After raiding Erifell’s room and turning up nothing useful, Leen finally shouted: “I’m hungry!” We had been at it for a while now, but I was a bit surprised that she’d mention food now, of all times.
“All right, then you may rest and refuel. I’ll watch over Miss Erifell. Also, I would appreciate it if you could bring some food back with you.”
Derg’s sudden comment dragged me out of my exasperations. We headed to the nearby local food hall and managed to get seated in ten or so minutes. However, during that short time frame, it became so packed that there wasn’t even a single chair at the counter free. I supposed we arrived at the perfect time.
I spotted a few adventurers, but most customers seemed to be people who worked regular jobs here in Esma. Leen, with her eye-catching looks, drew the attention of everyone inside as soon as we entered. If the hour was later, I would bet at least one or two people would try and chat her up, but fortunately those shooting her glances had work to get to after lunch.
The waitstaff said they had some fresh shrimp in, so we both ordered the seafood gratin. I dug in, heaps of melted cheese clinging to my fork which you ate on top of some toasted bread here. Most people would do this as a way to cool off each mouthful, but the woman sitting in front of me seemed to lack any trace of common sense. Even as the cheese still bubbled on top of her bread, she shoveled it into her mouth, eating with a satisfied grin on her face, no trace of discomfort from the scalding temperature.
“So it’s not just your stomach but your tongue too that’s messed up...”
“It tastes best when it’s piping hot! And look at yourself, Hakura. What’s with that timid, overly feminine way you’re eating?”
“Nothing ticks me off more than having the way I eat be nitpicked by you.”
I stirred my food to try and cool it down before bringing little forkfuls to my mouth. Even without the burning temperature, I wasn’t all too hungry.
“So do these carbohydrate-whatevers have a priest who can remove a curse?” Leen asked.
I was surprised she’d bring up the topic in public, but fortunately the chattering customers, the shouted orders, and the clatter of cutlery drowned her voice out. I doubted anyone would be able to actually eavesdrop on us like this. I thought about her question before shaking my head.
“No, I don’t think so. Their job is chiefly conducting witch trials. Aside from the official church knights, any member is tasked with exclusively helping with the trials.”
As for the church knights themselves, their main areas of expertise were fighting and guarding. Taking care of and curing people was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Priests who could remove curses—by simultaneously using their purification and healing magics—were highly valued anywhere you went, but wouldn’t be stationed with the Carbuncles and their own dirty work. And even if they did have someone who could do this with them, there was the problem of whether they would be able to make it to Erifell in time.
“I see. Hmm, that’s not good, is it,” Leen replied, her fork not stopping as she wolfed down the gratin.
“I’m surprised you can eat at a time like this.”
This was a pretty tense situation if you asked me, but Leen’s appetite seemed unchanged—eating everything in sight while being ready to snatch any food if she was still hungry. I wondered if she didn’t think I’d notice her gaze already glancing over at my barely eaten gratin.
“I’m just on edge thinking about if Erifell’s gonna kick it while we’re out eating lunch,” I went on.
“Don’t worry. Derg is with her, as is Blue.”
While puffing out the steam of her food, she twirled her finger in the air as she spoke. I realized that with the slime acting as an ice pack and guard, this was the first time Leen and I had been truly alone together.
“The curse on her isn’t all that powerful either,” Leen continued.
“Seriously? Erifell’s fighting for her life right now.”
According to what Leen had said earlier, she only had three or four days left at that.
“If this was the work of a powerful witch, Erifell would be dead right now,” Leen replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “If I’m being honest, we’re dealing with a low-level curse that needs all that time in order to kill her.”
I could only sit there, dumbfounded, while Leen drained her glass and ordered a refill—all with swift motions to satiate her hunger—and continued her explanation.
“Think about it. It makes no sense to curse someone and leave the inverta as evidence. I suppose that was a sign of how much she was rushing to get the job done.”
I didn’t want to borrow Derg’s wording, but it seemed that Leen was far more clued in on witches than I had thought. I supposed that was to be expected considering her position as the true successor to the first witch Lingreen. Leen must have sensed the meaning behind my stare for she spoke up before eating the shrimp that was speared by her fork.
“Hmm... All right, Hakura, time for a little lesson. Considering the situation, it’s time that you learned about witches in more detail.”
“In detail, huh...”
In all honesty, I couldn’t be bothered. My style of witch hunting worked when killing someone who was already marked as a witch. All this stuff about indictments and curses was, sorry to say, all sorted before I got involved. Leen glared at me, as if rebuking me for my attitude.
“It actually terrifies me just how little you know about witches, Hakura! I’m surprised you earned the title ‘witch hunter’ without even knowing what an inverta was! I’m so shocked that I might just order a second gratin.”
“That’s your ravenous appetite talking.”
“It really did shock me.”
“Well, sorry.”
If she was going to take issue with this, then I wanted to chime in that I was surprised someone who called themselves a descendant of a witch didn’t know who the Carbuncles were, but, well, they were the kind of group you wouldn’t really involve yourself with unless you bumped into them.
“Or, Hakura, are you the type of adventurer who does zero research before taking on a monster-slaying quest?” Leen paused before continuing, “Oh! Sorry, I forgot that you are that kind of person! You were almost killed by a mutated hydra after all. I apologize for getting us onto this weird topic, so just forget it...”
“You really know how to piss a guy off...”
I wanted to smack her once, but she was the one who’d saved a stranger from said hydra, so I decided to be the bigger person.
In all accuracy, though, it wasn’t that I hadn’t done my research, it was more so that learning about witches was linked to wanting to become one. Of course, the church didn’t leave any documents around for the picking, and ever since the War of the Witches, any relevant literature had been deemed taboo. There was pretty much zero way for an adventurer like me to see the originals. The church’s monopolization of all the available information was a way to prevent vigilantes from carrying out extrajudicial witch trials, apparently.
I clucked my tongue and sighed.
“Are you telling me that it’s necessary?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s something that you should know, Hakura.”
Leen’s joking tone from earlier had disappeared and she now wore a serious expression on her face. Just like when she was explaining the living dead or the dangers of cannibalistic kobolds, this was the expression she made when she was in monster expert mode. If my employer said it was necessary, then all I had to do was listen.
“Fine. Speak away.”
“I greatly appreciate you being so understanding.” Leen nodded, satisfied, then took a napkin from the table. “Let’s first begin with some definitions. A witch is a woman who has made a pact with a demon.”
“A demon?”
I pondered for a moment. People used the word “demon” as a general insult—I could use it for a certain someone in front of me—but I didn’t know what a demon actually was.
“You were thinking something rude just now, weren’t you?”
“A demon isn’t an imp or gremlin, right?”
I decided to ignore Leen’s comment and gave the names of a few monsters that I thought were similar. They were commonly found in ruins and had horns, leathery wings, purple skin, and bodies similar to children’s. They seemed like the type of monsters that were most comparable to the demons in picture books.
“They’re not demons, but a type of malignant kin. A type of monster that managed to get close to demons.”
I wasn’t sure what the difference was, but I imagined Leen would explain.
“Demons are...creatures that live in a different world than us.”
A different world? I squinted at Leen quizzically, and she waved the napkin in front of me.
“Listen. The world that we live and breathe in is this side of the napkin. However, demons live on this side,” Leen explained as she turned over the napkin, pointing with a pale finger to the reverse side. “They live in the world of the other side. Witches call it the hinterworld, as it lies on the reverse of our world.”
I couldn’t even reply.
“Don’t make that face like you didn’t follow a single thing I just said! You have to accept this or I can’t go on!”
“It’s not my fault! But fine, I kind of have to accept it.”
“And...nom!”
“Hey! Don’t steal my shrimp!”
“Every time you take an attitude with me, you will lose one shrimp.”
“You thief!”