A few moments after that, they all started to laugh along with me, the sound of their laughter filling the air.
"Gods, I can't believe you did something so ridiculous to make her go out with you. Damn it, I wish I had been there to see it happen," he groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. His face was twisted in a mixture of disbelief and amusement, and I couldn't help but laugh again at the absurdity of it all. "Why the hell couldn't you just ask her out like a normal person, you stupid bastard?" His tone was teasing, but there was something about it that made me feel like he wasn't entirely convinced of my methods.
"She's kinda scary," he responded simply, shrugging his shoulders as if that should explain everything in one neat package.
I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Both of you are kinda scary, so that's not a good excuse," I pointed out with a teasing glint in my eye. "It's really not." I leaned back, folding my arms with a grin, amused by the fact that he was trying to get away with such a weak explanation. "Now," I turned toward Samantha with a more genuine smile, "that was a good story. And it's a solid explanation for your position around here."
She met my gaze with a smile of her own, the kind that had an almost mischievous edge to it, like she was savoring the thought of being feared. "Right?" she said, almost smugly, as though she enjoyed knowing that she and Koji had this reputation. "So, I also hate the Witch's Forest, just like you do."
I nodded slowly, my mind momentarily drifting to thoughts of the Witch's Forest—how it had always been a place of darkness, something I tried to avoid at all costs. The memories of it still haunted me. "I can understand that," I muttered, half to myself.
Then I snapped out of it and cleared my throat. "Oh, I remember two things I wanted to ask you," I said, my tone shifting from casual to more serious as I looked into his intense green eyes, feeling the weight of the conversation ahead. "When we finish this... mission, can you let me handle the Witch Queen and the Albtraum King? I have some personal things to settle with them." I could feel the tension building as I spoke, and I watched his face carefully. He bit his lip, his gaze shifting away from mine for a moment as he exchanged a silent look with Samantha, clearly communicating something I wasn't privy to.
Samantha, ever calm and collected, spoke up before Koji could answer. "Baby girl, I'm the one who's going to deal with that bitch Queen," she said, her voice smooth and confident, like she had already made up her mind. "But knowing your connection with her, I'll let you deal with whatever personal issues you have with her before I take care of it. That alright with you?" Her words were patient, but there was an underlying edge to them, a promise of power that didn't need to be stated explicitly.
I nodded, grateful for her understanding and the space she was offering. "It is, thank you," I said, feeling a little more at ease, though the storm inside me still raged, just waiting for the right moment to break.
Samantha glanced at Koji and then returned her focus to me. "I was going to handle that bastard King," she continued, her tone shifting into something darker, "but you can join me in handling him. I think both of us have unresolved issues with that fucking King. What do you think?" Her words were almost a challenge, her anger simmering beneath the surface, but she wasn't letting it take over. The way she said it made the air feel hotter, and I could practically feel the tension between her and Koji, as if they both knew this was something personal for all of us.
"That sounds good to me," I said quickly, already feeling the weight of that decision settle into my chest. It wasn't just about the Witch Queen and Albtraum King anymore; it was personal. Too personal.
"Then it's settled," Samantha said, leaning back with a satisfied grin, the kind of grin that told me she knew she had just secured the upper hand. She seemed pleased to have reached an agreement, but her eyes were still sharp, scanning the room as if searching for the next topic of conversation.
But before I could breathe a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to me, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Now there's one thing I want to ask you, sweetheart."
The way she said "sweetheart" was loaded with a strange kind of weight, and I immediately tensed, my instincts flaring up defensively. Something about the way she spoke made my muscles tighten, like I was about to face something I wasn't prepared for. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I braced myself for whatever was coming next.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended, but I couldn't help it. The words just spilled out. I hated the way her smile curled at the corner of her lips, a smile that was almost too knowing, as if she were toying with me. It made my skin crawl in the worst way.
"What was your father, exactly?" Samantha's question hit me like a punch to the gut. It was so unexpected, so personal, that I almost forgot how to breathe for a moment. My heart skipped a beat, and for a split second, I wondered if I'd misheard her.
I blinked at her, my mind suddenly racing as I struggled to come up with an answer that wouldn't expose too much. "He was what we call a Wizard. A male witch," I muttered, my voice shaky despite my attempts to keep it steady. I didn't want to go into the details, didn't want to explain it all, but Samantha was staring at me intently, like she was expecting something more. Something I wasn't ready to give.
"That explains a lot," she mused thoughtfully, her voice low and almost casual, like she was filing away the information for later. "But not all of it. Even if you're the first witch ever born from a witch and a male witch, that still doesn't explain your smell."
The way she said it made the room feel suddenly colder, as if a chill had crept in unnoticed, wrapping itself around us. My heart dropped into my stomach, and I suddenly felt exposed, like she had seen right through me. "My smell?" I repeated, confused and more than a little uneasy now.
"Yeah," Samantha's voice was almost too smooth, like she had been waiting for this moment. "It's... different. Almost like a mix of magic and something else. Something... older." Her words lingered in the air between us, and I could feel them pressing down on me, making the air thicker. She didn't elaborate further, but the way she spoke left no room for doubt that she knew something I didn't. And whatever it was, I had no idea how to handle it.
"Well, I've never heard anything like that before," I said, my voice quieter now as I tried to process what she had just told me. The chill in the room was thick, and I was trying to fight back the panic that was starting to rise in my chest. I hated how she made me feel like I was the one being scrutinized now, like I was the one with something to hide.
Samantha studied me for a long moment, her gaze piercing, unreadable. She didn't say anything for what felt like forever, but the silence between us was suffocating, almost like she was waiting for me to crack.