Chapter 706
Chapter 706
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 706
Chapter Title: The Witch of Gold Coins (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Si-woo had plunged into a kidnapping within a kidnapping—a full-blown kidnapception—but Dorothy had no clue.
She was bustling about, darting through Hexennacht on her own business.
"Never imagined the great Dorothy would stoop to this kind of charity work."
The code for the 'Gate' she had promised to hand over to Si-woo.
To snag the magic formula currently split among three different witches for management, she had dashed around until sweat pooled in her cleavage.
Hexennacht guarded its secrets fiercely, but the overseers were ultimately public servants.
Dorothy knew better than anyone how readily those public-serving types tossed public good aside for personal gain.
Slip some cash into their pockets and request the documents, and out they spilled, smooth as silk.
Yet while she had brushed it off to Si-woo as no big deal, the whole affair carried real risks for her.
If Si-woo and the other hostages escaped using the Gate's magic formula, Dorothy would rocket straight to the top of the suspect list.
No fool would overlook her unnatural contacts with all three Gate-managing witches in such a short span; an investigation would harden suspicion into certainty.
The charges? Something on the level of pilfering or leaking the city's top secrets.
Dorothy was already a public servant; betraying Hexennacht on top of that would leave her utterly adrift.
Just like the ancient witch dubbed the 'Witch of Aquarius,' once hailed as Cliffort's leader only to slaughter several officials and vanish into the shadows.
"This is exactly why you need a good man in your life...."
She was cutting a pure loss on this deal, yet Dorothy's grumbling held little real complaint.
He was the benefactor who had already saved her witch's life.
Plus the favor of safely folding her darling niece Lurye into Gehenna.
For a Witch of the Arc, wasn't this risk a fair trade for his life?
"Me and my lies... even when my heart's not in them."
Dorothy mulled it over and cracked a wry smile.
As mentioned, she was far too sharp to swallow her own fabrications.
She had quietly shuttered her arms-dealing business to match Si-woo's gripes from their first encounter.
All so that one day, when they crossed paths again, she could bask in his wide-eyed delight: "Really? Because of me?"
She hadn't mustered the courage to bring it up upon reuniting, though.
This situation felt much the same.
Once Si-woo learned she had turned her back on Hexennacht for him, guilt and burden would take root in his heart.
For a tender soul like Shin Si-woo, that debt hit harder than plain gratitude ever could.
Even a public servant like Dorothy might then...
'Tried to do your favor and it all went south. Boo-hoo.'
'I'm truly sorry.'
'No~ It's okay. It was all for you, after all.'
'Can't I make it up to you somehow?'
'Well... would you take me as your local wife?'
'You bet!'
'Ohoho!'
'Ahaha!'
...claim local-wife privileges just like that.
That was the honest undercurrent of her feelings.
"What an idiot."
Cold analysis revealed a vibrant flower field blooming in her mind; Dorothy let out a deep sigh.
How was this any different from some woman sharking high-interest loans to her deadbeat boyfriend, then fishing for praise with a "Did I do good?"
The epiphany that this was the exact thought process of those fools endlessly fleeced by bad men drew another sigh.
A bigger one, realizing it was her own antics.
"Haah..."
Anyway.
She had swiftly secured two of the three magic formulas needed.
It had guzzled obscene sums of cash, true—but with her business liquidated, Dorothy was swimming in liquidity and covered it handily.
The snag was the 'Witch of Faces' overseeing the final formula; she was out.
No party meant no bribes or backroom deals.
Two days slack until her return to Hexennacht.
She resolved to spend the gap thriftily.
Via Lurye as her liaison, relay Si-woo's safety and status to the Gehenna side.
"Would love to see him once before heading out, but..."
It hadn't been that long since they met, yet here she was craving another glimpse of Shin Si-woo.
Still, with Linne's drunken ass-baring fiasco before Si-woo "overlooked" as payment, her relationship credits sat at two encounters.
Next meeting meant delivering the magic formula; she couldn't squander it lightly.
"Eh, he's probably fine."
Her heart had nearly stopped at the initial kidnapping rumor, but his signature swallow-dodge agility seemed to have secured a stable perch—no sense shaking the branch and drawing extra eyes.
Lately too swamped for leisurely puffs of her favored cigars, Dorothy lit one of her slim smokes and made for Dignity Town's immigration office.
The sprawling office resembled a massive port, teeming with witches.
All hefting huge bags, queued for entry.
Hexennacht's boom had spiked influxes of public servants and exiles seeking shelter.
Blame Gehenna's old hardline, isolationist exile policy for the backlash?
Even wary neutral exiles were trickling in for citizenship now.
Outgoing lanes, by contrast, lay quiet—but security had tightened.
Plenty of public servants dabbled in smuggling or trafficking; inspections were ruthlessly thorough.
Artifacts probed not just exteriors but innards with precision.
No mana reactions allowed during scans, rendering magical concealment near impossible; unproven items stayed behind.
Behind screens during possessions checks, three security overseers reviewed stay durations and city movements.
Full trio approval granted outer-world steps; any whiff of oddity blocked exit.
Denials triggered trials to disprove suspicions—a weeklong ordeal.
Hierarchy irrelevant; defiance or outbursts summoned swarms of terrifying Cliffort sisters for "correction."
Unreasonable and tedious on the surface.
Yet those very hassles built witches' trust in Hexennacht.
Humans doubting humans was daily bread—but such ironclad proof forced wry smiles.
"Witch of the Arc."
"Hm?"
Dorothy lounged, exhaling gray wisps while awaiting verdict.
From behind the identity-veiling screen, one overseer spoke up.
"An honor to meet you, but we need answers to a few questions."
"Shoot."
"Purpose for the human world?"
"Visiting a friend."
"Planned stay?"
"Two days-ish?"
Dorothy fielded it coolly.
No matter the rigor, they couldn't crack skulls for ulterior motives.
"Got it. Cleared. Safe travels."
"Thanks~"
Dorothy clutched her citizenship card, freshly stamped for exit.
Fair to all in theory, but humans gonna human.
The Witch of the Arc carried weight in public circles; Dorothy sailed through with mild leniency.
Gate area revealed portals linking myriad human-world spots.
Versus Gehenna's 'Gate' threading tens of thousands globally, Hexennacht capped at ten—coordinates shifting endlessly.
Security measure.
Akula coordinates in pocket, Dorothy punched out to a nearby Pacific isle, then beelined for open sea.
2.
"Y-Your... Majesty.... The t-time of... trials... has arrived..."
"Argh! Enough already! Anastasia!"
"Your Majesty..."
"Didn't I command withdrawal? I'll handle it my way! It's not inability from laziness—when I buckle down, I know I'll shine!"
Meanwhile, Lurye hunkered in the theater, lost in movie bliss.
Her surroundings littered with devoured popcorn bags and tumbled soda cans.
"Heh heh sniff."
The loyal advisor's desperate pleas failed to pry her eyes from the screen.
"I'm already supreme; what's the gain in more strength?"
Truth be told, Lurye's stalled trials weren't recent developments.
Brash and arrogant, sure—but zero drive to push further.
With Yesod Count Family's herbal cure mending her wounds.
She brimmed with confidence: this form could pulverize that haughty blonde witch or the pink duke in a blink.
Who could stand ramrod before Nukelabi's abyssal fury?
(Odil and Odet were pals, so mercy planned.
The green-haired witch quietly doting on Lurye—and twin-approved—skated punishment-free too.)
No Si-woo around to cheer her training grind anyway...
She opted for chill recovery in cozy Akula over pointless pain.
'Anytime I feel like it...' she would murmur.
Lazing thus, Lurye bolted upright.
Familiar mana pulse rippled through the vessel.
"Dorothy!!!"
Twins-gifted shoes flew unnoticed in her thunderous dash; spotting Dorothy, she launched into a leaping hug.
"What brings you here? How'd you know I was aboard?!"
"Your Majesty, it's been too long."
Panting like a pup reuniting with its week-absent owner, Lurye sobered at Dorothy's expression.
"What happened?"
Dorothy's face held more than reunion glee.
Dorothy condensed the crisis for her.
Lurye—clueless on Hexennacht's existence—paled progressively.
Hit peak blue upon learning of his kidnapping and city detention.
"Stay put a moment."
"Huh? Princess?"
"One sec!"
Before Dorothy could note his surprisingly stable footing, Lurye turned her back and stormed off.
Moments later.
-Ruuuuumble!
A quake thundered through the deeps.
Seafloor eruption vibes—but no: the sealed kingdom's pulse, at last acknowledging its new sovereign.
Encircling abyssal familiars bellowed in savage celebration of the queen's enthronement.
"All set."
Lurye reappeared, mana not just overflowing but manifesting in hazy mirage.
Her deep navy eyes blazed with maternal dignity and wrath.
"So, I just smash the bitches who dared mess with my royal missive?"
"Your Majesty..."
"Guide me."
Radical read of the situation; battle-ready Lurye had returned.
Not quite the play, but Dorothy swelled with pride all the same.
Lurye was the niece who delivered!