Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Make a Contract with Me and Become a Witch
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If you spot those blatantly suspicious feather tattoos, anyone would peg these girls as witches at first glance.
Kiki's, hidden in her most intimate spot, would never be discovered. But Cherry's on the back of her hand? That'd be spotted in a heartbeat.
"Whoa, the tattoo's gone!"
"D-Did mine disappear too?"
Thankfully, the tattoos weren't permanent.
According to Muna, they only glowed faintly when using magic.
As long as they wore long sleeves covering the backs of their hands, no one would notice.
Kiki's... well, getting caught would be the real surprise.
So, what exactly is this contract?
Springing something like this without explaining it to me screams scam!
Not that I'm complaining, since I'm the one holding the power.
【Crow's Contract】
You have formed a contract with two apprentice witches.
The conditions are to faithfully carry out the missions you and the Sage assign during the exploration of the Tin Ruins.
In return, you and the Sage provide an introduction to the Witch of Day and one of your fallen feathers.
The contractors' loyalty is extremely high.
As long as you uphold your end, the chance of them breaking the contract is very low.
If the apprentice witches level up, you receive special rewards.
If you level up, the apprentice witches' magic power increases.
Breaking the contract without mutual agreement permanently seals one trait of the breaker.
The status window finally bothered to explain the contract.
Should I be grateful it showed up at all?
Better late than never.
At least there were no confusing terms about who was the "A" party or "B" party.
Maybe it simplified things because Cherry and Kiki almost got scammed by the Witch of Night like that.
Still, it seemed like a pretty solid ability.
There was always a chance these two could betray me, but with this contract, I could relax.
And surprisingly, the terms benefited both sides.
If I got stronger, their magic power went up. If they got stronger, I got rewards.
No downside at all.
If all contracts were this fair, maybe I should actively recruit apprentice witches?
"Make a contract with me and become a Crow Witch."
Something like that, scattering feathers everywhere.
"So... we've made the contract, right?"
Cherry asked with an anxious glint in her eyes.
Yeah, sorry, but you've gone and contracted with me now.
Just handing over a feather wouldn't seal the deal.
Everything had to align perfectly, like it did in this situation, for it to count as a contract.
"Contracts with familiars are common. But this one's a bit different. The master-servant roles are reversed."
"Kak."
That's true.
The typical familiar was basically a witch's pet.
But with us, it was the opposite.
Kiki and Cherry felt like my pet humans.
"Of course, it's not unheard of. Witches with epithets often make similar contracts with far stronger beings. Though not quite reversed—theirs are more equal."
Witches with epithets.
The likes of the Witch of the Deep Sea or the Witch of Plague—ones who screamed power—had contracts with other entities.
And somehow, these two scrappy apprentices ended up in a similar spot.
"Wait... does that mean...?"
"No way, us too...?"
Their eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Exactly. Someday, you might even be called... Crow Witches."
"...Crow Witches!"
They loved the sound of it—both Kiki and Cherry grinned ear to ear.
"Hehe, a contract already..."
"Crow Witch...! What a cool name!"
Is it that cool? Well, they're at that age.
Guess that's why they became witchlings in the first place.
After assigning missions to my pet humans, we parted ways carefully.
I even slipped them some of the silver coins I'd swiped, just in case they went hungry.
I worried if they'd pull off the missions or get caught as witches right away, but that was unfounded.
They handled things better than I'd expected.
"Oh ho! Can you feel it? The true power of the Crow Witch?"
"You're the best, sis! But I'm a Crow Witch too... I won't lose!"
They seemed deep into some weird role-play, but if they enjoyed it, fine by me.
Scrappy as they looked, they were still witches.
Stealing items and gathering info came naturally to them.
"My body feels way more nimble!"
"Right? Shiny objects just... stand out more, y'know?"
Hm?
They were starting to feel a bit like me.
Time passed like that.
Nights I caused chaos, days they nailed the missions—and before I knew it, a week had flown by.
"Lord Crow! We found it!"
My pet humans finally brought good news.
"They found the entrance to the ruins' underground! There's a tricky lock, but they've almost cracked it!"
Even with my interference, my lovely humans had found the right path.
That simplified things.
Just chase out all the humans and snag the goodies.
Of course, driving out that many alone would be tough.
I'd planted seeds of distrust, but it wasn't enough.
No problem, though.
"Hoo, finally ready, eh?"
We had the Sage on our side.
Surprisingly, this plump kiwi bird knew the ruins' layout inside out.
He'd been here before, after all.
He had all the intel—locks, mazes, everything.
"Finding the entrance must've been no small feat. Hm, shall we get moving?"
Muna said in a reassuring tone.
"Huh? Kiwi sir, you sound like you already know the entrance."
My pet human voiced her suspicion.
Muna didn't answer—just lifted his beak in a smirk.
Pretty cool smile for a kiwi.
Muna had been here once before.
Meaning he knew the entrance too.
Yet we'd started from scratch searching for it.
Simple reason.
The underground ruins' entrance shifted over time.
And we planned to use that.
To peacefully boot out the humans.
"Kak, kakakak."
With the wise crow's chuckle, we prepared for the final operation.
Jenny of the Chain Sickle.
Her story was pretty infamous.
By all accounts, she was thoughtful and serious usually. But in certain situations, she turned into a completely different person.
Her ferocity rivaled even the Emerald Saint Knights—her notoriety spoke for itself.
With the youthful face of a teen girl, yet described as an executioner.
She'd stormed a witch gathering solo and massacred them.
The tale of her whistling back with a witch's head solidified her rep.
Believing her mission was to eradicate all witches from the world, she was always involved in witch-related jobs.
And now, here she was at the ruins—as a freelance mercenary.
Obviously, with a different goal from most folks here.
The forbidden ruins drew crowds.
Thanks to intel leaked by the Striped Cat info network.
Jenny felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Someone was orchestrating this chaos.
Her executioner's instincts screamed it.
Witches were involved.
That's why she joined the exploration.
To kill any witch followers or witches hiding here.
And that's when two girls caught her eye.
Kiki and Cherry.
Cute, somewhat ditzy girls. But Jenny knew instinctively.
They were witches.
More precisely, apprentice witches.
Not wicked enough for Night Witches, not skilled enough for Day Witches.
Still, witches.
And she knew Night Witches' common tricks.
Lure in apprentices like these, use them as disposable pawns.
Have them do the dirty work, then cut ties cleanly.
So the executioner chose to watch, not strike.
To hook the bigger fish.
"I'm innocent!"
"Innocent my foot! You slept in the bushes all day!"
"No, I didn't mean to—it was sudden, this crow popped out and...!"
"Huh? A crow knocked you out? You expect us to buy that?"
"Not just any crow! It was huge!"
"A crow's a crow, size or not."
Other rumors circulated too.
Solo explorers vanishing without a trace.
They'd wake up after a day and return, no major harm—but stripped of all gear.
And outright thieves snatching stuff in broad daylight.
No violent clashes yet, but once the ruins opened? Who knew.
Seeds of distrust had taken root, hatred brewing between groups.
Jenny sensed it instinctively.
Someone was deliberately stirring trouble.
And that someone was puppeteering Kiki and Cherry.
So she set a trap.
One no human could resist.
She leaked info to Kiki and Cherry to catch their mastermind.
Jenny of the Chain Sickle.
The Executioner.
No one escaped her traps.
Not a formless ghost.
Not a flying bird.
Not even a sage who knew all truths.
Unless it was one of those, no witch could slip free.
With that confidence, the executioner smiled, waiting for her prey to spring the trap.