Chapter 220

Chapter: 220

[No matter how much I search, there’s not a single trace of the witch around here! I came here because I detected a signal saying the witch headed this way, but what’s going on?]

[It seems that signal was a misfire! Now that this has happened, we need to widen the encirclement to the outskirts of the boundary area and keep a thorough watch to ensure the witch can’t escape! This is Yoon Si-woo’s nemesis, and we absolutely cannot let them get away!]

Through the communication device, the voices of the heroes were loud and chaotic.

It’s no wonder, since they lost track of the witch they had been tracking.

That unfortunate incident occurred because of a single flame shot into the sky moments ago.

Despite the signal indicating the witch had headed north, in reality, the witch had gone south.

As the boy listened to the loud voices coming from the communication device, he looked down at his feet with a stiff expression.

Lying there was a small girl with orange hair, clutching a magical tool she had already used.

Probably, the people here wouldn’t know.

This little girl, right here, had caused a huge mess, making a complete fool of all the heroes who were currently chasing the witch.

To cause such a disaster and then just faint without taking care of the aftermath.

“Overdoing it…”

The boy let out a small sigh and cast healing magic on the battered girl, recalling the complicated expression he had during the earlier events.

The girl had left with a fierce expression when told to kill the witch.

Having been asked to follow her because he might not know what she would do, he had secretly trailed behind, never expecting to witness such a scene.

With various thoughts filling his head as he chewed on his lips, the boy manipulated the communication device to connect to the first-year student line and spoke towards the one who had asked him to follow the girl.

“…Mei, are you there?”

[…Yeah, I’m here. Dwight.]

Upon receiving an immediate response as if she had been waiting, the boy, Dwight, expressed his complicated feelings to Mei through the communication device.

“…You saw it too, right? I cast the sight-sharing spell earlier because you were worried.”

[…]

There was a brief silence following his words.

Dwight understood that Mei’s feelings must be just as complicated since she had seen everything that had just happened.

“Ha, I really don’t know what to do… What do you think is the right thing to do?”

However, it was chaotic for both of them, so Dwight sighed and questioned her.

[Ugh, I… I…]

And from Mei, who hesitated and mumbled the same words a few times without easily answering his question, came.

[…Is it really okay?]

Not an answer, but another question.

Yet with that, Dwight realized that her thoughts aligned with his own.

He was also wrestling with the same questions she was now.

With a feeling of something that had tightly gripped his heart beginning to fade, Dwight stopped gnawing his lips, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

The fact that he wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

That realization gave him courage.

He spoke with a determined look as if he had made up his mind.

“…It would be good if someone could come here. I plan to move from now on, so I need someone to take Jessie to the hospital.”

[Dwight, you…]

Feeling something from Mei’s murmured voice, Dwight looked in a certain direction and said.

“…I don’t know about the others, but let’s just act without thinking for now.”

His gaze was directed straight towards the direction the witch had fled.

*

In the distance, the defenses laid out in the frontline area were visible.

If he could get past there, he could escape the city.

Thinking that, he hastened his steps, but just then,

“Everyone, make sure to keep a close lookout! Not even a single rat must escape!”

“Don’t give the witch any chance to escape! Don’t be hasty, maintain the encirclement!”

Hearing the loud shouts, he quickly shoved himself into an alley between nearby buildings.

Peeking out to survey the area, he saw the encirclement set up around the barricade he needed to cross.

Damn it, he was almost there…!

He buried his head back in disappointment.

It seems they really weren’t going to make it easy for him to get out.

Taking advantage of the moment when the tightly packed encirclement had become loose, he made it this far, but now he found the path blocked right in front of him.

If he wanted to get out, he needed to find a way to create an opening.

Thinking about that, he tried to ignite the flames he had set up earlier, but.

“Since there’s a possibility it was a trick like last time, let the scouts go check it out.”

As expected, after being fooled once, they wouldn’t fall for it again; aside from a few scouts, the encirclement remained still.

It seemed this route wouldn’t be easily breached; as he considered finding another way, he subtly poked his head out when suddenly,

“Ugh, what’s that?”

He spotted some drone-like flying devices hovering in the sky and quickly hidden himself again.

They looked exactly like reconnaissance units.

Now that such things were monitoring the ground, it was not safe to wander around outside.

So, he was stuck in the alley when, at that moment, voices began to emerge from nearby.

“Search thoroughly! There aren’t many places to hide around here. If someone is hiding, they’re likely nearby!”

“I’ll check this side, and you look over there!”

The appearance of the scouts looked to be intent on searching this area made him wince.

Unlike the bustling downtown areas where he could hide anywhere, this was the outer rim of the boundary area.

There weren’t many buildings here, so there were very limited places to concealed himself.

If they started searching in earnest, it would only be a matter of time before they found him hiding in this spot.

However, even if he darted out, it didn’t seem likely he could escape the watchful eyes.

He was truly in a bind.

In that moment, when he was stuck not knowing what to do, suddenly,

“Scarlet, over here.”

Out of nowhere, the air distorted from further down the alley, revealing a familiar face.

“…Dwight?”

“Hurry, over here.”

As Dwight urged him to come quickly without bothering to explain his sudden appearance or revealing that he had been discovered, he waved his hand for him to come to his side.

In the heat of the moment, feeling like it was a do-or-die situation, he clenched his teeth and ran towards Dwight. Almost immediately, he became transparent as if melding into his surroundings.

At the same time, he saw a reconnaissance member peeking into the alley.

“…? I’m sure I heard something over here.”

“Hey, is there anything over there?”

“No, I must have misheard! There’s nothing!”

…Did they leave?

As he quietly exhaled a breath he had been holding back after the sounds of footsteps began to fade away, he felt a presence beside him and asked in a small voice.

“…Um, Dwight?”

At his words, the translucent Dwight revealed himself and opened his mouth.

“What’s up? You don’t need to thank me.”

“Eek?! Hey…! If you say it that loud…!”

“What are you so surprised about? If you’re worried about being caught, you don’t have to. I just cast a spell to conceal our appearance and our voices.”

Upon hearing Dwight’s unexpected loud response, he jumped in shock, and Dwight pointed ahead and said so.

Upon checking, he could see some kind of shimmering barrier surrounding them.

Relaxing a bit at that, he muttered, “You should tell me these things ahead of time…” and then quickly got back to his senses and cautiously asked Dwight.

“Um, is this really okay…?”

“Is it okay? What are you referring to?”

Dwight’s calm tone caught him off guard, and glancing down, he mumbled.

“Is it really okay for you to help me like this? I’m, after all, a witch… Plus, I hurt Yoon Si-woo…”

“Well, if you put it that way, it isn’t supposed to be okay. To humanity, you are an enemy whose existence cannot be tolerated.”

At the mention of being an intolerable enemy, he shuddered.

But then, why was Dwight helping him?

Confused, he looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Dwight muttered stoically.

“So you’re curious why I helped you.”

“…Yeah.”

When he carefully nodded, Dwight spoke.

“Even though it should not be, I helped you for two reasons.”

“Two reasons…?”

“Yeah. The first is that I’m a mage.”

When he didn’t quite understand the statement about being a mage, he furrowed his brows, and Dwight continued.

“Earlier, you attacked Jessie, right?”

“…You were watching?”

“Yeah. More precisely, I was ready to act whenever you intended to harm Jessie while hiding. I was also prepared to attack you if necessary. But you didn’t harm Jessie at all. Even while being attacked, you held back for Jessie, concerned about her overdoing it.”

Hearing that he had seen everything that happened with Jessie startled him, making him feel a bit embarrassed, leaving him speechless while Dwight continued to explain.

“I once said this, right? Mages don’t believe in anything except what they see with their own eyes. But you showed it. That you’re different from other witches. That you aren’t someone who intentionally hurts others. Since I’m a mage, I decided to believe what my eyes witnessed. That’s why I helped you.”

“Ah… I see.”

“And the second reason is─”

While he was still caught up in the recent revelations, Dwight said.

“That you’re my friend.”

Friend.

He never expected such words to come out of Dwight’s mouth, creating a moment of silence.

Then, sensing how he processed that silence, Dwight muttered with a hesitant expression.

“…Was I the only one thinking like that? But I considered you a friend.”

“Ah, no! You’re right…! It’s just that I didn’t expect that answer…”

“That’s fine. In other words, I trusted you because you’re my friend, and I helped you because you’re my friend. That reason is enough.”

Dwight spoke nonchalantly as if it were no big deal.

However, his own expression felt strangely distorted, perhaps in stark contrast to Dwight’s.

Even in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for someone like Jessie to hate him, the fact that Dwight still trusts him, still sees him as a friend—

Why was it so heartwarming?

In the realization that there was even one person who still considered him a friend, tears threatened to spill as he held them back and said to Dwight.

“Yeah, I see… Still, at least you see me as a friend, Dwight…”

And having witnessed that reaction, Dwight uttered in somewhat devious tones.

“Well…”

It was at that moment.

“Maybe I’m not the only one who thinks that way.”

Puff, from the distance, flames exploded in the sky.

“?! Why are the signals coming one after another…?”

“What in the world… did the witch show up over there?”

The heroes, deeply focused on defending the barricade, felt the tremor of anxiety as the flames soared continuously.

One would settle down, and then another would erupt.

Then yet another.

Rapidly, they burst forth, all pointing to the same spot, but the direction the flames indicated was not where he stood, but entirely elsewhere.

As he looked at that spectacle, dumbfounded.

“It seems like they all have made up their minds.”

He heard Dwight muttering as he gazed up at the sky.

“Dwight, what exactly is this…”

Being curious about his demeanor, as if he understood what was happening, he asked.

“Don’t you know?” Dwight asked while pointing at the sky lit brightly by the flames.

“Your friends are all still considering you a friend.”

Those words made him exclaim, “…Ah.”

Because he realized who was firing those numerous flames in the night sky.

Because he understood who was shooting them for whom.

The names of his precious friends filled his heart to the brim, spilling over until the night sky ablaze appeared distorted.

Taking in the names that came to mind, he quietly turned to look at Dwight.

Dwight, who wore his usual indifferent expression.

Yet in his hand, he felt a sense of anxiety that he hadn’t noticed before.

Of course.

He should know best of all what he was doing right now.

They should all feel the same.

Feeling anxious was natural.

But even so, all of them…

“Why are all of them…”

Without realizing it, that question slipped from his lips.

And at that, Dwight muttered.

“Perhaps they all have reasons similar to mine, but it seems like there’s no need for an answer, so let me tell you what I heard from someone earlier.”

He nodded.

“There’s a phrase in the oath sworn upon becoming a hero.”

He nodded again.

“It goes something like: I swear I will never abandon my comrades, no matter what situation comes.”

He nodded, yet again.

“We all became students of the academy to become heroes, so we’ve sworn not to abandon our comrades.”

Did he really need any more explanation?

As Dwight asked the question, he shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

Dwight, noticing his reaction, tapped his fingers on his head.

Then he saw his hands gradually turn transparent.

“It’s a spell that makes your body transparent and blocks your presence. The duration isn’t long, but since they’re all distracted by the flames, this should be enough. There won’t be a chance anyone sees that ugly face of yours.”

Upon Dwight’s playful remark, he lifted his head and looked at him with an expression that could only be described as one of both laughter and tears.

“Worry about yourself instead of others… You’re going to get in so much trouble…”

To which Dwight replied.

“Don’t worry. Students are meant to cause trouble and get in trouble, after all.”

With a trace of a smile on his usually stoic face, he answered.

At those words, he broke into a smile and turned away.

Feeling the push on his back from Dwight’s hand.

“Go. We’ll meet again next time.”

“…Yeah, thanks.”

*

Slipping past the distracted heroes gazing at the sky.

Leaving behind the night sky ablaze with fireworks.

A single witch escaped the city.

---

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