Chapter 48: Obsession
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: Obsession
Hundreds, thousands of dolls rushed toward me. I tried to neutralize them with magic as I had before, but I was flustered to see them moving without any issue.
‘What the hell, why are they still moving…?’
Looking closely, I saw they were different from the elves. The elves had become human before they moved, but these were moving while still in their doll forms.
Hadn't Beatrice said it herself? That her magic was one that turned dolls into people.
She never once said it was magic that could move dolls.
“Yohan, Yohan—my Yohan.”
The young witch murmured, her fingers twitching continuously. It was only then that I realized there were tiny, almost invisible threads attached to them.
Every time her fingers twitched slightly, the dolls in the room pressed down on me. I belatedly understood why my magic wasn't working.
‘She’s… moving all of them herself?’
My magic was nullification, which reverted any magical effect to nothing, but that meant it was useless against non-magical abilities.
If a witch who had lived alone in this forest mansion for tens, even hundreds of years, making dolls and handling thread and needle, were to perform something that defied common sense, I would be powerless to resist.
“My friend, whom I've finally found. You can't go anywhere.”
“…No.”
“It's okay. Yohan will come to like it soon.”
Beatrice used the threads to restrain my arms and legs, tying them so tightly they would never come loose. I watched her bind my limbs and warned her nonchalantly.
“Let me go.”
“Why? You said we were friends, so why do you keep trying to run away?”
“This isn't something friends do to each other, and more importantly….”
Kkigigik- I said, the necklace clinking.
“It's lunchtime now.”
“…Aha, Yohan is hungry! Okay! Just wait a little bit!”
Beatrice didn't understand my meaning and left the room. Even if she was tens or hundreds of years old, the young witch hadn't matured beyond a child.
Then again, if she'd never once spoken to another person since birth, it was impossible for her to grow up.
‘I'm fucked.’
The necklace began to glow.
My teacher had woken up.
Evangeline, who woke late in the morning, just as it was nearing lunchtime, immediately took out the necklace she had fixed all night and began to stroke it.
The necklace gifted to her by her beloved disciple, Yohan. It was Treasure No. 2, the second most precious thing in her life.
Naturally, No. 1 was her disciple, Yohan himself.
Grrrrowl—!
“Ah…”
Having skipped breakfast, her stomach began to churn. If she had made such a noise in front of her disciple, she would have blushed in embarrassment.
Thinking it was a relief, Evangeline went out to the living room to eat lunch. The living room, which was always bustling and filled with the scent of life, was now chillingly empty.
Neither Yohan nor Margaret was anywhere to be seen. With eyes as cold as the room, she glared at Margaret's door.
‘They didn't go somewhere together… no.’
Margaret's magic power could be felt from inside the room. So Yohan must have stepped out to get ingredients or something….
With that thought, Evangeline sat in a chair and waited quietly for Yohan to return. It wasn't that she hadn't considered her disciple might be in danger, but as long as he didn't leave this forest, there was no way he could be harmed.
After waiting for a long time with no sign of Yohan, Evangeline sensed something was wrong and searched for his location.
‘…He's not here?’
Spreading her magic power wide to scan the entire forest, Evangeline realized Yohan's magic couldn't be felt anywhere within it.
Her heart sank. The worry that he might have run away, or perhaps been killed by a monster, surfaced—though she knew it was impossible.
Impossible. It can't be, it can't be—.
Evangeline began to spread her magic power wider and wider. Her heart began to pound like crazy, and as she extended her magic beyond her domain of the forest, over the mountain range and even to the city, countless pieces of information flooded her.
A pain so intense it felt like her head would shatter tormented her, but Evangeline endured it. After bearing the pain, she was finally able to find a response from the necklace she had given Yohan.
“Why is he there….”
Having found Yohan's location, Evangeline frowned, puzzled. Yohan was on the midslope of that great mountain range.
It was another witch's territory, and not only that, it was a place she herself avoided because it was teeming with monsters that were difficult to deal with.
‘That's not what's important right now.’
Evangeline immediately burst into Margaret's room. She made a loud noise to wake Margaret up at once.
She couldn't tell if the invisible woman was awake or not, but Evangeline shouted as if she couldn't care less.
“Ritz! You're awake, right!? This is serious! Yohan's disappeared!”
There was no reply, but the stirring of the blanket and pillow indicated that Margaret was awake.
Seeing this, Evangeline immediately shared the location she had found with Margaret. She couldn't be more thankful that Margaret was here at a time like this.
If she hadn't been here, Evangeline would have had to walk all the way to where Yohan was. To a place that was incredibly dangerous even for her, all while praying that Yohan was still alive.
It was a contradiction.
“Let's go! Hurry—!”
Knock, knock.
And just then, someone knocked on the door. Evangeline's eyes snapped toward it. Was it Yohan? The necklace's response was far away, but since it wasn't Yohan's own response, she couldn't be 100% sure he was there.
What if he had just lost the necklace and somehow made his way back? Hoping for that, Evangeline carefully opened the door.
Outside, a polar bear wearing a suit and standing on two legs was waiting for her with a polite posture.
“A pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle.”
“…What are you?”
“And farewell.”
The bipedal polar bear swung its forepaw. The magic and power contained within it were so immense that even without making contact, huge claw marks were left on the cabin.
But Evangeline just stared at the claws, unfazed. Sharp claws and immense power could have no effect on her.
For there is nothing in this world greater than love, and thus, all things could be resolved with love—.
The polar bear looked at its paw, which had stopped dead in its tracks, and laughed a hollow laugh as if in disbelief.
“Haha, well now—you're not just a little strong, are you.”
“Perfect timing. To be attacked right when Yohan disappeared… this can't be a coincidence.”
“Yohan? Who's that….”
“Don't play dumb.”
Twuk- With a light swing of her arm, Evangeline erased one of the polar bear's paws from existence and approached it as it clutched its arm and rolled on the ground.
“Gyaaaaaaah—!!”
“I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'm going to be a little rough. Tell me what you know, unless you'd rather die.”
Evangeline began to slowly erase the polar bear from the world. Feeling the terror of his own existence fading away, the polar bear screamed and spat out the information Evangeline wanted.
After hearing what she wanted, Evangeline cleanly killed the polar bear, went back inside the cabin, and spoke to Margaret, who had finished her preparations.
“Let's go quickly. We shouldn't keep Yohan waiting.”
Margaret nodded, her expression hard and tense.
The two of them then departed for the midslope of the great mountain range.
“Aaah~.”
“…I can eat by myself.”
“Aaah~! Say ahhh!”
Beatrice, who had brought food, kept pushing the spoon against my lips. There was no winning against a child. Kids don't know when to give up.
In the end, I carefully opened my mouth, and the properly cooled food entered. To be honest, it didn't taste very good.
‘It's bland… no, it's beyond bland, it's completely unseasoned….’
But Beatrice herself seemed confident in the dish she was feeding me, her eyes sparkling as she asked.
“How is it!? Is it good!?”
“…Honestly?”
“Of course you have to be honest!”
“It's bad.”
“Whaaat…? Why, why is it bad!?”
“It's not seasoned at all… and more importantly….”
Without the taste of the seasoning my teacher made, it probably wouldn't have been that delicious even with a little salt and pepper.
It was basically magical MSG. This was not the kind of taste you could explain to someone who'd never had it.
“You've never eaten delicious food before, have you?”
“…I have. This is delicious.”
“That's why your body isn't growing, because you only eat things like this.”
“—I-I'm all grown up! I'm plenty adult enough!”
Beatrice said, puffing out her chest. For her small frame, it wasn't like she had nothing, but compared to my teacher, Margaret, or Elesis, it was as good as nothing.
When I snorted at the sight of her chest, Beatrice puffed out her cheeks and pouted.
“I hate you, Yohan.”
“Really? Do you really hate me?”
“…No, actually, I don't.”
“If you did something wrong, what should you do?”
“Apologize. Sorry. I'm sorry, Yohan. I was wrong… so please, don't hate me.”
“Then will you untie this?”
I tugged lightly at my arm, gesturing to the threads binding my limbs, but she shook her head vigorously.
“If you don't untie this, I might start to hate you, Beatrice.”
“…But, if I let you go, Yohan—you'll go back.”
“Even if I promise to come back?”
“Lies. It's a lie. I'd rather you hate me a little than have you leave, Yohan.”
Beatrice said she would go make more food and stood up.
I just stared intently at her back. Beyond the door she had just opened, a familiar figure appeared.
“Ugh!?”
Beatrice, having run face-first into a large, soft mass of fat, rubbed her forehead and looked up.
In front of her stood a silver-haired witch with a chest so large it was incomparable to her own.
“Yohan, so you were here.”
My teacher, the witch Evangeline, said with a grin.
“Let's go home.”