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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Thud—!
Johan, startled by Evangeline’s sudden entrance, looked at her, confused.
“What’s wrong, Master?”
“Ugh, I’m so annoyed!”
“What is it this time?”
“Read this!”
She thrust a letter at him. It was from the Emperor of the Empire. And its contents were utterly absurd.
A threat: Evangeline had killed an Imperial witch, and if they didn’t take responsibility and protect the Empire, then everyone would perish.
If they had received this while still secluded in their cabin, they would have ignored it. Evangeline might have even destroyed the Empire. But not now.
‘Of all the times…’
It was the perfect time for such a threat. They had become accustomed to the luxuries of the Empire, to the attentive service, to a life of idleness.
The witches had grown soft. They couldn’t simply abandon this newfound comfort.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to…”
“If you don’t want to… then we can’t force you. Should we just let the Empire burn?”
“We can’t do that… and I don’t hate being served, but… it’s hard for you, isn’t it…?”
Evangeline looked at Johan. She was right. He couldn’t provide the level of service seven witches demanded, not alone.
In fact, the witches were enjoying this. Having others attend to their needs freed up Johan’s time, allowing them to spend more time alone with him.
“Maybe we could just… protect the hotel and leave the rest to burn…”
“That won’t work. This kind of facility can’t function in isolation.”
The food, the drinks, the scented oils, the hot bathwater—all of it was brought in from outside.
Protecting just the hotel wasn’t enough. They would have to protect the entire city, and even then, their resources would eventually run out, and the comforts they enjoyed would disappear.
Evangeline sighed.
“It’s so troublesome… and I don’t want to be away from you, Johan…”
“I don’t want to be away from you either, Master.”
“Hmm…! Ah, no. It would be too dangerous to take you to the northern border.”
Johan, seeing that Evangeline had considered taking him with her, remembered a phrase from the letter.
“Master, the letter says you killed a witch. Is that true?”
“I don’t know… I don’t remember. Who cares if that witch is dead or not?”
Johan realized Evangeline might not have killed Azmona, but that didn’t change the fact that an Imperial witch was missing.
And that Evangeline was responsible. It was only natural that Azmona’s duties would be passed on to her.
“…It is troublesome.”
“Right?”
“But… I’m also partly responsible for this, so I can’t just ignore it.”
“It’s not your fault, Johan!”
“It’s not about fault, it’s about conscience.”
Johan smiled and considered what he could do.
Fight monsters? He could handle one or two, like near the cabin, but he couldn’t fight a horde of monsters large enough to warrant the Empire’s attention.
The Imperial soldiers, with their guns, would be more useful. A swordsman was an anachronism in this modernizing world.
So what could he do? He could… motivate the witches.
“…Marguerite, do you know where the northern border is?”
“I know it. I saw it once during my travels. It was crawling with monsters, so I left immediately.”
“Then transportation is solved. And since it’s Imperial territory, we can call from there, right?”
“Probably. Or we could just… install a phone line.”
The other witches, by now, had figured out what Johan was planning. Johan, feeling their stares, spoke.
“Starting today, we’re implementing the Johan Reward System.”
“The Johan Reward System…?”
“What’s that?”
“From now on, for each deployment to the northern border, you’ll receive one point.”
And—
“You’ll need one point… to be with me.”
The witches’ eyes widened.
It was a shocking, revolutionary announcement.
They all stood up, a new fire in their eyes.
Johan grinned. His plan was working.
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The northern border, the northernmost territory of the Empire.
Soldiers stood on the massive wall, shivering in the cold, their rifles pointed outwards.
Though the monsters were less active in winter, they didn’t hibernate completely. Their resilience was unaffected by the seasons.
In fact—monsters awakened by the winter chill, finding no food, often became more ferocious, descending upon the Empire.
Guns were ineffective against the more powerful monsters. For those, witches were essential. And so the Imperial soldiers maintained a constant vigil.
“Brrr… it’s cold.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m going to get some coffee. You stay here and keep watch.”
“Yes, sir.”
The rookie soldier pressed his eye closer to the rifle scope, focusing on the vast, snowy landscape. As his superior left, a blizzard began to rage.
The swirling snow obscured his vision. He put on his goggles, protecting his eyes, but the blizzard made it difficult to see.
He swallowed nervously, staring into the blizzard—and then, the sun broke through, dispelling the snow, revealing a clear view.
The previously empty plains were now teeming with hundreds of monsters.
“—S-sergeant!!”
The rookie, his hands trembling, called for his superior. But he was long gone.
The rookie froze, his mind blank with terror. He trembled, unsure what to do—and then, salvation arrived.
“Is this the place?”
“Oh, and there are monsters too.”
Seven beautiful women appeared in the sky. The rookie, seeing their otherworldly beauty, instantly knew they were witches.
The commander of his unit was a witch, after all. Seeing them, the rookie’s tension eased, and he remembered his duty.
“E-emergency—! Emergency! Emergency!”
WEEEEEE—!
He sounded the alarm and began firing at the monsters.
Bang—bang—!
The witches, with the siren and gunfire as their soundtrack, unleashed their magic upon the horde.
The monsters turned on each other, were bisected by invisible blades, were bound by unseen forces, or simply vanished into thin air—and the soldier felt as if he were witnessing a legendary battle.
He even entertained the thought of… getting to know one of the witches after the battle was over—
“What the hell!? Why did you sound the alarm!?”
“M-monsters, sir!”
“Monsters!? I told you to keep a close eye on them!”
The rookie, while apologizing to his now-returned superior, continued to fire. Above them, dozens of spells rained down, decimating the monster horde.
The monsters, usually terrifying, were now being effortlessly destroyed by magic. And for the first time, the soldiers felt a pang of pity for them.
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The soldiers, after using magic to dispose of the monster corpses, approached the witches and saluted.
“We are grateful for your assistance. I am Major Ankei, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Northern Defense Line.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“…May I ask… what unit you’re with?”
“You don’t need to know. But—is there a phone here?”
“A phone…? Yes, of course.”
The major ordered his soldiers to attend to the witches. In this remote outpost, where the only woman they ever saw was their commander, the witches were an instant sensation.
Evangeline, surrounded by adoring soldiers, took the phone and called the hotel.
“Ah, Johan? Can you hear me?”
[Yes, Master. I can hear you clearly.]
“Hehe, good. The phone works. I’ll leave one here.”
The soldiers, hearing a man’s voice on the other end, were disappointed. Evangeline looked at Beatrice.
Beatrice took a doll from her pocket, transformed it into a human, and instructed it to wait by the phone.
“Stay here… call if anything happens.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The witches then vanished, leaving behind a single, newly created elf.
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