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

Chapter 179: I'll let you turn your cat back into a dragon, not a catgirl.

"Oh, you've arrived, kid?"

The remnant soul of the Demon King, who was manipulating his gauntlet to scribble on the ground with a piece of chalk, hurriedly urged Roland to hurry up after sensing that Roland's magical aura had reappeared in the room.

"Where's the cat? No, the dragon? If it's here, have her squat in the center of the magic circle first."

"Just put the six-pointed star that you helped draw before on top of the six-pointed star."

The gauntlet flew through the air, occasionally bending off branches of the World Tree and placing them in the corners of the magic circle.

Nash, who was being held in Roland's arms, was somewhat uneasy at this moment.

Because the ceremony itself... seemed somewhat hasty.

The chalk scattered on the ground and the ceremonial materials laid out haphazardly showed absolutely no trace of rigor!

This was not the kind of ritual she knew at all!

"Um... is this ritual really safe?"

"Won't I not only lose my ability to turn back into a dragon, but also turn into some strange thing because of it?"

"No way! I'd rather stay a cat, even if I get eaten by the shadow monster!"

The Demon King manipulated his gauntlets to fly in front of Nash: "Tsk, are you really a dragon?"

"The dragons I've seen, though lazy by nature, are incredibly bold."

Nash, with his neck stiff, retorted, "Isn't it allowed for a few useless people to emerge from the dragon race?!"

"...It's quite impressive that he can so readily admit that he's a good-for-nothing."

The gauntlet then flew directly above Nash's cat head, and Roland readily released his grip.

Haw!

Nash's head was firmly gripped by the Demon King!

Nash: "!!!"

"Roland, what are you doing?!"

"No! Nina, save me! I don't want to turn into a grotesque monster!!!"

Celinina: No concern.

When Nash asked for help, she felt that he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

In her mind, the rituals of the demon race were always this chaotic.

Um... although it won't be as chaotic as the scene here.

But it was ultimately the Demon King who directed and arranged the scene.

As a "brute" who only knows how to wield swords and whose few martial arts skills are also related to swords, it's best not to criticize the actions of professionals.

She was simply speaking quietly with Roland about information regarding the Primal Runestone.

"So... those stones are called Primal Runestones. I never thought I'd get the answer from the Demon King."

"Back when I was being hunted down by the royal court, I never even considered this possibility."

Cherlinina sighed, raised her left hand and rested it on her right elbow, looking up at the ceiling of the room as if hugging herself.

Roland laughed too: "He did add a lot, but ultimately, you got your answer from me, didn't you?"

“Is it that important?” Cellina tilted her head. “Or are you in such a hurry to finalize that deal between us?”

Without waiting for Roland's reply, Cellina continued, "Never mind, I know you're just someone who likes to chime in."

"...By the way, after the deal is done, you won't kick me out, will you?"

Roland paused for a moment, and only after confirming that Nash had been bound by the Demon King's branches of the World Tree and was unable to move in the center of the array did he ask, "Don't you have anything to do?"

"This time, the mission was to find a friend. After getting the answer, what will you do? Nothing at all?"

Cellina lowered her head: "What are you doing? Taking revenge?"

“I used to think that way, but I don’t think that way now.”

"It's like an ant trying to shake a tree. I won't do anything that would lead to my death... Don't say anything. Even if you say you want to help me get revenge, I won't let you get involved."

"I'm very satisfied with my life now... If possible, I'd like to let this kind of life continue."

Roland was about to say something, but he had to stop: "Never mind, since you've put it that way..."

"I'm not stupid enough to send away a bodyguard who can temporarily contend with a ninth-ring expert and is free."

"You can't find such a good business opportunity anywhere else."

Cherlinina: "?"

“I’ve changed my mind… You have to pay me for hiring me. I don’t work for free.”

"Haha, okay. That's a reasonable request, but can I buy it on credit? I don't have that many Golden Eagle Coins on hand."

Seeing Roland chuckle, Cellina smiled too: "Okay... let's settle it once a year."

"Also... I really like your gift."

“If you like it, that’s good. I spent a lot of time choosing the time.” Roland laughed.

"And what about my gift? Do you like it?" Cellina asked in return.

Roland's smile froze for a moment, then he coughed: "Well, how should I put it..."

"You don't like it?" Cherlinina's tone became somewhat dejected.

"...More than whether you like it or not...can you tell me if giving a white wolf fang has any special meaning?"

As Roland spoke, he took out the gift that Cellina had given him.

A small and exquisite wolf tooth sculpture.

It's clearly a very valuable item.

Roland could tell that this item must be very valuable.

But he really had no interest in such ornaments or decorations.

If Cherlinina had simply given him a tooth from a regular wolf demon beast, he could have ground it up and used it as an alchemical material.

However, considering that Cherlinina is a demon, her gift-giving logic is definitely different from that of humans.

So Roland decided to answer the other party's question based on Cellina's answer.

When Cellina saw Roland take out her gift, she said without changing her expression, "This is a tradition in my family."

"When the young wolves of the Cangya Clan are losing their baby teeth, they preserve them and, upon reaching adulthood, use a special technique to craft all of them into a single... In your human terms, this is a magical artifact."

"This thing in your hand is made from my teeth."

"It's actually useless."

"They were made into magical tools simply because it makes them easy to preserve and less prone to damage."

After listening to Cellina's story, Roland silently held the ivory carving in his hand and examined it for a while.

Is this how this thing came to be?
It really is……

That's unexpected.

But after saying all this, we've only covered the origin; what about the meaning?
"Since its origin is so special, it must have a special meaning, right?"

"...Are you really going to ask me this question?"

A rare, awkward expression appeared on Cherlinina's face.

This was the first time Roland had ever seen such an expression on the other person's face.

A mix of confusion and frustration, and frustration mixed with... embarrassment and annoyance?
Roland's intuition told him that continuing to ask questions might lead to some unexpected developments.

"Never mind... But since this gift is so special, why didn't you just tell me last night?"

"...Aren't you going to ask anymore?"

"No, since you don't seem too keen on talking about it." Roland chuckled awkwardly, then placed the ivory carving into the small gift box it came in, and then put it into his storage ring.

Cellina glared at Roland, but Roland could clearly see that Cellina breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The ritual officially began after the Demon King subdued the silly cat.

Roland didn't even have time to see the ritual array working before he felt a flash before his eyes.

The tricolor light, a blend of green, black, and even a touch of red, nearly blinded him in an instant.

It almost blinded Cherlinina.

The blinding light, accompanied by intense magical fluctuations, lasted for several seconds before stopping.

Roland thought to himself that if he hadn't informed the entire crew what he was doing beforehand, the commotion alone would have been enough to attract everyone else on the ship.

Captain Götze, in particular, seemed very nervous from the moment the ship set sail.

But when the light faded, Roland, Cellina, and even the remnant soul of the Demon King were all stunned.

The cat remained lying in the center of the formation.

However, the World Tree branch that originally restricted her movements disappeared.

Nashburn the cat lay motionless in place, like a corpse.

Roland quickly stepped forward and scooped up the silly cat, then yelled at the gauntlet, "Damn it! My cat! You killed my cat!"

"Shut up! Why don't you use your magic to check it out? This little thing is perfectly fine!"

The Demon King retorted angrily, but he was also somewhat bewildered: "That's strange... the ritual was fine, so why is there no change at all?"

"The expected magical fluctuations didn't appear... Could it be that we failed?"

Roland naturally heard the Demon King's mutterings and then asked, "So, are we going to take her to the deck now?"

"...Let's go anyway, observe for half an hour."

Even the remnant soul of the Demon King was somewhat unsure.

He had never seen this scene before.

What he hadn't told Roland before was that, although he often used curse magic against enemies, the curse magic was indeed something he spearheaded, leading the Lich King's Court to extract and bring to light the magic from the ruins of the evil god's kingdom.

But he had only ever thought about how to use curses against his enemies before; this was the first time he had ever broken a curse.

"Half an hour? If there's still no movement after half an hour?" "That means it's a failure. Looks like we need to be more rigorous with the materials..."

The Demon King muttered to himself, then began to circle around the now-ash-covered formation with a hint of resentment.

Roland glanced at Cherlinina: "How about we go up to the deck together and observe for a while?"

“No problem.” Cellina nodded. She was still very concerned about the cat’s condition.

At least for now... nothing serious, he's just unconscious.

Soon, Roland, carrying the silly cat, teleported onto the deck with Cellina.

The sea was bathed in sunshine, presenting a beautiful scene.

Roland breathed in the strong yet incredibly refreshing sea breeze, then stretched while carrying the cat.

"Okay, let's start waiting."

Then he and Cherlinina stared at each other on the deck for half an hour.

Nothing happened.

The cat, however, woke up.

"Meow... What happened? Am I still alive? No, did I turn back? I didn't turn into anything weird, did I?"

Nash muttered to himself as he got up from the deck.

After getting up, she shivered violently; the armor plating on the deck was cold and it chilled her to the bone.

Roland stepped forward with some disappointment and picked up the cat: "Unfortunately, the ceremony failed."

"Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"It failed! Great!" Nash cheered, his entire cat-like face relaxing.

"No discomfort at all! Everything's normal, meow!"

Cellina also asked, "Are you sure you don't?"

"Really do not have!"

Nash then brandished his arms and legs with great enthusiasm, proving that he was unharmed.

"Okay, okay, I know you're alright, don't move."

Cellina nodded. "It's good that you're alright. So what do we do now?"

"Going to a meeting?" Roland said. "Ms. Fram said there would be a meeting to discuss how to proceed."

"Are you going?" Cherlinina asked.

"Of course, it's not time for the meeting yet."

Roland nodded, then continued, "We've only located Ms. Natalia's soul position so far through Origin Tracking."

"This isn't necessarily where the ship is, is it?"

"Moreover, once her soul disappears, the spell will also fail, which is why we must set off so quickly."

"Before taking action, it is also necessary to gather information from all three parties."

"The information from the Society and the Vatican, as well as their speculations about the incident, is also very important."

“I’ll go too.” Cherlinina nodded. “After all, it concerns Natalia, and for the sake of safety, I’ll go and hear some precautions.”

Roland laughed: "Aren't you afraid of the Vatican? The Grand Inquisitor is here, you know."

"Don't worry, she showed me kindness. Whether she did it because of you or that was her intention, at least in this operation, my identity isn't that sensitive."

Cellina laughed as she spoke, then pointed at Nash: "However, the identity of a demon is not important, but the identity of the Demon King is hard to say."

"She's now radiating the power of the Demon King, mixed with some World Tree energy... You should leave Nash in the room to air out the smell."

"Anyway, we've only just set sail, so there's no need to worry about encountering danger."

Nash immediately exploded: "Are you guys planning to leave me alone in the room?!"

“Yes.” Roland nodded. “Don’t be afraid, we haven’t reached the area where the monsters appear yet.”

"And I'll take safety precautions for you, don't worry."

As Roland spoke, he picked up the cat and turned to walk towards his room.

Cellina looked at Roland and said, "I'm going to the meeting room now, you hurry up."

"it is good."

……

Roland quickly took the silly cat back to his room.

Seeing the still restless silly cat, Roland flicked the cat's head: "Alright, I told you there's nothing to be afraid of."

"This is just offshore, within normal navigation range, and there is no danger."

"Meow... You're not the one in danger!"

Nash raised his paw in annoyance, intending to scratch Roland.

But unfortunately it failed.

Roland easily caught the cat's paw and then laughed, "Don't worry, I'll leave a spell on you."

"It will activate once an anomaly is detected, and bring you to my side."

"Meow, what spell?"

"flash."

Roland laughed as he inscribed a Flash spell on Nash.

"Meow, does this thing even have this function?"

"I just set the coordinates for a directional teleport."

"The ship is located right within the range of my Blink spell."

"In other words, as long as you encounter an accident on this ship, the spell can immediately teleport you to my side."

"Of course, you can start it yourself."

"Even though you've turned into a cat, you still have magic, right?"

Nash nodded.

Although the magic power within him was almost non-existent, it was still only almost non-existent, and some of it could still be used.

"Activate magic, start the spell."

Roland tapped the cat's nose and said.

Nash did it quickly, and the next moment she appeared on top of Roland's head.

"Meow! It actually works! And it can be reused!"

"Wait! Why didn't you tell me sooner that you had such a good idea?! Why did you have to trick me into going through some kind of ritual?"

"Or was that ritual part of a prank?!"

Nash felt as if he had suddenly realized the truth.

Roland picked up the cat in his arms, annoyed. "Because this method isn't entirely foolproof."

"Who knows if this spell will still be able to activate properly when you encounter those monsters?"

"The anomaly was caused by an evil god, which is beyond the comprehension of mortals."

"I am only a fifth-circle mage, and the Blink spell I inscribed is only a second-circle spell."

"I don't think the spell I left on you will be 100% effective in dangerous situations."

"Besides, being teleported to my side doesn't necessarily mean I have a way to solve the problem."

What if you implicate me?

Upon hearing this, Nash immediately shouted, "What do you mean by 'involvement'! Even though they're just pets, we've developed some feelings for each other! How can you be so selfish! If you can't save them, are you just going to stand by and watch?!"

"If there's nothing I can do, of course I'll just watch... Wait, are you alright?"

After shouting for a while, Nash suddenly fell silent, his whole body arching as if in great pain.

Before Roland could even put the cat on the bed, a bright light flashed, and Roland felt the weight of Nash in his hand suddenly increase.

Oh no! Could it be that the ritual was actually successful, but is only taking effect now?!
Does that mean Nash is going to turn back into a dragon in her room?!

But Roland soon realized that this was just an illusion.

Because the weight has stopped increasing.

Although the flashes hadn't stopped, Roland was able to estimate the weight of Nash in his hand.

She's roughly equivalent to half of Kalia.

Moreover, the fluffy, fuzzy texture that Nash used to have disappeared.

Instead, it is...

Roland had a bad feeling.

Nash wouldn't...

After the tri-color flashes in the room ended, Roland saw Nash in his hand...

Huh? Where's my cat?!

Where did this white-haired loli come from?! Why are you in my hands?!
After a second of hesitation, Roland quickly realized what was happening.

Although the silly cat hadn't realized what was happening, Roland had.

He threw the white-haired cat-eared loli in his hand onto the bed, then rolled her up in the blanket.

After making sure no one was exposed, she took out a set of her own clothes from her storage ring and threw them onto the bed.

“Nash…you put it on yourself. I’ll wait by the door…”

Damn it, you devil! What are you doing with such good skills?!

I want you to restore the cat dragon to its dragon form, not to its catgirl form!

(End of this chapter)