but I believe she’s not the kind of girl who would suddenly feed me poison.”
’It’s not good to have preconceptions when reasoning.’
”I know Christy well. Every inch of her.”
Kian just says that and gently places his hand on the door of the house.
(There doesn’t seem to be any object inside the house emitting a strange magic power. It’s a house that stands out in the meadow, and it’s likely that the creator of this world wants to tell me something that’s inside.)
He checks inside as planned.
Just in case, he prepares himself to be ready for anything that might happen.
Kian braces himself and kicks the door with a powerful roundhouse kick.
”Huff!”
The leather boots he’s wearing are sturdy enough.
The roughly made wooden door, struck by the strong kick, flies open and smashes into the wall inside, letting out a loud creak.
The smell of fresh wood in the room comes rushing in all at once.
It’s like stepping into a brand new house.
Kian quickly scanned his surroundings and darted into a house.
”──Kyaa?!”
Just as he tried to enter, a sudden movement behind him was followed by a faint, high-pitched scream, like that of a girl.
After the unexpected scream, there was a thud as someone fell to the ground.
Kian spun around with the agility of a carnivore, only to be stunned by the intruder he saw.
”Your Excellency Maribel?”
”Ugh… Eh…, Kian, is it? Eh? Eh?”
In front of the turned Kian sat a blonde princess on the yellow-green grass, wiggling her bottom and looking up with wide eyes.
Without a doubt, it was Maribel.
Just like Kian, she seemed to have been sent to this world the moment she lay down in bed, dressed only in a white shirt and panties.
Her thin golden hair was tied up in a sleep cap with a satin ribbon.
She looked around, her eyes finally settling on the blue sky above, her mouth falling open in surprise.
After a moment of stiffness, she pinched her cheeks and pulled them hard to either side.
”Mmmph!” her beautiful, triangular jawline crumpled, her mouth twisting grotesquely.
Kian pondered how to react, but decided to ignore the princess’s unseemly grimace and keep a straight face.
”Your Excellency, this is not a dream.”
”…Yes, that’s right.”
Her voice was calm.
She cleared her throat with a small “cough.”
It seemed she had decided to bury the memory of showing such an ugly face to Kian forever.
Blushing furiously, Maribel stood up quickly.
”If my memory serves, I was just overwhelmed by a strong drowsiness and collapsed onto the bed. But when I woke up, I was in this unfamiliar land… Kian, can you please explain where we are and what’s going on, to the best of your understanding?”
* * *
”…I see.”
Three minutes later.
After a brief explanation about this other world and the state of their real bodies, Maribel nodded in understanding as she sat on the wooden fence, resting her arms.
She scrunched her dark blue eyes and spat out her words with distaste.
”Nine times out of ten, it’s Priscilla’s doing~, ne”
”Do you think so too, Your Excellency?”
”I can’t think of anyone else but her.”
Maribel stood up from the wooden fence, roughly pulling off her nightcap that she was arranging her hair in.
Fine golden strands danced like sand, falling onto her shoulders.
The air stirred, carrying the faint scent of Christy’s custom shampoo.
It seemed that even the smallest details in this other world were infused with the divine.
This unnecessary attention to detail seemed more and more like Priscilla.
Maribel continued.
”I went to see the chef today at noon to confirm the menu for tonight’s banquet. I intended to taste the dishes because we must not be rude to Kian. But then, I found Priscilla, who was supposed to meet Renaud, talking to the chef. She was presenting him with a bottle of high-end Châtillon red wine vinegar.”
”You mean you suspect she might have bought off your chef or the taster?”
”The chef is a man who owes a great debt to my father, Godfrey. If he was bought, he would be the taster. That man is twisted to the core. But if it’s a slow-acting poison, then having a taster might not have mattered.”
”Even if the taster was bought, Ms. Priscilla would probably have given him an antidote. So, evidence would rely on eyewitnesses, wouldn’t it?”
”Oh Kian, there’s also the method of capturing Priscilla and torturing her until she confesses.”
”Excuse me, but considering the military force at Your Excellency’s disposal, that would be extremely difficult. It would also ruin our relations with Châtillon.”
”I know that!”
Maribel couldn’t hide her irritation.
If you looked closely, her cheeks were not just pinched, but her face seemed to have a faint blush.
The hem of her dress was long and flowing, reaching about the middle of her thighs, but from beneath the fabric came a distinctive smell similar to clotted cheese.
She let out a horny, little “Mmm,” her knees rubbing together before quickly composing herself and looking up at Kian with a serious face.
”Once the poison is out of our system, I’ll call the chef and the taste-tester. After that, we’ll storm Priscilla’s room~ I’m sure Kian is mad at her too, want to come along?”
”I’d be happy to join. She’s teased me twice now~ It’s about time she pays up.”
”I’m glad to find an ally. Priscilla must think I can’t do anything, so she keeps picking on me. If I don’t strike back after all her taunting, the Danofen will be laughed at, especially by the local lords of the salon!”
”It seems Your Excellency is having a stressful day every day.”
”Really~ it does~!”
After tying her golden hair with a ribbon, she flicked the ponytail over her shoulder.
Then, with a huff, she crossed her arms and turned back to face Kian.
”Ah… that…”
She played with the strands of gold hair hanging at her neck.
”…I’m sorry for showing you such an embarrassing sight…”
”No. Sometimes it’s important to show your feelings like that.”
”Thank you for your kind words. But I can’t keep relying on kindness and stay immature. In the real world, I must always stay calm.”
Maribel spoke earnestly, as if she were bottling up magma inside her.
She better vent some steam soon, or she might just blow up.
(I can see how nice it is to be a carefree adventurer. But that’s only if you have enough money coming in to cover your needs, of course.)
’Such adventurers are quite rare, aren’t they? Even an intermediate-rank might end up poor if they manage their weapons and armor properly, depending on how work is going.’
Yeah, weapons and armor really cost a lot of money. He used to be picky about having a proper sword and good armor, but in the end, he had to make do with a stick and some tattered cloth gear just to survive.
Bitter memories.
He might have a fondness for that stick and tattered cloth, but now that he’s tasted this somewhat wealthy life, he definitely don’t want to go back to those days.
He forced himself to hang onto the memories of his lowest-rank adventurer days and dropped his gaze to Maribel.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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