Chapter 4: The talkative witch.

Emily was sitting down on the floor coloring something on a table with a broken leg. She takes the pink color and makes several circle shapes shaping a flower. "One big circle... one small circle, two small circle..." she hums while drawing.

Her big sister on the other hand made sure to double lock the entry door to their run down apartment and closed the curtains to make sure no one would be able to peep or spy on them outside. "Whew... that's certainly enough excitement for one day-! I would like it if it would stay like that forever." she mutters to herself while looking at her curtains once more slumping her bag on the floor.

She was curious... if the girl was still there.

The mysterious beautiful lady that escorted them home until they were safe- she couldn't help but remember all the cool things she did while she was practically sweeping her off Isabella's feet when she saved her from those horrible loan sharks that almost kidnapped her...

If she wasn't there at that time. She would have never seen her little sister again and she would be left in that daycare alone thinking that her sister abandoned her. "I... I should have properly thanked her with a meal or something."

But with what money will she be even used to treat that oh beautiful woman a meal?

"Oh!"

A light bulb appeared on her head remembering the antique coins that the same girl gave her that she can pawn for money! Maybe she can even sell these online once she get these appraised and-

She pats her pockets and realizes... Why is it so flat?

"The coins... I know I put them in my pocket, where are they?" she searches for it once more even going through her bag and wallet. "No! No! No!" she even walks around their small room just in case it fell out and rolled over!

Isabella has just found out that the coins from her pockets that she could pawn for a lot of money are gone!

Their possible grocery money was all gone!

They're back to being poor!

It must have been from that time those goons got her cornered and she felt one hand roaming through her pockets. Curses! It must've fallen out on that shady alleyway...

The rent is due soon and she's not sure if her job can support them for long even when her scholarship is keeping them afloat and Emily will need to start going to elementary soon- and she'll be needing allowance and materials.

She's also worried about her little sister getting bullied for not having... a proper perfect family like everyone does.

The image of the past pops into her mind. Their mother laughing while they finish preparing their dinner, Emily trying to pick a fight while Isabella hugs her to death just to spoil her sister and finally their father with a respectable job with decent salary who comes home every night just to be with them.

How unfortunate it couldn't be that way.

Isabella looks at her sister happily drawing without knowing the pain and worry her older sister is in. "Stupid old man this is all your fault..." She couldn't help but curse his playboy father that abandoned them into the fear of debt.

With no other relatives willing to take them in, Isabella was the one who needed to take charge after turning into an adult in her country. Thankfully she was considered an adult by the time her family left her or both of them would've been sent into orphanages.

She couldn't bear being away from her little sister...

She needed to grow up fast and become the role of parent Emily will need in her life.

"Ugh... this sucks..." (Isabella) clenches her fist wiping away any tears in her cheeks before walking towards Emily who notices Isabella walking over so she happily scooches over a little to give space for her big sister.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Look at this flower... and cat... and dog I drew." (Emily) pulls out her big sister's sleeve smiling so proudly at the drawing she made. She's noticed that Isabella has been unhappy these days- and usually her drawings cheer her up so maybe!

Isabella sighs with a faint smile on her face. Her little sister's drawing looks so horrible- the so called cat looks like a pig and the so called dog looks like a horse- she loved the drawing so dearly and kept it close to her heart.

"Come here you!" She couldn't help but pat down Emily's hair ruffling it into a mess with a wide smile while the other girl groans annoyed by her sister's sudden display of affection.

"Ugh! Not my hair!!! First you're late from picking me up and now you pick at my hair..." (Emily) pouts pushing her sister away from her.

Isabella felt determined to just- continue how things have been. She still has her part-time job at the pet store and not to worry! She can work things out... hopefully for their sake. "So Isa when do we eatttt?" her little sister asked while the other party laughed and took out some instant noodles they could eat together.

It's not much but... it's all they have.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile our demon lord is busy tapping her foot on the floor of her house wondering...

Why did this Isabella girl look like the mistress she served all those hundreds of years ago?

It's driving her crazy... and she hasn't slept for days. Not that she needed it because she's no longer human but still. The topic just can't move on from her mind. It's so unreal that she has a bride now and she looks exactly like-!

"No... she's nothing like her. No one will ever be like her." She comforted herself that the woman from before was not the noble lady she had loved and served in her times that she was a human.

Slowly she slumped from her chair feeling so sloppy from just that one visit in her human town that became quite a small city. Now it feels rather lonely this morning in her house, "I'm lonely... When will Geoffrey come back?"

Geoffrey, her servant, is out on vacation with the rest of his family. He's an old man in his sixties whose family swore loyalty on serving the demon lord. One child every generation, to take care of what she owned whenever she's busy.

Azel stood up and walked around the house only to find her feet stopping in front of the same portrait she commissioned of her master and stared at it for an hour studying her figure.

How she feared her memory would get the best of her and forget her lady.

The painting was preserved really well...

Thump! Crash!

"Hmm..." it seems that she was not alone in her house. The sound of her books falling out took her attention, could there be a burglar? But she lived in a place where no normal human would be able to reach it.

So it should be the uninvited guest she has always had.

"Come out before I decide to curse your whole family for a century." the demon lord declared and if there was something not to do, is that to ever piss the demon lord inside her home.

The young pink-haired girl comes out of her hiding and gave the demon lord a pout while holding her hat. "Will you really do that to a cute witch like me?" she asks walking more closely to her target.

The familiar she desired!

Every witch in her school already has familiars of their own. From crows, to mice, rats and most popularly black cats. However, her family has always told her to aim high hence what could be better than a normal black cat-

But to tame the most powerful one of all that reigns all the other demons into balance.

"I will not go away until you decide to be my familiar! Demon lord cat and that's a promise!" the witch declared crossing her arms like the entitled brat she is. "I haven't even seen you in your demon form! I want to see!" she stomped her feet naively, never in her life has she seen someone not giving in to what she demanded.

"I'll pay you to be my familiar!" She tries bribing the demon lord of money because her mother has always told her- money shows the true greediness in people!

Azel looks at this witch girl irritated and shakes her head, "No, go home already." she told her straightforwardly not caring if she hurt the girl's feelings. It's been three months since the witch declared that she'll do everything to make the demon lord to be her familiar.

Starting from money, but she's clearly richer.

She even offered power, but she's more powerful.

She offered grand adventures, but she's an introvert.

She offered to take care of the demon lord herself, but she's just a little girl who can't even take care of anything. Azel is almost a thousand years older- and she still has her pride as a maid that she'd rather die than let anyone take care of her.

The witch was someone of higher ranking, a family full of geniuses and she was the best. Everyone strived for greatness and their willingness to do anything to get what they want is truly amazing.

"You! I have no choice! I'll have to give up the only thing I'm most proud of!" the witch takes her vest off, her uniform seems to be from a human school. It looks familiar now that Azel looks at it more closely, she recognizes that uniform!

"Hmm..." the demon lord stared intensely at her uniform but the witch smiled thinking that her chest must've won her over.

"I'll give my body to you if you become my familiar- come on these beautiful plains are after all huge as-" the witch could only spout nonsense until Azel rolls her eyes and grabs her by the wrist.

For a moment their face merely a ruler apart and for some reason the witch felt like her heart was beating fast. It was going thump, thump. thump! H-How could this demon be so bold as to take her hand and forcefully-

"Your chest is flat as a board and I'm not interested in your body." (Azel) tells the witch without mercy and holds her uniform instead. "Which human school do you come from?" she sniffs the scent of the uniform to see any form of resemblance.

Isabella's scent... she has it. It may be faint but- it's there.

Not only are they from the same school but perhaps they are from the same class as well?

"Do you have any beautiful friends with light brown hair?" (Azel) asks another question while getting closer to sniff the collar of her vest but the witch was not comfortable with that so she aimed to slap the demon-

"You pervert!!!" her hands covered a part of her chest while the other flew at high speed.

However the witch slapped a vase that was innocently standing on the side.

Crash!

"Ah..." she muttered out in fear after looking at the broken vase on the floor. It's shards scattered waiting for a victim to step on their sharp edges and bleed.

Azel glared at the uninvited visitor who was only there to pester and pursue her to become her familiar but it was also her fault that she curiously got too close to sniff her collar that must be uncomfortable- "I-I'm um... I'm sorry! I'll pay for it! Name your price!" She quickly took out her wallet and her allowance bills.

The demon lord could not care for such a trivial matter breaking like a vase. What she wanted was information, money. "Tell me which school you go to and I'll consider us even for breaking my vase." (Azel) requested and the witch looked at her in confusion.

Her school? Again? Why?

She looks at her uniform once more, the black vest that had the small seal of her school having lily flowers and a shield.

"M-My school is um... it's a private university that you've probably heard of before. It's very far away too and the school cafeteria really sucks because the food there was just horrible- there's also some cute girls and guys there but actually you're more attractive than them-" the girl flustered explained some unnecessary things and continued.

Azel listened attentively to every detail she said and the witch was happy that she listened so closely. After all those months of chasing after her- she's finally listening to a word she says!

"You know my family is from a long blood line of rich witches- but they wanted me to take a course I could excel in because you know witches live amongst humans now and we have to even do things like a normal human would. Hmph!"

"I see... that must be tough." the demon lord said without caring while cleaning up the broken shards of the glass before she could ask if there was someone named Isabella in her school.

The witch sat down on one of the chairs and made her home seem like it was hers, helping herself to the store bought cookies on the table.

She munches on some chocolate chip flavored ones happily while talking to the demon's ears to bleed.

"I don't get why you're so interested in my school when we can talk about how fun it will be if you sign up as my familiar! Imagine the fame I'll get if you submit to me!" She happily dreams of the demon lord fighting for her but the image in her mind was merely a scribble of a child who has never tasted the disappointment of rejection.

Azel felt like wanting to curse this child for a thousand year bad luck with her whole family but she doesn't want to make enemies of the witches.

It'll be too troublesome to move out and to take all of her valuable stuff with her.

"Mm! I know these were just cheap cookies that you bought from a store but they seem rather tasty when I eat it here. Jeez, next time if you're going to buy store bought ones you should buy the most expensive one you see not these- blah blah blah!" there she is again with all that talking all for a cookie.

The demon lord's sensitive human ears are hurting- how much more could it hurt when she turned to her cat form where her ears are much more sensitive than a human's?

"Mmhmm... uh-huh. Okay." was her answer to the girl's advice on what cookies to buy.

"Huh?! Hey, you're not even listening!" the girl wanted to throw the cheap store bought cookies at the direction of the demon lord but if she did- she might get bad luck so it's best not to provoke her. "That's it I'm going to explore your house then! So much for hearing my stories out! I'm going wherever I want!"

Azel sweeps the shards into a dustpan her head still floating around. "Uh-huh... mhmm... that's nice." the sound of sweeping was now the only thing you could hear inside.

Oh the sweet sound of silence. How she missed it...

"Wait, did she just say explore the house?"

Thack thack!

The sound of the broom falling to the ground echoed through the walls of the living room. She ran past through items that seemed to be made out of gold, gems from rubies to diamonds and valuable coins.

Anything that someone greedy might take a liking to.

However in the demon lord's eyes there was nothing more important than-"No... if she dared touch milady's painting!"

It's just a painting.

Nothing of worth, you can just make another one.

That painting seems to be special but I wonder why?

She used her nose to track her smell and finally found the witch to where she feared she could be. "Oh! Hello demon lord-! This is a really nice painting." her hand was holding onto the canvas and that angered the demon lord.

"You... touched it."

"Yes, why? I really liked the painting, it looks like someone-" her words came to a stop when she noticed the demon lord in front of her seemed to have grown claws, her mouth salivating and her teeth began growing fangs. "-I know..."

The Demon Lord abandoned her human figure and transformed into something more like a monster. Half of her body started growing fur and her tail can now be seen behind her back. "Hahhh... Hahhh..." she panted while growing through the painful transformation.

All the mirrors in the house seemed to have cracked, the weather began to pour down including some lightning and the witch looked at the painting once more. All this changes for just a painting?!

"I-It looks like Isabella! This girl in the painting! I'm sorry! I wanted to hold it because it really looks like her. Please spare me! Don't eat me!" she yells, bowing to the ground and Azel widens her eyes at the name.

"Y-You know Isabella?"

 

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Platymage