Ch. 61 The Two Witches (41)
by Afuhfuihgs
Witch – Chapter 61 – The Two Witches (41)
“Nicks… I missed you. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Beryl smiled brightly at Nicks.
Unlike her usual shy smiles, this one seemed to express her emotions openly, causing Nicks’ cheeks to flush.
But his happiness was short-lived. His face stiffened as he noticed Beryl’s disheveled appearance, which contrasted sharply with her radiant smile.
Her clothes were torn in several places, revealing glimpses of her skin that Nicks had never seen before. Beryl, who would normally be embarrassed by even the slightest exposure, seemed… off.
And then there were her eyes, hidden behind her blindfold.
Nicks still didn’t know much about Beryl.
All he had learned about her was from the short five days they had spent together, slowly getting to know each other.
“Are you going out?”
Emily stopped Nicks as he tried to leave the office to meet Beryl, who was waiting outside.
“Beryl’s waiting.”
“Hey. Didn’t I tell you I have good instincts? That woman feels… off. From what I can see, the world turning green like this is also…”
“Don’t speak carelessly about Beryl.”
Even without Emily’s warning, Nicks knew that the world turning green was connected to Beryl.
And her eyes…?
Her emerald-green eyes, like those of a demon, glowed like a predator spotting its prey.
This woman is dangerous… Emily’s instincts screamed at her.
Even if Emily had good instincts, Nicks didn’t want to listen to her badmouthing Beryl.
Nicks already knew that much.
The mage had been looking for Beryl.
She could be a mage… or even a witch.
Even if Beryl were a demon, Nicks wouldn’t care.
Even if Beryl had turned the world green, he had no reason to run or hide.
If she was calling for him, he had to go.
He wanted to apologize for turning away from her at the fountain.
“Beryl! Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m not hurt. In fact, I feel like I could fly.”
“What happened to your clothes?”
“It’s nothing.”
Her clothes were torn to shreds, with no semblance of their original form.
Though her pink-tinged black robe covered her body, Nicks, who wasn’t immune to the sight of the woman he loved in such a state, tried his best not to look.
He worried that something bad might have happened to her, given the recent chaos in the city due to the festival preparations.
He didn’t want to think the worst, but the state of her clothes made it hard not to.
Yet, Beryl’s cheerful expression made it hard to believe anything bad had happened.
He wanted to focus on the fact that he had reunited with her.
“Your eyes…”
“Ah, my eyes? How are they? Pretty?”
Beryl leaned in close, her jewel-like eyes glowing faintly.
“Yes, just like you said before. They’re like jewels.”
“I’m glad~♥ I was worried you might hate them.”
If Nicks had seen her eyes as a child, he might have been shocked. They could look grotesque or mystical, depending on the angle.
It made sense that Beryl would worry about that.
In fact, he was grateful she had shown them to him.
It felt like she trusted him enough to share her secret, and that made him smile.
Beryl always took the first step.
Nicks didn’t want to fall behind. He wanted to walk side by side with her.
“Beryl.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer you right away. I wanted to be the one to say it. Will you… dance with me at the ball?”
He had faced near-death experiences in dungeons, but his heart had never raced like this.
He couldn’t even imagine how Beryl must have felt when she brought it up… or how sad she must have been when she left without an answer.
Even if she rejected him, he had nothing to say… because he knew the ball wasn’t the important part. Like Emily had said, he wanted to prove the rumor wrong.
It was fine if she accepted.
It was fine if she rejected.
Just expressing his feelings was enough.
“Ah, yeah. Sure. Dancing. That was a thing, right? I remembered it just a moment ago, but I forgot.”
“Huh…?”
Her answer was neither acceptance nor rejection—it was ambiguous.
“Nicks~♥ I thought about why you didn’t answer me.”
Beryl hugged Nicks tightly, her breath ragged.
Due to their height difference, his face was buried in her chest. He tried to pull away, but his body wouldn’t move.
“You don’t like me. That means Nicks has something more precious than me. Right…?”
“…….”
“You don’t have to answer. I already know. You’re an adventurer… and you have Emily, your childhood friend, right?”
Beryl, who had been stroking Nicks’ head, shifted her gaze to the adventurer’s guild.
She could see Emily peeking at them from a corner of the window…. The thought that Nicks had been there just moments ago made her sneer.
She didn’t believe in the romantic formulas from the romance novels Estelle had suggested. Beryl had her own way. Why had she held back until now?
The light in her Demon Eye grew brighter.
She hugged Nicks even tighter as he struggled in her arms, trying to say something.
“Isn’t it strange? I’ve liked you for so much longer… I didn’t make you an adventurer just for this….”
If he hadn’t become an adventurer, if she hadn’t healed his legs back then… Nicks would have remained disabled, dependent on Beryl for the rest of his life. He would have lost his dreams, his purpose….
But that was fine.
In fact, it sent a thrilling shiver down her spine.
“Nicks, you’re mine. Right? I’ll give you everything I have… so you give me everything you have too~♥”
“……!”
As Beryl stretched out her left hand, the adventurer’s guild began to crumple.
“No…!! Save me, Nicks…!!!!”
Emily’s desperate screams echoed as the guild was mercilessly crushed like a piece of paper.
The guild, once a grand building, was reduced to a mere dot before disappearing from the world as if it had never existed.
“There, now Emily and the adventurer’s guild are gone. Nicks~♥ Now there’s nothing standing in our way.”
Where did it all go wrong?
Was it all a butterfly effect starting from him not answering her confession?
Nicks wished this was all a nightmare.
If only he could move… he might have been able to save Emily.
Nicks struggled to move, but he couldn’t break free from Beryl’s embrace.
“Huh? Nicks, do you have something to say?”
“Guhh…!”
As Beryl gestured, sensation returned to his body, and he immediately broke free from her embrace, running toward the adventurer’s guild.
He couldn’t believe that the three-story building, the second most magnificent in Venetia after the Marquis’ residence, had been reduced to nothing in an instant.
“Why are you running away? You like me, don’t you? There’s nothing in our way now. You only have to look at me.”
Click, click.
As the sound of her heels approached, an uncontrollable storm of emotions surged within Nicks.
“At least… you could have talked to me…. You didn’t have to do this….”
“Huh? But this is easier. Why bother talking when you can just use your power? If you have strength, it’s only natural to wield it.”
There were many ways to resolve things without resorting to this.
Even as an adventurer, Nicks knew that violence wasn’t the answer to everything.
Beryl, who was too shy to show her face to people,
Who was kind enough to give potions to a penniless orphan,
Who stuttered and stumbled over her words… he couldn’t believe she would do something like this.
This wasn’t Beryl.
This was something that looked like Beryl or something controlling her.
Even if it wasn’t, he wanted to believe it.
“You’re not Beryl, are you?”
“What are you talking about? Did you forget how I healed your legs when you were seven? Or how I gave you potions for just a single silver coin? Hmm… Are you upset because I destroyed the adventurer’s guild? Forget all that. Hmm… That’s it! Emily never existed! Neither did the adventurer’s guild! That should do it, right?”
“That should do it”? How absurd.
One thing was certain—this wasn’t the Beryl Nicks knew, and that gave him some relief.
Nicks turned around and took a stance, facing Beryl as she slowly approached.
He would reclaim Beryl and save Emily.
Even if his opponent was a monster that could crumple buildings like paper.
“So… you like Emily more than me.”
“…….”
Beryl stopped in her tracks and lowered her head.
As an adventurer, Nicks had faced many dangers… but nothing had ever chilled him to the bone like this.
Just moments ago, he had boldly declared he would reclaim Beryl and save Emily, but was that even possible? He couldn’t be sure of anything.
Yet, he felt he had to stop Beryl here.
“You don’t have to say anything. I already know. I’ll make you forget all about Emily by loving you so much more~♥”
Even if he didn’t know how, he had to do it.
For Beryl’s sake.
As Beryl cupped her cheeks and let out a ragged breath, the world itself began to crumple.
Lucent
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