The tram carried him slowly back to his neighborhood through the growing darkness. The evening car was packed with gentlen who had just gotten off work. The laborers couldn't even afford a tram fare — those who lived nearby walked ho; those who lived far had to find a spot in the factory to lie down, borrowing coats from off-duty coworkers to use as blankets.
Fischer returned to his rental flat, sowhat weary. Masha had just finished preparing dinner. The delicious aroma from the dining room stirred his appetite, and he could hardly wait to eat. The radio was playing inside — a woman with a beautiful voice was singing a ballad about seafaring adventurers.
"I am Captain Blake!"
"Through oceans and mists I sail, pioneering every corner of the world!"
"Gold and treasure are not my true desire — it's the thrill of the unknown that calls to !"
"Co aboard, my darling, and write a grand adventure with !"
Fischer paused mid-sip of his soup. If he recalled correctly, this song was several decades old, composed in tribute to the first wave of seafaring pioneers.
The song's protagonist, Blake, was a real person. At a ti when all of humanity stood on the shore gazing out at the sea, he had answered a royal decree and sailed the first pioneer vessel into the mysterious, uncharted ocean.
Over more than a decade of adventure, he circumnavigated the entire Western Continent, ticulously charting the currents and pirate territories around it. He crossed the Southern Ocean and discovered the Southern Continent — overflowing with gold and treasure.
For this, Captain Blake was known as "the First Pioneer."
But that was decades ago. Blake was now well over a hundred years old. He was still alive, but Fischer hadn't heard anything about him in a long ti. He assud the old man had one foot in the grave, sitting at ho and waiting for death to co.
"Fischer, I heard the water's being shut off on our street tomorrow. The public works people say there's a problem with the piping. Mother Goddess save us — do you think so official might have taken our tax money off to play cards, or gamble, or sothing even worse, and that's why we're losing water?"
An old woman's words always carried a natural humor — but in this case, she was probably not far from the truth. Fischer had witnessed the Pink Pavilion's price levels today firsthand. Tlander visited that place regularly. If anyone tried to tell Fischer that man wasn't taking bribes, he'd be the first to call it a lie.
"Very likely. The chairs in Parliant are stuffed with bundles of Narios. For all we know, the utilities workers are sneaking into Parliant right now to steal the money to fix the pipes."
"Good heavens, why didn't they invite ?"
Fischer chuckled. But behind him the front door suddenly swung open, and a black-haired woman in a dark, gauzy dress stepped inside.
"Hey, Renee, you're back? I've been so worried about you these past few days while you were out. And this Fischer — doesn't care about you at all."
"He does care about , actually. Wow — what's that sll? It's amazing! I'm starving — let have so."
Fischer fetched a bowl and spoon for Renee. Trailing a faint, mysterious fragrance, she sat down beside him, eyes shining, rubbing her hands together with the look of a glutton.
Fischer's gaze lingered for a mont on the beautiful, silky black hair atop her head, but he didn't press her about her travels in front of Masha.
Based on what he knew of Renee's trait, the probability that she was the Undying Witch seed slim.
First, even though her mana circuits were continuously growing and her magical reserves were imnse, that didn't an she could be "undying." Otherwise, Fischer's own teacher, Helson, would not have nearly died from attempting soul-targeting magic. A powerful mana circuit and a powerful body were not necessarily the sa thing — and Renee's physical body was no different from any ordinary person's.
Furthermore, having read the Soul Completion Handbook, Fischer knew that a soul could not remain separated from its body indefinitely. Pherone required special ans to compress and preserve detached souls. The legendary demi-human spirits that occasionally appeared still needed to return to their tribes, following other demi-humans back for reincarnation.
The chance that the Undying Witch had been body-hopping or perpetually reincarnating was very small, because each ti a soul entered a new body, it was "cleansed" — no prior characteristics were retained. This appeared to be an ironclad law of nature, governed by so fundantal rule.
The other major point of suspicion was the Harte birds that Renee constantly produced.
Fischer had once studied the Harte birds ticulously, but his findings were sparse. Their mana circuits were incomplete. They truly seed to be nothing more than imperfect life-forms born from Renee's surplus mana circuits.
Renee had told him that she shared a deep connection with the Harte birds — she could manipulate their behavior and use the residual mana left on them — but she could not enter their bodies, because she herself had no idea how to extract her own soul from her body.
The Harte birds appeared to be an externalized portion of Renee's mana circuits — rely surplus circuitry, nothing more, with nothing particularly remarkable about them. Or if there was sothing remarkable, Renee hadn't told him.
The question remained: was Renee deceiving him, or wasn't she? Every fact Fischer had observed firsthand matched what she had told him, point for point. A Witch had only one trait. If Renee's trait was infinite mana growth, then how did one explain Karo's perpetual regeneration?
Renee did not possess that kind of trait.
After dinner, Fischer and Renee retreated to the upstairs room. Fischer locked the door and shut the window. His overly cautious behavior drew a mischievous grin from Renee, who sat on the sofa, tapped a finger to her lips, and said.
"My my, so you really are that starved for it? Calling back so urgently — you couldn't handle your urges and just had to have , is that it? If it's Fischer, I might say yes."
She batted her eyelashes and crossed her long, shapely legs, as though inviting him to pounce.
Fischer's breathing hitched for a second, but he tore his gaze away and got to the point of why he had summoned her.
"I've been searching for the Undying Witch. You know that."
"Oh, so this isn't a booty call?" Renee pouted and looked at him. "I know. I've been keeping an eye out for Witches with a similar trait whenever I go out these past years. What's this about — have you finally found a lead?"
Fischer stared at Renee, as if trying to read a crack in her facade. He found nothing.
"I found an artificial Witch at the Witch Research Society — soone called the 'Undying Witch.' A single strand of black hair was implanted in their body. That hair was found in ancient ruins. The Witch from whom it ca possesses an undying regenerative ability and is still alive in this world."
Renee stroked her chin and nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at Fischer.
"Is that so? I have heard there are quite a few ancient ruins over in Kadu. Before the industrial revolution, their religion forbade reckless demolition and excavation, so a lot of things were preserved. Give the location and I'll look into it next ti I head to Kadu."
"Renee, does that strand of hair have anything to do with you?"
Fischer ignored her offer entirely and simply asked, in a grave tone. "Is there anything you've been hiding from ?"
"Huh? Really? You're suspecting of being the Witch who left a hair in those ruins? You think I'm so undying monster? Or do you think I have another trait I haven't told you about? Co on — after you caught lying last ti, I stopped. I've told you everything."
"I swear — if I'm lying, may the Mother Goddess I worship bring down her harshest punishnt upon ."
Renee stuck out her tongue with a cute expression and aid it at Fischer.
She blinked, looking at him — only to find his expression utterly still, his face just as stern as before, fixed on her.
Renee opened her mouth. The cuteness slowly faded from her face, replaced by a look of sheer disbelief. She seed to sense that Fischer truly suspected her — suspected she was deceiving him. That palpable mistrust did not escape her.
Renee slowly lowered her hand. Her breathing grew uneven. Those incredulous eyes bore into Fischer. Her pretty lips pressed together. A tremor crept into her voice.
"You don't believe ? You think I've been lying to you this whole ti?"
Fischer had not yet answered, but Renee seed to have already received one.
She looked at him, hurt plain on her face. After a mont's hesitation she stood, walked wordlessly toward the door — then ca right back. She had silently fetched a kitchen knife and locked the door behind her again.
"Watch! Nn—"
Fischer shot to his feet and tried to snatch the blade away, but she dodged. She extended her left hand toward him and, gritting her teeth, clenched her fingers around the knife's edge. She squeezed the blade with all her might. The pain lanced up through her nerves, making her wince, yet she didn't utter a word.
"Renee!"
Fischer wrenched the bloodied knife from her hand. It clattered to the floor, shedding several drops of scalding blood. Renee's palm bled profusely, yet she simply held her hand out to Fischer, expression unchanging, saying nothing — just staring straight at him.
She hadn't said a word, but her violet eyes trembled faintly with pain, and the rims of her eyelids reddened.
Every trace of her usual teasing had vanished. She was utterly serious — and deeply, deeply wounded by Fischer's suspicion. Her gaze seed to ask: 'How can you doubt so easily?'
'I've already told you everything. I've already given you this much of myself...'
The wound on her palm kept bleeding, showing no sign of rapid healing. Droplets of blood fell to the floor one after another. But Renee just stared at Fischer, as if proving to him that she hadn't lied.
"This is just like you! I've already told you everything! I haven't lied to you! I've been out there helping you look for that Witch all this ti! I stopped lying the mont we beca close — and you can suspect of deception over a single strand of hair? I thought you called back because you missed , and I rushed all the way ho! Stupid !"
"Why do you think I've been staying by your side?! Why do you think I left my clothes in your carriage?! Why do you think I flew halfway across the continent to the Southern Continent and spent a month on a ship with you?! You idiot! You liar! You scoundrel! I hate you more than anything! Fischer! Uuu..."
As she spoke, tears stread down from her reddened eyes — one by one, tracing the cheeks that usually wore nothing but a teasing smirk. For the first ti, Fischer witnessed the Witch shed tears.
She wept in indignation, reaching to wipe her face — only to realize her left hand was covered in blood. She had to use her right hand instead.
"I... uuu... hate you... Fischer..."
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