The Witch’s Apprentice ⑤
The Witch held the Relic Plate and spoke as if reminiscing.
“Hmm, hmm. The way the explanation enters your head hasn’t changed, I see.”
“You’ve handled a Relic Plate before, Witch?”
“A story from long, long ago, you see. By the way, Wof-boy. Are you curious about Kon’s name, hmm?”
The Witch set the Relic Plate down.
I flinched at her unexpected words.
“Eh? Ah, well, yes.”
“Hmm, hmm. You want to know that badly, do you?”
The Witch’s eyes glinted mysteriously.
Now that she put it that way, it wasn’t that big a deal.
“Well, it’s not like I absolutely have to know or anything.”
“Yes, yes. Kon wouldn’t mind telling you, you know.”
The Witch smiled. It was an incredibly captivating smile.
My heart skipped a beat. For a different reason.
“There’s a catch, isn’t there?”
“Now, now, won’t you at least hear Kon out, hmm?”
I was used to my back-and-forth with the Witch.
But I still wasn’t used to that smile. Truly the smile of a witch.
“Understood.”
The Witch stood up and looked around.
Then, from a stack of papers on a shelf, she picked out a single red letter.
“My, my, this is a troublesome and bothersome letter, you see. Wof-boy, do you know of the Grand Guild?”
“That’s the Seeker Guild headquarters, right?”
“Yes, yes. And what’s more, this letter is directly from the Grand Master himself, you see.”
“The highest-ranking person in the Grand Guild?”
“That’s right. The Grand Master. His name is Alhazardo Abramelin. An old geezer that Kon isn’t fond of, you see.”
“…Abramelin…”
Hmm. That sounded like an odd combination.
Although, I think there was a dish called something like pickled herring marinated in mirin…
“And what’s more, he’s an old geezer who’s lived for nearly 600 years despite being common human folk, you see.”
“He can live that long!?”
The lifespan of common human folk is generally around 100 years. Though most die before that.
“Well, well, there are ways, you see. Like a Talisman’s Sacred Egg. But putting that aside, let’s get to the point, shall we? That old geezer wrote asking Kon to investigate a certain place, you see. Well, that place has already been resolved and is safe now, so there shouldn’t be any danger.”
“Where is it?”
“Oh, that place? Wof-boy knows it too, you see. It’s That Forest.”
“…………Ah, That Forest, you mean.”
That Forest. The Forest where I was defeated.
It shouldn’t exist anymore. I didn’t know what happened to it after that.
“Honestly, honestly. I don’t know who did it, but how very kind of them to liberate one of the deadliest Dungeons on the frontier, hmm?”
The Witch sounded irritated, as if saying it was a huge nuisance.
The proof was her large Fox Ears standing straight up.
So That Forest really was a Dungeon.
This… I really have to confess now. I raised my hand.
“Uh, um, Witch. That was me.”
“Hmm? Hmm. Wof-boy. What was you, hmm?”
“…I was the one who liberated That Forest…”
“…………”
The Witch fell silent.
I fell silent too. The Witch looked at me, looked at the ceiling, looked at the letter, then sat down on the black sofa.
She placed the red letter down as if offering it to me.
She stared intently at me. Suddenly, she smiled. What a lovely smile.
“Hmm, hmm. In that case, there’s no need for Kon to tell you her name, is there? Pleased to work with you, Wof-boy.”
The sand in the hourglass ran out.
“Yes. Pleased to work with you too.”
And so, it was decided that I would investigate That Forest together with the Witch.
Then, seeing the Elixir accumulate in the Egg’s container, the Witch spoke nonchalantly.
“Now, now, Wof-boy. Actually, there are Elixir Sacred Eggs all over the world, you see.”
As she spoke, the Witch put the lid on the Elixir Sacred Egg and held it in her hand.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes. The Elixir inside a Sacred Egg is used up once you use it, you see. And although they exist all over the world, the number of Sacred Eggs is limited. Hence, they are precious and very expensive. And above all, all Elixirs come in an Egg container, you see.”
The Witch toyed with the Elixir Sacred Egg in her hand as she spoke.
“All of them?”
“The others too, you see. The Sacred Egg is the container, you know. Now, there’s an interesting anecdote here. According to the Great Sage Loutas, who possessed the one-and-only Relic 【Wisdom】 in history, ‘All Elixir Sacred Eggs have a Mother Grand Sacred Egg. The countless Sacred Eggs in the world are all its children,’ you see.”
“Does that mean… this Sacred Egg… held Elixir with Infinite Spawn in the same kind of Egg container?”
What was the intention behind doing that?
Does that mean this Sacred Egg is the source of all Elixirs?
I had vaguely suspected it. Mass production would be possible with this Sacred Egg.
I could probably build an enormous fortune with it.
But the danger would multiply as well.
Although, it wasn’t really something I, who was planning to compound and sell Potions, could say.
I felt like this Elixir shouldn’t be used that way.
That’s probably why there are only a countable number of Sacred Eggs containing Elixir.
“Well, well, Kon doesn’t know if that’s really true, you see.”
The Witch placed the Elixir Sacred Egg on the table.
“…………”
“Say, say, Wof-boy. Where did you find that Elixir Sacred Egg, hmm?”
“In the Junkyard.”
“Oh my, the Junkyard? You mean the one in that town’s Dungeon, hmm?”
“Yes. It was emitting a blue light.”
“Hmm, hmm. I see, I see. That Junkyard has its share of things, you know.”
“If I recall, the trash from surrounding Dungeons gathers there too, right?”
“Yes, yes. Wof-boy. First, do you know that Dungeons are broadly divided into two types?”
“Yes. Innermost Area Dungeons and Lowest Floor Dungeons.”
“That’s right. And Lowest Floor Dungeons don’t have Junkyards, you see. So the trash from Lowest Floor Dungeons also gathers in the Junkyards of Innermost Area Dungeons.”
“Right.”
“And so, and so, the gathered trash accumulated, became land, became mountains, and formed the Junkyard we have today, you see. That’s why nobody knows what lies directly beneath it. Perhaps even now, some unknown, tremendous thing might be sleeping there… maybe, you see.”
“…Don’t try to scare me. I’m planning on going to the Junkyard once I resume.”
“No, no, Kon is just saying it’s a possibility, you see.”
Isn’t that what you call scaring someone?
I gave a wry smile, then took a long, deep breath.
“This takes a weight off my shoulders.”
“Indeed, indeed. It feels better to share secrets, you know.”
“Yes. Now I can finally let go of these two.”
“Hm? Hm? What do you mean by that, hmm?”
“Yes. I have a request for you, my master, the Witch.”
“Hoh hoh. What is it, my dear apprentice Wof-boy, hmm?”
“I wish to offer the Elixir Sacred Egg and the Relic Plate to you, Witch.”
The Witch laughed.
“I see, I see. Hmm. Kon refuses, you see.”
“Eh, why!? Don’t you want them? They’re amazing items!”
“Well, well, that’s true, but if that were the case, Kon wouldn’t be giving them to you, right?”
“That’s because you are my GREAT and RESPECTED master, Witch.”
“Oh my, that makes Kon happy, you know. It must be my imagination that parts of that sounded rather flat, right?”
“THAT’S NOT TRUE AT ALL.”
“Hmm, hmm. Kon believes you, you know. Kind-hearted Wof-boy would never try to use his master just to get rid of something troublesome, right?”
“I WOULDN’T DO THAT. But I really think it would be better if you had them, Witch.”
That was my true feeling. The Witch, being First Class, should be able to store them properly.
She probably wouldn’t misuse them either. Though I imagine she’d use them for research.
“You can even use the Relic Plate if you want.”
“No, no, Kon already has enough Relics, you see. Besides, Kon doesn’t know what kind of Relic is inside this Relic Plate. Hmm. That’s right. Kon could hold onto just this Relic Plate, perhaps.”
“Really?”
“Kon is curious about what Relic is inside, you see. Kon has connections who can investigate, so maybe Kon will ask them.”
“That certainly… is intriguing. Please do.”
“It might take a little while, is that alright, hmm?”
“Yes. Then, what about the Elixir?”
“That, that you should keep holding onto carefully, just like before, Wof-boy. Besides, you see. Even if Kon doesn’t have much opportunity to use it, it seems Wof-boy will have plenty. It might cause misunderstandings to say this, but Kon is a witch, you see. Kon can abandon anything based on necessity and profit/loss. But Wof-boy is different, you see. My dear apprentice can never abandon anyone. Right?”
The Witch picked up the Elixir Sacred Egg and smoothly offered it to me.
She was right, I couldn’t abandon people.
Even if it led to trouble later, if someone asked for help, my body would probably move on its own.
It was my greatest flaw… and also the part of me that allowed me to accept myself.
“Understood. Thank you very much, Witch.”
I accepted the Elixir Sacred Egg from the Witch.
I tucked it deep inside my pouch. A thought occurred to me.
“Um, Witch, you said you ‘can abandon anything based on necessity and profit/loss,’ but does that include me, your apprentice?”
The Witch looked blank for a moment, then…
“Well, well, I wonder about that, hmm?”
She offered a gentle, mischievous smile.
Her cheeks slightly flushed crimson.