Breathing heavily with a wheezing sound, I took a deep breath.
“Miss Scarlet! □□□ □□─!”
Noticing that I was in bad shape, Sylvia charged towards the front of the platform, shouting something at me.
In that moment, I realized I needed to say something to the people, but that was all I could grasp. My mind was drowned in the torrent of hostility, turning as blank as a bleached canvas, rendering me speechless.
All that escaped my lips were strained breaths and sounds like “Ah…” or “Ugh…”.
While I was lost in my thoughts, someone’s scream pierced my ears.
Say something! Why did you do that to Yoon Si-woo!
Startled by the sharpness of that tainted shout, I shook my head.
I certainly had many things to say regarding that, but my head was too dizzy.
Breathless, unable to find my breath.
“No… It wasn’t… intentional…”
In the end, the best response I could sputter out was nothing more than such a pathetic one.
And my answer was no different than adding fuel to their fiery hostility.
Of course, it wasn’t intentional! You made Yoon Si-woo that way!
How could we believe you aren’t lying! It’s obvious you must be! You wicked witch!
It was a terrible response, but nonetheless, the truth was the truth.
I never intended to make Yoon Si-woo like that.
It was truly not intentional.
But regardless of how many truths I spoke, their voices of blame flew relentlessly at me.
All I could do was desperately shout the words that popped into my head.
“No, it wasn’t…! Really, it truly wasn’t intentional! Please believe me…! I am not a wicked witch…!”
So, I cried out to those speaking about Yoon Si-woo that it wasn’t intentional.
I pleaded with those who wouldn’t believe my words to please trust me.
I lamented to those calling me a wicked witch how unfair it was.
But I already knew that such words would never reach them.
-Revenge! Burn the wicked witch alive!
-I will return the pain the children suffered, even more so!
-Witch hunt! It’s a witch hunt!
Amidst the people’s shouts, those words seemed to echo.
The scene that once plagued Evangeline flashed before my eyes.
The platform I stood upon was the burning platform.
This place was yet another hunting ground for witches.
And the voice of someone already branded as a witch, the cries of someone hated…
No matter how loudly I screamed, they wouldn’t reach the people.
How dare you think of stepping foot into the city after doing this to Yoon Si-woo!
With their shouts brimming with malice, a stone suddenly flew from somewhere.
I merely stared blankly at the stone aimed directly at my head.
With a thud, the stone struck my head and then landed at my feet with a light thud.
It was just a rock thrown by a regular person.
It wouldn’t injure a witch’s body, and even if it did, it would be the kind of attack that would heal immediately.
But why, why did it hurt so much.
The spot I was hit hurt, hurt so very much.
As if a wound that wouldn’t heal was forming, something warm and resembling blood flowed down my cheek.
I stared blankly ahead.
As if that stone had been a signal flare, stones and all sorts of debris began to rain down on me from all directions.
Some missed, while others struck my body.
It hurt.
But what hurt even more was…
If we accept you, you’ll turn us into Yoon Si-woo just like everyone else!
You want us to believe you? After all that you did?
Get out of the city, wicked witch!
People’s thorn-laden words and jeers were being thrown at me alongside the objects.
Each one burrowed deep into my heart.
I writhed in the pain, involuntarily dropping to my knees.
While kneeling, I took in the sight of those who were injuring me.
They all seemed united in their anger towards me.
In that moment, I felt a surge of hot emotion welling up from deep inside.
To return this pain I felt to them.
It was the same feeling that once consumed Evangeline.
However, I shook my head with resistance against the whispers tempting me.
I knew these people were not in the wrong.
They were simply people who were hurt and sad somewhere inside, left no choice but to lash out at someone.
Just like how I wanted to combust in flame and pour my anger onto someone else.
It was hard to resist that temptation.
So they were not at fault.
I decided to think so.
Because if I didn’t, I knew someday I would end up regretting it like Evangeline had.
And if there was something left to blame instead of these people, there was only one thing remaining.
“I’m sorry…”
So kneeling down, I bowed my head and offered my apology.
If they held no fault, the fault must lie with me.
“I was wrong… I was wrong…”
Yes, it was all my fault.
Yoon Si-woo was the protagonist of this world; I was just an extra.
I was a witch, not even a person.
It was wrong that Yoon Si-woo ended up like that because of me.
So from the start, I was the one who had erred.
My existence itself was flawed.
If I hadn’t been in this world, Yoon Si-woo would never have ended up like that.
Thus, I chose to blame myself instead of anyone else.
The flames that turned towards me didn’t injure others but instead hurt myself.
But I thought that was alright.
That was all I needed.
And then…
“No!!”
A shrill voice pierced through the pouring insults and jeers from somewhere.
I lifted my head and saw a small figure pushing through the crowd towards me.
Despite the tears blurring my vision, I recognized her instantly.
Rion, the little girl from the orphanage who had always followed me.
She ran up to the platform, crying pitifully.
Clawing her way up, Rion hugged me tight before lifting her head to look at me.
Our eyes met, and while sobbing, Rion asked me.
“Boo… Sister… You’re not a wicked witch, right…?”
Faced with her sudden question,
“I, I…”
I couldn’t respond.
Yet Rion, seeming to think I was hesitating to answer, shouted loudly.
“Sister, you’re not a wicked witch!!”
Rion declared this, then stood up straight, turning her back to me and facing the crowd with her arms wide open.
As if to protect me with her small frame.
Even so, Rion’s legs trembled slightly.
The gazes of countless people were surely terrifying for a child like her.
Yet despite trembling in fear, Rion squeezed out her voice and shouted at them.
“Boo… Sister’s not a wicked witch…!!”
In a place brimming with hostility against witches, the little girl shouted that out loud.
Even amidst everyone labeling me as bad, she stood resolute in her words.
“Boo… Sister played with me a lot…! She drew pictures with me and took me to the zoo…! Boo, so… so Sister’s not a wicked witch…! She’s absolutely not a wicked witch…! Boohoo…!”
With that, Rion cried out, bursting into sobs.
Seeing her, without realizing it, I pulled her into my arms.
I soothed my little defender, whose tears started soaking my clothes, with trembling hands.
My heart ached.
That I denied myself, yet this child defends me so fiercely.
Her grip on my hem as she cried out for me not to go anywhere.
More than joy over her support, sorrow took precedence.
The people’s hatred towards witches was immense.
It was far beyond what this little girl could endure.
Realizing that no matter how hard she tried alone, Rion was bound to feel despair and get hurt, just like I did when I came to that realization in my childhood.
I didn’t want that for her, wishing that this girl who put in so much effort for me wouldn’t be hurt any further.
I embraced her as though shielding her from the hostility directed at me, covering her eyes and ears.
And at that moment, holding Rion, I suddenly realized something.
“…”
That the surroundings had grown quiet.
The barrage of insults and objects flying toward the platform had somehow ceased.
Perhaps it was because the crowd gathered in hatred against witches found it hard to unleash that fury upon a crying girl.
Rion may not have known that perhaps, but her actions halted the relentless storm, bringing forth a moment of peace.
Only the sound of Rion’s sniffles echoed within that silence.
Watching the previously chaotic crowd quiet down, I mused that Rion seemed to have performed a miracle.
However, that miracle was merely fleeting.
If nothing happened after that, the people would surely revert to unleashing their hostility toward me once again.
It would have undoubtedly been the case.
Yet at that moment,
“That child is right! Miss Scarlet is the one who played with us children at the orphanage whenever she had the time! She saved me and that child when we were almost killed by the demonic beast! She is definitely not someone bad…! It must have been an accident what happened to Si-woo!”
A voice erupted from the crowd.
That voice pierced through the silence, echoing loudly enough for me to hear from afar.
When I turned to see where the voice had come from, I noticed Maria, the head of the orphanage, standing at one corner, shouting with veins popping from her neck.
“That’s right! Miss Scarlet isn’t a wicked witch! She saved me too!”
“She’s our kind sister who always plays with us…!”
And following behind the headmistress, the children from the orphanage, who were holding hands, began to raise their voices.
The corner of a crowd that had been filled with accusations against me was now surrounded by voices defending me.
Even amidst this situation, there were those willing to stand up for me.
Their words overwhelmed me with gratitude, but they were merely a speck amidst the crowd.
Naturally, those words alone wouldn’t change the people’s gazes.
But then, then…
“That’s right! That girl helped my family before!”
Another voice rang out from somewhere, someone whose face I didn’t recognize.
“I’ve received help from that girl before too! She’s surely not bad, we can give her a chance at least, right?”
From another corner, someone said that.
Perhaps they were inspired by that.
Like a dam bursting, voices defending me began to emerge from all around.
Until then, they had been muffled beneath the shouts of condemnation, but now they amplified—growing larger and larger.
“Ah… um…?”
I found myself dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before me.
I couldn’t comprehend how this was happening.
I was supposed to be someone despised, someone hated.
Yet these people, these people raising their voices for me…
“What are these people…?”
“Thankfully many have come forward.”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came beside me.
The Principal murmured, approaching me.
“Last night, Miss Scarlet’s friends worked hard. They went about finding those who received help from you one by one, asking them to come here tomorrow to lend their voices. I wouldn’t want to see Ms. Eve sad either.”
With a hint of embarrassment, the Principal pointed over to where children were waving at us from a distance, along with Ms. Eve.
Feeling my throat tighten at the sight of those gathered in support, I found myself at a loss for how to repay this.
All I could express was gratitude, so I muttered that phrase.
“Thank… thank you—.”
“No need to thank us.”
And responding to my words, the Principal spoke.
“I told you, didn’t I?”
Pointing to where people were raising their voices.
“It’s because of the kindness you’ve shown to those you’ve helped.”
I stared blankly at the Principal’s words.
Looking once more at those lending their voices for me.
And there, there…
“That girl helped me when I almost got hurt before! She’s a kind sister!”
A boy holding a Band-Aid with a teddy bear design appeared.
“That lady once carried my load for me. A kind lady who helped an old man like me, she clearly can’t be a bad person.”
There was that grandmother who I had helped carry her things before.
“That sister saved me when my dad got scary!”
“That’s right, we ought to be grateful, right?”
There was the mother and child I saved when the demonic beast was attempting to manipulate them.
“If that girl hadn’t helped us escape through the sewer the other day, we would’ve all been dead!”
“That’s right! She even made torches for us to not fear the darkness!”
There were also those who had followed in the sewer with Sylvia to escape the rain.
“It isn’t because we were asked to come here that we’re here. Miss Scarlet Evande, you befriended us through your kindness and sacrifice. If it weren’t for that, none of this would be possible.”
The Principal pointed at me, addressing the crowd.
“So there’s no need for you to be grateful.”
As if it was not a big deal.
“It’s only natural for those you’ve helped to support you.”
But he added with a proud expression, giving my shoulder a light pat.
And at those words,
“Ah…”
Flames began to seep from my body.
I saw the people’s startled expressions at the sudden emergence of flames, but soon they recognized that the fire was not burning anything, and they watched in fascination.
Rion, who had been crying, seized the sight of the flames and stopped her tears, bursting into laughter.
However, unlike her, I failed to stop my vision from growing increasingly hazy.
I had denied my own existence.
Thinking I would be better off not being here in this world.
That no matter what actions I attempted, I deserved to be hated simply for being a witch.
That even acts of kindness would bring back hostility was a sad irony.
For a moment, I had given up hope in the world.
Yet the sight of so many people wishing to help me, refusing to forget my past kindness.
The voices responding to my kindness.
Proved that my existence, my life lived here thus far, had not been meaningless.
No matter how selfish people may be, there were those who didn’t forget kindness.
Despite how cold the world may be, it was still a place where goodwill could return goodwill.
I was overwhelmed by the joyous realization of that.
“Ah… ugh…”
I couldn’t hold back the tears flowing from my eyes.
“Back when the demonic beast tried to invade the gym, she risked her life to stop it. Then she’d be the one who saved our family’s lives…”
“Making only bad comments about someone like that is not acceptable!”
“Let’s at least try to believe her!”
There were many people shouting to that effect.
I needed to remember the faces of those kind individuals.
But strangely, tears kept flowing.
No matter how much I wiped them away, they kept overflowing.
I couldn’t recognize their faces anymore.
Yet in that situation, there was one thing I could see.
The malice that had surrounded me was losing steam, being overpowered by the voices of those standing up for me.
“…That witch has done many good deeds it seems.”
The eyes of those who had declared they couldn’t forgive me now carried traces of hesitation.
“…Honestly, it feels concerning, but just once…”
Those who had been shouting about disbelief now began to entertain the idea of giving me a chance.
Time passed, and eventually, the palpable hostility seemed to vanish altogether.
“It seems like things have calmed down a bit.”
The Principal, observing the people’s mood, nodded and gave me a subtle gesture.
Indicating for me to stand, I wiped my unending tears and took hold of Rion’s hand, rising to my feet.
“Scarlet Evande.”
The Principal faced me, adopting an exceedingly serious expression.
“Despite being a witch, you saved 12,493 precious lives from the demonic beasts that invaded the academy and showed great dedication to protecting others in numerous incidents. If this is true, then do answer us.”
With the same serious expression, he posed his question to me.
“Can we trust you?”
“…”
At that question, I hesitated for a moment, before slightly turning my body.
To face the countless people looking at me.
This answer was one I had to give to them.
“…It’s likely that many will find it hard to believe, but I promise you.”
So I spoke before them.
The moment I said the word ‘promise’, it became an unbreakable bond.
It was a pact I made as a witch to myself.
A vow to myself to uphold this promise.
And also a pledge for my future life.
“I will act for others before myself.”
The words every hero swears upon their appointment.
“I vow that I will never abandon my comrades regardless of the situation.”
Though I wasn’t officially appointed as one,
Even so, it was the best answer I could give to those who made me realize my existence was meaningful.
“I vow, under my honor and name, until this single life ceases to exist.”
And so, I, a foreigner from another world,
A witch despised by society,
Having finally determined to protect this world, declared.
“For the sake of humanity’s peace and welfare, I will fight.”
Tears streaming down my face,
Yet smiling with joy.
“I swear this here and now.”
I swear it here.
I will become a hero.
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