The Witch Hunter System

578 Henrietta's Feelings

When Vaan heard Ron's compliment from a distance, he almost staggered and slipped off the building's rooftop. Although he had half suspected it, he was still surprised when he heard the little boy's compliment nonetheless.

It was a fifty-fifty chance. But regardless of the two possible directions, either would still make the little boy stand out from his peers.

Nevertheless, children always had a way of choosing the less expected and more surprising option.

"..."

"..."

"???"

Stacey and the group of little boys behind her were briefly dumbfounded by Ron's bold, narcissistic remark about himself.

Even so, Ron's sudden, dashing appearance and determined, passionate gaze caused the little girl's heart to skip a beat from shyness. No boy had made such an impact on her like that before.

Regardless of the original intention, Ron succeeded in capturing Stacey's interest.

"Pft, what was that?" Stacey giggled before saying, "We are going to play at Grandma Hylee's place. Do you want to join us, Ron?"

"Ah? Yeah..." Ron was quickly enchanted by Stacy's sweet smile as he stood blankly in a daze.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Stacey urged, feeling even more intrigued by Ron's reaction.

Vaan sensed the little girl grabbing the little boy's hand and dragging him off with the other group of jealous-incited little boys trailing not far behind them.

Ron had caught Stacey's interest and became a public enemy to the other little boys. In either case, he had successfully distinguished himself from the pack.

Even if he became the target of the other boys' bullying later, it would only make the little girl dislike them and become closer to Ron.

The rest was in the little boy's hands.

Vaan shook his head, silently reprimanding himself for being a busybody and wasting precious time. He had more important matters to focus on.

Shortly after, Vaan distorted the space before him and dashed through it.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, Henrietta returned to her palatial black magic tower after finishing her incognito inspection of the Rising Sun District with her Prime Minister.

'You don't have any more matters to attend to today, and the defensive measures against Gehenna are on track. It's time to return to the sea of stars and cultivate, my dear disciple,' Empyrean Scarletsea urged.

'Yes, Master,' Henrietta complied before suddenly expressing her concern.

'However, no matter how potent our divine energy crystals are, we don't have enough of them, Master. I've already consumed a third of the first divine energy crystal to reach the Revolving Core Realm. There won't be enough divine energy to breakthrough to the Divine Origin Realm, Master.'

'I'm aware of that, my dear disciple,' Empyrean Scarletsea acknowledged, saying, 'But even if there isn't enough divine energy to cultivate to the Divine Origin Realm, reaching the Void Realm shouldn't be a problem.'

'Once you reach that realm and combine it with your magic power and law authority, it'll be possible for you to challenge Half-step Divine Origin Realm practitioners, even without my help,' Empyrean Scarletsea added.

'But a Half-step Divine Origin Realm practitioner is not even Rank 6. It's far from enough to challenge the Great Devils of Gehenna,' Henrietta argued.

'You are being too hasty, Henrie,' Empyrean Scarletsea stated with a soft sigh.

'You have to know that your progress is already very fast. Cultivation is a slow and gradual process; no one can ascend the heavens in a single leap unless they are born with heaven's blessings. I can confidently say your progress is already faster than most people from lower star realms.'

'But, Master, you told me lower star realms have limited spirit energy value. There's nothing to boast about when I am cultivating with the higher form of spirit energy. Given such an advantage, my swift progress is to be expected,' Henrietta retorted.

'Ahem, that's right,' Empyrean Scarletsea admitted awkwardly before saying, 'Anyway, what I'm trying to say is there's no point worrying over the limited resources. It's not too late to worry about it after you actually used up all the divine energy crystals, my dear disciple.'

'We will surely find a way to acquire more cultivation resources in the future-Oh, what do you know? Look, I told you there will be a way to acquire more cultivation resources.'

'What do you mean-'

Henrietta didn't finish asking when she suddenly felt a cool, unnatural breath of air on the nape of her neck, which sent a rush of shock up her spine.

"Kyaaa-!" Henrietta immediately squealed.

Her knees turned weak, causing her to fall forward. She landed on the smooth, marbled hallway ground on the third floor of her palatial black magic tower before quickly turning out and discovering Vaan's presence.

"Y-You...! What are you doing here?! Since when did you get there? Why wasn't I notified of your arrival? Y-You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!"

Henrietta pointed her shaking finger at Vaan as she hurled a series of questions and accusations while touching the back of her neck with the other hand.

Being caught off guard by Vaan's sudden appearance again, Henrietta's face flushed with a crimson blush as her heart raced wildly with agitation and anxiety.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Henrietta felt like her heartbeat was so loud that even Vaan could hear it. As a result, she felt even more embarrassed and anxious around him.

"Oh? Doing what on purpose, Your Majesty? You'll have to state it clearly," Vaan asked, feigning ignorance with a dumb look while ignoring the rest of her questions.

He inched closer with his hands linked behind his back, continuing his charade of ignorance with an innocent look.

"Oh, did I interrupt your conversation with your master?" Vaan asked while extending a hand to help her up, seemingly concerned.

Nevertheless, Henrietta couldn't be fooled by Vaan's terrible act when he revealed such a mischievous smile, which conflicted with the rest of his facial expressions.

Vaan didn't try to hide it at all. He was clearly teasing her!

At the same time, there was also no need for Vaan to answer her questions; the truth had become quite obvious with his teasing.

Since every witch in Blackthorn City had sworn their allegiance to Vaan with the Oath of Magic, it was far too simple for him to enter and leave Henrietta's palatial black magic tower without any of her subjects notifying her.

Her orders would be overwritten by his.

In other words, Vaan had ordered the tower servants to keep silent so he could sneak up on her on purpose and see her embarrassing side!

Bam!

"Argh, dammit! I can't stand these unnatural feelings!" Henrietta banged the ground to calm herself forcefully instead of taking Vaan's hand to get up.

Her feelings and thoughts were in complete disarray.

It wasn't just her body that was naturally drawn to Vaan due to the high fire affinity and compatibility they shared; it was also to mess with her mind, making her think she was attracted to him as well.

Even so, Henrietta refused to submit due to such ridiculous reasoning. The person she liked had to be of her choosing, not due to the virgin lust of her teenage body!

Henrietta panted with some mental exhaustion due to the mental conflict of feelings between her body and mind.

"Yes, I was talking about energy cultivation with my master," Henrietta admitted shortly after regaining some calmness due to the pain in her forehead, feeling a little helpless from Vaan targeting her weakness.

Even if she didn't want it, she couldn't hate it.

In fact, she liked it.

Perhaps everything would be easier if she just resigned herself to the flourishing feelings in her heart.

However, she still didn't want to.

"Why did you come here?"

"To see you, of course."

Henrietta's body quivered with shyness and delight after hearing Vaan's answer to her question. She felt butterflies in her stomach, making her uneasy.

Still, she didn't hate it; she couldn't hate it, nor could she resist it.

If someone like Vaan actually pursued her with genuine feelings of affection for her, she felt like she could also fall in love with the person. It seemed distancing herself from love also made her yearn for it. And if someone desired her, it was hard for her to refuse.

No man had acted boldly in front of her like Vaan had. As such, it could be why she had little resistance to his advances.

However, Henrietta didn't think any other man could stir her emotions like Vaan, even if they were put in his shoes.

The more she pondered, the less she was certain about her own feelings.

Did she actually yearn for Vaan's love but didn't know what it was or how to deal with it? And if she already had some feelings for him before their first meeting, when did it first sprout in her heart? How did it happen?

Was it when she first heard about his theoretical achievements in magic study from Astoria?

Was that when his name caught her interest?

What about the time she heard about him subjugating the supremacist witches by beating them up with sheer violence?

Recalling how Vaan subjugated the supremacist witch faction with sheer violence immediately brought a smile to Henrietta's face again. Even if she only heard it and didn't actually witness it, she could still imagine it.

The satisfaction and happiness she felt from it couldn't be expressed.

Vaan had done something she had always wanted to do but couldn't.

Perhaps that was also what made her fond of him and caused these unfamiliar feelings to sprout in her heart.

'What a dangerous man he is. At this rate, you'll have your heart taken before your chastity. But... maybe this isn't a bad thing,' Empyrean Scarletsea, even feeling shocked with her opinion.

Despite that, having shared her disciple's body, she knew just how much indignance her disciple had suffered regarding the kingdom and the supremacist witch faction.