Hansel’s Enchanted Fairytale: Fill Me Up With Magic! - Chapter 3
[ Magical ability and physical size are proportional. In other words, the stronger the man, the larger his size. Considering that magical talent is inherited through bloodlines, this may not be so surprising.
If he’s hiding his magical power from you, make him take off his pants! You can easily trace his magical strength through that.
(……)
When there’s a disparity in magical abilities between two individuals, the stronger magic transfers to the weaker one. For example, if the infamous ‘witch of the northern forest’ were to engage in ongoing intimate relations with an ordinary person, within a year, that person would surpass the magical talent of the once-powerful Herodt family that ruled over all mages.
Likewise, the same would apply if a werewolf from the witch’s domain mated with an ordinary person. ]
Hansel furrowed her neat brows in serious thought.
“So, for someone as deficient as me to gain magical talent, I’d need to sleep with someone like a werewolf, huh.”
The idea of intimacy didn’t bother her much. She’d already learned the theory from books and studied the behavior of werewolves at the academy. Besides, it was said that this was the wolves’ mating season.
“The timing’s perfect, but…”
The problem was that werewolves lived in the northern forest.
The northern forest was the witch’s territory.
The Witch of the Gingerbread House was the mortal enemy of mages. Not only could the witch kill with just the utterance of someone’s name, but they also possessed every magical ability known to exist.
Ten years ago, the witch had used that power to kill the head of the Herodt family in a single night, reshaping the balance of power.
Moreover, the witch harbored deep hatred for all mages. The entire northern forest was the witch’s domain, and it was said that a mage’s head would be severed the moment they set foot there. If wished, the witch could massacre every mage in the world in an instant, and so mages universally feared her.
“Well, I’m already abandoned as it is. I might as well risk my life.”
Hansel had a plan, though.
From what she’d heard, the Witch of the Gingerbread House didn’t harm ordinary people. With no trace of magical potential, Hansel figured she’d appear to be just another ordinary person.
So, her chances of being killed on the first encounter were slim!
Hansel strode to her wardrobe and flung the doors open. She pulled out her largest bag and began tossing in the items she needed for her escape without hesitation. Her savings, a crystal imbued with emergency healing magic, round enchanted goggles, a magic wand preloaded with attack spells, and her bible—Madame Virginia’s book. Lastly, she donned a red cloak imbued with warmth magic and pulled up the hood.
“Hmm, I should take the bread the nanny left, too. It’s a long journey to the northern forest.”
Hansel crouched by the door. As she quietly unlatched it and began to push it open, someone grabbed it from the other side.
“Sister! Sister! I’ve shortlisted candidates for my brother-in-law. Let’s talk for a—ouch!”
Hansel grabbed the bread through the narrow opening and slammed the door shut. Gretel wailed in the hallway, her hand caught painfully in the door.
“……”
This wasn’t normal. Hansel’s instincts prickled at the back of her neck.
“…Sister, what are you doing?”
Gretel rattled the doorknob several times, but there was no response.
Of course, there wouldn’t be.
Hansel had already leaped out of the second-floor window, her red cloak fluttering as she disappeared into the snowy night. A cold wind filled with snowflakes swirled through the room she had left behind.
A single snowflake landed on the note placed in the center of Hansel’s desk.
[ I’m not coming back, so don’t look for me. Goodbye. ]
***
Her fur boots crunched against the smooth, snowy ground. Before Hansel stretched an endless white field. She walked until the red glow of dusk gave way to the pitch-black curtain of night.
Hours had passed since she left behind the yellow lights of the village and ventured into the dark forest. Walking alone in the solitude of a snowy night, even the sound of falling snow and the crunch of her boots was oddly comforting.
“The forest… It’s so much darker in real life. You can’t see a thing.”
She had finally reached the gaping maw of the forest. Even under the bright full moon, the dense woods were so thick that not a shred of light passed through. The strong wind howled, making the forest groan eerily like a wailing ghost. The sound sent a shiver down her spine, but she couldn’t turn back now.
Besides, she was prepared for this.
Hansel shifted her bag forward and pulled out a pair of round, thick goggles from the front pocket. The goggles were enchanted to provide clear vision, even in the dark.
The only drawback was that they made her eyes look as small as beans.
“If smaller eyes mean better disguise, then that’s perfect for me.”
