Chapter 2: A Load of Sophistry and Shamelessness (Patreon)

"This... wasn't me," Pandora said, waving a hand.

Technically that was true — it really wasn't her doing, seeing as she'd only just arrived in this world herself.

And besides, Fortuna's brother wasn't dead either — some witch had simply turned him into a "spirit"...

"You're lying!" Fortuna's brow furrowed as she shouted in fury. "If not you, then who else could it have been?!"

"Why do you say that?" Truth be told, Pandora wasn't entirely sure herself.

Her authority could be wielded however she pleased, but she had none of the original Pandora's memories — all she had to go on was what she remembered from the novel and a handful of other scraps of information.

"You were there when my brothers died, weren't you!"

"And what does that prove?"

"Who else but you could have had the power to kill them..."

"Archbishop Regulus."

[Sorry about this, Archbishop Regulus...]

And just like that, Pandora pinned the blame squarely on Regulus, who at that very moment was at home basking in his wives' warmth, blissfully unaware.

"Wh... what?!" Fortuna's eyes went wide at the mention of a name she'd heard before.

That white-haired young man had left far too deep an impression on her.

Untouchable, able to reduce a person to a mist of blood with a single careless strike...

"Is... is that true?" Petelgeuse looked startled too, but he seemed to believe it, at least somewhat.

After all, in his mind Pandora was always gentle, almost goddess-like, whereas that Regulus...

"That's impossible!" Fortuna, by contrast, refused to believe it.

Because if she believed it, that would mean all her hatred had been aimed at the wrong person all along — that every bit of it had been for nothing.

"Whether you believe me or not isn't up to me," Pandora said, and it was the truth. "But honestly, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't need to lift a finger — a few words would do it. So then, why do you think I've been so intent on talking this whole time?"

Reasoning with these two was proving to be exhausting work. Still, since she had no interest in the seal, there was no need to kill them.

Her authority worked something like "speak it and it becomes law" — except the causality behind events couldn't simply be severed.

Just like earlier, when she'd declared that "Archbishop Petelgeuse had only just absorbed a Witch Factor" — not only had his frenzied state eased somewhat, but the destruction his power had caused had also reverted to normal.

And it seemed her authority could only affect things that had already happened...

"..." That left Fortuna speechless.

After all, moments ago she really had been the one unilaterally "slaughtering" Pandora...

"Then what about what you said earlier, about handing over the key and the seal?" Fortuna asked, puzzled, as though seeking one last confirmation.

"Archbishop Petelgeuse already knows about this one." Pandora, well-versed in the plot, answered without a flicker of hesitation. "The Witch's Cult has always been searching for the legendary key and seal."

"That's right..." Feeling Fortuna's gaze on him, Petelgeuse nodded in agreement.

That was one reason he hadn't wanted Pandora and the rest of the Witch's Cult coming here in the first place.

"And the moment I arrived, I sensed the presence of the key and the seal, so..." Pandora went on.

The implication needed no further explanation.

"So that's what you stumbled upon..." At the words, alarm crossed Fortuna's face.

That explained why Pandora had demanded they hand over the key and the seal right from the start, after all...

The Witch's Cult's long-cherished wish...

"That is something I will never allow!" After all, guarding this very seal was the sacred duty of Fortuna and the rest of her elf kin.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in that," Pandora said suddenly. "Don't misunderstand — the me from before might have wanted it, but the me now doesn't."

She paused for a moment.

"After all, the me from before and the me now are two entirely different people."

That wasn't wrong, exactly — after all... it was simply true...

"That's shameless nonsense and you know it!" Fortuna shouted, brow furrowed.

Pandora only smiled and said nothing in reply.

"It looks like this matter can be settled now, don't you think?" Pandora asked.

But Fortuna shook her head.

"Then what's your real goal?" she asked, forcing herself to calm down as she tried to reason with Pandora.

"My goal... I've already hinted at it well enough, haven't I? Are you sure you want me to spell it out, Miss Fortuna?" Pandora's expression softened into a gentle smile.

Fortuna paid the warning no mind and simply nodded.

"Give me just a moment," Pandora said suddenly.

Then, under everyone's puzzled stares, she glanced off into the distance and mouthed something silent.

"All right, let's get back to what we were talking about." As if nothing had happened, Pandora turned her attention back to Fortuna.

"Well then..." She suddenly turned to look at Petelgeuse. "I'm just going to say it, Archbishop Petelgeuse."

Petelgeuse, still reeling from her earlier words, had no idea what Pandora was about to say and simply gave a blank nod.

"I came here... because I wanted..." Pandora's smile widened. "...the two of you to face your feelings for each other."

The moment the words left her mouth, both Fortuna and Petelgeuse's eyes went wide.

"Y-you... what did you say?"

"What did you say?"

Two startled voices rang out at once.

Then the two of them exchanged a glance, and each saw a flush of embarrassment on the other's face.

"You... you must be joking!" Fortuna shouted, quickly looking away from Petelgeuse.

"Not at all..." Pandora spread her hands innocently. "I did say it before, didn't I? I noticed Archbishop Petelgeuse kept coming out this way, so I figured there had to be someone precious to him here."

At that moment, even Pandora herself had to admire her own way with words.

"My thinking was — if it turned out to be a man, I'd recruit him into the Witch's Cult; if it was a woman, then..."

She was nervous, sure, but... this was thrilling!

"Um..." Hearing this, the two of them exchanged another glance, then quickly looked away again.

But when Fortuna turned her head, she found—

"What do you think you're doing!" The instant Fortuna saw Pandora standing right behind her, hand resting on Emilia's head, icicles instantly formed in her grip.

She hadn't imagined that in the brief moment her guard had slipped, Pandora would seize the chance to slip right up beside Emilia!