Chapter 188: Potential(1)
The Witch’s eyes widened as she froze.
“Is… is that truly so?”
“Yes. We might be able to find the key to your seal soon. The ruins you mentioned, where the key might be, are getting closer and closer to my party’s search path.”
As we traveled in pursuit of the Organization and the Black Witch, we had, by a stroke of luck, drawn near the ruins that held the key to her seal.
The White Witch threw her arms around me in a tight embrace.
Her sweet scent was pleasant. I hugged her back, patting her on the back.
“Thank you, Kerry… for telling me you’ll get me out of here… No. For telling me we’ll live together in the outside world. Thank you so much.”
The White Witch had hated the outside world.
She had grown weary of people.
That was why she had even resolved to create her own utopia and live there alone.
But she had realized something.
It was never the world she hated.
It wasn’t that the world was absurd or that people were wrong.
It was simply that something was missing. She had been miserable simply because she had no companion to live with.
Through me, she had finally come to understand that.
The White Witch and I left the bed and sat at a small table to talk.
It was gratifying to see her eyes sparkling so brightly.
“My lady, you seem quite happy.”
“Hmph… Well… it has been a long time since I’ve considered an outing.”
Just a moment ago, her voice was high with excitement, and now she was suddenly feigning composure.
She’s really not honest with herself.
“What’s the first thing you want to do when you get out?”
At that question, the Witch stood up as if she had been waiting for it. She went to a drawer and took something out.
It was a rolled-up piece of parchment.
When she unfurled it, the paper stretched out in a long strip. What in the world did she write so much on there?
“What is that?”
“It is a list of things I wish to do when I get out.”
“…”
She wrote down everything she wanted to do on that long scroll? It seemed she was looking forward to this far more than I had thought.
“I shall read it to you, so listen well. These are all things that you and I must do together when we get out.”
“…All of it?”
Her face turned slightly red as she continued.
“My… my only friend is… you, is it not? So I would like it if you did them with me.”
“That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have done them with me if you had other friends, right?”
At that, the Witch shook her head as if horrified.
“I was just kidding. I’ll do them with you. For now, let’s hear what they are.”
Only after I promised her several times that I would do them with her did the Witch begin to read her bucket list.
She was so insistent on getting my promise that I worried she had written down some absurd, outlandish things, but that wasn't the case.
“First, when we get out, you must go to the seaside with me. It would be nice if there was a… cafe with a good view of the beach and the sunset. I wish to drink coffee there while watching the sea and the setting sun.”
That wasn’t too difficult.
“After that, we must make our own hideout in a seaside town. We need a space… just for the two of us.”
A secret hideout, huh? For some reason, I could already picture what would happen there.
“Once we have our hideout, we must then go on an outing. With a lunchbox that I have packed myself. On a hill with a good view of a bustling town, just the two of us sitting there, doing nothing.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“And after that, we will visit my family’s home together…”
Her expression was as bright as a child dreaming for the first time as she continued her story.
I had been worried she might have some bizarre items on her list, but they were all perfectly ordinary.
The only thing that wasn’t ordinary was the fact that the bucket list seemed to go on forever as she continued to read the parchment.
If she wanted to get out this badly, why did she insist before that she was fine staying here?
After listening to her bucket list for over thirty minutes, I spoke up.
“At this rate, the sun will rise. Let’s stop here for now.”
“But… I have not even told you half of it!”
“…”
Making a bucket list is fun, but it can’t be better than actually doing it, can it?
Some of the items on her list were things we could do right here.
“We can have a picnic with a homemade lunchbox right here. The scenery outside is nice, too.”
“Are you suggesting we go on an outing now?”
“Is there any reason we can’t?”
“!”
The Witch looked pleased, her eyes lit up with anticipation.
It was a bit dark since it was night, but what did it matter?
Perhaps because this was a created world, the moonlight and starlight illuminated everything even at night.
The field, bathed in the soft moonlight under the black sky, was actually quite charming.
“Then I shall go and prepare a lunchbox now. Wait just a moment, Kerry.”
Did she even have cooking ingredients here?
I followed her and saw various crops she was growing herself behind the castle.
There was also a storehouse filled with ingredients. Everything seemed to be managed by magic.
This was a place where one could survive without eating, so it seemed she had prepared this space for the occasional gourmet indulgence.
The Witch quickly made a lunchbox. Her skill suggested she cooked for herself quite often.
I would have been more excited if the lunchbox wasn't filled with nothing but grass.
“I am a vegetarian.”
“…I see.”
I took a bite of the rather fancy-looking salad.
I was too old to complain about the lack of meat.
“How is it? Is it not delicious?”
“…”
“What is with that expression, Kerry?”
“My lady, please open your mouth and say ‘ah’.”
Though she looked puzzled, the Witch opened her mouth.
I fed her a large mouthful of the salad from the lunchbox.
“…How is it?”
“Mmm. It is delicious. I may have made it myself, but it is truly delicious.”
She thinks this is delicious?
The moment the salad entered my mouth, a strong taste of dirt spread through it, and I couldn’t tell if I was eating a salad or chewing on raw grass.
“The heavens may have given you a talent for magic… but they seem to have taken away your sense of taste. The world is fairer than I thought.”
“What is the meaning of that? Surely you are not implying my salad is not delicious?”
“I’m seriously worried about your palate. We should go to a hospital as soon as you get out…”
“!”
The Witch looked shocked, as if she hadn’t expected me to be so blunt.
She quickly took another bite of the salad and said confidently.
“It’s perfectly delicious!”
“It’s confirmed. There’s definitely a problem with your sense of taste. Let’s go to the hospital first.”
“My sense of taste is perfectly fine!”
Normally, I would have just eaten it. But this was way over the line.
The earthy taste, the dressing that was both too salty and too sour… it was a mess. I really couldn’t eat this.
“…Let’s have our picnic some other time.”
“N-no, you cannot! Kerry, I truly wish to do this!”
“Then I’ll make the lunchbox instead.”
The Witch nodded as if she had no other choice.
I started from scratch, making a new lunchbox with the remaining ingredients in the kitchen.
The Witch grumbled behind me, insisting that if mine wasn’t better than hers, I’d have to eat her lunchbox.
There’s no way that’ll happen.
I could make a better salad with my feet.
Had the hundred years she spent alone caused her to lose her sense of taste?
Lost in thought, I quickly finished the salad. Before packing it, I offered a bite to the Witch.
She eyed it with suspicion.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m a good cook.”
The Witch, still looking unconvinced, opened her cherry-like lips.
I placed a heaping spoonful of salad in her mouth.
It happened the moment she took a crunchy bite.
“Th-this is a salad?”
A reaction straight out of a cooking show burst out of her. Wasn’t she overdoing it a bit?
The White Witch was astonished. How long had it been since she’d had a proper meal?
The refreshing dressing and crisp vegetables mingled, dancing in her mouth.
“It’s delicious! It’s truly delicious!”
“Right?”
She’s really enjoying it. It’s just a salad.
“This… ‘delicious’ is not enough to describe it!”
The Witch ate the entire portion meant for our outing right there on the spot.
Oh well, I could just make another one.
The two of us packed the lunchbox and went outside. We spread a blanket on a nice patch of grass perfect for sitting.
As soon as she sat down, the Witch opened the lunchbox.
“My goodness. You’re opening it the moment we arrive?”
“W-well, we brought it to eat, did we not!”
In the end, I opened my lunchbox with her. Food always tastes better when shared.
Eating a late-night meal under a bright full moon wasn’t so bad.
The air was fresh. And more than anything, just looking at the Witch’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, was enough to make me feel content.
The two of us talked about many things. We had known each other for a while now, but why did we still have so much to talk about?
I lost all track of time.
But now, it was time for a more important conversation.
“My lady.”
“What is it, Kerry?”
The Witch said, eyeing my remaining food as if her portion hadn’t been enough.
It was just a box of greens, but she was really digging in.
“You’re eating well. You’re like an elephant.”
“Kerry… you must learn to respect a lady more!”
She glared as if she were angry, but she was still eyeing my lunchbox.
Only when I offered it to her did she begin to eat it happily.
I gently broached the subject.
“You can listen while you eat. Is there any way for me to become stronger?”
That damned goddess’s prophecy.
I wanted to ignore it, but the reality was that I couldn’t help but feel anxious. I trusted my companions, and I trusted Lina, but I wanted to do everything I possibly could.
The Witch spoke while munching on her salad.
“A way to become stronger… It seems you have very little faith in that hero party you so often speak of.”
“That’s not it.”
“Hmph! If I were out there… Kerry, you would never have to feel such anxiety. Because I am truly powerful!”
Wipe the dressing off your mouth before you say that.
“Anyway, is there a way?”
“…”
The Witch ate her lunchbox in silence.
She seemed to be thinking deeply. Or maybe she was just completely engrossed in eating.
If it was the latter, I was going to snatch that lunchbox right back.
“…If there were such a method, would I not have told you sooner? Even if you ask so suddenly… it would be difficult unless you acquire a new Magic Storage Orb. Besides, you know as well as I do that strength is not something that appears overnight, do you not, Kerry?”
“…You’re right.”
“Do not be impatient. Build your strength over time.”
The problem was, my situation didn’t allow me to be patient.
Seeing my crestfallen expression, the White Witch grew flustered.
After all, I was someone who had never shown much interest in power.
Seeing my pitiful state, the White Witch blurted out a single sentence without thinking.
“It’s not that there’s absolutely no way…”
“Is that true?”
“No, it is not… I misspoke!”
“That didn’t look like a slip of the tongue. Tell me, quickly.”
“Well, you see…”
The Witch’s eyes darted around as she mumbled.
I wish she would just tell me straight, but she was dragging it out.
What on earth could the method be?
“I’m serious, my lady.”
“But…”
This wasn’t working. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I snatched the lunchbox the Witch hadn’t finished yet.
“If you don’t tell me, I’m eating all of this.”
“!”
“Snatching food someone is eating is truly cheap!”
“You’re being cheap by not telling me what you know.”
“There are circumstances… If I tell you the method… will you cook for me sometimes, Kerry?”
“I can cook for you as much as you want.”
Only then, as if she had made up her mind, did the Witch begin to speak.
“Creating strength from nothing in a short period is difficult. But awakening the potential you already possess is a simpler matter.”
“The potential I possess?”
“Have you not yet fully absorbed the Elixir? That is your potential.”
“But wasn’t I supposed to absorb the rest slowly?”
“There are risks, but there is a way.”
“What is it?”
The Witch’s face turned red as she spoke.
“Through the union of yin and yang… you must receive the help of a mage more powerful than yourself…”
“The union of yin and yang…”
Don’t tell me. Is it that?
“Kerry. What you are thinking… it… is correct… So… Kyaa! Kerry! Wait a moment!”
I immediately climbed on top of the White Witch. One by one, I undid the buttons of the nightgown she wore.
As the gown loosened, the swell of her ample cleavage began to show. If there was such a great method, she should have told me sooner.
“Wait, Kerry. I told you this method has risks!”
“My lady! Tonight, you and I will achieve the union of yin and yang until dawn!”
“All… all night?! This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you!”
Though she said she was troubled, her expression seemed full of anticipation.