Chapter 34: Suspicion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Suspicion
I want to become stronger.
But I didn't know how.
This wasn't a world where you could get infinitely stronger just by swinging a sword like a mindless brute.
"So, I was wondering, how can I get stronger?"
[...Are you asking me that?]
"Yes. As far as I know... you're the strongest one, Fenrir. Ah, besides my teacher and Margaret, of course."
And so, I approached the one I thought would know the answer. Fenrir. Evangeline's familiar. A calamity-class magic beast capable of taking on an army by himself.
But upon hearing my question, Fenrir's expression hardened as if troubled.
[I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you how to become stronger.]
"...Why not?"
[I am a spirit animal. I was born stronger than you are now, and I have not struggled to grow stronger since.]
According to Fenrir, spirit animals required no effort or practice to increase their strength.
All that mattered was the purity of their innate bloodline and the quality of their contracted witch's magic power. Only those two things.
He was born with a superior bloodline and was able to form a contract with my teacher, which was how he became as strong as he is now—that was Fenrir's answer.
"I see, but... don't you have any kind of know-how? Like getting stronger by handling magic power well or something..."
[I do not understand. Are you not human? A human's strength lies not in the individual, but in numbers and the schemes born from their intellect, does it not?]
"...Well, you're not wrong."
[Let me make one thing perfectly clear. It does not matter what outstanding talents you were born with or how much you strive—you cannot become strong. No matter what you do, you can never become stronger than your teacher. That is your innate fate.]
A human cannot become stronger than a witch.
At those words, my heart began to burn.
Because it meant I could never protect my teacher forever.
Time flows on, even in a life riddled with frustration and despair. The stars shine without a care for the lives of the individuals living below.
I was frustrated and depressed after being told I couldn't get stronger, but I didn't remain mired in despair.
Time was always the best medicine.
'Right, what's the point of me getting stronger anyway? Teacher can cause a nuclear explosion with a single spell. Who's protecting whom here...?'
After a long period of self-reflection, combined with my faith in my teacher, my worries became utterly pointless.
To put it bluntly, I couldn't imagine that getting a little stronger through training would ever let me defeat something capable of putting my teacher—the one who can cause nuclear explosions—in danger.
In the first place, I couldn't even imagine a being that could endanger my teacher!
'Teacher is the best, the cutest in the world, the strongest in the world, the greatest archwitch in the world...'
As I was walking through the forest with these thoughts, a monkey monster with a familiar appearance dropped from a tree.
Seeing the basket in my arms filled with food, the monkey shrieked and charged straight for it.
"Kieeeek!"
"Hey—are you crazy?"
I had dealt with this type of monster several times before, so I expertly twisted my body to dodge its charge, then grabbed it by the nape of its neck and slammed it to the ground.
It was a monstrous creature, capable of exerting strength far beyond its body weight, but the same was true for me. I crushed the nape of its neck with nothing but my grip strength. Crack-
The monster's cervical spine shattered. It shuddered for a moment, then its life faded. I casually tossed its limp corpse into the woods and touched the necklace I was wearing, a sense of unease washing over me.
'It's fine... I don't see any cracks.'
This necklace, a gift from my teacher, was a magical item meant to protect me from monster attacks. To be precise, it was imbued with her magic power, which was supposed to scare monsters away.
But despite the necklace, this was already the third attack today. All the monsters had been unusually aggressive, as if they'd been starving for days.
'Is the necklace broken...?'
If it was broken, it was possible that I, with no aptitude for magic, wouldn't be able to tell. With that thought, I finished gathering the day's fruits, mushrooms, and greens, and headed back to the cabin.
When I returned and reported the day's events to my teacher, she scratched her cheek, looking rather embarrassed as she explained the reason.
"...That's probably my fault."
"Huh? What did you do, Teacher...?"
"Well, you see... I blew up a part of the forest when I fought that witch, right? I evacuated the monsters and animals beforehand so they wouldn't die. But now the animals have survived, while the forest they live in has shrunk. It's only natural that monsters who've been pushed out of their territory would start attacking recklessly..."
"Ah—."
Her explanation finally made sense of why the monsters had been attacking me. Originally, the forest must have supported just the right number of animals. As long as each kept to its own territory, the ecosystem would have been maintained indefinitely.
But a while ago, my teacher had fought the witch of fire, and a part of the forest had been completely obliterated in the process.
The monsters that lost their territory scattered into other areas, and the ones that were pushed out by these sudden intruders were now attacking me.
"But that... was unavoidable, wasn't it?"
"Well—it was. Foraging in the forest is forbidden for a while. You might run into a dangerous monster."
"...Then what are we supposed to eat?"
"What are you worried about? In the past, I would have just gone to get food myself, but now we have you, Ritz, don't we? You can just go to the city and buy some."
"But wouldn't going to the city every day be risky? People might get suspicious, wondering where I keep coming from..."
"Get a room! Just act like you live in the city! This whole mess will be over in a month or two anyway, so it won't be for long!"
In the end, my teacher and I compromised. I would go to the city every day to buy groceries. Margaret would take care of fetching water for our baths, which was an absolute necessity.
After all, a monster that might be dangerous for me to encounter alone posed no threat to a witch.
I fell asleep that night, slightly excited at the prospect of living in the city again after so long. The next day, I headed for the city first thing in the morning.
An unnamed city.
It was the same city I had deliberately avoided ever since I saw a Holy Knight publicly and brutally murder innocent citizens in the plaza.
I descended into a back alley and immediately looked for a butcher shop. In this era, they called it a pujutgan. I had braced myself for the filth and stench of blood typical of the medieval period, but surprisingly, it wasn't like that at all.
"Welcome."
The shop owner glanced at me from the corner of his eye and continued to silently slice the meat. It clearly wasn't pork or beef, but... at least it didn't look spoiled.
Whether it was because it was monster meat and didn't spoil easily, or because he had a supply of genuinely fresh meat, I couldn't tell. After buying the meat, I immediately stopped by another shop to purchase things we couldn't normally eat, like bread and fruit.
'Fantasy is fantasy, I guess. There isn't a single refrigerator, yet the food is so fresh...'
The streets were free of filth, as if there was some kind of sewage system, and the people looked like they bathed at least a couple of times a week, if not daily. I didn't see many people with greasy, matted hair.
It was something you wouldn't expect from a simple, uncivilized fantasy world. Well, not that any of these commoners could hold a candle to my teacher's beauty, no matter how much they prettied themselves up—.
"Yohan?"
Just as I finished buying ingredients for breakfast and was about to head back, a very familiar voice called out to me. I turned my head slightly and saw Elesis standing there, dressed in her Holy Knight uniform.
"...Elesis?"
"I knew it was you. What are you doing here? And where has that person gone?"
"That person? You mean my teacher?"
"Yes. Is she here? Why? Is it because of that mushroom cloud in the forest a while back?"
Elesis said, looking around. Her hand naturally drifted to the hilt of the sword at her waist, a Holy Knight's instinct, I presumed.
I glanced at her hand, then cautiously held up the groceries I was carrying.
"I just came to buy some food. My teacher isn't here, so you can relax."
"You came all this way just to buy food?"
"The forest is a mess, just as you said. After that incident, the monsters and animals that lost their homes are running wild in other territories... so, yeah, that's about it."
"I see. That's a relief. That she isn't here, I mean."
The moment she heard my teacher wasn't in the city, she let out a sigh of relief and took her hand off her sword hilt. I found her behavior rather arrogant, as if drawing her sword would have made any difference.
And—as if sensing my gaze, Elesis gave an awkward smile and spoke.
"My apologies. It's my training. A presence like hers puts me on edge just by being nearby."
"I didn't say anything."
"One doesn't need to speak to be heard. The eyes say a great deal. In any case, since fate has brought us together, could you spare a moment? There are a few things I'd like to ask you..."
At her words, I glanced at Margaret, who was standing beside me. She started feigning indifference, as if to say it was my decision.
Well, even if she had some ulterior motive for calling me over, with Margaret here, my life wouldn't be in danger.
With that thought, I nodded and accepted her offer.
'Teacher... she won't get mad over something like this, right?'
"Thank you. This won't take long... Let's go."
With that, Elesis headed straight for the church. Upon entering the church, which was quite grand for a city of this size, she was greeted by various nuns and clerics as she made her way to the innermost room.
I, who had thought she was just another Holy Knight, watched the way she was treated with my mouth slightly agape.
"What, you're not just a Holy Knight?"
"I am. I'm still a Holy Knight. The reason I'm treated this way is... I was fortunate enough to capture a witch recently. This church was given to me as a reward."
"...You captured a witch?"
"Mm. Do you know of her? The witch of fire who burned down a city not long ago..."
Hearing her words, I clamped my mouth shut and stared at her.
'How did you end up being the one who caught her?'
The words crawled up my throat.
Evangeline fought off her morning drowsiness and crawled out of bed. She stretched and called for Yohan.
"Yohaaaan..."
No answer came. A sense of anxiety washed over her, and she immediately ran out to the living room to find him. He was nowhere to be seen, but thankfully, she found a piece of paper he had scribbled on, lying on the table.
[Went to the city to get groceries.]
It said he wouldn't be long, but she felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
For some reason, she had a feeling that while she was gone, Yohan was talking to another woman.
"...It's just a feeling, right?"
Evangeline thought to herself as she waited for Yohan.
She waited, and waited.
But no matter how long she waited, Yohan did not return.