[ARC 1] Chapter 10 – A Date with a Warped Woman

Poison.

He swiveled the bottle of purple liquid with his finger and thumb and smiled to imagine the pain his former party would experience if he made them drink this. There was nothing more painful than his master’s poison.

Remy had to be careful though. He needed to be as sneaky as a thief or an assassin. Be just like the wind or-

“What are you doing?” Odette’s face appeared at his side.

Remy made a sound and jumped. The bottle in his hand slipped from his grip a couple of times in a cartoonish way, until he caught it and awkwardly hid it in the knapsack hanging on his hip.

“What! Nothing! What are you doing?!”

The witch just stared at him. Her expression mostly stayed the same, but Remy could see a slight twitch of her lips, signaling annoyance.

“What does it matter what I’m doing here? I’m not in your party anymore.” He turned away.

The white-haired witch ran her fingers through her long hair. “I wouldn’t be asking it, if you weren’t in the lobby of the inn that your former party sleeps in, swilling a vial of what appears to be poison from Morgan’s cooking with a smile that could rival the Demon King’s.”

Remy crossed his arms. “I have no poison.”

Of course, it didn’t matter how confidently he had said it. The deal was blown. She exactly knew what he was going to do.

So, he had to go for a different tactic. One that he would seriously regret.

“I’m not here to poison anyone,” he said. “I was here to see if you wanted to go get some food.”

She froze.

“Are…are you asking me on a date?”

“No…” He closed one of his eyes. “I’m asking if you want to buy me food.”

Then the witch smiled for the first time in a few days. “With pleasure!”

#

Since their days in the slum, Odette and him had been inseparable. While he had been the monster dropped off, she had been the monster born from it. She had been called The Ashen Witch. His first experience meeting her when he seeking dominance in the slums was an unpleasant story with an even more unpleasant ending.

The café she dragged him to was her favorite one. The one where the coffee and tea were always bitter, and the snacks were finger sandwiches. His eyebrows twitched as he looked at what she ordered for them.

Smashed fisheye sandwiches.

“These are my favorite.” She put one of them into her mouth and the look of her face turned into delight as if what she had just eaten was strawberry shortcake.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

It was what he really wanted, but this place served the weirdest things. The tea the served him was made from pickled tankfalcon talons. She drank that like it was coffee and milk. She gave a satisfied sigh as she placed down an empty cup and poured another cup.

He hit his fist on the table.

It made the dishes bounce and clatter. She gave him a perturbed look.

“Why are you making such a face?”

“Because, your tastebuds are broken,” he said. “Why can’t you take me to normal places, with normal tea, and normal snacks like cake.”

“You’ve always had a sweet tooth. Here. Ahhhh.”

She was trying to feed the sandwich to him. Remy refused to open his mouth and the sandwich hit the closed gates. From his lips, he could taste it, and it revolted him. She frowned, putting the sandwich back on the plate.

“This doesn’t feel like a date.”

“This isn’t a date.” Remy pointed at her. “I want answers. Why did you vote to kick me out of my party?”

“Because, you said we couldn’t date if we were in the same party,” she answered quite clearly. “So, of course I would vote for my own self-interest.”

“Somehow, just you admitting that, pisses me off.” Remy’s fists tightened. “I know you had feelings for me, but I can’t believe that you kicked me out, knowing that Pyra and Charlotte have feelings for me.”