The Miracle a Witch Cannot Grant
I moved the prisoners—who had been the orcs' emergency food rations—back to the house. I'd given them the guest room I'd prepared in case we had visitors, so they could at least lie down. Who would have thought that room, which had never once been used, would end up serving as a sickroom?
Before starting treatment, I called Joshua over and extracted a few promises from her.
"You're the one treating them. All I can give you are these four potions right here. The rest you'll have to make yourself."
I handed her four bottles filled with orange liquid. These were the super potions, famous throughout the first series for their unbeatable efficiency and cost-performance ratio. I'd even completed clinical trials, so the effects were guaranteed. I'd tested them on orcs I'd beaten half to death in the area, and they were perfectly fine when I ran into them the next day.
Joshua carefully accepted the bottles so they wouldn't break, then bowed deeply. She looked so eager to administer them that it made me anxious inside—even though I hadn't finished speaking yet. At that rate, she was bound to make mistakes she wouldn't normally make.
"Wait. This is the most important part."
I lowered myself to Joshua's eye level, which wasn't much different from mine now. When I gently brushed her bangs aside, her sky-blue eyes that reminded me of clear heavens shyly met mine.
"Just saving them from the orcs is already the best you could do. Can you promise you won't get hurt no matter what happens to them?"
I waited patiently for Joshua, who kept avoiding my gaze. It had to be a hard question to answer right away. There was nothing wrong with wanting to save everyone. In fact, in one of the series, the Saint's Prayer had created miracles that saved people who'd died in war.
A miracle. Even if she denied it, Joshua—who had already taken one step inside the witch's domain—could hope for a miracle, but she could never perform one.
A witch is someone who defies providence and resists the laws of the world. A saint, on the other hand, protects providence and conforms to those laws. It was easy to curse and kill four people, but saving four was impossible.
All I could do was pray to that arrogant god that this child wouldn't suffer any more pain.
"I don't know."
Joshua carefully opened her mouth.
"Why you're worrying about me this much, Mom. Or why you're just leaving them like this."
I don't even know if I'll be able to keep any promise I make...
It hurt to watch Joshua trail off and hang her head. If only she'd said she would become a witch instead, I wouldn't have to worry about any of this.
"But I'll still try my best! Thank you for listening to my stubborn request!"
I waved as Joshua, having firmed her resolve, gave a strong bow and left. Yeah. And don't forget to take care of your own body, too.
I swallowed the rest of my words once Joshua was gone. They say being too lenient isn't good for a child's emotional development. It seemed I'd only grown more meddlesome with age.
It was the first week since we'd started treatment. We'd gotten past the critical stage thanks to the super potions and could breathe a little easier, but their conditions were still poor.
I watched from behind as Joshua manufactured medicine, stacking books on everything from herbalism to alchemy into a tower that might help with treatment.
The smell of medicinal herbs spread throughout the house. It was awful because she'd used monster byproducts. Even I—who had lived over a hundred years and made all kinds of medicines—felt dizzy, yet Joshua sat there stoically without any change in expression. That worried me even more.
Another worry was my medicine storage, which I'd filled with rare ingredients. Since I'd given permission to use whatever herbs or monster byproducts were needed, all I could do was quietly watch from behind as the supplies dwindled.
The unicorn horn...
The unicorn horn I'd spent thirty years tracking down and acquiring had been dumped whole into the cauldron. Unicorn horns were ingredients used to create purity potions that protected a woman's chastity. Conversely, if a woman who'd lost her virginity used it, the side effects were severe. It was the unicorn's unyielding obsession—if she wasn't a virgin, it wouldn't forgive her. Instead of restoring purity, it caused infertility.
That medicine could probably be used after they regained consciousness and we asked for their consent.
Guessing what Joshua was trying to create by looking at the ingredients in the cauldron was actually kind of fun. Starting with the purity potion, there were super-regeneration elixirs, growth elixirs, and so on—mostly potions for warriors and knights who fought fierce battles on the front lines.
In short, their effects were too strong. The purity potion might be fine, but if an ordinary person drank it, the burden on their body would be immense. Giving something like that to patients who weren't in a normal state could cause shock, so I couldn't help feeling anxious.
I hoped the patients had strong mental fortitude.
Irritation surged inside me. It was the first time since becoming a witch that I'd had to anxiously watch over something, depending on someone else's will.
From the morning, Joshua had woken me from a deep sleep, saying a patient's condition was strange. I followed her into the sickroom.
In the room that looked no different from usual, what caught my eye were the two women who had turned deathly pale. Their unmoving chests and skin that had gone pure white told me they'd breathed their last during the night.
"Joshua, they're already dead."
Maybe because of the promise she'd made with me, she didn't ask for help, but I could feel the strength in her clasped hands.
Even without that promise, I couldn't bring back the dead. In the game series, only the Saint's miracle could resurrect the deceased. Even if she wanted to rely on me, there were things I simply couldn't do.
Let go of that hope, Joshua.
I shook my head and gently pried her hands away.
"Let's pray for the departed."
The cause was probably death by shock from excessive medication. I pulled the blanket over their heads and left the sickroom.
It might seem heartless to Joshua. But that was all there was to it.
Joshua's sobs could be heard from beyond the door. I steeled my heart as I stopped the hand that wanted to open it again.
"Joshua. If you have time to cry, shouldn't you be thinking about how to save the remaining two?"
It was the first time I'd spoken so coldly to her. As I prepared to go outside, I wondered if there was a sunny spot nearby. It would be good if it was large enough to bury all four side by side. If possible, I'd look for a place that wasn't too noticeable.
It was the second week since starting treatment. In that time, one more woman had drawn her last breath. Now only the man occupied the large sickroom. Lying in bed and sleeping soundly, he looked peaceful from the outside, as if he were simply asleep.
It seemed difficult to improve the situation any further with potions or herbs. Even as half the medicine storage disappeared, Joshua's efforts showed no signs of stopping. The more she pushed herself, the greater my worries grew.
I made sure to prepare meals on time so her body wouldn't break down, but she left food untouched every time. Her hair was greasy from not washing properly, and she spent more and more time staring blankly into space. It was obvious she was blaming herself, thinking their deaths were her fault.
Had there been a time like this for me, too?
For the first thirty years after becoming a witch, it felt like I could do anything. As the first and last disciple of the Western Witch, I'd had my pride. Having appeared like a comet in the world of witches, my abilities were acknowledged by all, and I'd been called by various nicknames. My immortality had helped, too.
What kind of unnecessary reminiscing is this?
I set aside the old memories and approached Joshua. At this rate, instead of saving the patient, she would become one herself.
"Joshua, how about taking a break? Maybe a bath to wash away some of that fatigue."
"...Why aren't they waking up... The book clearly said......"
Even though I was right beside her, she was muttering to herself. I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Joshua. You've done everything you could. It's time to sto—"
Thud.
Joshua knocked my hand away.
Huh? What was this situation?
My mind couldn't process what was happening right in front of me.
"Joshua. Joshua. Joshua...! Please stop!"
"You knew, didn't you, Mom?! That if you overdosed them on the medicine like that, side effects would happen!"
Through her resentment, Joshua's emotions poured into me.
"You could have done it! Whyyyyyy!!!!"
She hurled the stacked books and vented her frustration.
"Why... won't you save them the way you saved me? Why..."
She clenched her fists tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm no different from those people. Why did you make me think I could do it? Why did you make me believe I was special! It would have been better if you'd just let me die back then...!"
Why? Why? Why?
My head was filled with nothing but question marks.
Why are you looking at me with such resentment in your eyes?
Slap!
My hand moved on its own. By the time I came to my senses, I had already struck Joshua's cheek.
I... hit Joshua? What had I done?
"So this is... Joshua?"
Joshua lost her balance and collapsed. I couldn't tell if it was from the accumulated fatigue or the shock of the slap. Shaking her did nothing.
Had hidden camera shows been popular in Aria Chronicle too? Even though I knew it couldn't be, I lifted her bangs to check if she was squinting and testing my reaction.
Her forehead was burning like a fireball.
"Joshua! Joshua!"