Chapter 600 – #121_I’M Back(8)
#600
1.
Though she might be outmatched in strength, Ruelle, having subdued the pink-haired witch with a charisma that made even the plants tremble, was triumphant.
It was a pity, however, that due to an unfortunate accident, she hadn’t been able to demonstrate the difference in their power and had instead rolled across the stone.
Regardless, Ruelle’s exploration continued.
Wandering through the mansion as her feet led her, she reached the villa and stepped inside without any hesitation.
To Ruelle, she was a VIP.
Even if it was an uninvited place, she had no fear in moving forward.
“Come here!”
Though it felt a bit older than the main building with its long gallery, it was a place that exuded a quaint charm rather than being dilapidated, like a well-maintained antique.
“Hmm, this is suitable as my residence.”
Ruelle was very pleased with this annex.
Of course, she also liked the luxurious main building.
However, that place was constantly bustling with servants, and it was so overly extravagant that it felt somewhat uncomfortable.
It was like how a party dress might look pretty but a fleece pajama was what felt comfortable.
Ruelle, who had lived with quiet familiars in a quiet place, felt more at ease in this enclosed space than in a palace-like interior.
“I shall take over this place.”
As Siwoo had said, she would have to stay in Gehenna for a while to recover.
Ruelle had half decided to make this place her residence.
However, one couldn’t judge a place to stay by its appearance alone, so she moved to check the state of the rooms and beds.
Not only the lobby but also each of the rooms lined up after climbing the stairs were to her liking.
Though there were no pillows and they were covered with white cloths, the beds were neatly arranged even though no guests were staying there.
Not a speck of dust was on the furniture.
In particular, the quiet courtyard at the center of the ‘ㅁ’-shaped annex was a major plus point, as it could be enjoyed alone from anywhere through the corridor windows facing inward.
After all, Akula’s garden was nothing more than a hydroponic system for growing various vegetables and herbs.
“If I plant mango trees and pineapples with Siwoo, it would be a good hobby.”
Even for the bold Ruelle, wandering alone in an unfamiliar place was tiring.
As a result, her stiff lips relaxed with happy thoughts.
“Hmm?”
In the midst of it all, a room caught Ruelle’s eye.
It was on the third floor.
It was a room that seemed to occupy the largest area, located on the opposite side of the lobby.
The door was also significantly larger than the other rooms.
Ruelle, having decided to make this room her bedroom, opened the door.
Naturally, she didn’t bother to knock.
-Click!
“Hmm, there’s a place like this too. Hmm?”
What came into Ruelle’s view were two witches.
She was once again impressed by the fact that witches could be seen everywhere, as befitting the name of the city of witches, and she examined their faces.
One was a blonde witch.
Her blinking eyes at the sudden appearance of a guest were a unique sky-blue, as if she had taken the sky and diluted it in a watercolor palette.
Additionally, her face was quite pretty.
The other had dark green hair.
She had the appearance of a nymph from a folktale who ran barefoot through the forest singing songs of flowers, and she too had a rather pretty face.
“Who are you?”
The green-haired witch, who had the larger chest, asked.
The blonde witch next to her asked the green-haired witch.
“Wasn’t she someone Sharon knew?”
“No, I’ve never seen her before either.”
Such a conversation took place about the uninvited guest, but Ruelle was not at all intimidated.
“Ah, go about your business. I’m just looking around.”
She said, waving her hand as if she were annoyed.
This was because she was already engrossed in looking at the house she liked.
Moreover, she had already exhausted her mental strength dealing with the twin apprentice witches and the pink witch, so she didn’t want to waste unnecessary energy.
Unfortunately, this place, Gehenna, was a backwater where the fame of the Deep Sea Witch had not spread enough, and Ruelle realized that she would only tire herself out if she scolded every ignorant person.
“Hmm…. They’re all cheap liquors.”
Ruelle, rummaging through the cupboard as if she were walking around her own house, casually made harsh criticisms.
Sharon, who was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even find the right moment to get angry, was just about to say something when.
“What are you doing?”
A voice several times colder and more chilling than Sharon’s loudest shout spread eerily.
That’s right.
It was Amelia, who was known as a scary vice-professor even at Trinity Academy.
Although she had become more gentle through various recent experiences, she was not so merciful as to overlook the arrogant behavior happening right in front of her.
“Hmm?”
Ruelle, who had been carelessly examining the labels of the liquor bottles she had taken out of the cupboard, also turned her attention.
Ruelle pointed at her chin with her finger and widened her eyes.
“Yes, you.”
“Ha, this is why witches without roots are…”
Since when did the Queen of the Deep Sea, who was used to being revered, have to reveal her greatness herself?
However, as she had experienced before, this was a backwater.
She was about to generously reveal her identity, as she was concerned about Siwoo’s request to not punish them for their ignorance.
“Without roots? Isn’t the one without roots the person who came to someone else’s mansion without permission, interrupted the conversation, and is now rummaging through the cupboard like a stray cat?”
An unexpected and audacious remark came back.
If it was just that, Ruelle would have had a lot to say.
However, the cold, stern voice made it seem as if the room temperature had dropped to below zero in an instant.
She didn’t even frown, and she didn’t raise her voice, but her expressionless face, which seemed more frightening than any threatening threat, made her speechless.
“I won’t ask who you are or where you’re from. I don’t want to hear it. Put everything back where it was and leave immediately.”
It was indeed an imposing aura befitting an empress.
It felt just like when her teacher was angry, and it was scary.
Ruelle felt as if she had been transported back to her apprentice witch days.
“Can’t you hear me?”
However, the witch in front of her was not a teacher scolding Ruelle, and Ruelle was not an apprentice witch either.
She forced herself to muster courage.
Ruelle’s pride would not allow her to even pretend to back down here.
“I hear you well. But I refuse.”
“Refuse?”
Ruelle flinched at the blue glint in her eyes.
“I’m fine, Amelia. She’s just looking around.”
“Manners and etiquette exist when there is mutual respect. Overlooking such shameless behavior is…”
“It’s okay. Really.”
“If that’s what Sharon says…. I’m sorry for interfering.”
Sharon, who had been flinching along with Amelia, belatedly stopped her and then belatedly asked the identity of the uninvited guest.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
Ruelle, having shed the slight intimidation she felt at the sight of her weak demeanor compared to the blonde next to her, recited her lines as if she had been waiting for the question.
“If I were to introduce myself, I am the ancient witch who has been feared since ancient times, the legitimate successor of Shalit Nukelavi, who was worshiped as the Mother of the Sea! I rule over the deep sea, and I am the queen of the great Nukelavi dynasty, above whom there is no one higher in heaven and earth! I watch over all people, and those who oppose me will be sunk without exception, I am Ruelle Nukelavi!”
It was an introduction she had created by referring to various materials to make it sound as impressive as possible.
Now, she was expecting the blonde witch, who had been staring at her impudently, to tremble, and the green witch next to her, who was acting like a meddling sister-in-law, to foam at the mouth in shock at the blasphemy she had committed.
“……”
“……”
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
“Ah….”
It was Sharon who broke the silence.
It was because even Sharon, a great witch, could belatedly perceive the slight vibration and the faint ripples spreading across the surface of the wine glass.
Small drops of wine floated gently, as if they had entered a state of zero gravity.
-Whoosh!
And soon, all the light objects in the room floated like feathers.
In the blink of an eye, the area had become Amelia’s domain.
“A Deep Sea Witch?”
Amelia had painful memories of the invasion of Ea Sadalmelik once before.
There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again, and now that the Deep Sea Witch who had kidnapped Siwoo was in front of her, she had no intention of being lenient.
The moment a dazzling magical reflection flowed from Amelia’s eyes, Ruelle felt a more visceral fear than when she had met the pink-haired witch earlier.
The blonde witch was the same 23rd rank as the pink-haired one.
She didn’t even have the time to lament why witches of such high rank, who were so difficult to find, appeared wherever she went.
What was certain was that there was no way for Ruelle to resist that enormous power right now.
Ruelle felt the small particles of magic that had gradually invaded her body.
Microparticles that would normally disappear naturally, but particles that would swell up at a terrifying rate if given a catalyst.
The vivid fear of death, incomparable to what she had felt during the trials, gripped her throat, and she couldn’t move.
“Wait! Amelia!”
“She declared herself to be a Deep Sea Witch.”
“Let’s talk first! We don’t know what the situation is!”
“We will talk. And I don’t intend to hurt her badly.”
There were witches who sprayed poison the moment they thought they had won.
There were also witches who had set up traps in unimaginable ways.
The enemies Amelia had faced were mostly like the ruthless Sagal, who did not care about methods or means.
And the Deep Sea Witch was an exile who was extremely close to being an enemy.
There was no message from the Count, the owner of the mansion.
If the Deep Sea Witch was wandering around the mansion as if it were her own home, there was a very high probability that it was an illegal intrusion.
Even if she seemed weakened at first glance, if the witch in front of her was an exile who had infiltrated with malicious intent, she judged that it was right to subdue her with all her might first.
“…Ugh….”
Amelia and Sharon, who had made different judgments due to their different experiences.
The two’s argument ended in an instant.
“…Ugh….”
She was biting her lip tightly and desperately holding back her tears, but it seemed that it was too much.
The Deep Sea Witch was shedding tears, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s, as if she had never imagined this would happen.
It was a weak appearance that far exceeded the expectations of the two.
Even Amelia, who had hardened her heart, quickly withdrew her magic, wondering if she had made a mistake.
“See, Amelia. She’s crying….”
“No…. What is this….”
“Ah, I didn’t cry.”
Ruelle was too fragile to withstand Amelia’s murderous aura head-on.
At the same time, Ruelle’s resentment as a powerless person exploded.
In fact, she knew.
That she had been getting beaten up everywhere as soon as she returned to Gehenna.
If only she had her magic, she could have shown those arrogant twins, the pink-haired one, the blonde one, and the green witch who was acting like a meddling sister-in-law, what was what….
“I won’t let you all get away with this…! How dare you oppress me like this! I’ll tell Siwoo everything and make sure you’re punished!”
The reason why neither Amelia nor Sharon could stop Ruelle, who ran out crying, was probably because the gap between the image in their minds and the actual Deep Sea Witch was as vast as the distance between star clusters.
