Silence reigned supreme over the trio as the two witches stared at Hugo in a mix of surprise and doubt. The dragons had been missing, perhaps even dead, for hundreds of years, and yet the young man before them claimed he could find them and steal their secrets?

“Pray tell, how do you plan to find a dragon and demand such a thing from them?” The Crimson Witch questioned doubtfully yet her figure behind the curtain betrayed her interest. She assumed it was because of his baseless confidence but she found herself believing his words.

“Every lizard has a den, do they not?” Hugo revealed, a confident smirk plastered on his face. It was a simple phrase, one that nobody would dare to use when speaking of dragons, and yet it made everything fit into place.

“You found a dragon hoard.” The Crimson Witch declared confidently, a mix of astonishment and boundless interest in her voice. It was something much more believable than finding an actual dragon albeit no lesser in difficulty.

Dragons were beings practically made of magic, nothing had more sway of the mystical energy than them. Many had looked for both dragons and their boards but the number of those who had succeeded remained firmly at zero.

The only possible exception would be the six heroes who had vanished at one point in their journey and returned with riches and magic items beyond comprehension. People had asked of course but none had received an answer leading to the current speculation.

Many assumed it was a dragon’s hoard, some assumed it was the remains of a fallen god, and some even claimed it was a gift from the Holy God Thenia and the other two Supreme Gods for their ‘divine journey’ as some called it.

In any case, if the information of the so called Second Coming of the Inferno was to be trusted then it was a monumental occasion that would be remembered throughout history. And the witches would have access to whatever information the dragon left behind.

The only issue was the cost. Hugo Farzan knew how much they cared about knowledge and it would be strange if he didn’t use it to his advantage. In fact, he was already proving that he knew his value by taking the chance to make a contract with the Crimson Witch.

“Perhaps.” Hugo replied simply, his smirk proving that he did. He wasn’t playing hard to get, he was attempting to see how far they would go for the information. He assumed they would go to Hell and back but how much further would they go for such a chance?

The knowledge held within that lair may hold the secrets of mana and perhaps… it would expand on why they took hold of the Akashic Records. While the chance an unknown and presumably weaker dragon would know such a thing was unlikely the chance still existed.

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They would never miss this chance.

“If this information is true and you fulfill your promise… I promise you the loyalty of all witches.” The Crimson Witch vowed solemnly. It wasn’t quite a contract just yet as it lacked the magical portion of the process and yet her words were more surprising than even a contract.

‘The Witch Queen!’ Hugo thought to himself in complete shock, his smirk faltering only slightly on the outside. He knew from the fact that the Crimson Witch had a title and had witches working under her but to think she was the Witch Queen!

A witch with a title is already similar to the High Elves of the elven folk and yet their importance couldn’t even compare to that of the Witch Queen. Every witch had a connection to the Akashic Records, that was the truth, however, this connection varied deeply.

Some witches merely could feel its existence while some would occasionally receive guidance from it before it was taken by the dragons however they couldn’t compare to the importance of the Witch Queen.

While the witches were considered to be children of the Akashic Records the Witch Queen was its spouse. The importance was worlds apart and even the contract with hundreds of witches could not compare to the importance of a single contract with the Witch Queen.

“Very well.” Hugo agreed simply. The contract was fair and skewed toward neither side. Unlike most contracts and deals that were born from force or lies, their contract was almost entirely even. It fulfilled both sides' wishes without fail.

“Then our contract is sealed. In return for our undying loyalty, you shall enlighten us of the mystery of the dragons.” The Witch Queen vowed, a crimson magical string stretching from her chest and under the curtain, stopping a mere foot away from Hugo.

“I accept your demands, Witch Queen.” Hugo agreed without hesitation. If he could make a contract with the Witch Queen at the cost of the knowledge of the dragons then he would accept in a heartbeat.

Grasping the crimson string a connection was formed between the two, their souls connected by the string that had faded from view. It no longer took a physical form, it was now an entity similar to a soul.

“I see… how intriguing.” The Witch Queen mumbled under her breath, her voice audible for the powerful senses of Hugo and the ‘maid’. Truthfully, she was intending to hide her surprise from either of them however her shock, or perhaps interest, didn’t allow for such a thing.

“My Queen!” The maid shouted worriedly, hurriedly running behind the current to check on her only to stop after a delicate hand lifted the curtain revealing the woman behind the curtain, the Crimson Witch and the Witch Queen.

She was a beautiful woman, one that many would consider the peak of femininity, that seemed to personify the color crimson. Her wavy crimson hair reached well past her large posterior and her sole revealed eye was a beautiful shade of crimson dyed in amusement.

She wore simple clothing consisting of a tight black skirt that hugged her long legs tightly and a pale red button up that hugged her figure tightly. On her shoulders, there was a hooded maroon robe that reached her knees.

‘She’s powerful.’ Hugo thought to himself in interest. By herself, she was fairly weak, her mana levels reached S+ however he body was barely that of a C-. In the end, Hugo would only rank her somewhere in the B ranks. It was difficult to tell exactly due to her unknown mana attribute but it would be difficult to rank her any higher or lower.

Her own power was actually quite low for a witch, what made her impressive was the magic items on her body. While her clothing looked normal albeit fashionable they were packed with so many magic effects that the curtain looked pitiful in comparison.

‘I can’t read them.’ Hugo noted, his eyes trailing over the thin engravings in the clothes. He was far from skilled at reading magic effects but he could get a rough understanding of anything that wasn’t an item famed throughout history.

He had no idea about the effects of the clothing, their materials, or even when they were created however he assumed they were clothing passed down throughout the Witch Queens, perhaps given to them by the dwarves, and were enchanted with a shape changing effect.

“Hugo Farzan… you aren’t human, are you?” The Witch Queen asked, an intrigued glinty in her eyes.