Chapter 117
Odilia stared at him as if entranced.
Normally, she would have shouted at him not to bluff and immediately pulled the trigger, but strangely, this time the man's words didn't feel like a bluff. Rather, it felt like they were created by abbreviating and hiding what she should have said originally.
But her pride wouldn't allow her to just sit down quietly.
Her ego, hardened over the years, was vehemently refusing to kneel and give in to what the other party wanted in this situation. Rationally thinking, it would be best to do as the man in front of her says for now, gather information, and gain an opportunity, but her pride - her pride as a Grand Witch - was refusing that choice.
After being in this awkward standoff for a while–
Odilia suddenly thought she had heard the man's way of speaking somewhere before.
Where had she heard it?
Where had she heard such a peculiar way of speaking?
Where had she heard that way of speaking no different from an old person's?
After pondering for a long time, something occurred to her.
"Sorcerer."
It was the word 'sorcerer'.
But the man showed no particular reaction to those words.
It was only natural.
What else could someone who used 'The Hammer that Judges Witches' and controlled evil spirits and shadows be if not a sorcerer?
"You're a sorcerer."
But the witch succeeded in inferring something from this obvious word.
The sorcerer who had said words that shook her life.
The sorcerer who had grilled her with a voice that bewitched people.
That man with an old voice who said he came to save an unsightly lump of baggage he saw in trouble while passing by.
That sorcerer who shook her with stories about 'Hans' that no one should know.
"The sorcerer who talked to me on the phone-!"
Jinseong nodded at Odilia's exclamation as if it was the correct answer and stood up from his seat. Then he approached her, gently pressed her right shoulder, and whispered in her ear.
"If you understand, then sit down now."
Then he slightly applied force to his hand to make her sit in the chair, and sat down opposite her.
Odilia didn't burst into anger even though she was forced to sit down by Jinseong. Instead of an indignant expression, her face was full of confusion. It was terrible confusion, similar to the confusion one might feel when witnessing someone they thought was on their side betraying them.
Jinseong quietly observed that expression and asked.
"Witch. What is so confusing?"
"Why..."
The Grand Witch looked at Jinseong with a confused expression.
"Why are you doing this?"
It was a question filled with numerous meanings.
Why did you use the Malleus Maleficarum on me?
Why did you pretend to be an innocent boy and lure me here?
Why are you persecuting me like this?
Why.
Why.
All these questions were contained in it.
But the most important among these questions would be this.
"You're a witch. You must be curious. Everything I said has come true, and I said I would grant what you want as far as I'm able, so why am I doing this? You must be curious about that. Why, when I said I would willingly pay the price, am I creating such a threatening... Yes, oppressive and scary atmosphere, you must be wondering."
The question of why he was doing this to someone who said they would pay the price.
Odilia, with a slightly dazed expression, nodded.
It was a sign of affirmation.
"Even a robber doesn't harm those who willingly give up their possessions, and even beasts don't take the life of those who offer them food. If even lowly creatures and beasts are like this, how could a sorcerer who lives close to humans harm those who pay money? Even mercenaries called the ‘dead of money’ don't harm their clients, and even merchants who would sell their own lives for a single gold coin don't cut off their own money source! However."
Jinseong smiled coldly.
"If one cannot pay, there might be room for leniency, but trying to reduce the amount means that the proper price is not being paid."
He asked.
Did you truly intend to pay the price properly?
When you heard that the sorcerer was the older brother of Ella's friend, and realized he was a minor.
Did you really intend to pay the price you had thought of beforehand straightforwardly?
"You offered a blank check in words, but that was when you thought the sorcerer was a renowned person. Now, witch. Tell me about myself."
"P-Park Jinseong..."
"What country is he from?"
"Unified Korea..."
Odilia, perhaps overwhelmed by the atmosphere, answered Jinseong's questions obediently.
"Yes. A minor from Unified Korea."
He spoke to Odilia incessantly.
"Übermensch, Übermensch. Witch who now uses the surname Reich. Witch who was once nothing more than the daughter of a tailor family. When your insignificant surname Schneider changed, what did you feel? When you escaped from a life surrounded by shabby clothes and worrying about your next meal, and were granted an incredibly splendid surname, what did you think?"
Jinseong brought his face close to Odilia and said.
"The great Führer Adolf Hitler, hahaha. Yes. That great third-rate magician said this. Oh, behold the purity of the Aryan race here. See the potential of this great Aryan. The Germanic people are the race that will rule the world, and here is the proof. Here, the brilliant potential of the Germanic people has blossomed. It has blossomed like this among the corrupt and useless ones, so this is truly a great being. Therefore, in the name of the great Germanic people, I will grant your master a new surname, and it shall be passed down through generations. That name is."
And bringing his face close enough for his breath to touch, he whispered quietly.
"Reich."
Clatter.
At those words, Odilia unconsciously pulled her body back as if feeling insects crawling on her. The chair legs made a noise as they scraped against the floor, and at that sound, she snapped back to her senses and glared at Jinseong.
"...Yes. Yes... That's right..."
Odilia, having come to her senses, affirmed his words.
But unlike earlier when she had been spewing words filled with all sorts of emotions, her tone had become subdued, and her speech, which had been alternating between informal and semi-formal, had somehow changed to formal speech. This was nothing if not a sign that she had been overwhelmed by Jinseong's atmosphere.
Jinseong inwardly smiled slightly at this sight.
Weak to the strong, and endlessly strong to the weak. It seems that unlike before the regression, her temperament isn't endlessly nasty yet, but that aspect hasn't changed.
Perhaps it was because of such an aspect that she had survived.
She survived because she bowed her head to Nazi Germany, which was an overwhelming power and madness itself, and she reached the level of Grand Witch now because she bowed her head to her master who was proud of collaborating with the Nazis.
Being easily submissive means being easy to control with words, and being easily influenced means having thin ears. No wonder she got thoroughly caught by a religious person before the regression, lost her wits, and met a terrible end.
She wasn't the scum of humanity.
She couldn't forget Hans, her first love, so she was incredibly warm to Jews, absolutely refused to be involved in the Holocaust, and did favors by helping Jews escape within the range she could manage. Because of that, she was able to be released unscathed from the war crimes trials, was recognized by everyone to continue using the surname Reich, and was able to become the owner of a global company with the help of numerous Jews she had saved.
Moreover, although she tended to treat those she considered subordinates carelessly, there was a minimum line there. She was good at grasping people's strengths and weaknesses, so she never treated those she thought were stronger than her carelessly.
But in her later years, she got caught by one religious person, gave away all her money, crossed even the minimum line she had been keeping to squeeze out more money, and finally, as if she had gone senile, she tried to shortchange mercenaries and met a terrible death.
"Witch. I know you. I know your past. I know your future. So why are you trying to lie to me? Why are you trying to hide your intentions from me?"
"That."
Odilia tried to say something but swallowed it back.
It was because she was overwhelmed by Jinseong's words glaring at her from close by.
"Witch. I ask you. What did you think when you heard that I was from Unified Korea?"
"..."
"Yes. You must have thought like this. How could such a small country have such a sorcerer? Ah, it's a country that was annexed by Japan, so there might be someone who learned sorcery there. Then it must be someone old."
Odilia's eyes slightly widened at those words.
Jinseong continued speaking while closely observing her expressions, the movement of her eyes, changes in pupil size, the twitching of her nose, and the movement of her mouth.
"But how could this be. You even heard that he's a minor. Then, witch. What came to your mind? What on earth did you think of when you heard 'minor sorcerer from Unified Korea'? From the way he speaks, it's an old man's voice, and what he says is clearly that of a sorcerer. And he knows things that no one else knows, so he's clearly not a con artist. Then what on earth could it be."
Jinseong spoke slowly while closely observing her expression.
"Is it a sorcerer hiding his identity?"
"..."
"Is it a mystery created by sorcery?"
"..."
"Is it possible because he's a prophet?"
"..."
Three questions.
Two of the same reactions.
One special reaction.
"Yes. Witch, you thought all of this was possible because he knows the future."
Jinseong continued speaking nonchalantly.
Nonchalantly.
It looked almost... like solving a problem while looking at the answer sheet.