[Medea’s world]
“Heh~~So after a few days of waiting, the young prince finally graced us with his presence. I am about to faint in joy.”
Sol immediately cringed when he entered Medea’s world and heard those words.
Giving a bitter smile, he turned toward the origin of the voice.
There, sitting next to Medea was a woman entirely clad in white, except for her hair that was black.
She contrasted completely with Medea who was clad in black and had long silver-white hair.
“Good afternoon, Miss Ambrosia.”
This was Ambrosia, the first and strongest witch in the world, also one of the strongest beings in the world.
Chuckling, she sipped elegantly on her drink before continuing.
“My, why such a reluctant face? After all, you are something of my son-in-law. Though I still need to observe you more to make a judgment.”
She began to talk absentmindedly, something that didn’t surprise Sol.
Even though he had only met her a few times since the start of this week, Sol understood that this woman was someone who moved at her own pace in her own world.
What was more, he could feel a heavy sense of rejection toward him from her. Something that once again didn’t really surprise him.
After all, Freya was also the same when they first met.
Even though what happened to Medea was a few hundred years ago, he guessed that for the witches, it was still quite new.
It didn’t help that witches had a really bad reputation in Lustburg and that this bad reputation came from the propaganda of the previous kings.
Seeing Sol like this, Medea said softly, “Mother, please, you promised to not pick on him.”
“*Sigh* You are really the most problematic of my daughters. Last time I didn’t intervene because I believed in your judgment, and we all know the result. Now, you are gunning for his descendant?”
Ambrosia couldn’t help but nag Medea this time.
In reality, Ambrosia really didn’t hate Sol. She had observed him while hiding those last few days and she had to admit that he was really a decent young man.
The fact that his resistance toward magic and curse was high enough to offset most of the effect of that old snake’s curse was something she was also happy to see.
Still, she didn’t want her daughter to suffer another heartbreak.
Letting another sigh, she shook her head, “Perhaps I am really being too meddlesome. I will stop for now.”
Saying so, she turned toward Sol, “So, I can already guess why you are here and the answer is no. I do not know how to save that little girl. I could ask Asmodeus, but that old snake really hates you, you know?”
There Ambrosia let out a laugh full of happiness.
“You should hear him when he complains to me about you. You are touching his dear little granddaughter, but he can do nothing about it. What is more, it seems like you are about to put your claws on another daughter of his. Fufufu~! This is so fun.”
This was new information, “Granddaughter? Daughter?”
Ambrosia shook her head, “This isn’t a story I wish to share with you. You just need to know that when you enter the Astral realm, you should really avoid his zone.”
Speaking till there, Ambrosia stopped, “Hum~Now that I think about it, there is indeed a way. It was just so unlikely that I had unconsciously discarded it.”
For Sol, those words seemed like honey. He perked up considerably and asked,
“Which way? ”
There, Ambrosia answered solemnly,
“Nirvana. The unique skill of the Phoenix. One that they can only use 9 times in their entire life"
Then she continued with a derisive smile, "But it is basically impossible. After all, Phoenix loves purity more than anything in this world. For them, your aunt should be more a target of cleansing than anything else.”
Sol's eyes constricted. It wasn't just because he got a lead, but rather because of the coincidence.
Closing his eyes, he asked,
“But, what if I had a contract with one of them?”
“Oh!?" Ambrosia was visibly startled before nodding, "Then I would say that you are really lucky.”
“Luck, heh?”
Sol gave a bitter smile as he thought,
‘Camelia, just how much thought did you put into all of this?'
If it was in the past, he would have seriously thought that it was a coincidence or luck.
But now, he would be stupid if he thought so.
Camelia clearly knew about Lilith's secret long ago and must have made her preparation.
He had always wondered why she wanted him to contract with a Phoenix. After all, even though getting a rank S was difficult for some, it wouldn’t have been all that difficult for him.
In the worst case, he could make a contract with any dragon.
Even though it would be somewhat of a loss since he was a half dragon himself, S rank was still S rank.
But it was clear that she really thought about everything.
‘Hahaha...should I be happy or sad? Frustrated or relieved?’
He really didn’t know.
A problem he had thought would stump for so long was already nearly resolved long ago.
Of course, nothing was assured. After all, he would have to pass a test. If he failed, all the plans of Camelia would fall apart and Lilith would die.
‘It seems that this trip to the Astral realm suddenly became way heavier.’
But this was a problem for another time.
“Thank you for all that information, mother-in-law.”
Now that he had a solution, the weight on his shoulders was definitely lighter. As such, he couldn’t help but tease Ambrosia a little as he thanked her with a cheeky smile.
“Oh?” Ambrosia was a little surprised before she began laughing, “This is the first time I was called like that since ever. Hahaha~! Brat, I like you. I hope my daughters will be happy with you.”
“Daughters?” Sol’s cheeky smile cramped a little, “Daughter, you mean...right?”
“Heh~! Is the little dragon afraid? Then again I guess you only developed a relationship with Medea, so it can’t be helped.”
Sol could only give a small laugh.
Medea, on the side, simply shook her head. She was happy that Ambrosia liked Sol. After all, back then, Ambrosia had taken one look at Jupiter and simply sneered before leaving.
As if knowing what she was thinking, Ambrosia shot her a look,
“That bastard was clearly using you. I could see from the start that he was no good. But I also know that there is nothing more stubborn than a woman blinded by love. That’s why I decided to let you make your own mistakes. After all, a heartbreak is nothing rare — Who would have thought that yours would last centuries?”
“Mother… I am…”
“Forget it, don’t apologize.” Ambrosia waved her hand, “I am happy that you woke up and finally found a good man. Even though said man is a few centuries younger than you. But hey, they say love knows no barrier! Hahaha~”
Medea covered her face with her hand. She wished for nothing more than to find a hole and crawl in.
Meanwhile, Sol smiled happily as he watched the cute reaction of Medea.
“Mother-in-law, you shouldn’t be too hard on her. After all, I am the one who chased after her.”
“Heh~? Seems like a story I would have to hear later. Sadly, now we need to discuss something more serious.”
Reaching there, the smile on her face vanished and was replaced by a solemn look.
“Firstly, I would like to apologize for the trouble my stupid daughter, Kali, brought you.”
Sol was surprised at her apologies.
After all, even though he joked around with her, the woman in front of him was a demi-god. One of the few strongest beings both in the mortal worlds or the Astral one.
In front of her, his title as Prince or King was only good enough to assure his protection.
Even if she stormed out without any explanation, there was nothing he could have done about it.
“It seems like we, witches, are unable to extricate ourselves from Lustburg.”
Ambrosia continued, without paying attention to his astonished expression.
Medea was basically the co-founder of Lustburg. Persephone was friends with the previous King. Medea was once again in love with the current King.
Freya seemed to be interested in him and finally, Kali had a hand in something that might have destroyed it.
‘My daughters are all so troublesome.’
Even though she was unable to give birth, her love, for not only the four of them but also all the witches, was something she didn’t think was inferior to any true mother.
Ambrosia did not believe that blood relationship was enough to make a family.
Otherwise, Fratricide, Patricide, and so on would never exist.
She loved all of them dearly.
Even though at first they were just supposed to pave her path toward potential Godhood.
“I understand that apologies are insufficient. Words alone can never cover the fact that she had the intention to kill you after all. That’s why I am willing to leave her punishment to you.”
“Her punishment huh…”
Sol wasn’t dumb enough to think that any punishment would do.
In fact, he was pretty sure that it was a test from Ambrosia.
If he had to be honest, Sol did not particularly hate Kali. But, his impression of her couldn’t be any worse.
After all, even though she wasn't the main cause, she did participate in the attack and also convinced Gerald to betray him.
At the same time, Sol knew that one of the conditions in her participation was the right to not harm any civilians.
Otherwise, with her overwhelming destruction power, she could have wiped out half of the population in the capital before Medea and Freya managed to find her.
So, how could he punish her in the most appropriate way?
“Her punishment will be…”
(AN: Nirvana was mentioned in the Phoenix special chapter. Also really sorry for the cliff Ahahah. Been a while since I have done one so evil. Welp. What will be her punishment? To be honest, I don’t know. Hahaha. Finally, what do you think of Ambrosia? Her and Theresa would make a great pair. Finally, if you were Sol, what would you think of Camelia?)
