“You... you’re a witch?”

Myra’s face twisted into a grim expression as she spoke, her demeanor menacing, as if she might kill Mirabel at any moment.

Wait, how did she figure that out?

Just as I was wondering, a sharp spark of realization struck me like lightning.

‘It was when she used the Celestial Oath earlier.’

She tried to grab me.

Mirabel had awakened fully. She was likely radiating witch energy all over the place, something I couldn’t sense, but Myra, a priestess, would have picked up on it immediately.

So much for getting by unnoticed. Time for some quick thinking.

“Haha, our Mirabel is impressive, but a witch? Come on, she’s not that powerful.”

“Oh really? That staff of hers looks quite special. Mind if I take a closer look?”

Damn, she’s quick to catch on. This isn’t going to be easy.

“And if she were a witch, what would you do? Are you really planning to fight again in that condition? Even with your entire knight squad, you wouldn’t stand a chance~”

I smirked and crossed my arms.

There was no need to grovel anymore.

Now that Mirabel had fully awakened as a witch, her potential far surpassed anything a mere priest could handle.

“Oh yeah? Well, she doesn’t look so tough right now.”

Hmm?

I glanced at Mirabel, and sure enough, she wasn’t the fierce version of herself that had beaten Myra like a drum. She’d reverted to her timid self.

Maybe being away from the spellbook had weakened her?

In that case...

“Hahahaha, just kidding! It’s a joke, really~”

“It’s too late for that.”

Crap. Should I give the spellbook back to Mirabel?

And try the “I’m leaving” tactic again?

While I was brainstorming my options, Myra let out a deep sigh.

“So that’s why you were trembling every time you saw us. Now I understand. That’s why you looked at me like I was a murderer.”

Myra muttered to herself, her face clouded with regret, as if she were talking to herself more than to me.

My instincts as a former slave trader kicked in.

This was an opportunity. I couldn’t let it slip by.

“This child lost her parents simply because she’s a witch, and she became a slave through no fault of her own. Her entire life was destroyed overnight, even though she’s done nothing wrong.”

“Are you really trying to play the sympathy card in front of a priest? For a witch?”

“The weak have no choice but to use whatever means they have to survive. That’s the reality of the world. It’s the reality this child has lived in.”

“...Sigh, damn it.”

Myra, who had been glaring at me with clear displeasure, cursed under her breath, scratching the back of her head in frustration. Her face remained twisted with annoyance, clearly unwilling to deal with the situation.

After blowing out a long, exasperated breath, she fixed me with a sharp look once more.

“You knew she was a witch, didn’t you? So why are you keeping her around? Do you even know what witches are capable of?”

“How could I not? It’s common knowledge.”

“Stop dodging the question and answer me.”

Her hawk-like gaze narrowed, as if she were trying to pick apart my intentions and uncover the truth behind my actions.

I didn’t shrink back. In fact, I let out a derisive laugh, as if mocking her question.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable being expected to behave perfectly just because you’re a priest? Maybe you’d like to curse, speak rudely, doubt people, or throw a punch once in a while. You don’t have to be prim and proper all the time to be a priest.”

“What, what?”

“Witches are no different. Sure, some of them might perform horrific experiments on people, but others, like Mirabel here, are sweet and kind. How unfair would it be to threaten her life just because she’s a witch?”

“Stop beating around the bush and say what you mean.”

Ugh, so demanding. As a slave trader, my words are my weapon, but she was making this difficult.

I pushed Mirabel forward, using her as a shield. Startled, Mirabel clung to me, clearly more comfortable with a slave trader than a priest.

Myra’s expression softened as she gazed at Mirabel, though her feelings were clearly conflicted.

“Whether she’s a witch or a demon, it doesn’t matter. As long as she’s my slave, I’ll take full responsibility for her, no matter what. That’s how you raise good slaves. Once they start developing bad habits, it’s impossible to stop.”

“Ha.”

Myra let out a dry laugh, almost a cackle. She even seemed to enjoy my answer, though it was clear she found the whole situation ridiculous.

At this point, I’d said everything I could. Now it was up to her to make a decision.

What would her choice be?

If she decided to rally the knights and execute the witch, it would be game over. I didn’t have the points to buy any items that could help.

I’d have to trust in my silver tongue and my skill in negotiation.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

Though I kept a relaxed facade, my mouth was dry as sandpaper.

“...Go.”

“Huh?”

“Go, while I’m willing to turn a blind eye. But if you’re caught, you’re dead. If it gets out that I let you go, I’ll lose my head too.”

In the end, Myra chose to let us go.

Mirabel, clearly surprised, widened her eyes and stared at Myra, unable to believe it.

“What? Never seen a kind priest before? I feel bad for scaring you, so I’m letting you off the hook.”

“Do people usually call themselves kind?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, so keep your mouth shut.”

Myra, unable to handle Mirabel’s intense gaze, finally looked away.

Even when we first met at the tavern, Myra had thrown herself into action to protect Mirabel, even if it ended in a misunderstanding. That same compassion hadn’t changed, even after learning she was a witch. It was a sign of her strong convictions.

I offered her my heartfelt gratitude.

“Haha, thank you for sparing us. But we can’t leave just yet.”

After all the theatrics, now I felt bad. We couldn’t go anywhere yet.

“What?”

“There’s something we need to retrieve. We can’t leave until we get it.”

“What do you mean, you can’t leave? Are you not understanding the situation?”

“If I didn’t understand the situation, I wouldn’t be much of a slave trader, would I? But what can I do? If we don’t get what we came for, it’s all over. Well then, until next time. Mirabel, say goodbye!”

“Oh, uh, goodbye... See you again?”

“Yeah... wait, what?”

Before Myra could even process what was happening, I grabbed Mirabel’s hand and bolted out of there.

But then I ran back.

“Wait, what?”

“I forgot my money.”

It had been a few days since the Mirabel rampage incident.

Nothing much had changed.

The clean-up went smoothly, and the lord, having received a bribe, didn’t pursue the matter any further. On top of that, with Mirabel around, they couldn’t touch us easily.

‘They don’t know she can’t use those spells anymore.’

I’d asked Mirabel to try using the spells from that day, but she couldn’t. Apparently, they required the spellbook, which we’d returned to Myra.

Due to the high corruption of the spellbook’s dark magic, it couldn’t even be purified. It was slated for incineration.

Before burning it, they decoded it for us, revealing it to be a goblin’s fantasy journal about becoming a god and punishing humans.

Basically, it was like one of those cheesy web novels where the main character awakens some SSS-tier skill and goes on a rampage. Except the protagonist was a goblin.

No wonder Mirabel’s awakening was so bizarre.

‘That explains why she awakened in a way I hadn’t seen before.’

It was a shame she couldn’t use those spells anymore, but her awakening was more than enough. We were now one step closer to her freedom.

Her physical growth was complete, so the next important step was her mental state.

It was a peaceful morning at the inn, sunlight streaming through the windows.

I was having a simple breakfast of sandwiches while reading the newspaper when I noticed Mirabel staring at me, having already finished her meal.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, it’s just...”

Mirabel fidgeted with her fingers, unable to finish her sentence. I sighed softly.

“If you want to, it’s fine.”

At my words, a faint smile spread across Mirabel’s face. She slipped off her chair, shuffled over, and climbed into my lap.

The shock of me almost abandoning her had clearly affected her deeply. She refused to leave my side for even a moment—whether I was walking, sleeping, or even bathing.

‘Though I’ve managed to avoid the last one, somehow.’

Her growing dependency was a bit concerning, but it wasn’t a major issue.

I’d seen the ending where everything worked out dozens of times before.

This time would be no different.

For now, my role was to support her whenever she needed me.

Do you know what happens when you clear a dungeon?

‘You clear more dungeons.’

I still hadn’t obtained the soul spellbook. Until I did, I couldn’t move forward.

And so, I’d been running dungeons with Mirabel for days on end.

Dungeon maps were no longer necessary. After the incident, Mirabel had started exchanging knowledge with Delofin’s wizards, learning a detection spell that allowed her to lead the way through the caves. It didn’t take long for us to reach the boss room.

Once there, we found that the goblins were already dead.

“Impressive, another direct hit.”

Mirabel had cast her spell the moment we entered the dungeon, and her magic arrow had zigzagged through the cave, hitting every monster in the boss room.

It was like watching a circus act.

Mirabel’s magical abilities were growing exponentially day by day. I assumed it was due to the brief glimpse she’d had of her awakened witch powers.

“Hehe.”

Mirabel giggled happily.

Leaving her to enjoy her success, I rummaged through the goblin shaman’s corpse.

How many times had I done this now? It felt like I’d done this at least fifty times already.

The goblin shaman’s spellbook wasn’t a guaranteed drop, and even when it did drop, it wasn’t always the soul spellbook. If it had dropped earlier, I wouldn’t still be stuck here.

‘Damn this double-layered gacha system.’

Applying something like this to a necessary item... even the game wasn’t this cruel.

As I grumbled to myself, my hand finally landed on a book. Thankfully, the spellbook had dropped this time.

[Goblin Shaman’s Spellbook]

As usual, I handed it over to Mirabel.

She could read and decipher the spellbooks. Maybe it was because she was a witch, or perhaps it was part of the main character’s special treatment.

After all, even Narsha, a regular noble girl, had easily mastered swordsmanship.

‘If only I had that kind of bonus, I’d be dominating by now.’

But I didn’t, so I had to keep struggling through each day.

“Master, this...”

Mirabel interrupted my thoughts, showing me the spellbook.

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

Mirabel’s expression was strange. Surely this wasn’t another false lead?

Were we going to be stuck running endless dungeons again?

“This book... it describes how to control souls.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the text on the book changed.

[Goblin Shaman’s Spellbook]

[Soul Magic Spellbook]

Finally, it had appeared.

The final piece of her freedom.

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh, gazing up at the cave ceiling. I let go of all the frustration that had been building inside, and with a clear mind, I looked into Mirabel’s eyes.

Those dark blue eyes, sparkling with life, were so different from when we first met.

She was no longer shy about her short skirt, having grown accustomed to it.

And beyond that, so many other things had changed.

The only thing left to heal was her wounded heart.

This was the final step.

“Let’s go. It’s time to get revenge on your father.”

“You... you’re a witch?”

Myra’s face twisted into a grim expression as she spoke, her demeanor menacing, as if she might kill Mirabel at any moment.

Wait, how did she figure that out?

Just as I was wondering, a sharp spark of realization struck me like lightning.

‘It was when she used the Celestial Oath earlier.’

She tried to grab me.

Mirabel had awakened fully. She was likely radiating witch energy all over the place, something I couldn’t sense, but Myra, a priestess, would have picked up on it immediately.

So much for getting by unnoticed. Time for some quick thinking.

“Haha, our Mirabel is impressive, but a witch? Come on, she’s not that powerful.”

“Oh really? That staff of hers looks quite special. Mind if I take a closer look?”

Damn, she’s quick to catch on. This isn’t going to be easy.

“And if she were a witch, what would you do? Are you really planning to fight again in that condition? Even with your entire knight squad, you wouldn’t stand a chance~”

I smirked and crossed my arms.

There was no need to grovel anymore.

Now that Mirabel had fully awakened as a witch, her potential far surpassed anything a mere priest could handle.

“Oh yeah? Well, she doesn’t look so tough right now.”

Hmm?

I glanced at Mirabel, and sure enough, she wasn’t the fierce version of herself that had beaten Myra like a drum. She’d reverted to her timid self.

Maybe being away from the spellbook had weakened her?

In that case...

“Hahahaha, just kidding! It’s a joke, really~”

“It’s too late for that.”

Crap. Should I give the spellbook back to Mirabel?

And try the “I’m leaving” tactic again?

While I was brainstorming my options, Myra let out a deep sigh.

“So that’s why you were trembling every time you saw us. Now I understand. That’s why you looked at me like I was a murderer.”

Myra muttered to herself, her face clouded with regret, as if she were talking to herself more than to me.

My instincts as a former slave trader kicked in.

This was an opportunity. I couldn’t let it slip by.

“This child lost her parents simply because she’s a witch, and she became a slave through no fault of her own. Her entire life was destroyed overnight, even though she’s done nothing wrong.”

“Are you really trying to play the sympathy card in front of a priest? For a witch?”

“The weak have no choice but to use whatever means they have to survive. That’s the reality of the world. It’s the reality this child has lived in.”

“...Sigh, damn it.”

Myra, who had been glaring at me with clear displeasure, cursed under her breath, scratching the back of her head in frustration. Her face remained twisted with annoyance, clearly unwilling to deal with the situation.

After blowing out a long, exasperated breath, she fixed me with a sharp look once more.

“You knew she was a witch, didn’t you? So why are you keeping her around? Do you even know what witches are capable of?”

“How could I not? It’s common knowledge.”

“Stop dodging the question and answer me.”

Her hawk-like gaze narrowed, as if she were trying to pick apart my intentions and uncover the truth behind my actions.

I didn’t shrink back. In fact, I let out a derisive laugh, as if mocking her question.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable being expected to behave perfectly just because you’re a priest? Maybe you’d like to curse, speak rudely, doubt people, or throw a punch once in a while. You don’t have to be prim and proper all the time to be a priest.”

“What, what?”

“Witches are no different. Sure, some of them might perform horrific experiments on people, but others, like Mirabel here, are sweet and kind. How unfair would it be to threaten her life just because she’s a witch?”

“Stop beating around the bush and say what you mean.”

Ugh, so demanding. As a slave trader, my words are my weapon, but she was making this difficult.

I pushed Mirabel forward, using her as a shield. Startled, Mirabel clung to me, clearly more comfortable with a slave trader than a priest.

Myra’s expression softened as she gazed at Mirabel, though her feelings were clearly conflicted.

“Whether she’s a witch or a demon, it doesn’t matter. As long as she’s my slave, I’ll take full responsibility for her, no matter what. That’s how you raise good slaves. Once they start developing bad habits, it’s impossible to stop.”

“Ha.”

Myra let out a dry laugh, almost a cackle. She even seemed to enjoy my answer, though it was clear she found the whole situation ridiculous.

At this point, I’d said everything I could. Now it was up to her to make a decision.

What would her choice be?

If she decided to rally the knights and execute the witch, it would be game over. I didn’t have the points to buy any items that could help.

I’d have to trust in my silver tongue and my skill in negotiation.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

Though I kept a relaxed facade, my mouth was dry as sandpaper.

“...Go.”

“Huh?”

“Go, while I’m willing to turn a blind eye. But if you’re caught, you’re dead. If it gets out that I let you go, I’ll lose my head too.”

In the end, Myra chose to let us go.

Mirabel, clearly surprised, widened her eyes and stared at Myra, unable to believe it.

“What? Never seen a kind priest before? I feel bad for scaring you, so I’m letting you off the hook.”

“Do people usually call themselves kind?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, so keep your mouth shut.”

Myra, unable to handle Mirabel’s intense gaze, finally looked away.

Even when we first met at the tavern, Myra had thrown herself into action to protect Mirabel, even if it ended in a misunderstanding. That same compassion hadn’t changed, even after learning she was a witch. It was a sign of her strong convictions.

I offered her my heartfelt gratitude.

“Haha, thank you for sparing us. But we can’t leave just yet.”

After all the theatrics, now I felt bad. We couldn’t go anywhere yet.

“What?”

“There’s something we need to retrieve. We can’t leave until we get it.”

“What do you mean, you can’t leave? Are you not understanding the situation?”

“If I didn’t understand the situation, I wouldn’t be much of a slave trader, would I? But what can I do? If we don’t get what we came for, it’s all over. Well then, until next time. Mirabel, say goodbye!”

“Oh, uh, goodbye... See you again?”

“Yeah... wait, what?”

Before Myra could even process what was happening, I grabbed Mirabel’s hand and bolted out of there.

But then I ran back.

“Wait, what?”

“I forgot my money.”

It had been a few days since the Mirabel rampage incident.

Nothing much had changed.

The clean-up went smoothly, and the lord, having received a bribe, didn’t pursue the matter any further. On top of that, with Mirabel around, they couldn’t touch us easily.

‘They don’t know she can’t use those spells anymore.’

I’d asked Mirabel to try using the spells from that day, but she couldn’t. Apparently, they required the spellbook, which we’d returned to Myra.

Due to the high corruption of the spellbook’s dark magic, it couldn’t even be purified. It was slated for incineration.

Before burning it, they decoded it for us, revealing it to be a goblin’s fantasy journal about becoming a god and punishing humans.

Basically, it was like one of those cheesy web novels where the main character awakens some SSS-tier skill and goes on a rampage. Except the protagonist was a goblin.

No wonder Mirabel’s awakening was so bizarre.

‘That explains why she awakened in a way I hadn’t seen before.’

It was a shame she couldn’t use those spells anymore, but her awakening was more than enough. We were now one step closer to her freedom.

Her physical growth was complete, so the next important step was her mental state.

It was a peaceful morning at the inn, sunlight streaming through the windows.

I was having a simple breakfast of sandwiches while reading the newspaper when I noticed Mirabel staring at me, having already finished her meal.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, it’s just...”

Mirabel fidgeted with her fingers, unable to finish her sentence. I sighed softly.

“If you want to, it’s fine.”

At my words, a faint smile spread across Mirabel’s face. She slipped off her chair, shuffled over, and climbed into my lap.

The shock of me almost abandoning her had clearly affected her deeply. She refused to leave my side for even a moment—whether I was walking, sleeping, or even bathing.

‘Though I’ve managed to avoid the last one, somehow.’

Her growing dependency was a bit concerning, but it wasn’t a major issue.

I’d seen the ending where everything worked out dozens of times before.

This time would be no different.

For now, my role was to support her whenever she needed me.

Do you know what happens when you clear a dungeon?

‘You clear more dungeons.’

I still hadn’t obtained the soul spellbook. Until I did, I couldn’t move forward.

And so, I’d been running dungeons with Mirabel for days on end.

Dungeon maps were no longer necessary. After the incident, Mirabel had started exchanging knowledge with Delofin’s wizards, learning a detection spell that allowed her to lead the way through the caves. It didn’t take long for us to reach the boss room.

Once there, we found that the goblins were already dead.

“Impressive, another direct hit.”

Mirabel had cast her spell the moment we entered the dungeon, and her magic arrow had zigzagged through the cave, hitting every monster in the boss room.

It was like watching a circus act.

Mirabel’s magical abilities were growing exponentially day by day. I assumed it was due to the brief glimpse she’d had of her awakened witch powers.

“Hehe.”

Mirabel giggled happily.

Leaving her to enjoy her success, I rummaged through the goblin shaman’s corpse.

How many times had I done this now? It felt like I’d done this at least fifty times already.

The goblin shaman’s spellbook wasn’t a guaranteed drop, and even when it did drop, it wasn’t always the soul spellbook. If it had dropped earlier, I wouldn’t still be stuck here.

‘Damn this double-layered gacha system.’

Applying something like this to a necessary item... even the game wasn’t this cruel.

As I grumbled to myself, my hand finally landed on a book. Thankfully, the spellbook had dropped this time.

[Goblin Shaman’s Spellbook]

As usual, I handed it over to Mirabel.

She could read and decipher the spellbooks. Maybe it was because she was a witch, or perhaps it was part of the main character’s special treatment.

After all, even Narsha, a regular noble girl, had easily mastered swordsmanship.

‘If only I had that kind of bonus, I’d be dominating by now.’

But I didn’t, so I had to keep struggling through each day.

“Master, this...”

Mirabel interrupted my thoughts, showing me the spellbook.

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

Mirabel’s expression was strange. Surely this wasn’t another false lead?

Were we going to be stuck running endless dungeons again?

“This book... it describes how to control souls.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the text on the book changed.

[Goblin Shaman’s Spellbook]

[Soul Magic Spellbook]

Finally, it had appeared.

The final piece of her freedom.

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh, gazing up at the cave ceiling. I let go of all the frustration that had been building inside, and with a clear mind, I looked into Mirabel’s eyes.

Those dark blue eyes, sparkling with life, were so different from when we first met.

She was no longer shy about her short skirt, having grown accustomed to it.

And beyond that, so many other things had changed.

The only thing left to heal was her wounded heart.

This was the final step.

“Let’s go. It’s time to get revenge on your father.”