Chapter 18
When Monica and the others arrived at the inn, a beautiful woman in the prime of her life, wearing a navy-blue robe, came out to greet them.
"Welcome, travelers. I am the 〈Silent Witch〉 of this village. Have you received your stamp cards yet?"
With that, the Fifth 〈Silent Witch〉 leaned coquettishly against Isaac, emphasizing her ample breasts pushing up against her robe as she smiled sweetly.
"The hot springs here are good for your skin, too. Just look—my skin is smooth as silk... Would you like to touch it?"
"May I have your stamp, my lady?"
Isaac met the beauty's sidelong glance with a smile and quickly held out his stamp card.
The Fifth 〈Silent Witch〉 did not seem offended by Isaac's aloof attitude. Instead, she gave him an extremely seductive smile and pulled something out from between her breasts... a stamp.
(W-why does she keep it in there...? Does that robe not have any pockets...?)
If Monica tried to imitate her, the stamp would surely roll right down to her feet.
As Monica found herself staring intently at the Fifth 〈Silent Witch〉's ample cleavage, the enchantingly beautiful woman noticed her gaze and gave her a gentle smile, like one offered to a child.
Winking as she smiled charmingly and said, "Hiii," she was clearly very accustomed to dealing with tourists.
The Fifth 〈Silent Witch〉 stamped everyone's cards with practiced ease, then gave Isaac a meaningful look at the end.
"I work at 'Lyla's Shop' at night... Come visit me anytime."
With that, the Fifth 〈Silent Witch〉 kissed Isaac on the cheek, waved her hand, and sauntered away.
Even her retreating figure was alluring, probably because the woman knew exactly how beautiful she was and how to show it off.
(...She's so bold. That's incredible.)
As Monica watched the impostor walk away, having completely forgotten that the woman had stolen her name, Isaac tapped her on the shoulder.
When Monica looked up at him, Isaac silently peered intently into her face.
"...? What's wrong, Aike?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering if you really don't get jealous after all."
"…?"
Isaac lowered his eyebrows with a slightly disappointed look, then seemed to pull himself together and adjusted the luggage in his hands.
"No, it's nothing. Come on, let's go to our rooms."
＊ ＊ ＊
As she soaked in the hot spring behind the inn, Monica let out a soft sigh.
When she slowly stretched out her arms and legs, the tips of her limbs, chilled by the outdoor air, gradually grew warm.
There was no one else in the hot spring with Monica. Isabelle and Agatha had already finished bathing, and there were hardly any other guests to begin with. Monica had not seen any other hot-spring visitors while walking around the village, either. It probably was not a very prosperous village.
(Using such a huge bath all by myself is so luxurious... Nero would be jealous if he heard about it.)
Nero, who was practically hibernating this winter, was staying behind at the house in Southdoll. If he found out that Monica and the others had gone to a hot-spring resort, he would surely sulk and complain, "I wanted to go too!" The black dragon who hated the cold loved baths.
(I wonder if I should buy Nero a souvenir... But 〈Silent Witch〉 sablés would be a little too much... Hmm...)
For the record, 〈Silent Witch〉 sablés were perfectly ordinary rectangular sablés, except that the words "Sechen, Village of the 〈Silent Witch〉" were stamped into the center.
If Monica brought some home, Nero would probably clutch his stomach and roll around laughing. Or perhaps he would say something like, "Let's make Worgan's Black Dragon Sablés too!"
While she was thinking about such trivial things, her body had grown thoroughly warm, so Monica decided to get out without soaking for too long.
Monica was prone to becoming absorbed in her thoughts, so whenever she thought in the bath, she sometimes accidentally stayed in too long and became lightheaded.
Not long ago, she had nearly drowned after becoming lightheaded in the bath at home, and Isaac had rescued her.
The embarrassment she had felt when he said, "How can you be stronger than me and still nearly die in such ridiculous situations?" ...was indescribable.
Remembering the incident with an awkward smile, Monica got dressed.
After casually drying her wet hair, she was walking down the hall when she turned a corner and ran into Isaac.
Isaac's hair was damp as well, so he must have just come out of the bath.
"Hey, Monica. You didn't get lightheaded today, did you?"
"Y-yes... I'm terribly sorry for the trouble I caused you back then..."
As Monica shrank in on herself at the memory of nearly drowning, Isaac chuckled and pinched a strand of her still-damp hair between his fingers.
"You need to dry your hair properly, or you'll catch a cold."
"Your hair is still wet too, Aike."
"Mine's short, so it'll dry quickly."
Saying that, Isaac took the hand towel from Monica and carefully dried her hair.
As Monica stood silently and let him do as he pleased, Isaac bent slightly and peered into her face.
His blue eyes, closer than usual, seemed to be trying to convey something.
Whenever Isaac fixated on something, a flame of obsession lit in the depths of his beautiful eyes.
Even so, Monica still could not figure out what Isaac was thinking. As she gazed blankly into his blue eyes, Isaac lowered his eyebrows slightly and smiled.
"Ah, good."
"…?"
"That you didn't reject me."
Unable to understand what Isaac really meant, Monica blinked at him in confusion.
Isaac stopped drying her hair and used his fingertips to straighten her bangs.
"You're especially afraid of tall men, aren't you?"
"...!"
He had hit the mark. Monica was afraid of men in general, but she was especially frightened of tall ones.
Monica's uncle, who had beaten her as a child, had been tall. Because of that, whenever a tall man stood in front of her, Monica could not help shrinking back.
Until a few years ago, she had even been afraid of Nero when he took human form. It was not unusual for Monica to freeze in terror whenever Nero transformed into a human. To Monica, humans had been more frightening than black dragons.
But she had never expected Isaac to see through that.
"...How did you notice...?"
"Do you remember practicing dancing when you had just arrived at Serendia Academy?"
"Y-yes..."
Monica and Glenn had needed remedial lessons after failing the dance test, so Neil, Lana, Isaac, and Cyril had helped them.
It was a fond memory of making it through the dance by becoming mesmerized by the pattern on Isaac's scarf.
"Back then, even if you weren't conscious of it... whenever Dudley-kun and I stood near you, your whole body would tense up terribly."
"...Huh?"
"So I thought you might be afraid of men, but you didn't react that way around Cyril or Neil... The only thing Dudley-kun and I have in common is probably our height, right?"
Isaac was right.
Back then, Monica had only just met Glenn and had not yet opened up to him, so she had still felt uneasy around him.
More than anything, Monica had been terrified of tall men with loud voices.
"...I suppose that's true."
Whenever someone held a hand over her head, Monica would imagine it coming down on her. She would instinctively want to protect her head and curl up.
"But I'm all right now. I know that you and Glenn-san... wouldn't hurt me, and that you're both kind."
When Monica said that with an uncertain smile, Isaac laughed, his throat trembling softly.
Then he placed a hand against Monica's cheek. Perhaps because he had just come out of the bath, his hand was damp and slightly warm.
"This is a problem. If you say things like that, I won't be able to do anything cruel to you."
"Eep?! D-do you want to do something cruel to me?"
At Monica's voice, which rose into a squeak, Isaac smiled sweetly and said,
"Your cheeks are nice to pinch."
"Pinchability?!"
"Oops, I misspoke. I meant they're nice to touch."
Monica immediately sprang backward in a bizarre backstep and guarded her cheeks with both hands.
At that strange movement, Isaac finally burst out laughing.
"Just kidding. Surely I wouldn't do anything so cruel to the master I revere, would I?"
"R-right. It was a joke, wasn't it?"
When Monica sighed in relief and lowered the hands guarding her cheeks, Isaac smiled, stepped closer, and raised one hand... as though he were aiming for her cheek.
Monica immediately raised both hands to guard her cheeks and glared up at Isaac.
"Um, y-you're not going to pinch me, right?"
"I wonder."
"I-I don't like pain..."
When Monica protested in a fading voice, Isaac narrowed his eyes meaningfully.
"So, as long as it doesn't hurt, that's all right?"
"…Huh?"
Isaac seized the wrist of the hand Monica had been using to guard her cheek.
Then, without being rough but with an irresistible strength, he pressed it against the wall behind her.
As Monica stared blankly, Isaac's tall body loomed over her...
Creak...
The old door's hinges groaned.
When Monica and Isaac both turned toward the sound, they made eye contact with Isabelle, who was peeking at them through a door opened just a crack.
Isabelle gave a cute little cry of "Eek!" and slammed the door shut.
"I didn't see a thing. Please, go right ahead! Continue!"
As far as Monica was concerned, she could not let him continue and pinch her cheek, so the moment Isaac's grip loosened, she hurriedly slipped past him and fled into Isabelle's room.
Inside, Isabelle and Agatha were holding hands and getting extremely excited.
They wore the same expressions they had worn back at Serendia Academy when they had become absorbed in playing at being villainesses.
"Ah, as I thought, Big Sis is my heroine..."
"A prince cornering the heroine against a wall... It's just like the scenes I've read in novels, my lady."
"Personally, I would like to see the version where he puts his hand against the wall instead of grabbing her wrist...!"
"Kyaa! I know exactly what you mean!"
Monica had no idea what to do.
She could not understand at all what the two of them were getting so excited about.
"Um..."
Even when Monica timidly tried to speak to them, Isabelle and Agatha continued squealing excitedly as though they could not hear her.
As Monica stood there at a loss, the door behind her opened a little. It was Isaac.
"Excuse me, Miss Isabelle. I'd like to discuss our plans, but I feel awkward entering a lady's room. Shall we move somewhere else?"
At Isaac's words, Isabelle immediately composed herself and replied,
"No, my room is fine. It would be troublesome if someone at this inn overheard us."
"In that case, I'll take you up on your offer."
When Isaac entered the room, Agatha quickly ushered everyone toward chairs, and both Isabelle and Isaac sat down as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Their sudden shift in mood was so quick that it was as if the exchange from a few seconds earlier had never happened.
Monica timidly took a seat as well, and Isabelle immediately got to the main point.
"Now, then, as for what we should do about this village..."
At Isabelle's words, Monica grew flustered.
She certainly wanted them to stop using her name, but if possible, she did not want to make a big incident out of it.
"Um, I think the best thing would be to ask the village representative to stop..."
For Monica, merely suggesting that they go ask a stranger to stop was already a huge step forward.
But Isabelle looked at Monica and smiled softly.
"Don't worry, Big Sis. There is a standard procedure for situations like this."
"...S-standard procedure?"
Isabelle nodded and opened her eyes wide, then began speaking in a theatrical tone.
"Wicked villagers pretending to be the 〈Silent Witch〉 and making money! Then a sudden crisis arrives! In this case, a dragon or bandit attack would be standard. In any event, the villagers find themselves in danger and panic!"
"Um...?"
"Then the real 〈Silent Witch〉 swoops in and smoothly resolves the incident with silent-casting magic! The villagers will be so grateful to Big Sis that they are certain to mend their ways!"
Monica, who knew little of the world, did not really understand, but according to Isabelle, this was the standard procedure whenever an impostor appeared.
"C-could a village really end up in danger so conveniently...?"
At Monica's skeptical expression, Isaac gently cut in.
"Don't worry. There are plenty of people who can be motivated with money. If necessary, I could arrange for some people to play bandits right away."
Monica looked up at her disciple with a strained expression as he calmly suggested something utterly outrageous.
"A-Aike? That... was a joke, right?"
His only answer was a silent smile.
Remembering Isaac's expression as he had seriously tried to bring a hunting rifle to the house in Southdoll, Monica trembled with fear.
Both Isabelle and Isaac were normally splendid ladies and gentlemen, possessed of common sense and refinement.
However, regarding this matter, both of them seemed to have cast the word "mercy" aside completely.
To make matters worse, both of them were terrifyingly capable and proactive.
After all, one was the Second Prince, Duke of Erin, and the other was the daughter of the great eastern noble house of Count Kerbeck.
If Monica did not stop them, they might act immediately.
With grim determination, Monica admonished them, thinking that she had to do something.
"N-no, you can't! That's not right! Tomorrow, let's talk things over properly with the villagers!"
"But, Big Sis..."
"The villagers might have their own circumstances... I want to resolve this peacefully!"
Isabelle and Isaac continued suggesting one alarming solution after another, but Monica stubbornly refused to agree to any of them.
Otherwise, an entire village might disappear from the map.
That was how merciless Isaac and Isabelle were at the moment.
＊ ＊ ＊
The standard procedure Isabelle had passionately described was, in fact, right on the mark.
At this very moment, a crisis was bearing down on Sechen Village.
However, the threat approaching the village was neither a dragon nor bandits.
"Mmm, mm-mm-mm. So this is the village where the 〈Silent Witch〉 is... I've come to meet you, my queen."
In some ways, it was a crisis worse than bandits.