The Crazy Witch

The longer we traveled, the closer Rin and Wufy seemed to become. The two of them looked happy playing together. I guess this was a good choice after all, at least Rin now had a friend.

We had walked quite a distance from Motar Village, and by now we should be arriving at Mikaor Village. But something felt… off.

It felt like we were walking in circles. Even though there were plenty of trees and the paths all looked alike, I was sure we had passed by this same tree before. I scored its bark with my knife.

“Rei, what are you doing?”

“I think someone’s trying to trap us.”

Rin immediately hugged Wufy tightly and clutched my clothes.

We continued walking, and sure enough, the very same tree with my knife mark stood right in front of us.

Realizing that we were being trapped was good, but… how exactly were we supposed to get out of here? Damn it, Rei thought.

The longer we stayed, the thicker the fog grew, slowly blocking our vision.

Thinking about it carefully, seeing something this strange… it felt like magic. There was a familiar aura hanging in the air, the same kind that those Wolfern stirred up during battle.

If this was magic, I doubted anyone could actually trap us in such a vast area. If someone could, then they had to be the same person who had the power to summon me to this world.

That left one other possibility, illusion magic. Someone was messing with our senses, manipulating what we saw, heard, and felt. It seemed simple enough… Fine, I’ll give it a try.

“Rin, close your eyes.”

Rin shut her eyes and even covered Wufy’s with her hands.

I walked up to the large tree and slammed my head against it with all my strength. Blood trickled down my forehead and nose, wetting my face. Slowly, the fog began to clear, revealing a woman standing before me.

She wore a wide-brimmed hat, her wavy red hair spilling out beneath it. Her pale blue eyes glared at me from beneath the brim, and her long black gown swayed around her form. In her hand was a small staff. Her expression twisted in irritation as she noticed me staring at her.

Wufy barked sharply at the sight of her.

The woman pointed her staff at us.

“Begone from this place.”

A fireball shot straight toward us. I grabbed Rin and leapt aside. The fireball slammed into the trees behind us, setting them ablaze. Luckily, we dodged it, that flame was no illusion.

“I came here to meet Baba Laurence!”

Her face grew even more twisted with anger at the mention of the fortune-teller’s name.

“That only gives me more reason to eliminate you.”

She thrust her staff forward again, releasing three fireballs in rapid succession. I rolled and leapt to the sides to dodge them.

“Hey, crazy woman! Can’t you see there are children here?!”

“I don’t care. Leave now, or you’ll turn to ash.”

Just as she conjured another fireball, a sudden gust of wind smashed into it, extinguishing the flame. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Woof!”

So that’s it… Even though he’s still small, Wufy also possesses the same power as the other Wolfern. In that case—

“Rin, get back and stay with Wufy. Wufy, protect Rin!”

“Woof!”

Good thing we decided to take care of him. I drew my katana from its sheath.

“Hey, crazy woman! Prepare to pay for what you’ve done.”

“Nonsense!”

The woman muttered an incantation. Flames gathered around her, swirling into multiple fireballs before hurtling toward me.

Maybe this was insane, but my instincts told me I could cut through them.

I raised my katana and, with absolute conviction, sliced through the fireballs one by one. Her face twisted with even deeper fury.

She lifted her staff again, chanting. This time, an enormous fireball formed—far larger than before. The trees nearby ignited just from its heat.

“You’re insane! You’ll burn this whole forest down!”

“I no longer care.”

She hurled the massive fireball at us.

I dashed forward, meeting it head-on before it could reach Rin and Wufy. Planting my stance in midair, I slashed into it again and again. I managed to split it, but the fireball exploded violently, blasting me backward.

I twisted in the air and landed safely. This crazy woman couldn’t be allowed to continue. I charged straight at her, katana aimed at her throat—

“Stop!”

A mature woman with tied brown hair, dressed like a maid, rushed in and blocked my strike.

“Sir Ronin, please forgive us.”

“…How do you know?”

“Baba Laurence invited you here. Please, sheath your blade.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed unwise to push this fight any further. Still, what if this crazy woman suddenly summoned another massive fireball? I quickly snatched her staff from her hand before sliding my katana back into its sheath.

“Tch.”

“Miss Silva, you must not treat our guest this way.”

“Whatever.”

The fiery woman—Silva—walked off ahead of us.

“My apologies for Miss Silva’s behavior. She meant no harm. Please, follow me.”

For some reason, anger still lingered inside me. But fine. At least, in the end, I would finally meet Baba Laurence.

“Rin! Wufy! Come here!”

Both of them ran to my side.

Soon… I would finally learn the true reason I was brought into this world.