Chapter 47: Friend
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Friend
Lightning struck down.
An intense flash, almost too bright to see, illuminated the world. Her vision was instantly flooded with light, and Beatrice unconsciously reached a hand toward the flash.
“Uh, uhh…”
Just a moment ago, she felt like she’d heard his voice…
It must have been a mistake. She couldn't hear human speech.
And vice versa. The only ones she could talk to were her dolls.
‘Huh? Does that mean…’
Is the one being struck by lightning a doll I made?
As Beatrice tilted her head in thought, the lightning ceased. From long experience, she assumed nothing would be left inside.
It was a strike that not even a Holy Knight could have survived unscathed. Holy Knights who could cut through magic might be able to slice through her dolls, but they couldn't possibly cut through a strike created by one…
“Ah, that stings.”
But from within the dust and dirt, the man emerged completely unharmed. And Beatrice realized that she could hear his words perfectly—that it hadn’t been a mistake after all.
So, after retrieving the archangel fluttering in the sky, she asked the man before her.
“A-are you a doll?”
“What?”
“A-are youuu a doll, a doll?”
What on earth was she talking about? Yohan stared intently at the young witch, completely baffled. She’d blasted him with lightning the moment she saw him, so he’d thought she was an enemy, but listening to her now, he didn’t sense any hostility.
He wondered if she was the type who could kill people without any emotion, like some of the witches and Holy Knights he’d met before, but then Yohan noticed Beatrice’s hands were trembling.
That kind of person doesn’t tremble after attacking a human. The only ones who can kill without emotional turmoil are those who don’t see other people as people.
“I’m Yohan. Your name?”
“B-Beatrice… Yohan, are you really not a doll?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, doll or whatever… I’m human.”
“R-really? C-can I see…?”
Not sure what she wanted to see, Yohan nodded and approached the witch. Approaching a witch whose magic was unknown was a foolish thing to do, but Yohan trusted his own magic.
He trusted his magic and his intuition. He felt this child wasn’t that dangerous.
The moment he got close, the young witch snatched his hand. As he watched to see what she would do, the girl began to sob while fiddling with his arm.
“It’s warm… It was real…”
Sniffling and squeezing out tears, the young girl fiddled with his hand and slowly drew closer, until she was practically hugging him, touching his body.
If she had been a grown woman, he would have pushed her away, as he couldn’t touch any woman other than his Teacher—but he couldn’t bring himself to push away a sobbing little girl.
In the end, Yohan simply held the girl tight without a word. Overwhelmed by the warmth that enveloped her entire body, Beatrice finally burst into a wail.
“Hwaaaaaah—!! Huuuk! Keuheup! Hwaaaa!”
Sniffling, Yohan watched the sobbing girl and took a handkerchief from his pocket.
The young witch pushed her face toward Yohan, whining as if asking him to wipe her nose, and Yohan brought the handkerchief to her face.
Honk—! After blowing her nose, the witch, now mostly calm, looked at Yohan and spoke.
“Yohan… who are you?”
“Who am I?”
“A person… who can talk with me… It’s the first time in my life. Not my mom, not my dad, not even Holy Knights or other witches could talk to me…”
Hearing this, Yohan realized her curse was one of that kind. A curse that prevented her from connecting with people.
A curse similar to his Teacher's, one that made him feel a slight sense of kinship.
Because of this, Yohan found he couldn’t just leave the witch before him. In a way, her case was even more severe than his Teacher’s.
After all, his Teacher could talk with others, and as long as she covered her face and skin, she wasn’t met with disgust.
“Beatrice.”
“Y-yes.”
“What kind of magic do you have?”
“Ah, you want to know?”
“Yeah. I’m curious.”
“…Th-there’s a condition.”
Beatrice said, glancing up at Yohan.
“H-hold me.”
“Hold you?”
“Yes…”
Hearing a request so typical of a little girl—or more accurately, a girl starved for warmth—Yohan gave a bittersweet smile.
Children deserve to be loved unconditionally. Having had that stolen from her, how rotten must she feel inside?
When he carefully opened his arms, Beatrice shook her head as if that wasn’t it and gently sat down between his legs.
“E-eih-!”
Having settled into Yohan’s lap, Beatrice looked up at him, as if worried she was being a bother.
As if to say she had nothing to worry about, he hugged her lightly. Beatrice began to nuzzle her cheek against his arm, soaking in the warmth.
“M-my magic is… magic that turns dolls into people.”
“Dolls?”
“Y-yes. So when I make dolls, I have to fill them with lots of love. The more love I put in, the stronger they get…”
“Filled with love, you say.”
“I’ll give you one too… Ah, it’s nothing!”
Kyaaak— Watching Beatrice let out a small shriek and cover her face, Yohan was reminded of his younger cousins.
They used to be so cute and affectionate like this when they were little. After they grew up, he never saw that side of them again.
As Yohan was thinking how cute Beatrice was, he realized something bothered him.
‘…She made them filled with love?’
She said her ability was to turn dolls into humans. And today, Yohan had turned hundreds of elves back into dolls.
Even for a witch, not everything was possible. Witches also had to learn skills other than magic.
“Um… Beatrice?”
“Hmm?”
“All the dolls here… did you make them?”
“—Yes! I made them!”
Beatrice beamed and pointed to the elf dolls lying all around them. To have made this many herself—it wasn’t the work of a day or two.
Which meant… this young-looking witch might be much older than she appeared.
“Beatrice.”
“Whhyy? Yohan, should I make one for you, too?”
“…How old are you?”
“My age? I forgot about that…”
Hearing that, Yohan felt an unidentifiable sense of unease. He might be treating a witch who was many times his age like a child.
Whether she knew what was on his mind or not, Beatrice continued to nuzzle against him like an affectionate cat.
Time passed, and I headed to Beatrice’s house.
Just as she’d said, her house was filled with dolls.
From the moment we entered, Beatrice greeted her dolls lightly.
“Hi, Charles! Lumine! Kleenex! Voltria!”
Hello, Mistress!
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. But I hadn’t. The dolls were talking.
She’d said something about magic that turns dolls into people, but to think they were actually people…
As I thought this and walked further inside, I realized something was strange.
“Hi, hi! Everyone, I made a friend!”
Heeey, we’re so jealous, Mistress!
Isn’t he a lover, not a friend!?
“Ehehe, i-it’s not like that!”
The voices coming from the dolls were all the same.
The place the voices were coming from was also the same.
As if someone were performing ventriloquism, all the sounds were flowing from Beatrice’s mouth.
‘…Beatrice.’
It was only then that I realized the dolls weren’t making the sounds, but that Beatrice herself was making them with her own mouth.
This poor girl couldn’t make friends because of her curse. On top of that, her magic must have made her spend more and more time with her dolls.
Soon, she must have started treating the dolls like people. Until she finally reached a point where she could no longer distinguish between humans and dolls…
“Ah, Yohan! Come here!”
Beatrice led me to her room. The hallway was already lined with cute dolls, but her room contained as many dolls as the hallway combined.
From crude dolls that were clearly handmade to polished ones that looked professionally made.
I couldn’t even begin to guess how much time it must have taken to make all of these.
“Hehe, Yohan, Yohaaan…”
After making me lie down on the bed, Beatrice used my arm as a pillow and lay down next to me. She had a cute face that didn't look bad even when lying down like this, but seeing her like this reminded me of someone.
“Beatrice.”
“Yes, why?”
“I should get going now.”
“…Going? Where?”
“I have to go home. I can’t stay here forever, can I?”
Hearing my words, Beatrice’s eyes gleamed as she stared intently at me. Her silent, prolonged gaze was more chilling than anything.
When I carefully tried to lift her head off me and sit up, Beatrice grabbed my sleeve and spoke.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“…Are you going to abandon me too, Yohan?”
Looking at Beatrice, who was tearing up and gazing at me mournfully, I shook my head.
“I’ll come back. Don’t worry. We’re friends now, right?”
I said this, remembering the words she had said to her dolls earlier.
At that, Beatrice shook her head and pulled me down forcefully.
“…So you are abandoning me?”
He’s abandoning you, Mistress!
Catch him, catch him!
The surrounding dolls began to cackle as if agreeing with her. Just as a chill ran down my spine at the sight, Beatrice opened her mouth and spoke lightly.
“This is your home now, Yohan.”
You’re not going anywhere.
Beatrice said, invoking her magic.
The dolls filling the room swarmed toward Yohan.