Chapter 005: Don't Joke Around
"What's wrong?" Fortuna looked at Emilia beside her with confusion.
"Mom... I... I..."
"Alright, this matter isn't Lia's fault." As she spoke, Fortuna glanced at Pandora.
The unspoken meaning was clear—it's all your fault.
"Sorry..." Pandora didn't hesitate and apologized again.
Seeing this, even Fortuna couldn't help but sigh.
"If I hadn't witnessed your abilities, I'd really doubt your identity as a Witch..."
When not using her powers, Pandora behaved completely like an ordinary girl—though an extraordinarily beautiful one at that.
Who would have thought she would be the Witch that people fear?
Without waiting for Pandora's response, Fortuna continued.
"Alright, let's go..."
Waving her hand, she started walking toward the village.
"Mr. Archi, I'll be troubling you these coming days." Pandora instead looked at Archi who had just lifted his foot.
"Uh... no trouble..." Archi was stunned, nearly tripping.
This felt strange—just earlier he had "killed" Pandora once, yet now he had become her "guardian"...
Wasn't this a joke!
But there was no helping it. Who asked this was Fortuna's request! Moreover, he was the one who hadn't taken good care of Emilia earlier...
"Lady Fortuna!" As if remembering something, Archi suddenly shouted.
"What is it?" Hearing this, Fortuna and Geuse turned around.
"Black Serpent!" Archi's face was full of panic: "The magical beast Black Serpent has come to the forest!"
He had been distracted by Pandora's presence earlier and only now reacted.
"What!" Instantly, Fortuna looked at Pandora: "You brought it here, didn't you!"
It could only be her! No one else.
"Archbishop Regulus." And so, Pandora added another pot to Regulus's head.
After all, these two pots were of the same nature anyway...
"Him again..." Fortuna's eyebrows knitted tightly together.
To be honest, she really wanted to smash Regulus to death with an ice spike, but that guy was the same kind of pervert as the white-clothed fellow nearby...
"Why did you only say this now…"
There was no point in pursuing that anymore. The key was to bring the Black Serpent disaster under control.
"Forget it… I don't know how everyone is now…"
Thinking about how much time had passed since Archi's incident, if the Black Serpent had been around, her clansmen must have already...
"Please rest assured, Miss Fortuna." At this moment, Pandora spoke up: "I've already sent the Black Serpent back to where it should be."
She had some speculation about where the Black Serpent belonged.
Perhaps the fact that the Black Serpent hadn't caused trouble earlier was thanks to a certain "father"...
Hearing this, Fortuna looked deeply at Pandora.
"Hmm." Finally, while breathing a sigh of relief, she responded with a nasal sound.
As for Archi, he didn't know what to say anymore.
The Black Serpent was brought by Regulus (an unclear blame), and he had been killed by the Black Serpent.
Yet Pandora drove away the Black Serpent, and he was revived, so...
Did Pandora save him?
Looking at Pandora's smiling face, Archi couldn't help but be lost in thought.
Is she really a Witch?
"Let me reiterate." After glancing at the nearby house, Fortuna turned her head: "What are you doing?"
Pandora was chatting with Archi, looking quite cheerful.
Seeing Archi's helpless expression made Fortuna unsure what to say.
"Don't worry, Miss Fortuna." Pandora nodded in response. "I understand everything you've said."
Along the way, she had learned about the settlement's situation from Archi. Though he omitted many details, she still grasped the essentials.
Basically, it could be summarized as: "External sustenance, internal preservation"
Simply put, this small forest settlement survived on various fruits from the woods, while clothing and other daily necessities relied on Geuse who constantly traveled back and forth.
"I hope you truly understand and can comply..."
She genuinely didn't know whether letting Pandora live in the forest was a good choice, but...
It certainly wasn't a bad one, or rather, not the worst option.
On the way back, Geuse had explained what it meant that Pandora saved her life.
She had some understanding of Geuse's abilities.
And Geuse had actually mistaken her for Pandora, so that attack back then...
"Mhm." Pandora simply nodded in response.
As the four gradually approached the settlement:
"Lady Fortuna!"
The alert elf clansmen finally relaxed slightly.
"Good. Has everything been peaceful here?" Fortuna nodded before immediately asking.
"No." Everyone shook their heads, making Fortuna sigh in relief.
"It seems Miss Fortuna still doesn't trust me." Pandora suddenly remarked.
"Lady Fortuna, who is this..."
Everyone looked at Pandora with confusion, as the young woman was simply too striking.
"Archi, can you handle this?" Fortuna sighed and looked toward Archi.
After all, she still needed to help Geuse rest, and Emilia also needed to recuperate.
"Of course..." Archi nodded upon hearing this.
He was the next Guardian! Such a... small matter... was nothing!
"Lord Archi..." Watching Fortuna and the others gradually disappear into the distance, the crowd grew restless: "What happened to Lord Geuse? And who is this young lady?"
After all, Geuse's clothes looked as if he had just been rolling on the ground, with traces of blood still around his eyes...
"Well..." After clearing his throat slightly to signal for quiet, Archi spoke: "This young lady is named Pandora, she's... a Witch."
When mentioning the Witch identity, Archi deliberately glanced at Pandora, only proceeding when he saw she had no intention of stopping him.
"Miss Pandora... a Witch!" The crowd repeated the words, then suddenly reacted, followed by: "Lord Archi, stop joking..."
There were only seven Witches in the world, and they were all things of the past. How could there be another Witch?