An irreconcilable enemy that cannot live under the same sky.
That’s how the people of this world perceive witches.
They have been trapped in a limited land because of witches since a long time ago.
Recently, they’ve lost close ones to witches as well.
It’s understandable that such people harbor negative feelings toward me, the witch, even if it saddens me.
For example, it’s like I’m a descendant of Hitler appearing in the city of Jews.
Even if I didn’t want them to hate me, how many people would not feel that way in such a situation?
It would not be strange if I were beaten to death by the people. In fact, I almost died like that.
Being who I am, I was mentally prepared to flee the city.
That I might never be able to return for the rest of my life.
If I had committed no crime, I would feel wronged, but since I had caused Yoon Si-woo to get hurt, I couldn’t feel that way at all.
So, I thought it was reasonable enough, and I had accepted that I might never set foot in that city again, almost giving up.
Then Sylvia said to me,
“Please trust us. We will definitely return you to the city.”
She said they would definitely get me back, so I should believe in them.
The moment I heard that, a lot of thoughts ran through my head.
Would it be okay to go back like this?
Wouldn’t I just be met with more hatred and chased away anyway?
Even though those fears were clearly still there.
When I came to my senses, I found that I was already nodding.
I couldn’t help but let out a half-teary, half-smiling reaction to the realization.
Listening to a friend’s plea to believe in her was like hearing a spell, causing my true feelings, which I had been suppressing, to come out.
…Yeah. Deep down, I was telling myself it’s okay, it’s okay.
The truth is, I also wanted to return to where everyone was.
*
“I was thinking everyone would die without being able to move because of the demonic beasts! Then suddenly, Scarlet, who I thought was dead, sprang up and blocked the creatures─”
“Yeah, yeah.”
As I nodded along with the excited Sylvia, she became even more thrilled and kept pouring out her story.
I had asked her to share a bit about the events leading up to the moment I fainted yesterday, as I barely remembered, and seeing her become such a chatterbox made me smile wryly.
I guess from now on, I’d have to be careful about asking Sylvia for anything.
Just hearing those words made her go all out, no matter what…
Well, at least this time it was a relief that Sylvia was chatting endlessly.
If Sylvia had been quiet during our return journey to the city with Astra’s hunting party, the atmosphere would have been incredibly awkward.
Whenever I made eye contact with the hunting party members, they sincerely bowed their heads in apology, which honestly felt quite burdensome.
I was genuinely okay, but seeing them struggle with their apologies drove me crazy…
But I couldn’t blame them, as their feelings were understandable.
After all, how could anyone not feel sorry when the person they almost killed just yesterday was right there?
In that sense, I thought it was truly fortunate that the World Tree had revived.
The fact that Sylvia could chat so freely was thanks to the miasma being cleared in the vicinity, alleviating worries about the demonic beasts.
The scenery on the way back had become so beautiful because of the World Tree’s revival.
If I glanced around, I could see lush trees brimming with life everywhere.
A place that once only had charred, dead trees had transformed into such a beautiful forest.
Looking at this scene made a tiny part of my heart feel somewhat at ease.
It felt like this beautiful sight was telling me that my existence in this world wasn’t just a negative influence.
As I felt that sense of comfort while gazing at the forest, I noticed Sylvia finishing her story energetically.
“So, that’s what happened. Scarlet, now you know what happened, right?”
“Yes, thank you, Sylvia.”
Thanks to her efforts, I could definitely grasp what had transpired, so I expressed my gratitude.
But why did it feel like she was talking about someone else’s story even though she was relaying mine?
Since I sent the demonic beast away, I was left thinking, ‘Did I really do that…?’
Just as I was lost in those thoughts, a loud growl echoed from somewhere.
I looked to my side to find Sylvia’s face flushed red.
“…Are you hungry?”
“Eek…! Th-this is because reviving the World Tree consumed a lot of energy!”
She shouted as if explaining, perhaps embarrassed by the sound from her stomach, and then Elder One spoke, perhaps wanting to ease her embarrassment.
“Sylvia, everyone has walked quite a bit, so how about we take a little break and share a meal? I’m feeling a bit hungry myself.”
“Well… sure? Let’s do that, then!”
Sylvia exclaimed as if she had been waiting for that suggestion.
Seeing her adorable reaction, everyone chuckled as they settled down, and then Sylvia carefully asked the others while glancing at her waist.
“Um, everyone…? What did you bring for food?”
“Oh, about that… To avoid contamination by miasma, we had to prioritize convenience, so we only carried combat rations…”
“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me…”
As they pulled out small, rice dumpling-like items from their supplies, Sylvia looked genuinely despondent, with a pained expression.
I wondered what the problem was, and then I recalled her saying those dumplings tasted terrible.
She probably wanted something other than those…
But what could be done?
She probably only had those as rations too.
With a deep sigh, Sylvia finally took out a rice dumpling, identical to everyone else’s, from her waist.
She glared at it for a moment as if wanting to destroy it, and then, as if resigned, she pinched her nose and popped the dumpling into her mouth.
“$#@%@^~~!!”
This was shortly followed by a silent scream.
Sylvia trembled as if in a seizure, and then, as if remembering something, she urgently pulled out a macaron from her bag and finally breathed out as if she had just survived.
The sight made me spontaneously chuckle, thinking she looked like a child searching for candy right after taking a bitter medicine.
Did she think I was laughing at her? Sylvia shot me a glare.
“…Is it funny? What’s going on right now?”
“Cough, Sylvia. I wasn’t laughing—”
“…Scarlet must not know how terrible this tastes.”
With an utterly serious expression, Sylvia pointed that out, causing me to lose my laughter as I asked.
“…Is it really that bad?”
“…It’s not just bad; it has an inhumane flavor. It feels like they sacrificed taste to the devil for nutrition and convenience…”
Some of the others nodded in agreement with stiff expressions, apparently sharing Sylvia’s sentiments.
…Not just Sylvia, but everyone was acting like that, making me curious.
Just how terrible could it taste for everyone to react like that?
I wore a curious look, and Sylvia hesitated before pulling out one of the dumplings from her bag and asking.
“…I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re really curious, would you like to try one?”
Her voice dripped with the implication that it’d be better not to.
But what kind of creature is a man?
Sometimes they stake their lives for curiosity.
A real man wouldn’t shy away from something like this.
Thus, without hesitation, I snatched the rice dumpling from Sylvia’s hand.
“Good heavens, are you really going to do it…!”
“Does he even realize what he’s about to eat…?”
I heard people murmuring around me, as if they thought I had lost my mind.
But I held my ground.
When it comes to eating terrible food, I’m the second-best.
I had earned the nickname “The One with a Trash Can in His Stomach” for eating everything from the notoriously bad military food to various strange meals without complaint.
That’s me.
I could hear someone gulp nervously.
Looking around, everyone else appeared even more tense than I was.
Seeing their reactions only strengthened my resolve to eat it.
Since coming to this world, my life had been a continuous struggle.
Therefore, I had been living with the mindset that I could not lose to this world.
This was just an extension of that.
So, this world’s bad taste couldn’t defeat me either.
With such a mindset, I threw the dumpling into my mouth.
And
“…”
Frowning at the flavor, I stiffened my expression.
“S-Sylvia?”
She looked worried yet also couldn’t contain her curiosity about my reaction.
In response to her, I had no choice but to say,
“…It’s just edible? It doesn’t taste like much.”
That was really the only response I could give.
Why? Because my reply was just an honest reflection of what I felt.
I only found the texture a bit rough and unpleasant.
Since I had been quite anxious about the taste being truly outlandish, I felt more deflated than anything.
However, in stark contrast to my composure, the reactions of the others were sheer shock.
“Unbelievable… You think that’s edible?”
“Truly, a witch is a witch. Truly… Truly a monstrous sense of taste!”
They looked at me with aghast expressions, as if gazing at something unfathomable.
Amid their gazes, I felt a bit sulky, thinking, ‘Is it seriously not that tasteless…?’
*
After the shocking and horrifying mealtime.
We finally emerged from the forest after walking without a break for a while.
Once I laid my eyes on the scenery beyond the woods, I couldn’t help but close my mouth.
In the distance, now clearly visible due to the miasma being cleared away.
I saw the city I had escaped from, the city I should return to.
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