The darkness lifted and my vision cleared as the flow of air shifted.
The place Sharine had transported me to was a dense forest, where trees grew thick and lush.
Don’t sacrifice yourself too much…
I reflected on her worried advice and a warmth settled in one corner of my chest.
A race that should have every reason to despise humans instead chose to nurture and teach them.
In a way, she was a truly devoted educator.
I don’t think I could do the same.
What exactly was a witch?
Most people had long believed witches to be either women cursed by the gods or servants of the Demon King.
The former perception led to society shunning witches, while the latter fueled rumors that sparked witch hunts across the continent.
Of course, the second claim was complete nonsense, but fear alone was enough to drive people into a frenzy, even over baseless lies.
And so, discrimination and massacres against witches continued for centuries.
Over time, witches became nothing more than figures of old legends. Just like the dragons.
For those who carried the blood of witches, it was an unbearable injustice.
The origins of witches date back thousands of years, after all.
The first Demon King had only appeared a mere thousand years ago.
Anyone could see that it made no sense to call witches his underlings.
And yet, humans were cunning and simple-minded creatures. They willfully turned a blind eye to the truth.
At this point, it was only natural that witches harbored no fond feelings toward us.
.
.
.
Oh, there it is.
I had been walking aimlessly while lost in my thoughts. Before long, a familiar building came into view.
A single hut, floating in midair, entwined with vines and tree trunks as if it were one with nature.
In the game, this place had been a dungeon known as the “Witch’s Hut”. It was one of the many dwellings where witches had once lived.
I took a moment to take in the unusual sight before making my way up the vines toward the hut, which floated in midair.
When I reached the door, I stepped in front of it and pushed it open.
Creak—Thud!
…Compared to other witches, her house is surprisingly small.
The space inside was barely 13 square meters in size. It was a tiny area.
Given how often she engaged in activities outside compared to other witches, she had likely built this place small, thinking of it as nothing more than a temporary dwelling.
As I scanned the inside of the hut, my gaze was naturally drawn to the table in the center of the room.
There, sitting alone, was a huge orb about the size of a human head.
A sinister energy surrounded the crimson orb with wisps of black mist slowly rising from its surface.
So this is the Witch’s Orb… Seeing it in person, it’s no joke.
For a witch, the Witch’s Orb was as important as a second heart.
Breaking it wouldn’t kill them, but since it was the very source of their power,
The moment it shattered, everything they had built as a witch would be lost.
Not that breaking it would be easy anyway.
If anything, I’d probably lose my head to the witch long before I managed to destroy it.
That was how significant this orb was to the witches.
“…Phew.”
With a tense breath, I stepped closer to the table and placed my hand on the orb.
The moment my fingers touched its surface, a chilling sensation, as if icy tendrils were creeping over me, sent shivers down my spine.
Then my palm finally pressed against the orb.
Flash—!
A wave of black light burst forth, engulfing the hut in darkness.
***
“……”
Everything around me began to melt away.
Like paint being brushed over a canvas, the original colors vanished and were replaced by an inky black.
It was a different kind of distortion from the headmistress’s subspace.
Amid that eerie sensation, a voice cut through.
“Who are you?”
A deep, resonant voice echoed in my ears.
I had never heard it before, yet I had a rough idea of who it belonged to.
That was why I immediately bowed respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Natasha Hillier, Mother of All Witches.”
“…Hmm, being called that by a human feels rather strange.”
Before long, a faint figure emerged before me.
Gradually, its form grew clearer until it fully took the shape of a woman.
Like Sharine, her alabaster skin stood out starkly.
However, where her face should have been, there was only a hazy blur, making it impossible to discern her features.
“But tell me, how did you come to this place? Don’t tell me you used the children’s orbs—”
“I was brought here under the guidance of Lady Sharine Hillier, the esteemed descendant of the Great Witch. It was done with mutual consent, so please do not be concerned.”
“…It doesn’t seem like a lie. Is that child doing well? She hasn’t visited in quite some time.”
“She remains in good health.”
“…I see.”
She was buried in paperwork, but at the very least, she was living well under the headmistress’s care.
“Well, enough about that. So, what brings a human child here? Don’t tell me you’re here to make a deal?”
“Yes, I have come to make a deal.”
“…You’re serious? If you know about making deals with me, then you must also know the price is never small.”
“To be honest, I don’t have any other choice.”
How many beings could defy the law of causality and distort the very principles that shaped the world?
If there was a way to borrow even a fraction of that power in exchange for a price, then nothing in the world could be more worth longing for.
And the being before me was indeed worth it.
The Great Witch, Natasha Hillier.
Thousands of years ago, she had reached for the Akashic Records, which contained all the knowledge of the world, in order to break the chains that bound her cursed lineage and change their fate.
As the price for her actions, the curse that had afflicted all witches was transferred entirely onto her body.
By abandoning her physical form and sealing herself away, she had saved all witches from the fate they once bore.
It was an achievement worthy of being called the mother of all witches.
…She is truly remarkable.
She was someone who deserved the utmost respect.
In the game, she had been nothing more than a bundle of lore and text.
But in reality, the absurdity of this world was an overwhelming force that those who lived within it could hardly resist.
In a way, she had been a pioneer.
The path she had walked was the same thorny road I would soon have to tread myself.
“So, human child. What is it that you desire, to have come all this way?”
“Please split the mana within my body. Exactly in half.”
“…If you do that, your lifespan will also be reduced by half.”
“I have already made my decision.”
“…….”
Mana was the energy that made up all things.
For living beings, it was the vessel that held their soul. An element directly tied to their very life.
It was much like the internal energy found in martial arts novels.
In the end, overload is simply what happens when that vessel gets shattered.
To resolve Seria and Aria’s problem, additional mana was needed.
However, once mana was consumed, it could never be replenished.
In the end, that meant the only way to supplement it was by taking mana from someone else.
But there was a problem. No matter how willing a person was, they couldn’t simply give their mana to another.
[Cherish the vessel that holds your life.]
It was the law of Iris, the Sun Goddess who governed all life.
Because of this, no living being could freely share their mana with others.
That damned law prevented people from handling or even perceiving their own mana.
Even now, I couldn’t understand why such a ridiculous law had been created in the first place.
…Of course, the Sun Goddess claimed it wasn’t a law of her own making.
In the end, I have no choice but to bend the rules.
By using the Great Witch’s power, I would bypass the law and split my mana in two.
Then, with half of that divided mana, I would restore Seria and Aria’s vessels.
Of course, as long as they continued their roles as Saintesses, the overload would never truly stop.
This was nothing more than a temporary fix.
Sooner or later, even my mana wouldn’t be enough to sustain them.
Because my mana was finite.
But at the very least, I can buy us enough time until then.
I just needed to hold out until the end of the first semester.
“…Haah, very well. Human child, now that I have confirmed your request, let us begin the exchange.”
Clatter!
A violet chain extended from her chest to mine, linking us together.
At that moment, I felt something flow through me, passing beyond my heart.
Clunk!
“With this, the deal is sealed.”
“…Thank you.”
The exchange had happened in the blink of an eye.
The process which had been difficult for me to comprehend even in principle finally came to an end, and so did our encounter.
A change swept through the space around us.
“Be careful, human child. The price you must bear is—”
***
The surrounding darkness was sucked into the orb.
Like ink being washed away, the hut gradually regained its original form.
The transaction had been completed perfectly.
And its recoil struck me immediately.
“…Ugh!”
Thud.
Suddenly, my head spun and my heart began pounding like crazy.
Moments later, something surged up my throat.
“Urgh—!”
What spewed out was none other than blood.
The blood that was poured out like vomit formed a puddle that soaked the floor.
“Urgh…! Cough…! Hah…!”
Once the pain subsided slightly, I wiped the blood from my lips and assessed my condition.
…Looks like my lifespan really did get cut in half.
Every part of my body screamed in pain.
A sharp pain throbbed in my head, and my vision darkened.
“…Phew. Definitely not doing this a third time.”
This was the second time.
And this wretched feeling of my lifespan being cut off…. I never wanted to experience it again.
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