Poison.

He swiveled the bottle of purple liquid with his finger and thumb and smiled to imagine the pain his former party would experience if he made them drink this. There was nothing more painful than his master’s poison.

Remy had to be careful though. He needed to be as sneaky as a thief or an assassin. Be just like the wind or-

“What are you doing?” Odette’s face appeared at his side.

Remy made a sound and jumped. The bottle in his hand slipped from his grip a couple of times in a cartoonish way, until he caught it and awkwardly hid it in the knapsack hanging on his hip.

“What! Nothing! What are you doing?!”

The witch just stared at him. Her expression mostly stayed the same, but Remy could see a slight twitch of her lips, signaling annoyance.

“What does it matter what I’m doing here? I’m not in your party anymore.” He turned away.

The white-haired witch ran her fingers through her long hair. “I wouldn’t be asking it, if you weren’t in the lobby of the inn that your former party sleeps in, swilling a vial of what appears to be poison from Morgan’s cooking with a smile that could rival the Demon King’s.”

Remy crossed his arms. “I have no poison.”

Of course, it didn’t matter how confidently he had said it. The deal was blown. She exactly knew what he was going to do.

So, he had to go for a different tactic. One that he would seriously regret.

“I’m not here to poison anyone,” he said. “I was here to see if you wanted to go get some food.”

She froze.

“Are…are you asking me on a date?”

“No…” He closed one of his eyes. “I’m asking if you want to buy me food.”

Then the witch smiled for the first time in a few days. “With pleasure!”

#

Since their days in the slum, Odette and him had been inseparable. While he had been the monster dropped off, she had been the monster born from it. She had been called The Ashen Witch. His first experience meeting her when he seeking dominance in the slums was an unpleasant story with an even more unpleasant ending.

The café she dragged him to was her favorite one. The one where the coffee and tea were always bitter, and the snacks were finger sandwiches. His eyebrows twitched as he looked at what she ordered for them.

Smashed fisheye sandwiches.

“These are my favorite.” She put one of them into her mouth and the look of her face turned into delight as if what she had just eaten was strawberry shortcake.

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It was what he really wanted, but this place served the weirdest things. The tea the served him was made from pickled tankfalcon talons. She drank that like it was coffee and milk. She gave a satisfied sigh as she placed down an empty cup and poured another cup.

He hit his fist on the table.

It made the dishes bounce and clatter. She gave him a perturbed look.

“Why are you making such a face?”

“Because, your tastebuds are broken,” he said. “Why can’t you take me to normal places, with normal tea, and normal snacks like cake.”

“You’ve always had a sweet tooth. Here. Ahhhh.”

She was trying to feed the sandwich to him. Remy refused to open his mouth and the sandwich hit the closed gates. From his lips, he could taste it, and it revolted him. She frowned, putting the sandwich back on the plate.

“This doesn’t feel like a date.”

“This isn’t a date.” Remy pointed at her. “I want answers. Why did you vote to kick me out of my party?”

“Because, you said we couldn’t date if we were in the same party,” she answered quite clearly. “So, of course I would vote for my own self-interest.”

“Somehow, just you admitting that, pisses me off.” Remy’s fists tightened. “I know you had feelings for me, but I can’t believe that you kicked me out, knowing that Pyra and Charlotte have feelings for me.”

“No. That’s not true. I made sure that they did not have any feelings for you before approving them coming into the party.” She waved dismissively.

Remy blinked. “What? Of course, they do. What do you mean by that?”

Odette took a sip of her talon tea. She placed it down on its saucer. “You put me in charge of interviewing them. You were busy being tortured by Morgan. You were very popular. You just become a Hero after all.”

“Of course.” Remy rubbed his finger under his nose. “That was a great day. I was super popular.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I tanked that.”

“What now?”

“I showed every woman that I interviewed your worst moments. To show who you really are.”

“Odette. What did you show them?” He felt sweat drip down his face. “What did you show them?”

“There’s a reason why they call you Starfall.”

“Because I’m so godly that I feel from stars.”

She just gave him a look. “No.”

Remy leaned back in his chair, hearing a high-pitched noise in his ear as he contemplated what he just learned.

“But, Edge, you didn’t invite him in because you were attracted to him?”

“Just hearing you say that in a sentence has made me lose my appetite.” She pushed away the sandwiches. “We allowed him in because we needed another person who could draw the attention of monsters away from our healer and me.”

“You know we didn’t need him. You always had me!”

“Even with those?” She looked at his wrists.

“Of course. That’s how awesome I am.”

“Any fool could a decrease in power from you. That’s why the others kicked you out, but I kicked you out because I love you.” Her eyes were sparkling.

“I don’t know what to say to that, but it’s definitely not going to be praise.” But an idea crossed his mind, and he took out the vial of poison, placing it between the two of them. “If you love me, go poison them.”

“You want me to poison them? With Morgan’s poison?” Her finger tapped the vial. “You know that everyone isn’t like you? They wouldn’t survive this. It could kill them.”

Remy crossed his arms, leaning his head to one side. “You know, if you want it, you’ll need to pay me for it.”

She clicked her tongue. “How much?”

“Three thousand gold.”

“You’re asking for the amount, Edge was going to give you before you beat the snot out of him?” Odette took out the pouch. “Well, I still have it, it’s a deal.”

Remy scooped up the pouch.

“Good! Now I can actually buy real food.”

“That hurt Remy.” She put her hand to her chest in a mock gesture. “This is real food. It’s just healthy.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Remy asked her. “Are you really going to stay in that party? You know Edge has the hots for you.”

She gave him a smile. “Are you jealous?”

“No, but it pisses me off that he achieved my dream of getting a harem.”

“And you won’t ever get one, Starfall.” She gave him an impish smile.

She was really beautiful. Remy has easily admitted that in front of her and it made her blush.

But why did she have to be such a warped woman?

Remy snorted and gave a shrug. “I guess I will have to get my revenge another way, and I have three thousand ways to do that now.”