Witch Taming System-Chapter 65: Picnic [1]

It was a picnic invitation from Ishtar Prelati. A witch coming from the bloodline of the Grand Witch, Cyrene. That alone made the invitation stand out more than it should have.

The letter itself was straightforward. Ishtar Prelati was inviting him to Mangrove Hill, a place that wasn’t open to just anyone. An exclusive property that belonged to the Grand Witch.

"Why not me..."

Faust was just standing there, clearly bothered and in disbelief.

"Wasn’t I her most honorable professor...?"

But Lancel just ignored her.

"Where did I go wrong...?"

In any case, Lancel kept his attention on the letter. He unfolded it again, reading through it once more.

There wasn’t much to think about.

Whether to go or not wasn’t even a question.

He had to go.

Whatever Ishtar wanted, he couldn’t refuse since she was already tied to her through the contract anyway.

Might as well form a decent relationship with her outside of a physical one.

* * *

The meeting spot was just outside the shop where he had first encountered Ishtar, back when they had gone shopping together.

The moment Lancel crossed the street, he spotted Ishtar, waving at him from inside a luxurious carriage.

"Over here, Assistant Lancel!"

Lancel glanced to the left, then to the right, before looking back at her. After a second, he gave a small nod and walked over.

A maid stood beside the carriage, dressed in a proper uniform. The moment he approached, she bowed her head and opened the door for him.

Lancel stepped inside.

"So glad you could make it, Assistant Lancel. And those clothes... they suit you."

"Thank you. It’s good to see you, too, Miss Ishtar."

"Hey, I told you to just call me Ishtar."

"I really can’t do that."

"Don’t worry. I’ll allow it."

"Still."

"Hm." She tilted her head, placing a finger on her lips. "Then what if I order you to? Would that make it easier?"

"...I guess so. Ishtar."

"Great."

The carriage began to move. Lancel leaned back as he turned his attention to Ishtar.

"What is it you want from me?" he asked. "Why invite me so suddenly?"

"Actually... I’ve been hearing some interesting things about you, Assistant Lancel."

"...Yes?"

Lancel nearly frowned.

Interesting things? There hadn’t been much recently. The Wastefield incident had been suppressed, and his involvement hadn’t surfaced at all.

"I heard you were invited to Countess Gretelle’s mansion."

"Oh..."

"It seems Assistant Lancel is building quite the network. Did you know you’re the first man to ever set foot there?"

"...I didn’t."

He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, and frankly, he didn’t care all that much. He already knew why he was invited there in the first place.

"Well, that’s not what I called you here for." Ishtar moved slightly in her seat. "To start, I wanted to report to you on my progress."

At that, she opened a hardbound book. From the cover alone, it was obvious what kind of book it was.

An erotica.

"Can you read this line for me?" she asked.

Lancel leaned forward, his gaze dropping to the page. The moment he read the first sentence, a frown marred his expression.

"What is this supposed to be?"

"Relax. Just read it."

"I can... but..."

Lancel glanced toward the front of the carriage, subtly indicating the people beyond the partition.

"Oh, don’t worry." Ishtar waved it off. "This carriage is soundproof. No one will hear you, no matter how loud you are."

"...Alright."

Lancel let out a sigh before looking back down at the page.

Then, he began to read.

"Elara’s held back a whimper as Thorne’s fingers traced slowly along her inner thigh, teasing the sensitive skin until she shivered..."

As he read, slowly, Ishtar guided his free hand along her thigh. Lancel’s eyes flicked to her actions for a brief moment before returning to the book.

"He watched her face intently as he slid two thick fingers between her slick folds, parting them before pushing deep into her tight heat."

And then, he felt it. His fingers met the moist warmth of Ishtar’s pussy.

"Anh~"

Lancel slowly began moving his fingers as he continued reading.

"Her walls clenched around him, soaking his finger as his thumb pressed hard circles against her swollen clit."

"Haaaangh... I’ve learned something recently... Assistant Lancel..."

Lancel turned to Ishtar as she continued.

"Masturbation... a way to quench a woman’s lust... Ever since then... I couldn’t sleep if I don’t do it at least once..."

Lancel looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Miss Ishtar. Is this all you wanted from me?"

"...What is that supposed to mean, Assistant?"

Ishtar looked at him in confusion. Lancel stopped moving his fingers. He had this odd feeling that Ishtar was just a lonely girl, doing this only to satiate her curiosity.

Perhaps back then, he had let his lust take control and kept thrusting inside Mei. But now, sober, and perhaps after experiencing a proper connection with a witch like Fiore, Lancel wanted to know what Ishtar truly expected from him.

Since they were bound by a contract anyway, he wanted to be clear. If all she wanted was a physical relationship, it was a pity.

"I mean... is that all you see me as? Just a boytoy?"

"Boy... toy...?"

"From what I’m understanding, you want to reenact the scenes from those romance novels you’ve been reading, right? I’ve read a fair share of them, Ishtar. And this... this isn’t how it’s supposed to be."

"Ah...?"

Unless she was reading the more extreme genres like masochism, BDSM, or femdom.

At that moment, Ishtar realized Lancel had a point. She had completely lost track of the genre, all because she wanted to satisfy her growing arousal and the fantasies she had been having lately.

What started as wanting to reenact romance novel scenes had turned into nothing more than getting herself off. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I’m sorry..."

Ishtar slowly pulled Lancel’s fingers out.

"...Truthfully, I invited you out for a picnic because I wanted to get to know you better."

"Really?" Lancel looked at her. "I still don’t understand what you find so interesting about me, Ishtar."

It wasn’t something he could easily understand.

Even knowing that common sense rarely applied to witches, Ishtar still stood out.

Mei had her own reasons that Lancel could find understandable somewhat.

But Ishtar was different. The way she approached him was hard to place.

But before she could answer, the carriage came to a halt.

They had arrived at Mangrove Hill.