"It's starting to feel a bit chilly out here," I muttered, glancing toward the snow-capped mountains looming in the distance.
As the cold morning wind brushed past us, I found myself wondering if these were part of the same mountain range I used to see from Quratar.
"Master, I packed a warmer jacket in the Explorer's Bag, if you'd like," Roxanne offered, already reaching for the strap.
"No, it's not that cold," I replied with a small smile. It was still early spring in this world, right? If this was how March felt, I couldn't even imagine how brutal winter would be here.
Roxanne seemed unfazed as well, declining to put anything more on.
Rolena, on the other hand, was wrapped in an expensive rabbit fur-lined coat, while Barov wore a thick mantle of his own. Knight Carter marched ahead in full armor, accompanied by two soldiers clad in leather gear.
We had left the castle gates behind and were making our way toward the prison, which, according to Barov, wasn't very far.
The muddy streets were still empty, I was about to ask about the total population of this village when Rolena spoke first.
"How was this girl caught?" the princess asked calmly.
"I heard that when the Northern Slope Mine collapsed, someone witnessed her using witchcraft to escape," Barov replied from behind her. "Early this morning, she was captured by an angry mob of villagers."
'Michio,the Northern Slope Mine, had collapsed just yesterday.' Rolena informed me through the party chat,
I nodded slightly, Nightingale had mentioned the mines to me earlier.
"I have a headache just thinking about restoring production there," Barov muttered, rubbing his temples. "Half of Border Town's revenue comes from that iron mine… but now the villagers are terrified to even go near it."
"I heard someone died in the mines?" I asked, recalling the shouts I had heard earlier in the square.
"Yes," Knight Carter answered from the front of the group. "The guards confirmed that someone at the scene was killed using witchcraft."
"Oh?" Rolena tilted her head. "What kind of witchcraft?"
"The victim's head and a large portion of the body were scattered across the ground," Barov replied with visible disgust. "As if they had melted. What remained looked like burnt black candles." He shuddered. "Your Highness, you truly don't want to see that scene."
I gagged slightly at the description, memories of last night's charred corpses flashing through my mind. Beside me, Roxanne covered her nose—clearly remembering the smell as well.
'Melted bodies…' Rolena murmured thoughtfully through the party chat. 'My first guess would be something like chromic acid. Even a mage shouldn't be able to melt a human body so completely with flames alone. But could an alchemist even produce something that potent in a medieval world?'
'Please stop describing human roasting,' I replied flatly. 'My breakfast is threatening to make a return.'
Rolena coughed awkwardly. 'S-sorry.'
She paused, then frowned. "Still… if she really is a witch, shouldn't she have been burned at the stake instead of hanged?" she asked aloud, shaking her head.
"Is that so?" Barov muttered, puzzled. "But she showed no fear of fire."
Just then, we arrived at a small, gray stone building set apart from the rest of the town. Two soldiers stood guard at its narrow door.
Knight Carter stepped forward and spoke quietly with them. Both nodded, and one hurried inside.
We waited several minutes. I passed the time exchanging quiet words with Rolena and Roxanne through the party chat until the soldier returned—this time accompanied by a middle-aged Level 20 Warrior.
Apparently he was the prison warden. He bowed repeatedly to Rolena, sweat dripping from his brow. Even so, when ordered to take us to the witch, fear clearly gripped him—but duty won out in the end. Swallowing hard, he nodded and gestured for us to follow.
The prison itself looked like nothing more than an old, dilapidated house. Three small ground-level cells with iron bars lined the interior—and all of them were empty. The prison warden picked up a lantern from beside the door and motioned us onward.
"There are stairs," he said quietly.
I understood immediately—the real prison lay underground.
As we descended, we entered a narrow, pitch-dark corridor.
"It stinks," Roxanne said, clamping a hand over her nose. She wasn't alone—every one of us did the same.
The air reeked of piss and filth. I quickly pulled out several small cloths from the Explorer's Bag and handed them to Roxanne and Rolena, keeping one for myself. Barov shot me a sharp glare, but I didn't have any extras to spare.
Groans and coughing echoed from deeper within as we walked. Rows of cramped prison cells lined the corridor, most of them occupied. Using Appraisal, I confirmed that the majority of the prisoners were thieves—both men and women.
It was unsettling how many criminals were packed into such a small facility.
We continued on until the prison warden opened another heavy door at the far end. Beyond it lay a second set of stairs leading even deeper underground.
The air grew damp—and the stench somehow worsened.
"We really need to clean this place up someday," Rolena muttered as her boots squelched through the muddy floor. "Having a proper toilet is a basic human right." She shook her head.
This level had far fewer cells—only three in total.
The prison warden hurried to the last one, hung the lantern on a hook beside it, and immediately backed away, clearly eager to put distance between himself and whatever was inside.
"That's… that's the one," he said, gesturing nervously.
Rolena stepped forward—but Knight Carter quickly moved to block her.
"Your Highness," he said urgently, "even with the God's Locket of Retribution sealing her powers, it is still not completely safe to approach."
"Then stay behind me," Rolena replied coolly, brushing past him.
I stepped forward as well and peered into the cell.
In the far corner of the cell, a thin figure was curled tightly against the wall.
The girl stirred at our presence and tried to stand, bracing herself against the stone. Her legs wobbled dangerously, and for a moment it looked like she might collapse—but with visible effort, she managed to drag herself forward into the lantern light.
She was dressed in little more than a torn rag, exposing her thin arms and legs. Long, pale yellow-grey hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Dirt smeared her face and body, yet even beneath the grime, her delicate features were unmistakable.
Her wrists were bound in heavy chains.
But what stood out the most were her eyes.
Pale blue—like a calm, serene lake.
There was no fear in them as she quietly met Rolena's gaze… then mine.
A sharp gasp echoed behind us. Several people instinctively recoiled in horror. Only Knight Carter stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of the princess, while Roxanne remained at my side.
Rolena gently patted Carter's shoulder, signaling him to relax, before stepping forward again.
"What's your name?" she asked softly, a faint smile on her lips.
"Anna," the girl replied without hesitation.
[Anna
Villager Level 3
Bonus Job: Witch Level 4
Equipment: God's Locket of Retribution]
She looked different from her manhwa depiction. For one, she wasn't frail to the point of being childlike. Malnourished—yes—but unmistakably a young woman. Even now, filthy and chained, it was clear she was beautiful.
I exhaled slowly, remembering that if I had arrived even a little later, she would have died on that gallows.
'Is this really the witch you were talking about?' Rolena asked through the party chat.
'Yes. She's the female lead of your story,' I replied. 'But we can't get her out of here unless you give your people a convincing reason.'
'Leave that to me,' Rolena responded, a confident smirk forming.
"Anna," Rolena said gently, "can you tell me what happened when the mine collapsed?"
Anna nodded—and began to speak.
It was surprising how cooperative she was. She had been moments away from death, and now she stood before the very people who could send her back to the gallows, yet her voice remained calm and steady. If it were me, I would have been desperate… angry… screaming even.
But she wasn't.
I was also surprised by how fluent her Brahim was.
All of us listened to her story in silence.
Anna's father was a miner. When news spread that the mine had collapsed, she rushed there with several neighbors to search for their loved ones. The mine was vast, with many branching tunnels, and by the time Anna finally found her father, only two neighbors were still with her.
Her father lay unconscious, one of his legs crushed beneath a cart full of ore.
But beside him stood another miner—going through his pockets.
When the looter noticed them, he flew into a rage. He charged forward and struck one of her neighbors aside with a pickaxe. As he raised it again, Anna reacted instinctively and killed him.
Her two neighbors swore to keep what they had seen a secret. Together, they freed her father and brought him home.
"So your neighbors broke that vow… and reported you as a witch?" Rolena asked, nodding slowly as if piecing things together.
"No," Anna replied calmly. "It was my father."
The words landed like a hammer.
"He went out this morning, using crutches," Anna continued evenly, "and reported to the guards that his daughter was a witch."
Roxanne gasped softly. "That's… horrible."
"Why would your own father do that?" Rolena asked, clearly shaken.
Barov let out a heavy sigh behind us.
"Most likely for the reward," he said quietly. "Reporting a witch earns twenty-five gold coins. For a crippled man… that sum could support him for the rest of his life."
I already knew her canon backstory, yet I still couldn't stop myself from sighing. If her father had sold such a beautiful girl to a slave merchant, he likely would have earned a similar amount. There had been no need—none at all—to send his own daughter, the girl who had saved his life, to her death.
Rolena was clearly affected as well. After a brief pause, she asked,
"Then how were you able to kill an adult man?"
A faint smirk tugged at Anna's lips.
"Just as you're thinking," she said calmly. "I used the power of the devil."
"Shut up, you vile witch!" the prison warden shouted in terror, stumbling back.
"Oh?" Rolena said lightly, unfazed. "So you used witch powers. I'd like to see that."
"Your Highness, this is no laughing matter," Knight Carter interjected, brows deeply furrowed.
"If anyone here is afraid," Rolena said coolly, glancing over her shoulder, "you're free to leave. I won't order you to stay."
"D-Don't panic!" Barov shouted shakily. "She's wearing the God's Locket of Retribution! Even devilish powers can't overcome God's protection!"
In stark contrast to the panic behind us, Rolena, Roxanne, and I stood calmly right before the iron bars.
Anna's face was smeared with dirt and bruised, yet she forced herself to stand as straight as she could, lifting her head to meet our gazes.
'Master… she's incredibly brave,' Roxanne said quietly through the party chat.
Her eyes—her resolve—struck something deep within me. She wasn't afraid of death.
She had already accepted it.
Just like I had… lying on that hospital bed, waiting for death to arrive and release me.
"My lords," Anna said hoarsely, her gaze steady, "your curiosity might get you killed."
"We'll see," Rolena muttered, studying the girl with unmistakable fascination.
"So this is the God's Locket of Retribution," I murmured, extending my hand toward the thin red metal necklace around Anna's neck. A small blue gem hung at its center.
"That crude thing?" Rolena smirked. "Break it."
"Sure."
I poured points into my Strength and yanked the chain in one sharp motion. The thin metal snapped instantly.
Even Anna looked up at me in shock.
"Go on," I whispered with a smile. "Show us your power."
"If you turn out to be a fake," Rolena added lightly, "I'll be very disappointed."
Behind us, the guards muttered frantic prayers, backing away as far as the corridor allowed.
Then—
Crack.
The sound echoed sharply, and the temperature spiked in an instant.
Roxanne stepped in front of me without hesitation as the damp stone beneath our feet hissed, steam rising violently into the air.
Before my widened eyes, blazing flames erupted from beneath Anna. The stone floor ignited. The lantern beside the cell exploded in a roar of fire.
The prison cell in front of us was swallowed in light—bright as day—as terrified screams erupted behind us.
Anna took a single step forward.
I grabbed Rolena's and Roxanne's arms, pulling them back as the fire moved with her. The iron bars themselves ignited, glowing crimson as they transformed into pillars of flame.
Intense heat slammed into my face, scorching and oppressive, while cold sweat soaked my back.
"She really doesn't fear fire," Rolena murmured in awe.
And I couldn't help but recall a line from the novel—
If she herself is flame… how could she fear it?
'Michio,' Rolena said through the party link, her voice filled with disbelief. 'The iron bars are shifting from crimson to yellow. Even iron is starting to melt. That means her flames exceed fifteen hundred degrees Celsius.'
'My own flame spells barely reach a hundred,' I replied grimly, recalling how I had been using them to heat water.
The heat continued to rise, forcing everyone else to collapse against the walls. The air filled with the stench of scorched fabric and fear. Shouts turned into sobs. The prison warden was lying on the ground having already soiled his pants.
Then—slowly—the flames receded.
When the light faded, only a few of us remained standing: Rolena, Roxanne, myself and the knight. Everyone else lay sprawled on the ground, begging for mercy.
Inside the prison cell, Anna stood calmly, naked, her long hair falling forward to partially veil her chest. Twisted iron bars, a shattered lantern, and the lingering heat in the air bore silent witness to what had just occurred.
The iron chains that once bound her were gone, reduced to nothing. Yet she made no effort to cover herself. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, her posture relaxed, her pale blue eyes utterly calm—empty of fear, empty of hope.
"Now that you have satisfied your curiosity, my lords," she said quietly, her voice steady,
"Can you kill me now?"
"No," I said, stepping forward and subtly blocking the knight's line of sight. "No one is killing you."
Rolena moved beside me, shrugging off her coat and gently draping it over Anna's shoulders.
"Miss Anna," she said carefully, her voice firm but gentle, "instead of executing you… I want to hire you."
Anna stared at us, her calm face finally cracking into confusion.
***
[Oleksandr has redeemed an Extra Chapter this week]