Chapter 6
WITH the City of Fol just a short distance ahead, Luca ordered the army to begin preparations for a siege. None of that mattered to Yuki though; she found herself utterly stunned by the outrageous fantasy-like things the man in front of her said.
“…What’s a Witch?” Yuki asked, not following the conversation.
The handsome young man with blond hair who spouted the fantasy info-dump—Luca—sat leisurely in his chair staring at Yuki with a brooding air. She had no idea what he was thinking.
Yuki had worn nothing but pale dresses during their trip, until she was suddenly told to wear a shabby gray patchwork mantle over a richly colored dress.
“Hey, say something. You made me wear these weird clothes. What’s going on?”
“Witches like to wear that kind of clothing. Keeping up appearances is important,” Luca replied shortly.
“What’s a Witch, anyway? Shouldn’t you start by telling me about that?”
Luca sighed as if answering her question was a nuisance. Ain quickly offered an explanation from where he stood beside her.
“I see you do not know about Witches either, Yuki. Make sure you listen carefully—I won’t explain this again. Witches are a race that predominantly inhabits Maruk and Rvydom. They have long lifespans, love dark colors, and are said to only be female.”
“Hah,” Yuki raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Witches are also said to cast spells.”
Another fantasy world comment?
“Cast spells…? Like magic?” Yuki responded in disbelief.
“Well, you are not wrong thinking in those terms. Although the spells they are capable of casting depends on the Witch.”
“Do they fly and make weird potions?”
“Apparently many Witches do… At least according to the historical texts,” Ain added the last part after a thoughtful pause.
From the way Ain spoke, Yuki assumed he never encountered a real Witch.
“Have you never seen a Witch, Ain?”
“Me? Not that I know of. Well, there is not a lot of information on Witches in the first place. In the past, there was a large-scale witch hunt, which greatly decreased their population. Furthermore, Witches make it a point not to reveal themselves. Even if you happen to come across a Witch, there is a high chance you will not realize it.”
“Heh,” Yuki hummed, impressed. Then it dawned on her, “How do Witches reproduce if they are all female?”
“Clever girl,” Luca commented, playing with the hem of her mantle.
“Witches have children with normal men. If the child is male, they remain a normal human like their father. If female—they become a Witch. And eventually the Witch will disappear with her Witch daughter,” Ain explained, as though that was a natural course of events.
“So that kind of race exists in this world too, huh?” Yuki muttered fascinated. After a moment’s thought she added, “So why do I have to dress up like one of those Witches? That’s what I want to know the most.”
Yuki yanked the hem of her mantle away from Luca. Ain didn’t seem to know the answer to her question. “Uum…” he mumbled, glancing at Luca.
“You see, the conquering general holding the castle in Fol right now,” Luca smirked, “is rumored to have a thing for little girls. In the past he laid his hands on a certain girl.”
Has a thing for little girls? Meaning he’s a pedophile? Ew! Yuki grimaced.
“And apparently that girl was actually a Witch…and she viciously turned the tables on him.”
“I see…what a disgusting general. But what exactly does that have to do with my clothing?” Yuki questioned, slamming her fist on the table in front of Luca. She did not like where this plan was heading. He didn’t flinch—he merely glanced at her.
“You might not know this, but there’s a Witch known as the Legendary Witch. She looks around ten years old and is said to have violet eyes.”
Yuki’s bad feeling about the situation doubled. Was Luca planning to use her to dupe the general?
“…Are you telling me to become that Witch?”
“Whether General Isis laid his hands on the Legendary Witch or not, I’m sure your presence will traumatize him.” Luca looked Yuki straight in the eyes. His sullen expression was as hard to read as always, but she thought his eyes were sincere. “Will you come with me?”
If you plead with me using such a handsome face I won’t be able to turn you down, Yuki cursed internally.