Chapter 83
The girl with violet hair was lying quietly, staring blankly at the sky.
At first glance, the sky seemed to be motionless, but upon closer inspection, it was moving at quite a fast pace.
The sun and moon took turns rising and setting, while the clouds drifted endlessly with the wind.
To the girl, who had stared at an unmoving ceiling for hundreds of years, the speed of the sky felt overwhelmingly fast.
As she gazed at such a sky, she thought to herself, It’s impressive how the sky keeps moving without a break.
She couldn’t understand why the sky was moving so quickly, but she didn’t dislike it.
Watching something constantly in motion made her acutely aware of her own stillness.
Thus, her recent hobby had become lying here and staring at the sky in a daze.
Then, the sky she had been observing was filled with dark clouds, and raindrops began to fall one by one.
“…It’s raining.”
Soon, the rain began to pour down wildly. The girl, still gazing at the sky, murmured to herself in the downpour.
Despite the rain starting to fall, her musings ended there.
In the pouring rain, she continued to look blankly at the sky, her demeanor unchanged.
Even when raindrops fell onto her half-closed eyes, she didn’t show any reaction.
No matter how much rain fell on her, she remained unaffected, exactly as before.
As if she were the only one detached from this world, the girl stood still amidst the fast-moving world.
Just then, a dark hole, appearing from nowhere, filled her vision, which had been solely occupied by the rain.
From this hole materialized the head of a woman wearing a hood, who seemed to suck in the falling rain.
With a slight grunt, the hooded woman emerged from the hole and stood next to the girl’s head.
Sensing that the arrival of this woman foreshadowed an annoying situation, the girl’s brows furrowed slightly.
The hooded woman smiled and opened her mouth, as if wounded by the reaction.
“Ahaha, it seems you’re not very happy to see me. Making that kind of face as soon as you see my face might hurt my feelings a little, you know?”
“What brings you here…?”
“What else is there? I came to ask for another favor.”
The girl’s face, which had already been slightly scrunched up, crinkled even further at the mention of a favor.
“…Last time, you said you wouldn’t be coming back for a while.”
When the girl complained, the woman replied with an air of disappointment.
“Well, things didn’t go according to my plans. So, I had to come to ask for my second favor sooner than I’d hoped. I really don’t like using up my favor requests; I’d much rather save them for last.”
“…If you want to save them, then don’t use them…”
“But if I don’t use them, they might be wasted, so it’s better to use them when the thought strikes me! I went through a lot of trouble to dig you out of the depths underground, so you should give a return on that effort. That was our agreement, right? Since you agreed, don’t harbor too much discontent~”
At her words, the girl recalled the day she had made the contract with her.
Having lived underground for centuries.
To be honest, she could have escaped at any time if she’d put her mind to it, but the idea felt like too much hassle, so she stayed put until one day, that woman appeared out of nowhere and said:
“Aren’t you bored being here? Would you like to make a contract with me to get out? I’ll let you out if you promise to do just three favors for me later. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure they won’t be too difficult. So, what do you say?”
Thinking that she could escape without any effort, she had accepted the contract without too much thought. Now, reflecting on it, she couldn’t help but feel it regretful.
She hadn’t realized back then that doing what others asked was even more bothersome.
However, since a contract had to be honored, she had no way to back out now.
The girl quietly murmured.
“…So, what do you want me to do this time?”
As the girl asked, the woman grinned and pulled out a black orb from the hole in the air.
“It’s not much different from the last time. In fact, this time it might be even simpler. Just go inside the barrier and release the creature in this orb in a discreet fashion. That’s all~.”
The girl accepted the dark orb offered by the woman.
It was a unique orb that could contain magical beasts, created through the woman’s abilities.
Last time, she confined a magical beast inside; since the woman hadn’t mentioned anything this time, the girl asked unconsciously.
“…What’s inside this time?”
“Ooh! Good question! To tell you that, I first need to explain the entirety of my plan, so where should I start?”
When the girl posed her question, the woman’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
The girl immediately realized she shouldn’t have asked that, but it was too late.
The woman began to talk energetically.
“Remember when I asked you last time? The plan was to lure the heroes with a bunch of low-level magical beasts. You, being able to pass through the barrier unaffected, were supposed to release the beasts to cause a lot of chaos and confusion. Unfortunately, that plan fell through.”
The woman continued with a smile.
“But to create even more chaos, I had prepped something in advance! Actually, there’s another accomplice besides you. This accomplice controls very small parasitic magical beasts that can latch onto other creatures. I had previously hidden a bunch of those in the low-level magical beasts I sent out. They transfer to any creature that makes contact or gets close. Well, they can’t latch onto powerful beings, but most humans are weak enough.”
The girl looked at the woman, who was chatting excitedly, with a look of exasperation.
Unfazed, the woman continued her lively chatter.
“If these parasites enter a human, they settle in their brain and cause emotional instability.
Oh, and they also reportedly make the throat feel incredibly itchy, but that’s not really important. Anyway, since I spread those in the city, people who have lost their families to the magical beasts might go crazy and riot.
I thought that would ultimately lead to the collapse of the human city, but unfortunately, it seems that the magical beasts you unleashed didn’t cause much damage, so that plan has failed~.”
The woman shook her head in disappointment but soon flashed a smile.
“However, I found out that the accomplice can control the creatures infested with those parasites. If we can control people and stir up chaos, that would be enough to make the city chaotic. The ability of my accomplice can’t extend beyond that pesky barrier without some kind of transmitter device. That’s what’s inside the orb you’re holding.”
Finally, the woman fell silent.
The girl, looking visibly tired, gazed at her and eventually asked a question.
“Is your goal to destroy the human city?”
The woman smiled and replied.
“Well, if I had to specify a purpose, my ultimate goal would be world domination. Destroying the human city is just a step toward that.”
The girl asked casually.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be faster to just ask me to wipe out the city?”
Saying that, the girl.
Although she wouldn’t usually pursue such things, she certainly had the ability to do so.
Even the greatest hero of the dwarves, clad in mithril armor crafted by the most legendary of artisans, posed no threat to her at all.
Even an attempt to self-destruct alongside the underground city, betting the very fate of their race, had only buried her underground, without leaving a single scratch on her.
So obviously, humans wouldn’t be able to inflict any harm on her.
A being that had brought despair to countless people long ago.
The Witch of Apathy, hearing the girl’s words, replied with a smile.
“I’m not planning to do that. If it’s too easy to obtain, it has much less value.”
Quietly, the woman’s eyes sparkled beneath her hood.
“I want to watch my plan unfold gradually over time. To see how they fall and when they die. All of that is important to me. Taking an easy route would rob me of that view. You may not understand why I’m willing to go through all this hassle, but that’s how it is.”
The girl murmured.
“…I suppose I can somewhat understand.”
Recalling the entity that had once added excitement to her monotonous life.
Reflecting on the emotions she felt back then, she found that it wasn’t impossible to understand her now.
Upon hearing the girl’s words, the woman smiled broadly.
“Oh, really? That’s nice to hear! Anyway, I’m counting on you! You’re the only one who can go in and out of there without any obstacles. Don’t take too long to release that just because it’s boring.”
Planning to take her time since it was a hassle, the girl clicked her tongue internally and spoke.
“…Take me near the city, please.”
At those words, the woman smiled, and the hole above her head that had been shielding them from the rain descended, engulfing the two.
As if to bid them farewell, a roar from a monstrous creature as great as a mountain echoed through the pouring rain.
GROAAAAAARR!
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