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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Unlike the ever-developing modern Earth, Johan’s life in the witch’s forest cabin remained largely unchanged.
It was the idyllic life many dreamed of. A life some might find monotonous, with its unchanging daily routine.
And so, following that routine, Johan was training and patrolling the forest.
“Holding on tight?”
“Mm-hmm. Holding tight.”
“Alright, let’s go, Harty.”
“Woof—!”
Johan nudged Harty’s side with his foot, and the wolf, taking the signal, instantly began to traverse the forest.
Johan felt Beatrice’s arms tighten around his waist and lowered his body closer to Harty’s back. Swish—the sound of wind rushing past his ears.
Compared to modern Earth, this other world lacked entertainment, but this ride was one thing he could truly enjoy. Riding on Harty’s back as she dashed through the forest, he could cast aside all his worries and anxieties.
He was contemplating why people enjoyed racing when Harty, having caught the scent of a monster, carried him to its location.
Johan, spotting the monster, immediately drew his weapon and thrust it forward, holding it close to his body. A lance charge with sword and wolf.
─ Kueeeeeeek!?
A tactic that had dominated human warfare for thousands of years before the invention of gunpowder and guns, it worked just as effectively in this other world. Johan finished off the monster, impaled and writhing on his sword, then dismounted Harty and began processing the corpse.
He collected the usable and sellable parts, tossing the remaining scraps to Harty. The wolf yipped happily and began devouring the monster’s remains.
Beatrice, watching this, frowned slightly.
“…Poor thing.”
He kept his mouth shut, thinking it was a hypocritical statement coming from a witch who populated a village with dolls turned human. Beatrice continued to question him.
“Why do you kill monsters?”
“Because monsters are harmful creatures.”
“Harmful?”
“It means they don’t contribute anything beneficial by existing.”
Unlike animals and plants that were naturally regulated by the ecosystem, monsters, mutated by magical energy, needed to be actively controlled.
Monsters fought and devoured each other endlessly. When the number of monsters dwindled, they preyed on animals, and when animals became scarce, they turned to plants.
This process was unrestrained. They continued until the entire ecosystem collapsed. The concept of self-preservation didn’t exist for most monsters.
“If we leave them alive, we won’t be able to eat the delicious food we enjoy.”
“That won’t do. Mm-hmm. I’ll help too, Johan.”
“Thanks.”
Johan wiped the blood from his sword and Harty’s mouth, then mounted the wolf again and set off in search of the next monster.
Harty, catching a scent, dashed forward and quickly arrived at the monster’s location.
Johan, arriving before the monster, drew his sword, then paused.
‘…It’s already dead?’
The monster lay before them, bleeding profusely. It was clearly dead, not playing possum.
Johan, still mounted on Harty, approached the corpse and realized it was the giant snake monster they’d encountered before.
It was as large as Fenrir, Evangeline’s familiar, and Johan remembered fleeing in terror the first time he’d seen it.
‘What could have…’
Johan examined the corpse and discovered it had been torn apart by overwhelming force. He didn’t need to imagine what kind of creature possessed such strength to rip apart a monster of this size.
“Run—”
Before he could even signal their retreat, Johan felt a chilling presence behind him. Harty, sensing the same thing, instinctively darted forward.
The instant they moved, a shadowy arm landed where they had been. Johan looked toward the arm’s owner.
‘What is that…?’
A dark, hulking monster emerged. Though smaller than the train-sized snake monster it had apparently bisected, it was still larger than any tree.
Johan, staring at the monster, frowned.
‘I can’t see it.’
He could tell it was a monster. He could see the shadowy fur and its massive, tree-like form. But when he tried to focus on it, his vision blurred.
More accurately, the area around the monster blurred, preventing him from seeing its true form. Some kind of magic. A magic unique to monsters.
Even Johan, with his magic nullification, couldn’t overcome this. To use his ability, he needed to make contact with the monster, but even without magic, monsters were still dangerous.
Their immense size and strength were more than enough to crush a human, magic or no magic.
“Johan.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Run. I’ll handle this.”
Beatrice, sensing Johan’s fear, dismounted Harty.
Standing on the ground, she pulled a small doll from her pocket. Her magic breathed life into the doll, and it became a knight, standing ready to protect her.
“But…”
“Johan. My friend. I’ll protect you.”
Whoosh—!
Large wings unfolded behind the doll-knight. A majestic display, as if declaring it wouldn’t lose to such a monster.
“And… I’m a witch too. Do you think I’d lose to a mere monster?”
“…Beatrice. I’ll be back soon. Wait here.”
Johan nudged Harty and fled the forest. Beatrice, watching him go, wiped the smile from her face and began wrapping threads around her fingers.
─!@#@!@!@!#@%#@
“I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
─ñ̷̡̛̮̩̣̞̎̑͗ȩ̵̢̺̣͖̥͓̱̦̏͊̇̄̐̅̋̕͝m̸͓͋̂̄̆̓̿̾͊a̷̰̩̙͓͕̥͍̽̅͐́̊̈̔͘͝ẻ̴̪̥͔̖̻̉̆̒̒͐̏̚a̴̖̞̗̹͕̲̾̄̉̚͜͠
“I said, I can’t understand you.”
Beatrice grinned and flicked her threads, halting the monster’s movement. The threads, stronger than steel, bound the monster, and the doll-knight moved. A deadly battle began.
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─Pant, pant!
“Harty, just a little further!”
Harty, having run for dozens of kilometers, stuck out her tongue and panted, trying to regulate her body temperature.
Johan could feel her heart pounding against his back. A normal wolf would have died from overexertion.
But Harty was Fenrir’s daughter, a familiar empowered by Johan’s mana. This wasn’t enough to kill her.
Finally arriving near the cabin, Johan rolled off Harty’s back.
He burst through the door, and the witches, gathered in the living room, turned to look at him.
“Master!”
“Johan!?”
Evangeline, startled by her disciple’s dust-covered and bruised appearance, rushed over. After checking that he wasn’t seriously injured, she asked what had happened.
“Beatrice…!”
“Beatrice? Where did you leave her?”
“Over there, over there!”
There was no time for detailed explanations. Evangeline and Marguerite, sensing the urgency in Johan’s voice, followed him as he pointed.
“This way, right?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Then let’s go. Tell me when you see it.”
Marguerite warped space.
Leaping across distances of over a kilometer every tenth of a second, she quickly retraced the path Johan had taken.
Soon, Evangeline spotted signs of a battle. Marguerite teleported them down.
“Here…?”
“This mana… it’s Beatrice’s…”
As expected of great witches, they instantly grasped what had transpired.
They collected traces of Beatrice and the mysterious monster’s mana, then followed the trail. With two renowned witches on the case, Johan felt no need to worry about finding Beatrice.
“…What is this?”
“What’s wrong…?”
“I can’t see the trail. What is this? No, I can see it… but I can’t follow it?”
Dissonance. Johan, remembering the monster’s magic, felt his heart sink. He looked at Evangeline.
Evangeline repeatedly strained her magical senses, trying to find the trail, but to no avail. She looked at Johan with a grim expression.
“…I’m sorry.”
It was the one thing he hadn’t wanted to hear. But there were no other words.
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Deep within a dark cave, the monster that had captured the witch continuously tried to communicate with her.
─Found you. Finally.
“I said, I can’t hear you.”
─Ryon-lek-kkwaek-lat-gung-heu?
Unfortunately, communication was impossible. Though the monster was capable of speech, Beatrice was cursed to only communicate with dolls.
Beatrice huddled on the ground, clutching a broken doll. This monster seemed to treat her with respect, but she didn’t need that.
All she needed was Johan. She needed him. She wanted to see him.
“I want to go home.”
─No. Stay.
“…You’re mean.”
Each time she tried to stand, the monster gently pushed her back down, preventing her from escaping.
─Eat. Or not?
The monster smiled and offered her food. Beatrice felt a surge of revulsion from the depths of her soul.
‘Johan… come quickly…’
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The library. He had vowed never to return.
Yet Johan stood there.
Regina Star, the librarian, looked at him with surprise.
“You said you could find out anything, right?”
Johan looked at Regina and asked. Regina nodded slightly. Johan clenched his fists.
“…I’ll do anything. Find this information for me.”
Regina’s eyes lit up.
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