Chapter 009: The Dreaming Girl
"Hmm..."
In the room, Pandora looked at the words on the paper and couldn't help but shake her head.
"Archi, are you there?"
After folding the written paper and placing it aside, she called out toward the neighboring room.
After all, this was "surveillance"—surely he wouldn't be asleep at this hour?
"Lady Pandora, Lord Archi has already retired for the night..." A response came immediately from outside the door, but it was a female voice—sounding like the young woman who had delivered Pandora's undergarments during the day. "You can tell me anything."
Right, she'd forgotten that Fortuna mentioned there would be someone on shift replacement...
"Could you please come in for a moment?" This was a crucial matter, one Pandora felt she had to address seriously.
It grew quiet outside the door for a moment, as if the person was hesitating, but footsteps soon followed.
"Lady Pandora, I'm coming in."
Before opening the door, the young woman deliberately announced.
Creeeak—
With the sound of the door opening, Pandora's suspicion was confirmed.
"Lady Pandora." Sure enough, it was the blonde-haired young woman.
"Could you come over here? Right here." Seeing this, Pandora patted the edge of the bed where she was sitting. "There's something I'd like your help with."
Hearing this, the young woman froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Your name is?" Pandora asked with a smile, looking at the young woman seated beside her.
"Ro... Roshi..." Hearing the question, the young woman responded nervously.
"Mm, alright, Roshi..." Pandora nodded. "May I ask if you know how to write?"
Everything she had written was in Japanese characters—she had no idea how to write in this world's script...
"Uh... yes." To this, Roshi gave an affirmative reply.
"Then could you teach me how to write?"
"Mm... of course."
"That would be a great help."
Judging by Roshi's expression, she seemed startled that Pandora didn't know how to write.
But she didn't ask further questions. After all, her task was simply to monitor this young woman in place of Archi during the night. As for Pandora's requests, she would fulfill them within permissible limits.
"Here, take this." With that, Pandora handed the pen and notebook to Roshi.
"Mm." After accepting them, Roshi said nothing more and began explaining the basics right away.
Thanks to the books and other items Geuse and the others had brought, otherwise, even after such a long time, whether she could have learned was another matter entirely.
...
...
Two hours later.
"Thank you for your trouble, Roshi." Pandora smiled, setting aside the now fully written notebook.
"No, no, it's what I should do." Hearing this, Roshi waved her hands frantically, looking flustered.
"And thank you for keeping me company."
Before coming to this world, hardly anyone had chatted with her.
Of course, she had friends, but they were academic friends—every time they talked, it was always about studies...
"Uh... mm." Seemingly sensing the sincerity in Pandora's words, Roshi nodded in response. "If Lady Pandora ever wants to talk about anything, I'd be happy to listen."
People said Witches were utterly wicked, but Pandora didn't seem that way to her, so...
Is Lady Pandora really a Witch?
Roshi couldn't help but wonder.
"Well then, I won't disturb your rest any further." Smiling at Pandora, Roshi gave a slight bow and left the room.
A big improvement! This counts as the first conversation lasting over an hour!
Watching Roshi's retreating figure, Pandora nodded.
How exciting—could Roshi be considered her first friend now?
Though their conversation had been casual during repeated handwriting practice, it still filled her with satisfaction.
Sighing, she calmed her emotions. After turning off the light and lying in bed, she realized she wasn't sleepy at all.
In her original world, she could have read novels or news on her phone, but here she could only lie still staring at the wooden ceiling or gaze at the moon outside the window while pondering unattainable things.
Could this world be unified?
Having nothing better to do, she began letting her thoughts wander.
This line of thinking stemmed from two reasons:
First: Many novels from her original world depicted characters arriving in another world to establish nations and unify realms.
Second: What was her current identity? The mastermind behind the Witch Cult! She possessed sufficient capital to "conquer the land."
Of course, the prerequisite for all this was—breaking the situation Echidna had arranged.
This was precisely what she was currently doing, and the first step—preventing this place from becoming frozen wasteland—had already been completed.
Next would be visiting various...
"Haa..."
The steady breathing sounds from the room made Roshi—who was sitting at her desk next door while keeping partial attention on Pandora—pause in surprise.
Has Lady Pandora fallen asleep so quickly?
Earlier, Archi had specifically instructed her to keep close watch.
"To spare me from Lady Fortuna's 'glaring,' please make sure to watch her properly."
According to Archi, Fortuna was still considering the appropriateness of this matter...
"Sigh..."
She truly couldn't understand why Fortuna would take such measures against such a gentle and kind girl. Was it simply because she was a Witch...?
Shaking her head, she pushed this irrelevant problem from her mind. Gradually, her head began to droop downward.
Creak!
"Who's there?"
Almost instantly, Roshi lifted her head.
"Strange..." She distinctly felt like she'd heard something, but upon checking, found Pandora lying in bed without having moved at all.
"Haa..." After yawning, she stood up to shake off her drowsiness.
At that moment
"Sister Pandora..." Pandora, who had just fallen asleep, heard someone calling her.
"Mmm..." Rubbing her bleary eyes, Pandora looked puzzled at the silver-haired girl beside her: "Emilia?"
What was this little one doing visiting her in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
As the Witch of Vainglory, she could use her Authority to avoid sleeping, but Emilia would get tired, wouldn't she?
"Sister Pandora, sorry for disturbing you so late..."
Seeing Pandora awake, Emilia scratched her cheek: "But I couldn't resist wanting to see the Lesser Spirit again."
She spoke in a very soft voice.
"Mmm..." Hearing this, Pandora nodded: "I understand."
Judging by Emilia's ability to sneak out...
Either Fortuna let her out, or Geuse did. Though personally, she suspected both had permitted it...