She is not an investigator.

The two of them trudged slowly forward on the sticky ground.

Soon, they arrived at a flowerbed.

In such an ugly and desolate forest, the flowers were so beautiful and dazzling that it was hard to look away.

Just like the witch who dwells here.

"These flowers are disgusting."

As Krendia spoke, her words betrayed an undisguised disgust, yet her face remained devoid of any emotion.

She waved her hand, and at that moment, those beautiful flowers bloomed completely one by one.

Their petals open, but the already open petals burst open, disintegrate, and die completely.

The witch withdrew her hand and looked at Igris.

"I despise all beauty, whether it be flowers or anything that surrounds me but does not belong to me."

She seemed to be implying something, but she didn't do anything more to Igris and just kept moving forward.

The two continued forward, and soon a red river appeared before them.

"This is water."

Krendia spoke meaningless words, bent down slightly, and reached her hand into the river to touch the flowing, deep red liquid.

In an instant, the flowing red river froze, turning into red ice that covered the riverbed.

The witch stepped onto the ice block, her steps light and graceful, and easily reached the other side of the river, where she looked at Igris.

Igris didn't keep her waiting long, and steadily stepped across the river on the ice.

The witch laughed, a very happy laugh. Igris didn't know what she was laughing at, but perhaps she didn't need to know.

They continued on, but saw rice paddies.

"I love the golden rice, but there are always greedy crows trying to destroy it."

Krentia pointed to several towering figures in the rice paddy and continued speaking.

“That’s a scarecrow, I made it myself, a scarecrow.”

That's not a scarecrow.

That was a corpse, already rotten, with most of the body reduced to bones, a corpse ravaged by crows.

Most of those people's flesh and blood had become food for crows, but their identities remained unknown.

Igris had no intention of harboring ill will towards anyone, including Krentia in front of her.

Now, it seems the witch has stopped trying to hide who she truly is.

“The crows like them, they like the fields, and as long as they are here, the crows will never target my rice fields again.”

She took another step and walked forward again.

Igris followed in her footsteps, no longer looking at the golden rice field.

Soon, their path was blocked.

The road ahead had unknowingly become full of thorns, and on those thorns grew countless blood-red roses.

"The thorny brambles collect the blood of passersby, just to nourish the most beautiful flowers."

The witch waved her hand gently, as if telling a fairy tale.

Suddenly, the thorns in front of them began to sway and, as if by magic, parted to create a narrow path.

"Be careful not to get pricked by them."

Krendia gave Igris some instructions and walked with her to the end of the road.

Finally, they made their way through the thorns, out of the dark forest, and onto a wide, dirt road.

What appeared before them were houses and buildings located not far away.

"We've arrived."

Krendia turned around and introduced Igris softly.

"Welcome to my town."

The Bizarre Stage Play – The Prideful Witch and the Wonderland: Chapter Eighteen, The Illusion

This is a small town with a completely different atmosphere from the forest.

Everything here is quite dreamlike, from the houses whose architectural style is almost identical to that of the last century to the lively and friendly laughter of the people.

This is a fairytale world, a hidden paradise deep in the forest, a world that can almost be called incredible.

Krentia strolled through the town with her, and every resident who passed by would politely stop and bow to the witch in respect.

This is the witch's town, and they respect her as they would their own master.

"Here you have everything you want, whether it's people, entertainment, or anything else you're hoping for but don't know about."

Krentia and Igris arrived at the center of town, where the flow of people was the greatest. People kept offering to help them along the way, but Krentia just nodded slightly and didn't pay much attention.

In the very center of the city, a huge tree stands tall in the square. The tree is not very tall, but it is exceptionally lush, and many strips of cloth are hanging from its branches.

"This is a wishing tree. As long as you pray to it with the most sincere heart, it will grant your wish in the future."

Krentia stood in front of the tree, her hands clasped together in devout prayer, her eyes closed.

Igris followed her example, slowly closing her eyes and silently contemplating her own wishes.

What are Igris's wishes? Actually, she has many. She hopes for world peace, for everyone to be happy, for everyone around her to be happy, and for herself to be happy.

But there were too many wishes. Having once smashed a wishing machine with her own hands, she always remembered that every wish had a price tag attached to it.

So naturally, she wouldn't really pin her hopes on the tree in front of her.

But for Krentia's sake, she didn't mind doing things that would please her at times like this, such as carrying out all the activities of the day according to her script.

When Igris opened her eyes, she found Krentia standing in front of her, staring intently at her face.

Are you curious about my face?

Krentia snapped out of her daze and gently shook her head.

"You remind me of the heroine in a fairy tale... In most works, the heroines always possess a beauty that is difficult to describe in words. Before I met you, I really couldn't imagine that kind of beauty."

“Thank you,” Igris replied naturally.

She had heard countless people say this to her; some were flattering, some were sincere, but in any case, they were telling the truth.

Her appearance can almost be described with a single word: beautiful, and almost no one would disagree with that.

But that doesn't matter, because Igris always remembered that what she truly deserved most was not just that.

"I'm very interested in the opera you mentioned. Would you like to watch it with me?"

Krentia's initiative in extending an invitation to Igris proves that there is indeed an opera house in this town, and even performers.

It was hard to imagine, but Igris didn't intend to refuse.

Today, she would not refuse the invitation that Krentia extended to her.

"Of course, Miss Witch."

Igris chuckled, lowered her head, and adjusted her hat.

Krendia wanted to take this opportunity to hold Igris's hand, but seeing Igris with her head down, she could only give up in frustration and instead gripped her wooden cane.

The two quickly walked along the gravel road toward the town's theater, but Igris' attention was not on their destination at the moment.

She was observing the passersby, those whose faces always wore smiles, seemingly living lives full of joy and free from hardship.

If this were a fairy tale, these characters would be absolutely qualified and perfect supporting roles, but this is not the case.

This is a somewhat pessimistic work of realism, although this pessimism can be transformed into a rather positive and optimistic perspective due to the different viewpoint.

But the suffering between people has never stopped, so they shouldn't be like this, and they shouldn't always maintain a love and positivity for life.

Igris had seen too many fake humans, so although she wasn't very skilled, she could still tell whether these so-called "people" were truly human.

The answer is obvious: no.

Moreover, they can hardly even be called living organisms.

They are more like robots than Momokawa, like puppets made of gears and flesh, only able to perform according to fixed programs.

This is Krentia's town, and these are Krentia's toys.

This is the truth about this town.

Igris had no intention of judging anyone, including witches. She didn't know if Krentia had hurt anyone when she built the town, nor did she know if she chose to build such a fake town because of the harm done to her by others.

But judging from the current situation, she is very willing to share her utopia with Igris.

This is a form of trust, and also an expression of love.

Betraying others was not something Igris wanted to do, but seeking answers was in her nature.

So now...

“Igris, there’s something wrong with the opera house you’re going to. Be careful, don’t fall in.”

The administrator's friendly reminders, and her constant flashes of inspiration.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Spade. Also, I’d prefer you to call me Investigator Aaron now.”

As Igris, she cannot bring herself to do anything that might harm others in order to satisfy her own desires.

So now, she has decided to temporarily pull Aaron out of the sea to do some of the things that an investigator should do.

As for why Igris doesn't intend to do this based on her established persona...

Because she is not an investigator.

"..."

The administrator's silence was deafening, but she was already used to Igris's sudden episodes.

But the caretaker also understood that she was prepared for her sudden illness.

So there's nothing to be afraid of anymore.