Chapter 948: Astrós

Dorothy had no idea what the Empress before her was thinking; the home witch was eagerly anticipating what rare ingredients she might find in the secret treasury.

Come on, she’d just acquired a strange flame—wasn’t she supposed to refine a pill? No, wait, make a meal to warm up the pot.

Fortunately, nothing unusual occurred along the way; under Guinevere’s guidance, they leisurely admired the various arrangements within the Dragon King’s Palace, eventually arriving at the location of the treasure vault.

Hmm, on the outside, it was an unremarkable palace, nowhere particularly eye-catching within the entire Dragon King’s Palace; had it not been for the Empress leading them, Dorothy and the others would never have guessed such an inconspicuous building was the Dragon King’s secret treasury.

This was truly secret—great concealment hides in plain sight.

Dorothy rubbed her chin, musing thus.

After all, there wasn’t even a single guard at the vault’s entrance—who could’ve imagined such an ordinary place concealed treasures?

But then again, it made sense: witch architecture was fundamentally different from normal human structures; under the influence of spatial magic, the interior space bore no relation whatsoever to the exterior form—perhaps the outside looked like a matchbox, while inside lay an entire world within a room.

The home witch noted this lesson well; if she ever had a treasure vault of her own, she’d hide it the same way.

Hmm, hopefully one day she’d be rich enough to need a dedicated vault for her treasures.

“Come on, all of you, step inside.”

Guinevere stepped forward and pushed open the palace’s massive doors, beckoning everyone in; Dorothy and the others hurried after her.

“Ah, so the inside is just an ordinary palace too?”

After entering, the group stared at the luxurious interior, momentarily baffled.

Yet the Empress simply led them straight to a painting hanging on the palace wall.

“Alright, we’ve arrived—this is the entrance to the secret treasury.”

Dorothy curiously scanned the surroundings; she saw nothing resembling an entrance, and finally fixed her gaze on the painting before her.

“Oh, I get it—this is the classic ‘world within a painting’ setup?”

She examined the painting closely: it depicted a half-length portrait of a voluptuous beauty.

Hmm, the style resembled the world-famous Mona Lisa’s smile from her past life, yet the smiling woman in the painting was far more dignified and beautiful than Mona Lisa.

Dorothy glanced several more times at the woman in the painting, then turned to look at her senior, Mia.

“Senior, this woman in the painting looks a bit like you.”

She said this.

The Golden Princess smiled in response.

“That would indeed be my honor—the woman in this painting is my ancestor, Astrós.”

She introduced.

Hearing this, Dorothy suddenly understood.

Wow, so this was the real Wealth Goddess.

Hmm, that made sense—the entrance to the treasury was disguised as the image of the Wealth Goddess.

As she suspected, Guinevere reached out and gently tapped the painting’s frame; instantly, Astrós within the painting “came alive.”

The once-static figure suddenly turned her eyes toward the group and spoke.

“Password?”

“Did you diet and exercise today to lose weight?”

The Empress replied.

The group: “...”

Dorothy’s eyes widened; she was utterly stunned by this so-called password—wait, this was the Dragon King’s secret treasury, a place of such grandeur, and you use such a mundane password?

Besides, do witches even need to diet and exercise to lose weight?

She felt too drained to even complain internally.

Regardless of what the little witches thought, the voluptuous beauty in the painting nodded slightly upon hearing the password, then opened her arms and embraced the group.

The next instant, Dorothy truly felt as if she’d been hugged—the soft, plump sensation against her face was mesmerizing.

She merely felt dazed, and the next thing she knew, they appeared inside the treasure—

Inside a bathtub?

Hmm, Dorothy rubbed her eyes; she hadn’t imagined it.

Even though the thing was enormous—its surface rivaling a vast lake—it was still, unmistakably, a bathtub, no matter how big it was; even if the Three Kings arrived, it was still just a bathtub.

The only difference? The tub wasn’t filled with bathwater—it was filled with bathmoney.

Hmm, a bathtub brimming with gold coins.

Holy cow, with a tub this big completely filled, how much money must be inside?

Just as Dorothy was dazzled by this overwhelming wealth, she soon heard Guinevere’s irritated voice beside her.

“Astrós, can’t you ever stop being so perverse? Every time we enter, we appear from some ridiculous place.”

Hearing this, the home witch’s eyes lit up.

Ah, so the legendary Wealth Goddess is really here? No way—I must pay proper homage, beg her to bless me with explosive fortune, so I find money the moment I step outside.

Mia, beside her, was equally excited.

But after scanning the surroundings, they saw nothing but money and rock walls—no sign of a person.

Until a voice, thunderous yet unexpectedly pleasant, echoed from above.

“You just came at the wrong time—it’s my bath hour right now.”

The sky suddenly darkened, for a massive face had appeared atop the mountain.

Though the face was terrifyingly huge, its skin was surprisingly flawless, with virtually no visible pores; after all, giants in human eyes were utterly repulsive—every hair on their faces looked coarse, every pore and pockmark horrifying.

It was like how you shouldn’t examine a human face under a magnifying glass.

But this face in the sky could withstand magnification—it was perfection pushed to its ultimate limit.

Upon closer inspection, Dorothy realized this face was unmistakably Astrós, the very same one from the painting.

But why did the Wealth Goddess’s face seem upside-down?

The home witch was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly had an epiphany.

She looked down at her own chest.

Hmm, if a few ants were standing on her chest and looking up at her face, they’d see nearly the same scene.

Wow, I’m such an idiot—I recognized the bathtub but didn’t realize a bathtub is meant for bathing!

Once she realized this, her perception of the surroundings shifted entirely.

Still, these two mountains were truly majestic, genuine natural wonders.

Hmm, they were standing right on the Wealth Goddess’s body—if a Dragon Witch grew powerful enough and shed all restraint, she’d become this grand, godlike.

At that moment, Astrós’s eyes, which had just left Guinevere, turned toward the little witches, lingering briefly on two of them.

“Hmm, Nidhogg’s mark, and this—this is the scent of the Golden Trial.”

She first looked at Dorothy, then at Mia, surprised.

“Impudent—you should call Her Majesty ‘Father King’ and address me as ‘Mother Queen.’”

Guinevere immediately frowned.

Having nearly slipped up moments ago, she now paid close attention to details, immediately asserting her Empress’s authority to correct them.

“Yes yes yes, my bunny-girl-loving Mother Queen, why are you dressed as a maid again? Off to meet your little lover?”

Astrós in the sky laughed, shaking with mirth, causing the earth and mountains to tremble.

It was a beautiful sight—but Dorothy and the others trembled with fear, terrified they’d be crushed between the two mountains; such a death would be absurdly funny.

Yet this Wealth Goddess’s personality seemed wildly different from expectations—was she really this bold? Even teasing the Empress, her own mother?

Though Dorothy didn’t know whether this Dragon King’s daughter was born to the Empress or another concubine.

And could you all giants please stop dropping such explosive private gossip? We don’t want to know these kinds of secrets!

Dorothy’s face had gone pale.

Though she usually enjoyed gossip, too big a scoop could choke you.

So Guinevere was a bunny-girl enthusiast? That kink was weird—but somehow thrilling.

And what lover? The Empress actually has a lover? No wonder you’re so practiced at disguising yourself as a maid—but who the hell is bold enough to cuckold the Dragon King?

Wait, are these really things we little witches should know? We’re still children!

Hmm, didn’t hear it, didn’t hear it, won’t listen.

They immediately fixed their eyes on their noses, their noses on their hearts, acting like obedient children, terrified of being silenced by the giants.

Yet each of them had their ears perked up high, determined to eat the gossip even if it killed them.

“Audrey, tone it down—you still need to play along with the fourth path! Don’t let your fox ears stick up so high.”

Dorothy reached out and pressed down on her junior’s twitching fox ears; they were nearly as erect as rabbit ears—don’t trigger Guinevere’s kink.

For such teasing from her “daughter,” Guinevere grew even angrier.

“Hmph, what’s wrong with me liking fluffiness? At least I’m not a fetishist exhibitionist.”

Pfft—we’re all just perfected bad habits; who’s better than whom?

“Hmph, exhibitionist? I’m bathing in my own bathroom—what did I do to you? It’s you lot who keep intruding on my territory every other day!”

The mother and daughter spent five minutes hurling insults and exposing each other’s flaws, leaving Dorothy and the others thoroughly entertained—and even more terrified.

Can we even survive leaving the treasure vault?

They had to seriously consider this question.

Fortunately, the “mother and daughter” soon grew tired of bickering; neither gained the upper hand, and finally, they each called a truce, agreeing to resume the battle another day.

“Hmph, the food storage is over there—Mother Queen, you know the way, lead them. I still need to bathe and change, then head to the banquet in style.”

Astrós snorted, then extended a colossal arm, pointing toward a distant location.

At the same time, Dorothy and Mia froze, both hearing the Wealth Goddess’s voice directly in their ears.

To the House Witch, the voice said: “Sister, help yourself to any ingredients—don’t be shy. I left a little gift beside the fridge. Happy birthday.”

To Mia, it said: “Among those ungrateful descendants, there’s still a child like you—good. Hold fast to your choice. I have great faith in you.”

Before either could reply, another wave of dizziness swept over them—they had left the Wealth Goddess’s bathroom and arrived at—

Hmm, looks like the living room.

Dorothy glanced around again and confirmed this.

She finally understood: this so-called Secret Treasury of the Dragon King was actually Astros’s home.

It made sense—after all, she was the Wealth Goddess. Her house was naturally filled with treasures; calling it a Secret Treasury was no exaggeration. Even her bathwater was made of gold coins. One couldn’t help but cry out: “Goddess, could I have your used bathwater?”

If the bathwater was like that, the House Witch certainly couldn’t pretend to be virtuous.

But now that she understood the truth of the Secret Treasury, she didn’t need Guinevere to guide her to the ingredient storage—Dorothy already knew exactly where to run.

Hmm, the kitchen? I know that place well.

Besides, the Goddess herself just said the gift was beside the fridge. That little present—how embarrassing.

Hmm, Goddess, you could’ve just handed me a bit of your bathwater. I’m not greedy at all.

Dorothy excitedly rubbed her hands together, thinking this.

So, like ants wandering through a giant’s home, they began their long journey from the living room to the kitchen, flying for a long while before finally reaching the towering “refrigerator,” standing over ten thousand meters high.

Honestly, though Astros complained about everyone dropping by her house, she was surprisingly kind—she’d even placed a tiny door on the fridge—

Laughing.

To the towering, mountain-like Goddess, this was a mousehole. But to Dorothy and the others, no bigger than ants, the door was already grand and imposing.

Guinevere stepped forward and pushed open the door. Then—

Wow. Golden legend.

Behind the door, an endless torrent of golden light burst forth—a vast, overwhelming stream of magical power.

Good grief. Even the mere leakage of magical power from the ingredients alone was terrifying. The taste once eaten? The House Witch couldn’t even imagine it.

Dorothy took a deep breath and immediately felt her mana surge by hundreds of mana units. She was now as happy as a mouse fallen into a rice bin.

Sisters, the joy of crawling through a mousehole? Absolutely worth it.

But wait—what exactly did the Goddess say she’d given me as a gift?

Dorothy didn’t rush into the fridge. Instead, she flew upward along its side, and atop its snow-covered surface, she found the so-called “little gift.”

“Hmm. Now this is truly golden legend.”

Staring at the colossal golden pot—large enough to boil an entire world—the House Witch fell into deep thought.

No need to say more. I’ll carry this pot. Goddess, you’re so generous.

A golden pot forged entirely of magic-infused gold? Which cook could possibly refuse?

The House Witch is now carrying the pot.