Ch. 5 The Witch and Her Apprentice (6)
by Afuhfuihgs
Chapter 5 – The Witch and Her Apprentice (6)
Josie’s fifteenth birthday had passed.
Starting with alchemy, herbalism, and dark magic—things I could teach her—she had even begun to use dark magic to accelerate plant growth and manipulate them freely without being taught.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t just an ordinary village girl but perhaps a distant relative of a druid.
She would deny it, but she was steadily becoming a full-fledged witch.
If she were to use her powers openly, she would immediately be labeled a witch.
Considering how the reputation of witches improved after the third series, in this era, a powerless witch’s best option is to live quietly in the shadows.
“The tea tastes good today, as always.”
I sipped the tea Josie had prepared.
Hmm~ that tangy flavor.
It seemed she had laced it with poison.
Even though I had no intention of raising her as a witch, her magical abilities were impressive.
Watching Josie glance at me nervously, checking my reaction, was oddly endearing.
Seeing Josie, who had shed her baby fat and now had the curves of a young woman, filled me with a strange sense of nostalgia.
It felt like just yesterday she was a child with tears and snot running down her face, but now she rarely showed any emotion, let alone acted cute. It was like watching a mother observe her daughter entering puberty.
Girls her age usually enjoy dressing up.
I had tried to give her a potion to remove her burn scars, but she vehemently refused, which hurt a little.
I had made it for her sake, but to Josie, it must have seemed like unnecessary meddling.
Even in the dimly lit cavern, Josie’s silver hair, intertwined with flower stems, gave her an ethereal, fairy-like aura. The flower bud blooming above her left eye, hidden by her bangs, seemed to represent her beauty.
I considered removing the flower, but since it had already formed a symbiotic relationship with her, I decided to leave it to her discretion.
A flower that grows by feeding on corpses. I hadn’t paid much attention to it when using it as an ingredient, but now that it had fully bloomed, it reminded me of the Ulysses butterfly.
Adding to that, the witch’s robe I had gifted her for her birthday, adorned with a butterfly imbued with dark magic, made her burn scars almost unnoticeable, radiating a mysterious and vibrant beauty.
How delicious would Josie’s pure love be?
‘Please allow us to marry!’
‘Even dragon’s breath won’t stop me!’
‘Lady Estelle…!’
Hehehe. Imagining Josie eloping with some lucky suitor against all odds made my mouth water.
It had been over a century since I started living here, but I had yet to experience the sweet, romantic moments I had initially aimed for. I was half out of my mind with frustration.
With another 200 years ahead, I couldn’t help but sigh.
Recently, living with Josie had kept me from feeling bored, but since I hadn’t played with her much lately, I was pondering how to tease this cheeky apprentice of mine.
“Josie, come here for a moment.”
“No. I don’t want to. Don’t do it.”
“I haven’t done anything yet!”
Josie closed the book she was reading, sighed, and sat down on the chair across from me.
“And I told you to use that line when a creepy old man offers you candy to follow him.”
“Well, Lady Estelle, you looked like a creepy old man just now.”
Calling me sinister!
She hasn’t met a real pervert yet.
There are so many sinister, vulgar, and perverted things in this world!
No wonder the game received rave reviews even after releasing a spin-off with an 18+ rating.
If someone as pretty and slender as Josie, with a figure that stirs men’s protective instincts, were to exist, life would become exhausting.
If she were a noblewoman, a wealthy merchant’s daughter, or a witch, it would be a different story, but Josie, who refused to become a witch, was nothing more than a tempting prey in many ways.
“Listen carefully. There are countless things in this world you need to be wary of. Especially as a woman.”
Bandits seeking prey are everywhere, thugs backed by power roam the villages, and pirates wreak havoc on the seas.
Even though many nations strive to maintain order, it’s a miracle for ordinary citizens to survive in this world.
From the protagonist’s perspective, it’s all packaged as adventure and love, but living it firsthand, you feel the harsh reality.
Especially as a woman!
It was around the time I started traveling the world as a witch.
When I encountered bandits,
‘Hehehe! A woman!’
When I met orcs,
‘Hahaha! A female!’
When I saved a noble in distress,
‘My lady, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?’
Having once been a man, I could understand their feelings. In my past life, during my military service, there were times when just seeing a woman made my heart race.
But there’s a limit to everything.
“Especially when dealing with orcs, if you smell a sweet floral scent from them, cover your nose and keep your distance. Orc pheromones have an effect that excites women, regardless of species.”
Even in my ramblings, there were things to learn, and Josie diligently took notes whenever she found something important. I was proud of her.
Then, as if a question had occurred to her, Josie spoke up.
“But how do you know that, Lady Estelle?”
Oh no, I’m done for.
I cleared up the misunderstanding.
A tentative “Ah, well…” was all I got in response after my countless explanations to Josie, who tried to brush off this whole situation with a hint of suspicion.
I’m still a virgin… Please believe me.
A silent scream echoed within me.
My grand plan to tease Josie had failed.
“Anyway, when dealing with orcs, there’s usually a shaman in the group, so you must target the shaman first.”
In the Aria Chronicle series, the recurring mobs are slimes, goblins, and orcs.
Slimes appear everywhere, but they have no intelligence and feed on corpses, so they’re not much of a threat.
Goblins don’t appear in our current location due to the presence of orcs.
Naturally, that leaves orcs.
Orcs, like humans, live in groups and have their own tribal culture, often defending their territory, but there are exceptions.
The first series of Aria Chronicle was released in the early 2000s and followed the classic hero-versus-demon king narrative.
Back then, games didn’t have much variety in monsters. Common enemies were recycled, while the Four Heavenly Kings and the demon king received excessive attention. I skipped the first series and only knew the story from online videos.
The first series, featuring a party of six—warrior, cleric, hero, archer, thief, and mage—was also famous for its complex romantic dynamics. Later, as the descendants of the hero’s party became intertwined, the series became like a history textbook for Aria Chronicle fans, forcing them to play or watch through hours upon hours of content.
When do witches appear?
In the series, witches appear as hidden shops in Part 1, as bosses in Part 2, and as allies in Part 3, gradually embedding themselves into the Aria Chronicle universe.
Witches in the series can be categorized into three types:
Boss entity opposing the protagonist.
Allies who help the protagonist for mutual benefit.
Hidden shop NPCs that appear under specific conditions.
Going deeper, there are witches representing the four directions and factions aiming to summon the demon king.
“Intruder alert. Intruder alert.”
The alarm system, recorded in Josie’s voice, went off.
It seemed intruders had entered near the cavern.
“Perfect timing, Josie.”
I stood up and pulled out my trusty Triceratops.
This cool, nostalgic grip. Thanks to Josie, the broom had been relegated to cleaning duty, but now it was time for it to return to its original purpose.
This was also a good opportunity to regain some dignity in Josie’s eyes.
Now was the time to show her how dangerous and merciless monsters could be. Josie needed to understand the threat they posed.
The intruders’ figures appeared in the full-length mirror.
The list of things that could approach the cavern was short—bandits or orcs, most likely.
As expected, it was a group of orcs, numbering at least twenty.
Although the original story was set to begin in about 200 years, that didn’t mean nothing happened until then.
The demon king doesn’t just appear out of nowhere after 200 years. There are always signs.
Like the water receding before a tsunami hits, or the subtle warnings before a natural disaster, things you wouldn’t notice unless you paid close attention.
The cursed gem embedded in the forehead of the largest orc, presumably the leader, was one such sign.
A cursed item that amplifies instincts over reason, promising greater power the more one succumbs to their desires.
In the end, only instinct remains, reducing them to mere puppets.
“Follow me. Today, we’ll have a special outdoor lesson.”
Lucent
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