She is not an investigator.

"Then, please wait a moment."

It's 8:30 now, which means she hasn't even prepared breakfast yet, which shows that her usual routine isn't very proactive.

But it doesn't matter, at least she will take good care of the witch in front of her while Igris is here.

"Would you mind if I used the kitchen for a bit? You still look very tired. If you didn't sleep well, you can go back to sleep and I can also show you my cooking skills."

Igris has no culinary skills; what she makes is merely edible and not bad, rarely earning any particularly positive reviews. However, preparing breakfast is definitely more suitable for her, as it only requires convenient fast food, which is essentially food for nutrition and to fill the stomach, and the taste is almost the same no matter how it's prepared.

The most typical example is the combination of milk and sandwiches. Although it may seem perfunctory, it is indeed very constructive.

However, Krentia didn't seem to expect Igris to say that, and instead stared wide-eyed in surprise.

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, refusing uncertainly.

"No, that's not necessary. It's my job. I should make you feel more comfortable, not cause you trouble."

Strangely, Igris didn't know where her thoughts came from, but the only thing she knew was that love was something that was hard to obtain through one-sided giving. Even if she could take meticulous care of Igris, it didn't mean that Igris might fall in love with her because of it.

Therefore, mutual actions are a better choice in comparison.

"For the sake of your wish, listen to me now."

Igris walked out of the room, pulled Krentia, who was standing blankly at the door, aside, and headed towards the kitchen on her own.

"and many more……"

Suddenly, Krendia grabbed Igris's arm, and Igris turned her head to look at the hand that was holding her arm.

Faced with Igris's emotionless gaze, Krentia silently released her hand and lowered her head.

"……sorry."

Meaningless apologies, reckless behavior, and overconfident plans.

All of this demonstrates that she indeed lacks experience in interacting with others and has difficulty accurately assessing interpersonal relationships.

However, this is not a major problem.

"I told you, all you need to do now is obey."

She was a pitiful person, and Igris pitied her but had no intention of giving her anything, so whether she ultimately got what she wanted or not, she would have to ask for it herself.

Igris slowly approached her, then suddenly grabbed her chin and forcefully lifted her lowered head.

Her gaze remained serene, seemingly unaffected by Igris's actions, only a deep sadness emanating from within.

Don't forget.

Igris closed the distance between them and slowly pressed her forehead against Igris's.

This action brought them infinitely closer, to the point that if Krentia wanted, she could easily tilt her head back and kiss those lips.

But she was unable to move at this moment, and could only barely lift her eyes, forced to look at Igris's cunning heterochromatic pupils.

"For love, you always have to make some small sacrifices."

"..."

Silence lingered in the witch's mouth, and Igris, not intending to make things difficult for her any further, chuckled and distanced herself from the witch before heading towards the kitchen.

She was going to cook something for herself and for Krentia.

"I've never seen you use this trick on anyone else."

Some jarring voices suddenly rang out, and the manager's words carried a hint of sarcasm, a touch of indifference, and a trace of doubt.

She rarely saw Igris treat her friends, her "superficial friends," like that.

Is this something so hard to understand?

Igris shrugged dismissively and explained.

"You can't threaten someone who's ready to die with their life, because they'll just go ahead and die to disrupt your plans. And if you put this in someone else's shoes, do you think they'd just stand there dumbfounded?"

"The answer is: no, of course not. They would only take advantage of me or do something even more outrageous, which is not what I want and will not achieve my goal."

Igris is a smarter person now; at least she no longer truly believes that her friends' feelings for her are just friendship.

"So you were certain the witch wouldn't do anything to you, which is why you dared to act this way towards her?"

The administrator's voice trailed off, carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and complaint as she continued.

"Your plan is good, but this kind of thing only works in a short time. You'd better know when your deadline is, so as not to get yourself into a situation you can't get out of."

Igris smiled, picked up a kitchen knife, and gently waved it in her hand.

"Of course I know that the witches living here will be much more oblivious than most people. So we can certainly relax a bit more."

The cleaver fell, and the toast on the cutting board was precisely sliced.

The bizarre stage play – The Prideful Witch and the Wonderland: Chapter Eight, Stop the Fantasy

"Oh, you're here."

In the hall, Krendia was staring blankly out the window when, without her noticing, Igris appeared behind her, carrying a plate.

"This is breakfast. Of course, since it's so simple, there's no need for us to go to a restaurant. Why don't we try it?"

Looking at the sandwich on the plate, Krentia subconsciously swallowed and eagerly took it in her hand.

The sandwich wasn't exactly delicious, and most of the ingredients were leftovers from yesterday, but it looked quite appealing, and it was the first time the witch had ever tried eating food made by someone else.

Or rather, the food that others made for her.

"...You don't need to force yourself too much because of that. Even if you do nothing, I won't break my promise. I'll let you go in a month and give you the secret treasure, so you don't need to..."

"I don't need to do anything for you?"

Igris interrupted her and snatched the sandwich back from her hand.

"You're right, I really don't need to do anything for you, even if it's something I do voluntarily. But since you don't appreciate it, then forget it, I'll just throw it away."

Igris wouldn't give her another chance to continue with that awkward mindset; she needed to make some changes, and Igris was happy to be her guide.

"Wait...we can't waste food."

She blocked Igris's way again, but Igris nimbly dodged her, muttering to herself as she walked.

"Anyway, it was made especially for you. If you're not going to eat it, it's better to throw it away. It's just a pity to waste my good intentions."

"Wait! I, I'll eat."

She stopped Igris again, and with a determined heart, reached out her hand to Igris.

But would Igris really hand over the food so easily? No way, she needed to know the consequences of refusing Igris.

"You've already missed this opportunity. The best place for this rejected food now is in the trash can."

Igris still didn't intend to hand the sandwich to Krentia, who got a little impatient and actually started to snatch it from her.

However, the witch's agility was far inferior to Igris's, so even when she tried to snatch it from her hand, Igris dodged in advance and used her other free arm to lock it into her arms.

“Rejecting me comes at a price. I’ve given you one chance, but it won’t be so easy to get this gift back.”

Igris waved the sandwich in front of her, but the witch suddenly raised her head and took a bite out of Igris's hand... or rather, the sandwich in her hand.

Startled, Igris's hand trembled instantly, and the sandwich slipped from her grasp and fell toward the ground.

Just as the sandwich was about to touch the ground, it suddenly defied the laws of physics and flew up, directly back to Krentia and willingly crawled into her mouth.

Unfortunately, because the sandwich was too big and her mouth was too small, she couldn't swallow it all at once. She could only puff out her cheeks, and even chewing became extremely difficult.

"Um-"

"Spit it out before you speak..."

Seeing the witch with a sandwich in her mouth, Igris chuckled and let her go. She watched as the witch reluctantly took a portion of the sandwich out of her mouth and swallowed it whole.

After swallowing it, she didn't even take a breath before stuffing the rest into her mouth in one go, eating it all up, as if she was really afraid that Igris would snatch it from her mouth.

Only after she had completely chewed did she rub her cheeks and look at Igris, who was trying not to laugh.

"…I'm stuffed."

Perhaps it was because Igris's attempt to suppress her laughter was too obvious, she rarely showed a somewhat unhappy expression, and recalling how Igris had just locked her in his arms, she became even angrier.

But as a witch, even if she's angry, she can't actually rush at Igris and fight her.

Not to mention that she has a very high chance of losing to Igris.

Thinking about it that way, I suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.

"what about the taste?"

Only now did Igris remember to ask about the taste.

But asking doesn't really make any sense, since it's just a sandwich, how delicious can it be?

Moreover, judging from the way Krentia swallowed it, it's truly remarkable that she could taste it.

As expected, when faced with Igris's question, she remained strangely silent for a moment before nodding.

"It's...it's alright..."

Actually, she didn't know the specific taste either.

However, Igris didn't mind, as long as the goal was achieved.

I never expected that having a meal would cause so much trouble. Luckily, Igris had already eaten before coming.

"Speaking of which, what were you looking at just now?"

Before she arrived, Krentia seemed to be looking out the window. The castle was perched on a cliff, and the view from the window was probably limited to the forest below and the distant horizon.

When confronted by Igris's question, Krentia, contrary to her usual behavior, smoothed her long hair and hesitated to speak.

She seemed... a little embarrassed?

"It's quite rare to see you like this."

"...Won't you be bored staying here?" she replied.

She might be changing the subject, or she might genuinely care about the issue.

She has lived here for a long time, so she knows that it would be a lie to say that she wouldn't be bored in such a deserted place, which is why she collects so many fairy tale books.

But not everyone is like her, finding joy in reading childish fairy tales. So if Igris is truly uncomfortable with this, she must find other solutions.