She is not an investigator.

Igris didn't look any further; she decided to explore the castle some more.

After passing through many corridors and empty rooms, her view suddenly opened up.

A huge library, almost as big as the hall, appeared before her. It had enormous bookshelves that were three or four times her height, and a vast collection of books. It was the most luxurious library Igris had ever seen.

Near the entrance, there was a table and an awkwardly placed sofa.

The sofa was most likely moved in later and placed next to the table, which had several books on it. Some of the books were stacked together, and one was placed in the center of the table, with bookmarks visible between the pages.

It's highly likely that the witch is reading a book, which makes sense, since in a place where there's hardly anyone around, these books are probably her only form of entertainment.

With the intention of passing the time, Igris picked up the book with the bookmark and opened it.

The book didn't have a name on the cover and looked quite new, so Igris was quite curious about what was inside.

As the first line of text came into view, Igris slowly read it aloud.

"...In that dazzling crystal coffin, the sleeping princess finally found her own salvation. Love and dreams intertwined, and under a deep and heavy kiss, she finally slowly opened her eyes...A fairy tale, huh?"

It's not that fairy tales are bad, it's just that Igris thought someone like the witch would read... something more sophisticated.

Surprisingly, she's a very childlike person? I suddenly find her quite adorable.

Igris silently put the bookmark back and the book back in its place before turning her attention to the large bookshelves.

Retrieving a book from up there is definitely a troublesome thing, especially since Igris can't fly. If she could fly, she probably wouldn't have this problem.

However, she is now a little afraid of heights, so not being able to fly doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Lost in thought, Igris randomly picked up a somewhat dusty book and opened it haphazardly.

These books seem to have been here for a long time, but they have always been well maintained, so even now, they haven't suffered much damage.

The book in Igris's hand was different from the one she had read before. Although the writing on the cover had become extremely messy and blurry due to the passage of time, it was still possible to see that the original title of the book was written on it.

And the title of this book is...

"Stop looking, it's time to eat."

Suddenly, the witch appeared behind Igris and gently patted her shoulder.

Igris snapped out of her daze and nodded in response.

Are all these books yours?

She put the book back down and looked at the witch with curiosity.

The witch nodded and said thoughtfully.

"These are all fairy tale books, and they may not contain what you want to read. This is one of my few interests."

Is the entire library filled with fairy tale books?

Igris suddenly felt that she had underestimated the witch in front of her, but then she thought about it again and it didn't seem unreasonable.

If she really did live in a human society a long time ago, collecting so many fairy tale books wouldn't seem like such a difficult thing.

Perhaps the only way she can pass the time is by sitting here and reading these fairy tales.

Looking at it this way, I suddenly felt a little sorry for her.

"Come and eat, this was made especially for you, to thank you for saving my pet."

She spoke lightly as she walked toward the restaurant, her wooden cane occasionally falling to the ground with a dull thud.

She seemed to have really only come to inform Igris, and she didn't seem to mind that Igris hadn't chosen to go with her.

However, this was still the witch's intention, and Igris had to appreciate it to some extent.

Following the witch's departing footsteps, Igris arrived at the restaurant and saw the witch sitting down just moments before.

The long table in front of her was laden with a variety of foods, including meat dishes like steak and roast chicken, as well as vegetarian options like salad and mushroom soup. As soon as she entered the restaurant, the enticing aromas filled her nostrils, whetting her appetite.

"Did you do all of this by yourself?"

Looking at the incredibly luxurious dishes in front of her, Igris found it hard to believe that she had prepared them all by herself in just half an hour.

"Give it a try, this is my first time trying it too."

She took a bite of the bread in her hand and quietly gazed at Igris in front of her.

Beneath those deep purple pupils, it's impossible to tell what he's thinking.

A bizarre stage play – The Prideful Witch and the Wonderland: Chapter 5, The Witch's Request

Aren't you going to eat?

The witch put down the bread in her hand and looked at Igris, who hadn't made a move yet.

Igris sat opposite her, offering only a polite smile, without taking any food.

The witch was puzzled, but then she realized something, and the knife and fork beside her flew up and meticulously cut the food placed in front of Igris into pieces.

She hadn't considered that, for guests who were particularly mindful of their image, it was best not to serve the meat whole, but rather to prepare it in some way.

Even so, Igris still did not try to eat.

The witch frowned again. She didn't understand. It was like a pet having food laid out in front of it, but it wouldn't move an inch, or even try it.

"...Are you afraid I'll poison you?"

The knife and fork, which had been floating in the air, flew to the witch's side, and all she received in return was Igris's smile, without uttering a single word.

It's pretty obvious, isn't it?

No matter how much Igris was willing to trust others, she wouldn't try to eat the food when the other person was just staring at her strangely and not touching the food on the table, but instead just munching on bread.

If these foods are really fine, then why is she constantly eating bread?

"These foods were prepared especially for you, but if you're really worried..."

With a flourish of her knife and fork, she placed all the dishes onto the witch's plate, which she then devoured in one gulp.

She wiped her lips and looked at Igris again.

"Now, everything should be fine, right?"

"Feel sorry."

The unimaginable guilt, perhaps being more vigilant is not a bad thing, but for Igris, it meant she had completely let down the kindness others had shown her.

This might really be disheartening, and it's not what she wanted.

"Eat up. We have other things to talk about after we finish eating."

Under the witch's gaze, Igris hesitated for a moment, but still didn't want to disappoint her any further, so she began to eat slowly.

It must be said that the witch's cooking skills are really good. Although she said it was her first time trying it, it was already more delicious than many of the foods that Igris had eaten.

Of course, the key was the mushroom soup. Igris rarely ate mushrooms, mainly because distinguishing the toxicity of mushrooms was a very troublesome thing.

Different mushrooms can vary greatly, but they may not look very different. Igris, who had accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms due to food shortages, had experienced that feeling firsthand. The mushrooms' hallucinogenic properties left her with a phobia of most wild mushrooms.

But this pot of mushroom soup most likely wiped away the shadow.

Igris's eating speed was hardly fast, after all, she was very conscious of her presence, especially with a witch opposite her who was almost motionless and just staring at her.

However, the meal didn't take too long, largely because Igris's body couldn't handle too much food, so her total food intake was quite small, which naturally shortened the time.

In short, half an hour later, Igris finally put down her knife and fork, wiped her mouth with a tissue that flew towards her, and looked at the witch who had finally sat up straight.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk to me about next?"

The witch nodded, took off her hat, and put it in her bosom.

Her gaze was clear and her expression calm, but her throat bobbed back and forth, as if she was hesitating and had not yet made up her mind.

Knowing that Igris was adjusting her posture because she was a little uncomfortable, she suddenly stood up, interrupting Igris's actions.

"I know what you're looking for."

For the first time, Igris heard a hint of threat in her words.

From the moment they met until just now, this so-called witch had been quite friendly, and even Igris's suspicions about her before she started eating hadn't elicited such a strong reaction from her.

This made Igris frown, and at the same time, she prepared herself to fight at any moment.

But the witch took a deep breath and slowly uttered a single word.

"A secret treasure."

she knows.

No, it's more accurate to say that she knew, and the old priest knew because of his age and his experience of the last time the administrator retrieved the secret treasure.

The witch also knew that because her lifespan was almost infinite, she would naturally know many things that ordinary people did not.

So she not only knew about the existence of the secret treasure, but also knew how to use those things, and even knew that the administrator was Igris.

So perhaps, this is a large part of the reason she invited Igris here.

Because of the secret treasure, because Igris, the administrator of the secret treasure, is searching for it.

"Since you know, you should also know what those things mean to me."

Igris abandoned her previous friendly demeanor and slowly stood up from her seat.

The witch could sense the change in Igris's temperament and noticed the malice that Igris had begun to harbor towards her from time to time.

“Of course I know. I also know that you came here to find that so-called secret treasure. I can tell you where it is, and I can even bring it to you directly.”

But that was the end of her sentence.

She didn't continue speaking; instead, she paused and pondered.

"but?"

Igris's patience was wearing thin. If she really thought that inviting Igris to a meal would stop her from retrieving the treasure, then she was seriously underestimating Igris.

Those things left in the world will only bring disaster, and many people cannot understand this, instead mistakenly believing that they can bring so-called power.

So Igris didn't mind waking up those fools one by one.

"If you want me to hand it over to you, then grant me one request."

transaction.

Igris hates it when anyone tries to negotiate with her.