“…So because you couldn’t win against your rival this time, you thought you would get some help from a different witch, is that about right?”
It was the day after I suffered my defeat, my forty-third in total.
I spent the day loitering around by the city gates, waiting for a new mage to visit the place, and a witch came to visit my city.
She was a young witch with hair the color of charcoal that fell to about her shoulders.
She said her name was Saya.
She didn’t so much as flinch at me when I went up to talk to her the moment she entered the city, and she listened to my situation. Far from being repulsed, she pulled me by the hand to a café, saying, “It’s not right to stand around talking in a place like this, so I’ll listen to your story there.”
Then I wound up telling her all about my circumstances over lunch.
I recalled how Lady Elaina, who had come to this city about four days earlier, had handled me with an annoyed look on her face, and Lady Saya, sitting there before me, seemed like an angel.
“I’ve got a good understanding of your situation now. It sounds like you were not blessed with a good teacher.”
That’s how quick she was to understand, after listening to me talk just a little. “But wow, your former teacher is a disgrace to witches everywhere! What a totally irresponsible witch. She didn’t teach you a thing, even though she had three whole days!”
Then Lady Saya, renowned angel, out of concern for me, a total stranger, revealed her anger toward the witch who had put such nonsensical ideas in my head.
However, it made me feel guilty to hear her say such angry things. After all, I was the one who had in fact requested Lady Elaina’s help; I was the one who had told her she didn’t particularly need to teach me anything.
“Part of the problem lay in the unsophisticated way that I asked, so that esteemed witch isn’t entirely to bla—”
“Oh, no!” Lady Saya cut me off. “Are you listening, Crechill? When you become somebody’s teacher, you have to do more than listen to your student’s requests. You also have to intuit what your student really wants to accomplish and help them do it!”
“Is that how it is?”
“That’s how it is! Actually, the person who I called my teacher was also a pretty lazy person, but you know, she was good during my training days. She was strict and taught me a lot. But as soon as I became a witch, if I had any spare time at all, she handed me money and made me go buy her tobacco. It was awful.”
Lady Saya was fuming indignantly. If I had to say, her anger seemed like it was directed less at Lady Elaina and more at someone else.
“Well, anyway, once you’re in a position to be teaching someone things, you’ve got to understand that person’s aims and give them guidance that aligns with their true feelings—and their true objectives, even if they don’t show on the outside!”
Lady Saya was insistent.
What an incredibly conscientious person she must be. I no longer see her as a sweet being such as an angel. She is a god.
I reverently elevated her in my mind. If I could adhere to her guidance, I was certain that even winning against Nadona would be easy. Her powers of persuasion were enough to make me think so.
“Really, just who could she have been? Who was that irresponsible witch?”
Lady Saya was indignant. I answered her.
“A woman named the Ashen Witch, Elaina.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly—
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
—Lady Saya stopped. She stiffened, as if time itself had frozen. “What did you just say?” Perhaps because she was so stiff, her words were also somewhat halting.
“Oh, I just said I took lessons from someone named the Ashen Witch, Elaina. The results were terrible, though.” I shrugged just like I had earlier.
“…I see. Ahem!” Lady Saya cleared her throat. “Are you listening, Crechill? When you become a pupil, sometimes you must intuit your teacher’s expectations. Ultimately, teachers are just in a position to guide you. But if the student doesn’t have the inclination to learn, then no matter how the teacher prepares the way, it means nothing. Do you understand?”
“What’s the matter all of a sudden?”
“Imagine not being able to beat your rival after studying under Elaina for three whole days! Elaina would weep if she heard that!” Suddenly, Lady Saya was shouting hysterically.
“I feel like this woman has suddenly become emotionally unstable.”
Is the name Elaina a cursed magic word or something?
“Apparently, this means I need to take over after Elaina to show you the way. Good grief, what a hopeless case!”
Lady Saya let out a sigh.
“Well, if you place yourself in my hands, it will be a piece of cake. Leave everything to me,” she said, thumping her hand against her chest.
“Th-thank you very much…!”
Before I knew it, the god who had been there before had come back to me.
What on earth was that just now?
“All right then, Crechill, could I get you to tell me, in a little more detail, about your relationship with your opponent?”
According to what she said, Lady Saya, who was an outstanding and well-respected member of society, had come to my city that day for work, and she would be staying for about three days. It sounded like she was very busy and couldn’t stay any longer than three days, so in other words, the amount of time set for my training was also limited to three days. Strangely, that was the same number of days I’d had with the witch Lady Elaina, whom I had previously begged to be my teacher.
“Although we have three days, I’m not going to be as lenient as Elaina was! Prepare yourself now!” Lady Saya asserted.
I will follow you for the rest of my life.
“My opponent, Nadona, is a genius on par with me—”
I disclosed everything I knew about Nadona to Saya. Strangely, the knowledge I had gained based on Lady Elaina’s advice came in handy for this.
Since I had gone on an outing with Nadona on the occasion of our last duel, I had a decent understanding of her tastes and preferences.
Nadona.
I knew that she was a genius and that she was aloof, but I also knew that she was a girl who enjoyed reading and sweets and who liked to go out with friends on her days off.
“Oh-hoh!” Lady Saya gave an odd response as soon as she heard about the relationship I had with Nadona.
“Now, could I ask you to tell me, in a little more detail, about the conversation you had during your outing, before the last duel?”
For some reason, this lady suddenly looks delighted.
“Um…”
I told her everything, as far as I remembered it. Et cetera and so on.
“Iiinteresting.”
As I was talking, Lady Saya started eating the pasta she’d ordered for lunch more and more quickly. It was almost as if she was ingesting my story itself as her meal.
But there’s no way a god would do something so vulgar. She’s probably just hungry. Even very busy, esteemed witches get hungry. If anything, she must need to be proactive about her nutritional intake, precisely because she is such a busy witch. No doubt about that.
“I see, now I reeeally understand your situation! With three whole days, we can eeeasily best this Nadona girl. Rest assured.”
“Wow, really?!”
She must be telling me that, just from hearing my story, she’s already put together a scheme in her head to defeat Nadona. I knew it. This is true genius…!
“Please give me your guidance!”
Then I bowed my head deeply and began my training with Lady Saya.
“Heh-heh-heh… What a great opportunity to put Elaina in my debt…!” Lady Saya mumbled to herself. Her expression was less divine and more demonic.
“I feel like this woman has suddenly become emotionally unstable.”
Apparently, geniuses have something special about them that ordinary people can’t understand.