The Solution
“By any chance, is this world incredibly dangerous?”
“That depends on your human standards, doesn’t it?”
“Right? Are there other standards?”
“Think of it that way if you want. You humans die so easily even without those things. It’s always dangerous.”
This was another perspective altogether.
Indeed, we’re always in danger even without those anomalies.
“What about by your standards, Witch?”
“……”
She suddenly fell silent.
Her narrowed eyes told me I’d touched a nerve.
Had I hurt her pride?
“Witch?”
“You. Don’t call me that.”
She growled in a low voice.
“That’s just humans clumsily imitating us. How dare you belittle a sublime being like that?”
“That’s what everyone calls you.”
“Insolent. Are you defying me right now?”
This wasn’t a joke.
A purple aura poured from her, swirling through the small space.
“Then what should I call you?”
If she’s just going to get mad, she should at least suggest an alternative!
The witch withdrew her aura in an instant and pondered.
See? She didn’t even know herself.
“…Luna.”
“Pardon?”
“Call me Luna. I permit it.”
She closed her eyes and nodded quietly.
As if graciously allowing me to utter her name.
“Got it. Then, continuing on—Luna, are they dangerous to you too?”
Better not rile her up again; just stick to the point.
Resuming our interrupted conversation, Luna smiled in satisfaction and tilted her chin up.
“At my level, they’re not that dangerous. I don’t know about whatever’s behind them, but they’re just a nuisance.”
Oh, so the witch is pretty powerful.
I can use her, then.
Build a friendship with the witch and protect this romance fantasy world under her protection. Not a bad life plan.
“Why are you looking so smug?”
Luna grumbled at me, clearly pleased with my future plans.
Knowing she was powerful made even that expression cute.
Attraction really does rise with both ability and looks.
“Haha, well…”
Speaking of attraction, something odd popped into my head.
Emotions?
Am I really immune to mental attacks?
I was tempted by the Magic Book. I trembled in fear from the corridor threat. That doesn’t add up.
“But it’s weird. You said I’m immune to mental attacks, but I was clearly manipulated by the Magic Book, and the trial was brutally tough.”
Luna smirked at my question.
“Ah, you humans wouldn’t get it. Emotions aren’t actually in the realm of the mind. They’re influenced by the body.”
Her eyes clearly looked down on me with pity.
Like she was savoring the superiority of bestowing truth on the ignorant.
“You can’t just grit your teeth and control joy or sadness with mental fortitude, right? Emotions are ultimately swayed by substances in the body.”
“Ah, you mean hormones.”
It clicked.
Of course. Emotions, impulses, will—they’re all triggered by hormones.
I’d heard that meds can neatly suppress impulses and emotions, leaving a sense of emptiness.
So it’s all physical in the end.
The outer gods’ mental interference is invincible, but the body takes damage.
Does that mean emotion manipulation and physical control go hand in hand?
Mental immunity. More flimsy than I thought.
“Ho… what?”
Luna blankly repeated the modern term I’d muttered.
Ah, she doesn’t know.
“It’s a thing. Anyway, I get it completely now.”
This time, I felt the superiority, strutting a bit.
Uncouth medieval fantasy folk. This is science.
Luna frowned like she’d been wronged.
I savored that bliss for a moment before she shook it off and approached me.
“Annoying, but I’ll let it slide. Anyway, you’re immune to the irritating aura those things emit. Their main method is polluting the mind and soul to turn people into puppets.”
Great news.
Just knowing that solves a lot.
“So, are your questions answered for now?”
Her finger lightly brushed my chin.
I still had more curiosities, but any further info would overload me anyway.
The urgent fires are out, so I’ll mull over today’s harvest and plan my next moves carefully.
“More or less.”
“Good. Then shall we get to your reward?”
“Reward?”
“Yes. You did overcome the trial, after all. I’ll grant one wish. That’s the rule.”
The trial’s reward!
My brain kicked into overdrive.
I’d originally come to deal with the Magic Book, but Luna had handled that on her own.
So what wish would maximize my gain?
Her power was beyond doubt.
I’d earned some goodwill, and she seemed ready to grant anything reasonable.
But no complacency.
She wouldn’t give me pure profit.
Legends don’t call her a witch for nothing.
She denies it, but there must be precedents.
So I need to carve out an advantage.
“One isn’t enough value. At least two.”
“What?”
Luna’s lips parted at my bold demand.
Meeting her skeptical gaze, I pointed to the glass vial on the table.
The one holding the Magic Book’s black smoke.
The smoke swirled inside, scraping at the glass.
“I overcame the trial and brought back that intact aura. You must have a use for it, right?”
Otherwise, she’d have destroyed it the moment she extracted it.
Her initial hostility wasn’t fake.
“So, two rewards. Fair, isn’t it?”
Silence fell again.
Luna’s eyes quietly scanned me.
By the time the handkerchief I’d stuffed into the fireplace had turned to ash and scattered.
Luna burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha.”
Then she wiped the smile away and thrust her face close to mine.
“Fun. As expected of a soul from another world. I like it.”
Her eyes were feral, like they’d devour me.
I hadn’t noticed, but my body was trembling.
Her aura must be overwhelmingly strong.
I hadn’t realized because of my immunity, but she’d probably been emitting it since my proposal.
“Fine. I’ll highly evaluate that you’re not an idiot. I’ll grant a real wish.”
She tapped my paling cheek with her fingertip, like bestowing a favor.
“No, two, I said.”
“You said yourself you came to have that dealt with.”
She pointed at the vial.
Damn, I’d already spilled my purpose in the rush.
“If I’d left it alone, you’d be dead by now. Do you know how bad that is for the body?”
She turned from heading to her chair and faced me.
“I was going to ignore whatever you said since you’d already been paid, but I’ll grant one specially. Speak.”
“You were going to ignore me originally?”
What a shark.
No wonder she brought up the reward first.
Ignoring my glare, she plopped into the chair and lifted her teacup.
“Don’t be like that. For you humans, there’s no wish more important than life, right? Or should I put it back in and make it two wishes?”
I had nothing to say to that.
No thanks to reinserting that.
“Fine.”
“I’ll commend your negotiating attitude. It’s been fun after so long. So, what do you want?”
She leaned back, crossing her legs.
The glimpse of thigh through her skirt hem was mesmerizing enough to stop my breath.
One wish.
Should I ask for her? Total cliché.
Grant my wish by becoming mine.
But seeing her lingering purple aura, I couldn’t muster the courage for jokes.
Then, what I needed right now was one thing.
“Please protect my mistress, Lady Scarlett de Carmine, from outside trash.”
Protect the romance fantasy, and at least my world is safe.
In this romance fantasy, Scarlett’s safety means mine.
I have mental immunity, so I’m somewhat okay.
But I lack the power to protect her now.
And I can’t always be by her side, even if I could.
I’d left her with the Grand Duke today, after all.
If she’s safe, my freedom of movement expands too.
Me getting stronger is great, but this body was supposed to have died once.
For long-term survival in my new start, Scarlett’s stability was just as crucial.
Luna rested her chin on her hand, staring at me wordlessly.
“Not your life?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Natural question for someone clueless.
My heart’s haven? The original novel? No point in lengthy explanations.
She wouldn’t get it anyway, and I didn’t need to spill everything.
“Because I’m her personal butler.”
Need more explanation?
Shrugging, my answer shifted her expression.
Her purple eyes flashed, and that prickling sensation swept my body again.
I stood tall.
No lie in those words. Just a little omission.
“Hmm, interesting. Truly intriguing. You don’t even know how strong I am, do you?”
“Ah, then protect me a bit too.”
“No, your one wish is done.”
She smiled.
“Fine. I promised, so I’ll do it. Just protection from threats, right?”
She raised her hand, and purple energy coalesced into a form.
A brooch materialized in the air. Silver, inlaid with obsidian.
“I have my own circumstances. I can’t always trail that human. I’m bound to this room now. Take this instead.”
“What is it?”
“Like a summoning device. If the brooch’s owner is in danger, I’ll know. Don’t worry, I’ll arrive on time.”
Not exactly what I wanted, but not bad.
As I examined the brooch, Luna held up three fingers.
“But only three times.”
“What? Just three?”
“Yes, I said I have circumstances. Leaving here is tough for me. Ripping through subspace isn’t easy. Being able to summon me three times is a huge reward.”
I wouldn’t know.
Her confident expression suggested it was impressive.
At least she wasn’t a liar.
“Thank you for now.”
“Jeez. You’re not thrilled.”
“Can’t help it.”
“Is that how you always are? Trembling one moment, negotiating the next, accepting easily, then disappointed right after.”
“Is it? I’m pretty good at compromising on the fly.”
“Yeah. That’s why you’re fun.”
She leaned into the chair.
Smiling in utter satisfaction.
The deal was done.
Tucking the brooch into my suit’s inner pocket, I thought.
Is that it, then?
No, one issue remained.
What about the Grand Duke?
“Can I ask one more thing?”
“Again? So greedy.”
“It involves you too, Luna.”
She perked up with interest.
“Speak.”
“Duke Kairon von Eisenvelts of the Eisenvelts Grand Duchy. The man possessed by the Magic Book—what happens to him now?”
“Why would that involve me?”
“Because it’s their remnant.”
“I’m not particularly out to exterminate them, you know?”
“You’re not?”
“No, I want to clean up the filth, but I’m not going out of my way to hunt them.”
Not the response I expected.
Was it naive to hope she’d take responsibility?
Still, I wanted her interest.
“Anyway, without the Magic Book, has he escaped the bondage?”
“For now. But remnants likely linger in his body. The Magic Book was just a medium, after all.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Do what you’re good at.”
“Pardon?”
What I’m good at?
Looking at her questioningly, Luna grinned mischievously and opened her mouth wide, mimicking a chomp.
“Eat it.”
Presenting the most absurd solution.