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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The picnic was over. They couldn’t enjoy the autumn foliage with half the forest ablaze.
Evangeline seethed, her perfectly planned outing ruined by whoever had set the fire. Johan, though unsure of the culprit’s identity, had a few choice words for them.
‘Idiots… of all the days to mess with us…’
Forgetting the leisurely walk they had taken earlier, the group returned to the cabin using Marguerite’s magic. Evangeline, tossing aside her belongings, immediately began searching for the arsonists.
“I want to see their faces!”
This forest, her territory for hundreds of years, was steeped in her mana. It was an extension of her senses.
She normally blocked it out, unaware of the day-to-day happenings within the forest, but if she focused, she could sense the number of monsters, even the number of legs on every insect crawling within her domain.
And so she did. She sensed the number of humans who had trespassed, their scent—and then she gagged.
“Ugh—!”
“Master!? Are you alright!?”
“Ah, mm… using this for too long gives me a headache…”
Evangeline gulped down water, suppressing the nausea. She wiped her mouth, then pinpointed the location of those who had dared set fire to her forest.
“Haha, those bastards… they’re playing a dangerous game.”
Unfortunately, the arsonists had doused themselves with holy water as soon as they left the forest, masking their scent. The cloying smell of holy water assaulted her senses.
However, this confirmed they were from the Church. Holy water was a precious resource, painstakingly produced by priests. Few organizations had the resources to use it so freely.
“Johan.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Would you mind… if your Master… destroyed a nearby city?”
“…What do you mean?”
Johan was taken aback by her casual suggestion of destroying a city. Evangeline smiled sweetly.
“It seems some people dislike me for no reason—so I’m going to give them a reason.”
“…You’re going to openly antagonize the Church? That will make things… complicated.”
“Yes. It will. A city will disappear. We won’t be able to easily acquire supplies nearby, and we’ll have to rebuild our reputation from scratch…”
Evangeline said this, gauging Johan’s reaction. She was angry at the Church for setting fire to her forest, but it was the kind of anger one felt upon finding cockroaches nesting in their home.
If her beloved disciple asked her to leave them be, she would reluctantly agree—she might complain, but she wouldn’t go against his wishes.
“I don’t mind.”
“Really? People will die.”
“I don’t mind. If that’s what you want, Master…”
Johan remembered Regina’s words.
–You’re like a witch.
She was right. He felt closer to the witches than the people of this world. When humans treated him as an outsider, only the witches accepted him.
He felt more kinship with them. He preferred the beautiful, powerful witches to the ignorant, medieval humans.
“Hmm—our Johan has grown up. I was so worried when you wanted to become a Holy Knight…”
Evangeline smiled and looked at Marguerite. Marguerite, understanding Evangeline’s intent, began preparing.
“Alright then. Master will be back soon. Stay here, Johan.”
“…See you later.”
“Anything you want? I’ll bring it back for you.”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Okay? Wait for me!”
With those words, Evangeline and Marguerite vanished. Johan stared at the empty space, then sat down, lost in thought.
He wondered if… if he had done the right thing.
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The moment two beautiful women appeared in the city, people didn’t admire their beauty, they screamed and fled in terror.
The sudden, unexplained appearance confirmed they were witches.
And nothing good ever came from a witch revealing herself. At least, not in their experience.
Evangeline, watching people flee from her, grumbled.
“How rude! Screaming and running away from a beauty like me?”
“You’re a witch first, a beauty second. I’d run too.”
“Ritz, be quiet.”
The two witches entered a shop and began gathering supplies unavailable in the forest: bread, meat, and other such items. Alerted by the commotion, Holy Knights arrived.
Clad in blessed white armor, swords at the ready, they froze upon seeing the two women. Elicis, in particular, was stunned.
“…You’re…”
“Hello there.”
Evangeline greeted Elicis, who was staring at her, speechless. To protect Elicis’s reputation and conceal any potential connection between them, Evangeline quickly explained their presence.
“You know that forest nearby? The one they call the Demon’s Forest?”
“…Yes. And?”
“Well, you set it on fire. So I came to return the favor… but simply killing you all seemed… a bit much.”
Evangeline placed a finger on her cheek and smiled sweetly at the Holy Knights.
“In one hour, I’m going to destroy this city—so take your people and leave.”
“…And why should we?”
“Oh my, I thought I was being considerate… Or do you want to die here?”
Evangeline’s eyes turned cold. She threatened to kill them all, but she secretly hoped they would simply leave with the citizens.
Killing them would create resentment. Unforgettable resentment. All of humanity would share that resentment and come after her.
For Evangeline, who lived a secluded life in the forest, it would be like having two-legged cockroaches constantly invading her home.
And hunting down every single human was far too troublesome. People might exterminate cockroach nests in their homes, but no one would scour the entire world to eradicate every single cockroach…
Therefore, warning them without causing resentment was the most logical approach. Fortunately, it seemed like a reasonable proposition, even to the Holy Knights.
“…We need time to consider.”
“Captain Elicis!?”
“No. Decide now.”
As the other Holy Knights looked at Elicis in shock, Evangeline conjured a mana sphere in her hand, a clear threat.
Elicis, after a moment of agonizing deliberation, nodded. Perhaps she had witnessed Evangeline and Marguerite’s power firsthand and knew they were outmatched.
Elicis returned to the Church. Evangeline breathed a sigh of relief.
“That worked out well. Don’t you think?”
“Why? Don’t you like killing people?”
“It’s just… the smell of blood is hard to get rid of. Johan wouldn’t like it if I smelled of blood after… spending time with him…”
The two witches exchanged these frivolous remarks.
Then the hour passed.
Evangeline took a bite of the bread she had bought in the city, then rose into the air.
That day, a city vanished without a trace.
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“I’m back!”
Evangeline returned about an hour after she had left.
Johan, realizing how late it was, quickly stood up to prepare dinner.
“Sorry, Master. I’ll get dinner ready right aw—”
“Oh, it’s fine. I brought food. Let’s just eat this.”
Evangeline handed him bread and meat. Signs of civilization. Items that suggested her mission had ended peacefully.
Johan, slicing and warming the bread, asked,
“Did… everything go well?”
“Yes. I destroyed everything.”
“…Huh?”
“They probably won’t bother the forest again. Well, they might forget in a few years and try again…”
Evangeline casually mentioned destroying a city, and Johan wondered if he’d misheard.
She was far too calm for someone who had just obliterated a city. As if it were nothing to her.
‘…What if… it really was nothing to her?’
Watching Evangeline casually make a sandwich, Johan realized she could probably destroy the entire world if she wanted to.
At night, she was a delicate woman, nestled in his arms, moaning softly. But within her resided immense, terrifying power.
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