It was already dark, and after entering the dense forest, the surroundings were even darker, and the yellow-green light from the hut in front of it was very dazzling in the thick darkness. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"You say we have eavesdropping magic...... What's going on?"

The tall witch didn't reply to me, and turned and walked straight to the hut.

This...... It should be okay to keep up, right?

The trees around the hut looked as if they had been twisted by hand on purpose, and instead of growing straight up, they poked around as if they had lost their way.

Some of the trunks of trees are even spiraled, making it difficult to understand why this happens.

Salad salad ......

The grass on the ground is not a normal soft feeling when stepped on, but a stiff grinding sound like stepping on sand.

As soon as I got close to the hut, the yellow-green light made me feel dizzy.

There was also an indescribable smell in the air, a slightly pungent and slightly sour smell, like oil that had been stuck to the pan after frying, clinging to my skin.

"Uh......"

Ellie scratched the back of her hand uncomfortably, the smell making her uncomfortable.

'It's a taste of mixed magic, there used to be a lot of magic in the hut, from different races, maybe even from different worlds'

In other words, if this crooked-looking cabin resembles a dangerous chemical factory, it makes sense that the surrounding forest would take on a strange shape......

Rattle, bell~

The bell hung on the door, which made a clear sound when Parthia opened the door, and in this gloomy place, the bell was the only thing that made us feel intimate.

Meow meow~

Huh? I heard a familiar cry, didn't I ......?

Sure enough, as Parthia walked in the doorway, several little black cats came running up and running around her boots affectionately.

Then the critters immediately sensed my presence and stared at me and Ellie in unison.

Their pair of yellow or blue eyes glow faintly, and they are clearly not a common species in the human world......

Then they ran away like a bunch of shy little girls.

"Come in"

Parthia's voice was a mixture of bells and flutes, as if she had a different accent from the other witches.

"Oh...... Well, excuse me"

It's amazing, the doorway looks low, Parthia, who is taller and thinner, walks in with the door, and I walk in with the door, as if the space itself can adjust automatically.

The moment you walk in the door......

"Wow!"

Spacious room, no, this can't be called a room, it's a warehouse.

"Roar!"

A creature with an ugly face and big teeth lunged at us from not far away.

"Wow!"

I was so scared that my heart was about to jump out, and just a few meters after the thing rushed out, it was grabbed by a thick iron chain.

A black ...... Lizard?

Rows of thorns stood upside down on the back of the thing, trembling and clattering.

"Wow, what a cute Wang-chan"

"Hey, is this a dog?"

Also, this thing is cute? Ellie, what kind of aesthetic do you have?

Elle snapped her fingers, activating the magic in her body, and the burning sensation instantly ignited my spiritual realm.

Hiss-quack!

The lizard immediately lowered its head honestly, rubbed its chin on the ground, stared at us with a pair of large, red and timid eyes, and slowly took two steps back.

"This is the Black Salamander"

Oh...... This is the legendary creature that lives in the Black Fire Mountains, and it is as terrifying as the snake of the earth.

"Because they instinctively fear powerful fire magic, they are as docile as puppies to me"

No wonder Elle would call it Wang-chan.

As far as the eye can see, there are many other different creatures in this warehouse, flying in the air, birds and bats, climbing on the walls like geckos, cages closed, toothed and toothless......

There are also rows of workbenches filled with books and scrolls.

And...... Shelves for all kinds of tools, from large pliers, saws, and hammers, to precision tweezers and knives, seem to be on the board.

"Ah, that!"

A cauldron, an essential piece of equipment in any mythical witch's room, where witches usually laugh and concoct dangerous poisons.

And now it seems to be doing just that—it glows with a yellow-green glow that sways like steam.

"Stand still"

As Ellie and I looked curiously around Parthia's laboratory, the witch took a small jar from the table next to it and placed it at my feet.

Oh...... It was an incense jar with some ashes of grass and trees in it, and there was still some tinder in the middle place, which looked red like cherries.

The strong smell choked my cough like sulfur.

And Ellie doesn't seem to react to the smell at all, and she deserves to be called the princess of the volcano.

"Huh, what is this?"

A faint cloud of smoke from the jar surrounded me, and these things groped around me like sentient creatures.

Then every now and then there will be a flash of yellow light, which will be fleeting.

"Oh...... That's it, right?"

Elle reacted, and the smoke was neutralizing some kind of magic in us.

Or rather, the smoke swallows some kind of special magic.

"The magic of the elves allows them to hear what you say"

"Huh?"

Unknowingly, the magic was unleashed on us?

"No- wait, isn't this magic the Kraken's?"

Obviously it smells of seaweed?

Parthia shook her head, then took a gray-yellow piece of paper from the table behind her and pointed it at us.

The smoke that surrounds us drifts crookedly like a snake smelling its prey, clinging to the paper.

The faint smoke and dust seemed to have undergone a chemical reaction, turning into bright yellow and blue lines...... What is this line?

It looks like the trajectory of some kind of magic, which is a spell.

Ellie searched her mind for the magic.

"Indeed, I've seen it, it's the magic of the Shiraki family"

"Huh?"

The Shiraki family?

It was one of the eight most important families in the Dawn Mountains, in charge of the White Wooden Tower, and a group of elves who were the most adept at using magic.

Has Sruka's tentacles penetrated deep into this?

I could even feel the sweat on my forehead.

"Don't be nervous, although this magic belongs to the Shiraki family, it doesn't have to be cast by the people of the Dawn Mountains."

Unlike me, Ellie has her own judgment.

"Yes, and this magic is specifically faked as the magic of the Siren"

Parthia pointed to the gray-yellow piece of paper with her long, pale fingers and said to us.

Elle quickly searched her memories and unconsciously put her finger to her lips, a small gesture that showed that she also felt that the current situation was serious.

"Ahh

"What do you remember?"

While asking, I also saw what Elle was thinking from the soul link.

Tolmanger!

"The Shiraki family is very powerful, not only in the Dawn Mountains, but also in other elven cities."

Although Elle didn't say it, she was suspicious in her heart.

After all, Princess Timia is from Tormange, and if the elves from Tormang and the Kraken unleash eavesdropping magic on us, then Timia herself will not be able to escape suspicion.

"But then again, why eavesdropping magic, wouldn't it be more convenient to use other detection magic to get our location at once?"

I digressed from the subject, not wanting Elle to continue her troubles.

"The kind of magic you're talking about is easy to detect, and it's usually a magic that shares location information when both parties agree to it."

Oooh...... It's like the magic between Elle and Timia, both of them know it exists.

"So what exactly can they eavesdropon?"

Parthia looked carefully at the lines on the paper and replied to me.

"It looks like I can only hear what you say"

"Oh, is that all?"

"Hmm"

The witch wrapped in a black dress nodded.

This...... Probably a temptation for me.

Spy on us without alerting me and Ellie.

Could it be that when the dragon came to me alone, the so-called 'covenant' that I told was still working?

Sruka didn't come to attack us just because his words counted?

I'm quite skeptical of that.

I'm afraid there is some reason why he can't be free to appear in our world.