My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 175 Why don't you trust the Demon King? The Dangerous Storm Ocean

Inside the Governor's Palace.

Cellina, who was still trying to hide her ears and tail, was on the verge of a breakdown.

Nash, who was squatting on the coffee table, looked at the animal-eared girl who was practically jumping up and down, and said to comfort her, "Hey, don't be nervous."

"It's just that the disguise failed. Everyone knows you're a demon anyway, so it's fine if it fails."

Cellina sighed after hearing Nash's words: "That's not why I'm nervous..."

"Do you remember the first time Leah and I met? Weren't you being held in her arms?"

There was a faint hint of death in Cellina's tone, as if she was already prepared to face her end.

Nash was also somewhat speechless: "Well, when this guy first saw you, he did take a strong interest in your ears and tail."

"But she's been acting strangely lately; she seems to be treating you like a normal person now."

Nash's words offered Cherlinina no comfort whatsoever.

She sighed, "Guess why I've been wearing this headband even when I sleep these past few days, and only take it off when I take a shower?"

"It's all because I'm afraid of that Leah..."

Halfway through her sentence, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories, Cellina unconsciously trembled.

She then looked at Nash: "By the way, why isn't Ms. Flam back yet? Didn't she say an hour ago that she'd be back soon?"

"Come on, that guy's an elf!" Nash retorted. "You actually expect an elf to have a normal sense of time? These little tree-men live longer than our dragon race!"

"Squeak-"

As Nash was complaining, Flam walked into the house with a deadpan expression, then glanced silently at Nash, who had instantly become obedient.

After staring at the silly cat for a while, she finally focused her attention on Cherlinina.

"Ah...it really didn't work."

After confirming that Cellina's ears and tail were not hidden, and that the headband she was holding still exuded magical energy, it was clear that this magical artifact had reached the limit of its power.

It could not successfully conceal the characteristics of a demon race with the strength of an eighth-ring.

Fram held out her hand, gesturing for Cherlinina to hand her the headband, which Cherlinina did.

After a few glances, Flam discovered the problem: "The materials have reached their limit. This thing was never designed for people above the eighth ring."

"I guess the creator's idea at the time was that reaching the eighth ring would give one the ability to protect oneself..."

"The renovation will take some time, but it should be resolved before we leave tomorrow. However, you'll need to maintain this condition tonight for the New Year."

After Frum finished speaking, she looked a little nervous and started wrapping her tail around her waist. Cherlinina, who was fiddling with her tail fur, asked, "Why do you look so nervous?"

"Don't worry, the servants at the Governor's mansion won't notice anything wrong with you. If you're really worried, I can cast an illusion on them..."

"No need, Ms. Flam! By the way, don't you have any suitable spells to teach me? Or you could just use them on me directly!"

Cellina quickly interrupted Flam, stopping her from causing trouble for the servants in the governor's mansion.

Frum shook her head: "No, there's only magic like turning Nash from a dragon into a cat. Do you want to try it?"

"...No need."

Frum sighed, then began to defend herself: "I don't know why you would have this idea, but if we judge races by the structure of magic within our bodies, humans and elves are close relatives, so humans can use elven magic, and vice versa."

"But demons are different. Not to mention that most demons don't even look like humans, the structure of their magic power also varies depending on their race."

"To put it simply... even if they are both disguise spells of the demon race, what works for blood demons may not work for gargoyles, and what works for gargoyles may not work for liches."

"Even demons themselves cannot share spells, let alone with other races."

"Although I have done some research on the magic of the demon race, it is limited to the general-purpose potentially lethal spells."

When her expectations were dashed, even the ears on the top of her head went limp and began to droop.

Frum found this very strange: "Although you are now living in human society, you do need to hide."

"But you don't necessarily have to go out today."

"Whether we hide here or not doesn't really matter, right?"

"Why do you look like the end of the world is coming? Even if your identity as a demon is discovered, I think Roland can easily handle it for you."

Cellina slumped onto the sofa: "Because of Leah... she'll definitely pounce on me and touch my ears..."

Upon hearing this, Furam's expression changed drastically: "What! That problem is quite serious."

"Right... ears aren't a part of the body you can just touch randomly, are they?"

"Mmm!" Flam nodded in agreement.

Nash, standing to the side: "???"

What happened? It's just touching her ear, right? Leah has been touching her ear the whole time, and she didn't feel anything.
Sometimes it's actually quite comfortable.

And you, an elf and a demon, how could you possibly agree on something like this?!
Nash: “…”

Forget it, she's just a white ball of fluff that's been wasting her life.

These troublesome things are not for her to think about.

She should think about what she'll have at the New Year's Eve party tonight.

There should be some good things that we don't usually get to eat, right?

In the days since she became a cat, she has eaten quite a bit of human food.

Nash preferred the coastal cuisine to the woodland-style food of Blackthorn Ridge, feeling it would better suit her tastes.

After all, Dragon Island is an island, and seafood is the one thing it has no shortage of...

Moreover, based on Nash's personal experience recently, humans have already far surpassed dragons in cooking techniques compared to those dragons who only know how to stew soup and grill.

She believed that humans could definitely create different flavors from the same ingredients!
When she returns to Long Island, she must bring this wonderful flavor back to her hometown.

What if I can't eat it in the future?
We'll see if we can recruit a few human chefs to teach cooking.

Just as Nash was contemplating dinner, Flam and Cherlinina finished their discussion.

hat!

Fold the ears slightly and tuck them into the wool hat!
As for the tail... well, let the long skirt handle that.

After discussing the plan, Cellina was ushered into the room by Flam to change her clothes.

The disguise went very smoothly; Cherlinina's ears were perfectly concealed by a white woolen hat.

After some adjustments, the tail was perfectly hidden under the gray long skirt.

However, Cellina wasn't used to this kind of outfit.

"This outfit... it's kind of like what Leah would wear. Am I not really suited to this style?"

Upon hearing Cherlinina's question, Flam nodded: "These are Leah's clothes. Your clothes are so practical."

"And most of them are tight-fitting, so they can't hide anything at all!"

"We'll have to use Leah's old clothes as a substitute."

Cellina was even more confused after hearing this: "You carry Leah's old clothes with you?"

"...Don't worry about the details. It's just that I forgot to throw it away."

Cellina gave an awkward laugh and decided not to pursue the matter further.

She just tugged at her sweater... it was a little too small.

In other words, the sweater itself has some stretch, so she can still wear it without it being completely unwearable.

But it also made her chest ache from the tightness.

She looked at Floram: "Um...Ms. Floram, do you have any clothes a size larger? The skirt and hat are fine, but this top...is a bit too small."

Fram: “…”

Frum silently looked down at herself, then looked up at Cellina, who was being strangled in great discomfort, and scoffed.

Then, silently, she took out her staff and used a magical stretching spell to make the sweater a few inches larger.

Cellina was stunned when she saw it.

You know such strange magic?!
Frum snorted, then said, "Are you satisfied now?"

"...Satisfied. But isn't it strange for me to wear a hat in my room?"

“So what if it’s strange? There’s no one else here. Just tell me the truth.” Flam said calmly, then turned and left the room. “You guys sit here a little longer. This lounge is where the banquet will be held tonight. The butler should be bringing people in to set up the venue soon. We need someone to keep an eye on things.”

"I'll go back to my room first to organize some information such as nautical charts... Anyway..."

As if remembering something, Fram picked Nash up from the coffee table, who was still deep in thought about what to have for dinner.

Nash: "Meow?"

Is this even my business? Wasn't my job to just be cute and roll around here?
"You'll be involved in the operation too, I almost forgot to tell you, just letting you know in advance."

Nash: "???"

"Huh!? Me?!"

“Yes, it’s you.” Flam nodded; “Your life hasn’t changed in essence, and you might bring us some…unexpected conveniences at sea.”

Nash: "!!!"

"I'm just a cute cat who can only roll around! Don't you think this is a bit presumptuous of you?"

"No, the dragon race has pretty good resistance to all kinds of mental attacks." Flam laughed: "Have you forgotten? Even I was affected by the curse before. Only three targets with souls were unaffected."

“One is Roland, one is the remnant of the Demon King on his waist, and the other is you.”

"We need a reliable alarm clock to alert us to any potential anomalies."

"I definitely trust you more than the Demon King, my dear Miss Nash."

Nash, who was being held in Flam's arms, was almost in tears.

She looked at Flam with teary eyes: "Why don't you trust Mr. Demon King? I think he is a gentleman of high moral character. At least this remnant soul that has had contact with us is definitely trustworthy."

"Hmph~~~" Flam smiled without saying a word. Nash's cuteness wouldn't work on her.

Nash, realizing his trick had failed, was as if struck by lightning.

The cat froze on the spot for a moment. Nash, who had thought he could stay on the shore to fish and sunbathe, was dumbfounded.

She had a general understanding of the dangers of this operation.

The fact that Kalia and Iluvia weren't allowed to accompany them indicates that this mission was definitely not a smooth voyage.

This is still based on the support from the two major powers, the Society and the Vatican!

The Empire was in charge of logistics, the Society was in charge of ships and professional sailors, and as for the Papacy—they were in charge of the thugs.

There were several hundred people on the ship; apart from those who had learned the ropes, the rest were all combat personnel.

If we exclude Roland, whose rank is unknown but who gets stronger when facing stronger opponents, all the other combatants are at least at the seventh-ring transcendent level.

Yes, although Delan was leading the Hatter team this time, he wasn't the only seventh-ring extraordinary Hatter in the team.

A squad of judges led by a Grand Judge, three elite hatters, a ninth-ring legendary mage, and an eighth-ring demon warrior...

Even in the Demon King War, this combat power is an absolutely elite force that cannot be ignored!
It is a sharp dagger capable of piercing through the Demon King's army at its peak!

Not to mention the members of the society on the ship; although they are not experts in combat, it does not mean they are powerless.

How could sailors who spend most of their time at sea be weak?

Although the branch president, Götze, was not as strong as Baron, whom Roland had met before, he still possessed the strength of a seventh-ring extraordinary warrior and was a rare find within the academy.

The remaining members are generally at the third or fourth ring level in terms of strength.

Including the armaments carried on the ocean exploration ship, this single ship alone would be enough to pose a significant threat to the Federation of Northern Nations should it even approach the territorial waters of the Federation.

Despite this composition of personnel, none of the participants in the entire operation were entirely confident that they could safely complete the mission.

So you're asking me, a little cat who can only act cute and catch mice, to participate? Is that really reasonable?

Isn't this blatant animal cruelty?!
Unfortunately, as a pet, she seems to have little choice.

As dusk settled, the last rays of the sun began to stream into the windows of the Governor's Mansion during the brief winter twilight.

At this moment, Roland and his group returned.

However, compared to when they went out, the three of them returned carrying quite a few bags and packages.

Although Roland repeatedly suggested putting those damn shopping bags into the storage space so that he could free his hands, neither Iluvia nor Kalia wanted to see Roland's hands empty.

And so... it turned out like this.

After placing the large and small bags on the table, Roland sighed helplessly.

Although the items were not heavy for Roland at all, this was the first time he had ever carried large and small bags while walking through the streets and alleys to pick out gifts.

Fortunately, the gift-choosing process went smoothly.

At least Kalia chose a gift she liked—a cream-filled chocolate from the northern kingdoms.

With its delicious taste and, most importantly, its exquisite packaging, it successfully won over Kalia's heart.

After the payment was completed, Kalia put the gift into the gift box herself, then handed the box to Roland, waiting for Roland to give it to her personally that evening.

They were emphasizing the sense of ritual and surprise before... but in the end they completely disregarded it.

Iluvia did the same, but she didn't go to see what bouquet Roland had chosen for her; she wanted to save the surprise for the evening.

As for the gifts for Fram and Cellina, Roland chose them based on his stereotypes about the two women.

Flam is easy to deal with. Although she doesn't have many hobbies, she's actually the easiest to understand. All you need to do is give her novel and unfamiliar magic.

However, Roland chose a more convenient option—a rune imprint that contained some of the power of the primordial runestone, the World Tree.

Roland felt that the spells on these were enough for Flam to study at her leisure.

Of course, the main reason was also because Roland couldn't find any novel magic in Riskan.

Even if Flam can't figure out this spell, the World Tree aura on it is enough for Flam to hold and inhale like catnip for a while.

Judging from the time the Demon King activated the power of the runestone, the World Tree has a similar effect on elves as catnip does on cats, or even a more potent one.

Roland thought Fram would like the gift.

As for Celinina...

Choosing a gift for her really gave Roland a lot of trouble.

Roland, who had already picked out an exquisite hair accessory as a gift, felt that simply giving Cherlinina jewelry seemed a bit unfair to all the effort she had put in recently.

After all, she was always the first to rush to the front lines in any battle.

Its strength, comparable to the Eighth Ring and even capable of holding off the Ninth Ring for a short period, made many of Roland's plans and actions much easier.

So Roland decided to tell Cellina the so-called answer she wanted to know.

Write it on a piece of paper.

Using this as an excuse to keep others hanging on, even demons, is going too far.

Not to mention that Roland had already trusted Cellinina for a long time.

So he wrote down all his knowledge of the Primal Runestones on a piece of paper.

At the end, it simply stated, "The remnant soul of the Demon King knows more."

Roland didn't really know why he added that sentence; perhaps he was afraid that Cellina would leave as soon as she got the answer.

With the operation imminent, having one more or one less teammate with eight-ring-level skills will greatly affect whether the operation can proceed smoothly.

After writing down this information, Roland rolled up the note and placed it in the corner of the gift box.

only……

Roland looked up at Cellina.

The person chatting with Kalia at this moment had unexpectedly changed their clothes.

And it looks somewhat familiar...

I feel like I've seen this outfit somewhere before.

And... why is this guy wearing a hat indoors?

Oh well, freedom of dress.

Roland didn't think much of it. After piling the gifts in front of and behind the fireplace, he walked toward the sofa.

Only Flam, who was holding her cat, was on the sofa at that moment.

As soon as Roland and the other two entered, this guy took the opportunity to sit down on the sofa.

Roland was surprised that the two of them were paired together.

Upon discovering Roland's presence, Nash quickly broke free from Flam's embrace and snuggled onto Roland's shoulder.

"Roland, Roland! Help! This elf is going to kill me!"

Seeing the little female cat practically wanting to snuggle into his arms, Roland poked the silly cat's nose with his finger and teased, "Aren't you overthinking it?"

"Cat meat doesn't taste good, so why would Ms. Flam kill you?"

"Wait a minute... you seem to be from a dragon, and your blood properties haven't changed. Could it be that she wants to kill you and sell your blood?"

Nash: "!!!"

"Meow! Why are you thinking such terrible things?!"

Nash was clearly genuinely frightened.

This was Roland's judgment based on the vibration frequency transmitted from the silly cat in his arms.

Generally speaking, an angry Nash will shake less frequently than a frightened Nash.

This high-frequency shaking must have frightened them quite a bit.

Nash climbed up to Roland and said very seriously, "This elf actually wants me to participate in the operation!"

"Why do I have to go when neither Minglia nor Iluvia can go?!"

"At most, I can only catch mice!"

"Waaaaaah! This mission is so dangerous, and this guy still insists I participate. He definitely wants me dead!"

As Roland listened to the silly cat's cries, he silently grabbed the back of its neck and lifted it up.

"Alright, Ms. Flam must have her own plans."

"And while the operation is indeed dangerous, it's not to the point of no return, okay?"

"Besides, the power of the ocean exploration ship we learned is still terrifying; it only takes two days to reach the target sea area."

"In any case, we should all be back in Switzerland in a week."

"Not to mention, the security on the ship is much better than that in Riscan."

“That Grand Inquisitor and Cherlinina are both level eight warriors, and you also know Ms. Flam’s strength.”

"The city was only inhabited by the city garrison and the hat maker who stayed behind."

“Tsk…it seems like it’s not safe for you guys to stay in Riskan.” Roland said, turning to look at the three women who were chatting.

Upon hearing Roland's words, Iluvia added with a smile, "After you leave, Mr. Kefas will come to Riskan with Steward Federic and the Royal Guard who survived the Battle of Blackthorn."

"So there's no need to worry about our safety."

"I see... Alright, but even so, I still think it's safer for you to come with us."

Nash snapped, "That's clearly sophistry! It's obviously safer on shore!!!"

"Ahem, how could that be? It's true that Mr. Kefas and Mr. Federico are both strong, but they are warriors, and they don't have many ways to protect people."

Roland explained very seriously: "You see, during battle, Ms. Flam can easily give you a shield or keep you in a protective barrier."

"But what about the warrior? You can only pray that his battle ends quickly enough, otherwise if the enemy comes after you, you're finished, aren't you?"

Nash wasn't fooled by Roland's logic: "That's not the point! This is going out to sea! Do you know how dangerous the Stormy Ocean is these days?!"

"You, being human, may not understand, but this elf, and I, a dragon, know it all too well!"

"To put it bluntly, the oceans are no longer suitable for ships to navigate! Even dragons wouldn't choose to stay close to the surface when crossing the ocean these days!"

(End of this chapter)