Symphony for the Insect Princess

The shell is as transparent as crystal.

Under the shell are light particles that flow in an extremely complex pattern, switching back and forth between various patterns.

It continuously emits a rainbow-colored halo, which is different from any known magical fluctuations.

And the characteristics of the rumored undetermined great secret treasure——

It's exactly the same.

““““““………………””””””

A silent storm swept through the place.

Everyone stood motionless as if under a spell, as if whoever moved first would be the first victim of the undercurrent surging in the air.

Time passes by second by second.

After about half a minute——

"...Hey, little sister?"

Osam forced a friendly smile and spoke to Charlotte's daughter, Ariel, from a distance.

"What's wrong, meow?"

"That thing you're holding is very dangerous. Can you give it to me, big brother?"

"Hey, is it dangerous? But it won't cut you or burn you..."

Ariel looked at the great secret treasure in her hand in confusion. If there was anyone who would not be tempted by the great secret treasure, it would probably only be a child like her.

"Anyway, listen to my brother and put it first—"

"Ahhh what nonsense!!!"

The mercenary who had clashed with them earlier stepped forward impatiently, his hands already grasping the heavy spear slung across his back. With a flick of his arm, the spear swung with a bang, the tip pointing directly at the innocent-looking young girl.

"Listen up, little brat! Hand over what you have right now, or I'll kill you!"

"Hello..."

The other party is just a child - more than one person wanted to say this, but no one spoke out. After all, the great treasure is the top priority.

"Eh? But, Mom taught me not to trust strangers..."

Ariel took a few timid steps back, her clear black eyes already filled with tears. Seeing this, the spear mercenary spat impatiently on the ground, walked forward with the gun in hand, and stretched out his hand roughly towards Ariel.

"Give me the stuff quickly!"

"That's enough! Stay away from my daughter!"

Charlotte rushed over, opened her arms wide and stood in front of the mercenary. Even when facing the shining spear, there was no fear on her face.

"Huh? You're just a little slutty widow, get out of here—"

"——Are you fucking stupid!?"

Poof! ! ! !

It reminds me of the sound of cracking a watermelon.

Red and white stuff splattered everywhere.

The kick from the woman from behind directly broke the mercenary's magic armor and smashed his head without any delay.

The splashing sound fell everywhere, on the floor, on the table and chairs, on Charlotte's clothes, and on Ariel's face.

Charlotte showed a look of astonishment for a moment, but when she saw her frightened daughter, her expression immediately changed to anger.

"...If possible, please don't kill anyone in front of my daughter again, especially in such a bloody way."

"Ha, that's not up to you."

Sedroon released a little magic power, and immediately shook off the blood and flesh that splashed on her body. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Charlotte with a half-smile on her face - and the great secret treasure in Ariel's hand.

"Guess what I'm going to say?"

"..."

"Then I won't beat around the bush. There's no reason not to eat the meat that's right in front of your mouth. Madam, if you have any sense, you should quickly ask your little girl to hand over the food!"

“…Ariel.”

Charlotte stretched out her hand to Ariel, and the little girl immediately and obediently placed the great secret treasure in Charlotte's hand.

Seeing this, Sedroon finally revealed a mocking smile.

"It seems our STD Central Wholesale Market is quite sensible after all."

"Are you still going to play this joke? You're really uneducated."

"What are you dissatisfied with? Okay, stop fussing. Give it to me, or some troublemaker will come and get involved!"

"..."

"……Hey?"

Charlotte looked at the great secret treasure in her hand with such a focused expression that she ignored the impatient Sedroon.

She put one hand on her chin, her eyes slightly narrowed, thinking, but there was a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Then--

"I'm sorry, but I refuse."

"………………Aha?"

"I'm truly sorry. You know... I was also shocked when I first heard about the great treasure appearing in Kasol. I was also hesitant about whether to join in the fierce competition..."

"What do you mean……"

"After all, this is just my own wish, a ridiculous wish that can be called stupid. Should I kill others for it? Is this stupid wish worth the risk? I am really conflicted, but..."

Charlotte put the great secret treasure into her clothes and finally looked at Sedroon again. This time there was no confusion in her eyes.

"As expected, I couldn't let go of that obsession after all, so I'm sorry... This great secret treasure, whether it's real or not, is mine anyway."

"..."

"Also, I must apologize to all the witnesses here. Since I've decided to obtain the great secret treasure, I will definitely do it to the end, eliminating all possible troubles and will not tolerate any leniency... So, please forgive me."

The scene fell into dead silence again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Widow stocks open (laugh)

Chapter 57 Charlotte (Part )

No one thought it would develop like this.

however,

"Pfft—hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Silencing us? You mean silencing us, right? Hahahaha, stop making me laugh! That slutty young widow who runs a hotel and wants to have sex is actually a fucking hidden master? Do you have to be so idiotic? Are you serious?"

Sedroon laughed so hard that his body shook and tears came out.

but--

"Yeah, seriously."

Charlotte said so.

At some point, her daughter Ariel disappeared. Was she hiding?

As if he had noticed something, Sedroon slowly stopped smiling and focused his attention.

“…So cold?”

One of the people present suddenly whispered.

Not only him, everyone on the first floor of the hotel felt a chill.

But this is not cold in a physical sense. The temperature has not changed, but everyone feels as if a piece of ice is stuffed in their chest, making them feel cold to the bone.

It wasn't the drop in temperature, nor the chilling murderous aura, but rather, more—

"Yes... Miss Cedroon, right? I have a stupid question for you."

"what?"

"Are you afraid of death?"

As she spoke, Charlotte took off her loose long skirt, revealing the clothes underneath.

It was then that Sedroang discovered that she was wearing two layers of clothes. The outer layer was a loose housewife's dress, which looked a bit like maternity clothes at first glance. It was very loose and very suitable for protecting against dust while working.

And the dress underneath...

"...Mourning clothes? Or, evening gown?"

It was still a long dress, in an opaque black color. Its shape was no different from the silk mourning suits of the old times, but its slim fit and simple lace at the collar and cuffs reminded people of expensive evening gowns, outlining breathtaking curves.

It reminds people of the past wars, when a city was full of ruins, a husband died on the battlefield, and his wife in mourning clothes was immersed in grief, but was forced to sell sex to make a living.

Sad and gorgeous, beautiful and dangerous, pregnant with an indescribable charm of immorality.

sizzle...

With her at the center, inky darkness slowly spread across the ground, punctuated by faint purple glimmers, like a portal to the underworld. The cold current grew stronger, and the mercenaries, who had finally realized the danger, could no longer escape. The bone-chilling cold held them like a curse, firmly fixed in place.

Click!

"babble!!!!!!"

One of them suddenly screamed as a ghastly white arm suddenly stretched out from the darkness and tightly grasped his calf! The arm was almost entirely made of bones, and while it looked fragile at first glance, it was actually extremely powerful! The skeletal hands rustled and rustled more and more, covering the ground! Everyone whose foot was grasped screamed and tried to break free, but the bone-chilling cold still bound them, making it impossible for their bodies to move flexibly!

"Fire, cleanse away the filth!"

Osam immediately cast his spell. A bright flame illuminated the darkness, burning the skeletal hand that held him to a crisp—but it was no use! As a great magician, he could burn down a large house in an instant, but now this flame couldn't even hold steady. It flickered for a moment before being swallowed by darkness!

“What the hell!?”

Osam was suddenly panicked. At the same time, a hideous skull suddenly emerged from the darkness! Deep in the empty eye sockets was a purple-black flame. Just a glance at it seemed as if the soul would be sucked in!

"Sedroon!!!"

In desperation, he and the mercenaries had to ask for help from Sedroon, the only one who was not entangled by the skeletons, but she looked around with interest and was too lazy to pay attention to them.

"Amazing, amazing! A death shock that can strip away the resistance of the living, and a classic skull summoning..."

Although it was her first time seeing it with her own eyes, Sedroon still accurately said the name of the magic. She looked even more excited, with a strange light flashing in her red eyes.

"I thought that after the death of the 'Demon Lord of Blasphemy', there were no more wizards or higher-level necromancers in Maya. I didn't expect there would be an exception here~"

"You are really knowledgeable."

Charlotte was wrapped in a purple-black halo, making her look even more mysterious.

"But you're being too dishonest," Sedraon shrugged, seemingly bored. "Can't you just offer some concrete advice? Death Shock is a trick used to clear out small fry, and summoning skeletons to restrain the enemy is a cowardly move. More importantly—"

Zheng!

"—Melee combat isn't the Necromancer's strong point. At such close range, you'll be at my mercy!"

The magic circle flashed, and the giant sword appeared in Sedroon's hand, but this time the shape of the giant sword changed again, with a sharp tip and hideous serrations.

“You won’t know until you try…”

Charlotte just looked at her silently.

Behind the slender body wrapped in mourning clothes, the shadow of a huge skeleton vaguely emerged.

And behind the sneering Sedroon, "something" also emerged. It could not be seen, touched, or heard, but it made people feel that "there was something there."

"Ask again, Sedraon, are you afraid of 'death'?"

"I want to ask you, Charlotte, are you afraid of the 'devil'?"

A woman haunted by death.

A woman who is in the company of something.

There was murderous intent in the eyes of both men.

"The other party is a rival worth taking seriously" - both of them realized this at the same time.

but,