A crowd of people appeared from the direction of the city.
The rain of arrows they fired poured down toward my location.
“Kill the witch!!!”
A cry to kill the witch echoed among the people rushing toward us from beyond.
At that mont, I entertained a fleeting thought.
Perhaps this attack was aid not at , but at Beatrice, who had just been in front of .
However, the mont I saw the looks in their eyes, I couldn’t help but realize that was just wishful thinking.
Their eyes, brimming with hostility, were undoubtedly directed at .
How dangerous was this place that they sent troops all the way from the city just to catch ?
Had they wanted that badly?
As I pondered this bitterly, I heard Beatrice’s voice murmuring, perhaps still hidden from view.
[Hmm, it seems my darling was having a conversation with Eva.]
A chill ran down my spine at those words.
This wasn’t the ti to be gloomy about the fact that they were targeting .
If they were coming after her, it would be an even bigger problem.
Needless to say.
If Beatrice decided to act on that desire, the people here would undoubtedly et their end.
I urgently called out to Beatrice, who was sowhere nearby.
“Beatrice… don’t lay a hand on those people.”
[Hmm, is that a warning? Or a request, perhaps?]
Beatrice muttered in a teasing tone.
I urgently pleaded, convinced that I had to sohow prevent a catastrophe.
“…Please, Bea.”
Though it was against my nature, I even uttered the affectionate nickna she had wanted to call her.
At that, she let out a giggle, as if finding it amusing.
[Hehe. You’re going so far as to save the humans attacking you, huh? You really are peculiar. Well, if Eva says so, I might just comply.]
Was this the right choice?
As I sighed in relief at having prevented a potential disaster from occurring, Beatrice murmured again.
[By the way, aren’t arrows flying towards us?]
“……I know.”
With that, I raised my hand to the sky and unleashed a burst of flas.
The flas, intensified by my witch powers, dyed the air a brilliant red and incinerated the arrows mid-air.
As the rain of arrows t their end in my powerful flas, I noticed the archers hesitate.
Then, soone among them shouted.
“There’s no reason to be afraid that the attack has been blocked!”
A voice urging others not to fear.
At the familiar sound, I looked toward the source and saw an elderly man with long silver hair and pointed ears shouting among the crowd.
It was a face I recognized.
If my mory served correctly, he was the Elder of Astra I had seen while staying at Sylvia’s mansion.
Being attacked by soone whose face I knew was quite unsettling.
I frowned, watching as they readied their bows again.
“Prepare for another salvo—”
“Wait, wait! Please stop! I don’t intend to fight…!!”
I hurriedly raised my arms, signaling that I had no intention of engaging in a fight as the Elder prepared to give the order.
Whether my plea was heard, he imdiately signaled the troops to halt.
Considering they had attacked on sight, it seed he was at least willing to negotiate.
Fortunate for .
The Elder, having montarily stopped the assault, stared at and murmured, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
“You say you don’t intend to fight… I was worried you might be one of those who burn everything around them indiscriminately, but you seem capable of communication. Hoho, what a relief.”
Seeing him smile with apparent relief gave a glimr of hope.
Perhaps we could resolve this through conversation.
“Now I finally understand Sylvia’s actions. Being still a child, it makes sense she could be so easily deceived by soone like you.”
Yet his following words extinguished that hope entirely.
Easily deceived, he said?
I, who had felt so relief monts ago, stared at Elder with wide, shocked eyes at his words.
Then, our eyes t.
His gaze, filled with hostility as unwavering as before.
“Truly fortunate indeed. Now I know that Sylvia didn’t make an irretrievable mistake, so I can fight without concern.”
The reason he considered it fortunate wasn’t that I could communicate with him, but simply that he could understand Sylvia’s mistake by looking at .
As he muttered with a face devoid of worry about anything else, he drew a sword from his waist.
He aid the drawn sword directly at .
What I felt wasn’t just simple hostility but a murderous intent beyond that.
It was then I realized how large my misunderstanding had been.
The option of resolving this through conversation had never existed in the first place.
The reason they had co here was solely to take down.
The Elder pointed his sword at , his voice ringing out with conviction.
“Astra! There is a nefarious witch here who has deceived our future, Sylvia, with her vile actions!”
“B-But I’m not!!!”
I shouted in rebuttal, but it seed my voice didn’t reach him as he continued to cry out.
“Astra! The witch who stole our holand is right here!”
“It’s different!!! I… don’t have anything like that…!!”
I shouted with all my might, but my voice couldn’t reach the people who had already amassed their hatred.
[As expected, it’s no different from before.]
Beyond Beatrice’s murmurs, I heard another voice.
“Astra! It is ti to avenge our grievances against the witch!!!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
With their shouts, the archers who had pulled their swords began to charge at .
“Kuh…!”
The mob rushing at .
I created a massive barrier of flas between us to block their charge.
With no way to stop them through conversation, my intention was to buy so ti to escape.
The flas were so formidable that they wouldn’t dare to cross, giving enough ti to get away.
I was preparing to flee, but—
“Grahh!!!”
“Ugh…?!”
I couldn’t help but stop in surprise at the Elder’s actions.
How could one not be shocked?
It was one thing to dare charge at the wall of flas that lay before him like a moth to a fla.
I hadn’t considered that he might actually dare to jump into the flas I created.
Such an act would undoubtedly result in severe injury or even death.
I had to extinguish the flas with all my might, leaving no room for escape.
As a result, rather than running away, I inadvertently opened the way for him to rush in.
“Die, witch!!!”
The Elder was the first one to leap at .
Simultaneously, a barrage of arrows flew toward .
Dodging the Elder’s attack or the arrows wasn’t difficult.
But the real issue was he was solely focused on attacking , disregarding the arrows flying behind him.
At this rate, it was only a matter of ti before he was struck by an arrow, even if I dodged.
“This crazy old man…!”
Did he intend to share the sa fate? Seeing him disregard his life, I gritted my teeth, deflecting his sword with one hand while using the other to burn the arrows flying at him from behind.
Surprised by my actions, the Elder glared at , unable to find the right words.
Yet his thoughts weren’t my concern; I felt angry enough to shout out loud at his reckless behavior.
“Are you insane?! You need to care about your own life instead of mine! What on earth are you doing!!”
“…You care for an old man like , despite being a witch. Truly impressive if it is acting.”
The Elder murmured while looking at .
“Are you still pretending to be close with Sylvia?”
“I’m not pretending…! Sylvia is, Sylvia is my precious—”
“Sylvia was put in a very difficult position because she helped you escape. If it hadn’t been for luck, she could have faced the gallows.”
“What…?!”
At those words, my heart sank.
Sylvia? Facing execution?
Because she helped escape?
As I froze at this shocking news, the Elder’s voice continued.
“To ensure Sylvia doesn’t face punishnt, we ca here. I am willing to forfeit my life as long as we can defeat you. However, if we fail to fell you, even if I am exempt from punishnt, Sylvia will live the rest of her life as soone who helped a witch.”
“Ah…”
“Do you understand? Your very existence is poison to Sylvia. If you truly care for her…”
The Elder’s sword approached .
“For her sake, die.”
I grimaced, blocking his blade with mine.
I hadn’t thought about it.
That Sylvia might suffer for trying to help .
And recognizing that ant that my other friends who helped might also be in dire straits.
I was overwheld with shock.
It wasn’t just because I was labeled a witch.
Simply by existing, the people I cherished were suffering.
It was as if soone had delivered a profound and unsettling revelation.
I managed to deflect the Elder’s swung blade, but I failed to see several arrows flying toward .
“C-Crap?!”
The pain hit like a wave.
It was no surprise to feel pain after being shot, but it was a different kind of agony that surged from the wound caused by the arrow.
It wasn’t just pain.
The regeneration at the site of the arrow was sluggish.
It wasn’t that it did not heal at all, but it felt like it was being hindered by sothing.
[Is it mithril? It might be dangerous for you, Eva, if it cos to that. Evangeline also suffered from it in the end. It might be tolerable for a few tis, but if you keep getting hit, you could really die.]
Beatrice’s voice, which echoed from sowhere, explained the source of my pain.
Mithril, a tal known for its resistance to magic.
Could it be that the arrowhead embedded in my body was made of mithril?
I had a sinking feeling that I would really die if this continued, and I barely dodged the incoming attacks.
Yet, the errors and confusion in my mind hindered my body from moving as I wanted.
Bam, bam—
The other attacks began to strike more frequently.
The fact that people were attacking .
It hurt.
So much.
[Don’t you feel wronged? All those people attacking you owe their lives to you. Yet now they’re doing this to you.]
She was right.
All the people attacking now were alive because I had saved them.
Yet those sa people were causing pain.
It was reminiscent of Evangeline, who had been burned at the stake after I defended the village from demons.
Why do people…
Why do they always—
Tears of red stread down my cheeks.
[Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want revenge against those ungrateful folks? Just like Evangeline, why not set them ablaze?]
Revenge, revenge.
I repeated the words silently in my mind as I gazed at the people attacking .
Yes. If I wanted, it would be no problem at all to incinerate all of them right now.
I could return the pain they had inflicted upon .
Burn them, burn them all.
But—
I shook my head at Beatrice’s words.
[Why not? This ti you don’t have to stand there helplessly like before. If needed, my darling could step in for you.]
No, I won’t.
Don’t lay a hand on them.
As I shook my head, Beatrice murmured.
[Is that so? It seems that even though we share the sa na, we are all different.]
Her whispers lingered ominously in my ears.
Thud— I could hear the sound.
What was that noise? It was the sound of kneeling on the ground.
Ah, blood.
I might be losing too much.
As I knelt there, battered and bruised from arrows and wounds, the Elder approached , step by step.
Looking up vacantly at him, I saw a look of puzzlent on his face as he asked .
“…Why don’t you fight back until you reach that state?”
I struggled to part my lips in response to his question.
“…Because I don’t want to make things sadder.”
Yes, I didn’t want to cause any more pain because I had already inflicted enough suffering.
“…You’re a family mber of Sylvia, aren’t you?”
I no longer wanted to bring sorrow to Sylvia.
If that was the case, it would be better to just let it all end here…
As I spoke from that train of thought, the Elder let out a pained sigh.
“…I wonder if there really could exist a witch who isn’t all that bad…”
Muttering softly, the Elder spoke to in a voice filled with complex emotions.
“Then… if there was a mistake, it was our fault for bringing you into this world and causing you such pain. I am truly sorry. Nonetheless, for Sylvia’s sake, I cannot spare your life.”
As he apologized to , the Elder quietly raised his sword.
“When it’s all over, may I beg for your forgiveness in the afterlife.”
The raised sword fell toward .
“Stop, please!!”
Stars fell to the ground.
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