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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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A beautiful woman with purple hair leaned against Johan.
The woman sitting across from him froze.
“…Darling?”
“Who is this? Were you playing around with another woman while I was gone?”
Marguerite said this, her hand caressing Johan’s jawline, then trailing down to his collarbone. Johan shivered at her touch and looked at her.
“I told you not to come…”
“How could I not? My darling is so charming, he attracts women like flies. Look, even now…”
Marguerite’s purple eyes scanned the woman sitting across from Johan. She hummed thoughtfully, and the woman nervously swallowed.
“You’re ugly.”
“…Excuse me, I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just insult—”
“You don’t know who I am? Really? So you’re not just ugly, you’re stupid too?”
“Who are you, suddenly appearing and—”
“I told you, I’m his darling. Which means I’m his lover. Still don’t get it?”
The woman, unable to refute Marguerite’s logic, fell silent. But logical didn’t necessarily mean ethical.
“Excuse me! I didn’t know he had a girlfriend, and he hasn’t actually said you’re his girlfriend! Isn’t it rude to interrupt us like this?”
“Rude? Manners—that’s a good word. I like well-mannered people. In that regard, miss, raising your voice like that isn’t very polite, is it?”
“Miss? How old are you—!”
“Enough.”
Marguerite waved her hand dismissively, and the woman vanished.
Johan stared at Marguerite, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Where did you send her!?”
“Hm? Oh—don’t worry. I just sent her home.”
“…Really?”
“I swear on Evangeline’s name.”
Though he didn’t understand why she would swear on Evangeline’s name when she wasn’t even present, Marguerite then moved to the seat across from Johan.
She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, and smiled, twirling her finger in the air.
“What are you doing…?”
“Setting a trap. So you can’t run away again.”
“A trap…?”
“Yes, a trap. I’m warping the space around us, so you can’t escape.”
Johan’s expression hardened as Marguerite explained the effects of her trap—if he tried to teleport, he would be sent back to his original location, and if he wanted to escape, he’d have to run on his own two feet.
“…I told you, I’m on vacation. I asked you not to look for me.”
“You told Evangeline? I know. But she doesn’t even know what a vacation is. She was whining about you abandoning her… it was almost unbearable.”
“She was crying? Master?”
Marguerite frowned at Johan’s reaction, then smiled again, pointing at him.
“You.”
She pointed at herself.
“With me.”
Clap—!
The space around them distorted, stretching and warping. The world fractured into incomprehensible fractal patterns.
Only the Witch of Space could navigate this distorted reality. Only she, who could perceive herself as a four-dimensional being, could move freely.
Johan, unsure of how to even move forward, could only stare at the shifting landscape when Marguerite grabbed him and teleported.
Thud—!
Johan landed on a bed, the disorientation fading, and found himself beneath Marguerite.
“Is Evangeline really that important to you?”
Marguerite asked, licking her lips, looking down at him.
But Johan, staring at her with wide eyes, exclaimed,
“Whoa, how did you do that?”
“…You’re not paying attention to me?”
“Like this?”
Johan, ignoring her question, channeled mana into a magic scroll. Marguerite had claimed to have distorted space, but her teleportation had deactivated the trap, as she’d likely intended.
The space around them warped and twisted, just as it had before. The fractal patterns reappeared.
“Whaaat… is thiiis…?”
Marguerite’s voice, stretched and distorted along with the space around them, sounded strange. Johan grinned.
Snap—
Johan snapped his fingers, and they reappeared in the restaurant. Having grasped the technique, he snapped his fingers again.
This time, Marguerite vanished. He didn’t know where he’d sent her, but he wasn’t concerned.
She was the Witch of Space. She could return from anywhere.
Johan, mimicking Marguerite, warped the space around him, then stood up.
“Vacation’s over. Honestly…”
He couldn’t enjoy his vacation knowing Evangeline was crying. He looked around, sensing someone he was looking for, and headed towards them.
Lynne, sitting alone, enjoying her meal, flinched as she saw Johan approach.
“…No.”
“No what?”
“…Didn’t do it.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
Johan chuckled and sat down across from her. He raised his hand and ordered a coffee.
He sipped his coffee, looking at Lynne, who was trembling as if she had done something wrong.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Just…”
“You know… you act like you can’t talk much because of your magic and curse… but that’s not true, is it? You just don’t want to talk.”
“…Why… do you… think so…?”
“You’re still giving short answers, even though your magic and curse are sealed. You said your magic would activate involuntarily…”
Lynne, hearing Johan’s words, lowered her head and picked at her food. He was right. She didn’t talk much because of her personality.
Naturally shy, her magic had only exacerbated her introverted tendencies.
Even now, without her magic, she was afraid to speak.
“Y-you’re… right…”
“See?”
“So… please… leave me alone…”
Talking was scary. It used to be because of her magic, but now she was simply afraid of interacting with people. She dreaded anticipating their responses, the pressure of social interaction.
She hated those feelings.
“Well then, to make sure our shy little witch keeps her mouth shut… I need to give you something to do.”
“…I don’t want to… work…”
“That’s not how it works. Those who don’t work, don’t eat. Don’t you know that?”
Lynne, as if having never heard such a saying, protectively clutched her plate.
Johan chuckled, then, reassuring her he wasn’t going to take her food, made a request.
“You can make that… tracking device you used when you came here, right? Use it to find my Master.”
“Oh… this…?”
Lynne hesitantly presented the tracker. Johan snatched it and tried to locate Evangeline.
But no matter how he turned it, it didn’t show Evangeline’s location.
“What’s wrong with this thing?”
“It’s… calibrated to you… it can’t track anyone else…”
“…It’s useless.”
“It’s not useless! I can make another one… for other people…”
“Then make it.”
“I need… materials…”
Johan asked what she needed.
A lock of hair, a drop of blood—anything containing genetic information.
Things he couldn’t possibly acquire right now.
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“Johan, where are you…? Sniffle-… Johan…”
Evangeline, tears streaming down her face, walked aimlessly, following Johan’s last known direction.
Men, seeing a beautiful woman weeping, approached her. Such a sight was irresistible.
But—
“Johaaan…”
“Miss, why are you crying—”
“Johaaaan…!”
“Wh-what!?”
The men who approached her clutched their limbs, screaming in pain. Their bodies contorted as they tried to touch her, as if repelled by an invisible force.
“Aaaaaargh—!”
The appearance of a witch, a walking calamity, sent people fleeing in terror.
“Jo… han…”
Everyone here knew she was a witch.
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