The Witch Cannot Walk With Heroes (1)
The flickering campfire cast a ruddy glow over the grim faces of those who had once been heroes.
Beyond the capital of Mittenburg, in a small clearing deep within the forest, I laid everything bare before my comrades. The bitter grudge from my academy days, the time I spent living as a healer, the horrors I endured while imprisoned and tormented by Zophy, and finally—even the things that had happened to me at the relay point before I became the bakery girl named Kaira. I had no idea how much of it they would believe.
Azalea kept her face buried in her hands, sobbing without pause. Glazalus let out heavy sighs and pounded the ground with his fists. Every time he heard about the abuse I had suffered, Kadros muttered incomprehensible dwarf curses under his breath. Mervin only furrowed his brow now and then, saying nothing at all.
“……That is all I have to say. Before you found me, I tried to kill myself while I was still beside Zophy… but true to my pathetic self, even death failed me. So here I am, telling you this story instead.”
I finished speaking with a lonely smile.
The moment the words left my lips, Azalea threw her arms around me. I stared blankly ahead, offering no resistance as she pulled me close. Tears shimmering with divine light streamed down her face; she was crying so hard that her beautiful features had completely fallen apart.
“Saintess, you really don’t need to burden yourself with my—”
Seeing her weep so openly—so unlike a saint—I panicked and tried to push her away, but her holy strength was many times greater than mine. I had no choice but to endure her sobs.
“That’s not it, Kaira… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Kaira!!!”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Lady Azalea… After all, you were the one who mobilized the Church to search for me…”
The saint released her embrace and looked straight into my eyes, her own brimming with tears.
“It was me.”
“…Pardon?”
“The one who told someone that you were the one who defeated the Demon King… the one who set everything in motion so that a certain person at court would incite Zophy… It must have been me.”
I stared in stunned silence at Azalea’s radiant, tear-streaked face.
“I was told to keep Time Rewinding a secret from the very beginning of the campaign, so I never spoke of it… but the tale of a lovely mage who single-handedly slew the Demon King was just so wonderful… I wanted to lift you up, to praise you… I may have… mentioned it somewhere.”
I felt nothing. No resentment, no hatred, not even a bitter laugh.
Even if Azalea truly had done it, the past could not be changed.
“Gods damn it,” Kadros groaned.
“Now that you mention it… when we swore not to reveal who killed the Demon King, the saint had only just been resurrected. She was still asleep.”
That was true. And we had never renewed that vow afterward. So it really must have been…
“But Saintess, are you certain? Did you truly speak of Kaira to someone?”
“I… I don’t actually remember clearly, but… if anyone among us could have done it, it would have to be me…”
“No, Saintess.”
I offered her a small, gentle smile as I comforted her.
“Whether you spoke to someone or whether a court spy simply followed us, it doesn’t matter. I simply carried alone the burden that should have been shared among all of you. If you think of it that way… there’s no need to feel sorry. Even someone like me was able to be of help to all of you. I’m grateful for that.”
“Kaira!! How can you say something like—”
“There is no question of forgiveness or blame here. We are friends…”
Everyone fell silent. The mood grew heavy. No one wanted to make a sound.
It was only when the campfire began to die that Mervin finally spoke.
“Kaira. There is something that bothers me.”
All eyes turned toward the elf’s face.
“My instincts tell me every word you spoke is true. In my long life, I have occasionally encountered those who claimed their memories of a previous existence had not been erased. They, too, possessed inexplicable powers, which is why they remained in my memory. None were as incomprehensible as yours, however.”
I gazed at the elf in silence. It made sense. Living for thousands of years, one might well meet one or two reincarnated souls.
“However… it seems you have misunderstood the price spoken of by the being you met at that relay point—the one who granted you power.”
I blinked in blank admiration. I hadn’t realized this elf could speak at such length.
“If it is a misunderstanding… are you saying the price of Time Rewinding is not memory…?”
Mervin nodded.
“At first, it was likely exactly as you described. But you created something. Kaira’s Secret Diary.”
I already knew what he would say next. It was a hypothesis I had guessed at but desperately wished to deny.
“The idea of circumventing the price through magic was clever. Yet an unnatural power that defies fate cannot operate without cost. Had you not clung so fiercely to your experiences—if you had not written in that diary every single day while imprisoned—you might have returned to a time before your soul was scarred.”
His words carried a truth I did not want to face.
“I suppose so… I might have forgotten all the pain and returned to the kind person I once was.”
“Of course, I cannot claim my words are entirely correct. It is merely an opinion. Nevertheless, Kaira, I believe this twisted fate of yours is another price exacted for forcibly evading the toll of memory that should have been paid when you rewound time.”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting at a child who needs comfort, you pointy-eared bastard!” Kadros cut in.
“Ah, right. You said she’s already lived fifty years, so calling her a child was rude of me. Sorry about that, kid. So you used to be an old man, eh? Hahaha! An old man with such a cute face—now that’s awkward!”
Interrupted, Mervin simply stared at the dwarf without a trace of irritation.
The elf must have known. Kadros was desperately trying to encourage me, no matter how clumsily. Mervin waited patiently for the dwarf to finish, then answered calmly.
“I am helping her realize the truth. As a friend. Kaira is among the wisest of humans; I suspect she had already understood without my words.”
“Glazalus does not understand difficult talk…”
The ogre rested his chin on both massive hands.
“But this much I know. Kaira is pitiful. I want to help… but… but…”
“It would be impossible… wouldn’t it?” Azalea said, wiping away her tears. Her voice still carried the wetness of weeping.
“Even though we are the heroes who defeated the Demon King, from the Empire’s perspective we are now nothing more than foreign assassins of different races. Even I, a human, belong to the Church’s direct territory, so I am an outsider to them as well.”
Azalea pressed a hand to her forehead.
“In any case, Kaira is a hero known to every citizen of the Empire. No matter how threatened the imperial court felt, openly eliminating her would have been too burdensome. Sending assassins was probably the best they could manage.
But that is no longer the case. She has wiped out an entire ducal house in the most horrific way possible—no, she eradicated not only the family but every servant who worked for them. She has become the mortal enemy of countless lesser noble houses.”
After a long sigh, the saint continued.
“The Empire now has the perfect excuse. We have no political influence left to protect her… Even an emperor could not shield someone after something like this. For all we know, the emperor himself may have been the one behind the plot to remove her.”
Kadros shot to his feet in protest.
“But the kid’s ability is still a secret to the outside world, isn’t it? Even when that witch Zophy captured her, they used blindfolds and illusion magic to hide her identity. So no one should know who destroyed the ducal house, right?”
“Anyone at court who orchestrated it would have guessed immediately. The emperor and the professors of the Magic Academy as well.”
Mervin cut the dwarf off.
“An incident of this scale could not possibly escape the emperor’s ears. The culprit would be identified in an instant, dwarf. Even if—by some miracle—the emperor had no connection to the conspirators and wished to forgive Kaira, the matter has grown far too large. Not even the emperor can act freely without regard for the great nobles and powerful ministers.”
“Furthermore, none of us can take her with us. If word spread that she was under someone’s protection, that entire nation might find itself at odds with the Empire.”
Kadros glanced at my bitter expression, then spoke to Azalea.
“I didn’t expect such harsh words from you, Saintess. Especially when it might have been your fault to begin with… ……Never mind. I promised not to say that. Forgive me, Saintess.”
“It’s all right… And it cannot be helped. By defeating the Demon King, we ceased to be individuals. We became the faces of the places we each belong to.”
“I keep telling you, please don’t worry about me.”
I spoke gently to Azalea, who had begun crying again. I did not want to weigh down the heart of someone who had already done far more for me than I deserved.
“In the end, everything that happened was my own doing. I don’t want to see any of you suffer because of me. I will bear it all and keep living somehow.”
Everyone studied my face, where a lonely smile lingered.
“I committed terrible acts… things that, even setting aside our bond as comrades, would be impossible to forgive in your eyes. I am a worse person than Zophy. That young lady—no, she is a duchess now. Duchess Mittenburg tormented only three people and destroyed only one family. But I…”
I trailed off.
“I cannot even guess how many households I shattered or how many tears I caused. Hundreds will mourn and weep because of me. There is no one who could possibly forgive me. Not even all of you.”
Mervin’s gaze turned toward me—specifically toward the sword he had given me. Realizing what he was thinking, I touched the scabbard and added,
“…Don’t worry. I won’t kill myself. Nor will I surrender myself willingly.”
“If you truly do not intend to die, then tell us what you plan to do from now on. …Please.”
It was easy to tell that the saint was barely holding back another wave of tears.
I forced myself to smile. For the sake of my friend Azalea.