I'll Watch Over You

I'll watch over you.

"...Ha. You really know how to pick the shittiest questions."

Ruby let out a hollow laugh and tipped the wine bottle again. Crimson liquid poured into the glass in a heavy rush. The tips of her fingers were trembling, just slightly. Especially the face reflected in the glass—it was different. The expression that always looked ready to explode with anger now only looked bitter beyond measure.

"Half-breed...? Yeah. That's right. A half-breed. Not human enough for the ears to grow properly, not elf either... just a half-assed knife-ear."

She lifted the glass and held it up to the light. The wine swirling red inside looked exactly like her eyes. Exactly like the flames she commanded.

"The elves hated me because my ears weren't pointed enough. They spat on me... and what was it they said again?"

Ruby gave a vacant little laugh and drained the glass right there. A brief silence hung, then her voice picked up again.

"They told me to get lost because my blood was mixed with human vulgarity... Of course, it was the same when I mixed with humans. They pointed fingers at me, calling me a three-hundred-year-old hag who lived too long, a monster, a demon..."

She snorted and pointed a finger straight at me.

"Since before you were even born."

"..."

"You probably don't know. What it feels like to belong nowhere. Neither side wants me. The Scarlet family? Don't make me laugh. My father was... incompetent too. In the end he got killed by me."

...?

Scarlet?

Father?

Death?

What was that supposed to mean?

I carefully matched her gaze and opened my mouth.

"You killed him?"

"...Ha? Can't you even understand plain speech? I said I killed my old man. While he slowly burned to death in my flames."

Ruby chuckled, but there wasn't a single trace of madness in her eyes. Only sorrow, filling them completely.

"Stupid father... That's what you get for taking my side."

"Your father burned to death? What do you mean by that?"

"...Heh. Listen here, you little brat."

Ruby filled her glass with the red liquid again.

— Glug, glug.

"Curious, are you?"

"Of course... You're my patient."

"Heeh...?"

She propped her chin in both hands and tilted her head to the side.

"What does a little kid like you even know... Just think of me like this. A terrifying witch who burns anyone to death and throws away even the bonds of blood. That's me—Ruby Scarlet."

"..."

Zzzzzzt.

A ringing filled my head. This was clearly a sign that Ruby was agitated. She claimed she killed her own father, yet she was shaken—which meant she hadn't wanted it. That much I could tell.

After spending a few days with her, I knew. She was never a pleasure killer who charged at people just to murder them. She was pure hatred itself, a flame of resentment toward the entire world.

So why had she become that flame of hatred?

Probably because of the finger-pointing: a terrifying witch who burns anyone to death and throws away even the bonds of blood.

"Why did they just leave a failure like me alone... Leaving me like this was... a mistake. Because I'm a failure. A walking disaster."

Zzzzzzzzzzt...

"Ruby?"

"This world is so fucking disgusting..."

The ringing grew stronger. An aura rose around her, and Psychological Insight showed me her colors clearly, as if reporting them.

The color of regret.

Purple.

As expected. This wasn't simple anger management disorder.

This was the scream of a child begging for comfort... for someone to pay attention. Only the method wasn't a little match girl—it was an arsonist burning down cities.

"So... you burn everything because you think you're a failure?"

I asked calmly, with a serious look.

"Does burning everything make you feel better?"

"Haa... No."

Ruby shook her head. The alcohol made her tongue a little thick, but her eyes were terrifyingly clear.

"If I burn it... it becomes fair."

"Fair?"

"Noble or commoner, human or elf."

She raised one index finger over the table. A tiny flame bloomed at the tip. Precarious as a flickering candle, yet hot enough to swallow everything the moment it touched.

"In front of my fire, everyone screams the same. Everyone turns into the same black ash. In that moment, no one can look down on me for being a half-breed. They just stare at me as pure terror."

Ruby gazed at the flame ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on her fingertip with a hazy expression, as if looking at her dearest friend.

"It's warm. And it gets clean. The filthy stares, the whispering mouths... if I burn them all away, my heart gets... just a little peaceful for a short while."

Was that moisture at the corner of her eye tears, or just a physiological reaction from the alcohol?

Ruby muttered in a wet voice.

"But... but, fuck... why doesn't it ever fill up..."

Drip.

A clear droplet finally slid down her cheek.

Even if she set the world on fire and burned it to ash, the heart left behind in those ashes was still cold and lonely. She knew that herself.

"No matter how much I burn... the next day it's the same. I'm still a half-breed, and people still look at me like a monster. So I burn again, and burn again..."

She slumped forward and pressed her forehead to the table. Her shaking shoulders looked pitiful.

"I know... I know I'm a crazy bitch. I know, but... I don't know how to stop..."

This was the true face of the Calamity Witch.

Not a villainess who would destroy the world, but simply a broken locomotive that never learned how to stop and just kept running wild.

I quietly rose from my seat and moved to her side. Then, instead of her trembling shoulder, I firmly grasped the right hand where the flame still flickered.

Fwoosh!

Ruby jerked her head up in shock. The flame that had risen on instinct thrashed inside my palm, but I didn't let go. It was hot, but bearable.

"Wh-what the hell are you...! Doesn't that hurt? Let go, you'll get burned!"

"It doesn't hurt. Maybe because your heart is colder."

I answered shamelessly and used my other hand to wipe the wet corner of her eye.

"You said you don't know how to stop, right?"

"What...?"

"I'll teach you. How to stop. And..."

I tightened my grip and forced the flame that had gathered in her palm to die out. Her pupils trembled.

"That even if you don't burn anything, there's still someone who will look at you."

A system alert floated before my eyes.

A weakened defense mechanism meant... I could start working on her affection soon.

My hand was a little hot, but even so, I felt she would spend the rest of today peacefully.

"You..."

"...Anyway, let's end the conversation here for today."

Drinking more wouldn't make any more progress. And I wasn't about to get dead drunk and spend a sticky night with this woman either...

I stood up naturally.

"Shall we go?"

"...Hmph. Quitting already? How boring."

"As you can see, my hand's like this."

Sure enough, after facing the flame again, it stung a little. Of course, it wasn't that painful.

"Ha...? So who told you to grab it?"

"Haha. Let's go."

"..."

At my words, Ruby let out a small sound and then rose from her seat. Her eyes looked a little regretful, but she didn't show it and simply followed behind me.

When we opened the door of the Moonlight Tavern and stepped out, the cold night air hit us at once. Ruby's body, still carrying the alcohol, swayed slightly. I lightly caught her shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

"...Ha? You think I'd get drunk off this? Hoo..."

She said that, but she looked drunk... She blew out a breath and adjusted her hood.

"Let's go. I feel like burning everything..."

"Haha. Yes, let's."

Just as I was about to take a step toward the hotel—

—Please, don't do this...!

—Hey now, this bitch is pretty enough to put on airs. Aren't all elf bitches whores anyway?

From deep inside a damp alley. A tearing scream rose from the darkness where even the streetlamps didn't reach.

Ruby and I turned our heads toward it at the same time.

There, three or four men in cheap leather armor were cornering a small-framed girl against the wall. Pointed ears peeked through her hair. An elf—same as Ruby, but far more fragile.

"..."

Ruby's steps stopped dead.

Zzzzt.

Beeeeeep.

An unpleasant ringing filled my ears. A haze of color rose behind Ruby's back.

A red aura.

This wasn't the color of mana being released to create flame. It was her psychological color.

But that red wasn't pure. Gray and muddy brown were mixed into it. Those two colors felt like hesitation and self-loathing. They swirled turbidly together.

She clenched her fist tight, then suddenly whipped her head away.

"...Let's go."

"Just leave them?"

"Ha? Isn't that obvious? I have no obligation to help some vulgar knife-ear. And..."

Ruby chewed her lip hard.

"Even if I step in, I'll just burn the building down with them. If I get involved, it won't be saving anyone—it'll just burn everything."

...Burn everything?

She called herself a witch, but her distrust of herself looked far too strong. Maybe right now Ruby actually wanted to help someone. Of course, all the evil deeds of destroying and burning cities until now were holding her ankles...

"Hurry up and go. Don't get involved."

She grabbed my sleeve and pulled as if fleeing.

That was when it happened.

"Hey, you knife-ear bitch. Spread your legs before I cut those ears off and sell them."

That word from inside the alley.

Knife-ear.

Beeeeeeeeeep─────!

In an instant the ringing grew sharp enough to tear my eardrums. The colors around Ruby flooded into a deep blood-red. A violent agitation that looked ready to swallow the gray of hesitation whole.

But she still couldn't take a step. If no one pushed her from behind, that rage would fester and burn her again.

I quietly placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby."

"...Let go. I said let's just go."

"You don't look comfortable at all. With that much noise inside you, how are you supposed to sleep?"

At my words she flinched and looked up at me. The red eyes under the hood were shaking hard.

"Those scum. They're exactly the type you hate most."

"...So what. If I step in... it'll just get messy again. I can't control anything."

"No. You can."

I whispered low and certain beside her ear.

"Burning isn't always bad. Trash has to be incinerated to get clean."

"...What?"

"Don't hold it in. This time, just burn those bastards—not the building. I'll watch from the side."

She let out a low laugh, as if finding my words ridiculous.

"Ha? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm your counselor. I'll watch over you as much as you want."

"..."

That single sentence changed the light in her eyes.

Fear vanished from Ruby's pupils, replaced by a cold killing intent.

"Ha, what a funny little shit... You better not regret this, got it?"

"I won't. Just... please don't burn the building."

"Hmph... We'll see."

She answered curtly, then instead of shaking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off my hand, slowly turned her body toward the alley.

I watched her back as she walked away and observed the situation from a distance.

"Heh heh, hey, we should enjoy her once before selling, right? Nobody's around."

"Yeah? Fucking an elf isn't exactly common either."

"P-please save me! D-don't—!"

"Stay still!"

Oh, the assault was about to start. But they had no idea that would soon become their regret.

"Hey──────"

Thud, thud. Ruby walked into the alley. Acrid smoke began rising from under ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her feet with every step.

At her low voice the thugs turned their heads.

"Huh? What the hell is this beggar? Get lost if you don't wanna get hurt."

"Boss, this one's voice is pretty nice too? Buy one get one free?"

One of them approached with a greasy smile and reached out. He must have taken the hooded woman for just some weak passerby.

"C'mere, pretty. Let me see that face..."

The moment that filthy hand was about to touch Ruby's shoulder—

"Get your dirty pig trotters off me. They stink."

Crack!

"Gyaaaaah!!"

Ruby snatched his wrist and twisted it hard. It wasn't simple grip strength. The intense heat blooming from her hand melted his leather glove in an instant.

"Aaagh! M-my hand!! It's hot!"

"Wh-what the fuck is this crazy bitch?!"

The panicked men drew knives and charged. Normally she would have gone berserk, but this time was different. She glanced back at me standing behind her. The red corners of her eyes curved seductively, as if saying, You're watching, right?

"Ha, crazy bitch, is it... Then how about calling me an arsonist instead?"

With a confident smile she swept her hand through the air.

Fwoosh—!

Flames stretched out like a flock of dancing butterflies. A beautiful and deadly trajectory. The building walls weren't scorched. Not a single spark touched the elf girl. Only the three charging thugs had precise red flames coiling around their bodies like snakes.

—Gyaaaaaaah!!

Screams that tore through the night sky.

In the middle of those red flames, Ruby Scarlet shone more brilliantly than ever before.

It was not a calamity. It was a flame of salvation that had bloomed for me alone.

Fwoosh—!

When she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swung her hand, the flames lashed out like a whip. The building walls remained unburned. Not a single spark landed on the elf girl who couldn't escape. Only the three charging thugs were precisely wrapped in red fire.

—Gyaaaaaaah!!

Screams that tore through the night sky.

For the first time, it was not a calamity—but a flame of good deeds for someone else.