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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Hundreds, thousands of dolls charged at me. When I tried to neutralize them with magic like before, I was startled to find they continued moving unaffected.
‘What? Why are they still moving…’
Looking closer, there was a difference from the elves earlier. The elves had moved after becoming people, but these dolls were moving while still remaining dolls.
Hadn’t Beatrice said it herself? Her magic was turning dolls into people.
Not once had she mentioned magic that could move dolls.
“Johan, Johan- my Johan.”
The young witch kept murmuring this while wiggling her fingers. Only then did I notice the nearly invisible threads attached to her fingers.
Each time her fingers twitched slightly, the dolls in the room pressed down on me harder. I belatedly realized why my magic wasn’t working.
‘Is she… controlling all of these directly?’
Though my magic could nullify any magical effect, that also meant it was useless against non-magical abilities.
If a witch who had spent decades or centuries alone in this forest mansion practicing with threads and needles while making dolls attempted something seemingly impossible, I had no way to resist.
“I finally found my friend. You can’t go anywhere.”
“…No.”
“It’s okay. You’ll come to like it soon too.”
Beatrice restrained my limbs with threads, securing them tightly so they could never come loose. I watched her binding my arms and legs while calmly warning her:
“Let me go.”
“Why? You said we were friends, so why do you keep trying to run away?”
“This isn’t how friends treat each other, and more importantly…”
Clink- I rattled my necklace as I spoke.
“It’s lunchtime now.”
“…Ah, Johan is hungry! I understand! Just wait a bit!”
Beatrice completely misunderstood my meaning and left the room. Even if she was decades or centuries old, the young witch had never mentally grown beyond a child.
Then again, she couldn’t have grown if she’d never once had a conversation with another person since birth.
‘I’m screwed.’
The necklace began to shimmer.
Master had awakened.
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Late morning, nearly lunchtime, Evangeline finally woke and immediately began caressing the necklace she had spent all night repairing.
The necklace her beloved disciple Johan had given her. It had become the second most precious treasure in her life.
Naturally, the first was her disciple Johan himself.
Growl─!
“Ah…”
Having skipped breakfast, her stomach began protesting. If she had made such a sound in front of her disciple, she would have blushed in embarrassment.
Thinking herself fortunate, Evangeline headed to the living room for lunch. The living room that was usually bustling with life and warmth had grown ice cold.
Neither Johan nor Marguerite were visible. She glared at Marguerite’s room with eyes as cold as the living room.
‘They didn’t go somewhere together… no.’
She could sense Marguerite’s magical energy in the room. So Johan’s absence probably meant he had gone to get ingredients…
Thinking this, Evangeline sat in a chair and quietly waited for Johan’s return. Though she had considered the possibility he might be in danger, as long as he hadn’t left the forest there was nothing that could threaten him.
Only after waiting a long while with no sign of Johan did Evangeline sense something was wrong and search for his location.
‘…He’s not here?’
After spreading her magic to search the entire forest, Evangeline realized she couldn’t sense Johan’s magic anywhere within it.
Her heart sank. Though it shouldn’t be possible, worries arose that Johan might have run away, or perhaps been killed by a monster.
That couldn’t be. That couldn’t be, that couldn’t be─.
Evangeline began spreading her magic wider and wider. Her heart started pounding madly, and as she extended her magic beyond the forest to the mountains and cities, countless pieces of information flooded into her.
Though the pain in her head felt like it would split her skull, Evangeline endured it. After enduring, she finally found a response from the necklace she had given Johan.
“Why is he there…”
Having found Johan’s location, Evangeline frowned in confusion. Johan was halfway up that great mountain range.
It was another witch’s territory, and moreover a place even she avoided due to the troublesome monsters that dwelled there.
‘That’s not what’s important.’
Evangeline immediately burst into Marguerite’s room. She made a loud noise to wake Marguerite.
Though she couldn’t tell if the invisible woman had awakened, Evangeline shouted as if that didn’t matter:
“Ritz! You’re awake!? It’s terrible! Johan is gone!”
Though no answer came, the shifting blankets and pillows indicated Marguerite had awakened.
Seeing this, Evangeline immediately shared Johan’s location with Marguerite. How fortunate it was to have Marguerite at times like this.
If not for her, Evangeline would have had to walk to Johan’s location herself, praying he remained alive while she traversed such dangerous territory.
The situation made no sense.
“Let’s go! Quickly─!”
Knock knock-.
Just then, someone knocked at the door. Evangeline’s eyes whipped around. Could it be Johan? Though the necklace’s response came from far away, since she couldn’t be 100% certain that was Johan’s response, he might have simply lost the necklace and found his way back─ hoping this, Evangeline carefully opened the door.
Outside stood a polar bear in a suit, waiting politely on two legs.
“Greetings, mademoiselle.”
“…What are you?”
“And farewell.”
The bipedal polar bear swung its front paw. Though it hadn’t even made contact, its magical energy and power were so immense they left massive claw marks on the cabin.
However, Evangeline merely stared at the claws impassively. Sharp claws and overwhelming power could have no effect.
Because nothing in this world was greater than love, and thus everything could be resolved through love─.
Looking at its suddenly frozen paw, the polar bear let out an incredulous laugh as it regarded Evangeline.
“Haha, this- you’re more than just somewhat strong.”
“Perfect timing. An attack right when Johan disappears… this can’t possibly be coincidence.”
“Johan? Who is that…”
“Don’t play dumb.”
Thwack- With a casual wave of her arm, Evangeline erased one of the polar bear’s paws from existence. She approached as it clutched its arm and rolled on the ground.
“Gyaaahhh!!”
“I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I’ll be rough. If you want to die, keep what you know to yourself.”
Evangeline began gradually erasing the polar bear from existence. Feeling the terror of being erased, the polar bear screamed violently as it spilled the information Evangeline wanted.
After hearing what she wanted, Evangeline cleanly killed the polar bear, then went back into the cabin and spoke to Marguerite who had finished preparing:
“Let’s hurry. Johan is waiting.”
Marguerite nodded with a hardened expression.
The two immediately transported to the middle of the great mountain range.
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“Aahn─.”
“…I can feed myself.”
“Aahn-! Say aahn!”
Beatrice who had brought food kept pressing the spoonful against my lips. You couldn’t win against a child. Kids never knew when to give up.
Finally, when I carefully opened my mouth, properly cooled food entered. To be honest, it didn’t taste very good.
‘This is mediocre… no, worse than mediocre, it’s completely unseasoned…’
But Beatrice seemed confident in the food she was feeding me, her eyes sparkling as she asked:
“How is it!? Delicious!?”
“…Want me to be honest?”
“Of course you should be honest!”
“It tastes bad.”
“Whaaaat…? Why, why does it taste bad!?”
“There’s no seasoning at all… and more than that…”
Without Master’s magical seasoning, even adding salt and pepper probably wouldn’t have made it very tasty.
It was like magical MSG. This taste wasn’t something you could explain to someone who hadn’t experienced it.
“Hey, you’ve never eaten good food before, have you?”
“…I have. This is good too.”
“No wonder you’re not growing, eating only this.”
“─I-I’m grown! I’m plenty adult enough!”
Beatrice said this while thrusting out her chest. Though not nonexistent for her small frame, compared to Master, Marguerite, or Elicis, it might as well have been.
When I snorted at her chest, Beatrice puffed up her cheeks with a sulky expression, clearly displeased about something.
“I hate you, Johan.”
“Really? Do you really hate me?”
“…No, I actually don’t.”
“Then what should you do when you’ve done something wrong?”
“Sorry… I’m sorry Johan. I was wrong… so please, don’t hate me.”
“Then will you untie these too?”
When I tugged at my bound limbs indicating the threads, she shook her head firmly expressing her refusal.
“If you don’t untie me, I might end up hating Beatrice?”
“…But, if I untie you, Johan- you’ll leave.”
“Even though I’d come back?”
“That’s a lie. It’s a lie. Even if you hate me a little, I’d rather you not leave.”
Beatrice rose saying she would make food again.
I watched her retreating back intently. Through the door she had left ajar, a familiar figure appeared.
“Ugh!?”
Beatrice, having collided face-first with something large and soft, rubbed her forehead as she looked up.
Before her stood a silver-haired witch with breasts incomparably larger than her own.
“Johan, so this is where you were.”
Master, the witch Evangeline, said with a grin.
“Let’s go home.”
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That was an incredibly fast rescue. Glad Ritz is on the team.