Nobody Can Stop Me Now

The man's name was Max. Twenty-three years old. A low-level member of an organization called Black Viper.

When I asked what Black Viper actually did, he told me they were a criminal outfit — the kind that beat people up, sold drugs, and ran gambling dens. Yeah. Bad guys, all right.

So why had a bunch like that come looking here? To that question, he answered that they were after the Pendulum Madam supposedly had in her possession.

What the hell was this Pendulum, that they were this obsessed with it? Curiosity got the better of me, so I deliberately let my irritation show and pressed Max harder.

"You're looking for the Pendulum? Don't tell me you actually know what it is."

Ah — for the record, my voice right now sounded low and rough, thanks to a wind spell modulating it. My ordinary voice never scared anyone, so I needed something that would register as a man's to anyone listening.

Anyway, I floated a tiny starlight with magic and used it to threaten him. Max went pale and started trembling.

"That's…"

"Don't even think about holding out on me. If I catch you lying, I'll tear your jaw off."

"I—I know! It's a sacred relic that lets you speak with the dead, isn't it…?"

The answer caught me off guard. Speak with the dead? That was an absurdly powerful object.

According to Max, even Black Viper hadn't known what it really was at first. They'd casually handed it off to one of their members — a guy named Malek. When they finally tried to recover it, Malek had been arrested by the Security Bureau out of nowhere, and the Pendulum had vanished. They'd been frantically tracing its trail ever since.

If it's something like that… yeah, I can see why they'd lose their minds over it. Hope those two are all right.

I was a little worried about Madam and Ellie. Even if it was her father's keepsake, something that dangerous was better discarded for the sake of their own necks.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do for them right now. It wasn't as if I could simply erase Black Viper from existence on the spot.

I shoved the pity aside and got on with what needed doing. I'd already set the mood this carefully — from here on, the performance was everything.

I let my temper boil over as if I couldn't stand it another second, and under that cover I quietly cast a spell to scramble Max's senses. A magic that threw all five senses into chaos. The less magic a person had, the harder it was to resist — and his face twisted like he was about to die.

"Tch. Hyenas have caught the scent. At this rate, I may have to kill every last one of them."

"Hhhk…"

"What do you think? Fewer obstacles is better, wouldn't you say?"

"P-please, spare my life! I'll do anything!"

Max probably thought pure terror was what had him in its grip. I shoved him right up to the edge of the cliff, then smoothly released the spell and stepped in close.

I pretended to rummage inside my robe, pulled a handful of expensive jewelry from subspace, and tossed it onto the floor with a bored flick of my wrist.

"That depends on how useful you prove yourself to be."

"This is…?"

"I happen to need a convenient pair of hands. Stick with us. I'll make sure you never have to worry about money again for the rest of your life."

It was a gift. The moment the words left my mouth, Max scrambled on his belly toward the jewelry and held it up in front of his eyes.

"Th-this is real gold…!"

"A wise person knows to pay a subordinate a price that satisfies them. You can put that in your pocket."

"M-Mage!"

He bowed so low his forehead nearly buried itself in the dirt. From the way he was acting, you'd have thought he'd already become my loyal underling.

In this state, he'll play the dog for a while. I delivered a cold warning, making it clear he had better not get any clever ideas.

"If you betray me, I will hunt you down somehow and sink you alive into the deepest part of the sea."

"I-I-I'll keep that in mind!"

While Max was still shaking too hard to think straight, I walked over to the unconscious mage, recovered his magic tools, and bound him tight with another spell for good measure.

Good. I'd come back for this place later. Turning to Max, I pulled out more jewelry suitable for converting into cash and ordered him to go exchange it. Naturally I had no bank account, so it had to be hard currency. After a moment's thought, he said he knew a place and led the way with sudden confidence.

Maybe it was because I'd told him he could keep the expensive jewelry. From the moment we set out, Max was practically overflowing with motivation.

Looks like that went well?

As expected, Witch, your acting is excellent.

Heh. This much is nothing. Easy as breathing.

I'd stuffed Cheshire into my robe earlier so as not to undermine the intimidating image, and the two of us communicated with our eyes alone. For the record, I had once understudied an arrogant princess. Playing the high-handed type wasn't particularly hard.

I followed Max for some time until he stopped in front of a half-collapsed building and boldly declared he would bring back a generous sum. Allowing for the possibility of a trap, I told him I'd wait outside. He could handle it alone. If he ran, I'd just strip the building bare.

So I waited quietly in the secluded spot we'd agreed on, and before long Max came striding back with a thick envelope in hand.

"I-I'm back, Mage!"

"You didn't run."

"Haha! From now on, I'm your trusty right hand, aren't I?"

Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd just taken the goods and bolted. And yet he'd actually come back.

I took the envelope and checked the contents. I didn't know much about the local currency, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to gamble with money he claimed not to understand… right?

Fine. I nodded in acknowledgment of a job well done and rummaged inside my robe again.

"In that case — good work."

"Huh? Ghk—!"

Without hesitation I drew my staff, murmured a spell, and sent a tiny star shard into the man's jaw. The impact was roughly equivalent to a trained adult man throwing a straight punch. Caught completely off guard, Max took it full on the chin; his brain rattled hard enough that he went out cold without even understanding what had happened.

As he lay limp and useless in the back alley, Cheshire slipped out of my robe and prodded him with a paw.

"That's our Witch. Perfect force control."

"Of course. Knocking someone out without aftereffects is a specialty of mine."

I had never planned to keep him around in the first place. What kind of fool would trust a criminal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠organization dropout as a retainer? Using him once was enough.

I searched Max's clothes, recovered the jewelry I'd given him as a "gift," tied him up reasonably well, and dragged him back toward Madam's house. Then I hauled him, along with the mage I'd bound earlier, over to the police station I'd spotted while looking for the library and dumped them both nearby.

Both of them had snake-shaped tattoos, so I pulled their clothes aside to make the marks easy to see. Hopefully the authorities would check and arrest them if they had outstanding charges. Even if they didn't, the odds of running into either of them again while I was wandering Halo City were basically zero.

"All right! Now that I've got money, it's straight to buying books! Nobody can stop me now!"

"Who would ever stop you, Witch?"

It had been a truly grueling journey. Who knew reading a single book could be this hard? I could barely believe I'd already been stuck in this world for sixteen hours.

But I finally had currency that worked in this era. I could walk into a shop and claim a book for myself without flinching.

I headed toward the bookstore I'd already scouted, my steps light and quick. Just thinking about cradling a book in my arms made a little tune slip out of me unbidden.

Coming out onto the main street to reach the bookstore, though, may have been a mistake. Someone stepped squarely into my path, blocking the way of my carefree stride.

"…?"

"Excuse me. Would you have a moment to talk?"

Forced to stop, I looked up — and up — at a man considerably taller than me. A handsome face framed by short black hair. How to put it? There was a distinctly relaxed, almost languid quality to his expression.

I wondered what he wanted, but my eyes went naturally to his clothes. A crisp uniform with a badge that looked like it marked his affiliation. A radio and various pieces of equipment hung at his waist. And when I focused my senses, I could feel magic coiled in his body. I kept myself ready to cast at any moment and spoke.

"Not interested."

"Ah — sorry. I'm with the following."

"…"

As if to prove he wasn't some random stranger, he drew something from his coat and held it out. An identification card.

Halo City Security Bureau, Investigation Division 1, Team Leader. Drake Leonard. In short… he was a cop in this city.

So. I was being stopped for questioning by the police? Me — an illegal resident? Cold sweat slid down my back, and my voice softened of its own accord.

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, well… we've had reports of an unidentified mage roaming the city. We're looking for suspects. If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind removing your robe?"

Right. Okay. I could more or less see how this was going. That unidentified mage — no matter how you sliced it, it was me.

The fact that he hadn't attacked on sight suggested he still wasn't certain I was the one. Probably just found the full-body robe suspicious.

When I shifted my gaze, I noticed one of Drake's hands had already vanished behind his back, out of sight. High chance he was gripping a magic tool.

This is bad. Getting arrested without a fight is a problem, and running is a problem too…

If I revealed my face here and admitted I was an unregistered illegal with no identity and unregistered magic — what then?

If I got lucky, I might prove I'd come from the past and receive protection. A kind of temporal refugee. They might even show me some consideration.

But it was just as possible that, instead of reading a single book, I'd spend the entire trip locked in a holding cell, unable to move a finger, and the whole time-travel opportunity would end right there. I had no idea when the next comet would come. Waste this golden chance for nothing? Absolutely not.

Decision made, I glanced at Cheshire, who was crouched low on the ground watching for cues.

We run.

Yes!

Sorry, officer. If I'd had time to spare, I might have revealed myself and cooperated. But right now I was only a brief visitor to this world. I couldn't afford to get my ankle caught here.

I drew a silent, deep breath and rattled off a spell as fast as I could.

With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the velocity of the stars in my limbs, I gave Drake — still blocking the road — a light shove with my shoulder. The instant I moved, he tried to react, but my body check threw him off balance and he staggered.

"Ugh! Wait — stop right there!"

"…"

As if anyone ever stopped when told to. I scooped Cheshire up in a flash and shoved myself into the crowd without looking back.

They must have had the area surrounded. Everywhere I turned, I could sense people carrying magic — almost certainly more officers. But to me right now, the world had slowed to a crawl. I slipped through without colliding with a soul and put distance between us in an instant.

Ugh, combat magic really does burn through mana… maybe I should stop soon.

Once I judged I'd opened enough of a gap from the police, I ducked into a back alley. No watching eyes, no cameras. After confirming it was safe, I stripped off the robe in one motion and tossed it straight into subspace.

Where to hide? While I looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around, Cheshire called me over, saying a window on this side was open.

"Nice work, Cheshire."

"Hopefully there's no one inside."

I scaled the wall lightly, climbed through the window, and found myself in an ordinary home. The owner seemed to be out; the place was empty. I'd half expected an awkward face-to-face, and the relief when there wasn't one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nearly made me sag.

I looked down at what I was wearing. Standard witch attire — light as if I weren't wearing anything at all, and durable, but it had a distinctly old-fashioned look. Walking around like this would make me stand out as if I were cosplaying. After a brief hesitation, I offered the house's owner a preemptive apology.

"I'll just borrow some clothes for a bit…"

A quick search turned up a wardrobe. The contents were obviously men's clothes, but this was no time to be picky. I threw something on. A baggy T-shirt that hung to mid-thigh and a pair of shorts with a waist several sizes too big. I yanked the drawstring tight, then turned to Cheshire.

"Well?"

"It's dreadful."

"Really? I don't think it's that bad. Smells a little, though."

As payment for the clothes, I left a neat stack of cash in the wardrobe. I wasn't sure of the exact value, but it ought to be enough. Finally I pulled on a baseball cap and carefully stepped outside. Without the robe I'd been wearing all this time, I felt strangely exposed.

"For now, we should avoid anyone whose body feels like it holds magic, if we can. I didn't expect someone to come after us."

"We were a little careless… More importantly, Witch. Are you really going to walk around looking like that?"

"Hmm. Still weird?"

"Of course it's weird! How does a spirit know and the person wearing it not know?"

Cheshire kept trying to talk me out of it, insisting that wandering around like this would only draw more stares. But every coin I spent on clothes was a coin I couldn't spend on another book… Wait. Could I even make it to a bookstore at all?

I could already feel the presence of mages scattered through the streets. A sigh escaped me on its own.

"Just let me read a book…"

All I wanted was to sit quietly in this world and read. Why did so many things have to grab me by the ankle? My lot in life felt truly pitiful.