Reality Distortions? Nothing a Witch’s Servant Couldn’t Solve!

A second pair of animated panties burst from the cottage.

Then a third.

And a fourth.

Louis stared upward in horror.

“There are more of them?!”

“Of course there are more, you moron!” the witch shrieked. “Do you think I only own one pair?”

The airborne undies immediately began circling overhead, their tiny teeth chattering furiously.

One of them spotted Louis. Its ribbon stiffened, then it dove down.

“It’s coming right at me!”

Louis threw himself aside as the enchanted underwear’s teeth snapped shut just short of his head.

“Aah! Help!“

The witch pinched the bridge of her nose and snapped her fingers.

A glowing green magic circle appeared on the muddy ground, instantly freezing the flying panties in midair.

One by one, they drifted back to earth.

The witch rushed forward and gathered them up, cradling them protectively against her chest.

Only the one that had attacked Louis landed squarely on his head.

Blinking, he pulled it off and stared at it.

Wait. Isn’t this the same pair from earlier?

The ribbon twitched.

Did it... recognize me?

Before he could dwell on the thought, the witch snatched it from his hands.

“Pervert!”

A faint blush crept across her cheeks, but it quickly gave way to a smug grin.

“I knew it! You were holding them way too tightly.”

“What?”

“Just admit it already. You have a witch fetish.”

“I DO NOT!”

A low rumble echoed from inside the cottage, abruptly ending the argument.

The witch turned toward the sound, then glanced back at Louis.

“Listen, creep. The magical distortions around here aren’t going to fix themselves.”

The amusement had vanished from her voice.

“The potions you smashed contained dimensional magic, summoning magic, enchantment magic, and about twenty other things that should never have been mixed together.”

Louis swallowed.

“How... bad is it?”

A portal flickered open above the cottage, and several fish wearing tiny skirts tumbled out.

The witch pointed at the spot.

“...Very bad.”

Louis blinked uneasily.

“So... can you fix it?”

She crossed her arms and looked him up and down.

“Me? You're the one who caused this mess. You're going to help clean it up.”

His eyes widened.

“W-what? But I don’t know the first thing about magic. How am I supposed to...”

“By doing exactly what I tell you!” she snapped. “You handle the dirty work while I deal with the arcane details. You’re not leaving until this is fixed.”

A wicked grin spread across her face.

“Someone like you must enjoy that, being a witch’s servant. I bet it really excites you...”

“I-it does not!”

What the hell does she think of me?

“But...” he said hesitantly, glancing at the unstable portals. “How long is this going to take? As I said, my sister is seriously ill and...”

“What do I care?” the witch shot back. “We’re talking about stabilizing reality itself! That’s obviously more important than a single human life.”

She immediately looked away, fingers tightening around the brim of her hat.

“...Besides, if reality collapses, your sister won’t exactly benefit from that either.”

Her voice softened.

“But... if you’re that worried about her... I might let you have a healing potion after we’re done here.”

Louis’s eyes lit up.

“You’d really do that?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea!” she said, avoiding his gaze. “It’s only so you’ll stay focused and stop making everything worse, idiot.”

At that moment, another portal opened in the swamp. Right above an unsuspecting toad.

Magical energy engulfed the creature and dragged it inside.

Ribbit?!

A few seconds later, it tumbled back out.

It was much larger than before, walking on two legs and wearing a pink frilly dress.

Ribbit!

The transformed toad blinked at its new limbs, then hopped off into the deeper marshes with a contented croak.

Louis stared.

“What the...”

“The anomalies are already spreading,” the witch said matter-of-factly. “If we don’t stop this soon, things like that will start happening everywhere.”

“Everywhere?!“

Louis lowered his head.

This is bad. I really messed things up, didn’t I?

He sighed.

I’m sorry, sis. But I need to fix this first. You’ll have to wait just a little longer until I can help you...

“All right,” he said at last, his expression hardening. “What do I have to do?”

For a moment, the witch looked genuinely surprised.

“At least you’re taking responsibility. I’ll give you that.”

She adjusted her hat and turned toward the cottage, where the largest portal churned and twisted in a bluish light.

“It’s actually pretty simple. We need to eliminate the source of the anomaly.”

She took several steps toward it before noticing Louis hadn't moved.

“What are you waiting for?” she called over her shoulder. “Do you need a personal invitation?”

Louis stared at the portal, whose pull was already tugging at her hat and robes.

“Wait a second. We’re going in there?!”

She shrugged.

“What else would we do?”

He swallowed, remembering the fate of the toad.

“Is that... safe?”

The witch sighed, walked over, and grabbed him by the wrist.

“Relax. As your mistress, I will make sure you come back in one piece...”

A grin tugged at her lips.

“...Probably.”

“P-probably?!”

Before she could answer, the portal seized them both.

The world twisted.

Then swallowed them whole.