She is not an investigator.

"You'd better think it over carefully and see if you really want to do this."

Igris raised her hand, and in her hand, she gripped a pistol tightly.

You must promise me.

She also raised her hand, and in her hand was the wooden staff.

During the stalemate, the witch continued.

"I'll give you that thing if you can satisfy me. Otherwise, even if you kill me, you'll still have a hard time finding that secret treasure."

"Tsk..."

Igris clicked her tongue and asked somewhat impatiently.

Tell me what you need.

She compromised, perhaps just to hear just how absurd her wish really was.

The witch slowly lowered the wooden staff in her hand, let out a long sigh, and said.

"I need love."

The bizarre stage play – The Prideful Witch and the Wonderland: Chapter Six, What is Love?

What is love?

The witch pondered this question countless times throughout her long life.

She had read many fairy tales, many of which celebrated pure love, as if love were the greatest thing in the world, captivating all who heard them.

So she often wondered what love really was.

As a witch, she was always alone.

She had never seen her parents, had no companions, could not form a group with witches, and could not live in harmony with humans.

She was like someone completely isolated from the world, someone even the gods would despise and not favor.

So she began to loathe everything, she began to disregard everything, she became the legendary witch, filled with arrogance and prejudice towards all living beings around her except herself.

So she hid, she hid in the Black Forest, she hid in this abandoned castle.

Time did not heal her pain; what truly drove her to try to make changes were still those fairy tales.

The story of how the happy will eventually be happy, and how the unhappy will be redeemed.

Those stories were too unreal, yet too beautiful. She too needed redemption, and she too needed a more beautiful life.

Her power couldn't do it, her magic, her research—none of it could.

But love can do everything.

and so.

"I need love."

The witch said this.

The gun barrel trembled slightly, and Igris's wrist slowly fell, an indescribable expression appearing on her face.

She couldn't understand what the other person truly needed, or what love was. She herself didn't know either.

This deal was destined to fail.

"You have one month to live here. Regardless of whether I eventually feel the existence of that so-called love, I will return that secret to you and let you leave."

This is the witch's final retreat.

Otherwise, she would give her life for it.

"..."

Igris was lost in thought, but her finger had already left the trigger, and her killing intent and fighting spirit had vanished completely.

If what the witch said is true, and Igris only needs to stay here for a month to obtain the secret treasure, then perhaps she wouldn't hesitate at all.

But what exactly is love?

Will she really find it? If she does, what will happen? And what will Igris do?

She has never been good at handling these kinds of things, but at this moment she seemed to have no choice but to make one.

To agree to her request, or to refuse and kill her.

She couldn't bring herself to do it.

"...I promise you."

Igris put the pistol back at her waist and let go of her prejudice against her.

She treated Igris with sincerity, and that was Igris's response to her.

"During this month, I will do my best to satisfy you within the limits of what I can accept. After this month, you must return the secret to me as you said and send me away from here."

Igris sat back down in her seat, and the witch silently sat back down as well, nodding slightly.

The two sat facing each other, speechless.

Until, drowsiness came over me.

…………

first day.

Today is the first day that Igris promised her. The witch found her a room that is very close by; the witch's room is right across from Igris's room.

The room was very clean, showing that the witch was a very clean person. Although there was not much decoration, the bed was still soft and warm, and there was no damage or other problems.

After that, the witch also told Igris her name.

Clendia Valentian.

A genuine witch.

She possesses many supernatural spells, and unlike witches' sorcery, she seems to be genuinely studying magic itself.

Her talents were not only evident in her exceptional learning abilities, but also in her incredible imagination. One could argue that she cannot truly be considered a witch, as witches are far too materialistic.

The magic she displayed was the result of her learning, completely different from the witchcraft that witches are born with. From the moment Igris entered the castle, she had already demonstrated abilities including flight and telekinesis, and she was exceptionally skilled at them.

Igris had no doubt that if she refused her in the deal, she would likely be met with a fireball.

Of course, that kind of attack wouldn't have any effect on Igris.

Although Igris didn't feel she had any choice in this matter, the administrator continued to attack and criticize her relentlessly.

This included, but was not limited to, attacks on her thick skin, soft heart, and appearance, which led Igris to consider simply silencing her.

However, she couldn't do it, and she would be scolded even more severely if she did, so she had no choice but to comply.

In short, Igris slept very well on her first night in the castle, firstly because the bed was comfortable, and secondly because the bed was really comfortable.

So Igris fell asleep almost without any difficulty, and when she opened her eyes, light was already streaming through the window onto her face.

Because of the castle's unique location, it gets light very early; around 5:30 a.m., it's already getting dimly lit outside.

Through the windows, you can see the huge drop between the castle and the ground, which is a blessing for people with a fear of heights.

Since it was still early, Igris simply stayed curled up in bed and spaced out.

On the surface, she was spacing out, but in reality, she was just looking at the clothes hanging by her bed, listening to the housekeeper's constant criticism and exasperated sighs in her head.

The lively atmosphere was quite nice.

"...Fine, no matter what I say, you won't listen, and you'll just find me annoying."

The administrator gave up, and Igris was truly like a stone, without even the desire to refute.

Actually, it wasn't that Igris didn't want to argue back, but the thought of the caregiver worrying about her foolish actions, and being unable to help but scold her while not daring to say anything too serious for fear of really hurting her, made her feel inexplicably happy.

She probably does have some kind of mental illness.

"Mirror Demon".

Igris called softly in the room, and a small head suddenly popped out of the coat pocket hanging by the bed. It looked around and finally fixed its gaze on Igris.

The Mirror Demon jumped out and landed on the floor, where it took on the appearance of Igris.

"Igris~ Did you miss me~?"

The Mirror Demon grinned and approached. Looking at her own body in this pose, Igris did feel a bit strange.

However, Igris summoned the Mirror Demon for another reason.

"The scenery here is quite nice."

She hadn't forgotten what she had said to the Mirror Demon back then.

Sooner or later, she will take the Mirror Demon to travel all over the world and witness all kinds of scenery.

Of course, this includes now as well.

The bizarre stage play - The Prideful Witch and the Wonder Kingdom: Chapter Seven, Masterful Handling?

At 8:30, there was a knock on Igris's door.

There is no one else in this castle who would knock on the door, and Igris had indeed woken up a long time ago and was in the room discussing with the Mirror Demon how big a bird it could turn into.

After the knocking sounded, the Mirror Demon quickly slipped back into Igris's pocket, returned to the mirror, and completely hid itself.

Igris arrived at the door and slowly opened her door a crack.

It was indeed Krentia outside the door. This witch was as exquisite as she had been yesterday, with a faint fragrance on her body. It didn't seem like a natural body scent, but rather more like some kind of perfume or something similar. It was clear that she had put in some effort when she got up.

However, it is worth noting that, whether it was because she was not used to waking up at this time or for some other reason, she did not seem to be very clear-headed. Her long hair, which should have been well-groomed, was sticking up mischievously. But she still looked serious and greeted Igris.

Good morning, are you ready for breakfast?

She waved her hand, and Igris opened the door completely, nodding slightly.

"Of course, I hope our time together today will be a little more pleasant."

Igris will never forget why she stayed here, nor will she forget what she truly needs.

Love.

She certainly didn't know how to give this to the witch in front of her, but if she was just pretending to be a relatively considerate companion, she did know what to do.