“I don’t like it.”
In the workshop, filled with the stench of medicine, the first words I and the swordsman heard from the Supreme Witch were those.
With that resolute sentence, I let out a deep sigh, as if I had expected it. On the other hand, the swordsman could not hide his feelings of frustration.
“No, old lady… are you out of your mind?! I’ve gotten to this age and have even been called a ‘bitch’ by my niece!”
So unjust was the situation that the girl even pounded her chest in lament.
As one could guess from her desperate appeal, the request that the Supreme Witch had rejected outright was related to the swordsman.
It was a demand for her to return to her true form, suggesting it was time to do so.
I too had a pact with the swordsman and had attempted to voice it, but honestly, I did not expect much from it.
The Supreme Witch was already reciting the very reasons I had anticipated.
“The incident hasn’t been resolved yet. What do you mean, ‘true form’? You still have many things to do, you sword lunatic.”
“No, no matter how you put it…!”
“Tsk, tsk. At your age, you should learn some patience.”
With a sigh, the Supreme Witch exhaled smoke from her cigarette, shaking her head back and forth.
Her gaze revealed blatant emotions.
It was a look of disdain.
Feeling wronged, the swordsman was about to raise his voice even more, but the Supreme Witch was quicker.
“You don’t have to worry so much; your true form isn’t going anywhere… You asked me because you aren’t sure, right? You’re wondering if you can return to your true form. So just be patient until the incident is over.”
The Supreme Witch’s persuasion contained only valid arguments.
Even the swordsman, filled with anger, had to ease his tone and adopt a sullen expression.
Still, perhaps out of lingering attachment, the swordsman muttered sullenly.
“…Seriously, how long do I have to indulge in this childish play?”
“Don’t be too disappointed, elder.”
I decided to seize this opportunity to appease the grumpy old man.
I hoped that no unrelated words would arise until at least our plans were completed.
“I have brought some fairly certain information. If you just hold on a little longer, you will be able to return to your true form as you wish.”
“…Hmph.”
The swordsman scoffed but did not argue against my words.
In fact, he even subtly praised me.
“I’ll believe it since you said so. Just be careful not to disappoint me.”
“Yes, yes… Is there any question about that?”
The Supreme Witch, watching our conversation, let out a small laugh.
Her expression clearly indicated she could see right through the swordsman’s inner thoughts.
“You don’t need to act like you’re holding back, sword lunatic.”
“Wha… What?! What do you mean by that?”
“I’m saying you don’t need to pretend to have a strong bond just because I’m here. Tsk, tsk, has your body deteriorated so much that your mind has turned to that of a girl… you won’t be snatched away, even if you get all anxious like that.”
At that, the swordsman’s body stiffened. His reaction was completely different from just moments ago when he leapt up trying to refute the Supreme Witch’s words.
After hesitating for a while and sneaking glances at the Supreme Witch, the girl finally spoke tentatively.
“…R-Really?”
Her voice sparkled with innocent anticipation.
Even if it were a joke, it was a gaze that made it difficult to retract the statement. The only issue was that the other party was the ‘Supreme Witch.’
“Of course, it’s a lie. You’re still such a fool. Hehehe!”
The Supreme Witch, having lived for centuries, had no intention of considering the feelings of others.
She trampled on the girl’s heart with a simple remark and burst into laughter for a while. The furious swordsman drew his sword, ready to rampage, but my desperate intervention allowed the duel between the two masters to be postponed.
In reality, the swordsman probably didn’t genuinely wish to fight.
If that were the case, he would have already started by slicing the Supreme Witch’s body.
As the swordsman huffed and tried to calm himself, the Supreme Witch’s gaze subtly turned toward me.
It was a complex look.
“Hmm, so… you are….”
“You can call me ‘brat’. The swordsman elder does too.”
I spoke without much thought.
Yet, the Supreme Witch exhaled smoke with a visibly dissatisfied expression. I had no idea what that was about.
Wait, hadn’t she called me ‘brat’ during our last meeting without issue?
It seemed the Supreme Witch realized this fact.
After a click of her tongue, she began to comment.
“Tsk, well, I suppose that’s appropriate. But brat, you see…?”
Trailing off, the Supreme Witch began to examine my face closely.
Her gaze was somewhat burdensome.
“…Have we met before?”
I merely tilted my head in response.
The one laughing brightly was not me, but the swordsman.
“Pffft… Ahahahaha! Wh-What kind of outdated speech is that? Living for hundreds of years must have made you cold, huh? How could you… towards such a young child…?”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
The Supreme Witch could not properly respond to the swordsman’s retort.
She jumped up from her seat, desperately trying to deny it, but her face was already flushed bright red. It was an undeniably suspicious sight.
“I-I just felt a sense of familiarity for a first meeting, so I thought it was strange to ask, that’s all! What strange things are you saying!”
However, with the initiative finally back in her hands after a long time, the swordsman was being particularly mischievous. He even raised his voice as if he enjoyed the Supreme Witch’s denial.
“Y-You’re trying to make excuses… Hehehe! I’m witnessing a rare sight. The mighty Supreme Witch is using… using beauty tactics…? Beauty tactics…?”
The girl’s voice trailed off at a certain point.
The silence did not last long. The swordsman, with an altered complexion, lifted his voice immediately.
“Geez, damn! Are you really trying to steal our Empire’s pillar like this? Absolutely not!”
“Well, that’s not what I meant!”
The swordsman was now blocking my path and even growling.
It was becoming a mountain of a situation. I sighed and decided to summarize the story.
“…C-Can I get to the point now?”
Of course, there was no permission granted.
Still, I began to hastily lay out my business, fearing another verbal tussle might arise.
The argument between the Supreme Witch and the swordsman completely halted when the topic of the ‘vampire’s whereabouts’ was broached.
When the explanation about the ‘artificial body’ followed, the Supreme Witch’s expression darkened slightly. Exhaling smoke from her cigarette, she seemed to radiate a peculiar sense of loneliness.
“I see, so that’s how they escaped….”
“You didn’t know?”
“Now, there are very few who know the technique to create ‘artificial bodies’. The Holy Kingdom doesn’t quite like it. If the Heavenly Deity sees that guy’s state, he will immediately want to destroy it.”
Listening to that explanation, I recalled the creation myth.
The Heavenly Deity Arus created a shining intellect, and the Evil God Omelos constructed the flesh that would contain it.
So the flesh contains sinful traits. It cannot resist desire and retains the instinct to continually commit sins.
The act of creating a vessel for reason itself is deeply linked to the Evil God.
The Holy Kingdom would certainly have sensitive reactions to it.
“The ‘Supreme Wizard’… if that old man is still alive, it wouldn’t be a problem. Now, very few people remember that technique, even the finger counts.”
The ‘Supreme Wizard’ was a legendary figure who had been in seclusion for over ten years.
Once the Empire’s master, he had entrusted future matters to the swordsman and vanished suddenly. Officially, it was said that his lifespan had ended, but who would believe that?
He had lived longer than the Holy One and was a genius of the arcane.
However, the Supreme Witch seemed not to want to focus too much on the person who had passed down that technique. In fact, it was perhaps an issue without a solution even if she thought it over.
Rather, there was another aspect she was interested in.
“…But where did you get that information?”
It was a question I had heard several times before.
And it was also a difficult issue to answer carelessly.
“My younger sister is the Saintess of the Dark Cult and one of the Seven Deadly Sins, ‘Greed’. Due to an internal power struggle, she decided to pass intel to me.”
That was a response that couldn’t be made.
Moreover, the price was ‘clothing removal’ or cohabitation.
I feared what kind of misunderstanding might arise. While I could perhaps begrudgingly convince the Supreme Witch and the swordsman, once it reached the ears of the Saintess residing in the Holy Kingdom, I’d be beaten so badly that I’d be at risk of having my back torn.
Was this the sorrow of a married man?
Feeling a single bead of cold sweat running down my back, I fumbled my words.
“W-Well, it’s difficult to explain in detail…”
“That’s fine.”
However, before I could continue with my excuse, the Supreme Witch showed an unexpectedly refreshing response.
I stood there dumbfounded.
“What’s wrong? Is there some reason you can’t speak?”
“Y-Yes, that is true…”
I was okay with it.
While I was experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu, the swordsman added a sullen tone.
“Old lady, have you really lost it? Since when have you become someone who trusts others so easily?”
Indeed, as he said.
Neither the Supreme Witch nor I had known each other for long. To report important information without even questioning the source was unimaginable under normal circumstances.
It was beyond ordinary trust.
Still, the Supreme Witch merely pouted and grumbled.
“…Hmph, that’s my own decision.”
Hmm, the swordsman’s arms crossed, and his mood visibly soured in real-time.
With their atmosphere seeming like another argument could start, the Supreme Witch seemed to have made a conclusion before I could intervene.
“You, from tomorrow on, walk with me.”
Naturally, that ‘you’ was not the swordsman, and it didn’t take long for the girl’s expression to contort.
Although it wouldn’t be easy to overcome the Supreme Witch’s verbal prowess.
Given the time given to the swordsman, the Supreme Witch’s argument based on sharing my time made the girl quickly wilt.
It was a straightforward argument without any grounds for rebuttal.
The only remaining issue was one.
“Ugh…”
At that faint groan, everyone’s gaze moved to the corner of the room.
On the bed set up in one corner lay a beautiful girl sleeping. More accurately, one could say she was ‘unconscious.’
Just looking at her tightly closed eyes made it clear.
It was my junior, Seraia Yuridina.
Sending a glance filled with slight resentment, the swordsman cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem, I didn’t expect you to rush in so suddenly…”
Unlike the swordsman, the Supreme Witch seemed more intrigued by a different aspect.
After observing Seraia for a while, a sigh escaped the Supreme Witch, accompanied by a puff of smoke.
“…Let’s take that brat too.”
I silently nodded, and though the swordsman grumbled, he agreed to grant permission for me and the Supreme Witch to accompany.
On the condition that we would spar tonight.
Just as I stepped out of the building, the Supreme Witch, personally seeing me off, glanced somewhere.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmm… It’s nothing.”
I had already known that couldn’t be the case.
After leaving Seraia with the swordsman, I went alone to the place where the Supreme Witch had cast a brief glance.
And as expected, there was a cute behind that had not managed to hide amidst the shrubs.
What could I say?
Unable to contain the inner voice boiling within me, my hand came down with a smack against that behind.
At that moment, a hooded hat popped up from the bushes.
“Hiiiii?! N-No! Who the hell… Is it you again?!”
It was ‘Senior Elsi.’
I shrugged and posed a perfectly reasonable question.
“What are you doing?”
“Of course… I-I’m keeping watch…”
As she trailed off, the manner she did so was unusual.
I then scanned the direction Senior Elsi was looking. There stood a familiar building.
The Supreme Witch’s residence.
I raised an eyebrow with a light smile and nodded.
“All things considered, the bond of a Priest is indeed formidable.”
“W-What are you talking about… Am I, crazy, to miss that old witch?!”
The shaken voice from her tightly clenched fists contained a slight tremor, which made me chuckle.
One undeniable fact remained unchanged despite the time passing.
Senior Elsi was not honest.
I did not respond; instead, I grabbed Senior Elsi by the scruff of her neck and lifted her.
“Then let’s test it out.”
“What kind of test… Hey! What are you doing?! Where are you taking me?!”
Wherever it was.
It just so happened that I had something I wanted to ask ‘Senior Elsi.’
It was time for a ‘Priest Reunion.’
