Chapter 41

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 41

HOW many times have I woken up in a strange place like this? I must really lack a sense of danger. Yuki thought of all the times she woke up in a new and unfamiliar location after having passed out or been knocked out.

“You up?”

Yuki slowly sat up and glanced around the room with a cutely designed bed, elegantly designed table, and a marvelously soft sofa. Yuki was lying on the sofa.

“I’m awake…” Yuki replied through the haze of a good rest. In the corner of the room was a door leading to another room. Something smelled of ginger, flour, and cinnamon.

Why do I always lack common sense in these situations? Yuki thought ashamed of her gurgling stomach. A girl came into the room with a tray weighed down with a variety of breads, soup, and fruits as Yuki rubbed her hungry stomach.

“Here you go! Sorry for the wait!” the girl said, placing the tray on the table. She skillfully poured water from a pitcher into a glass and sat in a chair at the table.

“Come on. What are you doing? Hurry up and eat,” she urged Yuki who was staring at her in blank amazement.

“Huh? Ah, okay…” Yuki didn’t understand the sudden shift in her life’s circumstances, but she sat in the chair opposite of the girl. The girl was already eating her share.

“Thank you for the food…” Yuki said, timidly picking up her spoon and digging into the soup, relishing the pleasure of another meal. The food made by the Legendary Witch was delicious.

Yuki just hoped the house wasn’t made of candy, and Ain wasn’t stuffed into the stove. Knowing her luck, it would be just like this crazy world to force a fairytale on her.

***

NOW that I think about it, no one told me the Legendary Witch’s name, Yuki mused as she drank her after dinner tea.

“It’s obvious no one would know. I’ve lived my life with the title Legendary Witch,” the girl laughed when Yuki brought it up.

“Vizui Vil Dividum. You can call me Vivi.”

“Viz…? Vivi it is then,” Yuki said, giving up on pronouncing her full name.

Why does everyone in this world have such complicated names? Yuki wondered as she mentally repeated the name.

“What’s your name?”

“Yuki Kasuga. Call me Yuki.”

“Yuki it is,” Vivi smiled. “So why did you impersonate me?”

“Aah, about that…”

Vivi held her stomach as she buckled over laughing, hitting the table with her right hand at Yuki’s explanation over what happened at Fol Castle. “Ah, that persistent fox, huh! Heh! You did that to him, eh? Ahahaha!”

“He hasn’t turned completely into a fox though,” Yuki commented.

“Perhaps I’ll pay him another visit,” Vivi said in all seriousness.

After Vivi finished her bout of laughter, Yuki straightened up in her chair and bowed her head. “Um, thank you very much for saving me.”

“Oh my, you’re very welcome,” Vivi said as if she were surprised to be thanked.

“So…there’s something I would like to ask you,” Yuki timidly brought up.

“What is it?” Vivi asked, not breaking eye contact with Yuki as the kettle drifted into the room to pour another cup of tea.

“Um, I was wondering what happened to my friend Ain.”

“Aaah, you mean the Mage boy? I tossed him somewhere within Adolunde’s territory. Oh, but I didn’t literally toss him there. I gently plopped him down on the ground. I’d say he’s probably wandered home by now?”

Isn’t plopping him down and tossing him there the same thing?

“I see,” is all Yuki said, deciding she would be better off not making that remark.

Vivi abruptly started sulking. “I made such an over exaggerated appearance and yet Yuki—or should I say I—was still declared dead at the execution,” she huffed and gulped down her full cup of hot tea after two cubes of sugar climbed into the cup.

“Seriously? You were so showy and flashy when you—”

“Right! That’s why I did such a spectacular rescue for those idiot princes! I’m sure Maruk brought out one of their indentured Witches and cast an illusion to force their point across. Bah, I get no respect.”

“Indentured Witches?” Yuki repeated the unfamiliar word.

“Oh, right. Normal people don’t know about this. Yuki, have you heard about how there was once a Witch Hunt?”

I don’t count as a normal person in this world though, Yuki thought, but quietly nodded. “Yeah, I heard a little about it.”

“I see,” Vivi lowered her voice, “You see, there was once a large-scale Witch Hunt. I believe it was about ten years ago. Around the time Rvydom fell. Witches who were captured at the time were given an ultimatum, ‘Will you die or swear your allegiance to this country?’”

“I didn’t…know about that,” Yuki responded, surprised at the new information.

“All the weak Witches were slaughtered and all the Witches who had lived a long time died with their pride. Those who surrendered themselves to their capturers were occasionally used as playthings, occasionally had their powers misused and abused, and all were killed once they were worn down to the point of uselessness.

“And then once the Witch population was greatly diminished, the various countries realized their importance and their abuse mostly abated. Officially, they persecute and slander Witches as vile villains, when in reality the governments are sheltering them away as national treasures. The funny thing is, there’s no country any Witch would truly pledge their loyalty to,” Vivi explained.

“But why are Witches persecuted? I don’t see Witches as being all too evil. What exactly did Witches do to receive such horrible persecution?” Yuki asked.

Vivi was taken aback for a moment before she burst out laughing. “Hehe. AHAHAHA! You’re weird! Do you seriously understand what you are saying? Ahaha!”

Yuki glared at Vivi for laughing at her for defending Witches.

“Listen well and remember this, Yuki—Witches are fundamentally evil.”

“Why? You saved me, Vivi.” Yuki said.

Vivi snickered. “That was merely the whim of an old Witch. There is a reason why people do not proclaim they’re the Legendary Witch anymore. But you know, Yuki, if I were really nice, I would have dropped the Mage boy off at his home. You see, Witches are women,” Vivi said with a licentious cackle.

The bewitching laugh unfitting to her current physique hinted even more so at a far older mentality with an experienced charm.

“Witches are blessed with amazing looks; they can dress up to be the most beautiful of women and change their appearances to whatever they want them to be. Once they have the beauty they want, they of course want to capture themselves a good man of high stature and breeding. Once they’ve picked a target, they won’t be satisfied until he falls into their grasp. They want men to serve them. Witches care nothing for the morals of others. They target boyfriends, fiancés, husbands, fathers, and even kings.

“Witches frankly follow their desire to be pampered and fussed over, uncaring of the suffering of others that comes as a result. That’s why they don’t care whether the man is spoken for or not. They’ll do anything to get what they want—they’ll make love potions and change themselves to fit the preferences of their prey. Then once they win their target, they wear him down to the bone, get tired of him, and toss him aside like a used tissue. Rarely does a man prove worthy of a Witch’s true love.

“But what about human women? Their families? They quickly grow old. And even if there’s a beautiful woman—her beauty is fleeting. Do you think those women can rival or compete with Witches who can shift their beauty like a pair of clothes? Thus, the human women become enraged. They seek to kill us or the men or both,” Vivi explained as if it were no big deal. Yuki’s eyes rounded in shock.

“Well, that in and of itself isn’t too bad,” Vivi said, suddenly flashing a smile suitable to her ten-year-old appearance. “Now here’s where the real problem starts. What do you think happens when the man the Witch is after is a king, a prince, or of a high position?”

Yuki hesitated over how to answer the question suddenly directed toward her.

Uuh, let’s see, Witches like men and human women can’t win against Witches. And so if the man the Witch was after was a prince—

“I know! They won’t be able to have children!” Yuki answered.

Ain once told Yuki Witches have a hard time conceiving children. Yuki looked confidently at Vivi who said, “Boo, wrong,” with a complacent smile.

“Why am I wrong?” Yuki asked.

“Yuki, do you understand that princes and kings typically have counterparts of equal standing waiting to become queens? It’s general knowledge the queen’s kid will become the next king.”

“Heh…I see,” Yuki mumbled trying to follow Vivi’s logic.

“And that’s where the problem comes in. Say there’s no longer a king on the throne and the heir to the throne is enthralled with a Witch—there won’t be an official queen. Obviously, right?” Vivi smirked happily.

Yuki was a little frightened about where Vivi’s absolute confidence over the lack of an official queen came from.

“The official wife is always a daughter of a good, high-ranking family. If they aren’t going to be the official wife they become a concubine and are raised only to pander after the king’s favor. Yet if they don’t receive his favor there’s no reason for their existence. Noble daughters are prideful creatures, so they scheme—scheme to kill the Witches.”

“Wh-Why do they immediately jump to the conclusion to kill the Witch?” Yuki asked.

“Who knows? Maybe they just want to eliminate the competition? Competition can be a pain. I’m a Witch though, so I don’t know,” Vivi cackled. “Just so you know, humans aren’t the only ones at fault here. Witches in turn curse humans.”

“Huh? What? I didn’t catch the last part,” Yuki said and was laughed at.

“It’s nothing? Well, there was a case where a country’s princes fought over one Witch and it broke out into a war, so Witches are dangerous. But it’s also a fact that a country can’t prosper without a Witch’s power. Hence why they can’t completely annihilate Witches. Some civilizations and cultures only exist thanks to Witches after all. And let’s not forget the threat of one side having Witches while the other does not.”

“H-Heh, is that so?”

“It is. Even the Knight System…” Vivi stopped and took a long hard look at Yuki. “Oh my, you’re bonded to a Knight.”

“What?” Yuki examined herself. She didn’t see anything different from other people. “You can tell?”

Yuki no longer had the proof of their contract—the ring—on her. She unconsciously rubbed her right hand’s middle finger.

“I can tell. A Knight and their Master are connected. But you normally can’t see it, so the ring was created as visible proof of the bonding for humans.”

“Hmm. I see,” Yuki nodded, “it makes sense to want a visible sign of the contract.” Vivi grinned at her.

“You’re quite young, but you go, girl!” Vivi laughed and smiled like she was just let in on a juicy story. “Oh ho ho, what’s this? Is he cool? Handsome? C’mon, tell me!”

“Cool and handsome?” Yuki repeated and thought of Luca. He was tall, had a chiseled and handsome face, and deep ocean blue eyes. He was an impeccable specimen of a man. “S-Shut it! It has nothing to do with you, Vivi!”

“Aaww. Hey, you don’t have to be so mean about it,” Vivi pouted.

Yuki didn’t want to tell Vivi about Luca for some reason.