"...I should go to the Demon World and check for myself."
"Oh, that won't work. Since you don't have a summoning link, if you go to the Demon World, it will be extremely difficult for you to return to the human world."
Gremory, who didn't like that, kept her mouth shut. Because the human world, where she had memories of her old friend Lenia, was much better than the demon world.
Gremory just shook her head and left.
She followed Isolene out of the Grand Duke's mansion and headed toward the pasture. On the way, she met another witch. She was a small, low-ranking witch.
"Sister Mori! Where are you going?"
"Why are you calling me sister again?"
"Because my older sister saved me when I almost died during the Demon World War! Thanks to that, I was able to survive and be summoned here to Grand Duke Ethel."
"...I don't know anymore."
Gremory just followed behind Isolene, stumbling along. It felt like she was walking in a dream.
'Anyway, if what they say is true, then I'm completely free now.'
She was kidnapped, and when she came to her senses, the demon was dead. She was free from the annoying sacrifice. It was a relief, but strangely unpleasant.
Finally, they arrived at the ranch. It was full of plump black goats. Isolene proudly introduced the ranch.
"This is the pasture His Highness the Grand Duke prepared for the witches in our household. He made it especially for you."
"It wasn't created by a witch pervert to seduce witches?"
"Why do you think His Highness the Grand Duke is a witch pervert?"
"He collected all the black-haired women. Even the ghosts in the mansion all had black hair."
"Then ask those ghosts. What kind of person is His Highness the Grand Duke?"
Gremory was simply confused. She felt a tickling sensation in her chest, but she couldn't figure out what it was, which made her uncomfortable.
Gremory, who had watched the goat slaughter process, eventually returned to the Grand Duke's residence without running away. When thinking rationally, she thought she should run away, but for some reason, her feet wouldn't move at all.
'I feel like I've lost something important. I have a feeling I can find it in this mansion.'
Gremory decided to let down her guard a little and explore the mansion further. If she found anything strange while exploring, it wouldn't be too late to escape after that.
Gremory returned to the mansion and turned into a cat, wandering around. If Chession Ethel was really a crazy witch pervert, there would definitely be strange traces left somewhere in the house.
'Traces of kidnapping and torturing other witches besides me.'
Gremory, who had been hiding and avoiding the servants, searched the mansion for half a day. The mansion was very clean on the outside. There was a torture chamber and a dungeon, but it was at the level commonly found in noble residences.
'Anyone can pretend to be clean on the outside. If that guy is a total pervert, he would have his own secret space.'
Gremory strained her eyes to search for a secret space. Then, she sensed something suspicious in a corner of a deserted first-floor hallway.
On the outside, it looked like just a wall, but she could feel the air flowing through it.
"That's right.'
Gremory, with her front paws against the wall, began to analyze the flow of magical power. And he soon figured out how to open the passage. All she had to do was touch the picture frame hanging next to her.
As she jumped up and twisted the position of the picture frame with her front paw, the door in what appeared to be a wall opened with a click. Gremory entered through the open doorway.
Beyond the door, there was a staircase leading down to the basement. The staircase led to a library.
'Is it like a forbidden book vault?'
Just when she was thinking that this was a space that would be found in any nobleman's residence, a bookshelf caught Gremory's eye.
"What, what is that?"
An entire bookshelf was filled with books about witches. The titles were unusual.
"The Witch's Traits."
"How to capture a witch and make your wish come true."
"Ancient Witch Hunt."
Gremory's pupils shook. She transformed into a human form and pulled out a black book titled "Witch's Traits' and examined it.
The things written in it about the witch were quite accurate.
"A witch's appearance is no different from that of a normal human. The only difference is that the fangs are slightly sharper, and the bite force is strong. However, when a witch is angry or threatens an opроnent, her pupils turn red and narrow vertically. The fangs also grow longer, and her nails become sharper."
"When the witch vomits blood."
"A witch's weakness is overeating. Sometimes, when witches see delicious food, they get excited and eat it indiscriminately. When they do, their stomachs cramp up, they vomit what they have eaten, and collapse."
As she turned the pages, Gremory's hands began to tremble. How could there be such a book in the human world? It was as if it had been written while observing the witch from the side.
Books are books, but the fact that Chession found something like this and stored it away in the basement was definitely not ordinary.
"This guy is a real pervert."
At that moment, a black-haired ghost came down the stairs.
- My brother had no choice but t o collect those books because of me.
Gremory's pupils turned red, and she bared her fangs.
"What are you?"
- I'm the younger sister of Grand Duke Chession Ethel. Since I was being hunted as a witch, my brother had no choice but to study witches to protect me. The more you know, the more you can protect.
"What? That purple eyeball is human. How can he have a witch sister? You're a witch, after all. You're so weak that I can't even tell."
- I was a human before I was witch-hunted. I became a witch later in life.
"That's bullshit. If that were possible, the world would be overflowing with people who were witches."
- It's already overflowing.
Gremory, who had been speechless, burst into laughter.
"How can someone who was born human become a different species? A cat can turn into a dog... Wait."
Gremory, sensing something strange, dropped the book he was holding. She felt a very strong top-tier witch approaching the mansion.
'What? Are you coming to catch me? To offer me to the demon?'
But something seemed suspicious. A top-level witch would know how to hide her presence, but she came out so openly without any Intention of hiding her magical power.
Gremory ran out of the basement and found a short-haired witch sitting on the roof of the mansion. It was Lace, the witch, who was practically the right-hand man of the demon.
Lace was waving at Gremory while holding a basket full of weeds.
"Oh, sis. It's been a while."
"?"
For some reason, the face of Lace, who was always somber, had become sad. It didn't look like she had come to catch a sacrifice to offer to the god.
And she's called "sister"? Being a sister among witches means lifelong obedience, and she calls me "sister"?
Gremory tilted her head with a questioning expression, then transformed into a cat and climbed up the wall to the rooftop.
Lace quickly thrust a basket of herbs into her hand.
"Here, take it. The herb harvest was good this year. Especially this red herb. Sister?"
"Why on earth do you call me sister?"
"Yes? Ever since you saved my life and my child, I've been calling you that."
"You have a child?"
Two rice-grain-sized fangs protruded from between the cat's gaping mouth. When Iris, who had followed her, roughly explained the situation, Lace chuckled.
"Ahahaha! You're saying that Grand Duke is a pervert? The Grand Duke that you were so crazy about?"
"I really liked that Grand Duke?"
"Of course. You cried and made a fuss about how you couldn't live without him and how you loved him."
"I...?"
"That's right. And the demon god indeed died. So I can live comfortably, stretching out my legs and digging for herbs."
Gremory felt very confused. It was not anyone else, but Lace, who had been so vicious that said such things, so it all seemed true.
Lace just got up and spread her wings.
"I'll be going now. I can't stay long since I left my daughter behind. When she grows up, I'll bring her back and show her around."
"..."
"And I recommend you eat some green berries. They're good for your memory. Yes, that's all."
Lace flew openly high into the sky. Those who witnessed her thought nothing of it, saying, "Another bat is flying around." They simply assumed that bats had been appearing frequently in the Grand Palace for some time.
Gremory was shocked. Iris crouched down in front of Gremory and looked her in the eye.
- Does my brother still look like a pervert to you?
"I really loved that Grand Duke? And the demon is dead?"
That's right. How many times do I have to say it?"
Gremory was troubled. Should she like this situation? When she thought about it carefully. It was something to like. It was clear that the Grand Duke was not a dangerous witch pervert, and the demon that had been shackling her was no longer there.
However, she felt quite strange. It was as if something deep inside her chest was being suppressed by a rock.
Comments
Post a Comment