Chapter 147: The Whole Story
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 147: The Whole Story
When Evangeline awoke from her sleep, the first thing Yohan said to her was a request for her to die.
It was a cruel thing to say, something she couldn't believe her own disciple would utter, so Evangeline blinked and stared at him.
“...What did you just say?”
“Please die, Teacher.”
When she realized she hadn't misheard, Evangeline raised her hand and squeezed her own neck.
Her love for her disciple surpassed her instinct for survival. All she had to do was apply pressure, and her neck would snap. She would be able to die, just as her disciple wished.
Tears streaming down her face, Evangeline looked at her beloved disciple and squeezed. As her neck was tightly compressed, she choked and let go of her hand.
“Cough! Cough! H-Huh?”
“...What are you doing?”
“Yohan, you just asked me to die...”
“What? No, I mean, I did say that, but—”
Yohan looked at Evangeline as if to ask what on earth she was doing. It was the kind of expression one makes when they think someone is being foolish.
Sensing from his expression that something was wrong, Evangeline looked at her disciple with trembling pupils.
The whole story was as follows.
When Yohan awoke from his dream, he realized he had awakened. The awakening of the magic he had vaguely grasped during the fight with Arachne. He had now made it completely his own.
Several coincidences had overlapped to make this happen. Coming to the Holy Nation, meeting a benefactor here, gaining enlightenment from a nun, and of all things, dreaming of being brutally killed by Arachne.
These many coincidences piled up, allowing Yohan to wield his awakened magic freely, and this awakened magic was something that could overturn the very foundations of this world.
The nullification of special abilities.
“Just now, I erased the fact that you are a witch, Teacher.”
“Erased the fact that I'm a witch? What does that mean...”
“Teacher, you can't feel your magic power, can you?”
Hearing Yohan's words, Evangeline finally realized she couldn't feel her magic power at all.
It was usually as natural as air, so it took her a while to notice even after it was completely gone. Flustered by the disappearance of her magic power, she stretched out her hand and tried to use magic, but no matter what she did, no magic appeared.
“What's happening...?”
“It's my magic. A magic that nullifies magic. No, to be precise—”
The ability to superimpose his own world.
Yohan thought his ability was bizarre. Some magic couldn't be nullified, while other magic could.
Even without actively using magic, the witches' curses didn't work on him, which was very similar to Divine Power.
Upon investigation, the structure of Divine Power was to manifest God's world in the mortal world. In other words, to reproduce the authority of God as described in the Bible.
So, what exactly was Yohan's ability that rendered magic ineffective? The answer was simple.
‘The ability to force my subconscious onto this world...’
Yohan was from Earth, and on Earth, things like magic, divine power, or monsters didn't exist.
They were all fantasies that existed only in the realm of imagination, and so, on a subconscious level, Yohan denied things like witches and magic.
That subconscious denial manifested as the magic nullification ability, and the reason some magic still worked was because it was a scientifically plausible phenomenon.
“As you already know, there's no magic in the world I came from. There are no witches who live for hundreds of years, either.”
“...So?”
“If you wish, Teacher—you can become a human, just like me.”
She could become a being far removed from magic, one who ages normally, wrinkles normally, and runs toward the twilight of her life normally.
And thus—she could die together with her beloved disciple.
Instead of being unable to die even when she wanted to due to her powerful life force, living a life steeped in loneliness and longing, she could depart this world with him.
“When you asked me to die...”
“Yes. Please die with me, as a human, Teacher.”
“...So that's what you meant.”
Belatedly realizing what an absurd misunderstanding she had made, Evangeline blushed and lowered her head.
Then, she immediately voiced her thoughts.
“If it's what you want, Yohan, I can die for you anytime.”
She could die for him right this instant.
However.
“But I can't give up being a witch.”
“Why not?”
“If I become a human instead of a witch... I'll get ugly, won't I? Then you might abandon me, Yohan...”
More than anything, she would become unable to protect him. In this harsh world, amidst countless threats—being unable to protect him was a huge risk.
“Come on, even if you get a little ugly, Teacher, I'll be fine with it.”
“...But I won't be fine with it.”
“Do you think my love for you would change?”
Evangeline didn't answer, only offering a bitter smile. Humans change. Yohan was no exception.
He was saying this now, but if Evangeline became human, grew old and shabby—he might leave her for the other witches.
If that happened, if she had to watch a human Yohan abandon her and dally with other women, then she would truly...
‘If it comes to that, I'd rather—’
“Teacher?”
“Yes? Oh, yes?”
“Are you alright?”
Yohan looked at Evangeline. A moment ago, her eyes had looked quite dangerous. They were the eyes of a madwoman (狂者), someone whose world had collapsed, who might do anything.
Fortunately, Evangeline's expression changed in an instant as she looked back at Yohan.
“Of course, I'm perfectly fine.”
However, her tone had already reverted to that of a stern teacher.
After causing a certain amount of chaos in the kingdom and giving the church a big 'fuck you', Yohan and Evangeline returned to the empire.
The journey back was faster than the one to the kingdom. They just had to get near the border, and then Yohan could teleport to the cabin.
Arriving at the cabin, Yohan stretched, looking tired from the long journey, and stepped inside.
“I'm back—.”
“Yohaaan—!”
Beatrice, Margaret, Adelheid, and all the other witches who had felt his absence rushed him at once.
Laughing, Yohan hugged Beatrice and then broke into a cold sweat as he saw the other witches staring at him.
It was because he knew all too well what they were expecting.
‘Ah... I'm not getting any rest today either...’
Yohan hadn't been away for that long. Before leaving for the Holy Nation, he had even left them a semen potion that could break their curses.
But now, they approached him not to break their curses but to raise their intimacy with him, so whether they were cursed or not no longer mattered much.
“No presents?”
Leaning against a wall in the back, Hekaterina, who had been watching Yohan, called out to him bluntly.
Hearing her, Yohan, as if he'd been waiting for the cue, took out the presents he had stored in his subspace and managed to escape from the crowd of witches.
Saved by Hekaterina, Yohan gave her a grateful look. Hekaterina met his gaze, then snorted and turned her head away.
Tsundere. How predictable.
After handing out the presents, Yohan called the witches together.
“Everyone, I have something to say. Could you please gather around?”
“What is it?”
“It's something important. I've already spoken to my teacher about it...”
Something important, something he had first told only Evangeline, with whom he had traveled alone. Hearing this preamble, the witches began to gulp, thinking the moment had finally come.
They thought that in a situation like this, the only things he could possibly talk about were a confession, a proposal, or marriage.
Alright, so Evangeline is the main wife, but who's getting the next ring—
“Is there anyone here who will die with me?”
In that moment, time stopped. The group stared at Yohan as if asking what he was talking about. Yohan repeated the same words he had said to Evangeline that morning.
That he had awakened his magic, and with that power, they could give up being witches. That they could become human and grow old with him.
Whether it was because the story was too absurd, or because it was a choice they couldn't make on the spot, all the witches kept their mouths shut and just glanced at each other.
“...Is it possible to turn back into a witch after that?”
“Well, I've confirmed that they can recover if their magic power is taken away for a short time... but I don't know what would happen if it's sustained long-term.”
Silence fell. Witches were a race burdened by curses, but now that Yohan had removed them, they were beings of pure blessing.
It wasn't easy to throw that away now.
While everyone was lost in thought, Regina tilted her head as if something was strange and spoke.
“Why are you worrying about something like that?”
“Why?”
“—With my magic, you can live forever.”
“...Huh?”
That was right. Regina, the Witch of Records. Her awakened ability: to be able to reproduce the magic of every witch in her records.
Theoretically, as long as she had enough magic power, she was a being who could keep Yohan alive forever.