Witch – Chapter 98 – The Witch and the Black Knight (9)

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“Tell me your name.”

Instead of a morning greeting, Edel’s abrupt demand chased away my drowsiness.

Demanding my name out of nowhere… Was it because of the name I gave him yesterday?

Though his appearance was normal… his mouth was still as tactless as ever, creating a cognitive dissonance.

“There’s something you’re supposed to say first in the morning. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot. Good morning. Now tell me your name.”

What’s this…? Is he picking a fight first thing in the morning?

Edel’s intensely serious gaze didn’t seem confrontational, but the suddenness of it… demanding introductions that felt far too late made my mind struggle to keep up.

“Why aren’t you answering? Strong One. Have you forgotten your name as well?”

“That’s not it….”

“Then tell me.”

How should I describe this feeling…

It was like watching some handsome guy who relied solely on his looks asking for a stranger’s number—except I was on the receiving end, which triggered an instinctive reluctance to share.

“Why do you need my name? Until now, you’ve been fine calling me ‘Strong One’ or ‘You’ this whole time.”

I lowered my voice, imitating his manner of speech, and Edel’s eyebrow twitched.

Clearly annoyed, he glared down at me with a terrifying look, emphasizing our height difference of over 20cm.

What are you going to do by glaring like that?

I’m not telling you.

There were only 10 days left of the month anyway.

Why bother with formal introductions…? The thought made me feel oddly petty.

“Do I need a reason?”

“You can’t just have it. If you want to know, either collect five praise sigils or bring me a reason I’d find acceptable.”

“…I understand.”

Edel turned and headed toward the sofa where he had been sleeping.

Standing before the sofa cushions—still bearing the imprint of his body—and the blanket strewn across the floor, Edel began tidying up his sleeping area.

He picked up the blanket, folded it neatly, and carefully placed it on one side of the sofa before approaching me with an outstretched hand.

“Hmm…?”

“I tidied up the blanket. Give me the praise sigil.”

Was the Black Knight always this type of character…?

With each passing day, he seemed less like one of the Four Heavenly Kings and more like a male lead from some otome game.

I was dumbfounded by his childlike behavior, demanding praise for tidying his bed.
If he’d just said he was curious, I would have told him my name….

What was so important about a mere name that he’d go this far?

He was better when wearing armor… No, that’s not true. The current situation is a million times better.

Speaking of armor, the memory of his unkempt beard and smell made me shake my head.

“Why aren’t you giving it to me?”

Edel awkwardly opened and closed his extended hand, seemingly embarrassed as it hung in the air.

“Tidying up your blanket is good, but that’s not enough to earn one.”

“……”

Edel’s eyebrow twitched again.

Shocked at not receiving a praise sigil, he stared at his hand for a moment before approaching the neatly folded blanket.

Surely he wasn’t… planning to mess it up again because he didn’t get praised?

Just as I suspected, Edel grabbed the blanket with one hand and waved it like a flag. It seemed like he was threatening to mess it up if I didn’t give him a praise sigil, engaging me in childish psychological warfare.

A smile spread across Edel’s usually stoic face. His expression seemed to say, “Still not giving in? You’re tough”. My eyebrow twitched in response.

“Are you sure about this? If you mess that up, there won’t be any food for you today.”

“……”

Pick fights with someone else.

How dare you mess with the person who cooks your meals?

However, while his movements slowed slightly, he continued waving the blanket.

I thought he’d give in immediately when threatened with food… but his stubbornness was remarkable.

Should I hit him?

I barely suppressed the mana surging within me and delivered my final ultimatum.

“Just so you know, I was planning to make a special potato dish that you like for a hearty breakfast. Too bad.”

“……”

The hand waving the blanket stopped. The blanket fell, draping over Edel’s body. Though I couldn’t see his expression, I didn’t need to. In fact, not seeing his face made the situation even more amusing.

 

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A rather heavy meal for breakfast was laid out on the table.

All I had was a small plate of salad, while everything else was for Edel.

“Thank you for preparing such delicious food again today.”

“Sure. Enjoy your meal.”

I watched Edel eat while glancing at the salad in front of me.

Observing Edel eating with his clumsy gestures was like watching a wild man who had lived in the forest his entire life trying to adapt to civilization.

It seemed like just yesterday he was devouring food like a beast, plate and all, but now he was using utensils properly and eating calmly. Perhaps I actually have a talent for teaching?

The blanket incident earlier was both annoying and childish, but seeing him eat quietly with his mouth shut gave off the impression of a dignified northern duke, which was fascinating.

“What is it? Is there food on my face?”

Edel paused his eating to examine my expression.

I could sense confusion in Edel’s dull, murky red eyes.

Every time he didn’t follow proper table manners, I would blast his food, so he was now touching his face, probably worried he’d made a mistake. It was a little cute.

“No. I was just thinking you eat well.”

“Eating well is essential for maintaining strength. Don’t you also need to eat a lot to maintain your mana… pouch?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Did I hear that wrong?

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Mana pouch? No way….

“I heard that women, instead of having muscles, store magic energy in their chests. You said you use mana, not demonic energy, so isn’t it a mana pouch?”

What on earth is he saying…?

What, what pouch?

I had recently breastfed Stella with mana, but I never imagined I’d hear something like this from Edel’s mouth.

My face instantly turned bright red.

When Edel’s gaze shifted to my chest resting on the table, I instinctively covered it with both arms.

“You… who on earth told you such things?”

“The Succubus Queen told me. She was not only carrying around useless lumps but also putting strange things in her chest, so I asked.”

The Succubus Queen… putting something in her chest?

No, I don’t care what she puts in her chest, whether it’s padding or whatever, but to tell innocent Edel such things?

“You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“I thought it made sense. Though not as large as yours, the Succubus Queen’s magic was quite impressive. Still weaker than me, though.”

Edel seemed completely unaware of what he was saying.

This wasn’t just unconscious flirting; it was unconscious sexual harassment. And targeting two women at once, no less.

I didn’t want to taint our meal with more talk about breasts, but I feared leaving Edel’s misconception uncorrected might lead to problems later.

I had a terrible vision of Edel squeezing the Succubus Queen’s chest demanding magic energy when his own was depleted during a fight with Hero Kyle…

If someone who only knows fighting makes their fighting vulgar too, what’s left? If he had been a stranger from the start, I wouldn’t care, but after living together for 20 days, I couldn’t help but worry.

Though it was a bit early, I took a deep breath to prepare myself to tell Edel the truth.

“A woman’s chest isn’t something like a pouch for storing mana or magic energy.”

“Did the Succubus Queen lie? Then what is the purpose of those breasts? Though it’s a bit strange for me to say this after being defeated by you… aren’t they just unnecessarily large and a hindrance in battle?”

Not just in battle—large breasts are inconvenient in many ways.

Even slight movements cause shoulder pain, the sweat that runs beneath them in summer is bothersome, and if not properly cared for, they sag and become worse than not having them at all.

It’s only because I’ve applied various magic circles to my clothes to prevent sagging and discomfort that I can maintain their nice shape. Otherwise, it would have been difficult.

“Breasts are… well… they store milk for babies.”

“Milk…?”

“It’s called breast milk, which is nutritious and good for babies to grow healthy. Babies need breast milk to grow quickly, and it’s also good for their emotional development… what am I even saying….”

Explaining this to a man made me feel even more embarrassed. Above all, Edel’s gaze fixed on my chest, which couldn’t be fully covered by my arms, made me uncomfortable.

Is this what they call the male gaze…?

“Anyway. Don’t go around talking about mana pouches or lumps. And don’t stare openly. Otherwise, you might never experience true love.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful. Milk, huh….”

It shouldn’t be an embarrassing topic, so why am I feeling embarrassed?

Having large breasts isn’t something to be ashamed of.

Shouldn’t I be more confident in situations like this? Covering them might just stimulate childlike curiosity.

Even if Edel has some foolish tendencies, surely he wouldn’t cross that line.

As I cautiously lowered my arms that were covering my chest, Edel also stopped showing interest and focused on his meal.

Then he looked at his empty water glass, then at my chest….

“I’m out of water. Could I taste that milk?”

“OF COURSE NOT!!!!!!”

That bastard… pretending to be innocent and pure… he knew all along, didn’t he!? Right!?

I filled my fist with mana on a completely different level than when I had hit Leo before and punched Edel right in the face.

Without even time to dodge, Edel took the punch to the face and passed out. I approached him and added a new rule to ensure he would never bring up the topic of breasts in front of me again.