Dorothea’s party’s plan to have the Witch of the North acknowledge this incident as real was a very uncomfortable and fatal move from the Tower of Control’s perspective.

No matter how much others might claim that incident was true, they had the power to suppress those voices.

Even if it was another tower head, they could at least raise their voices against the other’s claims, calling it slander and scheming.

However, the Witch of the North was an exception.

Even if she had relinquished most of her political power, the fact that the Witch of the North was the Magic State’s greatest mage remained unchanged.

To ignore the Witch of the North’s testimony, they would have to claim that the Witch of the North lied or that Dorothea’s party’s fabrication skills were superior to the Witch of the North’s and deceived her, but neither was easily acceptable in the Magic State.

But as crisis and opportunity were two sides of the same coin.

If they could only draw the Witch of the North to the Tower of Control’s side.

If the Witch of the North testified that all the evidence submitted by Dorothea’s party was fake.

Not only could they escape from their current cornered situation, but they could even use this incident to pressure other towers.

“—So, you betrayed your teacher and stabbed her in the back? What a vicious mentee you are,” mockery leaked from the mouth of the evil witch, Mombi.

Though her appearance was identical to Orin’s, her gestures and expressions were surrounded by an indescribable malevolence.

The gray old man answered in an extremely calm tone, “Aren’t you my teacher as well?”

Orin and Mombi. The two Witches of the North were not separate entities.

They might have been once, but after sharing one body for a long time, the boundary line dividing the two had become quite blurred.

“I know that when Teacher Orin taught me, you were also inside her. I know that you share the same memories as her. Then my actions could also be seen as saving another teacher.”

“You certainly know how to use your tongue.”

Mombi dragged a nearby chair with a scraping sound, then sat down on it roughly.

“Did you think I would feel some gratitude towards you if you said that? Stupid and foolish Orin might have been deceived by your eloquence, but I’m different,” a cold sneer settled on the witch’s lips. “Your plan only has meaning if I fully cooperate with you. Why should I, who have finally regained freedom, go along with such a trivial matter? Why should I do something that only benefits you? Hmm?”

Without any preliminary motion, Mombi’s fingers turned into long blades.

Crossing her fingers like scissors, Mombi sneered with the gray old man’s neck between those blades.

Gratitude for releasing the seal? Such a thing didn’t exist.

The gray old man had only brought her out for his own purposes, after all.

No, even if he had saved her out of pure goodwill, Mombi wouldn’t have harbored even a bit of gratitude.

“Isn’t it much better for me to become queen rather than being conveniently used to make you the king of this nation?”

“If that’s what you wish, Teacher, surely it will be so.”

The gray old man didn’t deny it.

Nor did he panic.

He simply stated the facts calmly.

“But, would that be alright? It would be troublesome, wouldn’t it? The position of king.”

What one valued differed from person to person.

It wasn’t uncommon for something invaluable to one person to be worth less than a scrap of paper to another.

The gray old man loved the throne, and even the various duties and responsibilities that came with the position of king were merely means for him to confirm his power.

But he asserted it would be different for Mombi.

“Ha, hahaha! That’s right! That’s right! You know well! The duties and responsibilities of a king are just bothersome. I’ve tried it a few times, but it was such boring days that I could barely endure even a month.”

“Then what reason is there for us not to join hands? I’ll sit on the throne, and you can live as you wish under my reign.”

“Oh? Can you handle it?”

“This nation is vast.”

It meant that even if Mombi consumed a domain or two for amusement, there was still plenty of land elsewhere.

Of course, that wasn’t to say there wouldn’t be any damage─

“—It’s a treasure I can’t obtain without your help anyway, Teacher. Then shouldn’t we worry about it after getting it in our hands first?”

At the gray old man’s words, the evil witch burst into laughter.

Holding her stomach and giggling with her hands now returned to their original form, Mombi soon nodded.

“Fine, alright. Then I should cooperate. So, what do you want?”

“The head of the Tower of Protection is urging other tower heads to respond, saying that you ‘acknowledged’ the evidence. A meeting of tower heads will be held soon. There, you need to say that the evidence is false, that the Tower of Protection head and Gale Elilaz, along with those witches, became a group and tried to deceive you, but you somehow saw through it.”

“The tide will turn in an instant. The Tower of Protection will surely be in trouble.”

“Foresight is cautious but slow, and Annihilation is violent but easy to handle. Once we cut off Protection’s limbs, the rest will be resolved smoothly.”

It was while the two were plotting such an evil conspiracy.

Suddenly, a magic tool placed in a corner of the mansion emitted light.

Mombi’s eyes narrowed.

“…It’s Gale and the Tower of Protection.”

“How strange. There shouldn’t have been any additional visits scheduled for today.”

The gray old man was a person who combined boldness and caution.

He had visited the Witch of the North after confirming through a spy planted in the Tower of Protection that no one was scheduled to visit the witch’s mansion.

That meant something had suddenly changed the schedule.

Towards the gray old man who showed wariness, the witch smiled leisurely.

“Hide for a moment.”

The witch’s hand lightly touched the gray old man’s body.

Immediately after, the old man’s body turned into a small ornamental plant.

Since the Witch of the North originally had a hobby of growing plants, she changed the contents of an existing pot to a small sprout, and when she placed the old man in that empty space, it looked natural as if it had always been there.

“…Ah, come to think of it, I should take care of the Chalice of Tuberose, too.”

As Mombi opened her palm, a hidden magic circle activated and floated in the air.

Mombi’s specialty was transformation magic.

Even if she had the same body and memories, it was impossible for her to handle barrier techniques as well as Orin, but she could sufficiently use existing barriers.

The complex magic circle like a mandala interlocked here and there, then sank back into the ground with a click.

After confirming this, Mombi opened part of the barrier, and soon Dorothea’s party, Gale, and several mages from the Tower of Protection, who seemed to be acting as monitors, visited the mansion together.

“Welcome, Gale, Sig. And, um, the other kids too.”

The witch Mombi greeted her direct mentee and her knight warmly, and the others, especially Adelaide, somewhat awkwardly.

Without any trace of the arrogant and malicious air from just moments ago, she spoke with the expression and tone of the innocent and kind witch Orin.

“So, um, what’s the matter? If there’s another problem…”

“No, it’s not that. We just came because we were worried about your condition, Mentor.”

“I see.”

Mombi smiled very bitterly.

“I’d like to assure you that your worry is unfounded, but it saddens me that I can’t,” she spoke as if understanding Gale’s attitude.

“I want to meet Lot right away. I want to hear that there was some misunderstanding. But, that’s not possible, is it?”

While others showed complex emotions difficult to describe at the sight of the witch looking down wistfully, Gale, who was used to conversations with her mentor, remained calm.

“Yes, well. Unlike your usual self, in your current state, you might be easily taken advantage of. No matter how much they try, they can’t harm even a hair on your head, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

“That’s right. Your judgment is probably more accurate than mine, Gale.”

It was a farce that would make those who knew the truth either laugh involuntarily out of incredulity or harden their faces seriously.

In fact, the witch Mombi was inwardly roaring with laughter.

Foolish Orin. If only she had simply called her mentee or others instead of being swayed by misplaced sympathy.

No, if she had just waited quietly for even a few dozen minutes until her mentee arrived, she wouldn’t have met this end.

Outwardly, she seemed to be focusing solely on her conversation with Gale, but in reality, Mombi was paying enough attention to the other people around as well.

She was aware of everything.

Dorothea subtly scanning the interior of the room with the power of the Chalice of Tuberose.

Adelaide detecting whether there were other people in and around the mansion with her senses on high alert.

Mombi evaluated it as quite sharp behavior, whether it was simple intuition or based on the inference that now was the only time for the Tower of Control to turn the situation around.

But that was all.

The Chalice of Tuberose would reflect a peaceful everyday life with nothing happening, and no matter how sharp the little lion’s senses were, Mombi’s transformation magic was beyond that.

No matter how excellent they were, it was impossible for them to win in a battle of wits against a transcendent being like the Witch of the North.

So.

Shing.

Everyone present was surprised by the Tin Knight’s action of drawing his sword without any context or warning.

The mages from the Tower of Protection shouted in confusion.

“W-what are you doing!? Put down your sword immediately!”

Dorothea also scolded the Tin Knight, “Hey, what are you doing? Put it down quickly!”

Despite his master’s order, the Tin Knight didn’t budge.

It was an impossible sight between an ordinary mage and a magic doll.

“What? No, how can that be—“

Dorothea looked at the Tin Knight as if at a loss for words.

Judging by the changed expressions of the green-haired and golden-haired kid as well, it seemed they had some means of communication that only worked among themselves.

…Is it that brooch?

While showing no outward reaction, Mombi inwardly clicked her tongue.

It was possible to see through the magic on the brooch and eavesdrop on their conversation, but that wouldn’t be “Orin-like” behavior.

Others might not notice, but Gale, being a direct mentee, would become suspicious of that action.

While Mombi was pondering her response, Dorothea’s face changed colorfully.

But that was only for a moment.

Soon, she opened her mouth as if saying, “Let whatever happens happen.”

“—Since we’ve already noticed, stop the pointless deception.”

It was more like she was relaying someone else’s words rather than speaking herself.

While the Tower of Protection mages demanded to know what this rudeness was about, Gale stopped them, looking interested.

“I’d like to cut you down right now, but I’ll give you exactly 3 seconds of opportunity.”

An ominous fighting spirit erupted from the Tin Knight’s body.

It was such an intense aura that even the great witch Mombi, who had been through all sorts of experiences, involuntarily stiffened her expression.

“Wait, why are you doing this? If there’s something you’re angry about, please tell me with words. Okay?”

“Three.”

Even when Mombi tried to soothe with words, the other side showed no sign of listening.

Mombi’s mind raced complexly.

Was I found out? How? What is this magic doll? Is it part of Orin’s memories that I haven’t completely taken yet?

“Two.”

The Tin Knight’s aura was honed to the extreme.

Even while thinking there was no need to worry about injury to this body, as long as Orin’s defensive magic remained, the Tin Knight’s aura was terrifying enough to cast doubt on that certainty.

“One!”

“Tch.”

Clicking her tongue as if displeased, Mombi activated her transformation magic.

Her right arm, transformed into a bizarre shape like a demon, swung and pounced on the enemies in an instant.

Boom!

The mansion collapsed in an instant, and those inside were blown away.

Although she attacked with the momentum to annihilate the opponents, unfortunately there were only some injuries and no fatalities.

Realizing that the Tin Knight’s skills were more excellent than expected, she used transformation magic to change her physical form back to how she looked before becoming one with Orin.

Mombi, who had changed from a young girl to a tall beauty, asked, “How on earth did you figure it out? What trick did you use?”

No answer came.

Those who didn’t know the circumstances were barely keeping up with the current situation, and the Tin Knight’s party had no choice but to remain silent.

After all.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that since everything appears to be going smoothly, he is highly suspicious so he decided to probe first!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that typically, when things appear to be going wrong, it’s actually okay, but when everything seems okay, that’s when there’s a problem!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ maintains that if there are really no issues, a simple apology should suffice!]

They absolutely couldn’t say that they had guessed correctly based on such an insane theory.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken