Samotush?
Anne?
Seeing the two witches following behind Olivia, Tunzuo let out a startled cry, his voice filled with disbelief.
He widened his eyes, his gaze darting back and forth between Samotush and Anne.
Based on what Tunzuo had seen and heard in the Dueling Arena, the tense atmosphere between Olivia and Samotush was enough to prove that the two witches had a relationship that was strained to a certain degree.
Though they weren’t mortal enemies who would fight to the death, they were definitely the type who wanted to trade blows the moment they met.
Since Anne had a good relationship with Samotush, Tunzuo naturally assumed that Anne and Olivia didn’t get along either.
But now, it seemed things weren’t as he had imagined.
After all, if their relationship were bad, Samotush and Anne wouldn’t have accepted Olivia’s invitation to form a band together.
Hearing Tunzuo’s voice, Samotush, who had been looking around behind Olivia, turned her head and immediately spotted Tunzuo wearing the pale mask on his face.
Almost instantly, Samotush’s previously bored eyes lit up, and her somewhat lazy steps suddenly became brisk.
She enthusiastically stepped out from behind Olivia and walked toward Tunzuo.
However, as she passed by Olivia, Samotush, as if deliberately picking a fight, “accidentally” slammed her shoulder hard into Olivia.
Samotush controlled her strength skillfully, enough to knock Olivia off balance but not enough to make her actually fall, showing her full displeasure toward Olivia.
Samotush’s unsportsmanlike surprise attack caused Olivia to stumble for a moment, staggering slightly.
Olivia frowned and turned to cast a dissatisfied glare at Samotush.
But in response to Olivia’s warning, Samotush grinned mischievously, showing no regret whatsoever, and even provocatively raised her eyebrows at Olivia.
Then, completely ignoring the fuming Olivia beside her, she waved at Tunzuo.
“Hey, little black one, long time no see! So, has that bastard Olivia been bullying you?”
Bullying?
Samotush’s question caught Tunzuo off guard, and he began to recall the time he had spent with Olivia.
Call it bullying?
In the early days, he had indeed been annoyed by Olivia’s domineering personality and greasy behavior.
But looking at it later, it didn’t seem like bullying.
After all, Olivia’s behavior had improved later on, and she indulged him in everything, like an obedient big golden retriever.
So, facing Samotush’s question, Tunzuo didn’t know how to answer.
He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes wandering, pretending to study the halo cast by the chandelier above.
Seeing Tunzuo’s expression as if his mind was drifting, Samotush giggled and leaned closer, her face clearly showing an intention to stir up trouble.
Samotush brought her mouth close to Tunzuo’s ear, deliberately lowering her voice, and began to badmouth Olivia.
“See, wasn’t I right? That Olivia is a total pervert! We warned you before, and then she transferred schools to chase after you. Tsk, like a stubborn piece of adhesive plaster that you can’t shake off.”
As she spoke, Samotush looked Tunzuo up and down with exaggerated eyes, as if she were looking at a poor soul about to jump into a pit of fire.
“Little one, let me tell you, dating a witch like Olivia is the most exhausting. Dragon witches are naturally promiscuous, but they also have an explosive possessiveness. No matter how you look at it, they’re not qualified partners. You need to think twice; it’s not too late to regret now. I’ve been fighting on the battlefield for years, and I’ve got plenty of high-quality relationship resources. If you want, I can…”
Tunzuo watched Samotush, who was full of mischief and seemed determined to keep Olivia single for life.
He twitched the corner of his mouth and looked up at Olivia, who had somehow appeared behind Samotush with a face full of “benevolent murder.”
Tunzuo felt that Samotush was probably doomed.
However, upon hearing Samotush’s words, the smile on the pale mask suddenly turned even more sinister.
Clearly, Nyarlathotep had picked up some bad ideas from Samotush.
Just as Samotush was about to continue gossiping about Olivia’s flaws with Tunzuo, a heavy shadow fell.
BANG!
A dull, heavy sound echoed through the music practice room.
Olivia, with bulging veins on her forehead, ruthlessly landed an iron fist on Samotush, letting the stupid dog know what should and shouldn’t be said.
“Ow!”
Samotush, punished by Olivia’s iron fist, let out a miserable howl, stumbling forward a few steps.
Two large lumps visibly swelled on her head.
Holding her head, Samotush turned around angrily and roared at Olivia:
“What the hell, Golden Dragon! I only agreed to come help you because you begged me! Show some respect, you young witch! Don’t you know about rank and hierarchy?!”
But Samotush’s threat had no effect on Olivia.
The face of the eldest daughter of the Gold Family, usually elegant and confident, was now filled with cold indifference and disdain.
Olivia slowly pulled a pure white handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the hand she had used to punch Samotush, as if she had touched something dirty.
Then she incinerated the handkerchief with dragon flame.
“Watch your mouth, stupid dog. Don’t say things you shouldn’t.”
Olivia’s voice was cold as ice, and she had no intention of saving Samotush’s face.
“Also, I need to correct your memory. I didn’t invite you. I posted a request, and you shamelessly dragged Anne along to chase after me. Please know your place and don’t try to steal the spotlight here.”
Hearing Olivia’s merciless exposure of her past, Samotush turned red with anger and roared:
“You damn Golden Dragon! Can’t you say anything nice?! I curse you to be single for life!”
“Reflect back! You stupid dog will be single for life!”
And so, Olivia and Samotush started arguing.
The two witches went back and forth, from old grudges to today’s hairstyles, neither giving an inch.
The two flaming dog heads beside Samotush barked furiously at Olivia, spewing purple-black sparks to cheer on their master.
Tunzuo watched Olivia and Samotush arguing like children, without any mature insults, and felt a headache and deep helplessness.
Seriously, is this elementary school playtime?
The reasons and forms of their arguments are too childish, aren’t they?
Seeing Tunzuo’s speechless expression, Anne, who had been watching the show, walked over to Tunzuo and explained with a smile:
“Don’t mind it. You’ll get used to it. Those two have always been like this. If they’re not arguing, they’re not communicating. Actually, they get along well. It’s just that our stupid dog has never been convinced by Olivia, annoyed that Olivia always steals her thunder, so she’s always trying to one-up her. But unfortunately, whether it’s fighting or arguing, our stupid dog never wins against Olivia.”
Hearing Anne’s explanation, Tunzuo glanced back at Samotush, who had already fallen behind in the argument, stumped and flustered by Olivia’s sharp tongue.
He forced an awkward smile.
Well, another case of being bad but still loving to play.
While Olivia and Samotush were locked in a fierce argument, Anne sneakily leaned her head toward Tunzuo.
With a swish, she opened her folding fan to cover her full red lips, her eyes full of gossip and curiosity fixed on Tunzuo.
“Little one, tell me in secret, how far have you and Olivia gone? If you say nothing, I won’t believe it. I heard that during the summer break, Golden Sand Beach was unusually closed to the public. The only ones capable of such a big move, besides Lord Fafnir, are Olivia.”
Faced with Anne’s straightforward question, Tunzuo’s face flushed.
Nyarlathotep, hanging on Tunzuo’s face, could clearly feel the rising temperature on her young master’s cheeks.
Just as Tunzuo was about to stammer out “Not officially in a relationship yet,” Olivia, who had been keeping an eye on Tunzuo, hurriedly interrupted her argument with Samotush and answered first:
“Of course we’re lovers, right, little ghost?”
Seeing Olivia’s smug expression, Tunzuo felt helpless, thinking how many people had been stealing his words lately.
Realizing that Olivia was no longer paying her any attention, a dejected Samotush could only crouch off to the side, sadly drawing circles on the ground, admitting yet another defeat in her confrontation with Olivia.
Seeing this, Anne walked over and lovingly ruffled Samotush’s messy, fluffy hair, comforting her stupid dog who was bad but didn’t know it.
But just as Olivia walked up to Tunzuo, ready to pull him into her arms to prove her relationship to Anne and Samotush, something unexpected happened.
CLANG!
A transparent barrier, all too familiar to Olivia, once again separated her and Tunzuo, forcing her back a few steps.
A voice full of mockery and sarcasm came from the pale mask on Tunzuo’s face.
Nyarlathotep chuckled:
“The young master hasn’t agreed yet, and you’re already so eager to claim a title? That’s a bit too impatient, yellow lizard. Some things aren’t valid just because you declare them unilaterally.”
Olivia, blocked again by Nyarlathotep, let out a roar of impotent rage.
“You damn mask!”
Seeing Olivia frustrated by a mask, the previously gloomy Samotush instantly revived like she had taken a shot of adrenaline.
She pointed at Olivia and burst into a wild laugh.
“Hahahaha! Look at you now, Golden Dragon! Can’t even handle a mask? You’re getting worse as you age! Hey, little one, where did you get that mask? I’ll go get one myself someday.”
Anne, on the other hand, stared at the pale mask on Tunzuo’s face, a flicker of seriousness and curiosity in her eyes.
At the moment the barrier appeared, she hadn’t sensed any fluctuation in magical power.
Seeing both Samotush and Anne curious about the mask on his face, Tunzuo had no choice but to point at the pale mask and awkwardly introduce it:
“Ahem, this is Nyarlathotep, a familiar I summoned. Um, she’s a bit mischievous, a bit of a free spirit.”
Samotush didn’t take Tunzuo’s introduction seriously at all.
To her, any familiar that could annoy Olivia was a good familiar.
So, Samotush eagerly stepped forward, intending to greet Nyarlathotep and also recruit this ally on the “anti-Olivia united front.”
“Hey, mask-looking familiar, since you also don’t like Olivia, why don’t we—”
As she spoke, Samotush reached out casually to touch the pale mask on Tunzuo’s face.
Just as Samotush was about to touch Nyarlathotep, Olivia suddenly grabbed her and Anne, roughly pulling the two witches to her side.
She leaned close to their ears and whispered a name in an extremely serious, almost warning tone:
“Nyarlathotep.”
Samotush and Anne, who had been slightly dissatisfied with Olivia’s rough handling, turned pale the moment they heard the name.
Their pupils contracted sharply, and their previously relaxed expressions vanished instantly.
Samotush and Anne looked again at the pale mask on Tunzuo’s face.
This time, what the pale mask revealed to them was no longer the “mischievous” that Tunzuo had mentioned, but an eerie chaos and madness.
They couldn’t see the truth, only feeling a shudder from the depths of their souls.
Samotush swallowed hard and asked Olivia in a trembling, low voice:
“Golden Dragon, are you sure? The mask on that little one’s face is Lord Lovecraft’s most notorious familiar, Nyarlathotep? But I remember, all Cthulhu-related familiars—”
Before Samotush could finish, Olivia dropped another even more shocking piece of news, completely shattering Samotush and Anne’s understanding.
“The Key to the Gate is also here.”
The noisy music practice room fell instantly silent.
Even Samotush’s two flaming dog heads cowered behind her.
This time, Samotush and Anne fell into complete silence.
After a long while, Anne took a deep breath and asked Olivia in a low voice:
“So that little one… no, Tunzuo actually—”
To Anne’s inquiry, Olivia said nothing, only silently patted Anne and Samotush on the shoulders, her eyes signaling: Just as you think.
Then, Olivia straightened her collar, walked expressionlessly toward Tunzuo, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing Olivia leave, Samotush and Anne exchanged glances, both seeing deep shock and gravity in each other’s eyes. They both thought:
Regarding Tunzuo’s matter, they might need to report to the higher-ups of their factions.
Feeling the newfound respect in Samotush and Anne’s gazes, Tunzuo didn’t understand why but vaguely sensed a change in the music practice room’s atmosphere.
“Alright, enough idle talk.”
Olivia clapped her hands, turning over the previous commotion.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s start practice. Samotush, you and Anne go talk to Teacher Sherry and the others about your positions in the band. I won’t explain too much.”
“Tch, got it, tyrant.”
Muttering under her breath, Samotush pulled Anne toward the teacher’s band.
As the sounds of various instruments being tuned filled the air, the band practice finally got on track.
However, Tunzuo, sitting behind the drum set, could only feel nine parts headache.
There was no choice—
After all, she had two instrument teachers who were like fire and water.