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A woman appearing to be in her late twenties to early thirties leaned against the sofa, staring blankly at the door. Her posture, half-reclining like Cleopatra from ancient times, was full of boredom and annoyance.

To anyone looking, she seemed like a sharp-tempered young beauty.

But appearances aren’t everything.

Contrary to her looks, she had lived since the time of Nazi Germany, and her age and formidable power earned her the title of ‘Great Witch’ among other witches.

Great Witch Odilia A Reich.

She had come to Russia.

Odilia, after staring at the door for a while, irritatedly turned her head to look at the bed. Ella was there.

Seeing Ella’s face, one that seemed ready to erupt with irritation just from looking, she opened her mouth.

“Do you know what a hassle this is for me? I never expected to step foot on this cold, barbaric land of the Russians. At my age, it’s just a whole new experience, and oh-so delightful, isn’t it?”

Her tone was blunt and filled with annoyance.

“I can’t even sell cosmetics properly, so I can’t deal with business, and there are stinky Russians everywhere, making it hard to move around. With all these barbaric people, it’s impossible to be a tourist. Plus, the food made by those Russians is pointlessly high in calories, totally unhelpful for maintaining my figure. Do you even know what that means?”

Odilia wasn’t even considering listening for Ella’s response as she continued her tirade.

“Connecting with some talented shaman was a good thing. It might just be the best thing you’ve ever done in your life. But what then? You should’ve persuaded the shaman to stay with us, right? You think we should spend time together? El-la. Ella Blue Joysite Vinter! I thought you’d grown up a bit after getting bigger, but guess I was just deluding myself! This Great Witch, the owner of a global cosmetics company, thought she could just waste time! Or do you think you’re worth that time to me?”

She vented her annoyance at Ella.

With reckless abandon, too.

Only Odilia and Ella were in the room.

Her mentor, Agnes, who doubled as Odilia’s restraint, had gone out with Anastasia.

Ella was desperate to escape at that moment, but knowing that would give Odilia a reason to create a fuss, she kept her mouth shut.

Then, Odilia, seemingly losing interest, abruptly turned her head and pressed the bell placed on the mini table next to the sofa. After a brief pause, a voice came through.

[Hello….]

“I’m ready to order.”

Odilia interrupted the voice before it could finish and began speaking her order.

“Coffee.”

[Yes. What kind of coffee would you like?]

“Panama La Esmeralda Palmyra Estate beans, full-city roast flat white. But use an artifact for the espresso, not just a regular machine. If that’s not possible, let a wizard handle it directly. Use unsweetened milk and add 7g of stevia. Grind in 3g of Madagascar vanilla bean, then take one piece of Delafie chocolate and freeze it rapidly with magic or the artifact before finely grinding it on top. Oh, and the coffee temperature needs to be exactly 90 degrees. And royal quality porcelain…. Ah, there’s probably none of that in this backwater. Just put it in a first-rate insulating artifact tumbler. And hurry.”

[…Yes, understood. I’ll bring it as quickly as possible.]

Caught off guard momentarily by the picky order, the hotel staff quickly responded in a friendly tone out of fear of being in trouble with the already-marked Great Witch.

In no time at all, the staff completed the coffee order flawlessly enough not to get into trouble.

Knock, knock.

“Come in and hand it to me.”

When the knock sounded, Odilia snapped her fingers, magically opening the door.

The hotel staff, wearing a smile filled with kindness, handed over the coffee to her. They seemed intensely nervous, as if fearing they might get reprimanded at any moment.

“Hmmm, the aroma’s decent. Well, it’s not bad? You may go. And.”

Odilia threw a bundle of dollars into the staff’s chest.

Thump!

The bundle of banknotes hit the staff’s chest and fell limply to the floor.

“It’s a tip, so pick it up.”

“…Yes. Thank you, customer.”

“Oh, and do they have chocolatiers here in Russia? Bring me something from a well-known artist, about $1,000 worth of chocolate. But keep the chocolate at a constant 12 degrees. Use whatever method you like, either with magic or the artifact, and bring it as fast as you can. What are you waiting for? The order’s done, so go.”

She waved her hand to dismiss the staff.

Then, savoring the coffee aroma, she took a deep breath and started sipping it while looking back at the door.

About halfway through her coffee.

Clatter.

“Brr~ it’s cold!”

“Fufu. Asha, don’t just run to the bed because you’re cold; wash your hands first!”

“Okay~”

Agnes and Anastasia had returned.

Similar to Odilia, Agnes also had brown hair but unlike her mentor, she let her hair hang loosely with the ends tied slightly. Even with a strong aura from her makeup, she treated Anastasia warmly with a gentle smile, and Anastasia seemed pleased with the kindness, responding with plenty of affection.

In such a short time, it looked like they had become incredibly close, as Agnes casually called Anastasia by the nickname Asha and Anastasia happily accepted it while being affectionate in return.

Agnes appeared to be in her early thirties, while Anastasia looked like she was in elementary school.

The two of them together gave the impression of a young mother and her little daughter.

Anastasia, with the hem of her snow-white dress fluttering, dashed to the bathroom to wash her hands and returned to cling to Agnes’s side. Then, seeming fond of the texture of Agnes’s knitted dress, she repeatedly touched it.

In the midst of this, she locked eyes with Odilia, who was half-reclining on the sofa.

“I’m back~”

“Tch. If you’re back, you should warm yourself up quickly instead of running around like that.”

Knock, knock.

As Odilia was about to say something to Anastasia, she used her powers to open the door, and when the staff entered with a bunch of chocolates, she gestured for them to place it on the table. Once the staff set down the chocolates, she spoke in a disinterested tone.

“If you’re done, you can go.”

“Thank you for the chocolates.”

Agnes, as if to console, gently thanked the staff and pulled out a $100 bill from her handbag, handing it to the staff. The staff thanked her with a smile and quietly left the room.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Sigh… did you order something weird again and bother the staff?”

Agnes sighed as she asked Odilia. Odilia looked at her as if it was a big deal and responded in a friendly tone, even using Agnes’s nickname, ‘Ness.’

“Isn’t it just their job? I didn’t make them do anything outrageous; I just made them do what they’re supposed to do. By the way, Ness, there’s the chocolate you like, so go ahead and eat it. And.”

She glanced over at the child who was clinging tightly to Agnes’s side.

While resembling Ella as a child, this girl had bright, sparkling eyes, an active personality, and quite a bit of affection unlike Ella.

With such a similar appearance to Ella as a child, it would be normal to feel irritated just by looking at her.

Oddly enough, Anastasia didn’t irritate Odilia at all.

Rather, there was a strange warmth.

Was it because of the odd shaman’s story about Hans?

Or did it stimulate her emotions seeing the girl snugly beside Agnes?

Wearing a slightly softened expression, Odilia turned to Anastasia.

“You. Anastasia. You should eat too. I ordered enough, so there won’t be a shortage.”

Having said that, Odilia clammed up. Then Agnes asked her as if giving a gentle scold.

“Master? Isn’t there more you want to say?”

“…Right. Ella, you can go eat too. Do as you please.”

She gruffly threw the words out and snapped her fingers.

At that, a flower atop the table shook and crawled out of its vase. Moving its roots like feet, it approached the mound of chocolates, and using its leaves like arms, it picked one chocolate up. Then it hopped down from the table and approached Odilia, politely offering it to her.

“The chocolate isn’t bad.”

“Really? Let me see, huh?! Wow!”

Anastasia’s eyes widened in surprise at the chocolate’s taste, and she ran to Ella with the same piece she had just tasted.

“Sister! You should try it too~”

“No, um… I’m okay.”

“Don’t question your sister’s command. Open your mouth!”

Ella, stressed from being with the temperamental Great Witch, tried to refuse the chocolate but couldn’t resist Anastasia’s adorable order and ended up opening her mouth.

The moment the chocolate entered, it melted in her mouth, delivering a sweet, delightful flavor.

“Gasp?!”

Ella also widened her eyes in shock at the taste, just like Anastasia did.

Seeing this, Anastasia seemed satisfied and gently patted her head. Then she leaned in and whispered softly in her ear.

“A benefactor will come soon~ Everything will be alright. You’ll live without any stress from now on~”

Ella, looking at Anastasia as if asking what she meant by that, found Anastasia simply grinning at her without giving an answer.

 

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