Summoned a God by Mistake, Now He Won’t Go Back - Chapter 38

A ruler with a family—that seemed strange to Alnazir, but perhaps it was possible. After all, he only knew his own kind.

Still, why couldn’t he communicate with the ruler’s younger sibling? Was it because her status was too low, even lower than the frail Fay?

He wrote his question on the paper, his handwriting a bit sharp:

[Are there two witches in this world?]

Zynie frowned when she read the note. It sounded almost like he was surprised there could be two witches at all. He must be from somewhere unimaginably distant, somewhere he’d only ever seen one witch—Fay.

It wasn’t so strange, really. There used to be far more cities with witches, some even famous as centers of magic. But now, outside of Aldehallow, it was hard to find witches, since their numbers had dwindled and the survivors had all gone into hiding. And that was thanks to the Emperor.

Zynie found herself pouting, full of resentment toward the Emperor. But she reminded herself—this man wasn’t the Emperor, just ignorant. He wasn’t at fault, so she patiently wrote back:

[There are plenty of witches here. One in ten people is a witch.]

[You have that many relatives?]

[We’re not family. Fay and I aren’t related by blood, either.]

Zynie had no idea how shocking her reply was. She waited a little while longer at the house for Fay to return, but when it was clear she wasn’t coming, Zynie finally left with Donovan.

At least she didn’t get turned to stone.

It was Alnazir who ended up frozen—he went stiff as a board, unable to move, as if he’d been hit over the head.

“Is he really her boyfriend…?”

Zynie wondered as she left, shooting him a suspicious glance.

* * *

But witches weren’t the rulers of this world after all.

Realizing the truth, Alnazir felt like he’d been toyed with from the start. He’d assumed anyone with such power couldn’t be human—but it turned out those powers were just traits that a few humans happened to have in this world.

Fury bubbled up inside him. He should have realized sooner—he’d thought it strange that such a supposedly mighty being was so physically weak.

But it was too late for regrets. The humiliation of having treated humans as equals wouldn’t just vanish. His dignity as a ruler was shattered. What would the real rulers of this world think if they saw how foolish he’d been?

“How dare she make a fool of me…?”

What punishment would be enough to satisfy him? Should he turn her to stone? No, that was too lenient. Alnazir decided he wouldn’t feel better until he’d made her suffer terribly—enough pain to make her beg for mercy, even revive her over and over so the agony never ended, and force her to confess how she’d learned his name.

Surely, it must be tied to this world’s true rulers. And if that meant fighting them, so be it—he’d destroy everything that had brought him shame.

While he was lost in these dark thoughts, the sun set and the troublesome human finally came back.

“Alnazir!”

She called his name in a cheerful voice, completely oblivious.

So arrogant, right to the end. Alnazir got up from the sofa, seething inside, and called out his tentacles before she noticed anything was wrong.

“Look! Isn’t it so much bigger now?”

Ta-da! Fay beamed, showing off the bathtub she’d lugged back on her broom. It was easily twice the size of the old one.

Alnazir’s strange expression made her shoulders droop. She looked anxiously from him to the tub. “Still not big enough…?” she muttered.

It was ridiculous to think that would ever be enough, and Alnazir almost laughed. He got ready to crush her delicate heart, just as he’d planned.

“Is it no good?”

She looked so downcast that, instead, he just pulled her into his arms. He meant to squeeze until she broke, but his hands moved gently, stroking her hair.

He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her.

“You like it? I knew you would! This is the biggest tub any individual owns in all of Aldehallow!”

Fay grinned and laughed, absolutely delighted, which somehow made him even angrier. He wanted to scold her, to ask what she thought she was so happy about.

But some unknown force held him back, and the urge to lash out simply faded away.