Ep.3 - Arwen (2)
Ep.3 - Arwen (2)
Arwen, an ordinary country boy.
It was a quiet, peaceful,
and therefore sometimes dull little rural village. Yet Arwen loved the village where he was born more than anyone.
In other places, they said, fights broke out over the hierarchy among mothers,
but Arwen's family, at least, was a harmonious household far removed from such family hierarchies.
Even the two mothers who hadn't given birth to him cherished Arwen more than anyone,
and Arwen was a pure and diligent boy who maintained good relationships not only with all his mothers, but also with his father and his siblings.
Such harmony was rare in this era.
Of course, the village maidens and his sisters quarreled quite frequently over the boy, but that's another story, so let's just move on.
"The weather's nice today too!"
Right now, Arwen was being led by Chichi's hand, strolling through the streets of Raftel.
Chichi's pumpkin porridge, which didn't even permit him to question why he was here or what he was doing now,
made him [think] that he was [naturally where he ought to be].
"Noona! But where are Mom and Dad?"
"They both went out for work, remember?"
"Ah~ right. I said bye to them before we left!"
"Right, right. You remember well."
Chichi played along as she led Arwen.
Following the exact same path she had taken with Delin,
crossing the stone walkway,
passing through the gates of the Witch Academy,
traversing the corridor where empty suits of armor roamed,
to the lecture hall...
"Now. Everyone, attention."
The atmosphere in the lecture hall was rather chilly.
Discontent over Chichi's coercive monopolization of the teaching material filled the students' hearts,
so much so that even the women who had always followed and admired her were expressing their dissatisfaction by twirling their hair around their fingers.
"As I mentioned a few days ago, Delin has become my apprentice, not the teaching material. So from now on, he will no longer be sharing affection with you all, nor will he serve as a volunteer for lessons."
Chichi swept her gaze across the witches' faces. From left to right, slowly...
"Hmm..."
Undisguised disappointment was plain on their once-enthusiastic faces.
"Oh dear. The mood is not good at all."
Chichi paused for a moment, then continued.
"I know as well. The greatest strength of our class is the lively, vivid material you can see and feel firsthand, and the practicum that makes use of it."
The witches' gazes slowly gathered toward Chichi.
Her voice, flowing as smoothly as water, drew the atmosphere of the lecture back toward her, captivating even the sulking witches' eyes one by one.
"I think I must first offer you all an apology. I'm sorry, everyone. You were quite shocked, weren't you?"
Click-clack, click-clack-
At the front of the lecture hall, Chichi walked slowly, deliberately spreading the sound of her heeled shoes throughout the room.
That sound was enough to divert the students' attention toward where it came from.
"However, I didn't make such an irresponsible and selfish decision without any countermeasures. Though that child is male, I believed he possessed sufficient talent, and that's why I wanted to take him in and train him personally. Regardless of male or female, I do not neglect those with talent. My heart toward all of you has always been that way."
A lie.
Just glossy, fabricated words.
Sentimental words that would soothe the students' anger if they heard them now.
Words spoken to maintain her usual image of caring for them, to continue playing the character of the friendly professor...
Emotionless words uttered after thorough calculation.
"I live for all of you... no, for all witches, including you. I spend my time constantly pondering how I can contribute to this witch society with the talents I possess and the magic I've refined."
A lie.
A woman who lived perpetually empty, knowing no meaning in life other than her own talents and magic.
A calculating woman who merely coaxed younger witches to her side, just to survive.
"The decisions I reach at the end of that process never satisfy everyone. I know that. I, too, am not perfect, and even if I were, I could not make everyone happy."
A lie.
A witch who believed only in her own perfect magic.
A witch who believed in nothing but her own magic, which rivaled the gods.
"Still, I sincerely hope you will trust me. I intend to teach that boy and make him into a talent that will contribute to this witch society. Perhaps, starting next week, he'll be attending classes with you all. Glory to all witches and the Witch Academy!"
The atmosphere was still chilly.
All the witches' gazes were fixed on Chichi, but their discontent remained.
So Chichi showed all the witches the [formal bright smile] she had always displayed,
"Would you wait just a moment? I have materials prepared for today's lesson."
Click-clack, click-clack- she walked out of the lecture hall and headed toward a nearby empty classroom where Arwen was waiting.
Arwen, who had been sitting quietly there, staring blankly out the window, broke into a bright smile the moment he heard Chichi's footsteps and dashed over to her in a single bound.
"Noona!"
In his eyes, Chichi unmistakably appeared as his own [real older sister].
Chichi didn't answer, simply stroked his head a few times, then took his hand firmly and left the classroom.
"Noona, but what about Euril? And Ersha? Where is everyone?"
The boy looked for his little sisters.
"They're over that way, so go play with them. Got it?"
"Yeah!"
Arwen stepped into the lecture hall.
The moment they saw the boy Chichi had brought, the witches began whispering in surprise.
"Yes..."
Chichi let them whisper for a while. Within that whispering, the witches had begun to regain their energy.
"Good... good."
Smiles returned to the witches' faces. Some even clasped their hands together and cheered as if praying to a god, while others exchanged lewd jokes with their seatmates as they looked at Arwen.
Of course, Arwen's appearance wasn't as handsome as Delin's, but the miraculous news that the practicum they thought was over would resume breathed hope back into them.
"Huh?..."
In the midst of that, Arwen was the only one feeling fear.
Inside the lecture hall, as reflected in his eyes, only the faces of his beloved little sisters filled his vision.
The terrified boy instinctively hid his body behind Chichi. Even in his hazy state, he sensed that something was wrong.
"N-noona. It's weird in here...! Let's get out, quick...!"
"There's nothing weird. What's wrong?"
"No! I said it's weird! Noona, noo..."
"..."
"Noo..."
"Hmm?"
"Who are you...?"
"Well. Who indeed."
Chichi released the spell and faced Arwen.
Why she had released the spell, even she herself couldn't properly understand.
Perhaps, she simply wanted to see this boy suffer right now.
"Now. In place of Delin, I've brought another child. This child will be put into practicum just as he is, without any mental domination or magic. Using everything you've learned so far to turn this cute child into a splendid [man] is the most important assignment of this semester."
Maybe it was because Delin had talked back to her in anger. No, perhaps it was because she had misunderstood her own subtle feelings toward Delin.
She was terribly displeased right now. Was it because he, whom she had been slowly falling for without even realizing it, had dared to shout at her and resist?
No. That wasn't it.
She might simply have wanted to hear a simple thank you from Delin.
Though Chichi couldn't even be certain of herself, she had clearly begun to harbor a liking for Delin.
She didn't know why.
Was it because of his smooth, cute face, his personality that stimulated a woman's sadistic instincts—making him cry at the slightest torment—and his peculiar stubbornness that kept him from collapsing even while crying?
Was that it?
She didn't quite know; Chichi couldn't grasp her own emotions.
She was the greatest witch who understood and dominated all magic, yet she couldn't understand or control the subtle emotions within her own heart.
Perhaps that was what it meant to be human.
Since when had she liked him?
Was it from when she faced Philmark and Neva?
Or was it from when he broke her spell by his own power?
Or if not that, then from the moment her gaze, which had been watching the blue moon, was drawn down to him groveling on the ground?
"Wait a minute! Where... where's my family? Huh? Where is this place?"
The moment he came to his senses, Arwen began to tremble violently, cold sweat beading on his skin.
And, in response, the witches' gazes fixed on the boy also began to grow increasingly sticky.
"Where you are doesn't really matter. You won't have the leisure to care about that anyway."
With slow steps, Chichi approached the students.
And accordingly, the other witches stepped forward to the front of the lecture hall in her place.
"Wait...! No! I don't want to!"
Because today was a practicum day.
BANG-
"Wait, waaaait... kkheughh..."
The moment the lecture hall door was slammed open,
the eyes of all the witches inside and of Chichi herself were drawn to it.
"Fuuuck... kkheughh..."
A man barely holding on, clutching his own ankle.
Seeing him, the women backed away from Arwen, whose clothes had nearly been torn off.
"I wanna... do it too... eheheh..."
With tears welling up from the pain and a face flushed bright red, Delin called out to the women.
"Th-that ugly little-dicked bastard... I'm better, right...?"
A dumbass.
A stupid fucker.
A guy who couldn't even take care of himself, sticking his nose everywhere.
But sometimes, when you looked at him,
precisely because he was a foolish idiot who couldn't even look after his own interests, there were those who would selflessly sacrifice themselves.
Those who would help others even at their own expense because they were too stupid...
Some might curse them as foolish, others might curse them as frustrating,
"Delin..."
But since they were so utterly stupid,
even when cursed at, they'd probably just grin stupidly.
"Why?"