City ​​of Witches 523

Chapter 523 – #110_The Deep Sea Witch (3)

#523

1.
I was bound with rope and forced to kneel before the Deep Sea Witch.

There was no point in resisting, and nowhere to run even if I tried.
To use a coordinate teleport, I needed to have been to the location before, or at least be able to see it with my own eyes, but this was the middle of the sea, with an unknown depth…

I was relieved that at least I was in a position to talk.

The Deep Sea Witch, sitting in a swivel armchair with her legs crossed, commanded in a deeply lowered voice. Actually, even though she lowered her voice, it didn’t sound imposing, but rather like a high soprano.

“The prisoner shall raise their head.”

With permission granted, I could finally see her properly.

Her sleek black hair, which barely showed a hint of blue when hit by the light.
Deep, sapphire-blue eyes and beautifully curved eye corners.

Added to this, her strongly upward-pointing eyebrows gave her a fiercely independent impression.
She had a cute face by nature, but it felt like she was trying hard to appear dignified.

“What is your name?”
“Shin Siwoo… I am called.”

It might not mean anything, but I answered in a pseudo-historical drama tone to match her way of speaking.
I didn’t forget to quickly lower my head again.
I was quite confident in appeasing a witch.
I had to remember that displeasing her would lead to a minefield.

“So, Shin Siwoo, do you know what you have done?”
“I deeply apologize for harming His Majesty’s subject. I accept that taking my life here would be a fitting atonement.”

But that didn’t mean I should shut my mouth and accept all misunderstandings.

Based on her words and actions, I pieced together the information, even if it was just a small part.

First of all, she didn’t seem as old as I thought.
Witches were immortal beings, and you couldn’t tell their age just by looking at them.

However, after dealing with many witches, you could distinguish between a mature witch and one who had recently inherited the title through their words and atmosphere.

For example, Sharon and Count Geminai looked similar in appearance, but their atmospheres were completely different, weren’t they?
In Siwoo’s estimation, the witch in front of him looked even younger than Sharon.

Ever since a while ago, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was dealing with twins.

Also, based on the fact that she referred to her ‘kingdom,’ that her familiars called her ‘Your Majesty,’ and that she used ‘I’ as her first-person pronoun, I tried my best to respond to her worldview.
Kids always like adults who listen to them.

“However, before you dispose of me, there is something I wish to say to Your Majesty.”

As expected, the Deep Sea Witch seemed to like the title of Your Majesty very much.

“…I grant you permission. Speak.”

No.
Unexpected.
I didn’t know she would like it so much that she would widen her eyes and perk up her ears to hide her satisfied expression.
Her actions were really just like the average twin…

Anyway, I explained my grievances in detail.

I didn’t want to go into the fish tank.
I was attacked by a kraken, who saw me as prey, and I fought back.
And I only tried to escape from the fish tank.

While asserting that it was self-defense, I didn’t forget to praise how strong the kraken was and how amazing the fish tank’s space magic was.

“…For these reasons, I humbly request Your Majesty’s leniency. And if I may ask one more thing… was it not Your Majesty who used the fish tank?”
“…It was not I.”
“Then I, too, am saddened by this unfortunate accident.”
“……”

The Deep Sea Witch, wearing a uniform adorned with medals, rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
She closed her eyes and then opened her mouth.

“I understand the situation. However, it is a fact that you have killed the Foreign Minister of the Nukelavi Kingdom. No matter the reason, punishment is unavoidable. Therefore, I pronounce judgment.”

The Foreign Minister I heard a while ago wasn’t a mishearing.
While feeling bewildered by this absurd role-playing, I listened to her judgment.

“I sentence the prisoner Shin Siwoo to life imprisonment as a slave.”

Life imprisonment as a slave?
The trauma switch was flipped by the familiar punishment, but I suppressed it.

If I had saved my life, that meant I had bought time.
I knew that no matter how bad the situation was, as long as I was alive, there would be opportunities.

“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s generous disposition. Then, what duties am I to perform?”

The Deep Sea Witch, who seemed as careless as a twin, was dangerous to judge by her appearance alone.
I asked as calmly as possible, showing that I was submitting to her authority.

“That will be guided by Natalie, the Sound Investigator. Follow her. Natalie.”
“Yes, Your… Your Majesty… the… the prisoner… this way…”

Without putting on shackles, confiscating my belongings, or even restricting my use of magic, I followed Natalie, the so-called Sound Investigator.
Siwoo returned to the corridor, passing through the gloomy iron stairs again.

“Sound Investigator.”
“……”
“Sound Investigator Natalie.”
“……”

I wondered if I could ask her a few things, but she remained silent.

Familiars usually didn’t have intelligence beyond a certain level.
They were passive beings that moved according to a set algorithm.

“Cl…clean…human…every…corner…thoroughly…do…not…touch…the…machines…”

It seemed that Natalie, the Sound Investigator, was no different. She showed me the cleaning supplies in the corner and disappeared somewhere with inaccurate instructions.

Only after being left alone without a supervisor could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Hoo… that was nerve-wracking.”

Her actions, judgment, and follow-up were generally sloppy, but…
It would be a hasty misjudgment to conclude that the Deep Sea Witch was a safe witch.

Inside Gehenna, no witch would dare to harm Siwoo, who had been certified by Duke Tiferet and Count Geminai.

But the opponent was an exile, and there was no guarantee that such connections would work.
Rather, I had to be vigilant and respond to her unpredictable nature.

“It’s unfair, though.”

I picked up the mop, but from the position of being attacked first, it was extremely unfair.
Who would have known that a monster that could destroy even a mountain would be the Foreign Minister of a country, and that the Deep Sea Witch, who I thought was dead, was alive and would be angry about it?

“Everyone must be worried…”

By now, Deneb would have reported my kidnapping.
I wish I could at least make a phone call…

“First… let’s survive.”

Ensuring my safety, contacting the outside world, and building a relationship with the Deep Sea Witch were all things that could only be done by surviving.
Siwoo diligently pushed the mop.

And so, my second unusual slave life began.

2.
To be honest, I didn’t think much of cleaning.

I had experience polishing the vast Trinity Academy building with Takasho, digging out the drainage ditches, and even pruning trees while climbing ladders.

I was a professional when it came to menial tasks.

It wasn’t right to use magic and get on her bad side, and this space itself was interfering with the use of magic, so I obediently engaged in physical labor with the mindset of ‘don’t do what you’re told not to do.’

The problem was that I thought cleaning a submarine would be nothing, but…

“Is a submarine supposed to be like this?”

It was too big.
It was really, really big.
The narrow-looking corridor was stacked in two or three layers, with several intermediate staircases, and it boasted a dense space like a small maze, perhaps to make the most of the limited space.

There was no sunlight in the enclosed space, and there were no clocks, so I couldn’t guess the passage of time, but I felt like I had worked my bones for about 12 hours, and I had only just cleared one floor of the corridor.

I hadn’t even touched the lower engine room of the corridor, which could be reached by ladder, or the corners of the rooms.

But what could I do?
If I was told to do it, I had to do it.

I was about to go up to the second floor when I noticed a presence.
Looking in the direction where I felt the presence, I saw a silhouette peeking out.

She had been watching for quite a while, but I was so busy cleaning that I hadn’t noticed.
As soon as my gaze turned towards her, the head that had popped out disappeared.

I was wondering if I should talk to her first, or pretend I hadn’t noticed, when the Deep Sea Witch came out from the corner of the corridor, as if she had decided that she had been caught.

“Ahem…”

She cleared her throat awkwardly and approached with a dignified expression, her chin raised.
She wasn’t wearing the uniform I had seen before, but a comfortable-looking dress.

“The lowly slave greets the Emperor.”

I didn’t know exactly if a lowly slave was allowed to greet the Emperor…
But I remembered that she liked the title of Emperor.
Judging by her composed expression and her ears perking up in an uncomposed manner, it seemed that she didn’t intend to make an issue of it.

“Ahem, I was just inspecting the kingdom. Are you still working?”
“I haven’t even finished half of it yet… I apologize.”

The awkward historical drama tone made my hands and feet curl up.

“Even if you are a criminal and a slave, from the moment you boarded this submarine, you are a member of the R’lyeh Nukelavi Dynasty.”

I was about to ask what she was talking about when she continued with surprisingly unconventional words.

“I prohibit overtime work of more than 10 hours a day for the welfare and work efficiency of the crew. Overtime work may occur during emergencies and training, but compensation will be paid accordingly, so please refer to the Labor Standards Act in the legal code for detailed regulations.”

Unexpectedly, the conditions were better than those of a decent small and medium-sized company.

Come to think of it, I had heard that submarine crews, who had to spend months in a closed space, had no military culture and maintained a family-like relationship.

“I am overwhelmed by Your Majesty’s grace.”
“However, you have a duty today, so come with me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”

In the midst of this kingdom play, was it possible for a slave to come directly to the Emperor and tell them their business?
Or was it a more sloppy setting than I thought?
Or was she more easygoing than I thought?

The Deep Sea Witch, who didn’t even glance at the confused Siwoo, walked up the stairs to the upper floor.