CH 10

10 - The Four Witches

In response to the teary-eyed Reines’s request, the two move back to the inn they were staying at earlier. As soon as Reines confirms her feet are securely back on the ground, she grabs Lulurun’s chest and shoots her an angry expression. Her calmness back up in the clouds had evaporated.

“If you do this again, I really will shred you to pieces!!!” Reines yelled.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lulurun said.

Reines loosened her grip on Lulurun’s chest, turned her back to her, took a breath, composed herself, and then turned to look at Lulurun again, with her expression was the same as when she first met, a different “dignity” from her appearance just now, it was a look fitting the First of the Order of the Holy Empire.

Lulurun looks amazed at the cleanness of the switch.

“You answered my questions, Keisuke, it’s my turn next,” Reines said.

“Thank you,” Lulurun said.

“Because I was upset and couldn’t answer properly, I’ll answer everything without lying to you,” Reines said.

“Thank you,” Lulurun said.

With Lulurun so clearly grateful, she asks Reines little by little a multitude of questions.

Reines discloses as much information as she knows to Lulurun about the existence of the “witches,” which she is particularly skeptical about.

“There are 4 witches in this world,” Reines started.

“4 of them?” Lulurun asked.

“To be exact, it seems like there’s 4 of them,” Reines said.

“That’s some very uncertain information,” Lulurun said, frowning.

“The witches are named the ‘Witch of the East,’ the ‘Witch of the West,’ the ‘Witch of the South,’ and the ‘Witch of the North’ who control their respective territories,” Reines said.

“Respective territories?” Lulurun asked.

“It means exactly what I said, there are magical barriers set up in the north, south, east, and west.”

Lulurun got it, it seems they each control one of the four cardinal directions, so it seems there are only four of them.

“Is there any reason why they’re split into four?” Lulurun asked.

“No, I don’t know why, but their territories are clearly divided into four,” Reines said.

Lulurun wonders whether it is some sort of bound that maintains the witches’ power, or whether they were deliberately staking territory for some reason.

“The witches are not colluding with each other, they are acting individually for their own purposes, and I have never heard of witches appearing at the same time in the past,” Reines said.

“Do you mean they’re not on good terms?”

“I don’t know, but the Knights think that their means and beliefs are different,” Reines said.

It seems that the witches are competing against each other, each one is guided by a different ideology, Lulurun thinks if she replaces it with societal mechanisms.

“Then, why don’t we beat each witch individually?” Lulurun asked.

“If it were possible, we would, but it’s more obvious that the rule of the witch kindred is too ironclad,” Reines said.

“So the witch kindred are the problem, but wouldn’t it be easier for you to get rid of them, Reines?” Lulurun asked.

Reines sighed, surprised. “Don’t say that, even I’d have a hard time against multiple magical machines.”

“I see, well, if there’s a lot of them, then that would be right,” Lulurun said.

“Even if you manage to beat the witch kindred, however, the powers of the witches are unknown, and even if you know the area, it’s not a good idea to challenge an unknown foe without a plan.”

“So that’s how it is,” Lulurun said.

It was a fact, don’t use speculation when battling an unknown force.

“It’s their whims that they haven’t overrun this world right now, and if the four witches join hands, the world will surely fall to them.”

“It’s a living nightmare, to have terrible competitors merge for one united front,” Lulurun said.

“What are you talking about?” Reines asked.

It was a silly analogy, but it was enough information to realize how big of a problem witches were.

“Can’t you beat a witch alone, Reines?” Lulurun asked.

“I don’t know,” Reines said.

“Have you ever fought one?” Lulurun said.

“No… I was a kid when I saw one of the witches as a kid…” Reines said.

“Is that how it was?” Lulurun asked.

In a meaningful fashion, Lulurun continued her probing.

“If you’ve never fought them, maybe there are no witches,” Lulurun said.

“No, the Knights of the Holy Empire have been killed by witches coming out of their territories, no one knows what power they have, because no one has fought and returned alive…”

Perhaps because of grief for her fellow soldiers, Reines squeezes her first. That no one had ever fought and returned alive was enough to convey just how dangerous witches were, to Lulurun.

“Also…” Reines says before she hesitates.

“What’s wrong?” Lulurun asked.

“No, nothing, anyway, we know very little about them,” Reines said.

“So what little do you know?” Lulurun asked.

“The Witch of the North has territory relatively close to this city, but so far as I know, she’s never attacked us from the other side.”

“In that case, wouldn’t that be alright?” Lulurun asked.

“How many cities and villages do you think were destroyed by the witches?” Reines asked.

“Destroyed…?” Lulurun asked.

“They killed them all, no witnesses… not a single one,” Reines said.

The weights of it all were horrific, maybe the witches really were evil? Perhaps the facts of this world were throwing cold water on such naive perceptions.

“The Witch of the North has not attacked us, yes, but all squadrons sent to subjugate her are missing or dead.”

Missing or dead, that alone tells Lulurun that her idea of witches was quite different from what she knew. For whatever reason, it’s unforgivable to use magic to kill another.

Along with the discomfort that she knows the witches use their magic for such evils, she feels sorry for Reines.

“Sorry,” Lulurun said.

“Why are you apologizing?” Reines asked.

“Did they kill your companions? Killing a person with magic… that’s unforgivable,” Lulurun said.

“Why are you saying that, Keisuke?” Reines said.

“Magic is for saving people, if it’s not abused, magic can help or improve the lives of others, so… don’t misunderstand magic,” Lulurun said.

That magic is this world is only seen as evil, is a fact that Lulurun could not tolerate.

“Yeah, maybe it is,” Reines said softly as she leaned closer to Lulurun.

“So which witch did you see, Reines?” Lulurun asked.

“… I don’t know,” Reines said.

“Reines?”

Reines’s appearance changes a little, like smoke leaking out, her murderous intent is billowing out.

“I don’t know, but I’ll kill her.”

""

“Reines…” Lulurun mumbled.

The memory of the witch Reines had seen will never fade, she had joined the Order of the Holy Empire to kill that witch.

“I’m sorry, it’s alright,” Reines said as she regained her composure and gave Lulurun a confident smile.

The worry doesn’t go away, but Lulurun continues to ask questions.