Witch – Chapter 115 – The Witch and the Black Knight (26)

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“Honestly, I never expected to run into you in a place like this.”

Nicks stood up from his seat, brushing the snow off his backside as he spoke.

He didn’t forget to pick up the greatsword that had been lying in the corner, checking it carefully for any scratches. Had Beryl gifted him that sword too? Even after four years, the blade still gleamed as if it were brand new—proof of how much Nicks cherished her.

True love. That’s true love right there.

While Nicks and Beryl’s love was ultimately their own, I couldn’t deny that I’d played a small part in it. That’s why I couldn’t help but feel particularly invested.

“The little boy who used to be around Josie’s height has already grown this much… I barely recognized you at first. How’s Beryl doing?”

“She’s doing great. Her potion shop is booming, so she’s been busy. Though, there’s been some rumors about a ‘beauty running the shop’, so a few unsavory bugs have been drawn in.”

So, she’s still running the potion shop, huh? I remembered when the only customer she had was Nicks.

I’d assumed she’d close up shop after getting together with him and just live happily ever after… Honestly, if she’d just taken off that hood and used her pretty face to attract customers sooner, things would’ve been so much easier.

But bugs, huh? It was unexpected coming from Nicks, who usually spoke so gently and politely, like the model adventurer he was. Ah, I see. If you want to keep a beauty like Beryl, you’ve got to have the strength to back it up. Even as a top ranking adventurer, he must’ve realized he couldn’t afford to look weak.

They say couples start to resemble each other, don’t they?

The word bugs sounded exactly like something open-eyed-Beryl would say, so Nicks’ change in speech didn’t feel all that strange.

“Anyway. Congratulations, Nicks. You’re finally going to be a dad. Ehehe. So, how many more are you planning to have? Enough to fill the entire adventurer’s guild with your descendants?”

I grabbed both of his hands and shook them up and down excitedly. In all my years, I’d never felt so giddy just from hearing that a friend—no, a close friend—was pregnant.

“Well, if Beryl wants it and I’m still capable….”

Look at this guy? Not even pretending he’d say no, huh?

“You’re too close. Estelle, you always say a woman’s body is delicate, yet you lack caution.”

“Huh?”

While I was happily chatting with Nicks, Edel’s hands carefully gripped my shoulders and pulled me back.

I tilted my head back to look up at him, and as usual, his expression was stiff—though now with a hint of displeasure.

I mean, sure, I’ve repeatedly told Edel that a woman’s body is delicate… but this guy has no problem grabbing my hands or shoulders whenever he feels like it! And now he’s getting sensitive just because I held Nicks’ hand once?

Right now, he was pressed so close against me that I could feel the firm muscles of his back, and I swore I could even hear the steady thump of his heartbeat.

Thankfully, he seemed to be careful about not letting that—the demonic energy—touch me, so I didn’t end up screaming and fainting embarrassingly in front of Nicks.

Why is he acting like this? Is he sulking because I was talking to Nicks and ignoring him? Pfft, no way. Edel wouldn’t do that… right?

Edel glanced down at me, then turned his head toward Nicks, baring his teeth slightly.

…Huh. Maybe he really is.

“Haha. Seems like I interrupted your date. You two make a good pair.”

Completely unfazed by the murderous glare of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Nicks grinned innocently and dropped a bombshell.

Date…? Who?

I looked around, but there was only me, Edel, and Nicks.

So… did he mean… me and Edel?

What kind of nonsense is this?!

“D-Date?!”

“Well, isn’t it? A man and a woman, alone in the middle of the night on a deserted mountainside, eating cornelia berries, even wiping each other’s mouths… What else would you call that? And the way you’re standing now….”

Nicks’ sharp observation sent heat rushing to my face. Maybe it was because we were in the north, but I could’ve sworn I felt steam rising from my head.

O-Okay! First, I need to get out of Edel’s arms and figure out how to clear up this misunderstanding!

Eating cornelia berries? That was only because Edel wanted to try them, and I figured I’d have a bite too since it’d been a while.

Wiping his mouth? Well, yeah, because he was eating so messily! It was payback for all the times he’d been careless back in the fortress!

I can’t believe Nicks saw that…

Wait, why am I scrambling for excuses?

I should just flat-out deny it, shouldn’t I?

I-I mean, a date doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic, right? It can just be a casual thing…!

For some reason, my chest felt tight, accompanied by a stinging pain, and I couldn’t calm down.

“Estelle, calm down. This isn’t like you.”

“Do I look calm to you right now?!”

Edel, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed by Nicks’ ridiculous comment, his attitude as indifferent as ever. And for some reason, that annoyed me even more.

I felt like an idiot caught in the middle.

“Is a ‘date’ something so formidable that it would make you this tense?”

Ugh. Of course.

Why was I getting irritated at someone who didn’t even know what a date was? Thanks to Edel’s reaction, I managed to regain some semblance of rationality.

“A date is, well….”

How should I explain this?

Nicks wasn’t entirely wrong. Broadly speaking, a date could just mean two people spending time together doing something enjoyable. And we had been happily chatting while eating cornelia berries.

As I was organizing my thoughts on how to explain the concept of dating to Edel—

“I should get going now. If I stay any longer, Beryl will start worrying. Have a good time, you two.”

“Waitwaitwait—!”

I frantically stopped Nicks as he gathered the cornelia berries and prepared to activate his magic tool.

I might be called the Witch of Love, but I’d never even held a man’s hand before—well, not anymore, since I had held Edel’s, whether I liked it or not.

Anyway! If Beryl—who knew full well I was an inexperienced maiden—heard any baseless rumors from Nicks, I could only imagine the look on her face… and the endless teasing that would follow. I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

 

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“You understand, right? Edel and I have a relationship more like teacher and student.”

“Ah-ha. Yeah. Sure, whatever you say?”

I explained our relationship point by point (excluding the whole Black Knight and Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings part), but Nicks wasn’t buying it.

If anything, his raised eyebrows and thin smile seemed to say “Oh, so that’s the setting, huh?” His emotionless, rehearsed-sounding replies only made me more frustrated.

“What’s with that tone? I’m serious!”

“Of course. Why would the great witch Estelle lie?”

Look at this guy.

He might as well have said, Yeah, yeah, whatever.

After I went through the trouble of explaining everything so carefully!

“Estelle speaks the truth.”

Edel, who had been standing by with his arms crossed, finally stepped in.

He approached Nicks—who still wasn’t convinced—and glared at him with those crimson eyes.

“Estelle is teaching me about pure love… about romance.”

“Ah. You have… unique tastes.”

…Are you actually helping me here?

Everything he said was technically correct, but the nuance felt so off.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d just been backstabbed by the person I trusted most.

“Josie might be going through unnecessary hardship because of this….”

“Huh? What does Josie have to do with this?”

“It’s nothing. If you both insist, then I suppose that’s how it is.”

He’d clearly said something about Josie suffering, but Nicks seemed unwilling to elaborate further and reluctantly accepted our explanation.

“I really should get going now.”

Nicks glanced at the moon, now high in the sky, and awkwardly checked my reaction.

Now that I thought about it, Nicks had come all the way here to get cornelia berries for Beryl, and I’d ended up holding him back for way too long.

“I’ll take you there. I’d like to see Beryl again, anyway.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude on your… precious time.”

“P-Precious? What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Partly to make sure Nicks didn’t say anything weird to Beryl, and partly because I figured I should explain things to her myself first…

Also, I really wanted to see the full force of pregnant-Beryl’s lovey-doveyness. And I did feel bad for keeping him so long. With all these perfectly logical reasons combined, I made what was admittedly an impulsive but totally justified decision.

“You’d want to get back quickly too, right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind, but….”

If you’re fine with it, then what’s the problem?

Nicks gave an awkward laugh, but instead of looking at me, his eyes flicked toward Edel.

Following his gaze, I saw Edel standing there, as expressionless and clueless as ever.

“What’s up with Edel?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Ugh, how boring.”

Is this some kind of ‘guy talk’ where they communicate with just their eyes?

Even when I thought back to my past life, I couldn’t recall anything like that.

I activated the teleportation magic circle, but for some reason, Edel stayed outside of it, making no move to step in.

Unlike when we’d first left the northern lands, this was a clear, silent protest—he did not want to go.

First Nicks, now Edel? What’s with these troublemakers today?

“Edel, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

“You said we were going home for dinner. I want to eat the cornelia pie.”

Oh. Right. I had promised to make him a cornelia berry pie. I’d been so caught up in the whole date nonsense that I’d completely forgotten.

“We can make the pie at Beryl’s place.”

“…….”

Wasn’t it about the pie?

It shouldn’t matter where we ate it, but for some reason, Edel refused to move.

Fine. If that’s how it is, I’ll just have to use my ultimate move.

“We’re going to Venetia. You don’t want to?”

“Venetia?”

“Yeah. The city Sion and Aria visited. Remember?”

Venetia was Kyle’s hometown, as well as one of the cities Sion and Aria had stopped by during their journey across the western continent. The reason I’d helped the Laplace family prosper was because of that connection.

There was no way Edel—who had read the books multiple times—wouldn’t know about it.

Just as I expected, Edel took the bait.

His eyes, slightly wider than usual, reflected the moonlight, making his interest unmistakable.

Besides, Edel, who was trying to retrace Sion and Aria’s journey, couldn’t refuse to go. There were so many events tied to Venetia—he’d never forgive himself if he missed this.

“How long are you going to keep them waiting?”

“I never said I wasn’t going…!”

“Good enough.”

He was only a few steps away from the magic circle, but since he was still hesitating, I grabbed his hand and yanked him inside before activating the teleportation.

Maybe while we’re in Venetia, I can even turn this into a field trip until the next Heavenly King shows up.