Chapter 76
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Face to Face with the Great Witch
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“Um, Hero?”
“……”
Elisicia ignored even my call and kept sending that oppressive gaze.
The friendly Elisicia who used to sweetly call me “Castaway~” had vanished like a lie, replaced by a cold woman.
“I'm just going to meet someone called the Great Witch on Channel 5 and talk.”
“You mean a video call?”
Unfortunately, Channels 2 and 5 didn't have video call functions unlocked.
As I'd said before, only Channels 3 and 4 had video calls available.
“Since Channels 2 and 5 don't support video calls... we'll probably meet some other way.”
Rubyel responded to my answer with a similar glare to Elisicia's.
“That Otil person sent something earlier, right? Let me see it.”
I hesitated over whether to show it or not, but hiding it would seem suspicious.
So I took the ring Otil had given me out of my inventory, and Rubyel immediately snatched it and examined it closely.
“...It's definitely enchanted with some magic.”
Rubyel frowned, unable to identify the magic on the ring.
“Can't decipher it?”
“Yeah. It's from a mage several times better than me. Even if the Crimson Tower was intact, it'd be hard to decode.”
Rubyel answered Elisicia's question, then shot me a sharp look.
“You. Be honest. What happens if you put this on and sleep?”
“Like I said, I'll just meet the Great Witch of Channel 5 and talk.”
“Meeting at all is weird. How do you meet when you're in different worlds?”
“Well, Channel 5 is researching dimensional travel, so maybe this is a byproduct of that?”
My nonchalant reply only sharpened Rubyel's already piercing gaze.
“What if that Great Witch curses you the moment you meet?”
“She probably won't.”
I knew nothing about magic or curses, but if it was just to curse me, there were easier ways.
Something like tampering with the mana potions or the Nightmare Demon core when I requested help would be far simpler.
“Anyway.”
At that point, Elisicia spoke up in a low voice.
“You're still going to meet this Great Witch, Castaway?”
“I have to.”
“If something happens to you, the people of this world might be trapped in the labyrinth forever.”
As Elisicia said, if something happened to me, conquering the labyrinth could become impossible.
For starters, without me, Beastkin Sirien and Tipina would drop out over the food issue alone.
“Don't worry too much. We've already received a lot of help, like the mana potions and Nightmare Demon control.”
Especially the mana potions—Rubyel's magical prowess had grown even beyond before.
Elisicia looked conflicted since we'd already accepted so much, but she still seemed reluctant.
“We've taken plenty of those mana potions already, so you can't just ditch us.”
Rubyel then suggested eating and running.
It wasn't impossible, but I'd have to cut off contact with Channel 5 afterward.
'Considering the witches' magical skills on Channel 5, that's not feasible.'
Besides, there were Melani and Otil, who'd worked hard for me.
For their sake, I couldn't just eat and bolt as Rubyel suggested.
“I can't do that. Besides, couldn't Aila undo any curse?”
“Aila? She could handle most curses.”
Rubyel looked uneasy in various ways, having sensed the Great Witch's power from the ring.
“Hey, Castaway.”
At that moment, Beastkin tribe chief Sirien, who had been quietly watching, called me.
“Can we operate your Gallery window, by any chance?”
“……?”
Huh?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I wondered what random thing Sirien was saying, but no, it wasn't random.
If something happened to me and the Hero Party could operate my Gallery window, the problem would be somewhat solved.
In a way, Sirien had hit the nail on the head.
'Didn't expect this to work.'
If I shared my Gallery window, others could operate it with minor restrictions.
The restriction here was that someone else had to lift my hand to touch the window.
And since my Gallery had Modern Item Purchase, they could buy items if they wanted.
“Then I'll head out now.”
After that, I prepared the camp and meal as usual, then went to sleep a bit earlier.
However, Elisicia still gave me cold looks, and Rubyel stared intently before finally saying something.
“Fine, go. Get cursed or tortured for eons—I won't care.”
“……”
Why say it so viciously?
'It's my stubbornness pushing this, so I have to bear it.'
Elisicia and Rubyel openly showed discomfort, but the rest of the party was the same.
The others looked at me with half reluctant, half worried expressions.
“I'll be back soon. Don't worry.”
“……Come back for sure.”
Rubyel turned her head away and muttered in a tiny voice.
Thanks to eating two hearts of the Leistal, my enhanced physical abilities let me barely hear it.
“Yes.”
I answered and lay down on the bed.
Sleep came quickly after lying down, and I let my body drift off.
“……”
With that, I felt something like my consciousness or soul pulling out from the top of my head.
Pop—
'Where... is this?'
When I slightly opened my eyes, I was standing in the center of a massive circular conference hall.
And unexpectedly, countless witches were already seated in the tiered chairs surrounding me.
“Oh. He's here.”
“Is that the man?”
“The one who can communicate across channels...”
“Definitely not ordinary.”
What? Why are there so many people?
Panicking as I looked around, nearly thousands of witches were seated, all staring at me.
Seeing them gawk like I was some zoo animal made me wonder what was going on, but I calmed down soon enough.
“Are you the Castaway?”
Just then, a voice came from right behind me.
Turning, I saw a beauty with short ash-gray hair and dark circles under her eyes.
“……Otil?”
“Looks like it. Yes, I'm Otil.”
Otil introduced herself simply and came to my side.
“Since you made it here, the Great Witch's magic seems to have worked.”
For now, since I'd come here and met Otil, it was a success.
“To explain briefly, this is the Great Witch's mental space.”
“Mental space?”
“It's hard to grasp, so just think of it as inside the Great Witch's mind.”
Honestly, even hearing it explained wouldn't make much sense.
So I just nodded, and Otil addressed the surrounding witches too.
“The witches seated now are all witches except the apprentices. In other words, this number is the total.”
“……”
Hearing that, I looked around again.
There were about 2-3 thousand witches; if this was all, the situation was dire.
'Only this many on Channel 5.'
I could see why the witches were desperate for dimensional travel.
“Ah. She's here.”
Then Otil announced someone's arrival.
Turning again, I saw a tall witch appear in what seemed to be the presiding seat.
'Is she the Great Witch?'
Melani had said the Great Witch was over 1,100 years old before.
'Why does she look so young?'
She looked no older than her early thirties at most.
And her height was enormous—probably close to two meters.
“First, thank you for accepting the invitation.”
The presumed Great Witch sat in the presiding seat and thanked me first.
“I'm Great Witch Moriana. Should I call you Castaway?”
“Yes, that works.”
“Don't want to reveal your name? That's fine too.”
Moriana, the Great Witch who introduced herself, eyed me curiously from head to toe.
“But I wonder if you accepted the invitation without a second thought. Didn't you think it was dangerous?”
Dangerous?
“It's just a talk. What's dangerous about that?”
“Personally, I don't like that answer.”
Moriana said something cryptic after my reply.
“Tell me your honest answer.”
“……”
As expected of a Great Witch over 1,100 years old, she could apparently detect lies.
'She thinks my previous answer had some falsehood mixed in.'
It was half true, though.
Anyway, the Great Witch wanted a more honest reply.
“People around me said it might be dangerous. But I can't cut off Channel 5 forever either...”
I thought of Otil beside me and Melani somewhere unknown.
“I didn't want Otil and Melani to be in trouble.”
“Ho. Now that's an answer I like.”
Moriana said she approved of my response.
The other witches murmured in quiet admiration among themselves.
“Not bad character for a human.”
“Risking danger for connections... not bad.”
“At least no ulterior motives.”
“Good he's not too naive.”
“Well, blank paper lacks depth.”
Blank paper?
As I pondered, Otil whispered an explanation.
“It means you need to know the world's filth to gain depth.”
“That's what it means?”
“For example, Melani is innocently blank like white paper, but lacks depth because of it.”
Using Melani as an example helped me get it.
“Thanks to that, I think I know what kind of person you are.”
“What kind?”
“Like a child who cherishes the connections in his hand too much to let go.”
Moriana said that, then made a related guess.
“You've lost someone before, haven't you?”
“Well... yes.”
My dad passed when I was in middle school, but I was over it now.
Still, Moriana's words suggested it affected me subconsciously.
“Anyway, the reason I invited you this time, Castaway, is to find clues about dimensional travel.”
Hearing why Moriana invited me next, I felt a momentary doubt.
“Clues to dimensional travel?”
“I heard you did dimensional travel.”
“I did, but I passed out and woke up in another world, so I don't know how either.”
“No need to worry. We can trace the memory imprints on your soul.”
Soul?
“Isn't that dangerous?”
“Just looking—no danger. If we find dimensional travel clues, I and the witches will fully cooperate with you.”
Moriana said it wasn't dangerous, but I was inwardly anxious.
I doubted if soul memories could even be read, and worried my past would show too.
'My past isn't much anyway.'
Even recalling now, my past was just mildly bumpy—nothing special.
“Will it take long?”
“A few minutes at most. Chat with Otil beside you, and it'll be over in a flash. No worries.”
If examining my soul's memories yielded dimensional travel clues, everything would resolve.
'Channel 5 witches move to a new world via dimensional travel.'
And I'd get the witches' help too...
'But if the witches dimensional travel, does the Gallery disappear?'
If they went to Channels 1-7 worlds, the Gallery might persist.
But to a completely different world? Questionable.
“……”
Still, I couldn't abandon the witches, so I nodded and accepted the Great Witch's request.
“Yes. Go ahead and look.”
“Now I see why Otil fell for you.”
“……?”
As I agonized but ultimately agreed readily, Moriana suddenly said something cryptic.
'No way...'
She reads minds too?