Chapter: 250
“From this moment, Scarlet Evande is a member of our city.”
As I struggled to suppress my overwhelming emotions, everything flowed smoothly behind me, culminating in the Principal’s declaration to the people.
After all the twists and turns, I was accepted as a member of the city.
Although there were still citizens who remained uneasy about it, the condition of living under surveillance followed me for a while.
By the way, that surveillance role ended up naturally falling to the Astra Family due to Sylvia’s strong argument of, “Where else could there be a better reason than having the Witch of Wrath here in Astra?”
With an official reason to be involved in my matters, Sylvia turned to the crowd and said,
“Well then, from now on, any issues regarding Miss Scarlet fall under the responsibility of Astra. You better not think of making any trouble regarding her being a witch. Unless you want to have a chat with Astra’s legal team.”
Her commanding tone effectively prevented any lingering hostility that might still be directed towards me. I felt incredibly supported.
For some reason, perhaps due to Sylvia’s intimidating presence, the gathered crowd quickly dispersed without saying much.
In the midst of this, there was a small incident where those I had assisted came to thank me, triggering a tearful emotional moment.
“…Is everyone gone?”
“It seems so.”
Eventually, the area overflowing with people cleared, bringing the event to an end.
“You worked hard, Evande.”
“Oh, Ms. Eve. Kids.”
After everyone departed, Ms. Eve approached with the children towards the area where the officials were.
As I exchanged excited glances with the kids, Ms. Eve spoke to me.
“I’m really relieved. You managed to come back safely.”
“It’s all thanks to you and the kids… I really appreciate it…”
“No, it’s just that I couldn’t remain idle because I felt a sense of kinship with you, Evande.”
Kinship? What does that mean?
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Realizing that I had not heard what Ms. Eve meant, I asked.
“Oh, you didn’t hear? I’m a witch too, you know.”
“…Huh?”
At Ms. Eve’s unexpected revelation, I felt my head go blank for a moment.
Did she just say she’s a witch…?
Looking at the kids, they wore expressions suggesting they already knew.
…Wait, really? Ms. Eve is a witch too?
…Eww?!
“W-wait a second…! You’re a witch too, Ms. Eve?!”
“Haha, you’re surprisingly shocked, aren’t you? Let me explain it briefly. So, what happened is─.”
As I stammered in surprise, Ms. Eve smiled and started to share her story with me.
Her tale continued as we headed back towards the city, and it was downright shocking for me.
I had no idea there was such a backstory involving Aegis… or Ms. Eve.
There was never any mention of such content in the original work.
Of course, I had always sensed that Ms. Eve was a person full of secrets, but still, a witch?
Even though it came from her own mouth, it was hard to believe.
I had so many doubts about her being a witch.
Did my feelings show on my face?
Ms. Eve, still smiling, spoke to me.
“You seem to find it hard to believe, Evande. Is it because you can’t feel the aura of kinship from me?”
“Y-yes…? No, it’s just…”
“No, that’s understandable. It’s only natural to feel that way. I was trying to avoid being sensed by magic, which is why I wore this magical tool. See?”
Thinking I doubted her, Ms. Eve took off a ring-like item and muttered.
Suddenly, I felt a change in sensation.
Didn’t they say witches can recognize each other?
As a fully-fledged witch now, I noticed the shift in sensation from Ms. Eve.
Earlier, it had been so subtle that I might not have noticed it had I not thought she was a witch at all, but now it felt somewhat clearer.
I was sure now that she was a witch, but that wasn’t the issue.
The reason I never considered Ms. Eve to be a witch was because she was pitifully killed in the original story.
Here, she had almost been killed by a possessed student.
Witches don’t easily die from a mere stab.
And so, I never imagined Ms. Eve to be a witch.
Yet, having sensed her aura properly now, I began to realize how such a thing could happen.
I asked with a puzzling expression.
“…Ms. Eve, you’re in a weakened state, aren’t you?”
In response to my question regarding her condition, Ms. Eve slightly smiled and muttered.
“…So you can tell I’m a witch too? That’s right, I lost quite a bit of strength when I helped subdue the Witch of Gluttony.”
Witches don’t easily die from a stab.
That is, as long as they are in good shape.
The aura I felt from Ms. Eve was weak.
It was far from what could be deemed normal.
Assuming neither she nor the Witch of Gluttony had the ability to regenerate like I did, it wouldn’t be surprising if she were to die from a fatal blow like a regular person.
So, I asked her.
“…Why don’t you recover your strength?”
The way for a weakened witch to regain her strength is simple.
Just like when I was weak and lost my aura within the barrier, she could absorb magic from somewhere.
While it might be difficult to return to perfect health, she could at least gain more than just first aid.
Seeing that I asked, Ms. Eve replied.
“As you know, the inside of the barrier isn’t a place where there’s enough magic to recover freely.”
“But there’s a lot of magic scattered outside. You must be quite in discomfort in that condition, Ms. Eve…”
I told her that, knowing that being a witch, Ms. Eve would likely find living in her current condition rather agonizing.
To a witch, miasma is essential energy for survival.
Even if she could produce some magic by herself, if she had consumed so much, she would feel pretty hungry almost like a person who hasn’t eaten food.
However, Ms. Eve shook her head and replied.
“Evande, I’m fine.”
“But…”
“Really, I’m okay. I can live well enough as a human with this much. As a teacher at the academy, I can still perform adequately with my current state, even as a witch.”
She said this with a smile.
It must be incredibly difficult to endure that suffering while hiding her true identity, yet she simply smiled.
She was a witch yet wanted to be human, genuinely satisfied to live among people even despite how hard it was.
Seeing her like that, I had nothing more to say to her.
But in her smile, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of some kind of wistfulness.
Ms. Eve glanced at the Principal walking beside us and murmured in a soundless voice.
“…Besides, there’s a reason I don’t want to recover my strength.”
While she muttered that, we had already arrived at the front of the barrier protecting the city.
Faced with that intangible barrier which had once instilled a trauma in me, I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks.
…It was fine returning to the city, but I had completely forgotten about this.
Knowing how dreadful it felt to cross it, I hesitated at the thought, and at that moment, Dwight popped out from among the group.
Dwight came over to me and Ms. Eve and asked.
“Ms. Eve, may I ask you something?”
“What is it, Dwight?”
“You’re also a witch, so how could you pass through this barrier all this time? It shouldn’t be possible.”
That was the very question I wanted to ask, so I quietly listened to Ms. Eve’s answer.
That was also one of the reasons I had never considered her to be a witch.
A witch shouldn’t be able to just stroll through the barrier.
Unless we’re talking about the slothful Witch Beatrice, who doesn’t give a darn about anything.
After Dwight asked his question, Ms. Eve’s eyes lit up as if she found it was a good question.
“Great question, Dwight! Of course, as a witch, it should be impossible for me to cross this barrier, right? It’s known that the barrier blocks all miasma.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But that’s not actually the case!”
There was a spark of excitement in Ms. Eve’s response, and Dwight incredulously asked back.
“No…? That’s impossible. Surely the words left by the ancestor who created the barrier say…”
“Right. The barrier was indeed created by your ancestor, the great mage Viola Neinhart. Given that Neinhart knows more about the barrier than you, it should be normal, but…”
Toward Dwight, Ms. Eve smiled and murmured.
“But, Dwight, you’ve never seen Viola’s face before, have you? I was a frequent conversational partner of hers. Well, we were friends. I can’t speak for her, but that’s how I see it.”
Hearing what Ms. Eve said, Dwight’s expression turned as if he had been hit on the head.
After all, it was understandable for someone like him to react that way.
What would it feel like to hear your teacher say, “Hey! I had lunch and talked with your ancestor! I totally did!”
Anyway, the apparently very old teacher, who was at least 400 years old, began a nostalgic story, reminiscent of the typical “Back in my day” expressions.
“Viola was a companion of Aegis. She was completely obsessed with magic. She hardly cared about anything else, so even though I was a witch, she treated me with no prejudice. She had a slight issue with her personality but was more than competent enough to be called a great mage with her magical prowess.”
“Uh… right.”
“However, even though she was a great mage, miasma was nearly an unknown force back then. How could she develop a magic that completely blocks that mysterious miasma in such a short time? Don’t you think that’s strange?”
It felt like Dwight instinctively sensed something.
In moments like this, it’s best to hum along and agree.
He nodded along, looking entranced, as the teacher said.
“The reason that was possible is that there was indeed a test subject who allowed extensive research on miasma! Who do you think that was?”
“…It was you, Ms. Eve.”
“Correct! Therefore, I have about a 30% share in the creation of this barrier! You know how much hair and blood I had collected.”
Ms. Eve spoke with such excitement, as if to say she had never shared this before.
Then she paused and murmured.
“However, during that research into miasma, Viola discovered something that was important. That’s right, that there are different types of miasma.”
Ms. Eve looked towards me.
“Evande, didn’t you ever wonder? When absorbing with your body, they’re all the same miasma, but why do the demonic beasts born from that miasma differ?”
It was just as she said.
The miasma I absorbed came from the corpse of the Beasts of Greed.
Though it was the same miasma that cloaked the world, why was the Fury Beasts only found in the northern forest?
The textbook claimed that it was simply due to the distribution of miasma in places where witches primarily worked, but that didn’t explain the phenomenon.
“Viola said that the hearts of witches act as a kind of converter. Once any type of miasma passes through their body, it transforms into the magic of that witch’s characteristics. That’s why the demonic beasts differ.”
She pointed at her chest as she spoke.
“But that’s not the key point. The fact that different miasmas exist implies that it’s possible to distinguish them─”
At that moment, Dwight added to Ms. Eve’s explanation.
“…Which also means that distinguishing and not blocking only that particular miasma is also possible.”
“Correct. And thanks to Viola allowing my miasma to pass through the barrier, I can cross it freely.”
After answering Dwight, Ms. Eve turned to me and said.
“And now, Evande, I’ll enable you to cross this barrier freely as well. I never thought I’d actually be using this in my lifetime. Dwight, Mark, I’ll need your help for this, so could you come here for a moment?”
Ms. Eve called Dwight and Mark to help me enter the city.
Ms. Eve took a slight amount of blood from their fingers and hers, letting it fall before the barrier as she said.
“Everyone, from now on, please repeat after me.”
Then, holding their hands, we stood by the barrier and recited together.
“Here gather three fools.”
““Here gather three fools.””
“The stubborn one, the magic-obsessed one, and the foolish witch. The three fools want to invite a new friend to their home.”
““The stubborn one, the magic-obsessed one, and the foolish witch. The three fools want to invite a new friend to their home.””
As they spoke those words, the previously invisible barrier faintly glowed only in front of them.
Then a voice echoed from somewhere.
[What is the password?]
Ms. Eve responded to that voice.
“Nid yw pob gwrach yn elynion.”
““Nid yw pob gwrach yn elynion.””
Dwight chuckled as he repeated Ms. Eve’s words.
“Ha, not all witches are foes… is that right?”
As he spoke, a pillar of white light emanated from the barrier and illuminated the area beside them.
Following Ms. Eve’s gesture, I stepped into the light illuminated beside them.
“Evande, your blood.”
At Ms. Eve’s command, I lightly pricked my finger to let blood drop in front of the barrier like the others.
Holding hands with them as we stood together, we all took a step forward following Ms. Eve’s lead.
[Welcome, new friend.]
And just like that, I had entered inside the barrier.
Feeling somewhat dazed, I looked at Ms. Eve, who smiled brightly and said.
“Congratulations, Evande. Now you are the second witch allowed to step foot in this city.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but smile back.
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