—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Even after the incident, Johan remained at the hotel. The witches, too.
They had become addicted to the conveniences of the Empire. They were particularly fond of the hotel staff, who brought them anything they desired with a simple wave of the hand.
Considering Johan had run away, exhausted from attending to their every need, returning to the cramped cabin was no longer an option.
“Ahhh… this is the life…”
“How is it, ma’am?”
“Mmm—right there, a little… harder…”
The witches indulged in massages from female masseuses, and some even went skiing at a nearby resort.
Johan found it odd that witches, who could fly at supersonic speeds, would enjoy something like skiing, but he didn’t comment.
‘Well, fighter pilots enjoy surfing… I guess it’s a similar thing.’
The cost of their stay, for eight people, was rapidly depleting their funds.
The hotel was, after all, a luxury establishment, catering to the wealthy, not the common folk. The working class would have to toil for a lifetime to afford even a single night’s stay.
And they were eating, sleeping, and playing in this lavish place, their money disappearing like water in a drought.
“Um, Master.”
“Yeees, Johan?”
“We’re… running out of money. What should we do?”
“Hm? Money? Is that what you’re worried about?”
Evangeline chuckled, as if it were a trivial matter. Johan, wondering what she had in mind, looked at her expectantly.
Evangeline, sipping her champagne, a mischievous smile on her face, requested a telephone. A hotel employee promptly brought one to her. A rotary phone, the kind Johan had only seen in old movies.
As Johan marveled at the antique, Evangeline dialed a number.
He was surprised she even knew any phone numbers, and even more surprised when he found out who she was calling.
“Who is it?”
“Hm? The Emperor.”
“…Who?”
“You don’t remember? Fri… Frideimon? That girl.”
Friederika. Johan chuckled, amazed that his master could remember the phone number but not the name, and leaned closer, trying to hear the conversation.
After a few moments, someone on the other end picked up.
[…Who is this?]
“It’s me.”
[Who?]
“Me.”
Johan, witnessing his master’s pathetic attempt at a scam, finally understood how she planned to get more money.
Why earn money… when you can just extort it from the Emperor?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“…Fine. I’ll send it.”
Despite the abrupt end to the call, Friederika didn’t frown or show any signs of anger.
In fact, she sighed in relief. Talking to the witch was exhausting.
‘Damned witch.’
Calling out of the blue and demanding money? Did she think she was a witch’s ATM?
Even Machina and the other two witches had sworn allegiance to her, but this insolent witch showed no such inclination.
If she could, she would send an army, or even another witch, to teach her a lesson. But she couldn’t.
“Adjutant.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Send a messenger to the Imperial Hotel.”
“At once.”
Fortunately, the current Emperor was wealthy. Though it was said that even a king couldn’t eliminate poverty, Friederika, with the help of witches, had achieved it.
She had spread industrial technology throughout the land, and the profits flowed directly to the Imperial family. The wealth she had amassed was astronomical, and she had used it to fund various social welfare programs.
It was one of the reasons she was able to maintain the monarchy despite the technological advancements.
“By the way, what happened to Azmona?”
“We… haven’t been able to contact her…”
“Find her. Losing a witch now would be problematic.”
The adjutant bowed and left the room. Alone, the Emperor looked at the pile of documents on her desk and sighed.
“How am I supposed to get through all of this…?”
But she couldn’t afford to waste time. The Emperor, caressing her breast with one hand, began reviewing the documents.
Her fingers gently teased her nipple, and a jolt of pleasure, followed by a rush of adrenaline, coursed through her.
This was her secret to getting through the mountain of paperwork.
“Hng, mnh— this one… pending… mm-hmm, approved—”
A soft, sensual moan escaped her lips.
A secret known only to the Emperor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That night, a guest arrived at the hotel.
“Lady Evangeline?”
The guest, a messenger from the Emperor, presented her with a large box and then promptly left.
Evangeline opened the box in her room and found it filled with an enormous amount of cash.
Enough to buy the entire hotel… Evangeline, taking the money, rushed to Johan’s room.
“Johaaan—!”
The door was locked. But a mere lock couldn’t stop Evangeline.
She used her magic to open the door and stepped inside, then paused, hearing a strange sound.
“Kuh—hooook, ohok, ohhh—!”
A vulgar sound, not one she would expect a woman to make. She frowned and entered the room. Hecaterina was lying on the bed, and Johan was pressing his fingers into her stomach.
“How’s that? Feel like you’re going to die?”
“Hng, haaah—! Hah, haaah—heek, heeeek…!”
Hecaterina, unable to even speak, just whimpered. Evangeline swallowed, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent room.
Johan, hearing her, turned and saw his master.
“Oh, Master. You’re here.”
“Y-yes. What were you doing…?”
“Just testing out my new technique.”
Johan said this, flexing his fingers. Evangeline, seeing his fingers writhing like tentacles, just chuckled nervously.
Then, remembering why she had come, she presented Johan with the box.
“Here! The money!”
“She actually gave it to you? The Emperor is… surprisingly generous.”
“Hm? What’s so surprising?”
“Well—she just gave you what you wanted, without asking for anything in return. Normally, people would ask for a favor or something.”
There was no such thing as a free lunch. Johan knew this. Free things were the most expensive. If it were him, he would have used the free money as leverage to ask for something in return.
But Evangeline just waved her hand dismissively.
“A favor? From a witch?”
An ant couldn’t ask an elephant for a favor.
And a human couldn’t ask a witch for a favor.
Humans could pray to gods, but they couldn’t make demands.
“Unless the Emperor is a fool, she wouldn’t dare.”
She wouldn’t have to listen anyway—Johan, seeing Evangeline’s confident expression, believed her.
If the Emperor did ask for a favor, Evangeline would simply ignore her, while continuing to extort her.
Like a bully and a nerd in school, their relationship was one-sided. The nerd’s devotion wouldn’t be rewarded. It would only lead to further exploitation.
He had thought this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“An imperial edict from Her Majesty, the Emperor.”
The next day, Evangeline frowned, seeing another messenger from the Emperor at the hotel. She snatched the letter from his hand.
It was a disrespectful gesture, but the messenger didn’t react. This was a witch. Insisting on human etiquette with a being who could kill him with a thought was foolish…
“What is this?”
“…Do you know… a witch named Azmona?”
“I know her. A name I’d rather forget.”
“That witch was in the service of the Empire. She was protecting the Empire from monsters…”
He explained that Azmona, the Witch of Cookies, was one of the three witches who protected the Empire.
She guarded the northern border, preventing monsters from the frozen wastelands from invading.
And Evangeline had killed her, leaving a gap in their defenses.
“Her Majesty, the Emperor, requests that you take her place.”
“We? Why?”
“If you refuse, she asked me to deliver this message.”
—Witch, do your duty.
If you will not protect us, then we will not protect ourselves. The conveniences you enjoy, the comfort, the entertainment—all of it will turn to ash beneath the feet of monsters.
The messenger, having delivered the Emperor’s message, looked at Evangeline, his expression neutral.
“What will you do?”
Evangeline bit her lip.
There was only one answer.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
