A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 115: The Shadow Witch

“The Shadow Witch... why now, of all times...?”

“...M-Master?”

“Well, this is just... hahaha...”

I frowned for a moment at the news of this sudden appearance, then forced a crooked smile.

For the record, it wasn’t because I was happy—it was the kind of laugh that comes from sheer resignation to absurdity.

“How’s the knight order doing?”

“A-About half of them have been carried off by now...”

“...Hahahaha.”

Right now, the knights who should be defending the estate were already half-destroyed—courtesy of our mischievous Princess Katarina.

Could it be that this timing was intentional, calculated to arrive just after the chaos?

If so, that would mean the Shadow Witch wasn’t just powerful, but intelligent as well. That would be... problematic.

“M-Master, where are you going...?”

“...Just wait here a moment.”

Anyway, given the situation, I decided to make the best move I could under the circumstances and began walking toward the back.

“To you, little canary—I leave it in your care.”

Specifically, I was going to tie a message to the leg of the platinum canary that had been watching me like a hawk from the window.

“I don’t want to be entangled in more than one troublesome incident at a time.”

Even though the Embergreen mansion was a fair distance away from our Ringaarden estate, it would at least put a time limit on the Shadow Witch’s moves. That was better than nothing.

I might not be enough on my own, but we had Lunelle, the newly recruited division leaders, and even Her Highness, who had just landed the first serious blow to our knight order. Somehow... we’d manage.

– Chirp.

With that in mind, I tied the message to the canary’s leg. The proud little bird gave me a sidelong glance—as if to say, “of course I’m a noble’s pet”—and flapped its wings with a dignified flutter, flying out the window.

– Crackle...!

But just as it began to ascend into the sky, black smoke suddenly wrapped around its body—followed instantly by a spark leaping into the air.

– Chirp...!

Stumbling midair, the canary hurriedly fluttered back into my arms with a pained cry.

“This is...”

I looked up at the sky, stunned, my face frozen in disbelief.

– Bzzz...

The entire Ringaarden estate was now surrounded by a translucent dome of shadow, tinged faintly with black.

Considering the name Sasha had mentioned earlier, it wasn’t hard to guess who had done this crazy thing.

‘...She’s really come in person.’

According to my knowledge from the original game, this kind of large-scale shadow barrier was beyond what the Shadow Witch could pull off with a mere projection.

Which meant, the No. 2 of the black mages—who never revealed herself even to the end—was now here in person.

“M-Master...!”

As I stood there grim-faced, the door suddenly burst open and Lunelle came running in, pale as a sheet.

“We’re under attack! The intruder appears to be a black mage—”

“I’m already aware.”

But my gaze wasn’t on her—it was on the person right beside her.

“......”

There stood Parsha, no longer her usual cheeky self, her face white as snow, nervously chewing at her fingernails.

“...Hff.”

When our eyes met, Parsha hesitated for a moment before scurrying behind me to hide.

“Lunelle. Answer truthfully.”

“...Yes, Master.”

“If you, the three division heads, and Her Highness all join forces... can we hold them off?”

I didn’t want to rattle Parsha more than she already was—clearly her PTSD had flared up—but as the head of the household, I had to ask Lunelle about our odds.

“Most knights stand little chance against a mage.”

“......”

“Of course, if there’s a significant difference in ability, it might be different. But if the skill levels are similar, the scales will tip.”

Lunelle’s expression darkened with that reply.

Fair point. Last time we faced the Shadow Witch, we had home ground advantage at Lumen Ordo, plus Tiffany Astellade and Lady Meredia—both outliers in terms of power.

And even then, it was just a projection of the Shadow Witch.

Yeah, in the original story, even the "Great Shadow"—the head of the black mages—treated her with caution and yielded to her often. She was one of the strongest in the entire world.

Lunelle had grown close to her former peak recently, and Her Highness Katarina was no weakling either. But the matchups here were... really poor.

“What if I joined in?”

“...As your sword, I would have no choice but to allow it.”

Technically, I was still a white mage—and white magic is the natural counter to black magic—even if I’d kind of forgotten that.

But Lunelle had her own opinion.

“Your white magic, as I understand, is still unstable.”

“......”

“If you fight in that condition, I cannot guarantee your survival.”

She wasn’t wrong. But that didn’t mean I could just sit and watch while the estate was overrun.

“This is really a mess...”

I muttered to myself, grimacing hard, struggling to find a way out of this deadlock—when suddenly—

“Ahem, ahem!”

A loud, exaggerated cough echoed from the hallway outside the open door.

“...Humans! Is someone in trouble?”

“......?”

“If so, I can help!”

I turned to see... a maid, vigorously scrubbing the floor with a rag, now standing tall with a proud expression, puffing out her chest.

“Who...?”

All of us stared blankly at her—and then, a memory finally clicked in my brain.

“Oh, right.”

The final boss of the Prodigy Selection arc—after she was defeated, she’d been handed over to the Pope and sent here to serve as our maid: the Archdemon Azrael.

“You’re still here?”

Now fully used to laundry and floor-scrubbing, her hands even calloused, she was the one who’d just spoken.

“...Don’t tell me.”

When I muttered that a beat late, Azrael froze for a second before speaking.

“You didn’t forget I was here, did you? Any of you?”

At that, everyone in the room—including me—instinctively averted their eyes.

“Hey, hey! I used to be the Demon King’s right-hand, you know? Huh?”

“......”

“Seriously?! You all forgot?”

Seeing her eyes start to well up with tears, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“Hahaha... Final weapons are best kept hidden in plain sight, you know?”

“...F-Final weapon?”

“Anyway, we’ve got a little something you might be perfect for.”

Thankfully, she sniffled once and then looked up at me with curious eyes.

“Some nasty enemy’s invaded the estate, you see.”

“...If that’s the case, I’m the expert.”

“Oh, perfect then.”

Seeing her muttering while watching me closely, I smiled kindly and reached out my hand to the demon.

“Would you lend me your strength?”

She blinked once, then darted to my side and clung to me like a shot.

“O-Of course, Third Demon King.”

“...Excuse me?”

“What else would I call you? Hehe.”

She even wagged her demonic tail as she accepted the request. But that title... felt a little off.

“...Let’s not use ‘Demon King’ just yet.”

“...Ah, sorry.”

“...Just stick with ‘Master’ for now.”

Parsha whispered that correction into her ear—but that wasn’t exactly accurate either.

Somehow, these people had started treating me like the next Demon King instead of the lone white mage and champion of justice that I was. Truly unfair.

Where else in the world could you find someone as righteous and peace-loving as me?

“But, Third Demon King... are you shy? Why reject such a glorious title...?”

“...I can hear you.”

“Ghk.”

***

A few minutes later.

“M-Master, you’ve... h-hyuk.”

“...Haha.”

As I walked to the garden where the Shadow Witch was supposedly waiting, the young maids trembled in terror just from seeing me.

“Don’t mind the one behind me.”

Azrael, now in full demon form rather than her usual maid getup, stood beside me with a wicked grin.

“A-Uh, uh...”

“...W-We’re not supposed to look.”

“M-Miss Sasha said to cover our eyes and ears when this happens.”

The maids, gaping in shock, suddenly shut their eyes tight and plugged their ears with their hands.

“Hahaha... not that it’ll help.”

“Eek.”

“No, I mean... it’s nothing that serious, so you don’t need to react like that.”

Watching them, I muttered unintentionally, then quickly corrected myself.

“It’s easier to erase witnesses like this...”

“...Quiet.”

“Ow. Tch...”

Of course, Azrael, now fully armed, doused my comment in cold water, earning her a quick flick to the forehead as I kept walking forward.

– Tremble tremble tremble...

The maids were clearly treating my voice as some kind of test, so I figured it was best to disappear quickly before making things worse.

“...Did your outfit really have to be like that?”

“It was a gift from the First Demon King, you know?”

“Sigh.”

“It may not look it, but it has really high defense stats.”

Her outfit, which came with full demonic manifestation, was far too indecent to be shown to innocent kids.

“But tell me—are you really confident?”

“Pardon?”

“That person up ahead. Can you actually handle her if something goes wrong?”

Even though I tried not to comment on it, she was my only lifeline right now—so I had to ask the question.

“Are you seriously asking me that, Demon Ki—I mean, Master?”

“...Yes, I am.”

For context, I’d left Lunelle, the knights, and Her Highness behind at the estate. That made Azrael my only bodyguard, and I was even addressing her politely.

“The compatibility between black mages and demons is overwhelmingly in the demon’s favor, you know? Don’t you understand why black mages are so obsessed with summoning demons?”

“...I suppose.”

“Haah, what a newbie Demon King.”

Azrael, now a little too pleased with herself, gave me a lazy, smug glance.

“Demons are the most superior beings, beyond any race.”

“......”

“Back in the day, black mages were ranked by how powerful a demon they could summon, you know?”

It felt like she was getting too arrogant, and I was tempted to put her back in her place—but there didn’t seem to be any lies in her words.

Right. This one had just been caught too easily at first, which made her seem unreliable. But she was undoubtedly a high-level demon. The Shadow Witch might actually—

“Ahahahahaha!”

“...!”

“You’ve brought quite the amusing companion.”

As the darkness in the air grew stronger and stronger, I tried to calm myself by repeating those thoughts—but then, a chillingly cheerful voice from up ahead stopped me in my tracks.

“Come, sit down, Sir Whitney.”

Seated in the place of honor at the tea table—normally reserved only for Lady Meredia—was someone holding a teacup.

“The tea at this estate is of very fine quality, isn’t it?”

“......”

“Oh? Were you saving this for your fiancée? Fufufu.”

A tall pointed hat. A black cloak. An old broom standing beside the table.

“...What are you doing? I said sit down.”

Wearing the most stereotypical witch’s outfit imaginable, the girl looked about Sasha’s age—but the black magic pouring out of her body was enough to fill the entire estate.

– Goooooo...

It was not something you’d ever expect from someone who looked that young.