The Witch’s Disciple ④
The Witch regained consciousness.
Then she vigorously gulped down that pink Herbal Tea from the table.
Ah… well, I guess it’s fine.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, puhaaaah— I, I, I thought I was going to die, you know…”
“S-Sorry.”
“Good grief, that was surprising, truly surprising, you know. Quite the shock indeed.”
The Witch’s vocabulary seemed to weaken as she sat down on the black sofa, her Three Tails swaying.
“Y-You think so?”
“To think, to think it was that Pseudo-Deification Relic, you know.”
“Pseudo…?”
“Oh my, oh my, you didn’t know, Wof-boy? Pseudo-Deification Relics. They’re legendary Relics, you know. Kon has only seen four owners of Pseudo-Deification Relics, including you.”
“There are others?!”
This time, it was my turn to be surprised.
“Yes, yes. Two among the First Class. One in the Seihou faith. And one other, you know.”
“There’s one in the Seihou faith too?”
The Seihou faith. Generally just called Seihou.
It’s the world’s largest religion. Most churches in towns and villages belong to the Seihou faith.
Their doctrine, ‘May the blessings of Seihou be upon all,’ is widely known among the people.
That’s about all I know.
I doubt many people know much more detail.
There’s an owner of a Pseudo-Deification Relic in the church? Is that okay?
“The one in the First Class… is that the one they call the Reappearance…”
“Ah, ah, Narcissus was there too, wasn’t he/she? Oh my, oh my, but that means there are two Generous, doesn’t it? Hmmm.”
The Witch placed a hand on her chin, looking thoughtful.
I started to feel uneasy.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no, nothing immediately wrong, you know.”
“Not immediately?”
“Well, well, not as long as the fact that you, Wof-kun, can become Generous isn’t revealed, you know.”
“That’s true.”
As long as it doesn’t get out, it should be fine.
“Now, now, is that all the secrets—”
“Not yet. I don’t have it anymore, but, Witch, do you know about the Restriction Relic 【Banishment Line】?”
“Hmm, hmm. First time hearing about it, you know. And a Restriction Relic, at that.”
I told her about the events at the Great Temple. How I defeated Crown with it.
And how, as a consequence, the world was altered.
The Witch listened silently, nodding slightly.
“Yes, yes. That is the work of the gods, and a very ancient one at that, you know.”
“So it really is the power of a god?”
“Indeed, indeed. It’s a Relic that couldn’t possibly be handled without a Pseudo-Deification Relic, you know.”
“I… even though it was a Monster, I completely erased the existence of Crown, The Fool, from the world. Although it was the only way Ax-san, Bid-san… everyone could be saved, was it really the right thing to do?”
Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I think about it.
But if I were faced with the same choice again, I would choose it again. I would surely repeat it.
Perhaps that’s precisely why I agonize over it.
“Well, well, what’s done is done, can’t be helped, you know.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Listen, listen, Wof-boy. Life is just a series of choices. Sometimes you have regrets, you know. But isn’t it enough to just learn from it and apply it to the next time?”
“Have you had regrets too, Witch?”
“Oh yes, very, very many, you know. Oh yes, mountains of them. And what’s more, what’s more, Wof-boy. Actually, you know. Kon also used a similar Restriction Relic long ago and did something similar, you know.”
“Eh, you too, Witch?!”
“Yes, yes. Honestly, I intended to keep this secret within Kon until I died, you know. But it’s okay to tell Kon’s disciple who’s had the same experience.”
“Is it really okay? Thank you.”
“Yes, yes. It happened, it happened, in the Innermost Area of a certain Dungeon… The Party of Tier I Seekers led by Alexander, who was called the Dungeon Master. Raven Saga, the Crow that Heralds the Dawn in a Single Night, was driven to the brink of annihilation by the Dungeon Lord and High Jewel-Class Monster, Decadent, you know. Kon mustered her last strength, and at the cost of their sacrifice, used the Restriction Relic 【Destruction Zero】. With that, she completely erased Decadent from this world, you know. Then it became as if it had never existed from the beginning. Just as you said, Wof-boy, no one remembered it except Kon. 【Destruction Zero】 had also disappeared. On top of that, Raven Saga was recorded as having defeated the Low Jewel-Class Monster subspecies, Abstract Ego, in the town’s Dungeon, which made me laugh despite myself, you know.”
“Were Alexander-san and the others… dead at that time? Could it be that this world keeps changing every time something disappears like that…?”
I got really scared after saying it myself.
What kind of world is this, then?
Even as we speak, someone might be erasing something and changing things.
And what if someday the world just disappears without anyone noticing?
The Witch watched me grow anxious. Then she chuckled softly.
“Hmm, hmm. You might be right, you know. But listen. Wof-boy. Kon thinks this way. If there are things that disappear, there are things that are born. Perhaps there are things born precisely because that other thing disappeared. And perhaps there are things you can only encounter precisely because the world is like this, you know.”
“That’s quite optimistic.”
“Well, well, that’s just, that’s just Kon, the Witch, for you.”
So that’s the Witch for you.
Things born because Crown disappeared.
Things I can encounter because it’s a world where Crown disappeared?
Hmm. It still sounds optimistic. But I felt a little relieved.
Well, I’m glad Ax-san and Bid-san are alive.
Since the tragedy didn’t happen, there are no victims.
Yeah. For now, that’s good enough. That’s also optimistic, I think.
But maybe that’s okay.
“Thank you, Witch.”
“No, no, it’s only natural for a master to advise a troubled disciple, you know.”
The Witch smiled proudly.
“Now, now, is that all of Wof-boy’s secrets?”
“There’s still more.”
“Hmm, hmm. There’s still more, you know…”
Even the Witch seemed half impressed, half exasperated.
I took the Elixir Sacred Egg out of my pouch.
Instantly, the look in the Witch’s eyes changed.
“This, this is a Sacred Egg, you know.”
“It’s an Elixir Sacred Egg.”
“Hmm, hmm. Of all things, the most common type, you know. Well, it’s a little surprising, but Sacred Eggs are relatively common.”
Is that so?
The Elixir Sacred Egg was also what saved both mother and child when Mineha-san was born.
But, I seem to recall that Sacred Egg became empty after being used and stayed that way.
“About this Sacred Egg, it fills up completely in about 10 minutes.”
“Eh? Eh?”
The Witch’s reaction changed.
“Witch?”
“…………Hmm. Hmm. Hmm, hmm. In that case, let me see it, you know. It’s not that Kon doubts you, Wof-boy. Kon wants to see it. See it actually filling up.”
“Understood.”
I opened the lid and poured the contents into an empty white porcelain cup.
It was a transparent, somewhat viscous liquid that faintly glowed.
“Yes, yes. No doubt about it, you know. That’s Elixir.”
As she spoke, the Witch picked up an hourglass that was on the shelf.
She turned it over.
“Exactly 10 minutes?”
“Indeed, indeed. Come to think of it, I gave Wof-boy one of a different color, didn’t I?”
“I still find it very useful. In the meantime, I’ll reveal my last secret.”
“…There was still more, you know.”
The Witch gave a wry smile. I took out a square blackboard from my pouch. It had a red line drawn horizontally across it.
When I placed it on the table, the look in the Witch’s eyes changed again.
“It’s a Relic Plate.”
“This, this is another interesting thing, you know…”
So she knew about it after all.
Come to think of it, the former Tier I, Alexander-san, knew about it too.
“Witch, are you a Tier I Seeker?”
“Oh my, oh my, Wof-boy. You didn’t know? Yes. Although I haven’t been Seeking much recently, well, Kon is a Tier I Seeker, you know. Known as the 【Peerless Witch】.”
“…I see.”
At that point, a question arose in my mind.
What was the Witch’s name? She told me to call her the Witch, so I’ve always called her the Witch.
Well, her appearance and behavior fit the name Witch, so it never felt strange.
That’s probably why I never questioned it before.
“What is your name, Witch?”
“Listen, listen, Wof-boy. May Kon touch the plate?”
“Oh, yes. I don’t mind, but…”
Did she just cut me off?
As she touched the plate, the Witch’s eyes widened, and she gave a wry smile.
Hmm. Is her name taboo?