[V15C13] We Fried the Dough and Enjoyed It Offscreen

Isaac was on his way to the workshop after leaving the Roseberg estate, as Wildianu slithered out from his vest pocket and climbed up onto his shoulder.

“Master, about that exchange earlier… what did you mean at the end…?”

Isaac answered in a casual tone, as if it was only natural.

“Well, you see, the Third Thorn Witch was actually a set of triplet sisters sharing the role. It took all three of them together to make a full-fledged witch.”

No one could hope to match the infamous First Thorn Witch, of course, but the Second Thorn Witch was apparently quite a remarkable woman as well.

There was actually a considerable time gap between the first and second Thorn Witches, despite the continuation of the Roseberg bloodline. Few mages dared to step forward and claim the mantle of Thorn Witch after the first had been such a prodigy.

That lasted until the Second Thorn Witch gained favor with the king by curing his serious illness with a secret potion passed down the Roseberg family, thus establishing her position.

In other words, the accomplishments of the Second Thorn Witch were the reason House Roseberg got so close to the royal family in the first place.

“Considering the history of the First and Second Thorn Witch, you can imagine the immense pressure placed on the Third. That’s why the triplet sisters decided to split the burden among themselves.”

“When did you come to that realization…?”

“A decent while back. I’ve spoken with the Third Thorn Witch on several occasions, and their reactions to compliments were subtly different each time. Pretty funny, right?”

Since Isaac had switched places with the real Felix, he was particularly sensitive to impersonation.

The only time he failed to notice such deception was the Silent Witch during her secret mission… But that was unavoidable, his excessive admiration had blinded him to the truth.

“If Monica and the Third Thorn Witch had been on the Seven Sages at the same time, she would’ve noticed the switch too. Not even triplets can have identical wrinkle patterns, after all.”

“Is this… okay?”

“…Hm?”

Wildianu’s voice of concern did not make Isaac pause his steps, but he did shift his gaze back slightly.

It was impossible for a lizard to make the same facial expressions as humans, but Isaac somehow recognized the worry on his partner’s face.

“You have made enemies of House Roseberg,” Wildianu continued.

“No, Wildianu, that’s not quite right.”

Isaac chuckled. His lips curled into a smile, though his eyes remained cold.

“House Roseberg has made an enemy of me.”

Even without the incident of Melissa trying to drug him, Isaac had intended to deliver a warning to House Roseberg.

——You will not lay a finger on the Silent Witch.

“Don’t underestimate me, Wildianu. There is no need to worry about something so insignificant. It’s just another day in the life of Felix Arc Ridill.”

“…You’re not going to tell the Silent Witch about this, are you?”

“Nope,” Isaac said, about to close the topic, but then he reconsidered.

After reflecting on his behavior, he realized how much he must have worried Wildianu.

Keeping secrets from his partner would be dishonest, so the least he could do was share his reasoning.

“While I have my issues with House Roseberg…” Isaac murmured, slowing his pace slightly. “Raul Roseberg is an important friend to both Monica and Cyril.”

If they found out that House Roseberg tried to force a relationship between Monica and Raul using drugs, cracks would form in their friendship.

They would remain as friends, of course, but it would put a damper on their heartfelt farewell to Raul as he headed out to study abroad.

“I’d rather keep this kind of story locked away in my heart until a decade or two later, when we can laugh about it over drinks.”

“…Understood. In that case, I swear not to speak of the matter.”

“Thanks. I hope that eases your worries a bit.”

Wildianu slowly swayed his tail back and forth on Isaac’s shoulder. He seemed to be hesitating to say something.

Isaac silently waited for a reply as he continued walking, and the workshop eventually came into view.

“…There is one thing I wish to ask,” Wildianu said in a quiet voice.

“Sure.”

“When you drank the Witch’s Love Potion of your own accord…”

“So you are mad after all…”

“…Was it to increase your mana?”

The unexpected question made Isaac pause his feet.

“Why do you think that?”

“I’ve heard that humans can increase their mana capacity by frequently ingesting things imbued with mana.”

This phenomenon was more like a side effect of magical potions. It was by no means a recommended way to increase one’s mana capacity.

There were other similarly taxing methods, such as exhausting one’s mana to the brink of mana deficiency, or training in lands with a high mana concentration—none of which were advisable due to the strain on the body.

“When you formed the contract with me…” Wildianu continued. “You pushed yourself very hard.”

“Ah…”

Isaac found himself letting out a sigh.

Him managing to form a contract with Wildianu was nothing short of a miracle.

The contract with a greater spirit involves creating a magical connection between the contractor, the spirit, and the contract stone. And since Wildianu had previously been contracted to Queen Irene, his connection to the contract stone was already there.

In other words, he could ignore the difficult steps of finding the spirit, persuading it, preparing a contract stone, and linking it to the spirit. He was already more than half done.

All that remained was for Isaac to establish the link between himself and Wildianu’s contract stone.

…However, contracting with a greater spirit required a considerable amount of mana.

Wildianu was relatively young and weak for a greater spirit, but even then, the contract with him required mana on the level of an intermediate or advanced mage.

Isaac had studied magic on his own, so he needed to push himself incredibly hard to reach that level.

“I see,” Isaac said. “A secret potion of House Roseberg must contain an extraordinary amount of mana. Continued ingestion may be effective for boosting mana.”

Isaac was now a student learning magic under the Silent Witch.

Thus, Wildianu believed that he would drink the Witch’s Love Potion to increase his mana and accelerate his studies.

Wildianu knew better than anyone that Isaac would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

(…No wonder Wil is uncharacteristically upset.)

Isaac let out a short sigh as he recalled those days.

How desperate he had been.

He would never be allowed to use magic in public, but just this once. Just a single success was enough.

——Please, please let this work.

Isaac had clutched the aquamarine left by Felix, spending night after night repeating the ritual.

He failed countless times, until his mana was drained to the bone, yet he refused to stop attempting the contract ritual.

——I must fulfill all of Arc’s wishes. Only I am left.

If he had looked in a mirror back then, he would probably see eyes completely devoid of sanity.

“…I won’t act like that anymore.”

Isaac reached out his hand to the lizard perched on his shoulder.

Wildianu hesitated for a moment before sliding onto the back of Isaac’s hand. Then, Isaac lifted his hand, raising Wildianu up to eye level.

He looked directly into Wildianu’s eyes to show his sincerity.

“Like I said, I want to joke about old stories over drinks in a decade or two, so I have to live long enough for that. I won’t do anything that reckless again.”

There was so much he wanted to do.

Magic he wanted to learn. Research he wanted to pursue. Countless books he wanted to read, as well as books he wanted to write himself.

He’d promised Isabelle, a fellow fan of the Silent Witch, that they’d record Monica’s past and future achievements in a book. For that, he needed to witness every one of her triumphs from the front row.

There were still dishes he wanted to eat, drinks he wanted to try. Not to mention all of the recipes Glenn taught him. And, of course, he had to teach that stubborn love rival how to enjoy the taste of alcohol. That guy needed to be dragged along for at least one drink.

“I’ll be clinging onto life for years to come, Wildianu.”

Because I have to visit him with lots of stories to share—he added silently with a grin.

There was no change in expression on the face of the white lizard, of course, but Wildianu wore what seemed to be a gentle smile.

Isaac placed Wildianu on his special seat atop his head as he walked into the workshop.

For now, he needed to make up for lost time in dinner preparations.

Isaac opened the door with renewed determination, but for some reason, he found Ashelpikeh standing on the other side in human form. Behind her was Thule, also in human form.

Pikeh held an empty bowl in her hands… the bowl he had put the ice cream in.

The ice spirit, who had lived for countless years, carried herself with a dignity befitting her age, and spoke solemnly with lips stained white with ice cream.

“I, Ice Spirit Ashelpikeh, have received the offering. I promise you the freshness of meat to be delivered, and a cool and pleasant night.”

“Pikeh, Pikeh, now’s when you say the thing,” Thule followed.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Yes, thank you for the meal.”

Isaac peered into the kitchen.

The ice cream bowl had been scooped clean and only half of the peaches remained.

The bread dough that he left to rest had risen so much that it was spilling out of the bowl. It was clearly over-fermented.

“Master,” Wildianu said from atop his head. “The dough has grown up so big and healthy…”

“…Yeah,” Isaac replied. “Guess I’m starting over.”

＊　＊　＊

Nero headed towards the Roseberg forest humming the happy tune of “nyaffun dabada, nyan dabada~”. He was currently in the form of a tall young man, carrying bags in both hands.

These bags contained several sets of meat from the Dudley butcher shop.

When Nero handed over the entire budget he was entrusted with, a flame lit in the eyes of Glenn’s parents, and they threw practically the entire store at him.

He also received plenty of freebies thanks to the good word put in by Glenn’s sisters. Tonight was guaranteed to be a feast.

Nero continued in high spirits, but he paused just before entering the forest.

His golden eyes stared at nothing in particular, but his wild instincts noticed something.

(…This forest doesn’t like me for some reason.)

The Roseberg forest had a high mana concentration, which should have been pleasant for a magical creature like Nero.

However, he sensed a nasty malice within the forest’s mana. This was not a repellent to keep out intruders, but a grudge directed at Nero in particular.

Nero noticed it… but it didn’t particularly bother him. He continued into the forest without a second thought.

The malice of humans was nothing more than a trivial matter, not worth a black dragon’s concern.

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