Chapter 92
IX. The Basement Mage’s Chaotic Practice Sessions
“W-Witch…!”
The boy, with red eyes glistening with tears, hugged the fallen cat as if to protect it.
It was all because a girl he had never seen before had appeared out of nowhere in front of him. And with hair curly and flowing, the very symbol of a witch—the color black.
“Huh? Where is this? What the…! I set the coordinates correctly.”
The girl’s eyes, which had been shimmering with a blue light, gradually deepened, shifting to the same color as her hair.
“Huh? Uh…! Ah, dammit…! The magic’s worn off? I didn’t do anything wrong! Ah, for real! Luccia’s going to kill me…”
Hiccup— A startled Ronius let out a hiccup.
“Hm?”
Two black eyes, filled with curiosity, stared down at him intently.
Hiccup—
He hurriedly covered his mouth with one hand.
Black hair, black eyes. Having only ever encountered witches through books and stories, his heart pounded thump-thump wildly at witnessing one in the flesh.
They were said to be ill-omened beings who brought death, a terrifying tribe that devoured people alive. Thump, thump, the relentless pounding in his ears made the world sound muffled.
“G-Get away…!”
He was terrified, frightened, but he couldn’t back down here. With eyes wide and glaring, he stared at the witch before him.
In his arms, the small life was fading, breathing shallow, ragged breaths—sae-ak— ssae-ak—.
The witch’s figure grew increasingly blurry, both from his tear-filled eyes and the slender shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves.
He trembled violently and squeezed his eyes shut.
‘I’m absolutely not scared.’
Only after taking five or six deep breaths into his utterly unsettled gut did his eyelids flutter open.
“Eeek!”
But seeing the witch who had drawn so close, her face now right before his, he screamed like any thoroughly frightened child.
The pooled tears fell pitifully, plop-plop.
She crouched right in front of him, tilting her head curiously.
Cool, smooth eyes with pupils as dark and shining as if night itself were embedded within them; a pale, translucent face with cheeks full of life. Her cascading dark hair shimmered, perhaps due to the faint sunlight filtering in.
For some reason, a dazed Ronius couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl before him.
No matter how he looked, she didn’t seem terrifying enough to devour people. Instead, she was incredibly sparkling…
‘No! I mustn’t be enchanted!’
It was the first time he’d learned a witch could be as pretty and delicate as a fairy, but a witch was still a witch. She might be using some trick to hide her true face.
Ronius bit his lip hard and glared at her again.
Even as he put on his most threatening expression, she blinked her large eyes nonchalantly and spoke.
“Why are you crying?”
The witch asked, wiping the tear stains from his face with her hand. Startled for a moment by her unexpectedly soft touch, he fluttered his eyelids and lowered his gaze. He bit his lip hard at the fading warmth and weakening breaths. Clotted blood was oozing through his fingers.
‘I mustn’t cry. Crying is weak. If I cry…’
His mother, who died giving birth to him; his indifferent father; the cold ducal house—since birth, the frail child had always been alone.
‘But…’
The child, with tears clinging, let his lips tremble.
“The cat…”
“Cat? Hmm, you’re crying because of this one?”
The witch asked as if genuinely curious. At that innocent question, the child welled up even more. That creature was the only one who had shared warmth with him, a loner. No matter how much he pretended not to care, it had lingered by his side, becoming his friend…
“Kitty…”
He couldn’t let it leave so meaninglessly.
Soon, the child clenched his lips and raised his head with a determined look. The girl tilted her head crookedly.
“You… you can eat me instead, so please save it!”
She blinked her eyes vacantly. Her reaction was one of pure bewilderment, as if she’d heard something incomprehensible.
The boy pleaded desperately toward the black-haired girl who said nothing.
“I’m begging you…”
“So… I eat you, and it lives?”
“…hic, yes.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“You, you’re a hic witch, so…”
“Hmm…”
The boy with a tense expression and the girl whose thoughts were unreadable. Soon, a playful light rose in the girl’s eyes. The boy flinched seeing the girl’s eyes curve like crescent moons…
“Bam!”
“Wuaaak!”
She startled him with a loud sound and grabbed his face firmly. Ronius screamed and shut his eyes tight.
“Ha! Scared like this, and you tell me to eat you?”
She pinched his cheek hard.
“You’re a really funny kid, aren’t you?”
“Waaah! I-It hurts!”
Startled, he opened his eyes wide and glared at the witch with his damp, tear-filled eyes. She really was a witch after all…
“You. You look tasteless, you know?”
“Whaat? M-Me?”
Having never considered such a thing, Ronius fell into thought with a shocked expression.
‘It’s because of me… What do I do… Because I look tasteless, the cat…’
His eyes welled up with tears again. She stretched his cheek like dough, pulling it this way and that.
“Ught, lego, leggo, let go!”
Ronius, belatedly realizing his cheek was still being held, shouted. She released her hand, sighed deeply with a somewhat troubled expression.
“Ugh, really. If only it weren’t for these eyes.”
The black pupils stared intently into the boy’s eyes. The boy flinched, but somehow, those eyes no longer seemed scary.
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