Witch Nyx

The moment those words imprinted themselves on my mind, my body went limp, and I almost dropped Aurora. Thanks to reflexively tensing my arm, a catastrophe was averted, but the shock I received remained.

The woman giggled.

“So, you’re finally willing to talk to me?”

“Put that woman down and let’s talk, just the two of us. I promise I won’t do anything. Really.”

“No one died here. Everyone just got scared and ran away. I really didn’t do much, just walked around, so can’t you just do as I say? Hehe, I was being good, you know.”

“You’ll come with me, right? Yes? Right?”

The woman, who had been frantically mixing informal and formal speech while trying to converse, suddenly flared up in anger.

“Hee, heehee. Nyx, you’ve gotten quite cheeky, haven’t you? What kind of behavior is this? Can’t you see I’m talking to you?”

“It’s the same for you, Nyx. Why do you keep jumping out when I’m trying to talk?!”

“Yeah. Why do you keep jumping out when I’m trying to talk? I was the one who gave you the opportunity first, I was the one who suggested coming here first, and I was the one who elicited that reaction. What did you do? Did you do anything other than just eat what I spoon-fed you?”

Then, they suddenly started fighting each other. Their voice didn’t change much, but their tone and expression shifted rapidly as if they were different people, arguing with themselves.

‘Is it a dual personality?’

Witnessing the rare sight of someone arguing with themselves, my runaway mind somewhat returned. It felt like my stiff brain was slowly starting to turn.

Even if that woman truly was the Witch I knew, the one who cursed the main character and turned them into a ‘Forsaken One,’ I wondered if the choices or conversations I made in the game would work properly.

It was because her personality had changed too drastically.

The Witch who cursed the main character had an extremely arrogant personality. To even initiate a conversation, one had to unconditionally indulge the Witch and treat her like a goddess, choosing only options that praised her.

Her own magical abilities were top-tier, and she had grown tired of seeing ordinary people flee in terror just by approaching her, so it was only natural for her personality to become twisted.

There were quite a few users who couldn’t stand her arrogance, believing she was the center of the world and her decisions were always right, and would just launch a preemptive strike during conversations.

But now, it was different.

Not only had her personality completely reversed, but a bizarre setting of dual personality had been added, and she wasn’t treating the main character like a bug on the road.

For one, it was clear that she was far from the bizarre personality that would make anyone’s blood pressure rise, as she was in the game.

‘I wonder if she’d follow along if I just persuaded her with words.’

Of course, I didn’t want to trust that woman right now. There was no way I’d take her current appearance at face value. At the very least, I needed to have a conversation with her while keeping a close watch and staying on high alert.

I tried my best to regain my composure. There were a mountain of questions I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t have a conversation in this state. Taking care of Aurora was the priority.

I gritted my teeth and tried to suppress my curiosity. And, only when I could finally utter something other than a barrage of questions, did I open my mouth.

“Wait. Let me speak. Did you say your name was Nyx?”

“Kihheehee, yes. That’s right. It’s Nyx. Are you finally willing to talk to me?”

Even amidst this, a power struggle seemed to be ongoing, as informal and formal speech kept switching non-stop, even within a single sentence. It was making my head spin.

“If it’s really not working, I’ll decide for you. The one who uses informal speech comes out first.”

At those words, Nyx made a face as if her world was crumbling, but then immediately put on a sinister and gloomy smile as she grinned. It seemed the personality switch was complete.

“Heh, heehee. You like me better, don’t you? Right? Should I, should I keep coming out from now on? Huh? Should I?”

“It’s absolutely not because I like one more than the other. I just told the one who used informal speech to come out first because they introduced themselves first. There’s no meaning beyond that.”

I drew the line. If that woman truly had a dual personality or something similar, there was no need to incur the resentment of either side unnecessarily.

I had to make it clear that I wasn’t favoring one over the other, but acting based on a specific criterion.

Ignoring my words completely, Nyx continued to let out a sinister chuckle, seemingly pleased. I knelt on one knee, bent my upper body, and carefully carried Aurora on my back.

As soon as Aurora was on my back, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her face was gently placed on my left shoulder. Her hair gave off a faint floral scent.

Her thighs were bare and soft and squishy. Given the nature of her attire, her exposed skin would be directly against my back, but thankfully, thanks to my rather thick uniform, there wouldn’t be any reason to blush.

I tried my best to ignore the hard sensation of her bra rubbing near my shoulder blades and opened my mouth.

“The people who ran away just now, was it because of fear?”

“Yeah. Heehee.”

I was once again certain of Nyx’s identity. She had confessed herself to be the Witch who cursed the main character, and I had received confirmation that it was due to fear, so there was no doubt.

“Alright. Then wait somewhere else, not here. I’ll take care of what I need to do first, then I’ll go.”

“Can’t I follow you?”

“No.”

“Why? Is there a reason? I’ll be quiet. Promise.”

“Because the people here are anxious, just as you said. If you don’t like it, hand over the initiative to the one who uses formal speech.”

“……”

Perhaps unwilling to hand over the initiative, Nyx, with an even more sinister smile, nodded her head. Even such a simple movement made her chest jiggle.

“You really know how to handle me, don’t you? Where should I go and wait?”

“If you walk straight along this road, you’ll see a large castle. It’s the only castle in the city, so you won’t get confused. Go inside there.”

Considering Nyx’s characteristics, placing her among the knights was the best option.

Fear was a status effect that only worked against ordinary NPCs who had no attack capabilities. If she was among knights who possessed attack capabilities, even if they were non-aggro, fear wouldn’t be triggered.

“Heehee. I’ve been there. Should I go again?”

“……What? When?”

“I went to look for you at that castle first. But they said you weren’t there. They said you were out. So I came here.”

‘How did she know that?’

Was there a way for that woman to find out where I lived?

“It’s even better if you’ve seen their faces before. You didn’t cause any trouble there, did you?”

Even though she looked harmless with her short stature, large chest, and gloomy impression, the woman in front of me was clearly one of the optional bosses in B-Dark 4.

It would be impossible for the Vice-Captains of the Knights, who were in the position of mid-bosses, and the regular members, who were in the position of mobs appearing in large numbers in the Imperial Palace field, to defeat her even if they died and came back to life.

“No, I didn’t. I don’t want to be hated.”

Fortunately, the situation I was worried about didn’t seem to have occurred.

“Then that’s fine. I have somewhere to stop by, so you go into the castle first. If they don’t let you in, tell them it’s the Captain of the Knights’ order.”

“Heh, it would be better if you gave the order directly than if I said it.”

“To give that order, I have to go back to the castle. I told you. I have somewhere to stop by first-“

“But, they’re coming here.”

Before I could even ask who, the sight of golden armor approaching us was caught. Their numbers were considerable. At the very least, there seemed to be more than twenty.

They had only decided on their uniform but not yet the appearance of their armor, so it seemed they had brought out the armor from the Golden Twilight Knights era. Among them, I checked the number of particularly elaborately decorated armors.

‘3 people.’

Three Vice-Captain of the Knights-level individuals. That meant the total number of people who came here was 33.

Bringing more than half of the available forces could be considered the maximum effort Raksia, who was commanding the knights in my stead, could make.

“Captain-nim! Are you safe!”

A booming voice rang out. It was Raksia. Nyx merely let out a strange chuckle towards me and gave an utterly sinister smile, as if I wasn’t even worth turning around for.

The knights approaching us immediately aimed their weapons at Nyx as soon as they saw Aurora on my back. I stopped them with a glance. I had to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Perhaps that fucking personality from the game might still remain somewhere in that chubby body. If that happened, in the worst case, a boss battle could break out here.

Even if that happened, winning itself might be possible, but everyone here except me would die. The knowledge I had was completely useless for fighting while protecting others.

Raksia, understanding my intention, asked back with a worried voice.

“……Are you alright, Lord-nim?”

“It’ll be alright. For now. And it might continue to be alright depending on what happens next. How did you get here?”

“Citizens flocked to the castle asking for help. They said they were walking down the street when they suddenly felt extreme fear and ran away. After that, dozens more people flocked to the castle, and I thought the situation was serious, so I urgently came here. The remaining twenty-two people are calming down those who fled to the castle.”

“Well done. That was a good judgment.”

“I merely did what needed to be done.”

Raksia responded to my praise with a simple bow of her head.

“Raksia, pick a few subordinates and take that woman to the castle with them. The rest of you, go around the city and reassure the people. Since no one died, they’ll probably calm down quickly. Don’t return immediately after you’re done; patrol the city a bit longer before coming back.”

“I understand. Should I imprison that woman in the dungeon?”

“No. For now, take her to my room. I need to have a conversation with her.”

“……Yes.”

Even though she nodded, Raksia still didn’t seem to trust me, revealing strong disbelief in her voice.

Kihheehee, Nyx let out a strange laugh, turned her body, and faced Raksia. Raksia instinctively flinched and gripped the hilt of her sword.

“You saw me at your castle. I didn’t do anything then. I haven’t done anything now either. Look.”

“Quiet. You’re telling me you haven’t done anything, even after seeing this?”

“Hmph, I can’t control myself, so I can’t help it.”

“Then does that mean you entered this city knowing what consequences your actions would bring?”

“Both of you, quiet.”

I abruptly cut them off before the atmosphere could turn even more hostile. Nyx obediently covered her mouth with her palm, and Raksia relaxed her grip on the hilt of her sword.

I gestured for Raksia to come closer and whispered softly into her ear.

“I’m displeased about that too, but there’s nothing we can do right now, so bear with it. If we fight here, even if we win, it won’t be a true victory.”

“……I understand.”

“And that woman is a Black Mage, alright? Never let your guard down. Even after she’s in the room, make sure to assign proper surveillance. You’ll need at least five people.”

“I see. So she was a Witch. I will do so.”

Raksia, with a look of understanding, gathered all her subordinates and surrounded Nyx.

Despite being escorted and monitored by eleven knights, Nyx calmly waved her hand and gradually moved away. The remaining knights began to scatter throughout the city.

I also started walking towards Aurora’s mansion. Aurora didn’t utter a single word while being carried on my back.

Her outing ended this way, so she must be very disappointed.

“Are you alright, Lord-nim?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Aurora tightened her arms around my neck. It seemed her strength was slowly returning as her fear subsided.

“I am sorry. That things turned out this way.”

“……Delta, why are you sorry? It’s not your fault.”

When I offered a brief apology, Aurora gently opened her mouth, perhaps unable to simply let my apology pass.

“I’m probably the cause, aren’t I? It seems she came to see me, and since I’m so popular, it’s my fault, right?”

I threw out a light joke. Aurora chuckled softly, burying her head in my shoulder.

“Now that you mention it, it seems you’re right. Should I, as the Lord, impose a punishment?”

“Please make it as light as possible.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Aurora chuckled and clung to me, and I had to try hard not to recall the fact that Aurora was wearing nothing on her lower body. The soft and squishy sensation on my palm was a bonus.

As I arrived in front of Aurora’s mansion, I stopped, sensing something amiss.

“……?”

The mansion’s doors were wide open.

From the massive iron gate separating the estate from the mansion, to the main entrance leading into the mansion itself. It was as if someone had deliberately left them open to invite someone in.

And, the knights who always stood in front of the mansion were nowhere to be seen. Even looking around, the knights’ dormitory in a corner of the garden also had its door tightly shut.

I tensed my body and stepped into the garden.

“You don’t need to do that.”

As soon as I stepped inside, someone popped out from the bushes in the garden. Startled by the unexpected appearance, I took a step back.

“Was your outing enjoyable, Owner-nim?”

The person who popped out from the bushes was Lana, calmly brushing off leaves from her hair and body with an expression completely at odds with her absurd entrance.