Chapter 17 : Kumo Strass (17)

Hans slowly began to explain, carefully choosing his words to avoid provoking Gretel.

Of course, every explanation needed to be seasoned with just the right amount of lies enough to keep Gretel from getting too upset, while also ensuring that Alje’s true identity remained hidden.

He was certain that Gretel wouldn’t be thrilled to hear that he had spent the past few days naked alongside an extraordinarily beautiful girl.

“I didn’t plan on staying away for so long. Something unexpected happened…”

“Unexpected?”

There was, however, one problem The overly naive girl standing behind him.

Hans shot a quick sideways glance at Alje, wary that she might blurt out something unnecessary.

Fortunately, she remained silent.

Good, at least she had that much sense.

In contrast to when the tavern had been packed with people, Alje’s face now seemed livelier with just the three of them remaining.

It was as if she found humans uncomfortable, but witches weren’t something to be feared.

“I was chased by a pack of monsters and ended up falling into a strange place.”

After confirming that Alje would stay quiet, Hans slowly recounted his experiences.

He carefully omitted any unnecessary details or anything that could be used against him.

He simply told them that he had fallen into a bizarre space, survived by scavenging monster meat, and—This next part was the most crucial.

Hans made a conscious effort to stay calm as he subtly stepped back, positioning Alje so she was clearly visible.

At last, the two girls, who had been deliberately ignoring each other, finally locked eyes.”—That’s where I found her.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Naturally, Gretel didn’t believe him.

“Johann, I never knew you had a talent for storytelling besides hunting.”

Before the tension could rise”Wait… Hey, are you crazy?”

Gretel had never intended to actually burn him—just to threaten him.

But when Hans suddenly pressed his fingers against the flame, she panicked and extinguished it immediately.

It was too late.

His skin was already scorched, turning red and blistering.

Hans clenched his teeth.

This pain was nothing compared to what was coming next.

“Tsk. Alje, if you would?”

“…Did you really have to go this far?”

Alje sighed, looking slightly exasperated, but she still reached out toward Hans without hesitation.

Even as another woman ran her hands over his burned skin with a strangely lingering touch, Gretel—usually so quick to anger—just stared in stunned silence.

Then, the moment Alje withdrew her hand.

“…That’s impossible.”

The burns were gone, as if they had never been there.

No illusion, no mere trick—this was unmistakable proof of a genuine miracle.

“Yeah. Even I didn’t expect to find a saint in the Labyrinth…”

“This isn’t something you can brush off so easily!”

Hans had expected skepticism, but Gretel’s reaction was far stronger than he anticipated.

“I couldn’t sense any divine power from her at all… “

No, more than that—witches don’t accept saints into the Labyrinth!

They get filtered out at the entrance.

“And even if they somehow made it inside, the Labyrinth’s miasma is like poison to them!”

“They wouldn’t last long before coughing up blood and dying!”

“…Then what the hell is she?”

The intensity in Gretel’s voice wasn’t just anger—it was fear.

Her entire body radiated heat, sparks flickering violently around her like embers from a wildfire.

Hans felt the scorching air graze his cheek as Gretel raised a trembling hand.

“Come here, Johann.”

“Now! Get away from that thing!”

*

For a split second, Hans wondered if it would have been easier to tell the truth—that Alje was a monster.

Of course, the end result would have been the same.

The moment Hans stepped aside, Gretel would incinerate Alje without hesitation.

Which is exactly why he couldn’t move.

“Gretel, just calmed.”

“Are you ignoring me right now?!”

The situation was spiraling.

Any second now, something would explode.

Then—Hans felt himself being pulled back.

Not by Gretel’s magic—this time, it was a hand gripping his clothes from behind.

And before he could react, Alje stepped forward, placing herself directly between them.

“What’s wrong with me?”

Hans had never seen her afraid of witches.

At first, he thought it was because she was too naive to recognize the danger.

But what if that wasn’t it at all?

“Y-you… What are you?”

“Me? I’m Alje.”

Even with Gretel’s flames flickering ominously around her, Alje remained perfectly calm.

“That’s not what I’m asking! I don’t care about your name! I’m asking what the hell you are!”

This was beyond Hans’s ability to control.

All he could do was pray that neither of them did anything reckless.

“Alje is Alje.”

Come to think of it—She had never once called herself a monster.

Her behavior suggested she wasn’t unaware of what she was, but she always seemed to avoid acknowledging it.

“I didn’t do anything weird. Why are you treating me like this?”

“If you really are a saint—how did you even get into the Labyrinth? And why are you still alive?!”

“I don’t know. I just woke up here.”

Hans could explain.

A saint shouldn’t have been able to enter the Labyrinth.

A saint shouldn’t have been able to survive the miasma.

But Alje wasn’t truly a saint—she was a monster.

And the Labyrinth itself drew in monsters.

Gretel had told him that herself.

She wasn’t making the connection now because she was missing the most crucial piece of information.

But she would figure it out eventually.

And if there was even the slightest chance of that happening, it was best to cut off her suspicions now.

“Gretel.”

“…Are you seriously taking her side right now?”

“It’s not like that. Just listen.”

Hans shifted the focus back onto himself.

Normally, dealing with a witch’s hysterics was the last thing he wanted, but right now, he needed her attention on him.

“How do you think I even knew she was a saint?”

“What?”

“I almost died. And Alje revealed herself to save me.”

Alje had never tried to hide what she was.

But Hans framed it that way anyway—because that’s what a normal saint would have done.

A real saint would have feared persecution, hiding their power out of caution—yet still wouldn’t hesitate to save a life in danger.

“Of course, the doll you gave me helped, too.”

“….”

“But if not for her, I wouldn’t have made it out alive.”

Gretel didn’t respond right away.

But the violent energy radiating from her had begun to wane.

In the end, she didn’t actually care about explanations or logic.

The politics of the Labyrinth and the saints were matters for the ducal families who managed this place—not a prisoner like her.

Her outburst had never been about seeking the truth.

It was just a way to vent her shock—or maybe even her fear.

What she really needed wasn’t an explanation.

She needed a reason—a justification—to accept that someone else had gotten close to her Johann.

“So,”

Gretel’s eyes narrowed.

Not as sharply as before, but enough to keep Hans on edge.

Still, that was a good sign.

Hans exhaled, relieved.

This was manageable.

She would still be irritated.

She would still grumble.

She would still punish him in some petty way.

But she wouldn’t burn Alje alive.

“So she’s… repaying you for saving your life?”

Compared to her earlier fury, her voice now was practically mild.

Hans felt a flicker of hope——until Alje casually answered.

“Yep. He promised to be my knight, after all.”