episode_0081

“…What happened after that?”

“Well, what happened was, I was kicked out of Dae Sulin that day. They sent me off to the entrance without saying a word.”

“Hmph, you messed up. I mean, what if you pry into a woman’s secrets recklessly?”

“But you were curious, right? Wouldn’t you have peeked if you were in my shoes?”

“True.”

I chuckled at Kal’s words and nodded in agreement.

A diary belonging to someone you like…

Yeah, even if it were mine, I might have peeked at it.

Because a diary is an item imbued with magic that makes you want to peek.

Tap! Tap!

As Kal finished his story, an awkward silence enveloped the area around the campfire once again.

All that could be heard were the crackling of the firewood and the sound of my comrades snoring.

The serene and peaceful atmosphere was pleasant, but it felt too quiet, making me uneasy.

I had no choice but to break the silence and speak to him first.

“The way it ended leaves me curious about what happened next. What became of the boy who returned to his family, and what kind of life did the witch lead afterward?”

“Well, there’s nothing particularly special. The boy who returned to his family got into big trouble and couldn’t leave the territory until he came of age. As for the witch…”

Kal paused for a moment, then glanced at me with a sly smile before continuing.

“Even if the boy left, he probably managed to live well on his own. The witch, well…”

Seemingly unsure of the conclusion himself, Kal shrugged and chewed on his jerky thoughtfully.

…There seem to be many unresolved aspects, but are they intentionally left unspoken?

Since it doesn’t seem like he’s clueless, I guess I’ll have to ask him about it.

I began to cautiously probe Kal about the ambiguous parts in his story, one by one.

“You kept mentioning ‘the end.’ Do you know anything about that part?”

“Unfortunately, I’m completely clueless about it. The witch had many secrets. Just like you, Beatrice.”

Kal let out a bitter laugh and spat out the jerky he was chewing.

“I have so many questions for the witch as well. Why did she save me without asking for anything in return, what does that ‘end’ mean, and…”

Why was she looking relieved when she saw me discovering the diary?

“I’m really curious too, Beatrice.”

Finishing his words, Kal let out a long sigh and started gazing at the night sky.

It seemed as if he was reminiscing about those childhood memories.

Following suit, I quietly gazed at the blue moon hanging in the night sky, starting to cautiously speculate about the ‘end’ mentioned by the witch in the story.

What could that ‘end’ she spoke of possibly signify, given that, as the witch mentioned, it’s definitely not a simple meaning?

…At least, ‘death’ as the meaning of ‘end’ is highly unlikely.

In the world of this story, witches are beings who dream of reaching the divine throne through magic.

They are not beings who readily accept ‘death.’

There’s a high probability that there was some sort of deal between the witch and the author before possessing my body.

Otherwise, the author inserted the existence of ‘me’ into the empty vessel left behind by the original owner.

Why do I think that way?

Well, that seems to be the only plausible explanation.

No matter how nicely Kal packaged it, a witch is still a witch.

If she knew that an unknown soul would possess my body, she would have prepared all sorts of tricks to give me a hard time, right?

But when I possessed it, there wasn’t anything particularly troublesome, was there?

Well, there were some light incidents like a guardian deity visiting or a waterfolk tribe coming, but it wasn’t that perplexing, was it?

“So that’s the only way to think about it.”

“ …”

It’s not like there aren’t any clues.

There was one thing a witch could mention as .

What every witch desires.

The end of magic.

If the mentioned by the witch in the story means that, the gist of the incident was somewhat graspable.

The knife guy said.

The witch always seemed regretful when mentioning the .

As if she distanced herself from herself, behaving like someone who could leave at any time.

If, that is.

If there were no risks in reaching the ‘end of magic,’ would the witch have treated the knife guy in that manner?

No, she definitely wouldn’t have. According to what was written in the diary, it’s certain that the witch liked and cherished the knife.

…One of the conditions for reaching the end of magic seems to be abandoning the physical body.

And I ended up possessing that abandoned body.

Everything makes sense under the assumption that this hypothesis is true.

The fact that the military forces of the Church came looking for me right away, claiming that an evil witch lived in the Southern Great Forest.

The fact that I could wield incredibly powerful magic without much effort.

The reason why I felt a particularly close emotion towards the knife guy compared to other colleagues.

Everything can be explained.

Except for the reason why the author possessed me in this body.

Most questions have been answered.

However, the question I had since the possession still remains unanswered.

Why did the author possess me in Beatrice’s body?

What exactly did they want to achieve?

“Sigh…”

Perhaps due to thinking too much, my head throbbed.

…Right, let’s think about it later. It’s not important right now.

After shaking my head to clear my complicated thoughts, did I turn my gaze back to the knife guy?

I noticed him smiling faintly.

“Are you okay? Have you thought everything through?”

“Not at all, there’s still so much to think about.”

“Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything unnecessary. Should I have just kept quiet after all?”

“That’s not it. Your input has actually been very helpful.”

It wasn’t just empty words; it truly had been very helpful.

It felt like finding a lost puzzle piece.

But now that I know the fundamental reason why he’s fixated on me.

“Why do you seem so wistful?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Some melancholic emotions surfaced.

…So, ultimately, the reason he likes me is because of the past Beatrice, right?

Then can that really be seen as him liking me?

I shook my head slightly.

No, it’s not me he likes but the ‘Beatrice’ who saved his life long ago, not the ‘fake’ inhabiting this body.

“Heh…”

With a weak smile, I faced the knife guy.

“I asked if you’d accept my feelings.”

“Yeah.”

“I think I can answer that now.”

As a sad expression formed, the hopeful look on the knife guy’s face turned subtle.

Did he realize that the atmosphere was off? He seemed about to say something hastily, but…

Thump –

I covered his mouth with my hand and whispered softly.

“I don’t think I can accept those feelings.”

Because.

I’m not the witch you know.

The expression on the knife’s face contorted beautifully.

—–

“…Haha.”

Letting out a disappointed laugh, the knife called my name in a gentle voice.

“Beatrice.”

“…Yes?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something, so let me clarify that.”

After staring into my eyes intensely, he slowly began to correct the misunderstanding.

“First, I already knew that you’re not that witch from the past. How could I not? From our first meeting, you’ve been a crazy woman wielding a large kitchen knife.”

“Ugh…”

“Secondly, as I mentioned in Springfield, I don’t like you as a ‘witch,’ but as ‘you.’ How many times do I have to say it for you to understand? I simply like the existence of ‘you’ itself.”

“Well, but in the story, it clearly seems like you like the ‘witch’…!”

“That’s because ‘liking’ is a bit distant from the emotion. Hmm, it would be easier to understand if I explained it as a mix of reverence, fondness, and gratitude.”

“…”

“Well, if there had been a little more time, maybe I really would have liked that witch as you said. It can’t be denied that she was a charming presence.”

However.

“In the end, before feeling the emotion of ‘love,’ he was driven away, right? From the start, the boy was in a state of resignation, knowing that all he did to the witch was nothing but terrible deeds.”

“When the boy became a young man and sought out the witch again, it was merely to rid himself of lingering attachments and to repay a debt of gratitude.”

“So, although he succeeded in finding the witch again, instead of shedding attachments, the young man ended up gaining another emotion. That’s ‘love.’”

…The fire of the bonfire has clearly weakened since earlier, but why does the heat feel even stronger now?

Trying to cool down the scorching heat with a fan, the blade only intensified the heat.

“If you can’t believe me, I’ll swear on Ouroboros. I’ll say it again, I like you, don’t I? Only you.”

So.

“For whatever other reason, rejecting me because I like someone else doesn’t make sense, Beatrice.”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sincere declaration of rejection.

At the same time, I began to feel my heart beating strongly.

Thump… Thump…

Wait… This isn’t right, is it?

This shouldn’t be happening?!

Honestly, I had no intention of accepting his confession.

After confirming that the reason for my hesitation was due to the memories ingrained in me.

It’s a bit strange to accept a confession when I don’t even like him, right?

But here’s the thing.

Seeing him confess so sincerely made my resolve to reject him waver like a reed.

It’s really awkward, isn’t it?

But do I really have a reason to reject him?

Should I just man up and accept it like it is?

No, that doesn’t seem right at all.

Reject him outright and then easily agree after changing my stance? That would look really bad!

…Let’s think, how can I reject the rejection!

At least come up with a decent middle ground option!

Fortunately, the cunning brain of the witch finally did its job after a long time.

With that appropriate response in mind, I confidently responded to his confession.

“W-Well, I’ll consider it for now!”

I didn’t say I’d accept.