[V2C4] Imminent Threat

When Monica and her friends arrived at the inn, a seductive beauty wearing a navy robe welcomed them.

“Welcome, travelers. I am the Silent Witch. Have you already received your stamp cards?”

Saying so, the fifth Silent Witch draped herself over Isaac, emphasizing her ample bosom as she smiled sweetly.

“The hot springs here are great for beauty. It’s thanks to them that my skin is so smooth, see? …Want a touch?”

“May I have a stamp, milady?”

Isaac promptly presented his stamp card to shield himself from the beauty’s flirtatious gaze.

Undeterred by Isaac’s indifferent attitude, The fifth Silent Witch put on a seductive smile. Slipping her hand into the cleavage of her chest, she produced… a stamp.

(W-Why would she keep it there…? Does that robe not have pockets…?)

If Monica were to mimic her, the stamp would inevitably fall down to her feet.

As Monica unintentionally stared at the rich cleavage of the fifth Silent Witch, the enchanting beauty noticed her gaze and directed her a gentle smile, much like one would to a child.

Smiling charmingly with a wink, she said, “Here,” and gave a stamp to Monica, displaying a considerable familiarity with tourists.

The fifth Silent Witch stamped everyone’s cards with practiced ease, saving a meaningful gaze for Isaac at the end.

“I’ll be at ‘Lyla’s’ tonight… feel free to drop by anytime.”

Saying so, the fifth Silent Witch kissed Isaac on the cheek and fluttered away with a wave.

Even in her departing figure, there was an air of allure, likely because the woman knew how to showcase her beauty.

(…Amazing. She’s so confident.)

Having completely forgotten that they were misusing her name, Monica watched the back of the impostor as she sauntered off. Isaac tapped Monica’s shoulder.

When Monica looked up at Isaac, he stared silently into her face.

“…? What’s the matter, Ike?”

“Just checking if you’re getting jealous or not.”

“…?”

Isaac frowned slightly, seemingly disappointed, before regaining his composure and adjusting the position of his bag.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s head to our rooms.”

＊　＊　＊

While soaking in the hot spring set up behind the inn, Monica let out a relieved sigh.

As she slowly stretched out her limbs, the tips of her hands and feet, which were chilled by the outdoor air, gradually warmed up.

There was no one else in the hot spring besides Monica. Isabelle and Agatha had already finished their bath, and there were hardly any other guests to begin with. Even while strolling through the village, Monica hadn’t seen any other bathers besides her group, suggesting that the village was not particularly prosperous.

(It’s a luxury to have such spacious baths all to myself… Nero would probably get jealous if he knew I went to the hot springs.)

Nero was already half-hibernating, so they left him back at her Sazandol house. If he found out that Monica and the others went to the hot springs, he would surely sulk, saying, “I wanna go too!” The cold-hating black dragon loved baths.

(Should I buy him a souvenir? …But the Silent Witch cookie might be a bit… um…)

Moreover, the Silent Witch cookie was nothing more than a rectangular cookie. It had a brand with the inscription “Silent Witch Village of Sechen” in the center.

If she took it home, Nero would probably burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. Or he might say something like, “Let’s make a Black Dragon of Worgan cookie too!”

Lost in such trivial thoughts and now thoroughly warmed up, Monica decided to get out without lingering too long in the bath.

Monica, being the type to get absorbed in her thoughts, sometimes unintentionally took long baths while contemplating in the bathhouse. Not long ago, she had nearly drowned from overheating in her home bath, and Isaac had to rescue her.

She couldn’t forget the embarrassment of being told, “Why are you almost dying in a weird way when you’re so much stronger than me?”

Recalling that incident, Monica smiled wryly and began to put on her clothes.

Monica wiped her wet hair haphazardly, then walked down the hallway, encountering Isaac just around the corner.

Isaac’s hair was also damp, indicating that he had just come out of the bath.

“Hey, Monica. Not getting overheated today?”

“Y-Yes… I’m sorry for the trouble I caused back then…”

Monica cowered, still feeling embarrassed about the near-drowning incident, as Isaac chuckled and lightly pinched Monica’s still damp hair with his fingers.

“You need to dry your hair properly; you might catch a cold.”

“But your hair is still wet too, Ike.”

“I have short hair, so it dries quickly.”

Saying so, Isaac took the towel from Monica and gently wiped her hair.

As Monica silently submitted to the action, Isaac bent down a little and peered into Monica’s face.

His azure eyes, closer than usual, seemed to be conveying something.

When Isaac was fixated on something, a spark of determination would flicker in his beautiful eyes.

Even though Monica still couldn’t grasp Isaac’s thoughts, she found herself gazing blankly into his azure eyes. Isaac lowered his eyebrows and smiled.

“Ah, I’m relieved.”

“…?”

“That you didn’t reject me.”

Not understanding Isaac’s true intentions, Monica continued looking at him with wide eyes.

Isaac stopped wiping her hair and used his fingertip to adjust Monica’s bangs.

“You’re particularly uneasy around tall people, especially men, aren’t you?”

“…!”

He hit the mark. Monica was uncomfortable around men, but tall men frightened her in particular. Her uncle, who used to beat her, was a tall man. So, when a tall man stood in front of Monica, she couldn’t help but shrink back.

A few years ago, even Nero terrified her. Monica would often be paralyzed with fear when Nero transformed into a human. To Monica, humans were more frightening than a black dragon.

However, she didn’t think Isaac had seen through that.

“…When did you notice…?”

“Remember when you first came to Serendia Academy, and we helped you with dance practice?”

“Y-Yes…”

Neil, Lana, Isaac, and Cyril had assisted Monica and Glenn for their dance test makeup.

It was a nostalgic memory for Monica. She had only managed to get through the dance practice when captivated by the pattern on Isaac’s scarf.

“You were probably doing it unconsciously… but whenever Dudley-kun and I stood nearby, your body stiffened noticeably.”

“…Huh?”

“So I thought maybe you’re uncomfortable around men, but it wasn’t the case with Cyril and Neil… Pretty much the only common point between Dudley-kun and me is our height, right?”

It was exactly as Isaac said.

During those days, Monica had just met Glenn, and they weren’t that close. As he was a tall man with a loud voice, Monica felt uneasy around him.

“…Yeah, you might be right.”

When someone’s hand was above her head, Monica couldn’t help but imagine it swinging down on her. She would reflexively huddle, protecting her head.

“But now, I’m fine. You and Glenn-san… I know you two won’t do anything bad. You’re kind people.”

As Monica said this with a hesitant smile, Isaac chuckled slightly.

Then he gently placed his hand on Monica’s cheek. Perhaps because they had just come out of the bath, his hand felt moist and a little warm.

“Oh no. If you put it that way, I won’t be able to do anything mean to you.”

“Huh!? D-Did you, um, want to do something mean?”

Monica squealed in surprise, as Isaac replied with a smile.

“Your cheek probably feels nice to pinch.”

“Pinch!?”

“Woops. I meant to say touch.”

Monica instinctively took a step back, guarding her cheeks with both hands.

Isaac, finally unable to contain himself, burst into laughter at the peculiar-looking movement.

“Just joking. I wouldn’t do anything mean the master I admire so much, of course.”

“R-Right, it’s a joke.”

Relieved, Monica lowered the hand she had used to guard her cheeks. Meanwhile, the smiling Isaac closed the distance by a step, lifting one hand… as if aiming for Monica’s cheek.

Monica swiftly raised both hands to guard her cheeks, glancing up at Isaac.

“Um, y-you won’t pinch me, right?”

“Hmm, I wonder?”

“I-I don’t want any pain…”

Monica protested in a fading voice, and Isaac narrowed his eyes meaningfully.

“Well, so it’s fine as long as it doesn’t hurt, right?”

“…Eh?”

Isaac grabbed the wrist of the hand Monica was using to guard her face.

Then, he pressed Monica’s wrist against the wall behind her. He was not exerting enough force to be rough, but neither was Monica strong enough to resist him.

With a vacant expression, Monica found herself under the tall figure of Isaac and…

Creak…

The sound of an old door hinge echoed. Monica and Isaac both turned their eyes towards the noise, and through the slightly open door, they met eyes with Isabelle peeking in.

Isabelle exclaimed, “Kyaa!” and quickly shut the door.

“I didn’t see anything at all. Please, please continue!”

For Monica, continuing would mean getting pinched on the cheek. Since she didn’t want that, she took advantage of the moment when Isaac’s grip loosened, slipping past Isaac and escaping into Isabelle’s room.

Inside the room, Isabelle and Agatha were holding hands, extremely enthusiastic.

It was exact the same atmosphere they had displayed during their villainess act at Serendia Academy.

“Oh, just as I thought, Onee-sama is a true heroine…!”

“The prince cornering the heroine against the wall… It’s just like the developments we read in novels, milady.”

“Personally, I’d like to see the pattern of slamming a hand on the wall instead of only pushing down the wrist…!”

“Kyah! I understand, I understand completely!”

Monica was at a loss for what to do. She couldn’t comprehend what the two of them were getting excited about.

“Um, excuse me…”

Even when Monica tried to speak up, Isabelle and Agatha continued to frolic without paying her any attention.

As Monica stood there, troubled, the door behind her opened slightly. It was Isaac.

“Excuse me, Miss Isabelle. I’d like to discuss our future plans, but I hesitate to enter a lady’s room. Can we move to a suitable location?”

In response to Isaac’s words, Isabelle quickly changed her expression and replied.

“No, I am fine with you entering my room. We cannot have someone from the inn seeing us.”

“In that case, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

As Isaac entered the room, Agatha swiftly moved to prepare seats for everyone. Isabelle and Isaac sat down as if it were a matter of course.

The change in atmosphere from a few seconds ago was astonishing.

Monica timidly took a seat, and Isabelle immediately brought up the main topic.

“Now, let’s discuss how we will be dealing with this village…”

Monica was bewildered by Isabelle’s statement.

Certainly, she wanted them to stop using her name, but ideally, she didn’t want it to become a big issue.

“Um, well, maybe it’s best to ask the representative of the village to stop…”

For Monica, proposing to ask a stranger to stop was quite a significant step forward.

However, seeing Monica like this, Isabelle smiled gently.

“Don’t worry, Onee-sama. We have ‘established formulas’ for times like this.”

“…F-Formulas?”

Isabelle nodded, before widening her eyes and beginning to speak in a theatrical tone.

“The greedy villagers pose as the Silent Witch in an attempt to profit! That is when a sudden disaster strikes! …In this case, attacks by dragons or thieves are common. Anyway, the villagers fly into a panic!”

“Umm…?”

“Then, Onee-sama, the real Silent Witch, swoops onto stage and solves the incident with her chantless magic! The villagers become incredibly grateful to Onee-sama, and reform themselves!”

Monica, who was not familiar with the ways of the world, didn’t quite understand, but according to Isabelle, this was the established practice when dealing with impostors.

“Umm, wouldn’t it be really convenient for the village to run into trouble…?”

To the skeptical Monica, Isaac calmly interjected.

“Don’t worry, there are plenty of people who will do it for the right price. If necessary, I can arrange for thieves right away. How about it?”

Isaac made an outrageous suggestion with a calm smile, and Monica looked up at her disciple with a frown.

“I-Ike? That’s… a joke, right?”

His response was a wordless smile.

Remembering Isaac’s serious expression when he tried to bring a rifle from Sazandol, Monica trembled.

Isabelle and Isaac were usually respectable people with good sense and manners.

However, regarding this matter, both of them seemed to be casting aside all restraint.

Moreover, they were extremely capable and had a strong initiative.

After all, one was the Second Prince and the Duke of Erin, and the other was the daughter of the prominent House Kerbeck in the east.

If Monica didn’t stop them, they might take action immediately.

Feeling a sense of desperation, Monica advised the two of them with a solemn determination.

“N-No, that’s not good! We should discuss it with the villagers properly tomorrow.”

“But Onee-sama…”

“The villagers may have special circumstances… I-I want to resolve this peacefully.”

Despite Isabelle and Isaac proposing one violent solution after another, Monica steadfastly shook her head.

…Otherwise, the village might be wiped off the map.

That’s how ruthless Isaac and Isabelle seemed at the moment.

＊　＊　＊

The “formula” that Isabelle passionately explained was, in fact, quite close to the mark.

At this very moment, danger was looming over the village of Sechen.

However, the crisis approaching the village was no dragon or thief.

“Hmm, hmmm. So this is the village of the Silent Witch…? Here I come, my queen.”

In a sense, this danger was worse than any thief.

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