《The Memoirs of a Public Enemy》


 Chapter 1: Somewhere Between Dreams and Fantasies

    <ol>


    <li>Somewhere between dreams and fantasies</li>


    </ol>


    ¡±What do you think is the difference between a dream and a fantasy?¡±


    The steady hum of the air conditioning unit felt more overbearing than usual today, even though there was nothing outright unusual about the situation otherwise. The walls were the same, the window was the same, and this man sitting in front of me was also the same as always.


    In my experience, there are three types of people when it comes to dealing with dying patients. The most common response is always pity. They feel bad for you, or maybe for themselves for having to deal with you.


    The second type ignores it or acts like they¡¯re ignorant of it. Perhaps the sight or thought of death frightens them, so they don¡¯t want to think about it. Simple as that.


    This man who sat before me was a good example of the third because he considered me a form of entertainment. He had a morbid curiosity towards death and spouted this pseudo-philosophical nonsense because he was excited to hear what a dying person had to say about his questions.


    It¡¯s like I was a zoo animal he somehow couldn¡¯t grow tired of.


    ¡°A dream is something a person can hope to achieve with effort. Fantasies skip the effort part and focus only on the reward.¡±


    My answer clearly bothered him. He was surely hoping for something profound or grim to write about on social media. The side of his mouth always twitched when he was told something, he didn¡¯t want to hear.


    To this day, I still hate him and everything he represents as a human being.


    A middle-aged man with nothing better to do with his life, outside of indulging in shameless behavior like this while at work. Day after day, I wished for him to simply shut up and do his job.


    I had seen him for the vast majority of my life. Countless years of his stupid questions, and today was no exception.


    ¡°Your surgery will start in an hour.¡± His statement was cold.


    My answer was not what he hoped for¡­ but having known him for years, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t expect this. I¡¯m sure in his egocentric world, I lost my value as a human as soon as I was no longer giving him fuel for his ¡®The wisdom of the dying¡¯-blog.


    Just for the record, it had close to no traffic whatsoever. I checked.


    Having spent my entire life poked¡­ prodded¡­ and split open by doctors, generally made it really difficult to feel any sort of attachment to them.


    The inner walls of the hallways had recently been painted to be more colorful, and yet somehow, no matter how I stared at them, all I could see was the usual gray and white.  It was almost as if hospitals had the power to drain all color from things.


    I knew I was dying. I had been dying ever since I was born. Some kind of issues with my heart, to avoid going too far into medical jargon.


    ¡­ And, to call the heart mine was a bit of an overstatement. My original heart was probably bubbling in some weird jar somewhere in the hospital storage.


    Another transplant was waiting today. In a little bit, I was to be opened up again, but I really wondered why.


    What was the point of extending my life by a couple of years?


    Even if I lived, I¡¯d be locked away in my hospital room. It¡¯s not a particularly joyful way of life. After being stuck here for so long, I really started wondering if this kind of empty morality was really worth anything. The only reason they kept me alive was to experiment on my body¡­ but they kept claiming it was because ¡®life is valuable¡¯. I didn¡¯t really see any value in mine, so why would they keep me alive just for the sake of it?


    I couldn¡¯t figure it out. Furthermore, I felt like my existence didn¡¯t genuinely equate to much outside of bringing pain to everyone. Even my parents stopped visiting me a good while ago. I couldn¡¯t honestly blame them, since they were in a completely hopeless situation because of me.


    The cost of keeping me alive forced them to work like horses from day to night with no breaks. There was no money left for them whatsoever, so they could barely eat. They couldn¡¯t just stop funneling money for my sake either, or society would judge them brutally and mercilessly without a care for being ¡®neglectful and evil¡¯.


    They were trapped in a web of endless misery weaved purely out of my existence. Their relationship was on the rocks because of the stress, and I¡¯m sure they despised me with all of their hearts for getting them tangled up like this.


    So, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder¡­ what really was the point of continuously investing endless funds into my survival?


    I was never able to make any kinds of friends outside the internet. Surely, nobody would miss me if I just disappeared one day.


    I have seen it multiple times. Someone just stops posting on a website or chatting server, and instead of really looking into it, people just move on. I couldn¡¯t imagine it being any different with me either. Nobody there knew who I was, what I looked like, or anything about me outside the games we played together.


    ¡­ Not that there was much to know in the first place.


    All I ever did was play video games on my laptop, read, and answer stupid questions. That pretty much summed up my life.


    If I answered the doctor¡¯s question completely honestly. The answer would maybe have been something more like ¡°There is no difference. Some people can¡¯t gun for their dreams even if they wanted to put in the effort because life is not equal, so their dreams remain no different from fantasies.¡±


    I¡¯m certain that would have become his social media quote of the week.


    As I got taken to the operating room, it was difficult to think about much. Upon birth, I was confirmed to have a serious heart defect. I was able to have a somewhat normal life until I was around ten, but ever since then I¡¯ve been stuck here in this hospital. My heart was so weak, I couldn¡¯t exert myself in any sense. Moving around too much was bad for me, so I was just about skin and bones. Getting impassioned about things to the point of having my heart race was also out of the question. Saying I was a bit detached emotionally due to this was probably a pretty gross understatement.


    When I was eleven, I had my first heart transplant.


    Despite the successful surgery, I remained fragile. I couldn¡¯t go to school in person anymore, so I attended online classes, but I never really understood why. People seemed to have this¡­ strange sense of normalcy they had to keep up. I had the right to a ¡®normal life¡¯ despite my circumstances, is what they called it, and yet somehow, to me, it always felt more like I had the responsibility to be as normal as possible regardless of my clearly abnormal existence.


    What the hell was the point of me cramming pointless knowledge into my head, when I was going to die soon anyway? Was it to distract me from the inevitable end? Was it to make it so I don¡¯t seem so different from everyone else, so people wouldn¡¯t get frightened or reminded too much of mortality through me? What was the point of simulating a ¡®normal life¡¯ when there was no way I was going to have one anyway?


    I for sure didn¡¯t see a point. All I wanted to do was play video games on my laptop and read. Getting to go on fantastical adventures to forget the misery of reality for a moment felt much more sensible than studying what atoms do when they interact.


    Science was supposed to be helping me, and yet I was still dying.


    If anything, I think magic was much more likely to help me at this point than science.


    With magic, the happy ending was always in sight, even in the most miserable circumstances. If only I had magic, I could gain control of my life again. Like a final straw, it was the one thing I couldn¡¯t stop grasping onto.


    As a teenager, I enjoyed drawing magical sigils on my arms. They were from my favorite game. It had witches as the enemy, but despite their evil nature, they also had incredible healing powers. The witches had no illness or faulty hearts. In fact, they didn¡¯t have hearts in the first place.


    I loved them then¡­ And I still love them to this day.


    I adored everything about them; the powers, the aesthetic, the elegance and fear they commanded. I often wore a big witch hat my parents got me for my fourteenth birthday when I played my games.


    Something about¡­ controlling fear instead of living endlessly in it¡­ It really connected with me.


    I truly idolized witches.


    They were everything I ever wanted.


    But.


    No matter how precisely I drew the symbols on my arms.  No matter how well I learned all the chants and prayers the game had.


    Regardless of what I did, I never gained control. Because magic doesn¡¯t exist.


    Life isn¡¯t a storybook, so there is no drama arc. I highly doubt there is a divine plan or a God either. If there is¡­ I¡¯m sure that God REALLY hates me. I don¡¯t quite know why whatever was up there hated me so much, since I never really did much outside of sitting in my bed. It was quite difficult to be religiously virtuous in my situation, but it was just as hard to be sinful.


    Because of this, I never figured out what God would have wanted from me anyway. Either way¡­ if a higher power does exist, I¡¯m sure I messed my life up one way or another to be dealt a hand like this.


    Maybe I was a real asshole in a past life? Hah¡­ I wouldn¡¯t put it past me¡­


    The air smelled sterile. People whose identities were shrouded by their masks walked around idly. This was everyday work for them. I wonder if you can ever grow bored with heart surgery.


    The operating room was full of machinery I had seen before. I had been here multiple times. The humming of the air conditioner began slowly growing louder.


    I wonder if there even was an air conditioner in the surgery suite. Somehow, I couldn¡¯t really remember at the moment. The humming was growing so loud, that it got hard to focus on anything other than it.


    The ceiling gradually grew distorted.


    As I cursed my existence and wished to never have been born in this world¡­ As I cursed God or whatever was out there for my fate¡­ I began hallucinating.


    All the sounds were suddenly gone, all the color of the room was gone, all the people around me were gone.


    It was all white.


    Completely pure white with black outlines, like an unfinished drawing.


    I was laying on my back on the operating table, staring at the ceiling, unable to move, when a face began pushing through the solid white I was forced to look at.


    Like a liquid, a human-like shape began bubbling through and approaching me slowly.


    It was a woman with completely white skin. Calling it white might have been an understatement. It was ghastly to the point it felt almost as if it were radiating a cold, dispassionate light.


    I couldn¡¯t quite grasp any features of her face, even when she came closer¡­ outside a smile.


    A completely emotionless smile, like that of a puppet trying to mimic human emotion. Something about it felt incredibly inhuman.


    An undeniable sense of fear began growing within me. It felt primordial and instinctive, like something my body was hard-coded to be terrified of.


    The pale woman gradually crept further from ceiling, reaching her hands out for me.


    I couldn¡¯t move. All I could do was gawk back, as her glowing skin made contact with mine.


    It felt like a thousand shards of glass began mercilessly ripping into my face, gouging the skin off. After the skin was the muscles¡­ then the bones¡­ then the marrow¡­ until nothing was left. I couldn¡¯t scream or even move. All I could do was stare into the endless white of her hand as it eventually covered my line of sight.


    Everything was so bright¡­ My head was pounding. My eyes felt dry and tired as vision began returning slightly.


    ¡°¡­ch¡­¡±


    I felt like there was something¡­ echoing in the distance.


    ¡°..ait¡­.i¡­.how¡­e¡­.¡±


    The voices seemed a bit closer¡­ Ah¡­ It must have been the doctors¡­ I suppose it¡¯s time for three more ye-


    ¡°YOU WITCH!! YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT DEATH!¡±


    I jolted my eyes open. My head was pounding, and everything was blurry. There were people shouting something¡­ at someone? I couldn¡¯t see properly. The ground was cold¡­ Did I fall off the bed due to a seizure or something? I think this floor was made of stone. Was the hospital floor made of stone? I¡¯m pretty sure it had a more plastic-like texture to it¡­


    My vision began to focus, and the first thing that caught me off-guard was color. In that instant, I knew I wasn¡¯t in the hospital.


    A vivid twilight blanketed the gigantic hall I was in. Everything was orange to the point it looked almost as if it were on fire. The voices echoing in the surrounding space were foreign to me. They were shouting, but I couldn¡¯t hear them properly. I didn¡¯t care about the voices, though. All I could do was look around in awe, for it was my first time seeing something so beautiful in my life.


    I was laying on a floor made of stone¡­ I think it might have been marble. It¡¯s not like I had ever seen marble in real life, so I could have been wrong too. It just looked similar to how the mineral was usually depicted in video games.


    It felt incredibly smooth for stone, almost like there was a thin layer of glass covering it.


    Something dark was obscuring my line of sight partially, and it felt a bit itchy against my face.


    As I tried to wave the darkness in front of my face away, I came to realize it was my own hair. My hair wasn¡¯t long¡­ or dark¡­. Hastily grasping for it, I found my hands full of black and silky hair. It was a bit wavy and covered my face. I tugged on it just a few times to make sure it was actually attached to my head.


    I probably looked a bit weird in doing so.


    My hair had somehow become jet black, like the darkest night.


    I seemed to be wearing a violet, yet simple dress of some kind. I think I might have had high heels on too, but that¡¯s about everything I could see or feel from my position. From the whole ensemble, I deduced I was maybe wearing clothes meant for a ball of some kind.


    Before me, a bunch of men and women I didn¡¯t recognize at all were screaming at me. While my eyesight was still very blurry, I could tell the people around me were also dressed up for a ball. There was a young woman surrounded by a group of tall men pointing at me. She was screaming¡­ maybe at me?


    She was shouting something about abuse¡­ jealousy¡­ love.


    I couldn¡¯t understand.


    I figured I had to be dreaming. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Surely, I¡¯d wake up in my miserable bed again soon. This was probably some sort of hallucination caused by the painkillers. That white figure from the ceiling¡­ It was definitely a mere hallucination too.


    The weight of several adult men crushing me jolted me out of my moment. The guards were dogpiling me, grasping for my limbs in almost what felt like panic.


    It really hurt. Their armor dug into my body, leaving bleeding scrapes all over as they roughly forced me to stand. I was still reeling from the pain as I suddenly got slapped. My eyes finally began focusing.


    A classical beauty with hair of gold stood before me. A young lady, maybe in her early twenties, with eyes like the purest emeralds. She wore a fancy ballroom dress that matched with her bright hair color.


    But the pain and aching all over my body was nothing. I couldn¡¯t help but stare wide-eyed in all directions.


    Everything was so beautiful. Stunningly beautiful even. I think my eyes started to get strained from me looking everywhere in my attempt to absorb the scenery before me through my retinas.


    The giant hall, the people, everything. My eyes darted around as I let the twilight glow in. It felt like something out of a fantasy novel. Everything surrounding me had a gently sparkling and an intense sense of saturation to it. Like all the colors of my previous life, were amplified by a hundredfold.


    Everywhere I looked, I could see these very faint glimmering sparkles appearing in my peripheral vision. Tiny shining orbs flashing in and then disappearing before my eyes could fully comprehend their presence.


    As my line of sight slowly returned to the golden-haired beauty before me, I noticed she seemed to be lecturing to me about something. I had a really hard time focusing on her words, because there were glimmering little sparkles slowly rising out of her body too, only to disappear as quickly as they appeared.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she was an angel. Furthermore, I pondered if I had been taken to heaven, but then¡­ why did I have my hair color swapped¡­? Did heaven have¡­a dress code or something?


    Slowly, awareness began returning, and I realized I was probably not in heaven.


    The woman was ranting to me about something really shallow. Something about¡­ Not deserving the kindness of the crown prince? Something about¡­ being a traitor. Something about trying to hurt her.


    The men behind her seemed to hold her in high regard. They nodded their heads at her words, some stared at her with adoration, almost as if enchanted by her mere presence. The men were quite handsome. Nothing short of a reverse harem group. In fact! I¡¯m somewhat confident it probably WAS a reverse harem situation with how adoringly all the guys were staring at her.


    The golden-haired beauty had a strange quirk to her speech. Something the men behind her seemed to be unable to see. Or maybe they were simply too blinded by their love to see it, even if it was quite blatant if you asked me.


    Whenever the talking subject would change to praising herself or being honorable, the side of her mouth would begin twinging upwards. It was like one half of her face was showing her true emotions, and the other half was still managing to fake it.


    She seemed to really enjoy talking about herself.


    She was ranting about her being the victim to some¡­ petty crimes, but the way she worded everything made it sound more like she was praising herself.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing but bring smiles to the faces of the denizens of this kingdom! What have I done to deserve your spite and jealousy?!¡± Even in victimizing herself, she couldn¡¯t shut up about what a great person she was.


    I had spent my entire life in bed without much to do. Looking at people was one of my few sources of entertainment.


    Trying to analyze the microexpressions of those around me was something akin to a game to me. Figuring out when one of my nurses was having a bad day by how she¡¯d react to my speech was a pretty effective way to stave off boredom from time to time.


    Not that you really needed to be particularly good at reading people in this situation. This girl was so blatantly narcissistic, even a child would probably be able to recognize what was going on with her expressions.


    The way she tried to hide her ego contorted her features in a rather unappealing manner. A waste for such a pretty face. She wore big and decorative earrings and a dress adorned with gold and gemstones. Her outfit shuffled subtly as she moved around and shouted at me. Judging by the sounds her footsteps made, it was easy to assume she was wearing high heels. She was the textbook definition of a beautiful western princess.


    Like Cinderella, it seemed like she had been wronged by me somehow. I don¡¯t exactly know what I did¡­ But I guessbeing it wasn¡¯t actually anything too serious, considering how happy the victim was to talk about it.


    I suppose I was Cinderella¡¯s ugly step-sister in this situation, then?


    Her obviously dramatized words seemed to be getting to her audience. The crowd grew more and more audibly outraged the more she spoke. They began screaming about the death penalty, and about burning the witch.


    I guess I was in the process of being falsely accused of something? It seemed the golden princess was having a good time listing all the bad things I had supposedly done to her. Her brainless audience hollered like a group of monkeys as she kept going, clearly reveling in her moment of glory and falsified justice.


    Now, you might be wondering why I was so confident she was falsely accusing me? It was simply due to the fact, that she didn¡¯t try to calm down the crowd at all whenever she pointed out one of my¡­ evil deeds.


    Let me give an example.


    ¡°She spilled water on my brand-new clothes just two weeks ago!¡± The little princess narrated.


    ¡°BURN THE WITCH!! KILL HER!!¡± The crowd screeched in response.


    You probably understand what I mean now. The reactions of the crowd were completely excessive in relation to the seriousness of the crime, and yet the girl did nothing to soothe the fury of the mob.


    It was almost a bit funny to see the absurd overreactions of the crowd to the incredible offenses this poor young woman had to live through.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    These villainess accusation scenarios are a common trope in novels and manga for women. The gist of things is, that a person from the normal world gets reincarnated into their favorite novel, only to discover they¡¯re the villainess character instead of the heroine.


    The story often comes to a climax in a scene, where the villainess is accused of abusing the heroine, but with the powers of knowing the story of the novel, the villainess has become loved by all, and instead turns the tables on the heroine.


    I read a few books like this. I¡¯m somewhat familiar with the trope¡­


    ¡­


    I lied¡­ I¡¯m VERY familiar with the trope, but that was beside the point.


    I didn¡¯t recognize this scene from any of the novels I read. It always annoyed me how I couldn¡¯t find a single novel about a witch as a main character. There is no way I wouldn¡¯t remember a situation involving a crowd accusing the villainess of being one.


    I didn¡¯t recognize any of these people as characters from any novels I read. Not the princess nor the men swarming around her.


    Not to mention my pitch-black hair. The main characters rarely ever had black hair in these novels. Red hair and other powerful colors were a pretty common character-trait among villainesses. It probably symbolized their¡­ fiery personality or something.


    Either way, none of what was transpiring before me rang a bell.


    Did I get reincarnated into a novel?


    Did I die?


    Was this a drug-induced hallucination? Somehow, the longer I looked around, the less I wished for it to be one. The beauty of this world was far beyond that of my gray past. If this was a dream, I didn¡¯t want to wake up.


    I¡¯m sure I¡¯d get even more depressed than now if I found out this was just a fleeting creation of my own mind.


    The golden-haired woman was now talking to me in a pitying tone. I spent my entire life being pitied by people, so it was straightforward for me to detect when someone was simply acting like they had sympathy for me. Somehow, I don¡¯t think she even knew what real pity is like.


    This woman was having the time of her life, reveling in my supposed misery. I¡¯m sure she would have found it very annoying if I suddenly started gushing about how pretty everything looks around here, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to go against the hallowed laws of our kingdom. She will not be sentenced to death. I forbid it¡­ Let us let the judge decide her fate¡­ fairly.¡± ¡­ Something about the fact that she was giving commands to the people around us rubbed me off the wrong way. She seemed a bit young to be someone fully in charge, and yet all the surrounding lunatics followed her every word like it was some holy scripture manifesting at the moment.


    Her words were coated in a layer of faux compassion. Alongside the misleading statements, she gestured like a dainty little princess. It was a bit¡­ painful to watch. You know¡­ kind of like when you see people in real life trying to unironically act like they¡¯re anime characters. The more I watched her prance around, the closer to my limit, I was pushed.


    My limit of not laughing, that is. I knew laughter of this caliber would be bad for my heart, so I decided to try to calm my nerves and cool it down.


    The guards began slowly dragging me out of the room, while I grit my teeth to not begin giggling at her like a lunatic.


    Even as I was pulled further away, I could see the men rushing to their little canary of a woman, praising her courage and telling her she did the right thing. I finally lost it when she began sobbing in their arms about how scary it was.


    ¡°PHUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!¡± I scream-laughed like a maniac, causing the guards to squeal in horror as they picked up the pace of gently escorting me along the apparent castle corridors.


    She was such a terrible actress. It was like the entire group was a damn comedy routine. I suppose love does truly blind people.


    ¡­ Or maybe I just got reincarnated into a world where the average IQ of the people matches the room temperature¡­ In Celsius, mind you.


    ¡­


    The castle prison was honestly quite creative. The cells were carved straight into the bedrock underneath the building itself.


    It was miserably wet, so my feet made quiet splashing noises simply from walking around. I guess there must have been a water vein running through the ground somewhere nearby. I felt like if I listened hard enough, somewhere in the distance the faint noise of water falling could be heard.


    It was freezing, so I did my best to sit on a wooden plank held by metal chains burrowed into the walls. It was my ¡®bed¡¯, I guess.


    At this point, it was pretty clear I got reincarnated. This was no dream. How could I tell? I did the pinch test. The most scientific method of finding out if you¡¯re in a dream.


    I feel it might have been some kind of trashy harem novel¡­ or a game of similar caliber. The only strange part was how I had no memory of this.


    Either way! Trashy harem novel or not, I was happy.


    You might be curious to why anyone would be happy in such a bad situation, but if you¡¯d be provided the opportunity to guess three times, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d get it right.


    Anything was better than my old life. ANYTHING. Even though my body was somewhat weak and malnourished, it was still infinitely better than my old body.


    I WAS JUST DOGPILED BY A BUNCH OF MEN IN ARMOR AND I DIDN¡¯T DIE! I even laughed! In my past, just a giggling fit could result in complications of all kinds!


    Scrawny or not! This new body was way better than anything I had had in my life! AND BLACK HAIR?! I could totally pull off a witch-look with a body like this!


    Have you ever had an experience of being really troubled and stressed out over something? Getting over a major source of mental strain comes with an incredible feeling of freedom. Imagine that times ten, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand how I was feeling at the moment.


    ¡°GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I AM HEREEEEEEE!! I LIVEEEEEE!¡±


    To the dismay of the guards, I¡¯d sometimes spend hours doing nothing but screaming my lungs out to test if my heart would be troubled by overexerting myself.


    Or maybe I just wanted to mess with them a little bit.


    ¡°HYAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!! I CAN DO ANYTHING!!!¡± I screamed.


    ¡°EEEEEKK! P-PLEASE DON¡¯T HURT MEEEEE!¡± One of the guards squealed in horror.


    He was a massive pile of muscle wearing heavy armor. A juggernaut, to say the least! He seemed to have a heart of an elephant, to the point where he was terrified of mice like myself.


    They were clearly afraid of me for whatever reason. Maybe because the golden-haired girl called me a witch?


    What the hell kind of witch doesn¡¯t even know how to cast spells. It was more than obvious enough I was being falsely accused, but these idiots clearly couldn¡¯t care less either way. Might be I was a scapegoat for some kind of political reasons? Who knows¡­


    ¡°WHOOOOOO KNOWWWWWWWSSS!!!¡± I screamed with joy while the guard was whimpering in the furthest corner away from my cell.


    ¡°Why did I agree to this¡­ Mom always told me it¡¯d be honorable to be a knight¡­ but nobody said anything about it being this scary¡­!¡± I could somewhat make out what the man was muttering to himself, causing another burst of laughter to escape my new body.


    Being locked in a prison is highly underrated. It¡¯s honestly not bad at all.


    The little sparkles from before were still here, causing everything to look incredibly vibrant. To pass the time, I began observing the beforementioned lights more closely.


    They seemed to be affected by the wind! When people walked past the cell, the little glimmers would drift around like tiny dust particles in the draft before disappearing.


    I could somehow manipulate the direction they were shifting in by moving my hands around. It was quite exciting! Magical even! I truly felt like a witch making the sparkles move around. Admittedly, my accuracy with them wasn¡¯t particularly good.


    OH! Random note I made while stuck in the cell! Did you know mold tastes a bit like dirt? I discovered this while I was served a delightful plate of moldy bread. Why do I know what dirt tastes like? A girl has to have her secrets.


    Ahem¡­ What I¡¯m trying to say here, is that despite the bleak circumstances I was faced with, I felt happy. It was such a departure from the repetitive and bland nature of my past. Everything was new and exciting. I could jump around and scream as much as I wanted, so I felt ironically free despite being jailed.


    ¡°HEY GUARD!!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Hieeeekkk!!¡± He replied in his manly voice.


    ¡°Tell me what these sparkles are, please!¡± I figured I should be direct with my words, or he might just avoid me like always.


    ¡°Nnnnnn¡­¡± The man sobbed in his corner, trying his best to ignore me.


    ¡°Come on! I promise I won¡¯t eat you if you tell me! OTHER WISE!! I¡¯LL INVADE YOUR NIGHTMARES AND BURN MYSELF FOREVER INTO YOUR SOUL!!¡±


    Admittedly, I might have gotten a bit too excited about the whole¡­ witch accusation thing. Don¡¯t judge me, okay? I could never really go to anime conventions and stuff to act out all of my shameful role-playing dreams, so I wanted to indulge in such a bit.


    ¡°PLEASE DON¡¯T!! PLEASE!!¡± The man was a mess of tears as he rushed to me. ¡°I¡¯LL ANSWER! I¡¯LL ANSWER TO ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS! PLEASE HAVE MERCY!!¡±


    I honestly felt almost bad for him. Almost. ¡°Well! Explain to me what these glowing little sparkles are then!¡± I nodded at him sternly, waving my hand around, leaving a trail of the tiny fleeting glimmers behind.


    ¡°T-tiny¡­ sparkles¡­?¡± The man sobbed quietly.


    ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re a bit hard to see, but they¡¯re all over the place. These.¡± I repeated the gesture.


    The man slowly grew more and more troubled. He seemed confused and tried shaking his own hand before his face. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t quite¡­ understand what you mean¡­¡± He quivered fearfully.


    ¡°You mean¡­ You can¡¯t see them? They¡¯re all over the place. The little shinies!¡± I began insisting a bit, which in turn obviously got the guy scared again.


    ¡°I¡¯M SORRRYYYYHHH!! PLEASE DON¡¯T KILL MEEEEE!¡± The man began ugly-crying like his entire life was over¡­


    After managing to calm him down and send him away, I came to the conclusion the man couldn¡¯t probably see the sparkles. It was a bit odd. They were so incredibly present everywhere. Maybe I was just going crazy? Or perhaps my eyes got damaged in the reincarnation process somehow.


    Sadly, my moment of pondering over it came to a swift halt as I was dragged out. The dress I had worn previously was filthy and torn to the point it caused the guards to grimace as they saw me.


    I soon found myself standing before a judge in a hall decorated in a royal red and gold. People were standing to the both of my sides on high balconies of sorts. In front, there was the judge behind a podium.


    He was an old man wearing glasses and had noticeable dark circles under his eyes, which emphasized the rather ugly, smug smirk to his face. It was more than obvious enough, that this wasn¡¯t going to be a trial.


    This was going to be a witch-trial.


    For anyone not in the know of what this means. Witch trials are a thing we had in my past life too. I remember reading a bunch of stories in books about them. Basically, the trials were only trials in the name. They were merciless accusation festivals by religious zealots who just really didn¡¯t like someone in town. They were a way to get rid of unwanted people in the ¡°NAME OF GOD!¡±. These trials were famous for how one-sided and unfair they were. There were even records of children as young as five-years-old being accused of being witches.


    These real-life villainess accusation events generally ended with the ¡°witches¡± being burned to death or thrown into rivers.


    In modern day, I guess the more comparable thing to a witch trial is when people make baseless accusations on social media, and idiots online start supporting those baseless accusations, simply because they disliked the person being accused to begin with and wanted to see them suffer. Evidence is not necessary in these witch trials. In fact! It¡¯s highly COUNTERPRODUCTIVE! So, even if I were to ask for evidence, I¡¯m sure they would come up with an excuse to why they don¡¯t need any. I grit my teeth and waited anxiously for what was to come.


    A quiet uproar slowly cascaded over the hall. The blonde princess had entered from a balcony to the right into the same area the judge was sitting in. She spoke something to the man, who seemed almost shocked by her words.


    ¡°You should pray to whatever demons you believe in. You truly are fortunate to have been tried in our kingdom.¡± The judge began speaking, but I didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant by all this.


    The door to the room opened behind me, and two armed men pushed a trolley with something covered by a white cloth.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been given a choice by our merciful princess.¡± The wrinkled judge¡¯s voice was full of contempt. He had a croaking¡­ frog-like presence to his vocal output.


    Seemed like calling this a witch trial was an overstatement too! There was no trial. I was being dealt punishment without even being heard out straight off the bat.


    Upon having the cloth pulled off, a strange rock was revealed. I think it was a rock anyways. It was quite smooth, almost like it had been smoothed out by water. Back in the hospital, my parents sometimes brought me a few from the beach¡­ That was¡­ when they were still happy and hopeful.


    ¡°Place your hand upon this stone and swear you¡¯ll graciously move out of our kingdom. You¡¯ll be pardoned for your wrongdoings if you do¡­ Or be exiled into the poisonous swamps of Ravica for all eternity!¡± His voice boomed through the hall quite dramatically.


    Now, this was obviously suspicious. I was basically told to just nicely go away with no repercussions whatsoever, or be exiled to the swamps of¡­ whateverica? Why would anybody ever go to the swamps?


    Or¡­so I would have said¡­if not for that stone in front of me. Now, I called it a stone just a moment ago, but I genuinely don¡¯t know if that was truly the case.


    It was oval in shape, kind of flat and extremely dark. In the center of it was a notably eerie drawing or painting of some kind. It might have also been carved into the stone itself, to be totally honest.


    The strange dark piece was about the size of a grown man¡¯s chest. The pattern on it looked a bit like a hand, but it had too many fingers. I counted almost ten. Every finger had a little crudely drawn eye at the tip, all the eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling.


    Suddenly, this felt a lot less like a harem novel, and a lot more like a horror one. The air surrounding the rock was completely gray, as if it was absorbing away the saturation from everything around it.


    There were two guards standing next to it, and one of them looked noticeably pale. Upon looking at him more closely, I noticed the sparkles coming out of his body were being drained into the rock. Their vibrancy disappeared as soon as they got close enough to the strange object, slowly disappearing and turning to colorless nothingness as they made contact with the dark piece.


    It felt totally out of place, like a horror movie prop suddenly appearing in a light-hearted romantic comedy. Something about the sight of it felt incredibly wrong and chilling. Not to the extent of the primordial fear that pale woman injected me with¡­ but still quite something.


    A murmur echoed through the hall.


    It was clear all of them were upset over the princess providing me with the option of being pardoned with something as seemingly small as a promise, and yet, here I was staring at that piece of rock. A horrid shiver went down my spine every time I looked at it. I had no memory of ever seeing or reading about anything like this.


    There is no way in hell I wouldn¡¯t remember such a distinctive set-piece in a novel.


    This realization really ruined my theory of this being a novel or a game I knew from my past life.


    What the hell kinda horror story was this supposed to be!? Why was nobody batting an eye at this. This stone looked like a cursed object owned by a dark cult, and here it was in the golden hued halls of the castle. Why was it brought here by the order of the princess of all people?!


    Could these people truly not see the air around the rock turning gray? Could they not see the sparkles? The armored guard in the cell said so¡­ But I simply thought he was too panicked to understand what I was even talking about.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to¡­¡± There was something completely messed up here. I could totally understand seeing an ugly and blatantly evil looking person bringing this damn dark artifact into the room, but why was the main-character bringing it in?! AND WHY WAS SHE GRINNING LIKE A VULTURE WAITING FOR PREY WHEN I BEGAN SPEAKING!? What the hell was wrong with this place?!


    Let me emphasize that. The girl looked positively BLOODTHIRSTY as she yearned to hear my words. What the hell was wrong with this place?!


    ¡°You¡¯d like to¡­?¡± The judge grumbled in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°I¡¯d like¡­ to be exiled.¡± I finally spoke out loud.


    I could instantly tell I chose the right option. The incredibly burning hatred the golden princess stared at me with was visceral. It¡¯s clear she wasn¡¯t expecting me to choose the swamps.


    ¡°W-wait! Maybe you¡¯re confused!¡± She began speaking, her voice was shaky, and her face was definitely not that of a dainty princess anymore. She really was bad at hiding her true emotions. ¡°The swamps of Ravica are a horrible place! You can just go live in some village if you just swear¡­!¡± She continued in a tone that somehow made me almost feel she was desperate for me to touch the stone.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t think I am confused. I¡¯d like to be exiled, please.¡± I stated matter-of-factly. It really felt like there was something suspicious going on. I had no interest in playing into the hand of this woman.


    ¡°Ungrateful vermin¡­¡± The judge grumbled.


    The entire hall was dedicated to howling at me like dogs in heat after my answer.


    There was no opportunity for me to even talk, as I was quickly judged guilty of high treason and attempted murder.


    It was clear the princess was unhappy about my answer. She was biting her lip to the point of causing it to bleed while glaring daggers at me as I stood there while people from the balconies threw small items at me in protest.


    I don¡¯t know why she was so desperate to have me touch the black object, but to be completely fair. I didn¡¯t really care. Not only that, but I honestly wanted to get back at her a bit, no matter how petty the method.


    I got two birds with one stone! I didn¡¯t want to touch that creepy thing¡­ and I wanted to annoy the princess! A vein popped on her forehead as I winked at her. She seemed like she¡¯d be fun to tease.


    I remained silent in the uproar of the jury. I¡¯m sure I could have said something to annoy them further, but I decided against it. I¡¯m a specialist when it comes down to understanding when resistance is futile.


    Wasting my breath on this scummy bunch wasn¡¯t something I had plans for. In fact, I was elated to be exiled, for exile meant freedom. The one thing I NEVER had in my life. Who in their right mind would not be overjoyed by something like this?


    I felt like I was a prisoner in my own body for the entirety of my past life. Being given this joy of free roaming was nothing short of a reward.


    The princess was frustrated over the outcome, but she wasn¡¯t able to just force me to touch the stone either, as it would go against her carefully constructed character¡­


    With that, the trial came to a conclusion.


    I was dragged out without much fanfare. Seemed like the exile was to be made into a reality post-haste. A wooden caravan with iron bars awaited me at the gates of the castle.


    Surely if I really was a witch, these shoddy iron bars wouldn¡¯t hold me back¡­ and yet nobody questioned this. I grew ever-stronger in my belief that the people in this kingdom must have been a part of some unholy mouth-breather cult. Seemed like, no matter where I looked, there were imbeciles to be seen.


    The caravan was much more comfortable than the jail cell, simply because it wasn¡¯t wet or particularly cold. The ride out of town was a bit bumpy, but not to the point of discomfort.


    My eyes widened at the sight awaiting me behind the castle walls. It was truly breathtaking.


    A vast field of flowers was in full bloom, gently waving in the wind, sending some multicolored petals flying all over. It seemed to be the heart of summer, and the air was warm and full of life.


    The guards riding the carriage were clearly disturbed by my audible joy at every sight. This only made me want to be louder about my elation.


    ¡°WAAAAH! IS THAT A BUTTERFLY!? A BUTTERFLY! It¡¯s so pretty! Did you two see that?!¡±


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?! What are you getting so giddy over!?¡±


    The grouchier of the guards barked at me. He had a grumpy face to match his tone of voice. He was like a living caricature of what an angry middle-aged man looks like.


    Every annoyed wrinkle on his face was very emphasized and noticeable. He was also a sad victim of the notorious short-and-stout-syndrome, which plagued stereotypically evil people like him. The fancy embroidered vest he was wearing was strained against the oppressive pressure of his gut.


    He was accompanied by a skinny and taller man with an oddly pointy mustache. The kind of pointy you only see in ancient photos. It was almost equal in its ridiculousness to the amount of anger the little fat guy had in him. The undersides of his eyes were really dark. I bet he didn¡¯t sleep a whole lot.


    His outfit was similar to his companions, but the issue this time was that it was far too big, causing it to drape over his frame.


    Despite these two being a particular eyesore, the rest of the scenery was positively fantastic.


    The trees in the forests were so deep in color I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    ¡°OOOHHH! A squirrel!! How cute!! It¡¯s like a mouse living in a tree! A tree-mouse!! What wonder!!¡± At this point, I was just getting excited over stuff to annoy the clowns driving the carriage.


    ¡°SHUT UP!!!!¡± The grumpy shorty slammed his fists against the iron bars of my cage. My plans of pissing them off were successful! Soon afterward, I did quiet down to marvel at the scenery again, though.


    There were faint lights flickering in-between the branches. I couldn¡¯t help but hope they were fairies, but they could just as well have been fireflies. While the people back in the kingdom spoke of witches and magic, I hadn¡¯t seen any proof of magic actually existing in this world yet. People spoke of magic and witches in the world of my past too, but that doesn¡¯t mean they ever existed there.


    To be fair, even if there was no magic in this world, finding solace in the fact that I had gotten fantastically reincarnated was making me happy enough.


    Even if this world was just another earth, it was nothing short of paradise to me, since I had a healthy new body.


    A body like this was all I had ever hoped for. Maybe all those spells and magic I practiced as a teen really did do something.


    Days turned to nights, and the sights I saw were slowly turning a bit bleaker as the swamp most likely drew near.


    I was so excited, I didn¡¯t end up sleeping a wink through the nights. Healthy bodies are truly remarkable! Or maybe the frog-like croaking of the pudgy man as he snored made it impossible to fall asleep to begin with.


    It suddenly made a whole lot of sense why the skinny guy had such dark rings under his eyes.


    Even the darker areas were fascinating to me. I saw a non-human frog for the first time too. I think it must have been eating a bug. It was just staring at the caravan as we passed, munching on something.


    Something about the sights of this new world made my imagination bubble wild. What if this world really had magic in it? I almost wanted to start drawing the magic sigils I practiced rigorously in my youth on my arms, but I somehow had a feeling they probably didn¡¯t have permanent markers here in this world.


    Maybe I could try to paint them on? That could work too! I get that this was just wishful thinking, since the mana symbols were simply things I saw in a game¡­ but¡­ they were really cool.


    If it turns out this world has magic, possibly I¡¯ll get some painted on myself just to look cooler, even if they won¡¯t have any magical properties.


    As I was distracted by my own musings, the caravan stopped. By now, we had travelled maybe a good five days. A thick fog surrounded us to the point where it was challenging to see further than five or so meters ahead. It was shifting around slightly, like a thin blanket with a life of its own. I couldn¡¯t feel any wind, which made it quite mysterious how it was moving.


    ¡°Okay. I think we¡¯re deep enough.¡± The grouchy frogman spoke.


    ¡°A-are you sure we didn¡¯t go too far? Haven¡¯t you heard the rumors?!¡± The skinny man replied. There was a noticeable presence of what sounded like fear in his voice.


    ¡°Shut your mouth. We¡¯ll be going back right after we take care of the witch!¡±


    And with that, the man hopped off of the carriage and pulled out his sword. I raised an eyebrow as he approached the part of the caravan I was locked in.


    Without a warning, he suddenly jabbed the sword at me through the bars. It sunk into my left arm. The pain was searing and cold. It was as if I could feel every piece of muscle fiber being cut by the rusty and dull blade.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡± I grasped the bleeding arm in horror.


    The man chuckled to himself. ¡°Hah¡­ So, witches bleed red too?¡±


    The other man approached behind me, trying to stab the sword at me too. He was much shakier and ended up missing.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to exile me?!¡± I screamed at the two, one of whom was taken back a bit.


    ¡°Getting exiled is just political jargon for being executed outside the border of the kingdom! Nobody ain¡¯t complaining if a witch or two disappears into the mists of these swamps!¡± The short man¡¯s laughter was disgusting. Like he was choking on his own tongue, he croaked as he began trying to swipe at me more.


    This was cowardice beyond any sense. Two grown men were attempting to stab at me while I was locked in the damn cage. I had just gotten a new life, and now I was to be killed by these damn crooks?!


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE TOUCH ME! I¡¯LL CURSE YOU BOTH TO DEATH!!¡± I screamed. It was obviously a bluff, but the meeker man yelped in horror, backing away a bit.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! You probably ain¡¯t even a real witch! A real one would have escaped long ago! Bah!¡± The frogman gurgled contently. I suppose they were a bit less stupid¡­ and a lot nastier than I thought.


    My body felt cold. The blood loss was getting to me. I could no longer move my left arm. The fingers had lost all feeling.


    I wasn¡¯t planning on giving up, but fear was slowly creeping its way up my body. A cold, miserable feeling I remembered from my past life very well. I had given up on life¡­ but it was because there was nothing left for me.


    Now I had everything! Everything I had ever wanted, and these people were trying to rip it away from me once more!


    I let out a most blood-curdling scream I could manage. It was the only act of defiance I could muster in this hopeless situation.


    My body was exhausted, and I finally slumped down.


    ¡°Har! Finally done with the resistance, eh? Damn witch! You had us sweating for no reason!¡± The disgusting excuse of a man boasted triumphantly.


    ¡°Uh¡­ B-boss¡­ We should¡­ l-leave¡­¡± The lanky man began whimpering.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! Right after I¡¯m done with this one!¡±


    ¡°N-no, I mean¡­ now!!¡± He screamed, pointing into the mist.


    Before the grouchy guard could respond, an enormous wolf-like creature burst through the white veil. It targeted the man¡¯s neck with incredible precision, ripping it open in a rain of blood instantly. The ravenous beast wasted no time in tearing through the cloth of his outfit, ripping the man into a mess without letting him make a single noise.


    ¡°IT¡¯S THE CURSE!!! IT¡¯S THE CURSEEE!!!¡± Screaming, the bony man began running away, hiding behind the cage I was in.


    The enormous wolf-beast smashed right into the carriage with enough force to send it flying. The man behind it got his leg crushed underneath its weight.


    ¡°NO! NO! PLEASE NO!!! PLEASE!! NOOOO!!¡± The trapped victim screamed as the beast slowly walked over to him. It was clearly intelligent enough to understand there was no need to chase after trapped prey.


    My head was aching as I slowly got up. I hit my forehead on one of the bars, causing it to bleed slightly.


    Everything was a blur.


    The massive canine was lazily ripping apart the man¡¯s limbs while he was screaming. It almost looked like the beast was reveling in his suffering. It was a haunting sight, only distorted in its horror by my adrenaline running wild.


    The quiet whimpers of the man died down rapidly, while my world was still spinning a bit.


    Some of the rustier bars of the cage I was trapped in had broken by the impact, allowing me to climb out.


    As the wolf was done with its current meal, it seemed like my turn was up next.


    I grabbed a broken, rusty bar to use as my only weapon. It was obvious enough running was futile, as the beast was large enough to catch up to me with a light trot. Fighting was the only way out of this.


    Somehow, my body felt like it was full of energy despite my vision being slightly blurry. I¡¯m guessing it was the adrenaline working in overdrive. I stared at the growling beast a small distance away from me. It was slightly obscured by the mist, only its glowing eyes piercing through fully.


    The size of the living horror made it all too clear I¡¯d have to hit some really vital spot to be able to do any damage to it. In fact, I was somewhat confident the wolf wouldn¡¯t die even if I hit it really well with the worn-out piece of iron I had. It was the size of a dagger at best and was corroded by rust to the point of crumbling at the touch.


    But¡­ something about this felt off. Presently, I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it at all, but I felt like something was missing.


    Standing on this battlefield of mist, the beast drew closer. As it came fully into sight, it felt as if a wall of air hit me.


    An enormous force of an unholy nature stood before me, and it was clear I was nothing but a piece of meat to it. My hopes, my dreams¡­ Nothing meant anything here. In nature, only the strong live¡­ and I was weak.


    And yet¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but grin. A shaky, lunatic grin was slowly spreading across my face. I was probably growing insane¡­ But realizing what was missing from this whole scenario somehow filled me with an incredible sense of power.


    Fear mixed with excitement, elation, hope and defiance. I was terrified, and yet. I had no choice.


    For the first time in my life, I had enough power to fight for control.


    A control over my own life, a high privilege not everyone is born with. I wasn¡¯t going to let go of this opportunity. Not now, not anymore. I was given a second chance, be it by magic, or by a God¡¯s will, I didn¡¯t care.


    I was given a new life, so I had to do anything I could think of to keep it.


    For some reason, this felt like a turning point. The moist air of the swamp felt still. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as the beast began a wild rush toward me.


    At that moment, I inhaled as much air as I could, then letting out the mightiest roar one can expect out of a scrawny dried-up woman.


    Instead of trying to use the rusty spike as a weapon, I jabbed it into my own bleeding arm. To my surprise and shock, the upper parts of the arm still had some feeling left in it. The pain was beyond anything I had ever felt before. Every nerve ending screeching in agony as the filthy metal ripped through my soft flesh. The rusty steel was sturdy enough to cut through my skin with ease, allowing me to carve a magical sigil into my own body.


    The beast was upon me, lunging into the air, ready to rip through my neck. I hoisted up my bleeding arm with my still functioning one, screaming. The faint glimmers in the air had grown more noticeable.


    Light began amassing, my entire arm started to sparkle with the glow and then suddenly, a shaky, uneven burst of fire shot out of my palm, searing my entire arm into a burnt crisp.


    If the pain from cutting the sigil on my arm was miserable, this one was immeasurable. My throat was sore from the bestial scream I let out as my limb dried up and turned black, beginning to crumble as sparks flew everywhere.


    The fire formed into a more solid fireball, blasting out into the maw of the beast alongside the crackling and undulating air.


    With a horrified howl of pain, the beast lit up like a firework, something exploding deep inside it. It began coughing black burnt blood as it staggered along by the momentum of its rush, stumbling past me.


    The stench of burnt flesh was ever present.


    Not just mine, but also that of the monster. Its lifeless corpse rested before me, smoke rising from its mouth and nostrils.


    The glimmer of life had left its ferocious eyes¡­


    I was still alive. Somehow.

 Chapter 2: "Amelia"

    <ol>


    <li>Amelia</li>


    </ol>


    Never in my life had I had the privilege of choice. All I could do was lay in bed and accept everything coming my way. My only escape from it was death, but not here.


    Not in this world. In here, even if my choice came with a price, I could still choose to live.


    My arm was gone, there was no feeling in it at all. As I wandered through the swamp, my dried up and burnt body part was slowly disintegrating into an ashen trail behind me.


    Before heading onward, I spent what felt like an eternity sitting in the swamp, staring at the burnt wolf, even though I¡¯m sure in reality I only stayed there for a few minutes.


    I found a torch attached to one of the pieces of cloth remaining of the two men.


    Luckily, there was a piece of flint stone in the caravan, unluckily I was missing an arm. Lighting the torch was much more of a struggle than I expected, not only due to my lacking anatomy, but also due to simply having never lit a fire of any kind in general.


    You might be wondering how I even knew what flint stone looked like, but the answer was the same as always: video games.


    The mist thinned out around me noticeably ever since the torch was lit. Maybe the stuff was a gas of some kind instead of actual water vapor? Luckily, it didn¡¯t seem to be the explosive kind of gas.


    Pondering these mundane things was all that I could do to keep my mind from racing too much.


    To be precise, my head wasn¡¯t abuzz due to the unimaginable horrors I just faced, but more so due to how everything played out in the end.


    The reason I had bet everything on my idiotic fantasy right there, was simply due to a hasty observation I made. I mentioned about something missing as I stood before the wolf. I couldn¡¯t figure it out until the last moment.


    When it dawned upon me, I realized I had a choice. A choice to believe in my haphazard guess or try something more concrete.


    In my infinite lunacy, I chose the haphazard guess¡­ simply¡­because my heart wasn¡¯t beating.


    I tried feeling around my chest, and I couldn¡¯t find it anywhere. I felt excited, adrenaline was surely bursting through my veins¡­ and yet, I was unable to feel the familiar weak thumping.


    It was quiet to the point of absence. At the moment, I realized I might not have a heart to begin with, and that I might actually be a witch.


    This was one way of getting my answer to the question of if this was a magical world or not.


    I just cast a spell with a sigil I knew from my past life. In my desperation to become a witch, in my hopeless effort to cure myself, I had learned all the magical symbols from a game I played in the past. Somehow¡­ its name keeps escaping me, but I distinctly remember the patterns found within the witches¡¯ lairs.


    They had magic symbols carved into walls to act as magical traps. The witches had no heartbeat, meaning they were heartless, both literally and figuratively.


    Most importantly, they were enemies. You couldn¡¯t play as them¡­ and yet, I remember the witches having incredibly robust lore behind them. Somehow, I never found it odd why such random enemies were given so much attention¡­


    But thinking back on it now, it does seem weird, doesn¡¯t it? I admit I had no issue with them having a denser story to them. They were what filled me with empty hope through my teenage years, so I am forever thankful for all the pointless backstory, and it seemed my obsession with them saved my life just now.


    With all this, I couldn¡¯t help but think this world had some sort of connection to my past life.


    There were various little elements from different kinds of media I used to drown my misery in decorating this world. The fantastical scenery, the monsters, beautiful princesses and ballrooms¡­


    And most importantly, the witches. The embodiment of my desperate hopes and dreams. I didn¡¯t care if they were the enemy. To me, they were everything I could ever want¡­


    As yet another piece of my charred arm fell off, all I could think of¡­ was that this world was like¡­


    An amalgamate.


    The stories¡­ games¡­ Things I used to escape from reality with, mashed into one.


    Maybe it was a personal purgatory I had been put in. Could be it existed to judge the value of my soul. Perhaps giving up on life was a sin, even if your life is worth nothing, so, now I was being put through a test to see, if I truly knew how to value my life.


    To be fair, none of this mattered to me at all. What was crucial, was that I lived through a horrific encounter with my own strength.


    The answers to the other questions I could find along the way. What was important now, was to find myself some shelter.


    Almost as if on cue, a structure of some kind appeared before me. It was a worn-out log cabin. It wasn¡¯t very big, maybe two rooms and nothing else. There wasn¡¯t anything particularly notable about it, except for a crude little stone monument next to it. It seemed hastily made, and there were clearly human hand-prints all around it in the mud.


    There were no lights on, and my pace hastened as I made my way to it. The door had bloody claw marks on it, and upon closer inspection, there was a trail of red going into the building.


    Listening closely, I could hear quiet repeating noises of some kind coming from inside.


    Brandishing my torch, I pushed against the door, only to find it didn¡¯t yield. There was a somewhat rustic metal lock underneath the handle. It was missing a key.


    Groaning to myself, I wandered around the little cottage a bit. It had windows, but they were really high up and small, probably to prevent monsters from getting in. To my surprise and delight, one of the windows was broken, and within the shards of dirty glass laid a big rusty key.


    It fit the lock, and I slowly opened the door, only to find the source of the strange noise.


    A knight in full armor was slumped against the furthest wall from the door, a trail of blood marking the path they had taken. It was hard to discern their identity due to the bloodstained steel covering them from head to toe, but it was easy enough to see they weren¡¯t your average knight.


    The armor was adorned in beautiful, finely crafted golden ivies. It was clearly the gear of someone rich¡­ An aristocrat maybe? Judging by the blood, I guess they got ambushed by a wolf as well.


    For whatever reason, the bloodied person was weakly slapping their hand against their helmet.


    I hoped with all of my lacking heart, that they weren¡¯t one of those nasty aristocrats from the infinite novels I read in my past as I entered the building properly.


    As I took my first step into the room, the creaking of the floorboards alerted the knight of my presence immediately, and the slapping stopped.


    With how much blood there was everywhere, I was genuinely more surprised over the fact, that the person within the plating was alive, than how their voice was distinctly female.


    ¡°Who goes there¡­?! Dare come closer, and I¡¯ll have you greet your makers¡­¡± Her voice was tired. It was more than obvious she was in no shape to go through with her threats.


    She didn¡¯t even have the strength to lift her head up properly to look at me. Judging by where there was the most blood, her shoulder was wounded severely. Looking a bit more closely, though¡­ It was also clear some of the injuries on her body were man-made. There were broken arrowheads covered in blood next to her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but I¡¯m not here to hurt you. Look, I¡¯m in the same boat as you.¡± I tried to speak as calmly as I could, but as frustrating as it was to admit, my voice was shaking a bit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, scum! The kingdom sent you! Didn¡¯t it !?¡± The knight¡¯s voice had an honorable, commanding air to it, despite her obvious plight.


    ¡°Just give me a proper look. Do I really look as if I¡¯m even capable of hurting you?¡±


    This finally made her glance up a bit. Her grip on the sword she had next to her loosened.


    ¡°Did you perhaps get ¡®exiled¡¯ too?¡± My question caused the knight to jolt a bit.


    A moment of silence preceded a weak mixture of coughing and grim laughter. The knight loosened her grip on her sword fully. I honestly doubted she even had the strength to lift the weapon anymore to begin with.


    ¡°I wish¡­¡± Her reply was short and marred with bitterness.


    She gestured behind her. There was a wooden door leading into a somewhat filthy pantry. There were some dry foods and supplies along worn-out shelves. Judging by the sight, this building was most likely some kind of outpost for travelers or guards passing through the swamp.


    I used the torch to light a fire in a somewhat filthy fireplace on the opposite side of the wall the knightly lady was resting against. The slightly moist wood crackled a bit, but eventually caught fire properly. Some of the worn-out furniture was also sacrificed to the fire to warm up the cabin.


    I found some strange dry and flat bread with dried meat in the pantry. It wasn¡¯t particularly good, but hunger is a powerful spice.


    I ripped into it as if my life depended on it¡­ and well, maybe to an extent it did. I was in a ragged shape to put it very lightly¡­ but somehow, I didn¡¯t feel like I was growing weaker. Surely, a normal person might get poisoned from having the toxins from burning your own arm enter your blood? I¡¯m no doctor, but I do feel like my body was recovering faster than any normal human¡¯s.


    ¡°How can you eat that with such joy on your face?¡± The knight seemed thrown off by my appetite.


    ¡°Fuddup! I¡¯m hungwy!¡± I mumbled with my mouth full of food, some flying out. Furthermore, I had just gotten almost killed. Table manners were not my primary concern in a situation like this.


    Taking a glance at the knight again, she really was wearing pretty crazy armor. I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of armor it would classify as, but it looked pretty! Or¡­ would have if not for all the blood and denting on it.


    ¡°We should probably do something about the bleeding, or you¡¯ll die.¡± I spoke after swallowing.


    ¡°No point. I have nothing left to live for¡­ I¡¯d rather die. The only reason I threw the key out was simply to help other poor souls who might get lost in this hellhole. It wasn¡¯t a plea for help.¡± The knight scoffed at my words.


    A curious reply. She seemed to be in rather good health outside of the¡­ obvious gaping wound around her shoulder. I¡¯d say no severely important blood vessels had been torn, judging by the fact, that she was still alive.


    The room had all of its fixtures left, although a few were rapidly burning to cinders in the fireplace. The furniture was made of wood, but the surface had worn out over time considerably and was now full of splinters and dirt of all kinds.


    There were two tiny windows in every direction of the room. One of them was obviously broken due to the key having been tossed through. Due to the small size of said windows, the majority of light inside the room was from the fireplace.


    Judging by how red the blood was and how none of the furniture had been used as kindling, it was clear the knight hadn¡¯t been here for a very long time.


    ¡°Why? Do you have some kind of incurable disease?¡± I asked the knight.


    Her reaction was strange. She seemed to gauge me, as if to see if I was joking. As she came to the conclusion that my question was sincere, she sighed heavily.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t see any reason to give up on life, unless all control is literally forced out of your hands.¡±


    My reply seemed to confuse her. She was about to begin speaking, but I spoke over her.


    ¡°Is there really any other reason to give up on life? If you have a healthy body, it means you still have a way to gain control again.¡±


    This time, as I was about to continue on my monologue, she interrupted me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak of my life as if you know anything! I LOST EVERYTHING!! THAT MISERABLE WOMAN!! SHE DESTROYED EVERYTHING!! MY HUSBAND!! AND MY¡­ my child¡­!!¡± Her screaming was hoarse. Weak, but still carried a hint of elegance to it.


    I sat by, looking at her. Only the crackling of the fire and her quiet sobbing filling the quiet abyss of the room.


    ¡°What¡­ the hell would you even know¡­!!¡± She muttered to herself.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t think of what to say.


    As someone who was confirmed to die young from the start of my past life, I admittedly felt there shouldn¡¯t be any other reason to really give up on life, unless you literally had no other choice.


    But the mention of¡­ a child¡­ or a husband? It made me realize that it was only easy for me to give up on my past life, because I truly had nothing to begin with. By the time I was resting on my deathbed, I had no friends, no family, no personal interests, no religion, no hopes or dreams. I had nothing to cling onto life for.


    What would it feel like to be given everything you ever wanted¡­ and then have it robbed from you? I could somewhat understand this sentiment. I didn¡¯t want to give my current life up.


    That¡¯s why I fought¡­


    But what if I had been forced to give up everything I was blessed with here? I¡¯m sure it would have felt absolutely horrifying.


    Admittedly, while I spent a lot of my life looking at people. I also never spent a lot of time properly interacting with them outside the internet.


    I felt a twinge of shame.


    Who was I¡­ A bedridden lunatic with no life-experience whatsoever to tell her how to think. I didn¡¯t know what happened to her, and I was being arrogant to the point of lecturing her at her worst moment¡­


    Ahhhh¡­ I¡¯m really a pretty trashy person¡­ Aren¡¯t I?


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry. Uh¡­ My circumstances are a bit¡­ odd. I¡¯m a bit bad at dealing with people¡­¡± I admitted quietly.


    A cold silence filled the room, but then¡­ something about her words clicked in my head a bit.


    ¡°Did the woman you mentioned have golden hair and¡­ emerald green eyes?¡± I suddenly perked up.


    The clatter of her armor was noticeable. I had hit the nail on the head.


    ¡°Y-you too were¡­?¡± The woman in armor began to speak shakily.


    ¡°Well¡­ I didn¡¯t get anything done to my loved ones¡­ But I got exiled alright!¡± I pointed at my arm with a playful grin¡­ Then realizing the gesture was probably very unwarranted, so I did my best to calm down.


    ¡°That wretch¡­¡± The bitterness in the voice of the knight was so shamelessly present it sent chills down my spine. ¡°Tell me¡­ what happened!¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah sure¡­ But can we maybe stop your bleeding first?¡±


    After a bit of convincing, she finally yielded to the idea of me treating her wound. I wasn¡¯t some kind of medical professional, but I knew the basics from having spent most of my past life in a hospital. I found some worn out first-aid supplies in the pantry, but nothing to stop the bleeding with. We had to resort to cauterizing it, which the knight didn¡¯t even flinch at.


    I couldn¡¯t help but think she was pretty cool.


    ¡°So, long story short. There was this golden girl. I don¡¯t know her name, but she really didn¡¯t like me. It had something to do with the crown prince being too good for me? Apparently, I bullied her or something¡­ and so I needed to be exiled for my crimes.¡± I began summing my situation up.


    ¡°My experience with her had extremely shallow reasoning behind what led to my current situation as well¡­¡± The female knight commented.


    ¡°Well, yeah. I honestly don¡¯t really know what she was on about. My memories¡­ are a bit weird.¡± I stumbled awkwardly. ¡°But either way! All in all, I got falsely accused of something and then exiled!¡± I chirped cheerily, then realizing my energy levels needed to be toned down a bit for the kind of story I was telling.


    I couldn¡¯t see her face much, but the hatred burning in her eyes through the visor of the helmet was more than apparent. Honestly, I don¡¯t know if bloodlust is really a thing people can sense, but if it could be sensed, this must have been what it felt like. This woman hated the golden-haired princess more than anything in the world. That much was clear. With a clatter, my attention was pulled back to her, as she took her helmet off.


    A visage nothing short of a classical beauty. She had a perfectly sculpted, almost princely face and sky-blue eyes marred with tiredness. Her expression was cold and dry, like all the joy of life had left her, which her dark brown hair accentuated due to the shadows it cast upon her visage.


    ¡°My name is Amelia fil Sectoris. I was the captain of the royal guard of the kingdom of Rachasia¡­¡± The woman began to speak after a moment of silence.


    Amelia went over her story to me, and I feel it might be easier to understand her if I quoted her word for word instead of simply summarizing what she went through.


    So, here on follows a story from her perspective.


    ¡°I was the leader of an honorable group of knights to the kingdom of Rachasia.¡± Amelia began narrating.


    I spent the entirety of my life dedicating myself to becoming a shield for my country.


    All of my youth was spent enjoying heroic and most certainly exaggerated stories of knighthood my father told me. He wasn¡¯t particularly successful as a knight himself, but he certainly was a good storyteller.


    The longer I listened, the faster I grew completely enamored with the idea of becoming a paladin myself.


    I started training at a very young age. My father told me that I¡¯d have to work harder than anybody else to be allowed to be a knight, because it wasn¡¯t common for women to be allowed into the holy order.


    While my father¡¯s concern over my dreams of knighthood was well-founded, he never in his life told me I shouldn¡¯t become one. His methods of encouragement were strict, but it was all simply out of fear of others belittling me for being a female knight. It was his way of supporting my goals, while also giving me the strength and pride to stand tall next to any other knight, and I love him for it.


    At the age of eighteen, I swore my paladin oath, which lead to me being blessed by a Goddess and I officially became a knight.


    With my father¡¯s tales of honor in mind, I worked my hardest to uphold that image of a knight in how I came across to the people. I wished to become a hero my father could be proud of.


    This caused me to rapidly rise in ranks, until I was at the head of the royal guard and the holy order of knights before even realizing it.


    It was a duty of high honor. The king himself appointed the role to me in a very extravagant ceremony. I remember it being one of the happiest days of my life¡­ This however, all happened a good few years ago.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Amelia. I have a special task for you.¡± The king himself approached me one day. He was a man of a very tall stature, towering upwards to two meters in height. He wore a beautiful red cape with fur lining, and of course, a heavily decorated crown on his head.


    The king was aged, but a very understanding and warm gentleness was always present behind all the wrinkles.


    ¡°Your Highness. It¡¯s an honor. How may I be of service?¡±


    ¡°We have a visitor from a neighboring country. A princess at that.¡± The king smiled in his ever-warm manner while stroking his immaculate white beard. ¡°I feel she might be a lot more comfortable being escorted around by another young lady.¡± He continued.


    Without a moment¡¯s rest, I replied. ¡°Very well!¡±


    ¡°W-well now! You¡¯re always so ready for work¡­!¡± The king somehow had a curious custom of chuckling a lot at my work ethic.


    ¡°Is this an issue, your Highness?¡± I replied firmly.


    ¡°N-no¡­! I simply¡­ thought maybe you can use this as an opportunity to relax a bit¡­ and possibly make a friend?¡± His social awkwardness in situations such as this one was a part of his charm, if I may be so bold to comment on it.


    I was slightly shaken by his words. ¡°A¡­ friend, your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­! The royal guard is fully comprised of men. I thought maybe¡­ You could use some female company occasionally¡­!¡± Describing His Highness in such a manner causes me to feel he was behaving like a nosy grandfather¡­ Mind you, I might be recollecting his exact wording wrong.


    ¡°Your Highness¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but let out a minute chuckle. He truly was a kind ruler. I never truly thought about my situation from his perspective, so it was rather endearing to see him so troubled over my happiness in such a manner.


    ¡°Her name is Claire. She¡¯s young and dainty. I feel it would show our best hospitality to assign my pride and joy to keep her safe!¡± The king regained his composure.


    I distinctly recall grinning at him a bit as I agreed to go along with his plans.


    In hindsight, I somehow never found it strange how the king never specified what kingdom this ¡®Claire¡¯ was from. A neighboring country? It was unusually vague. I somehow never found out her surname either¡­


    Sooner than later, the princess arrived in our Rachasia.


    She was welcomed with warm open arms, and her bubbly and carefree personality rapidly made her a favorite among not only the men, but also the women in the kingdom. Not to downplay her beauty, of course. Her golden wavy hair always bounced around as she danced along the streets with me. I recall feeling almost as if a character had leaped out of the stories my father told me in my youth whenever she was present.


    Somehow, she seemed to have an aura of inherent positivity. Everyone around her was always upbeat and friendly.


    ¡°H-here you go, your Highness¡­!¡± A known ruffian offered the girl a flower. All I could do was stare flabbergasted, for I had never seen him so docile.


    ¡°Thank you, Ralf! I hope you didn¡¯t steal again!¡± The girl curtsied and smiled warmly at the man, who shook his head vehemently.


    I eventually met up with Claire as Ralf the ruffian walked away, looking like a smitten young lady despite being a sizeable bald man of pure muscle. ¡°W-what manner of spell did you cast on him¡­?!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahah!¡± Claire laughed carefreely and slapped my back, only to yelp as the cold steel of my plating was most likely a bit less soft of a surface to lay her hands upon, than she had expected.


    ¡°I would graciously recommend for you to avoid doing that in the future, for the wellbeing of your own hand.¡± I chuckled and watched the royalty of positivity caress her aching palm.


    ¡°Mmmh¡­ W-well, with a bit of love, even the scariest people turn into adorable kittens.¡± Claire¡¯s words only made sense in the context of herself. Had anyone else said this, I would have certainly called them a na?ve dreamer.


    ¡°Love, is it?¡± I cocked an eyebrow. ¡°You sure seem to have plenty of it coming your way!¡± I teased her over her sheer popularity with the opposite sex.


    ¡°Eeeeh?! Don¡¯t tease me, Ameliaaa!¡± She squealed in feigned anger and began venting her frustrations out on my armor, only to instantly regret it afterward.


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± I laughed and gently grabbed her hands to stop her from hurting them more.


    ¡°Mmmmgh!¡± The girl continued her acting of disdain toward me. ¡°You love me too! Even though you tease me!¡± The false distaste changed into a triumphant smirk.


    ¡°I do. We¡¯re friends, after all.¡± I countered her sulking with a gentle smile.


    She seemed unusually shocked by the reply, growing a bit red and then fanning herself. ¡°Uhuh! So, you should treat me nicer!¡± She had a bizarre manner of sulking, which involved puffing one¡¯s cheeks with air. I simply poked at said cheeks, causing her to burst out giggling.


    ¡°Forgive me. I feel a bit out of character in doing something like this as well¡­ But I somehow cannot help it.¡± Somehow, her nonsensical antics put a smile on my face as well.


    ¡°Well. It¡¯s okay, I guess. I mean, I am happy you were assigned to me. I feel a lot more comfortable having you around. It makes me feel safe.¡± A few further quiet mumbles ensued.


    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be safe even if I was far away, with how many knights and men are head over heels for you! You got enough admirers to probably kill a demon!¡±


    ¡°EEEHHH!! B-but!! I like you the best!¡± She hugged onto my arm firmly.


    Somehow, I couldn¡¯t help but tease her more. ¡°I¡¯m honored¡­ But I am married.¡±


    ¡°Y-YOU KNOW I DIDN¡¯T MEAN IT LIKE THAAAAT! AMELIA YOU MEANIEEE!¡± She squealed with the usual playful fury as we kept walking.


    Speaking of the men I mentioned just a moment ago, there really were plenty of admirers for the Princess. Similarly, to Ralf¡¯s flower, Claire was showered with gifts from left to right and center. Rachasia was a monogamous society, and yet somehow nobody ever found it odd how Claire was clearly and openly loved by so many men. Admittedly, she never showed particular favoritism towards anyone, so her relationship status was always vague.


    Approximately a week later, there was a festival in town. It was an annual celebration of the harvest season ending. Rachasia doesn¡¯t have a proper winter, so half of the year is dedicated to harvesting crops. The other half is living off the bounty of the harvest season while the soil and nature recover.


    ¡°These things¡­They¡¯re sho goob¡­¡± Claire had her mouth full of a skewer with a mix of meat and vegetables on it. She seemed quite preoccupied with it as we sat on a bench while watching the festivities.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you enjoy the more rustic foods as well.¡± I offered her a napkin to wipe her face. She had a slightly messy way of eating for a royalty.


    From a small distance away, I could hear the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching us. They were very little footsteps.


    ¡°Mamaaaaa!¡± A little girl rushed at us, clutching onto my legs. Her eyes were full of innocent joy, the clouds of the sky reflecting off of their blue as if heaven itself were shining through.


    ¡°Amy!¡± I was caught off guard, only to find my husband closing in on us from a distance away as well.


    ¡°Aaaahhh¡­! I¡¯m sorry, dear. Amy saw you, and I couldn¡¯t stop her! I know you¡¯re on duty and¡­!¡± Matthias, my husband. Also known as Matt more casually, was quite flustered by the situation.


    Matt was¡­ How should I put this? Extremely handsome to a dangerous degree? It was like there was a choir of angels following him wherever he went. He had slightly long dark hair, murky, yet passionate eyes and a jawline to match the marble statues depicting ancient deities. In addition to the physical appeal, he was also a gentle and loving father, who was more than willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of his family.


    ¡°Amy! You know mom is on duty now! It might be dangerous to run around without dad!¡± I scolded the little bundle of joy grasping onto my legs gently.


    ¡°D-dangerous¡­?¡± Amy looked around, only to notice Claire. She blinked twice with her big eyes. ¡°Are you¡­ dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Waaah!¡± Claire squealed with delight. ¡°Mmmmmmaybe I ammmmm! Grrawrrr!¡± She laughed and grabbed Amy, beginning to tickle her. ¡°I AM THE TICKLE MONSTERRRR!¡±


    The little wonder giggled and squirmed in Claire¡¯s hands. ¡°MAMAAAA!! HEEELP!!¡±


    I gently bonked Claire. ¡°Gaaaaghhhhhhh!¡± She reacted dramatically, collapsing like a defeated monster. ¡°Ughhh¡­ I have been defeated!¡±


    ¡°Uaaaahhh¡­!¡± Amy¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement as she lunged onto my lap again, bonking her head on my armor a bit. ¡°Uwweh¡­¡±


    ¡°I told you to be careful¡­!¡± I laughed softly as I pet her head. ¡°Please keep a sterner eye on her, Matt.¡± My gaze was moved up to Matthias, who kneeled in front of Amy and me.


    ¡°Forgive me. I was distracted momentarily by a florist.¡± He smiled apologetically and handed me a single colorful flower.


    ¡°Ooohh! You must be the husband I¡¯ve heard so much about!¡± Claire brightened and stood up, offering a polite curtsy to Matt.


    ¡°Y-your Highness! You shouldn¡¯t need to be so polite! I am a mere commoner.¡± My husband was quite a devout follower of the local laws, which made him awkward in situations with those of higher stature than his acting casual.


    ¡°I feel people should be equally polite to each other despite social standing.¡± The golden princess bubbled in her usual carefree manner. She marched over to Matt and extended her hand to shake.


    Matt was clearly a bit surprised. ¡°My¡­ A quite open-minded young lady.¡± He scratched the back of his head, which was a habit of his whenever he was slightly awkward. He did eventually shake Claire¡¯s hand and calmed down.


    Claire got along with Amy really well. It was honestly a relief to see she didn¡¯t start thinking less of me despite my family. When I originally rose to power, countless people questioned if I was truly worthy of my position as the head of the royal guard when I had to take a maternity leave for Amy. It was a refreshing turn of events to see Claire¡¯s treatment of me and my family remain unchanged regardless of the circumstances. I felt like I had indeed found my first true friend. The king truly was wise in his choice of assigning me to help her. I didn¡¯t know until then how much I needed someone like Claire in my life.


    ¡­ Or so I thought.


    A few weeks later, I was in the royal garden with Claire.


    ¡°So! Let¡¯s have some girl''s talk!¡± The girl began.


    ¡°G-girls talk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!! Tell me about your husband! How did the two of you meet? Share all the embarrassing details!!¡± Claire was quite energetic about the subject. Not that it felt particularly odd. In fact, it somehow fit her quite well.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Uh¡­ I um. Matt was studying in the knight academy when I went there. He was a year older.¡± I revealed.


    ¡°Ooohhh!! He¡¯s also a knight?! No wonder his body is in good shape!¡± Claire¡¯s eyes sparkled.


    ¡°W-well¡­! After we had Amy, he decided to take a break from being a knight and remain a stay-at-home father in order to take care of her.¡± I continued.


    ¡°Waaaahhh! And a kind heart too?! Wouldn¡¯t it normally be expected to have the woman stay at home with the child?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but blush over recalling the events. ¡°Yes¡­ We got along well, and after we got to know each other better, Matt really began respecting my devotion. He fought tooth and nail for me to not be sent home to take care of Amy. It was¡­¡±


    ¡°ROMANTIIIIIC!!¡± The princess squealed.


    ¡°Y-yes¡­¡±


    ¡°You gotta introduce me to him properly sometime!!¡±


    ¡°V-very well¡­¡±


    Only a few days later, Claire got her chance, when I forgot some important papers at home.


    ¡°Can I come with you? Pleaaaaasee! I got nothing to do here in the castle by myself!¡±


    ¡°Hm?! No! You should stay here. It might be dangerous for you to wander around on the streets, even if I am there. You need a proper escort!¡± I panicked.


    ¡°NnnNNnooooo~! Please let me come too! Please, pleaseee!¡±


    I stood my ground. ¡°No means no! Even if it¡¯s your Highness! Please understand, I¡¯m thinking of your safety here.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho¡­! What seems to be the problem here?¡± The king himself approached us. He seemed to be on a walk through the palace.


    ¡°Your Highness! Please help her understand it¡¯s too dangerous to go out!¡± I argued.


    ¡°Ohoo¡­ Is this what this is about?¡± The old man chuckled and stroked his beard.


    ¡°I forgot some important papers at home¡­ As much as I hate to admit it. I simply wished to go retrieve them, but Cl¡­ Her Highness insists on coming along! It could be dangerous!¡±


    The king glanced at Claire, then back at me. He laughed a bit. ¡°Aren¡¯t you overreacting a little bit, Amelia?¡± His smile was as warm and wise as always.


    ¡°W-what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s guarded by my most trusted paladin. How in the world would any kind of harm come to her?¡± The king was as underhanded as he was wise.


    ¡°Mmmghh¡­.!¡± I grit my teeth.


    ¡°THAT¡¯S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO!! Glad you understand, your Highness!¡± Claire linked arms with me¡­ and that seemed to be the end of that conversation.


    I sighed deeply, walking down the bustling streets with Claire while she marveled at the sights. She didn¡¯t really hold any grudge towards me not wanting to bring her along. I suppose she understood I was merely trying to think of her well-being.


    We eventually made our way to my house. It was a quaint little building located in the more suburban area of the town. Amy had a cute little vegetable garden growing in the yard, and there were also a few toy swords and a ball strewn about.


    The building itself was made of stone, making it look quite homey and welcoming. It wasn¡¯t a big house¡­ but we weren¡¯t a big family, so it was a good house, in my biased opinion.


    I opened the door and announced my presence.


    ¡°Helloo. I¡¯m home. I forgot some papers.¡± I shouted into the house.


    ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± Matt¡¯s smiling face welcomed me home. The papers I forgot were neatly piled on the table. ¡°I figured it might be a bad idea to try to bring them to you, since we might miss each other if you decided to return to pick them up.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking.¡± I sighed in lamentation.


    ¡°Good morniiing~!¡± Claire welcomed herself into the house too.


    ¡°Oh my! Your Highness. What brings you here?¡± Matt smiled warmly at the visitor.


    ¡°I bullied Amelia into letting me join her!¡± She declared shamelessly.


    Matt¡¯s laughter was quite hearty. ¡°Hahahahahah!! Rough morning, huh?¡± He had grown a bit less awkward around Claire at this point, so he was able to keep up with her banter a bit better.


    I gestured for Claire to sit down. ¡°Please make her some tea¡­ I need to make sure all the papers are here.¡±


    Claire didn¡¯t sit still. She began wandering around the room aimlessly, looking at various photos and such. I decided against telling her to sit down, since it¡¯s not like her roaming was particularly harmful anyway¡­ And I genuinely didn¡¯t expect her to listen in the first place. Her somewhat childish bouts of selfishness were the reason she was here in the first place anyway.


    ¡°Oooh! You really are a knight!¡± My attention was pulled away from the papers by her voice. I thought she was addressing me, but upon looking up, I realized she was speaking to Matt.


    ¡°I¡­ I am¡­¡± He nodded a bit awkwardly, as Claire was quite shamelessly rubbing his arms and chest.


    ¡°I can tell you still work out despite not working as a knight!¡± She bubbled cheerfully.


    ¡°A-are you perhaps interested in bodybuilding?¡± My husband was clearly trying to steer the conversation away from her rubbing him.


    ¡°Mm¡­ In a sense!¡± Claire nodded.


    Matt gently guided her back to the table. ¡°Please be careful¡­! The kettle is very hot. We wouldn¡¯t want you to get burnt.¡±


    ¡°Kaaay!¡± She sang cheerily.


    Honestly speaking, I felt slightly annoyed by this. She was quite shamelessly groping my husband in front of me. I knew I shouldn¡¯t call her out for it, since she was generally flirty with almost everyone. It still irritated me¡­ and a tiny speck of uncertainty started growing inside my heart.


    I am aware some kingdoms and cultures in different areas of the continent support polygamous relationships, but I had grown my entire life in Rachasia, and for this reason, I found Claire¡¯s physical closeness to my husband somewhat intrusive. I recall wishing she¡¯d respect the culture of our kingdom a bit more at the moment.


    It might have been subconscious, but I started paying more attention to her. I started noticing she was¡­ really staring at my husband a lot. Whenever we¡¯d talk, she¡¯d often try to guide the conversation in a direction where Matt would be forced to participate somehow.


    It was¡­ strange.


    But¡­ she was flirty, and Matt was handsome. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t cross any lines, since he was married. Surely, she knew better than to go too far.


    Luckily, I was correct in my assumption. As soon as Amy came down from upstairs, Claire¡¯s attention was fully on her. The two played on a carpet near the table for a little over than an hour.


    Maybe it was just my imagination, but I think I caught her glancing at Matthias with an almost¡­ lustful gaze whenever I averted my eyes.


    Nothing really came of it, to be fair. We left after I sorted the papers, and then returned to the castle. Everything remained completely normal for the next two weeks¡­ outside of Claire asking a few more questions about Matt. She was also quite touchy-feely whenever Matt was nearby, but my husband seemed to grow more used to it as time went on, so I decided against raising a ruckus about it as well.


    Then one evening a good while later, the door got knocked. I was at home drinking some evening tea and reading. Matt went to open the door, and in rushed Claire, who instantly hugged Matt, rubbing her face against him.


    ¡°P-princess!?¡± Matt looked at me in surprise, most likely expecting I had invited her.


    ¡°Claire? Wh-what are you doing here?¡± I stood up instinctively. Something about this felt¡­ wrong.


    ¡°I snuck out of the castle¡­ It was boring. I wanna have a slumber party!¡± She declared cheerfully, flailing around a big pillow.


    ¡°W-what?! No¡­! I didn¡¯t hear anything about this! We haven¡¯t prepared or anything! And besides, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± I argued back. I didn¡¯t even notice before, but my chair had fallen as I stood up. At that moment, I couldn¡¯t figure out why my body reacted so powerfully to Claire¡¯s surprise.


    ¡°Slumber party?¡± Amy slowly walked down from upstairs.


    ¡°SLUMBER PARTY!¡± Claire celebrated.


    ¡°YEEEEEY!¡± The innocent little bundle of joy replied by throwing her arms up in the air. ¡°I¡¯ll go find my favorite pillow!!¡±


    ¡°N-no! Wait! You don¡¯t even have permission from the castle!!¡± I tried my best to convince her otherwise.


    ¡°N-no slumber party¡­?¡± Amy¡¯s sad face was weaponized mercilessly against me. It was so hard to say no to her¡­ Especially when off-duty.


    ¡°Claire is a princess. She might be in trouble if bad people found out she¡¯s here without guards.¡± I tried to explain.


    ¡°B-but mama is here¡­ You¡¯re the strongest. And papa is second strongest¡­!¡± Amy mumbled sadly. She walked down the stairs a bit slowly and made her way over to me. ¡°I wanted to show her my pillow¡­! The one mama made for me¡­¡± She was tearing up, and so was my heart.


    ¡°I-I¡­.¡± I was dumbfounded, trying to look at Matt for help. He was scratching the back of his head in his usual awkward manner.


    ¡°F-fine¡­ But what about the castle¡­?¡± I grumbled. Despite the weaponized cuteness, something about the whole situation was ringing alarm bells in my head.


    ¡°Well! If you¡¯re really that worried, you could go tell them I¡¯m here. I¡¯m okay with them sending a guard or two here too if you really think it¡¯s necessary.¡± Claire¡¯s tone of voice was weird. The whole situation was weird. She was always so against having anyone but me accompanying her¡­ why was she suddenly so open to having more guards present?


    It¡¯s not like her logic was totally flawed. If I asked her to go back, she¡¯d be in even greater risk of getting caught in something dangerous, so it was certainly safer if it were I who went.


    I begrudgingly gave in and agreed. As much as something in the back of my head was screaming for me to not go. I knew she probably wanted to flirt freely with Matt. But¡­ that was really all that could happen, right? Amy was there too, so there was no way she would go overboard.


    With these thoughts in my mind, I found myself running through the streets. My heart was beating. I don¡¯t know why, but something about this got me really worked up. Fearful even. I hastened my pace and rushed past the market.


    The sky was slowly darkening. It looked like it might rain soon.


    As I made my way to the castle, some of the knights began shouting and pointing at me. It was a bit of an extreme reaction, but I figured they had just found out Claire was missing.


    ¡°THERE SHE IS! CAPTURE HER!!¡± The knights shouted and suddenly rushed in to apprehend me.


    ¡°C-calm down! Claire is fine! I just arrived to report she appeared in my house.¡± I started.


    ¡°Silence! Traitor! We saw the ransom note! You kidnapped the princess!!¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± My heart sunk. I knew something was wrong. I should have listened to my gut feeling. Something was horribly wrong here.


    The knights began dragging me back home to show where I supposedly hid Claire. No matter how much I tried to argue I was innocent, they didn¡¯t listen.


    It was all wrong. I had spent most of my life with some of these knights. They somehow completely disregarded me and treated me like a completely heartless criminal. It was almost as if¡­ they were wholly different people! There wasn¡¯t even any real evidence of my wrongdoings outside a ransom note written clearly in someone else¡¯s handwriting.


    At the house, Claire ran out crying the moment we were dragged into sight. It was almost like she was waiting for the knights to arrive.


    ¡°HEELP!! I¡¯M HEREEE!¡± She screamed and rushed out of the house in tears, wearing nothing but a nightgown.


    ¡°Princess!!¡± The men rushed to her and gave her a coat.


    ¡°You monster! What did you do to her!?¡± The knights got even more agitated at me.


    ¡°W-what is this!? Claire?! What are you doing?!¡± I staggered.


    ¡°That¡¯s her! She kidnapped me and kept me in her house! Amelia!¡± She cried while accusing me.


    The whole scene was an utter farce. There was no evidence, and yet the men all believed her completely blindly. None of it made any sense.


    ¡°PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!! STOP!! SHE¡¯S LYING!! THERE IS NO EVIDENCE!!¡±


    ¡°SILENCE!!¡± One of the knights punched me. ¡°Her tears are evidence enough.¡± He smiled to himself, as if he said something really heroic.


    ¡°W-what¡­?!¡± My eyes widened in shock and horror. ¡°W-who are you!? WHO ARE YOU?! WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE ONE OF MY KNIGHTS!? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!?¡± My screaming echoed through the entire neighborhood, yet somehow it was totally silent. Nobody came out of their houses to come see what was going on. It was as if everyone in town was sleeping at the same time.


    The knights beat me down a bit more, calling me names. It was completely unreal. The knights who I trained along for my entire life were beating and kicking me while I was down. They looked like they were reveling in my suffering. As I managed to slowly gaze upon Claire, she was smirking in the most wicked manner, gesturing for the knights to stop, she slowly leaned in and whispered to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Amelia, but Matthias is too hot for me to pass on, so I really need you to disappear.¡± She smiled and then stood back up again.


    It was as if everything went silent. A few drops of rain began hitting the ground. Claire slowly pulled her hood up as a cascade of water began blasting upon me at full force.


    The door to my house opened¡­ and Matthias slowly walked out of it. He stopped behind Claire, gently wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.


    ¡°I was only able to survive because Matt saved me¡­! He protected me from her evil¡­!¡± Claire pointed at me. Her emerald eyes gleamed through the darkness of the rain and her hood.


    ¡°Wh¡­ wha?¡± I stared, the rain causing my hair to stick to my skin.


    ¡°Evil women like her need to be removed¡­! This kingdom really needs a purification¡­ How sad. And I trusted you too, Amelia¡­!¡± Claire continued the strange act.


    The knights smashed my head against the ground and began hurling insults at me, as from the house, Amy began running out. Tears trailing down her cheeks, she wailed.


    ¡°DON¡¯T HURT MOMMYYYY!!¡± She shouted, picking up one of the toy swords in the yard and rushing at the knights. She was holding the little blue and white pillow I had knit for her in her other hand like a shield.


    The rain drops felt slow and heavy, like pieces of molten iron. It was as if I saw each and every one of them while they bombarded me and the endless feeling distance between Amy and me.


    ¡°Ah right¡­ The loose end.¡± Claire muttered quietly, but audibly enough for me to hear. ¡°Kyaaah! PLEASE PROTECT ME!!¡± She suddenly screamed and squatted down.


    The heavy clanging of armored shoes echoed through the rain, as a knight rushed at Amy¡­ and without any doubt, cut her down.


    A child.


    The pillow flew in a wide arc through the air, stained with red.


    She was four years old. Wielding a toy sword made of wood. She was by no logic a threat¡­ But the knights blindly obeyed the insane princess in front of me, as if they were hypnotized.


    My daughter was so small, that the only solace I could take at the moment was that her death was swift and hopefully painless.


    The instant her tiny body slumped on the ground, everything turned red.


    ¡°YOUUUUU MONNSTEEEEERRRRRRR!!!!¡± I screamed with all the force in my body, forcing myself to stand with magical force provided to me by my paladin¡¯s oath.


    The knights flew back. I pulled my sword and began cutting them down mercilessly, but the moment I cut the first one, my powers were suddenly gone.


    I had broken my oath to protect the people of this kingdom, so the powers of my paladin devotion also went with it. Not to say I was weak without them, but I quickly got overwhelmed by the surrounding knights.


    I couldn¡¯t understand. Why was I punished for hurting these miscreants?! They killed my daughter!! I couldn¡¯t¡­


    All I could see was red as I managed to break free from the group of men and rushed past them and past Claire¡­ past my husband hugging her. I was aching and bleeding all over due to the assault of my very own knights, but all I could see was my daughter.


    I rushed to Amy, lifted her up and ran into the streets.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t worry Amy!! Don¡¯t worry! Mama is here! I¡¯ll¡­! I¡¯ll find a healer! It¡¯s¡­!!¡± Her innards were slowly pouring out of her body.


    She was so warm¡­ but in all the wrong ways. I tried grasping and holding her hand up against my cheek¡­ but it flopped down lifelessly as soon as I let go.


    ¡°N-Nonono¡­ NO NO NO!!¡± I screamed, finding a horse tied to a post by a bar. There were armed assailants running after me, the echoes of their shouts carried all the way to me as I hastily untied the ropes to the horse.


    I began riding out of the kingdom. Out of this madness.


    Amy was dead.


    There was no doubt about it. Her body was almost cleaved in half and her eyes were staring vacantly at the sky as rain fell over them. My daughter¡­! They killed my daughter.


    ¡°YOU TRAITOR!! DIE!!¡± Screams of more knights were behind me.


    Stray arrows began flying past me as I rushed through the forested paths on the horse. Amy¡¯s blood was trailing all over my body. My divine powers were gone. I was helpless.


    My line of sight was distorted from the tears, but I got soon jolted out of it by an arrow piercing my shoulder.


    I grimaced in pain as more arrows rained down on me.


    Somehow, I kept racing ahead. I didn¡¯t even know why anymore.


    Amy was dead.


    Everything was gone. That monster did something to all the people I cared for. All of them¡­ They behaved entirely wrong!! This was all wrong!!


    I began slowly entering the swamplands, and the assailants finally lost me in the mists, but I was also losing consciousness fast. The horse was panicked, as it clearly sensed this area was dangerous.


    I ended up falling off the animal, hitting my head and losing consciousness.


    When I woke, the sound of quiet munching was what alerted me back to the present. I jolted up¡­


    Only to find a wolf-like beast feeding upon my daughter¡¯s body. Right next to me.


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU TOUCH HERRRRR!!!¡± I screamed and began swinging at the beast with the last of my strength.


    After an exhausting struggle, I finally killed the monster, only to return to Amy.


    ¡°A-Amy¡­ Mama is so sorry¡­ So sorry¡­!¡± There was nothing left of her but a red mess. My daughter was turned into a pile of unrecognizable flesh in a single night.


    My beautiful daughter.


    The light of my life.


    The one who cheerfully sung me songs during the day, and gently held on to my thumb at night as she slept.


    The one who I read stories about knights, and the one who always thought all the characters in the stories should just be friends.


    Amy, my daughter, was reduced into a pile of red mush because one golden haired bitch thought she would get in the way of her harem.


    The rain was still coming down. The redness from Amy¡¯s remains was slowly spreading around.


    ¡°N-No¡­ No no¡­¡± I began haphazardly gathering all of it, lifting it up clumsily.


    I wandered in the swamps until I came across this hut. All I could do was stare at the merciless dark sky while rain pelted me.


    The earth was soft enough to dig through with my bare hands due to the weather, so I made Amy a small grave next to the hut.


    It was the least I could do for her after everything.


    All I could do was stare at the sky and curse everything in my mind. I cursed the princess, I cursed the knights who betrayed me, I cursed the neighborhood for ignoring me, I even cursed my husband a bit, even though I still think he must have been under a spell of some kind.


    I cursed the foul Goddess who abandoned me in my time of need.


    I cursed myself, for trusting this monster. Oh¡­ how I cursed myself.


    I knew something was wrong the moment she started getting too close to my husband, but I never expected¡­ in my darkest moments for it to end like this.


    After mourning in silence for a couple of hours, I eventually dragged myself into the hut.


    I¡¯ve been sitting here, slapping myself to wake up from this nightmare since.

 Chapter 3: Can Witches Cry?

    <ol>


    <li>Can witches cry?</li>


    </ol>


    A long silence filled the tiny wooden hut. The dark space around us somehow suddenly felt a lot more claustrophobic and oppressive. I wanted to get out.


    I somehow managed to stop myself at the door because I didn¡¯t really know what I was feeling. I don¡¯t know if I was sad for her, angry at those who wronged her, or just frustrated in general.


    It was a confusing mess of emotions I wasn¡¯t familiar with. I simply paced around the room, trying to process the information I had just been given.


    I mean, honestly speaking, she could just be lying too¡­


    But the fact that there was indeed a grave next to the house made it difficult to not believe her. What point would there be in putting so much effort into a lie like this anyway?


    No. It wasn¡¯t really even a matter of if I believed her or not.


    I didn¡¯t want to believe such a miserable story. I thought the golden-girl was just your average shallow bimbo, who was a bit too full of herself.


    Judging by everything Amelia told me, Claire was nothing short of a monster. How does a person grow to be so entitled, that they think it¡¯s okay to kill an innocent child for the sake of their sexual desires?


    I did read very morbid stories online in my past life from time to time too¡­ But they always felt somehow distant because they were detached from who I was¡­


    This one was a bit too close for comfort.


    I slumped on a worn-out chair. One of the last few that hadn¡¯t been sacrificed to the fire.


    Trying to think of what to say, I really only had one thought remaining. It was so permeating and overwhelming, no matter what alternates I tried to think of, the words simply slipped out of my mouth.


    ¡°Do you¡­ wish for revenge?¡±


    Another long silence followed. At some point, I started doubting if I even said it out loud.


    ¡°Of course, I do¡­¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was like the hiss of a snake. It felt like she wanted to whisper in order to hide her words of truth from something.


    ¡°¡­¡± I remained silent.


    ¡°¡­ But what in the world am I to do!? S-somehow, they all believe her¡­ unquestionably¡­ It¡¯s like they¡¯re under a spell!¡±


    I had to think over my words for a moment again. Was I really going to suggest going on a mad revenge-trip with this person I had just met? Why? Why would I ever suggest something like that? I had just gotten my life back. I was free.


    Sure, I lost an arm, but I still had the other one left! I had both my legs too. I had much more to lose from going on a lunatic venture, than to win.


    And yet somehow¡­ I couldn¡¯t stop myself from speaking.


    ¡°I could help¡­¡±


    ¡°What the hell can YOU do!? Forgive my shortsighted judgement, but you don¡¯t seem to be doing particularly well for yourself either!¡± Amelia seemed annoyed by my offer.


    Her comment was an obvious jab at my missing arm. But it wasn¡¯t without merit. It¡¯s not like I was qualified to offer myself. I did cast a spell to kill a single monster, but I also lost an arm in the process. I was by no means an expert in combat.


    I had also spent the entirety of my life in bed so far, so calling myself some sort of cunning mastermind was a shameless overstatement. The only thing I had, was a personal, narcissistic desire for revenge. And yet, I kept talking.


    ¡°I know how to cast magic.¡±


    My words got a reaction out of the knight. She turned to look at me with a weird look on her face. As she glanced higher and properly analyzed me in more detail, her eyes widened in what almost looked like horror.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ a Nightwalker¡­!¡± She suddenly gasped.


    ¡°A-a what now??¡± I retorted awkwardly as the knight began shuffling clumsily for her sword.


    ¡°No wonder I sensed a strange air as soon as you entered! Fiend¡­ You must be here to feast on my soul!!¡± I¡­ honestly had no idea what Amelia was on about. She weakly shook her sword around, but not with enough force to actually hurt anyone.


    ¡°W-wait! What¡¯s a Nightwalker?! Please! Stop swinging that thing! I did get exiled for apparently being a witch, yes! But I genuinely don¡¯t know anything about this place! Like I said! My memories¡­¡±


    ¡°Lies! You smelled the blood! Didn¡¯t you?! I can¡¯t believe I exposed my heart to a monster of all things!!¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was shaky, but it still commanded an air of eminence.


    ¡°Mmmghhh¡­.¡± I sighed and looked at the knight weakly brandishing her sword at me.


    How could I play this out¡­ I knew nothing about this world. The only thing I had confirmed so far, was that witches don¡¯t have hearts¡­ and that they can cast magic.


    I had no idea what this whole deal about eating souls was about. I didn¡¯t know what witches even were to Amelia, and she kept calling me a ¡®Nightwalker¡¯ for some reason¡­ I also had a VERY strong feeling, that the paladin before me wouldn¡¯t simply believe me, no matter what I¡¯d try to do to confirm my innocence.


    I took a deep breath and thought about it.


    Maybe I could try to play along with her narrative? I was probably suspicious because of how nice I was acting. In Amelia¡¯s mind, witches seemed to be pure evil monsters or something along those lines.


    Monsters, that apparently eat souls.


    If she were to suddenly be approached by one acting all nice, it¡¯s quite understandable she¡¯d find it suspicious.


    I took a deep breath. Acting like a monster was not a foolproof plan either because she could totally lock down due to it.


    Wait¡­


    Why was I putting so much effort into convincing her anyway!? I barely knew this person¡­


    It made no sense.


    Maybe because they were the first person in this world who opened up to me, or perhaps because I felt empathy for Amelia who had everything taken from her.


    I don¡¯t know what exactly it was, but something compelled me to try.


    ¡°Fair. I admit. I did smell the blood.¡± I began, raising my hand up a bit.


    ¡°You fiend¡­!¡± The knight hissed.


    ¡°But, hear me out a bit. The story about being exiled from the kingdom is also true.¡± I continued, causing Amelia¡¯s eyes to widen a bit. ¡°I only recently came to understand I am a witch. My missing arm should be proof enough. I tried casting a spell in an attempt to fend off a monster, only to end up like this.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia stayed silent.


    ¡°Back in the kingdom¡­ I didn¡¯t get accused of actually doing something terrible. It was stuff along the lines of spilling water on the princess and other petty garbage like that. I have no memory of ever doing anything particularly bad to people.¡± I sat down in front of Amelia, still out of sword-swinging range.


    ¡°B-but¡­¡± The knight¡¯s hand shook.


    ¡°Being accused of being a witch only came later¡­ at a convenient time, when otherwise the accusations would have been nothing but shallow love-drama.¡± I continued. Amelia¡¯s sword clattered as it fell on the ground.


    ¡°N-no¡­¡± She muttered.


    ¡°Yes, to them, being a witch was secondary. Being a witch was just a convenient excuse, and the real reason I got exiled, was because I apparently bullied the girl by spilling water on her¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Sounds pretty familiar, right?¡±


    Amelia was gritting her teeth. She seemed utterly consumed by her own hatred. I think what I was implying was good enough to convince her that I was in a somewhat similar situation to her.


    ¡°Allowing a monster inside the kingdom is a lesser offense than intruding the golden-lunatic¡¯s harem¡­ Sounds familiar indeed.¡± Amelia sighed, sounding almost defeated.


    ¡°I might be a monster, but even I can tell there was something wrong with that place.¡±


    ¡°What the hell did she turn my beloved kingdom to¡­!¡± Amelia curled up a bit, hiding her face.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t really care about the golden girl that much myself. I was treated like trash, but I have my freedom to go anywhere I want, which is a luxury I haven¡¯t enjoyed in a long time¡­¡± I spoke. ¡°But¡­ After hearing your story, I¡¯m convinced there is something bigger afoot¡­ which might eventually harm the uh¡­ life of peace and freedom I wish for.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia remained silent.


    ¡°If you wish for revenge¡­ let¡¯s work together.¡± I got up and walked up to Amelia. This time within sword swiping distance.


    ¡°¡­¡± The silence continued.


    I reached out with my remaining right arm, offering Amelia my hand.


    ¡°In my youth¡­ I heard stories of demons and witches appearing before people at their weakest moments to take advantage of them¡­¡± Amelia mumbled quietly from behind her arms.


    ¡°Mmh¡­ I¡¯ve heard of stories like that too.¡± I admitted.


    ¡°A witch, that listens to stories¡­¡± She chuckled a bit.


    ¡°Hey¡­ A good story is worth listening to, monster or not.¡± I smiled at her awkwardly, seeing my own face reflected off of the remaining luster of her armor.


    ¡°I really hope this¡¯ll be a story worth listening to¡­¡± With that, Amelia¡¯s hand grasped mine. Her grip was firm, but I could still feel a hint of anxiety to it, like she wanted to let go the moment she put some force behind her hold.


    I responded in kind and took a good hold of her hand properly. I realized I had been incredibly tense the whole time I spoke to her. My entire body seemed to relax as Amelia seemed to have finally lowered her guard around me.


    ¡°Uh¡­! Amelia.¡± I started. ¡°How did you figure I was a¡­ Night¡­ walker? Or a witch?¡± I pondered simply out of curiosity.


    ¡°Your eyes¡­¡± Amelia pointed at her own. ¡°Legends say monsters always have eyes in the hues of fire, to represent how close to the cinders of hell they are.¡± She continued. I reached a bit for my own eyes in turn. ¡°Your eyes are a burning orange, and your pupils are thin and cat-like.¡±


    ¡°R-really!?¡± I leaned in to look at my reflection more properly against her armor. ¡°HOLY HELL! THAT¡¯S COOL!!¡± I sparkled in place due to my witch-fetish.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Fh¡­?¡± Amelia let out a perplexed chuckle in response. ¡°Hahah¡­ hahaha¡­¡± She laughed a bit weakly.


    ¡°H-hey! Don¡¯t laugh! I¡¯ve never seen stuff like this before!¡± I mumbled grumpily.


    ¡°An amnesiac witch, huh¡­¡± She kept chuckling. ¡°Being amazed of being a witch¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°What in the world am I getting myself into¡­¡±


    ¡°W-well!! Life sometimes works in strange ways!¡± I tried acting philosophical. Quite ironic considering my extremely lacking life-experience.


    ¡°Do you have a name¡­? Calling you a witch might raise some eyebrows¡­¡± Amelia smiled a bit weakly.


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡± I jumped. I realized I never introduced myself.


    I stopped myself right before blurting out my old name because something about saying it felt like a piece was stuck in my throat. Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to be that person anymore, and I didn¡¯t want to be reminded of living in a bed for the entirety of my life.


    I was a witch now. Why should I cling onto my miserable past for no reason? A monster needs a name fitting one, and there was a name that popped into my head as soon as I thought about it.


    The witches in the game I mentioned earlier were generally enemies you¡¯d encounter randomly when exploring certain areas.


    They most often had no names, but there were a few named witches too. They were special boss encounters the players would need to overcome during the story.


    One among them was optional. Optional bosses in video games are most often known for being considerably more challenging than the story bosses, and their purpose is to push the players'' passion towards the game to its absolute limit.


    There was one secret optional boss in the game, who was a witch. A horrifyingly difficult secret boss one could randomly encounter in the most dangerous areas of the game.


    I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t mind me borrowing her name¡­ We¡¯re fellow witches, after all, right?


    Yverna.¡± I stated with strange confidence.


    ¡°HM¡­ Quite an unusual name.¡± Amelia nodded. ¡°As expected of a witch. Does it have its origin in the word ¡®Wyvern¡¯?¡±


    ¡°AH¡­¡± I just now realized the similarity. ¡°I THINK IT DOES!¡± I slapped my hand against my thigh. ¡°I never realized that!! That¡¯s so cool!! W-what an epic name!! I like it even more!!¡± I realized I had let my love for all things witches leak out a bit too late yet again.


    Amelia¡¯s defensive curled up posture loosened a bit. ¡°Y-you didn¡¯t realize it before¡­? Even though it¡¯s your own name¡­¡±


    ¡°H-hey! I¡¯m sure there are plenty of people who don¡¯t know the meaning behind their names!¡± I tried to argue weakly.


    ¡°You¡¯re a named monster, though¡­ Surely, the name was given for a reason¡­¡± Amelia was dumbfounded.


    ¡°S-shush¡­ I just chose it because it sounded cool¡­¡± I could feel my ears turning red.


    ¡°S-sounded cool!?¡± Amelia¡¯s expression grew even more puzzled.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s a cool name¡­¡±


    ¡°PUHA¡­ PUAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± Amelia burst out laughing properly.


    ¡±IT IS COOL TOO!!¡± I tried to whine at her as she kept laughing at me uncontrollably. Eventually, I couldn¡¯t stay serious and started giggling with her.


    We laughed for a good twenty or so minutes, Amelia was crying and laughing at the same time. I don¡¯t know whether she was crying because of the laughter¡­ or because of something else¡­ but the laughter alone lifted the mood a lot already.


    I guess I can officially say, that I made myself an adventuring companion.


    ¡­


    ¡°So¡­ Do we need to make some kind of a demonic contract?¡± Amelia began speaking after we finally calmed down.


    I had no idea what she was talking about. Instead of trying to figure out things bit by bit, I felt I should just ask her the most important question directly.


    ¡°Um¡­ Amelia. What exactly are witches to you? Can you please explain your view on us to me? I¡¯m a bit lost in some of the things you say.¡±


    ¡°W-what in the world kind of question is that? Witches are witches! Monsters! Your kind is mostly famous for guiding lost souls to ruin, casting horrifying curses and eating souls to increase your magical powers.¡±


    ¡°Riiiighht¡­.¡± I nodded, crossing my arms. ¡°Have you ever met a witch before me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Amelia replied bluntly.


    ¡°Have you ever seen a witch¡­ guide a lost soul to ruin¡­ or eat souls at that?¡± I continued.


    ¡°N-no¡­¡± Amelia probably had a hunch on where I was going to go with this.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I decided against questioning her beliefs. ¡°Now. This might come off weird, but I actually don¡¯t really find the thought of eating someone¡¯s soul particularly appetizing.¡± I went on.


    ¡°How do you supposedly sustain yourself, then?¡± It was a fair question of her to ask. If witches really ate souls, I guess I¡¯d wither away and die without them¡­ But that didn¡¯t seem to be the case, so¡­


    ¡°I seem to be doing quite fine with just eating normal food.¡± I pointed at the pantry. ¡°I actually have no memory of ever eating a soul.¡± Crossing my arms, I presented my case.


    The armor clattered again. ¡°W-what?!¡±


    ¡°N-now! Don¡¯t take my words too seriously. Like I said, I¡¯m suffering from a case of amnesia.¡± I lied. ¡°I only have memories from the point when the golden girl began accusing me of being a man-stealer.¡±


    In theory, I wasn¡¯t lying¡­ kind of. I was just¡­ selectively revealing the truth in a manner that gave off a very different impression of how things actually were. I wasn¡¯t comfortable telling her I got reincarnated into this world from an entirely different world, and I also really didn¡¯t want to tell her about my past.


    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re behaving so¡­ strangely.¡± Amelia¡¯s line of sight was quite focused on my eyes. My guess is: They made her uncomfortable to an extent.


    ¡°Strangely¡­?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°To my understanding, witches can converse with people, but they¡¯re emotionless and cold to an effortlessly noticeable degree.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Somehow, this statement reminded me of the fact, that I hadn¡¯t cried at all after hearing Amelia¡¯s story. I used to cry a lot when I was younger, but over the years things grew dull and gray. When you sit in a hospital all of your life, you¡¯re bound to see a few tragic events.


    Eventually, they all begin mixing together into a mush, just like how you can grow dull to violence on television, I grew dull to tragedy at the hospital. The cries of families mourning the passing of a loved one¡­ the cries of those at death¡¯s door howling desperately for some magical entity to save them¡­ I have heard all of them¡­


    But¡­ I wonder if that¡¯s really what it was? I did feel troubled and strange after hearing Amelia¡¯s story, but no tears came out.


    I wonder if witches simply cannot cry?


    My self-analysis was interrupted by Amelia. ¡°Ahem¡­ So, about the contract?¡±


    ¡°R-right¡­ what was that again?¡± I shook my head.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Well. I agreed to an evil demonic pact with you¡­ didn¡¯t I¡­?¡± Amelia muttered under her breath, clearly conflicted about the subject.


    ¡°RIGHT!¡± I nodded. I seriously thought she was joking about the whole demon pact thing¡­ I thought we both were on the same page about the stories about witches and demons exploiting people at their worst moments were simply THAT! STORIES! NOT REAL!! I GUESS THERE WAS SOME MISCOMMUNICATION GOING ON HERE!


    ¡°So, how does it work.¡± Amelia asked nervously.


    ¡°Huh¡­ Right-o¡­ Demon pact¡­ lemme¡­ go pick one up real quick.¡± I muttered and got up, shakily wandering into the pantry.


    But seriously, though¡­ WHAT THE HELL IS A DEMON PACT?! I¡¯m a witch, aren¡¯t I?! Why am I writing a demonic pact instead of something more witch-like?! Now, was truly a time to improvise! Amelia was dead-set on us forming some kind of evil contract¡­


    WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND DEMONIC ITEMS IN THIS TINY HUT?!


    But then, my line of sight made contact with something with potential! One of the dried food cans had a label made of paper. It was worn out and peeling off slightly.


    Better than nothing, I guess!


    I walked out of the pantry, trying my best to ignore Amelia¡¯s wary gaze. I walked to the fireplace and took out a charred stick. Without a word, I returned to the pantry.


    I did my best to look like I knew what I was doing. In actuality, I had no idea what the hell a demon pact was even supposed to be.


    Admittedly, after doodling said pact on the piece of paper, I did feel pretty proud of it.


    It honestly looked really convincing!!... At least for someone who had no idea what demons did in the first place! I drew various mystical symbols I knew from my past life on it to make it seem more convincing.


    Now, the only issue was¡­ how to make it feel magical. I managed to cast a spell in a panic, but I genuinely had no clue to how magic worked in general.


    I knew it had something to do with the tiny sparkling things I could see all over the place¡­ But that was about it.


    Sadly, I didn¡¯t really have the opportunity to start studying magic properly in the heat of the moment.


    Buuuut¡­ if by carving the sigil for ¡®fire¡¯ into my arm caused it to burn¡­ Maybe if I drew the same symbol on to the paper, it would also burn? It was worth a shot, right? Having the paper go up in flames would surely make for a cool magical effect to seal the deal. Sadly, I didn¡¯t have any more paper to use as guinea pigs for my little experiment.


    So, if it wouldn¡¯t end up burning, I¡¯d just need to¡­ wing it somehow, I guess.


    ¡°Okay! I have the um¡­ witch¡­ contract here!¡± I staggered back into the room with Amelia.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a demon pact?¡± Amelia was somehow still stuck on the whole demon thing.


    ¡°I¡¯M NOT A DEMON! HOW WOULD I MAKE A DEMON PACT FOR YOU!?¡± I let my inner voice become my outer voice for a second.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± Amelia seemed a bit taken back by my suddenly increased volume.


    ¡°AHEM! Anyway¡­ just uh¡­ let a drop of the blood you spilled on this, and we¡¯re good.¡± I explained with utmost confidence. Surely, a mystical contract would require a blood sacrifice.


    ¡°How vile¡­! Will I lose my soul for this?¡± Amelia gulped dryly.


    ¡°I already told you I don¡¯t need your damn soul! It¡¯s just a mutual co-work contract!¡± This paladin and her fixation on losing her soul was starting to get on my nerves.


    ¡°A¡­ mutual¡­ co-work contract?¡±


    ¡°Basically! We mutually agree to put all of our effort into fulfilling the shared goal of revenge! It simply prevents one of us from going back on the promise later on.¡± I did my best to explain my fake contract. The lore behind it was mostly a safeguard to make sure Amelia wouldn¡¯t backstab me in the future.


    ¡°Sounds¡­ too good and simple to be true.¡± Amelia was still doubtful.


    ¡°HEY! WITCH CONTRACTS ARE DIFFERENT, OKAY! You¡¯re too dead-set on the whole demon contract thing! Witches can make more mutual contracts too! Revenge is evil! We¡¯re doing something bad! That¡¯s enough evil for me!¡± I flailed around with the paper in hand.


    ¡°R-right¡­ right! Forgive me¡­ I¡¯m still unfamiliar with these unholy happenings¡­!¡± Amelia admitted nervously. ¡°Are you sure I won¡¯t lose my soul¡­?¡±


    ¡°WHO THE HELL WANTS THE SOUL OF A GRIEVING MOTHER?!!¡± I finally snapped, going on a tangent for a bit. ¡°OKAY! LISTEN UP WOMAN!! I DON¡¯T NEED YOUR GODDAMN SOUL! YOU HAVE NO MAGICAL POWER AT ALL TO BEGIN WITH! WHAT WOULD I BENEFIT FROM THIS?! DON¡¯T YOU UNDERESTIMATE WITCHES, OKAY!? WE NEED A GOOD DEAL TO¡­¡± I kept going for a good ten minutes about my¡­ witchy values.


    ¡°Fine, fine! I understand!¡± Amelia groaned¡­ then grasping to her chest as if to protect her soul¡­


    ¡°YOU TOTALLY DON¡¯T UNDERSTAND, DO YOU?!¡± I went on another rant about witches, even though I honestly had no idea what I was talking about. My only guess about Amelia not having a lot of magical power was due to her not shining a whole lot. My assumption was, that the more of those tiny sparkles people attract, the higher their magical powers are. This assumption was due to the lights amassing around my arm when I cast my first spell.


    After a good thirty more minutes, I finally convinced Amelia to press her thumb on the paper, leaving a red fingerprint on it. I then drew the magical sigil for fire on it¡­ and to my relief, the paper actually burned on the spot. It didn¡¯t really flare up in a big flame or anything, but instead it just singed slightly and turned black.


    ¡°WHA!?¡± Amelia gasped at the¡­ most impressive showcasing of magic. ¡°You truly are a witch!¡± She was straightforward to impress.


    ¡°So! Do you feel somehow lacking in soul yet¡­?¡± I asked the knight who was poking the burnt paper.


    ¡°A-admittedly, I may have been a bit hasty in my judgement¡­ Forgive me¡­ Yverna.¡± Seemed like she was finally done with the doubting.


    ¡°THANK YOU.¡± I nodded in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Ahem¡­ Anyway¡­ now that the f¡­ I mean¡­ totally real contract is dealt with, I think we should plan on what to do from here on out.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but question why I put so much effort into something this stupid. I was probably going on a complete suicide mission with this paladin. Not to mention I was weak and so was she. How in the world would we ever oppose a golden princess who seemed to make everyone around her fall in love!?


    Despite the lunacy of the whole plan, I still somehow felt happy about it. I made my first companion in years. Amelia was a bit stern and somewhat shortsighted, but she seemed like a nice person overall.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of preparation and planning we need to do.¡± I began. ¡°We need supplies to journey out of the swamp¡­ and proper equipment and maybe a few more allies to take down an entire kingdom.¡± I counted the things I listed with my fingers.


    ¡°I think it¡¯d be best to start off with basic supplies. After I recover my strength somewhat, I can go on foraging trips around the hut in order to find whatever I can get my hands on.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Does your unholy magic work on other monsters?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± I had no idea what she meant.


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s very unusual to ever see cursed monsters¡­ so I assumed witch magic simply doesn¡¯t work on other monsters.¡± Amelia went on.


    ¡°MMmmmm¡­ I-indeed¡­¡± I crossed my arms. Oh, no... I seriously had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°I think I need to do some research into this subject¡­ I¡¯d appreciate it if I could leave the heavy lifting to you.¡± I tried my best to sound confident.


    ¡°I expected nothing less. While I may no longer have my divine protection, I still pride myself in my strength.¡± Amelia smiled at me in a slightly warmer manner.


    ¡°Fair, but please don¡¯t overdo it. Your body is still weak. Please focus on recovery first.¡±


    ¡°V-very well¡­!¡± The knight seemed a bit taken aback over my concern for her health.


    ¡°Ah! But speaking of. Can you¡­ explain to me what divine protection is?¡± Amelia kept mentioning some kind of divine power, but I honestly wasn¡¯t too clear on what it meant.


    ¡°Of course. Forgive me. It slipped my mind you might not be familiar with the subject due to your magical alignment.¡± Amelia was using mysterious words again.


    I had no clue on what magical alignment was¡­ Or maybe it was one of those dark and light things? Because I was a witch, divine powers or something were incompatible with me?


    ¡°I-indeed.¡± I nodded my head yet again¡­ with utmost confidence.


    ¡°To put it simply, when a knight becomes a paladin, they can swear allegiance with a divine entity. This process is called ¡®forming an oath¡¯. The oath is a promise between you and a God or a Goddess, and it generally consists of you worshiping said entity and following the conditions they set for you, while they provide you with divine power to protect you from harm and to give you strength.¡± Honestly, I think I had heard of something along these lines in fantasy books before, so what she explained to me didn¡¯t feel like complete nonsense.


    ¡°I see. I think you mentioned losing your powers during your story. Why is that?¡± I figured I knew the answer to this question already, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to just make sure.


    ¡°I¡­ I swore an oath to protect the people of Rachasia¡­¡± Amelia grimaced, as it clearly was a tough subject for her. ¡°I broke my oath and thus lost my powers as soon as I raised my sword against the knights of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°That seems a bit unfair, considering what the knights did. I feel your rage was pretty justified.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but voice out my concerns. ¡°You chose a pretty fickle God to worship!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ It doesn¡¯t cease to amaze me how freely you can voice such heresy¡­¡± Amelia sighed a bit.


    ¡°Hey. I am a witch!¡± I quipped.


    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯d be lying if I didn¡¯t feel betrayed¡­ But the deities work in mysterious ways.¡± Amelia seemed a bit conflicted about badmouthing the divinity she used to worship.


    ¡°So, is there no way to ever get your powers back?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an oathbreaker gaining a new divinity to worship.¡± The paladin spoke solemnly.


    ¡°Oath¡­ breaker?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what they call paladins who break their oath.¡± She confirmed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty cool title!¡± I quipped again, as my inner edgelord couldn¡¯t help but voice my thoughts once more.


    ¡°Psh¡­! I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever heard of anyone sharing such a thought.¡±


    Luckily, it seemed my adoration for the title of oathbreaker was enough to lighten the mood a bit. It honestly was a cool set of words, but I did wish she would one day get a new deity to worship, considering how important it seemed to her.


    ¡°I honestly doubt there would be anyone, but a witch, who would be willing to pair up on a journey with an oathbreaker paladin.¡± Amelia seemed almost¡­ relieved?


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care whether you got an oath or not. You¡¯re strong even without one! That¡¯s all I need to know!¡± I tried my best to give her a reassuring grin.


    ¡°Well. That much, I can assure you of.¡± She waved her hand a bit dismissively.


    I didn¡¯t really expect to gain Amelia¡¯s trust just like that, so it eased my anxiety levels a bit to see she was at least willing to joke around a bit with me.


    ¡­


    Amelia needed a couple days to recover a bit more. Her wound healed somewhat well, but the low quality of food and water did keep us generally tired while we hid in the hut.


    One thing was for sure at this point, though. It was highly unlikely anyone from the kingdom would follow us here. If they were interested in chasing either one of us, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d have done so already.


    The only noises in the seemingly endless mist were those of beasts. I remembered making note of the mist thinning out around my torch fire when I was wandering in the swamp for the first time. Normally, you¡¯d expect the fire to draw in attention from the monsters, but they seemed to steer clear from me as soon as I lit the torch up. Maybe the monsters around these parts were particularly weak to flames? It would explain why a feeble bag of skin and bones like me was able to kill the wolf-thing.


    We left small torches alight around the hut each night as my knightly companion slept. I did suggest to Amelia about finding the wolf I killed, so we could use its fur as bedding, but Amelia said it might be too dangerous to go wandering too far into the mist.


    I didn¡¯t talk a whole lot with Amelia during the couple of days she took to recover, so I don¡¯t really have much in terms of interesting conversations to report here. I think she¡¯s wary of me, even though I haven¡¯t really¡­ done anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go on a small surveying trip.¡± Amelia declared after she had recovered enough to move around properly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to bring some kind of kindling with you, just in case you encounter something big, and don¡¯t wander off too far!¡± I mothered.


    Amelia gave me a bit of a funny look, but she respected my wishes and grabbed some burnable twigs I had collected from around the house.


    As the door closed with a creak, she was gone.


    I was left by my lonesome in the hut. I can¡¯t really say I was uncomfortable or anything by myself there. Furthermore, I had grown quite used to solitude over my life, so there was maybe even a sense of peace to it. I was still confused and worried about some things¡­ but they could wait for now, since I had to focus on recovery.


    I also had a bit of a project to work on as well! Namely, in the study of magic.


    If I wanted to be of any use at all during our travels, I¡¯d need to understand the nature of magic better. What good is a witch who doesn¡¯t even cast spells?!


    First things first, the shiny stuff is definitely magical energy or something like that. Maybe, for the sake of convenience, I¡¯ll just call it ¡®mana¡¯.


    Everything around me sparkles with mana, but some things such as inanimate objects sparkle with a lot less than people for example.


    The more sparkles, the more mana something has!


    The only thing I¡¯ve ever seen with no mana was that freaky hand-stone at the castle. Outside of that, every single thing I¡¯ve seen has at least a tiny number of the glimmering lights.


    Judging by how everything has mana in it, my theory is, that it¡¯s something necessary for things to exist in this world.


    Why do I think it¡¯s that important? Well¡­


    The one thing about this world¡¯s magic I know about from my past life, is the magic language of the witches. The witches could write magical sigils to things to invoke spells.


    Items with these sigils were like¡­magical artifacts! The fake magic contract I made for Amelia was a bit like that. I took an everyday item and then wrote the magical command on it.


    The sigil was that of fire, and when the paper caught aflame, the sparkles flared up around it for an almost unnoticeable moment.


    Just like when they shone around my arm when I carved the symbol of fire on it.


    What do both of these have in common?


    WELL! The catalyst was destroyed in both! The paper¡­ and my arm!


    Now, this might be complete nonsense to you, so let me simplify it a bit! Basically, there are different ways to cast magic, but the core concept is always the same:


    Mana travels through an object in a specific manner in order to create spells. The more mana an object has, the bigger or more effective the spell is.


    I found a strange clay jar with an odor reminiscent of pickles. It was to be my experiment subject number one to prove my theory! The vase didn¡¯t have a whole lot of mana, so it was sparkling very lightly.


    When I drew a sigil of fire on the vase, it turned completely black and then into gray dust, not too different from ash.


    Here is an explanation of this incredible scientific experiment!


    The witch sigils allow me to cast spells through other objects without using my own mana, but the effectiveness of the spell is dependent on the mana capacity of the catalyst AND the physical structure of the catalyst.


    If I write the sigil of fire on a piece of wood, it will burn. If I write the same symbol on a piece of rock, it¡¯ll turn dark, but it won¡¯t burn, simply because rocks require a lot more heat and energy to burn. The amount of mana they possess isn¡¯t enough to make them catch on fire, so they just get slightly singed or heat up.


    If I found a rock with an incredible amount of mana, maybe it would be able to burn!


    NEXT FACT! The vase turned into ash. This is simply a guess, but I believe when an object completely runs out of mana, it turns to ash.


    Mana seems to be an essential energy that keeps everything in this world together, which makes me really nervous about that horrid stone slab I saw during the trial.


    How did it stay in a solid shape without any mana? If I don¡¯t remember wrong, it seemed to be absorbing mana from those around it as well. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what it was, but I also really wasn¡¯t curious enough to want to see one again.


    Ahem. Anyway, a couple last notes from my experiments.


    I do remember the witches being able to cast spells without always sacrificing something for it. I don¡¯t remember the exact details, but it had something to do with dark-patterns they had painted on their bodies, those were the kinds I loved to draw on myself as a kid. They looked a bit like crudely made electric circuits, I think. It was a mixture of those and magical sigils, but now that I knew writing magical symbols on your person was a bad idea, I figured I might want to avoid drawing more on myself in the future.


    I had no clue if those circuit-like patterns were really a thing in this world to begin with though, so drawing magic commands on items had to do for now.


    Casting spells like I did with the wolf should be a last resort in all situations. I needed to keep this in mind. This world isn¡¯t a game, and I would definitely die if I got too crippled by my own spells.


    ¡°YVERNA!! I found something bizarre! I believe you should see this!¡± Amelia burst in through the door in the middle of my musings. She was covered in what was hopefully beast blood from head to toe. She tossed a few dead wolves to the side of the hut as she rushed over to me hastily.


    ¡°A-aah¡­right! Uh? What is this about again?¡± I got up and adjusted my clothes a bit to get ready to depart.


    Speaking of clothes, mine were in tatters. I was still wearing the same outfit I had in the ballroom. The black dress was ripped apart at the bottom, keeping a large part of my legs exposed. Both of the sleeves were gone too. One ripped off, and one burnt to cinders. Needless to say, I looked like a scarecrow. My hair was a mess of dark tangles with some twigs here and there as if to act as a filthy cherry on top.


    My high heels had their heels detached, but they were still serving their purpose as shoes to an extent.


    At least, I had well matched to visuals with Amelia, who looked quite horrifying in her own way, being drenched in blood and all.


    After a brief discussion, we made our way through the swamp. Walking in the wet marsh was quite disgusting, but somehow despite the grossness, it did fill me with a sense of excitement. It was a very new experience for someone who had never really gone to a swamp in their life. This kept me in rather high spirits.


    ¡°Hum...hum hum¡­¡± I hummed to myself as I followed the paladin through the mist.


    ¡°You seem quite positive despite the circumstances¡­!¡± She commented.


    ¡°The scenery is pretty interesting! I¡¯ve never seen a place like this before.¡± I tried             explaining.


    ¡°Oh, if only you knew¡­! There is much more interesting scenery up ahead.¡± Amelia¡¯s words certainly piqued my interest. I picked up the pace and ran up to her a bit. ¡°It¡¯s just up ahead. I¡­ can¡¯t quite explain it myself.¡±


    At first, I found it strange Amelia was so keen on me seeing whatever it was for myself, but as soon as it came to my line of sight, I understood her words exactly.


    There was a door. A door made from¡­ maybe stone? It was worn out, but had clear signs of rather eloquent design to it.


    Now, a mysterious doorway in the middle of a swamp was eerie enough, but this one was standing on top of a metallic staircase.


    It took my brain a moment to properly process the sight, so I had to blink a few times. It was just so incredibly out of place. I had to take a moment to realize, that it looked like the stairs from a fire exit were crudely extending out of the swamp, as if there had once been a building that the door and stairs were a part of. Over eons of disrepair, the entirety of the building had simply vanished with time, leaving only the metal stairs and stone door.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen metal craftsmanship this exquisite¡­¡± Amelia commented as she walked near the staircase.


    ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± I staggered, slowly making my way to the stairs, following my knightly companion.


    ¡°Look at how thin, yet sturdy the metal is¡­ How does one even craft this?¡± Amelia muttered, observing the stairs.


    My confusion only grew as I got closer because Amelia was correct. The metal was really well crafted into pretty shapes along the railing leading up the stairs. Now, I hadn¡¯t seen a whole lot of things in this world, but the overall feeling of things was always that of a medieval fantasy.


    The kind of world where knights fight dragons and princesses know magic.


    The way the stairs were made really reminded me of something more modern. It felt like it had been ripped straight out of my world and had simply been forgotten here for ages. The metal was still clean and not rusty at all, in addition to also remaining sturdy. There were tiny holes on the stairs to make them lighter without making them less structurally sound. I wondered if such science existed here?


    The door on top of the stairs looked old and fantastical, which in turn made it mismatch with the steps even more.


    All in all. It was a hauntingly mysterious sight.


    ¡°What¡­ is this¡­?¡± I carefully slid my hand over the metallic support railing of the stairs.


    ¡°I was honestly hoping you¡¯d have the answer to that¡­!¡± Amelia sighed.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m as lost as you are¡­!¡± I laughed nervously. But then, my attention was drawn to something. There was a noticeable increase in mana around the door. The sparkles were amassing there in considerable numbers. It was a bit difficult to see from the bottom of the stairs, but I was almost sure there was something up with the door. ¡°The door¡­¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I think it has a high amount of magic concentrated around it.¡±


    ¡°Does it¡­?¡± Amelia peeked up at the door, gauging it a bit. ¡°If I may be completely honest, I don¡¯t like it at all.¡± The knight crossed her arms, causing her armor to clatter a bit.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree with you more!¡± I pointed at her, at which Amelia seemed almost surprised. ¡°Hey! I don¡¯t think witches are famous for being suicidal.¡±


    ¡°Psh¡­!¡± She chuckled a tad and we decided to head back home.


    ¡°I¡¯ll write a memo on it, so if the situation calls for it, we can try to see what it¡¯s about, but I¡¯d really rather not just go poking at potentially dangerous things like that.¡±  I reassured the paladin.


    Amelia and I returned to the hut and we had a quiet chat about our days. I explained my magic theory to her, but it seemed to fly over her head a bit. Somehow, she seemed content just listening to me gush about my discoveries nonetheless.


    Maybe my constant blabbering helped her feel distracted from the grim reality of our situation.


    We skinned the wolves Amelia brought into the hut earlier and turned their pelts into some bedding and crude clothing. The clothing was mostly for me because my outfit was coming apart at the seams.


    Literally.


    I got a wolf pelt coat to cover myself with. The coat was a bit heavy and smelly, but it was warm, so it did its duty perfectly well.


    That night I felt warmer than ever, and it was a lot easier to experiment with magic without being constantly chilly. Amelia seemed to get some proper rest too¡­ Or so I thought, until said paladin suddenly barged into the pantry where I was studying in the middle of the night.


    ¡°Yverna¡­ Yverna!¡± She spoke sharply, but in a strangely hushed tone.


    ¡°W-wh-what is it?!¡± I was a bit surprised by the sudden interruption.


    ¡°We need to leave.¡± She whispered quietly. ¡°There is a search group currently fighting some wolves not too far from us. I can hear them.¡±


    I¡¯ve heard of coffee and tea being mentioned as good ways to stay sharp. Fear of death seemed to work too. I sure as hell got focused instantly, and we made our way out. We were almost on our way away from the house, when I suddenly grasped Amelia¡¯s hand.


    ¡°W-what is it?¡± She whispered.


    ¡°I¡­ I just¡­ think.¡± I gulped, worried if I was overstepping my boundaries a bit¡­ but I knew I¡¯d regret it if I didn¡¯t ask her. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we say bye to Amy?¡±


    The expression on Amelia¡¯s face crumpled. It was more than clear she had forgotten about the situation, and was now feeling guilty over it. Almost in tears, she nodded shakily and we made our way to the grave.


    ¡°Amy, my dearest. Mom has to go now. There are bad people still after me. But it¡¯s okay. Mom is strong¡­¡± Her voice cracked as she spoke. The tears drew pale streaks on the dried blood on her cheeks. ¡°M-mom is strong, so one day I¡¯ll return here¡­ and give you a proper place to rest in. Please don¡¯t worry too much. I¡­ I did what you always scolded me about¡­ and I¡¯ll give it a shot! I promise.¡± Her smile was heart-wrenching to look at.


    I reached for Amelia and patted her back. ¡°Hey Amy. I¡¯m Yverna. I won¡¯t really go too much into detail, but I¡¯ll do my very best to protect your mom. We¡¯ll come get you soon! I promise!¡±


    Amelia looked at me in surprise first, but her expression softened quickly. I helped Amelia wipe her tears on the wolf pelt, and then we were off.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Let¡¯s focus on surviving for now! We can get sentimental later.¡± I tried to be cheery, even though I was a bit nervous too.


    ¡°Mmmh¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± Amelia was still sniffling a bit¡­ I felt a bit bad for ushering like this, but we were on the run.


    Amelia glanced back at the hut as we vanished into the mists, but something about her expression changed as she saw some of the armored men approaching the building.


    She seemed like she wanted to say something, but we had to stay silent as we ran further and further into the white veils of fog.


    And then, it was there again. That haunting staircase sticking out of the swamp.


    It felt as if the world was suddenly engulfed by a blanket of total silence. There was no wind, nor the usual bubbling of the swamp.


    Simply total silence.


    ¡°You mentioned¡­the door has mana to it?¡± Amelia¡¯s soft whisper pierced through the quiet.


    ¡°Mmh¡­¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Do you think it could be a transportation gate?¡± The paladin questioned.


    ¡°A what now?¡±


    ¡°A magical gateway connecting two places. It¡¯s rather basic magic. I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t heard of them.¡±


    ¡°O-OOOHHH¡­ T-those¡­ right¡­!¡± I think even Amelia noticed I had no idea what they were until now.


    ¡°If it truly is one, we could escape our assailants rapidly! I¡¯m sure they¡¯d have to think twice before they¡¯d touch something this eerie.¡± Amelia did make sense¡­ but only if she was correct. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this really was something that convenient.


    ¡°Mm. You have a point. I suppose we could at least open the door to see where it leads.¡± I agreed to go along with the paladin¡¯s plans, but something in the back of my head was growing more and more nervous by the second.


    From words to actions, we decided to give the door a go. Good thing I had Amelia with me because climbing up the steel stairs was surprisingly scary. They went a lot higher than it looked like from the ground.


    After my shaky legs finally carried me up to the door, it was time for the next challenge. It seemed like Amelia knew how to play rock paper scissors, so we decided who touches the door-handle with it.


    As usual, fortune didn¡¯t smile upon me.


    Now¡­ When I imagined myself as a witch, I certainly had a cooler concept in mind. Wearing a big hat¡­ maybe a staff made of some cursed old tree! A jet-black dress that turns into what looks almost like dark mist at the bottom¡­


    Aaaaa¡­! How I wish I were that¡­


    Instead of my reality of squealing like a little girl in terror over just touching the door handle while biting my lower lip to calm my nerves. It was by far the most terrifying door handle I had ever had to touch.


    All jokes aside, it made every fiber in my body scream in horror. Something about the door felt fundamentally wrong. Not just visually, but there was like¡­ an instinctive fear I felt towards it. It wasn¡¯t much unlike the feeling I felt when I saw that sinister stone.


    And it was completely warranted¡­


    As soon as I touched the handle, all the light was suddenly gone. Within the space that the door previously occupied was now a pitch-black void.


    An incredible pressure, almost like gravity, started forcing Amelia and me inside the darkness, and with a few silenced screams of horror, we disappeared within the murkiness of the doorway.


    It wasn¡¯t a transportation gate.


    At least¡­ not the kind we were hoping for.

 Chapter 4: Dungeon

    4. Dungeon


    There was a quiet hum everywhere. It was like listening closely to someone¡¯s chest within complete silence. It was a subtle and almost unnoticeable rumbling that sounded like it was somewhere far away and up close at the same time.


    The walls were covered in electric circuit-looking patterns, with faint streaks of light traversing through them sporadically. Upon closer inspection, I think they looked a bit like those magical patterns I used to draw on my arms, but a lot cleaner.


    It had a distinct look of something ancient and futuristic at the same time. The walls were somewhat corroded by time and coarse like sandpaper, but the circuits all over were in pristine shape.


    The amount of magic in the air was very noticeable. The sparkles were considerably easier to notice. A vast amount of them were amassing along the patterns on the walls, making it more than clear enough they were some sort of¡­ magical pathways or something along those lines.


    ¡°Oh, no¡­ Oh, no¡­!¡± Amelia was pacing around while feeling at the walls to find the exit we supposedly entered this strange man-made looking cave from.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t quite sure what Amelia was so nervous about. Didn¡¯t we just manage to escape the survey party? Isn¡¯t this a good thing?


    ¡°W-what do you mean, what¡¯s wrong?! Are you mad?! This is a dungeon!! Do you not see the mana circuits embedded in the walls?!¡± The knight spoke loudly, but clearly warily. She was petrified of¡­ whatever this place being a dungeon meant to her. And mana circuits? Is that what the patterns on the walls were called? I needed to ask her about it later.


    ¡°Uh¡­ A dungeon as in like¡­ a cave full of monsters and treasure? Maybe like a big boss monster at the end of it guarding the exit?¡± Having played video games in the past, the term ¡®dungeon¡¯ wasn¡¯t really new to me in a fantasy context.


    ¡°W-what the hell are you talking about!? Treasure?! Boss monster?¡± Amelia rapidly walked over to me. ¡°Dungeons aren¡¯t some sort of fun past-time activity for daredevil treasure hunters! Are you saying you, a witch, has never heard of one?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ um¡­ the amnesia¡­¡± I was honestly a bit taken aback, so it was hard to think of words to say on the spot.


    ¡°R-right¡­ right.¡± Amelia sighed. ¡°Forgive me¡­! I¡¯m just¡­! We are in mortal danger. Please listen to me carefully.¡± While the paladin did her best to calm herself down, she was clearly really on the edge.


    Before we had a proper talk, Amelia surveyed ahead of the dungeon a good twenty or so meters. She returned with a brisk jog, sitting down with me.


    ¡°Seems like there aren¡¯t any monsters near the entrance.¡± A bead of sweat slid down her cheek. Amelia¡¯s obvious nervousness was slowly catching to me as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re really worried about this¡­ dungeon thing. Is it really that dangerous?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably far worse than I even imagine. I don¡¯t know what your concept of dungeons is, but the ones I¡¯ve read about are a grave deal.¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was heavy with worry.


    ¡°Read? You¡¯ve never seen one?¡±


    ¡°I have and¡­ I haven¡¯t. Once, a long time ago¡­ when I was still only a knight in training, our survey group got lost in a vast forest.¡±


    I¡¯ll quote Amelia word for word again so that the story stays as accurate as possible.


    This is what she told me.


    ¡°The knight training involved getting a lot of live combat experience against monsters of various kinds. Our group consisted of a dozen or so more experienced knights and roughly the half of trainees.¡± Amelia began narrating.


    The forest we were training in was known for its monster population, so we were sent on a culling mission to thin out the numbers.


    The monsters themselves weren¡¯t a particularly dangerous sort. The only thing providing a moderate threat was their spawning rate. Getting overrun was always a risk when dealing with large groups of creatures, mindless or not.


    A serious problem arose, when one night our guards started acting strange.


    ¡°E-everyone get up! Something is wrong!!¡± A warning signal rudely awakened us.


    ¡°What is it?!¡± The group commander asked in his stern voice as he was the first to get up. He was fully geared up in a matter of seconds. The commander was a tall man with a bushy and messy brown beard and matching eyes.


    ¡°The forest! It¡¯s different from just a moment ago!¡± The guards were pointing into the trees.


    They were correct. Even in my sleep-deprived state, I could tell there was something wrong with our surroundings. We had gone to sleep next to a cave entrance, and now we were suddenly in the middle of the forest, with nothing but trees surrounding us on all sides. There was a somewhat transparent veil of fog slowly waving around everywhere.


    An unnerving sense of intrusion filled me with instinctual fear, and I put on my armor at a record pace, rushing over to where the other knights and trainees were discussing the situation.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s that?!¡± One of the trainees pointed into the trees. Something red was visible in the distance.


    The more experienced knights exchanged glances and began warily approaching it.


    ¡°In formation B!¡± The commander instructed, and we moved accordingly, readying a defensive battle formation.


    Our fears soon turned to confusion, as next to the little meadow in the midst of the forest we woke up in, was another nearly identical one. It was only cut off from the spot we woke up at by a thin line of trees, and behind said tree line was yet another perfectly circular field of grass.


    In the middle of said circle, was an object of some kind. It seemed to be something akin to a road sign, but instead of wood, it was made of metal.


    On the top of the slightly bent metal pole was a wooden triangle made of a dirty but glossy material of some kind. The triangle had a red outline and a yellow inside, and when our torchlight connected with the surface of the shape, it reflected the light back in subtle flickers.


    It was almost as if the surface of the sign was coated in fine diamonds, causing all light that contacted with the surface to be bounced back with ease.


    In the middle of the yellow triangle was a symbol of some sort. To my recollection, it was a black dot with a long dark bar over it.


    To this day, I still do not know what it stood for.


    Either way, just like the staircase and door, it felt completely improper in the forest.


    Its colors were bright, and to me, it almost felt like a warning of some kind.


    In nature, yellow and red are generally signs of danger. Many insects and animals cover themselves in said colors to fend off predators.


    ¡°Is it a sign¡­?¡± Some of the knights began muttering, walking a bit closer to the thing.


    ¡°What does it say?¡± Asked another one.


    ¡°STAY AWAY FROM IT, MEN!!¡± Screamed the commander. His voice was so loud I was almost certain it caused the surrounding foliage to rustle with its force.


    The knights who had wandered close to it stopped like they were frozen, rapidly backing away.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong commander?!¡± A couple of the knights yelped as they returned.


    ¡°¡­¡± The large man stayed silent. His eyes were focused on the sign like it was his mortal enemy.


    The commander walked back a bit, pulling off a twig from a nearby bush. He then threw it at the sign full-force. The red and yellow thing didn¡¯t budge, and the twig simply fell to the ground after contacting it.


    A deep sigh followed, and the commander seemed to relax a bit.


    ¡°Never mind. I thought it was something else. Stay alert. I don¡¯t know where in the forest we are.¡±


    The mood among the knights lifted a bit, and some light laughter ensued. A few more boastful knights chuckled and walked over to the sign as the commander was looking away.


    ¡°Look at this! The metal is twisted into a thin pipe! I wonder if it¡¯s hollow!¡± One of the knights gently knocked against the pipe.


    The way he knocked was weird. As soon as the knuckle guard of his armor made contact with the metallic surface of the sign, he no longer pulled it away from it.


    Without losing contact with the surface of the object, he firmly grasped his hand around the pipe in one¡­ strangely smooth motion.


    ¡°Hey guys! Come check this out!¡± He laughed and waved at one of his friends.


    As soon as another knight came close enough, he touched the knight¡¯s shoulder. The other knight started acting strange too. As soon as his shoulder was touched, he grasped onto the hand of the first man holding on to the pipe, and then started waving his own free hand.


    ¡°Hahah! What the hell! Yo! Bryan! Come check this!¡±


    Another knight ran over, and the same repeated. The second person in the chain now grasped onto Bryan. As soon as the newest addition to the group was touched, he started calling another knight by name.


    ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH HIM!!!¡± I suddenly screamed. All the eyes were on me. The fourth knight was maybe half a meter away from the outstretched hand of Bryan.


    Something about the situation felt entirely wrong. I don¡¯t know how, but the behavior of the ones touching the sign was abnormal. Why were they so keen on holding on to each other? And the pipe¡­ The first knight was still touching it.


    Now the commander noticed the strange sight too.


    ¡°Hahah! What are you guys on about?¡± Bryan laughed. The other knights behind him chuckled too. Oddly enough, I felt an air of¡­dismissiveness from their voices. The kind when someone tells you something isn¡¯t a big deal.


    The commander instantly reached for the fourth knight, but he was too late. Bryan managed to touch the tip of his finger¡­ and he instantly linked hands with the other men. They were trying to reach for the commander too, but barely missed him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± They laughed and waved around.


    ¡°EVERYONE STAND BACK!!¡± The commander roared, and the entire group backed away.


    ¡°Whaaat? We just wanna show you guys a cool thing!¡± The voices were in perfect unison.


    Now everyone else realized something was wrong too. The chain of knights no longer spoke individually. They all spoke in an ear-grating harmony, their voices mixing up into a mess of garbled noise.


    ¡°Come ooon~! Grab my hand and you¡¯ll see it too!¡± The group continued trying to lure in more victims.


    Nobody was approaching them at this point.


    ¡°It¡¯s your loss¡­! Last chance!¡± They sang in their cacophonic chorus.


    When nobody approached, in the blink of an eye, the men were gone. One second, they were before us, the next, there was nothing but the sign.


    Cold sweat slid down my back. We all stared wide-eyed at the sign, before the commander collapsed on his knees.


    ¡°It was a threshold after all¡­¡± He quietly whispered.


    The rest of my memory was a blur. We rushed around the forest in a panic, ending on the meadow with the sign multiple times, as if the forest itself was trying to force us to accept our fate.


    Somehow, as the sun finally rose, the forest started looking different again.


    We were exhausted both physically and mentally. Our group was missing four men¡­ and the forest was still teeming with fiends.


    We lost two trainees on our way out to the monster hordes.


    I was later on explained the strange sign was most likely what is known as a ¡®dungeon threshold¡¯.


    The thresholds are artifacts of various kinds, that act as portals to dungeons and are known for seeming out of place. Nobody truly knows how they are created or if there are any rules to their appearance.


    I¡¯ve heard stories of some appearing even in well populated cities. Making contact with the threshold transfers you into the dungeon.


    Never in my life have I heard of anyone, who has successfully exited a dungeon alive¡­ But admittedly, if that was the case, how would people know the threshold transports you into a dungeon specifically? A question I couldn¡¯t think of an answer to.


    The statement did ring true for those four knights who disappeared that night, however. Nobody ever heard of them again.


    After Amelia¡¯s story was over, I was left staring past her blindly.


    ¡°W-wait, but¡­ doesn¡¯t this mean we¡¯re basically screwed?¡± I blurted out to break the silence.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it so crudely, but I agree with the sentiment.¡± She nodded solemnly.


    ¡°W-what about the treasure? The boss monsters?¡± My voice was nothing but a shaky whisper at this point.


    ¡°To my understanding, there is no benefit to going inside a dungeon whatsoever. They¡¯re traps. Their purpose is to simply kill whatever ends up within and drain them of whatever essence the particular dungeon happens to feed on.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying makes it sound almost like¡­¡± I gulped dryly. ¡°It¡¯s a living thing?¡±


    ¡°They pretty much are. There are creatures living in the ocean that consist of multiple tiny organisms forming a colony of sorts to hunt better. I think the dungeons are something similar to that.¡± I think Amelia was trying to refer to siphonophores, like the Portuguese man-o-war.


    A heavy silence fell over us. We were in mortal danger, and surely the deeper into the dungeon we¡¯d go, the more dangerous it¡¯d get. It¡¯s not like we could just sit around either, or we¡¯d starve to death in no time. There was nothing within the dungeon to eat.


    The only way was forward.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop here.¡± I slowly stood up. ¡°We have a journey to go on. If the dungeon truly is alive, that means it can also die.¡± I spoke softly, and there was no confidence present in my voice at all. Luckily, Amelia wasn¡¯t an insensitive asshole, so she didn¡¯t point it out.


    ¡°Hhhh¡­¡± A deep sigh followed as she slowly rose up. The clatter of her armor echoed in the corridor. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. We made a promise, too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We can¡¯t let Amy down.¡± I smiled a bit more confidently and patted her arm.


    The dungeon was a straight path. Sometimes it would open up into wider square-shaped rooms, but there were no twists or turns.


    I was still a bit stuck on the concept of dungeons in video games, so I expected the corridor to split into a labyrinthine maze any time soon, and yet, it never did.


    The corridor was somewhat dark, but the mana circuits on the walls provided us with light, and as expected, the deeper we went¡­the more signs of danger we saw.


    There were scratches on the walls and a bunch of cleanly cut pieces of wood strewn all around the sides of the corridors. Some of the pieces of wood were clearly more worn out than others for whatever reason, and around the wooden pieces, there were dark stains on the walls or floor. Dried up blood, maybe?


    The odd part about the stains was, that they were often somewhat geometric in shape. Perfect circles, straight lines. Some looked a bit like spearheads.


    While there was certainly a sense of foreboding¡­ It didn¡¯t really feel outwardly dangerous in any sense outside the fact, that the air grew notably darker the further we went in, and there was this strange noise of some kind ringing in my ears growing louder step by step.


    It was almost like whispers¡­ but not quite. Not only that, but it was like someone was trying to speak to me, but instead of using words, there was simply¡­ the concept behind the words or their intent being signaled to me.


    I know. Total nonsense, but I can¡¯t really put it any other way. Some bizarre messages were being sent to me¡­ But I couldn¡¯t honestly make out what they said.


    There were no monsters in sight. Just wooden pieces all over, magic circuits and¡­ stone walls. The dark shapes painted on the walls near the wooden pieces were growing a bit darker in color, however.


    Somewhere along the way, I think I lost sense of time. I couldn¡¯t figure out how long we had been walking in total silence anymore, quietly working our way deeper. The air was growing darker and somehow a bit heavier with each step further we took. The dimming corridor made me feel like we were traversing into the depths of the earth itself, even though we weren¡¯t actually walking down a slope or stairs.


    It was still a completely straight line.


    Sometimes I thought I saw the darkness around us move around, almost like gas or dust of some kind, but whenever I¡¯d properly focus on it, it seemed perfectly even again.


    My observations were interrupted as I finally noticed something off.


    Amelia was panting like crazy. Sure, her armor was heavy-looking, but she was the head of the royal guard, so there was no way she was simply out of stamina.


    ¡°A-are you¡­ alright?¡±


    The fact that Amelia was unable to even reply properly was answer enough, something was wrong. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide. How did I not notice this earlier?!


    There was something wrong with her breathing.


    ¡°Rrrgkkk¡­!¡±


    It sounded like there was something lodged in her throat, preventing anything but a weak gurgling from escaping her windpipe.


    I rushed over to her in a panic, only to see something very alarming.


    Amelia¡¯s exhalation was pitch black. There was some strange smoke coming out of her mouth every time she exhaled. That instant, I grabbed her arm and began running back. She was ragged, and it felt like all power had escaped her body.


    Dragging a person who has little to no strength in her body is a lot of work. My feeble and crippled body was pushed to its absolute limits just to drag the barely walking Amelia out of the darkness to a brighter area.


    Her armor clattered as I helped her rest on the floor in one of the wider rooms.


    She was gasping dryly; the dark gas was coming out of her mouth still. It looked like soot, but more alarming than anything, the dark matter found its way inside her mouth and nostrils again whenever she¡¯d breathe in. It was almost as if the strange substance were trying to force its way back into her.


    Did she step on a trap or something?! Was this a curse of some kind¡­?! My mind began racing, so in a panic I began pulling off her armor pieces.


    The sight was nothing short of disgusting.


    There were dark splotches growing around her upper arms and chest. They had a horrid odor of rot to them. It was such a primal and disgusting smell, it caused me to dry heave the moment I caught a whiff of it.


    I did my best to hold myself back from vomiting on the spot as I began to wipe the dark splotches off. I expected the darkness to be her skin rotting, but to my surprise it was instead a thin layer of liquid over it instead. The areas of her body that were covered with the filth were left red and had some little sores or bumps on them.


    The black stuff was like paint with a slightly crunchy texture. The more I wiped off, the more of it began appearing on her. Instead of staying in one spot, the dark layer would shift around and form the splotches in different spots on her body. It was as if it had a mind of its own.


    ¡°W-what is this¡­!?¡± I pulled my hand back to take a proper look at the black mass. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be very tiny hairs sticking out of it. They were twitching and writhing in a most disgusting manner, almost as if they were¡­ legs? ¡°I-insects¡­?!¡±


    The darkness in the air seemed to grow stronger the deeper we went. Now, that I really thought about it, it didn¡¯t make any sense.


    We weren¡¯t walking deeper. We were walking in a straight line. Why would the air grow darker?! Why did I not notice this earlier?!


    The darkness was a swarm of incredibly tiny insects of some kind.


    Was this dungeon their nest?


    The deeper we went, the darker it got, meaning the insect swarm got denser. I had no idea how many of them were inside Amelia already!


    A chill ran down my spine. I began wiping the bugs off of Amelia faster, she was coughing up more of the dark insect soot, and a fine thin layer of disgustingly murky liquid was slowly starting to drip out of Amelia¡¯s nostrils and ears.


    ¡°AMELIA!!¡± My screaming got no response outside of weak coughs.


    I could feel a familiar feeling rising my throat.


    A growing anxiety was amassing and my mind began to race. It was like everywhere I looked, a mass of flies was coming right at us. I began wiping at Amelia, gasping dryly as a panic attack was about to take me over.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    It wasn¡¯t an unfamiliar feeling to me. I experienced a few in the past.


    It¡¯s a really hard emotional state to explain or describe with words alone at that. I had my first one pretty young if I don¡¯t remember wrong. I used to get them often in my early teenage years after I had recently been informed of how my life would be from then on. Coming into terms with my reality of being stuck at the hospital for the rest of my life pushed me into horrible mental states often.


    Panic attacks never really made any sense to me. They usually started with my heart rate and breathing getting faster and more irregular. Then, even if I knew I was in no immediate danger or anything, my emotions went haywire and I lost control.


    Everything became a blur, everything was terrifying, everything was an enemy. I often got stuck in a loop of fear and panic, which totally distorted my rational thinking. Even if I knew the reaction was harmful for me, I couldn¡¯t stop it.


    The most horrific thing about it, to me, was the feeling of losing control. Like someone else took over my body and kept feeding me fear, forcing more and more down my throat, even though I knew it made no sense at all.


    That feeling of losing control is what started a negative loop for me. Having been told I¡¯d be stuck in a hospital for the rest of my life robbed me of a large portion of my freedoms, so when I realized I could even lose control of my mental state, I began fearing panic attacks immensely¡­ Which in turn caused me to have them more often.


    It¡¯s a bit challenging to explain¡­ But the reason to why I¡¯m explaining this, is because when you¡¯ve experienced them multiple times, you¡¯ll know when one is coming. It¡¯s like¡­ that feeling you get right before vomiting. You know it¡¯s going to strike, but not exactly when.


    Presently, I was close. Everything was moving so fast and even though I kept wiping, more bugs kept amassing.


    Usually, when you¡¯ve experienced panic attacks multiple times, you can try to come up with a method of breaking out of that loop. It¡¯s usually something similar to breathing exercises or getting away from whatever was causing the panic attack. I had one too, but the fear of these gross bugs going into my lungs if I took a deep breath to calm myself down made me shiver with horror.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­! I don¡¯t know! Amelia!! What can I do?!¡± I screamed desperately.


    Just as my gasping got uncontrollable, I felt her hand. Amelia was grasping onto my fingers weakly, and her hand was shaking. I felt like there was an ice cube lodged in my throat. Amelia was the victim here¡­!!


    ¡°I was¡­ What the hell was I¡­¡±


    No. I needed to act. My panicked breathing got worse, so I put one of my fingers in my mouth and began biting with all the force I could muster. I found out it¡¯s incredibly difficult to truly hurt yourself on purpose. You really need to put a lot of mental effort into it.


    I kept biting. Focusing on the biting and the pain caused my breathing to gradually slow down. I could taste blood, but it didn¡¯t taste like iron. I don¡¯t know what witch blood consisted of, but it was a rather¡­ soothing flavor even.


    As my nerves finally calmed down, it finally hit me.


    This all made no sense at all. I walked ahead of Amelia.


    I walked ahead!! And yet¡­ I was unaffected! Why was only Amelia affected by this?! What was going on!? I began looking around myself.


    Wooden pieces¡­ and dark patterns all over the walls and floors.


    Dark patterns¡­ Maybe they weren¡¯t dried up blood?! But instead¡­!!


    I rushed to a perfect circle pattern on the ground, finding there was some worn out wood in a cross shape over it. If I imagined metal where the dark circle surrounded the wooden cross¡­ it would have definitely looked like a small shield.


    The murky pattern looked like only a shadow had been left of the metallic part, and the wooden part was untouched.


    My line of sight jolted to Amelia and crawled to her in a mad dash, beginning to rip her remaining armor pieces off.


    I suddenly became extremely aware of the cold beads of sweat gliding down my skin under the wolf coat as I saw the pieces of metal plating properly.


    The insides of the arm-guards I pulled off first were coated in writhing dark worms.


    I couldn¡¯t help myself anymore, and I vomited to the side of the corridor. It was all too much for me, but I had no time for luxuries such as running away while screaming. Amelia was in danger.


    I began feverishly pulling off Amelia¡¯s gear. It was absolutely teeming with the worms on the inside. How did these disgusting things get there?!


    After she was fully relieved of her armor, Amelia began coughing more, she was still in bad shape¡­ Why?! What else was there?!


    I began going over her body carefully and found out she had small but metallic earrings! They were coated in the worms too, so I had to pull them off.


    It was the black stains on the walls! They were remnants of the insects! They¡­ hid inside people¡¯s armor and maybe even fed on the metal pieces!


    What crafty¡­ disgusting things. They were like living rust.


    I had to step away and take a deep breath.


    ¡°Think¡­ think¡­¡± I muttered to myself while pacing around Amelia. ¡°Why do they hide inside the armor of people¡­?¡± I turned to look at my rapidly waning companion. ¡°What are insects afraid of¡­?¡±


    I hastily lifted Amelia¡¯s chest-plate and ripped off a part of her cape after pulling on it for what felt like an eternity. The cloth was completely untouched by the insects, just like the pieces of wood all around the dungeon. I used the blood from the finger I bit earlier to draw the sigil of fire on it.


    The cloth would surely burn, even if the amount of mana in the material itself was low.


    The fire spread fast and a quiet hissing noise in the air was most noticeable. I brought the burning cloth close to Amelia¡¯s nose. I¡¯ve heard insects are extremely sensitive to smoke, so maybe I could smoke them out by having something on fire close to Amelia.


    My plan worked significantly better than I expected.


    ¡°HACK!! CHAKKK!!¡± Amelia began coughing violently, as the dark mass of insects began expelling itself out of her nostrils, mouth and ears at an incredible pace.


    The cloud of bugs wasn¡¯t outright large, but it was clear enough to see with the naked eye as it fled somewhere deep within the dungeon rapidly.


    After the swarm left, Amelia was left pale. Without her armor on, I was able to begin dragging her further back into the dungeon to get her further away from the insects. With the fact, that I was missing an arm came the fact it was extremely hard to pull a grown adult along myself, but I grit my teeth and managed somehow yet again.


    After dragging her for a couple of hundred meters, I was totally exhausted. I was sweating bullets, and for whatever reason, Amelia was not getting any better. She was still pale and twitched around as if she were in pain occasionally.


    Why was she not getting better?! Even though she had no more of those vile things in her! Were the bugs poisonous or something?! We were doomed if that was to be the case. We had barely any supplies, not to mention something as fancy as an antidote.


    ¡°Amelia¡­! Please wake up!¡± I pleaded shakily. The only response I got was my slightly distorted echo within the seemingly endless corridor.


    I began looking around her body in a feverish panic, trying to find anything wrong with her that might be the cause of her state.


    In that moment, I saw a little shape moving underneath her cheek. Without thinking, I stuffed my fingers into her mouth. A shiver ran down my spine as I caught something writhing¡­ and it was bigger¡­


    Much bigger than the tiny dust swarm.


    A giant, disgusting crossbreed of a wasp and a fly covered in dark hairs was writhing and screeching in my hands as I pulled it out. Its six wings were flickering and twitching as it tried to break free.


    I slammed it into the flooring and crushed it into a black mush. Although killing the single insect didn¡¯t do any real damage to the colony, it still felt a bit empowering to do so.


    It felt as if I was taking revenge for Amelia, so I reveled in rubbing the creature into a mess against the ground, even though I knew my hatred towards it was completely misguided.


    Amelia¡¯s breathing calmed down noticeably, and she was gaining some color to her skin surprisingly rapidly. I began going over her body once more carefully, making sure there were no insects left. That final bug must have been poisoning her still, so now that it was gone, Amelia was getting better. Or¡­ so I hoped at least.


    My eyelids felt like they were made of lead. I was exhausted in all senses of the word, but I forced myself to stay awake until I knew Amelia was safe.


    I think an hour¡­ maybe two went by¡­


    ¡°Y¡­verna¡­?¡±


    At this point, I wasn¡¯t sure if I was dreaming her voice or if it was real. I was too tired to really confirm either, and everything slowly went black. The voice of Amelia echoed somewhere far in the distance¡­ slowly growing further and further away.


    ¡­


    After what felt like a blink of an eye, I woke up to Amelia¡¯s voice. She was panicked¡­ but there was a hint of relief to her shouting. My head ached¡­ or more specifically, my neck ached.


    Amelia was providing me with a most gracious lap pillow¡­ but her muscular thighs were bulky enough to keep my head elevated pretty high, so it strained my poor neck as I was out¡­


    ¡°Mmmmghhh¡­¡± As I got up, Amelia grabbed my hand while crying uncontrollably. I felt a bit guilty for feeling a sense of relief wash over me even though she was in such distress.


    ¡°Blugubh thoob yhoo weer deed¡­!¡± She was a mess of snot and tears. It was impossible to discern what she was trying to tell me. One thing was for sure, though! She was happy to see me awake.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I passed out¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit bad for the knight. After everything that happened to her family, I¡¯m sure she was a bit paranoid about losing everyone even remotely close to her.


    After calming her down a bit, I explained the situation to her. The expressions she made as I described everything in detail were quite something.


    ¡°W-why did you risk yourself to such an extent for me¡­?¡± Amelia spoke after a silence of making grossed out faces at the bug story.


    Now, as much as I wanted to be wholesome and tell her about how I considered her something akin to a friend despite the short period of time we knew each other, I knew life wasn¡¯t that rosy for her. Everyone she trusted had recently betrayed her and ruined her life. Out of desperation and desire for revenge, she made an unholy deal with a witch, and even that deal was fake. I felt a bit bad for having to add my own name on the list of people who have lied to her, but in this case, it was for her own good.


    I think she asked me about this because she was simply confused. Why would a witch like me put so much effort into saving her, when I could have simply dashed off and survived on my own. What benefit was there to me saving her?


    I needed to think like a witch again! A cool¡­ witch-like reason for saving Amelia was needed to calm her nerves a bit.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡­¡±


    I had to really think this over. What would the awesome witch of my dreams say in a situation like this? Something dark and foreboding, maybe?


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ too valuable an asset to simply waste on something like this.¡± I stuttered. ¡°Your¡­hatred is precious to me. Witches hold such negative emotions in high value.¡± Spewing this cringy eight-grader-level trash hurt my soul.


    I gulped afterward, letting my real emotions spill a bit, hoping surely this much was okay.


    ¡°I need you. You¡¯re¡­ important to me¡­ a-and my plans! Don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    A moment of total silence followed. Amelia seemed stunned by my words somehow. She seemed far more surprised by my answer than I expected, so I couldn¡¯t help but squirm awkwardly as her wide eyes seemed to be scanning me over.


    Her gaze slowly lowered down to her feet, and a subtle, gentle smile slowly spread across her face. I can¡¯t say for sure, but her expression seemed almost¡­ apologetic?


    ¡°A-AHEM! Anyway! Shouldn¡¯t we plan our next move a bit? Laying around will only get us starved to death¡­ or worse! Eaten by those creepy crawlies¡­¡± I stammered to break the silence.


    ¡°Agreed. Did you say they¡¯re afraid of smoke? Maybe we should make a fire out of the excess wood in order to fill the corridor with smoke. That might force the insects to make way for us.¡±


    The plan made sense. I decided to follow Amelia¡¯s lead and began collecting a bunch of wood into a pile a bit deeper into the tunnel.


    For whatever reason, the insects seemed to ignore me for the most part. Maybe, because I was also a monster like them? I was able to gather the pile of wood in an area where the air was already a bit dark from the swarm.


    I could feel a slight tingling against my skin as the swarm of insects felt as if it was testing my¡­permeability out. Hopefully, the insects would remain as tiny as they were now, even deeper¡­


    But I already knew they wouldn¡¯t, judging by what I found in Amelia¡¯s mouth earlier.


    The fire caught on the dry wood with ease. I used my wounded finger as a makeshift marker to draw the sigil yet again.


    With a noticeable hiss, the dark cloud around me dispersed. The smoke began filling the corridor as the fire grew larger by the second. Amelia finally ran over to me, sitting next to the fire while covering her mouth and ears with a cloth.


    It was a haunting sight. Looking around, there was a nearly perfect sphere of darkness around us. The insects stayed a good five or so meters away from the fire at all times, but their bloodlust was more than apparent with how they stayed close to us despite the danger.


    To my surprise, the smoke did nothing to them. The swarm seemed to pass through it with ease.


    ¡°It seems it¡¯s fire that they¡¯re afraid of.¡± Amelia stated as she threw a burning twig into the swarm ahead of us.


    The cloud moved out of the way of the flame in almost perfect unison. Even when the twig was only a meek ember, the rust insects still stayed far away from it.


    Only, when the fire was completely gone, did the cloud close in around the stick again. It was a sight filled with both hope and absolute despair. We would be able to traverse through the swarm for as long as we had wood to spare¡­ but if at any point our fire would go out¡­


    I honestly didn¡¯t really even want to imagine it. I didn¡¯t want to imagine Amelia in that state again. I had already seen death¡­ I had¡­


    For some reason, the moment I thought about death, all I could remember was that ghost-like woman descending upon me¡­ I couldn¡¯t let Amelia die.


    I really didn¡¯t want her to ever end up seeing that pale apparition.


    ¡°D-do you think there is any sense in us even trying to go deeper?¡± I don¡¯t know if I really wanted this thought to be vocalized. Somehow, it simply slipped out.


    ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡± Amelia grinned a bit playfully. ¡°The witch is getting cold feet?¡±


    ¡°I-I just¡­ I''m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to handle seeing you choking in black insect sludge again, mentally¡­¡±


    Amelia looked at me a bit quizzically. Her puzzled expression softened into a gentle, yet subtle smile once more. ¡°Then let¡¯s get out of this nightmare. Properly this time.¡±


    The paladin¡¯s bravado was somehow reassuring to see, even though I don¡¯t think there was any real logic behind it. She was the one who was in mortal danger only a moment ago.


    Seeing her still want to try made me want to try too, so I slowly stood up and grabbed a big piece of burning wood. Amelia did the same.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anyone surviving a dungeon.¡± Amelia started. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this be a good opportunity to do something unprecedented?¡±


    ¡°You know. Sometimes I wonder if you¡¯re just really positive¡­ or a total idiot.¡± I jabbed back at her.


    ¡°Wha! How uncouth!¡± Amelia laughed.


    We steeled our resolve and began walking deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Neither of us even knew if there was an exit to begin with. What if there wasn¡¯t? What if this was all pointless? What if we were both just going to die here?


    These thoughts all made sense, but I had to force them back and ignore the warning bells ringing as we stepped deeper into the dark corridor.


    And when I say dark. I mean, the swarm got denser.


    Like liquid tar, the insects flowed around us. An incessant buzzing noise was now present, and it was full of animalistic and desperate hunger.


    Also, the deeper we went, the more I could hear those bizarre whispers from before. Despite the deafening noise, I could somehow understand the proper meaning in that strange intent the dungeon was emanating with.


    Feed.


    Feed.


    Feed.


    Transport.


    Feed.


    Transport.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly the words, but more the meaning, that those magical circuits kept injecting into my head.


    I understood the feeding part¡­ but what did it all mean by transporting something? I didn¡¯t really have the opportunity to think about it at the moment.


    Considering you¡¯ve read this far; I¡¯ll assume you can handle the thought of insects to some extent. Knowing that is quite reassuring to me as the person writing this because the disgusting crawling horrors got bigger. The deeper we went, the larger the freakish flies were.


    Now, that we were able to see them properly, I¡¯ll be able to make some assumptions and guesses about their morphology.


    I believe the swarm was a eusocial colony of some kind. Eusocial insects are stuff like bees and ants. It¡¯s somewhat accurate to call the swarm a single entity to an extent. It¡¯s not exactly the same as what Amelia referred to earlier with the siphonophores.


    Instead of a community of creatures joined forces to become something more complex, this was more a hive mind, where all the insects shared the same thoughts and goals.


    Do keep in mind this is just pure conjecture. In the ants¡¯ nest, there are a few different kinds of ants. There are the workers who carry food and defend the hive, and there are the males who have wings and breed with queens¡­ and of course, there is the queen¡­ and I think in some particular ant species there are more specialized types of warrior ants too. You learn plenty of fun facts about completely pointless things, when you have a lot of time to spend watching videos online.


    As I looked into the swarm of horror undulating around us, there were distinctly different looking bugs mixed in. I saw those wasp-fly hybrid looking things Amelia had in her mouth. They looked almost like they were swimming in the gaseous, tinier insects. There were also curled up, slower looking things. They were like pitch-black prawns with rather fearsome looking mandibles, every now and then, they¡¯d cough out a bunch of those black worms¡­ from¡­ one of their ends. I honestly couldn¡¯t tell which one was the head or the tail, and I kind of didn¡¯t really want to know either.


    Considering I spent most of my life in a hospital, I never grew absolutely terrified of insects. In fact, I think a lot of them were gorgeous, and I wish I could have seen them in reality instead of just through a computer screen.


    HOWEVER. These things can all go to hell for all I care. They were absolutely disgusting! Hairy, undulating bodies! Gnashing mandibles, not to mention their unnerving twitchy movement.


    Everything about them was basically embodying the sentiment of ¡®Thanks, but no thanks.¡¯


    ¡°We need to pick up the pace. The fire is going out.¡± Amelia almost shouted over the buzzing.


    ¡°Right!¡± I nodded and began running.


    As soon as my first running step was taken, I realized something was wrong. My entire body felt like it was made of lead. Every step I took demanded immense mental effort to even get started. Amelia took note rapidly as my panting got heavier.


    ¡°Dammit¡­! I didn¡¯t realize!!¡± She rushed to me, beginning to assist me as we ran.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s happening to me?! My body feels like stone¡­!¡± I gasped throatily.


    ¡°You¡¯re simply exhausted¡­ If witch bodies are anything like us humans, you have probably been forcing your body to move with pure adrenaline for a while now.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­!?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re at your absolute physical limits. Your body can¡¯t take anymore. I¡¯m sorry¡­ this is all my fault for being such a burden.¡± The knight bit her lip.


    ¡°W-what do we do?!¡± I yelped as I collapsed on my knees as soon as Amelia and I reached a few wooden scraps we could use to keep the fire going.


    Amelia grabbed my already died out torch off of my hands and tossed it somewhere into the swarm. She gave me her still burning torch, and hoisted me up over her shoulder.


    ¡°Gggrraahh¡­!¡± The paladin really was strong, but despite her obvious strength, she was also exhausted. I could tell from the way her body was trembling.


    ¡°N-no! Wait! I can still try to wwwwaaahhh!!¡± My complaints turned to squeals as the knight took off running.


    The swarm followed suite. To our horror, the deeper we went, the less wooden scraps there were around. Thinking about it logically, it made perfect sense. As if anybody would survive this deep in.


    It was impossible to hear anything at this point. The cacophony of the insect storm was too much. I had to scream with all of my strength just to make Amelia hear me.


    I couldn¡¯t hear a thing as Amelia suddenly began talking to herself about something.


    ¡°WHAAAT ISSS IIIIT!?¡± I shouted through the orchestration of death all around us.


    ¡°E¡­ sr¡­ ed¡­.¡± Amelia¡¯s speech was still too quiet.


    ¡°WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°WE ARE SCREEEEWEEEEDDD!!!¡± She screamed with all of her lungs. The roaring blast of desperation hit me like cold air.


    ¡°W-WHAAAT!??¡±


    ¡°THE PAAATH ENDEEEED!!¡± Amelia¡¯s scream pierced through as she slammed one of her hands against the stone wall ahead of us.


    In that instant, it was as if all sound died down for a moment. I stared ahead, and there was nothing but a stone wall. NOTHING.


    Panicked, I began darting my head around. It was one of those square shaped rooms again. There were no exits except going back. This was most likely the¡­ end of the dungeon.


    What¡­ what the hell?! What was this unfair nightmare?! THERE WAS NO EXIT?! It literally was just a trap. There was no point to it, there was no reward, and there was no boss monster.


    It was basically a cruel grave. All the freedom we had left was the choice of where we die within the dungeon.


    The fire was going out too.


    Amelia collapsed to her knees. I slowly slid off of her back, gathering myself a bit, I rested my back against the wall of the room.


    Somehow, despite the horrid noise, I feel I could hear Amelia clearly, just for a moment.


    ¡°I hate this crap...¡± I chuckled to myself a bit as the fire dwindled.


    ¡°Likewise¡­¡± Amelia murmured. ¡°Damned dust cloud¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahah¡­ Dust cloud indeed¡­¡± I looked into the swarm slowly closing in as the fire grew weaker. ¡°You know. That gives me a really spiteful idea¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Amelia smiled weakly.


    ¡°Well¡­ If we¡¯re gonna die anyways. How about we go out with a boom?¡± A sadistic twinge slowly spread on my face.


    ¡°H-hahah¡­ I¡¯m listening¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I know why they¡¯re so afraid of fire¡­¡± I reached out into the mist a bit. ¡°It¡¯s a flammable creature so tiny, it¡¯s basically dust, and we are in an enclosed space¡­¡± I coughed a bit. It all made sense.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to make something explode, please let me protect you. I¡¯m rather proud of my sturdiness, and I still have my undershirt on.¡± Amelia spoke.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t care about my feelings at all, do you?!¡± I laughed weakly.


    ¡°I understand¡­ I understand you don¡¯t like seeing me get hurt. During the time, I was infected by the insects¡­ It was mostly a blur, but I still think I could hear your desperate cries somewhere in the distance.¡± She spoke with conviction.


    ¡°THEN WHY?!¡± I bumped my head against hers a bit.


    ¡°Because I also don¡¯t want to see you get hurt¡­¡± She whispered quietly. How I heard it, I¡¯ll never know. Maybe I imagined it all, but somehow¡­ I really hoped it wasn¡¯t just my imagination.


    ¡°You¡¯re a pretty selfish person for a mother.¡± I complained.


    ¡°Being a mother and being selfish aren¡¯t mutually exclusive. Please let me do this.¡± Amelia finally turned to me, gently pushing me down into a corner. She used her body to shield the most of me.


    Having her there made me feel safe, like when you¡¯re underneath the softest, fluffiest blanket. Amelia¡¯s gentle smile and reassuring nod finally pushed through my defense.


    ¡°Do your thing!¡± She whispered sharply, as the fire finally went out.


    I reached for my finger with my mouth, biting the old wound open. With all the remaining strength in my body, I bit like there was no tomorrow.


    The blood was used to shakily draw the sigil of fire on the somewhat charred wooden piece I had in my hand.


    I threw it past Amelia¡¯s shoulder, banking everything on this final stand. Honestly speaking, I didn¡¯t even know if this would work in the first place. I had only tried activating the sigils as soon as they were made.


    Remote detonation was a whole different story.


    ¡°BUUUUUUURRRRNNNNN!!!¡± I screamed and reached my hand out for the flying piece. A sparkle quietly emitting from my fingertips. The wooden piece began to glimmer¡­ and then¡­


    A shockwave of burning air hit us and Amelia was slammed on top of me by its force.


    ¡°GGGRRRRRHHHH!¡± Roaring in pain, the paladin somehow stood strong as a blinding fireball grew in size behind her.


    The heat was unbearable, but short. A flare covering every inch of the dungeon traversed through, as if the tunnel were sighing deeply.


    A dust explosion can happen, when a flammable dust is contained within an enclosed space.


    The reason to why the insects were afraid of fire, was not to protect the individuals from dying. They were instinctively afraid of creating a fiery chain reaction if the dust-like swarm caught alight.


    They were too simple to understand magic, so they didn¡¯t have the opportunity to dodge the wooden piece that I lit up with magic remotely.


    The fire left nothing but death behind.


    A quiet rumbling noise filled the sudden ghastly silence as the wall in the room we had been left in began crumbling.


    Amelia was still somehow covering me up even after all this. I didn¡¯t know whether she was alive or not. I couldn¡¯t see her face properly with all the smoke in the air, but I could feel her body weight on top of me as she slowly slumped down, limply.


    ¡°A-ahm¡­.¡± I tried to speak, but my voice was completely gone. All I could muster was a quiet hiss.


    Amelia was not breathing, and a growing panic began amassing within me again. With some mysterious reserve strength, I was able to push Amelia up. There was dark smoke everywhere, and some insect corpses were on fire here and there, twitching.


    As I looked around, my attention was drawn to a blue glow in the midst of the mist. Instinctively, I started crawling towards it, while pulling Amelia along myself slowly.


    A hole had opened at the back wall of the dungeon, and an unmistakable sound of water could be heard within. I struggled onward while straining all of my remaining feeble muscles to move and drag Amelia with me. To my surprise, there was a slippery slope ahead of us.


    I pushed Amelia down the slope ahead of myself, then beginning to slide it after her.


    The stone slide was quite bumpy and uncomfortable, but it was slippery due to water flowing into it from somewhere, and being a bit uncomfortable was about the least of my concerns at the moment.


    We slid for a little bit, only to contact cold water. I gasped and splashed around shakily, wading my way to Amelia, making sure she wouldn¡¯t drown.


    Moving through the water made dragging the paladin a lot easier. I managed to pull her all the way to the edge of a glowing blue pool we had somehow ended in. Getting Amelia out of the pool was far too much to ask in my current physical state, so I just made sure she¡¯d not have her head submerged, as I slowly began fading into darkness.


    My slumber felt a bit deeper than before. I don¡¯t know if I was awake or asleep. There was a cave ceiling before me, and it was covered in strange blue plants or maybe mushrooms. They looked a bit like hands with a few too many fingers, wiggling slightly.


    To my left, I could see Amelia sleeping. She seemed to be breathing somehow, but the back of her head was black and charred.


    Slowly, my line of sight trailed back to the ceiling. It all felt a bit familiar. Staring at a ceiling on the brink of death. Surely, the pale woman would soon fall down from there gently, to welcome me into her cruel embrace once again.


    I waited¡­ And waited¡­


    But she didn¡¯t appear.


    Instead, suddenly my line of sight was covered by something. A distorted shadow with voices echoing somewhere far, far away. The voices began growing louder with each new one echoing through.


    They started growing clearer.


    ¡°Vrn¡­ RNA!  YVERNA!!¡± The focus returned to my eyes. Amelia was grasping onto my outstretched arm.


    ¡°¡­ Ame¡­ lia?¡± I croaked. My voice hadn¡¯t still fully returned. I realized I probably tired it out while I was screaming inside the insect swarm.


    ¡°H-hha¡­! You lunatic¡­! I thought you died! You were just reaching for the ceiling with your eyes wide open when I woke up!!¡± The tears of the knight felt warm against my skin. Ahhh¡­ Amelia really was a nice person.


    Even after everything we had been through¡­ I still don¡¯t remember shedding a single tear through it. Seeing the noble knight sobbing uncontrollably and mumbling incoherent nonsense made me feel almost jealous.


    I so¡­ desperately wanted to cry with her, but my eyes simply felt dry and itchy, so I had to close them. I reached out to touch Amelia¡¯s face. Her cheeks were warm, and the back of her head was burnt to a crisp¡­ but she was alive.


    As much as being unable to cry with Amelia pained me, I felt happy at the moment, knowing we were both still alive.


    ¡°Your head¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± I whispered as I pet her.


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE APOLOGIZE ABOUT MY HAIR WHEN YOU SAVED US!!¡± Her voice pierced the mumbling at last. ¡°This weird pond too¡­ I think it has some sort of rejuvenating properties.¡± She began.


    Upon thinking about it, I did realize my body wasn¡¯t aching as badly as it did before. In a desperate rush, I tried to lift my missing arm¡­ but it was still gone. I guess hoping for the water to cure my arm was a bit much.


    ¡°My wounds, the scratches and burns from my back are mostly gone from having soaked in here. I¡¯m sure if I just soak in enough, the back of my head will be healed too.¡± Amelia tried to reassure me.


    ¡°But¡­ but what about your hair¡­!¡± I huffed heavily.


    ¡°Hair grows back, you fool!¡± She laughed. Amelia was really cool. Like, seriously. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve mentioned this before, but she is so damn cool. I¡¯m super jealous of her. I¡¯ll do my best to become a cool witch she can rely on someday, too.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m still sorry¡­¡± I sighed, but yielded.


    A short silence followed. I heard Amelia slowly lowering herself into the water. The quiet splashing was somehow¡­ serene. I couldn¡¯t open my eyes, but I could guess she was laying on her back to ease the pain she was most likely still in.


    ¡°When I was young, my father would tell me stories of witches.¡± Amelia spoke quietly.  ¡°Dark creatures that rise from the depths of the woods, bringing with them temptations which only lead to misery.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I actually became a knight¡­ because I wanted to protect the people from witches and monsters. I thought, that if I could stay strong, people wouldn¡¯t have to be as scared of such stories in the way I was as a child. A shining hero protecting the people from the darkness!¡±


    I could hear the water splashing a bit. I want to imagine she swung her hand mimicking a sword swing, but I couldn¡¯t open my eyes because they were stinging too much.


    ¡°I wanted to¡­ become someone who can protect everyone. I used to tell Amy stories of witches being defeated by the heroes. They were her favorite¡­ but Amy was¡­ different.¡±


    A moment of silence followed. I think Amelia had to take a moment to really think about it, or maybe it was simply painful to reminisce about Amy so soon after her passing.


    ¡°Whenever I told her stories about defeating witches, she¡¯d grow progressively frownier.¡± I could hear, that despite the painful memories, she was smiling when she spoke. ¡°She was always insisting, that the heroes, princesses and witches should just all be friends. She always said the witches just wanted someone to be with, to fill their empty hearts with friendship and love.¡± Amelia sounded like she was holding back tears.


    Sometimes, a drop or two of water would fall from the ceiling, contacting the pond surface. A few fell on my face, gently trailing down to my eyes. I could gradually feel my eyes stinging less and less¡­


    ¡°I, of course, scolded her. Witches are dangerous¡­ The last thing I¡¯d want my child to do is get involved with them due to her naivety.¡± Amelia¡¯s answer was blunt and swift. ¡°But...¡±


    A few more drops of water fell from the ceiling, trailing down my face slowly.


    ¡°After meeting you. I feel like¡­ Maybe I might have been wrong.¡±


    We both just floated there. I don¡¯t know where Amelia was looking at or what she was doing¡­ I couldn¡¯t open my eyes. I felt a bit like there was some kind of piece lodged in my throat, so speaking felt more and more difficult by the second.


    Silence followed for what felt like forever.


    ¡°I would have been¡­ totally up for making friends with her.¡± I finally managed to whisper.


    A sharp exhale of some kind was all I could hear from Amelia. I didn¡¯t know for sure, since I could not see. The water from the ceiling was still trailing down my face.


    It was cold, but also warm¡­ in a different sense.

 Chapter 5: A World Hidden from Sunlight

    Most of our supplies had been lost in the dungeon adventure, so hunger was rapidly becoming an issue as I soaked in the blue pool with Amelia. The growling of her stomach alerted me to the fact, which she tried to hide coyly.


    ¡°As much as I hate the thought of us finding another dead end, I feel we have to go search ahead a bit.¡± I finally spoke up after the silence had persisted for long enough.


    ¡°F-fair enough¡­¡± The paladin mumbled a tad awkwardly as we got up.


    Since the way back into the dungeon was basically impossible to traverse without proper climbing gear, Amelia and I decided to instead march ahead deeper into the tunnels. It was effectively the only direction for us to go.


    The sounds of our footsteps echoed in the cave. I didn¡¯t see a single living creature along the way either. Maybe the dungeon was something animals were instinctively afraid of?


    ¡°May I point out something I noticed before we entered the dungeon?¡± Amelia began a conversation with a strange hint of nervousness in her voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I replied as we slowly walked along. I tried offering Amelia my wolf coat, but she politely declined. Maybe she didn¡¯t like the smell.


    ¡°Those people who chased after us¡­¡± My knightly companion was lost in thought for a moment, as if she wasn¡¯t sure if she should speak in the first place. ¡°I did not recognize their armor¡­¡±


    ¡°H-huh? You mean it was a different group from the Rachasian search party?¡± I stopped walking for a moment, and so did Amelia.


    ¡°I¡¯m not certain. We had to leave in such a rush, that I couldn¡¯t get a proper look at them¡­ It was simply something that unnerved me slightly.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ there might have been more people after us for some reason?¡± I pondered for a moment. ¡°The people who brought me to the swamp both died in an attack by one of those wolf monsters. Maybe they got reported as missing?¡± I crossed my arms¡­ Only to realize I was lacking one. I will say, crossing your arms with just one is pretty ineffective.


    ¡°That could make sense.¡± Amelia mused, and we began walking again. ¡°Perhaps it was some private mercenary group sent after them. It would explain the different armor.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Let¡¯s hope that was it.¡± I wrapped the wolf coat around myself a bit more closely.


    We kept walking in silence for a while longer, until Amelia pointed at a nearby cave wall.


    ¡°Yverna. Do you think this could be writing of some kind?¡±


    There was some sort of symbol on the wall. It looked a bit like a butterfly with sharp wings.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ It kinda looks like a little road sign or¡­¡± I looked at the figure on the wall more closely. There was a noticeable glimmer of mana to the symbol. I gestured for Amelia to step back, which she did. ¡°I think there is some kind of magical property to it¡­¡±


    Amelia and I tossed some rocks at it to make sure it wouldn¡¯t blow up or something if we got closer. As we figured it was most likely dormant, we simply passed the symbol and continued onward. Not far ahead, I suddenly heard Amelia shout.


    ¡°Light!¡± Amelia began running towards the shimmering of what looked like blue light at the end of the tunnel. I followed her, although a bit more slowly.


    A bunch of sturdy wooden planks covered the exit. It seemed we were stuck behind a shoddily sealed mining shaft entrance. Despite its seemingly hasty make, it was still too much for Amelia to brute force in her weakened state.


    ¡°Amelia. Can you come here for a bit?¡± I instructed the paladin, whose interest got piqued.


    ¡°What are you planning? Magic?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    In the dungeon, I had managed to use magic without making physical contact with the item I cast the spell on, and I wanted to try it again.


    I tried to remember the feeling¡­ It was like pushing water around. Admittedly, it was probably a bad analogy, considering I didn¡¯t really swim a whole lot in my past life. But I at least IMAGINED it felt something like that. Something along the lines of pushing around an invisible matter.


    ¡°HHhhaa!!¡± I pointed my hand at the wood and the sparkles began to amass!!... And nothing happened. While my fire spell failed, my cheeks sure as hell felt like they were on fire. I probably looked like a skinny chili pepper standing there acting all cool.


    ¡°¡­ Um¡­¡± Amelia glanced at me, while I was still locked in my cool action pose. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to draw the sigil on the thing you want to cast a spell on first?¡±


    I collapsed on the floor dramatically.


    ¡°I¡­ forgot¡­¡± I lamented, while my ears burned with embarrassment.


    Amelia finally burst out laughing. Her giggling was honestly quite healing, but I still felt like daggers of shame were jabbed onto my back with each hearty sound of laughter coming from her direction.


    ¡°S-some witch you are¡­!¡± She laughed. Ironically, her words actually made me remember, I hadn¡¯t told Amelia I didn¡¯t actually know squat about magic.


    The thought of admitting it was scary because while we did survive through a rather harrowing experience, I¡¯m sure if I was a better witch, we¡¯d have had no issue whatsoever.


    But¡­ giving Amelia the wrong impression of my skills was also a bad idea because she might overestimate me and rely on me too much¡­


    ¡°A-Amelia¡­¡± I began speaking quietly as I got up, slowly walking over to the wooden planks and carving sigils on them with a sharp piece of rock I spotted on the floor.


    ¡°Yes?¡± The paladin followed me, most likely to hear me better.


    ¡°I um¡­ I have a confession to make.¡± I sighed, squeezing onto the stone in my hand a bit to calm my nerves.


    ¡°Go on then.¡± Amelia smiled peacefully as she made her way to my side. I couldn¡¯t match her expression, but it did calm me down a bit.


    ¡°Remember when I mentioned losing my memories?¡±


    ¡°I do recall something along those lines, yes.¡±


    ¡°W-well¡­ I actually¡­ forgot all about magic too. I only know incredibly basic magic¡­¡±


    A nervous silence filled the room. Amelia seemed taken aback. The blue light shining through the planks made her expression seem a bit colder than usual, but then it rapidly changed into a more quizzical one¡­ Then her eyes went wide, as if she realized something.


    ¡°If you truly are that bad with magic¡­ then¡­ the reason you must have wanted to form that contract with me¡­ Wasn¡¯t to gain control of me¡­ but to simply have me there to protect you?¡±


    ¡°M-mmmh¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t look her in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for giving a false impression of myself¡­¡±


    Amelia took a deep breath, pacing around a bit. She seemed to be lost in thought, and her expression seemed almost conflicted.


    ¡°I¡­ I see. This is a bit¡­ unexpected. To an extent.¡± She mumbled. I wasn¡¯t quite certain of what exactly she was referring to.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t hate me¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to drag you into danger like this¡­¡± I spoke quietly.


    ¡°Ah! N-no! That¡¯s not your fault. We mutually agreed to this, and to be honest, the fact that you¡¯re not an almighty monster does make me feel a bit more at ease over myself.¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± While I was maybe good at reading people¡¯s faces, I still had very little experience with proper social encounters. Thanks to this, it was quite hard for me to gauge what Amelia was talking about.


    ¡°When I got hit by that dark swarm in the dungeon, and you were totally fine, I felt like I was nothing but a burden to you. You were clearly stronger¡­ so what was my value in tagging along? I didn¡¯t quite understand¡­¡± Amelia began speaking as she knocked around the wooden blockage in front of us.


    ¡°Wha?!¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Amelia chuckled and turned to look at me. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were actually¡­ frail.¡± She gently poked at my arm. ¡°So, it makes me feel like I bring a bit more value to the team like this.¡±


    ¡°Y-YOU DO!! YOU REALLY DO!! I¡¯d¡­ definitely be dead if not for you!! I owe you so much!! You¡¯re not a burden at all¡­¡± I flailed around and words just spilled out of my mouth, almost like in a panic.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I understand that now. So, please don¡¯t think too poorly of the situation. Let¡¯s just say¡­ you owe me a dinner!¡± She winked, and with a gentle smile, she guided me back a bit further from the planks.


    ¡°Deal¡­¡± I sighed softly, feeling like my nerves were finally calming down.


    ¡°Now! You¡¯re not useless at all, either. While¡­ burning things is limited in use, we have already been saved by it multiple times! Don¡¯t sell yourself short. How about you burn the planks instead of embarrassing yourself like last time, huh?¡± The paladin teased.


    ¡°HEY! I WAS KINDA LOST IN THOUGHT, OKAY!?¡± I protested, but then couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    With that, I managed to cast the long-ranged spell again. Okay¡­ well. LONG might have been an exaggeration because my control range was about three meters. Not a whole lot, but still better than nothing.


    The planks slowly turned to ash as their mana ran out. The amount of fire they created was genuinely quite pathetic, so even calling it fire was a gross overstatement. It was simply little singes at best. Whatever wood they were made of seemed to be extremely low on magic.


    Either way, we were finally out¡­ or¡­ in? We were still underground, so it was a bit uncertain what was the correct way of describing our situation.


    ¡°What in the world¡­¡± Amelia began staring at something wide-eyed as soon as she made it out of the cave. I followed her and rapidly understood why.


    A vast cavern spanning easily tens if not hundreds of kilometers spread ahead of us. There was a vast blue ¡®sky¡¯ up above, which consisted of the cavern ceiling and some sort of strange cloud-like things floating around.


    ¡°It¡¯s those things from the pond!!¡± I shouted as I realized.


    The ceiling was covered in the hand-like protrusions, shining their faint blue light down upon the vast green fields below. There was no wind¡­ Giving the wide green fields a slightly haunting feel when accompanied by the blue hue of the light.


    As I mentioned before, the sky had clouds of mist gathering near the top. I couldn¡¯t quite understand how clouds like that could form underground, but I decided against pondering on it too much.


    There was something much more fantastical in sight, after all.


    It wasn¡¯t the plains or the trees or the river¡­ or the bizarre blue sky enveloping the area in its melancholic light.


    No, it was the gigantic mountain range of enormous stalagmites with some kind of structures built within them.


    The sight was immense. There was a beautiful, elaborate city resting at the base of the stalagmite range. Lights and little windows adorned on all sides of the stalagmites, and a single one of them connected all the way to the ceiling of the cave.


    At the very ceiling above the city, there were stalactites hanging down with similar windows and lights decorating them. It was the first sight of an open area in this world, that truly screamed the word ¡®fantasy¡¯ at me, and I was all for it.


    ¡°What¡­ is that¡­?!¡± Amelia¡¯s eyes were wide open.


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d know¡­!¡± I shook my head as I stared about as wide-eyed as my knightly companion.


    Our amazement was interrupted by the sound of something approaching. As it got a bit closer, it was easier to figure out the source of the noise. I¡¯m quite confident it was a horse carriage. As I began to run towards it to call for help, Amelia suddenly lunged at me. I wanted to squeal, but she covered my mouth, hiding us in the nearby tall grass. I was confused, and for whatever reason, Amelia¡¯s expression was very stern.


    A horse carriage did indeed arrive, and out of it stepped a very short man.


    ¡°D-dwarves?!¡± I gasped in a whisper.


    Amelia simply hushed me as three more armed dwarven men exited the carriage. The first man seemed to be an aristocrat, judging by his extravagant outfit, and the three others following him were incredibly muscular and had rather immense beards. They wore light leather armor which did nothing to hide dark tattoos adorning their arms. All three carried unnecessarily large battle-axes.


    They spoke something, but the group was too far off for us to hear anything. They seemed to be assessing the damage we did to the planks. How did they know the planks had been broken through like this? Wasn¡¯t the response way too quick?


    The group seemed to be scanning the area a bit after checking the ashen remains of the wood, as if to find something.


    The aristocratic man shrugged, and then three dwarven strongmen rushed off into the distance for a moment.


    ¡°W-why are we hiding?¡± I was still whispering, even though only the noble dwarf remained.


    Meanwhile, the other three returned with a bunch of similarly worn-out pieces of lumber. They began nailing them to cover the opening again, and after the job was done, the group spoke something and gave one last glance around before they finally left.


    Amelia surveyed into all directions, before finally sighing deep as the carriage began racing away.


    ¡°Dwarves are not¡­ known for being the friendliest bunch when it comes down to meeting people of other races.¡±


    ¡°O-oh¡­!¡± I felt my heart drop a bit.


    Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t have been mad at all if dwarves turned out to be actually conveniently kind and friendly. IN FACT! I would have welcomed the overly comfortable parallel world archetype more than gladly!! Why was my world of reincarnation full of hate and violence?! I lost my arm!! I was hungry and miserable! We just survived a damn dungeon full of nothing but death! AND WHAT IS OUR REWARD!? A CITY FULL OF RACIST DWARVES!! GREAT!!!


    ¡­ Luckily, my inner thoughts didn¡¯t quite spill over. I really didn¡¯t feel like explaining what the hell a parallel world is to Amelia¡­


    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about it later. Currently, we need¡­¡± The paladin interrupted my inner spite.


    ¡°Food.¡± I finished her sentence.


    We shared a knowing glance. I really needed something to get my mind off of this miserable chain of pain.


    The option of stealing food from the dwarven kingdom built under the giant stalagmite was obviously out of the question. If the dwarves were even remotely as hateful as Amelia made them out to be, surely it was like walking straight into a hornet nest¡­ and we had had our fair share of that already.


    We began wandering down the grassy plains, heading towards a nearby forest.


    ¡°Do you really think there will be edible things in there? We¡¯re underground, you know.¡± My pessimism was leaking out, most likely due to the chain reaction of events.


    ¡°I¡¯m confident there is.¡± Amelia¡¯s answer was strong enough to get me curious. I jogged to catch up with her a bit.


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡± I panted a bit. Amelia¡¯s walking pace was rather brisk. She seemed to notice my exhaustion and slowed down slightly.


    ¡°Judging by how massive the dwarven kingdom is, there has to be an internal source of food here. Importing everything from outside would be much too expensive even for dwarves.¡± She spoke as she grabbed my remaining arm and helped me walk a bit better.


    I was a bit slower to keep up with her to begin with because running around while missing an arm was hard. Something about the weight distribution in your body being off makes it easy to stumble and fall.


    Amelia was her usual overly gentlewomanly self and helped me stagger along patiently. At the moment, I remember wishing I could one day get princess-carried by her.


    As we finally made our way to the forest, I got caught off-guard by how incredibly vast it was. Looking at it from the distance away made it seem rather tiny, but it was a proper forest. There was a thin layer of mist all over the plains and the woods, which might have concealed a part of it to make it seem smaller than it was, to be fair.


    There were ruins of some kind overtaken by nature all around. The entire forest floor was covered in a thick and soft layer of vividly green moss. The moss overgrowth reached all the way to the bases of the trees, giving the surroundings a somehow ancient feel, as if we had entered a sanctuary mankind hadn¡¯t taken foot in for eons.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°A-are you sure it¡¯s okay for us to be here? I feel like we might get cursed for desecrating the sanctity of this place¡­?¡± I frowned a bit as I looked around carefully.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be fine for as long as we only take what we need and nothing more.¡± Amelia reassured¡­ but I still felt a bit nervous about even sitting down on the moss.


    ¡°Um¡­ I can¡¯t say I¡¯m really good at hunting or stuff¡­ But I could go foraging for dry twigs and maybe things I can find on the ground, if that would help.¡± I offered while looking around.


    The tranquility of the forest filled me with a quiet sense of peace. For a moment, I almost forgot, that we were in the middle of extremely hostile territory.


    ¡°Sounds good. I think I shall go try my luck with hunting. It¡¯s been a while, so I might be a bit out of practice, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡± With that, Amelia was off, leaving me by my lonesome.


    My butt was wet from sitting on the moss. It was a bit gross, so I decided to get up and begin wandering around.


    The forest felt very alive in comparison with the dead silence of the dungeon cave. Here and there were little animals making noise. Birds, lizards, mushrooms¡­


    ¡­ Mushrooms?


    There were bizarre, noisy mushrooms all over the roots of some nearby trees. They were quite thick and bulbous with vividly purple caps. A notable hissing emanated from the colony of mushrooms every time I went close to it.


    ¡°F-fine! Fine! I¡¯ll go away!¡± I muttered and sighed. Honestly, I really didn¡¯t feel like eating hissing mushrooms anyway.


    Wandering around, I was able to pick up a few twigs. There was a nice dry clearing a few hundred meters away from the spot where Amelia and I went our separate ways. I figured it¡¯d probably work as a camp.


    To my surprise, there was even a little river crossing through the forest. On the plains, I was able to spot a bigger river traveling across the outer perimeter of the cave. This might have been an offshoot of it, or maybe there was a spring somewhere within the forest.


    Either way, we had a source of water. Somehow, I felt a bit afraid of drinking from the little stream, despite how clear the water was.


    We had just escaped a cave full of horrible tiny insects, so I was a bit paranoid about microscopic evil lurking everywhere at this point.


    Sitting by the crystal-clear water left my mind wandering. I wondered if I actually even needed to eat and drink in the first place? Witches are monsters. Do they eat normally? I wondered if my hunger was simply due to remembering how to be hungry in my past life¡­


    My stomach hadn¡¯t growled at all since I arrived in this world. In fact, no matter how I listened, I couldn¡¯t really hear anything from inside myself. I could tell I was hungry¡­ Or at least I thought so. I remembered being pretty hungry when I made my way to the hut Amelia was in originally¡­ Or¡­ did I just imagine it all? You know, like a placebo effect of some kind?


    How do witches¡¯ bodies work? It¡¯d be really convenient to find some books on the subject, and maybe the subject of magic alongside it.


    Could be the dwarven kingdom had a library?


    ¡°Yverna¡­? Are you alright?¡± Amelia¡¯s voice broke me out of my daze.


    ¡°Oh! Amelia!¡± I wobbled a bit as I shakily got up. The knight was carrying a few creatures of some kind she had hunted. They looked a bit like rabbits, but they were a tad flatter in profile. ¡°Sorry! I got a bit carried away thinking about stuff¡­!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not feeling sick or anything. Have you found anything edible?¡± She asked, peeking into the stream. ¡°Oh! Fresh water?!¡± And with that, she sunk her face in the stream to drink.


    She ended up squealing with a brain freeze on the mossy ground due to the water temperature. I consoled her while chuckling a bit as she slowly managed to gather her wits.


    ¡°Phuaaaa¡­! Refreshing¡­!¡± She sighed. Clearly, there was no worry over parasites or the formerly mentioned microscopic evil in her mind.


    ¡°There was a clearing a way back that way.¡± I pointed toward the grassy area I saw a moment ago. ¡°In terms of food¡­ I really just found the stream and mushrooms that kept hissing at me.¡±


    ¡°Mushrooms? Where?¡± Amelia was unnecessarily okay with the fact, that the mushrooms were making noise. Was this supposedly normal in this world?!


    After guiding the gallant adventurer to the hissing mushroom colony, she began mercilessly plucking the mushrooms. The squealing the miserable fungi made was horrid.


    I never wanted to hear it again.


    Amelia sat us down by the clearing I found. She had found a helmet somewhere as she was wandering around. It hadn¡¯t rusted¡­ so it must have been quite fresh. It was made of metal and had a nice round shape to it.


    The piece of headgear was granted the honor of being our cooking pot. Amelia began to pour water into it, then gutting and preparing the animals for stew.


    Surprisingly enough, I didn¡¯t find the process particularly disgusting or unpleasant to look at. Somehow, the sight of blood and guts wasn¡¯t making me uncomfortable. This made me remember my previous musings.


    ¡°Amelia. Do you happen to know¡­ anything outside of rumors and stories about witches?¡± I pried awkwardly.


    ¡°I thought I did¡­ But a certain someone has proven my beliefs to be nothing but bedtime stories.¡± She chuckled as she began making a fire under the helmet. I helped her with magic.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ve just been wondering¡­ I don¡¯t seem to understand what it really means to be a witch¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Amelia smiled as she began adding mushrooms to the water as it started boiling. The mushrooms were screaming, and it was all around awful.


    ¡°Well! Isn¡¯t it a bit weird for a witch to not know how to be a witch?!¡± I lamented in place a bit.


    ¡°I think I like you this way better¡­ than as whatever you think a witch should be.¡± Amelia commented, without breaking her focus away from stirring the pot.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like humans try to think about how to be humans, either.¡± She commented. ¡°I think instead of being a witch, you should just be yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I see your point.¡± I mumbled. ¡°I¡¯ve just¡­ been feeling a bit out of place. I don¡¯t know how to explain it, but I guess a simple way to put it, is that I don¡¯t feel like¡­ this body is mine.¡± I stammered.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Amelia mused to herself.


    She kept stirring the pot in silence. She made a makeshift ladle out of wood with a sharp looking piece of rock she picked up near the little river. While it was crude and making the cooking utensil seemed to be a lot of work, it got the work done.


    ¡°Well. In my opinion¡­ You might be worrying too much about stuff like that.¡± She spoke as she taste-tested the soup. ¡°I don¡¯t really know your background¡­ and from how it seems, you don¡¯t either.¡± She continued. ¡°All I can genuinely comment on is the YOU, who I¡¯ve spent the most recent moments of my life with.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you feel like ¡®your place¡¯ is, but I find you a reliable companion, even if you¡¯re a bit odd and frail.¡± She offered me a taste of the stew.


    Hunger is truly a wondrous spice. Not to downplay Amelia¡¯s cooking, but that stew tasted like what biting into angels must taste like. I felt almost sad when I swallowed it down because I didn¡¯t want the taste to go away.


    ¡°Whatever my perception of a witch is, it is something I hope you¡¯ll never turn into, so, if possible, I¡¯d love it if you¡¯d just stay the way you are.¡±


    While I think witches can¡¯t cry, they sure as hell can blush. I could feel the heat all the way up to my ears. Amelia was such a villainess. Even without a heart, I could still feel my heart skipping a beat because this paladin was such a ladykiller.


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Um¡­¡± I began mumbling, ears red.


    ¡°Yes?¡± The knight seemed to find some mean amusement in my embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡­ I hate to break the sweet moment, but I meant more in terms of like¡­ how my body works and stuff¡­ I do appreciate the fact, that you think so highly of me, though¡­¡±


    Now Amelia got red too! She deserved some sweet revenge. She thought I was having issues of self-worth, even though I was mostly just wondering whether I have a stomach or not! Hah! Take that!


    ¡­ I¡¯m honestly happy she misunderstood, though¡­


    ¡°T-THEN SAY IT FROM THE START!!¡± She slapped her thighs, cheeks red, until both of us burst out laughing.


    Soon enough, the misunderstandings got cleared. Amelia did scold me for it a bit, which I did respectfully accept. I do understand I might have been a bit misleading after all. Afterwards, we decided to focus on eating¡­ and we did indeed eat.


    Surely, if anyone not privy to our situation came across the scene, it would look like two lunatics worshiping a pot of soup like they had just come to discover irrefutable proof of the existence of God.


    One of said maniacs looking like a tangled mess of dark hair adorned with burnt bug corpses and sticks wearing a filthy wolf pelt, and the other had a bunch of burnt holes on the backside of her clothes covered in soot and ash.


    All in all, we looked like a nightmare.


    But, in that moment, it felt pretty good. It was the first warm meal we shared since we met.


    I always thought any caves and underground areas would be cold, but surprisingly enough, wearing a coat or even a sweater would have been excessive here.


    I¡¯m not sure if it was some kind of magic or something else, but the enormous cave the city was built in was warm like an early summer day.


    The blue light shining from the ceiling gave a ghastly, cold feel to the cave, so the fact that it was quite warm made for a slight of a sensory conflict. My common sense kept nagging at me about how it should have been chilly, and yet, here I was, feeling warm enough to fall asleep without a worry on the mossy forest floor.


    But I didn¡¯t.


    Surprisingly enough, the lights on the ceiling got a bit dim as time went on. I¡¯m assuming it was to give a feeling of nighttime, and so as the darkness fell, so did Amelia.


    As much as she seemed to want to discuss various topics with me, she was out like a lamp as soon as we managed to confirm the area was safe enough.


    Looking at Amelia sleeping next to me, and breathing calmly to get rid of some of the exhaustion, filled me with a twinge of jealousy.


    I don¡¯t think I mentioned this before, but I¡¯ve come to realize I cannot sleep, at least in a traditional sense.


    I can faint from exhaustion, but I don¡¯t grow sleepy at all. I also don¡¯t remember feeling particularly well-rested after fainting a couple of times in the dungeon.


    Sleep is important, not only for physical, but mental rest as well. Having to stay up constantly fills my mind with worries. The silence of nighttime becomes somewhat oppressive when you have only yourself to spend it with.


    We had just survived a dungeon. Just barely. In games and novels, the heroes often get a reward for overcoming a challenge of some kind.


    Maybe a legendary item or an overpowered companion. Anything to give them the upper hand in their next hostile encounter they come across.


    But Amelia and I had nothing. We lost much more than we gained in the dungeon.


    There were no riches awaiting at the end, and there was no sealed cursed sword to give us the power to comfortably overcome any obstacle in the future.


    No.


    If this was purgatory, I shouldn¡¯t expect the world to be so convenient anyway. If this world existed to judge the worth of my soul, then surely it wouldn¡¯t simply give me the easy out and become a sickeningly sweet power fantasy.


    This place isn¡¯t about me. I¡¯m not the main character who is destined to win.


    I am¡­ the enemy.


    At best, my fate is to stand in the way of the chosen ones¡­ only to be struck down in the name of justice.


    Even an exciting fantasy world like this can feel like a nightmarish hellscape when all the right answers aren¡¯t brought to you.


    Plenty of novels were about heroes becoming exceptionally loved and powerful, simply by existing. It¡¯s a very common desire in people, I suppose. To get everything they want without putting any effort into it.


    The doctor¡¯s words echoed in my head.


    ¡°What is the difference between a dream and a fantasy.¡±


    I feel dreams are more realistic. That¡¯s why a lot of people fear having big dreams. You have to take responsibility for your own dreams coming true.


    If all you do is wait, then the likelihood of your dreams coming true becomes extremely low. Due to the fear of having to blame yourself for your own failures, numerous people fear dreaming.


    Dreams carry a sense of responsibility because they require effort to come true.


    Fantasies don¡¯t. Getting everything, you could ever want without putting any effort into it is much more appealing to a large number of people.


    There was this nurse in the hospital.


    She was a somewhat younger woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, and she loved to talk. It honestly wasn¡¯t all bad to have her taking care of me. Saying she sucked at her job was an understatement because all she did was come into my room, sit down, whip her phone out and talk to her boyfriend.


    But it was entertaining to watch. I never got to watch people outside of internet videos and brief visits, so observing her was¡­ incredibly interesting. I felt like an outsider watching someone¡¯s life unfold without the glass screen in the middle.


    She was living in a fantasy, and she loved the fantasy so much she was willing to sacrifice everything for it.


    One day, I heard the nurses gossiping.


    Yeah.


    Nurses LOVE to gossip about patients. They said the newest nurse was acting weird. Apparently, there were reports of her trying to claim she had diagnosed a patient with something.


    A bit odd. Nurses don¡¯t diagnose, but I didn¡¯t think much of it until she came into the room.


    She was completely dolled up in make-up, as usual. She had an air of one of those people, who you will have an incredibly hard time relating to, no matter what. Countless folks have probably encountered these types, only to feel like you¡¯re a wholly different species from them.


    She introduced herself as my nurse and doctor.


    Weird, but okay.


    From the very beginning, my new nurse-doctor began her¡­ medical procedures. There was something about them¡­ They were all similar to what a person might see doctors doing on hospital dramas.


    You know, taking the little wooden stick thing and pressing it against your tongue, listening to your heartbeat through a stethoscope, bonking your knee with the little hammer. She had all of these little tools in her fancy bag, and they were all sparkly-clean to the point of looking like they had never been used before.


    Now, obviously the whole listening to my heart was correct¡­ but a broken clock is correct twice a day too. Most of her tests were completely improper.


    Not to mention the white coat, she pulled out of her bag of medical wonders. It was all so bizarre, and oh, so clear she had no idea what she was doing.


    She was like a ridiculous mixture of caricatured depictions of doctors. Sometimes she¡¯d sit next to me with a memo pad, writing down something while asking me about my life, as if she was a psychiatrist or a therapist.


    Then she¡¯d begin doing the generic tests I mentioned before. When I was younger, she¡¯d give me a sticker for being a good girl.


    By ¡®younger¡¯ I mean I was sixteen. I was sixteen when she still gave me the damn stickers. Sure, I was a bit small in stature due to being so sickly, but still! She was in a world of her own.


    The interesting part of it all started, when she got a call on her personal cell phone in the middle of one of her ¡®examinations¡¯. As soon as she saw the caller ID, her expression changed. With a strange, shaky smirk, across her face, she picked up the call.


    ¡°Yes. This is Doctor Belville speaking.¡±


    She answered to her personal phone with this and her smile was from ear to ear. It was like¡­ she was proud of herself¡­ Like she was waiting for this call.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mom. I¡¯m with a patient right now. You know how it is. A doctor¡¯s life is busy.¡± Then she turned on the camera of her phone in order to video call, and posed with me in the background to a woman grinning from ear to ear on the other end of the phone.


    After exchanging some pointless pleasantries, she finally stopped the call. It was all too clear now. With the way she was smirking, the way her mother spoke and how unprofessional she was.


    Her fantasy began unfolding further the more I saw her. She was on the phone almost every time she visited me. Almost like she was showing me off to all of her relatives one by one. Somehow, every time she was with me, she got a ¡®random call¡¯ from a relative who wanted to talk, and even though she was ¡®with a patient¡¯, she always had the time to turn on the video feed¡­ and show me off.


    At first, this obviously bothered me. I was being shown off like a damn circus animal to the morally bankrupt family of this moron.


    I figured this was simply how unimportant I was. I was going to die soon no matter what, so no point in sending actual professionals to me, right?


    Then one day, I remember being on the verge of reporting her when something fascinating happened.


    This woman, who was living in a fantasy¡­ finally had the veil of her illusion shift.


    Her boyfriend called. Or¡­ something of the like. Lover maybe? I couldn¡¯t really tell.


    The expressions she made¡­ They were all somehow so satisfying to look at. Might be it was due to how I had been forced to accept my reality a long time ago¡­ Maybe it was a catharsis of sorts, seeing this na?ve world beginning to crumble.


    It was so¡­ incredibly entertaining to watch.


    ¡°W-what do you mean the car was rented?! N-no¡­ I am a doctor! I make easy six figures a year! How dare you call me a liar!?¡±


    I had never seen expressions like that on a person. Maybe I had made similar ones those nights I cried to myself, while wallowing in self-pity over the fact, that I was going to die.


    A face of absolute denial. What an ugly¡­ disgusting expression. It was like her boyfriend had just become her mortal enemy instantly, and suddenly, her often dumb smirk was distorted into a face of eerie hatred. This person on the other end of the phone was now, in an instant, her least favorite thing to talk to.


    And why? It¡¯s quite simple.


    He was doubting her fantasy.


    Anyone who doubts the fantasy is an enemy, because they remind her of the fact, that EVERYTHING her life is built upon is a lie.


    From the conversations I caught with her lies slowly shattering, the real story was more along these lines.


    She failed med school, so she couldn¡¯t become a doctor. No wonder honestly! She was about as stupid as she was shallow. She didn¡¯t want to put any effort into anything and simply wanted the rewards.


    It¡¯s an awfully common thing to see, to be fair. I saw it online a lot too. One of my online friends who was interested in art and comics always said they¡¯ll make the next ¡®One Beach¡¯.


    They couldn¡¯t even finish a single page of comic in a week, and it was always because ¡®They were such perfectionists that the page never looked right.¡¯


    Some of my friends who played video games were no different. ¡®I¡¯m going to get this huge achievement only a microscopic number of players have¡¯, and as soon as they figured out why such a few players had said achievement, they called the game bullshit. The game was at fault.


    Obviously, they never got the achievements. The artists never became anything more than easily forgettable social media artists with little to no engagement with anything they ever made.


    Dreams are heavy and they carry a terrifying weight. That¡¯s why fantasies are easier, but fantasies will never become anything but fantasies, unless you accept the responsibility of them becoming dreams.


    Honestly, with how much effort this woman had put into her lies, I think she might have been able to get some sort of results in life, had she directed that effort into something else. But all she knew was how to lie, so that¡¯s all she did.


    Her first response to the man calling her out was to lie as much as she could, obviously, but the man wouldn¡¯t believe her. The more she spoke, the more he questioned her.


    The more she got questioned, the more her face distorted. She even began crying at him for not trusting her even though she was his lover.


    She cried, but there were no tears at all.


    I hear fake crying is pretty hard, or something about dishonest crying producing tears less often.


    She wasn¡¯t crying because she was ¡®distrusted¡¯ by her boyfriend.


    She was crying because she knew that¡¯s what victims do.


    It was also a lie, just like everything else she did. As soon as she ended the call, her crying instantly calmed down, and she acted like nothing had happened.


    A few weeks later, her crying no longer worked because the man now saw through it too. It was clear at this point; the man wasn¡¯t interested in being with this lunatic anymore.


    And yet, he persisted to exposing her lies. Maybe he felt wronged, and was frustrated over the woman never admitting to lying to him.


    When the man was clearly no longer buying the lies, the woman angrily ¡®cut ties¡¯ with him, acting like she was the victim here.


    With the ugliest expression of fury, she called a lot of people, telling them all at once about the evil doings of the man. She came up with numerous accusations on the spot, so they were mostly completely unbelievable, but she was like a cornered rat. She tried biting at everything she could, while trying to paint the man to be as evil as she possibly could.


    Even though some of her friends were doubtful about how extreme some of her claims were, the fact that they were ¡®friends¡¯, seemed enough reason to trust her.


    For the next couple of visits, she was really smug. She was proud of herself. I¡¯m guessing her claims were enough to get the man in trouble one way or another.


    And then, the men wearing suits came in.


    They asked me questions about her and what she would always do in the room with me.


    My weak, dried-up heart beat with jubilation as I told the men about everything¡­ Everything she did in the room.


    I remember almost fainting from excitement when they hid in the bathroom in my hospital room, only to observe her doing all of her usual antics with me.


    The way she screamed when she was dragged out¡­


    Oh, those screams¡­


    It was the howling of an animal dying. She knew at that moment; her fantasies were over. That scream was the final realization¡­ A scream of acceptance, maybe?


    I still remember it so well¡­


    Apparently, the man she accused of a bunch of evil doings ended up being questioned by police, who turned out to be truly interested in his side of the story.


    Once they found out, that she was acting as a doctor without a license, her game was over.


    His claims were obviously considerably more substantial than hers, since all she had was her fantasy.


    It was her fantasy, and nobody else¡¯s. Even if she truly believed in all of her lies, to everyone else, she simply came off as a maniac dreamer, and a dangerous one at that.


    Maybe she had gotten the habit from social media. I don¡¯t know. When I finally gained an interest in her, I followed her on some social media platforms under an alias.


    She loved sending her followers to attack anyone whoever called her out on her lies. Posting sexually charged images of herself on social media got her quite a following, and a lot of the people following her were dead set on ¡®supporting¡¯ her due to probably fantasizing of one day getting into her pants.


    Basically, it was other people living in pathetic fantasies feeding the fantasies of this woman.


    She thought she was powerful, she thought, since her lies were never exposed to social media, she could use the same methods in real life.


    The court case was televised and posted online.


    It was hilarious.


    It was my favorite thing to watch for a good while. People made so much fun of the woman online, and obviously all of her followers jumped ship to hate on her too.


    That¡¯s what fantasy-ridden people generally do. Whenever their fantasy is put in jeopardy, they blame someone else.


    I learned to never trust people like this with anything very fast. They¡¯d always betray their ¡®stars¡¯ as soon as the smallest blemish appeared on the ever-present shine.


    As a person, who didn¡¯t even have the luxury to dream, I found her downfall exciting.


    Seeing this hollow shell of a human crumbling, and her having to face her reality in such a bombastic manner, left me feeling incredibly satisfied.


    Fantasies are like sugar. They¡¯re sweet and delicious to eat, but if you eat too much, you get fat and your teeth rot away.


    If you dedicate yourself to living in fantasies, you¡¯ll gain a momentary joy, which will ultimately lead to a crushing, miserable end.


    So, maybe the real answer to the doctor¡¯s question was¡­


    ¡°The difference between dreams and fantasies, is that dreams start heavy and painful and don¡¯t always come true even if you try your hardest, but they can end happy with effort and luck. Fantasies start sweet and wonderful, and bring you more misery and sadness the more you try to live in them.¡±


    My life right now isn¡¯t a fantasy. I had a tired, wounded friend sleeping next to me, and I had lost an arm. I was exiled from a kingdom, and I was hunted by flesh eating insects.


    And yet¡­ to a strange extent, I wasn¡¯t sad about it. Even though I had been through some harrowing experiences, it was nothing in comparison to the despair of knowing an inevitable demise awaits.


    I still could make my own choices. I had never felt more in control of my life, so I no longer needed fantasies because I had the power to look at my reality in the face and have an effect on the course it was taking.


    That was something I could only fantasize of in the past.

 Chapter 6: The Sleeping Kingdom of Subtherma

    After the ceiling of the cave started to brighten up a bit again, Amelia began waking up. She seemed a bit surprised to find me awake still.


    ¡°Are you okay? Did you get any rest?¡± She began questioning me as soon as she got up.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Remember that whole talk about my body and stuff?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Well. I¡¯ve come to believe witches don¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°W-what¡­? I mean¡­ I did find it a bit surprising to find you awake in the pantry when we had to escape the swamp¡­ but you mean you didn¡¯t sleep a single night?¡±


    ¡°That pretty much sums it up¡­! It¡¯s pretty weird to me too.¡± I scratched the back of my head. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to do at night all by myself.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡­¡± Amelia got up properly. ¡°I¡­ I see. I understand why you¡¯re so keen on finding out about yourself now. Forgive me¡­ I didn¡¯t realize.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing for you to apologize for! I¡¯m fine! As you see!¡± I did a bit of a guts pose to show off my noodle arm, but the pose ended up a bit half-hearted. Literally.


    ¡°You sound like you get quite lonely at night, though.¡± As dense as Amelia was with some things, she was pretty perceptive emotionally.


    ¡°Well¡­ I mean¡­¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to lay down with me if it would help. I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m rather relaxing to hold on to.¡± I take back everything about her being emotionally perceptive. This knight was an idiot. A muscle head.


    ¡°AHEM! I appreciate your offer¡­ But I¡¯ll pass. I don¡¯t want to disturb you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not disturbing at all. I¡¯m a deep sleeper.¡±


    ¡°ANYWAY!! UH!! HOW ABOUT SOME BREAKFAST!?¡± I had to end the conversation. Seriously, if I had a heart, it¡¯d probably have exploded at this point. It was moments like these that make me happy I was reborn a witch.


    Currently, we had a bit more important things to figure out after all. Things along the lines of being stuck underground with supposedly hostile dwarves. We needed to find our way to the surface, so doing a survey trip was pretty necessary.


    ¡°Shall we go explore?¡± Amelia suggested after we had some more of our heavenly mystery stew.


    ¡°Let¡¯s. I¡¯ve had my fill of underground air. It¡¯s honestly getting a bit tiresome.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Agreed! Are you okay walking around without my support?¡±


    ¡°I think so. If you don¡¯t mind going a bit slower.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Not a problem at all.¡±


    With that, we were off. The forest was vast enough for us to take about fifteen minutes to reach the outer perimeter of it. Great fields of grass bathed in blue light spread ahead of us outside the woods. An eerie stillness due to the lack of wind made it almost look like an illustration.


    I wondered how plants in here spread their pollen or seeds and stuff? Doesn¡¯t that stuff usually traverse with the help of wind?


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask about something?¡± My knightly companion broke my line of thought.


    ¡°Oh! Uh, of course. What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about magic. I¡¯ve only really seen you cast that one fire spell. Is there a reason for why you¡¯re not casting anything else? Or is that the only spell you remember?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah¡­! That¡¯s a fair question, especially after I mentioned sorta not remembering any magic stuff. I do actually know a bunch of sigils¡­ Remember how you always found me in the pantry back in the swamp house after your wolf-hunting trips??¡±


    ¡°Yeah? You lectured to me about your magic theory a bit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I know magic functions through spell sigils, like the symbol I always draw on things before I cast the spell. The sigils have meanings to them. The one I draw simply means fire.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Ohoo¡­! So, why specifically that one?¡±


    ¡°Well... Out of my experimented sigils, only three ever worked. Specifically, the fire, water and lightning sigils.¡± I began explaining. ¡°I know a bunch more¡­ But for whatever reason, they have no effect whatsoever when I draw them on things, even if I do inject mana into the object I carved the sigil in.¡±


    ¡°Ohoo. Do you have any idea to why they don¡¯t work?¡± Amelia questioned curiously as we walked through the grassy fields.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­which is more than disappointing.¡± I sighed deep. ¡°I can¡¯t quite figure out how magic functions. I don¡¯t want to rule out the sigils of my memories as useless¡­ I feel there is some kind of trigger to understanding how they work.¡±


    ¡°Interesting!!¡± Amelia piped up. ¡°Magic is rather mysterious, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve always admired magic casters.¡± She laughed gently. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­never had much in terms of magical affinity for myself, so I was over the moon when I got blessed with holy magic by my paladin¡¯s oath, but as you know, now I¡¯m just¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey! You said it yourself! Magic is mysterious!¡± I pat her on the back. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll get a new, better oath!! You never know! I¡¯ll do my best to figure out my magic too.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Right you are!¡± Amelia¡¯s frown soon turned into a smile and she nodded. ¡°So, is there a reason to why you didn¡¯t use the water and lightning for things?¡± She asked.


    ¡°WELL! To put it really simply, water has been kinda useless in the situations we¡¯ve been to. It allows me to drain moisture from stuff, but the water you can suck out of rocks and such with it is generally full of impurities, and it¡¯s not good for you to drink it. The lighting one just makes things give off jolts at the level of static electricity.¡± I chuckled at my own weakness a bit.


    ¡°Oh¡­! That¡­ does explain a bit. I suppose it must be because fire has the property of spreading naturally, even if it starts from a small spark, like your magic?¡± I kept getting conflicting messages from Amelia. WAS SHE A MEATHEAD OR NOT?! She was awfully perceptive!


    ¡°Y-yes! That¡¯s right. I¡¯m surprised you figured it out so easily!¡± I nodded, eyes sparkling due to the opportunity to gush more about magic. I went on another tirade about my magic theory to Amelia as we walked along.


    We decided to follow along the river that encircled the entirety of the underground cavern. The river seemed deep and very cold. It had carved a seemingly bottomless burrow into the cave wall, which concealed its actual width. The part we could see might have simply been the peak of the iceberg, or so to speak. It was a rather mystifying sight.


    Sometimes fish would jump around at the surface. I agreed with Amelia to come back and fish after our expedition. I could really go for some right about now, hungry or not!


    ¡°Say¡­ Yverna¡­ What is that?¡± My attention was drawn forward as Amelia began pointing at something.


    At the southern border of the enormous subterranean hollow, we found something that looked like a train station, and to my surprise, Amelia was completely caught off-guard by the sight of a train.


    ¡°Oh! Wow¡­! It¡¯s a train station!¡± I voiced my thoughts as the two of us hid in some nearby bushes to spy on the station a bit better.¡±


    ¡°A whatstation?¡± Amelia was completely flabbergasted.


    ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ large vehicle that transports things with the power of steam. It can transport both people and supplies. Have you never seen one before?¡±


    ¡°N-no, I have not¡­! What an incredible thing¡­! It¡¯s like a serpent made from dark steel.¡± I suppose dwarves were technologically advanced in this world. Judging by Amelia¡¯s reaction, it must have been the case.


    The train was jet black and polished to perfection. Golden highlights adorned its features, alongside large emboldened symbols on its front. They were decorative and added an air of mysticism to it. Calling it a work of art was selling it short.


    The train station was built into a cavern wall, so the train itself most likely traversed through a tunnel. A wooden building was blocking access to the train. It had a big clock on the front of it facing a large set of dwarven queues.  There were menacing guards standing and inspecting what I assumed to be passports or tickets of the dwarves walking in. A river flowed down from a little cave underneath the train station. The crystal-clear cave water reflected off the golden lights all around the building subtly.


    We could only marvel at the steam engine from a distance, for the area was surrounded by vertically challenged men up in arms. The security in the area seemed extremely strict. I felt it was maybe slightly over the top just to guard a train.


    Our amazement was cut short by a commotion at the station.


    ¡°NO! PLEASE HELP!!¡± A scream echoed from the crowds of short people.


    It was a bit difficult to see, but judging by the noise, there was a fight of some sort going on near the train.


    ¡°You bastard! You aren¡¯t running anywhere!¡± The shouts of more dwarves echoed their way to us.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?! Infighting?¡± Amelia was about to get up. Her sense of justice seemed to be a bit self-destructive, so I had to pull her back down and hush her. As much as it clearly pained her to ignore someone¡¯s pleas for help, our situation would end up much worse if we were to reveal ourselves.


    The screaming continued¡­ and to our puzzlement, none of the other bystanders even blinked. Not a single one. They simply kept walking along like brainless dolls, while one of their brethren was getting brutally assaulted, and soon enough, the screams stopped.


    The now limp body of the male dwarf was dragged to the side of the train station and got thrown into the river.


    Nobody even turned their heads to look, and it was getting clear there was something weird going on down here as well.


    ¡°This makes no sense¡­ Dwarves may be violent and rambunctious, but they are known for their incredibly tight-knit sense of community¡­ why are they all simply ignoring this one¡¯s plight?¡± Amelia seemed to share my thoughts on the matter.


    We backed away far enough to not be detectable by anyone at the train station. Amelia slid into the stream and swam over to the man floating along the current. She was a great swimmer, so the weight of the dwarf seemed to be of no concern for her, and she made her way out of the river while pulling the man out.


    The dwarf was cold and unmoving.


    He¡­ didn¡¯t look like he was alive anymore. I don¡¯t know how to describe it¡­ but it was easy enough to see he had gotten several ribs broken. His chest was caved in a very unsettling manner. The beat down he got was definitely not meant to be a warning¡­


    ¡°Stand back for a second.¡± Amelia guided me out of the way and began doing chest compressions.


    ¡°A-Amelia¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯s-¡°


    ¡°BHUAH!! COUGH!!¡± I was proven wrong the moment the dwarf began coughing out water. This guy was one tough piece of work!


    Sadly, our elation over his waking up was short-lived. He began heaving instantly as he woke up¡­ and the amount of blood coming up his throat was certainly not a good sign.


    ¡°H-humans¡­ underground? I must have¡­ gone to hell¡­¡±


    His voice was raspy and there was a most unsettling gurgle to it due to all the blood clogging up his throat.


    ¡°Or maybe¡­ You are the envoys of death¡­ finally sent to end the madness of this godforsaken hellhole¡­¡±


    Despite having faced death myself, it was still a bit painful to look at someone having to come to terms with theirs right before my eyes. The old, wrinkly man teared up, lifting his hand longingly towards the ceiling.


    ¡°To perish a failure like this¡­ I only wish¡­ I could have seen the sky one more time¡­¡±


    Amelia grasped his hand, holding on to it firmly. The tired, dying man turned to look at her wearily.


    ¡°Please. I understand this isn¡¯t the time for something like this¡­ But my friend and I are lost here. What can we do to get out of here?¡±


    ¡°What¡­ terribly cursed beings you are¡­ The Goddess of Fortune doesn¡¯t smile upon you¡­ Getting lost in this¡­ Subtherma¡­ Or¡­ is¡­¡± The voice of the poor man was shaking.


    ¡°W-what do you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°The king¡­ beware¡­ the king¡­ Ever since her Highness¡­ Fana¡­ el¡­ ¡°


    And¡­ then there was silence. The dwarf had his hand extended up weakly still, but his eyes were beady. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure if I saw correctly, but I think there was a small orb of light, that exited his mouth for just a split second. After the light was gone, the man was left staring into nothing¡­ Like his soul had left his body in such a rush, he didn¡¯t even have the time to close his eyes.


    I had to look away.


    Amelia was clearly frustrated. Gripping onto the hand of the dwarf firmly, until she finally let go and closed his eyes for him.


    The small man was lifted up by the paladin, who seemingly wanted to let him have a burial of sorts by flowing into the depths of the river, when something fell out of his pocket. I picked it up as I followed my knightly companion, only to suddenly call out for her.


    ¡°Amelia. Before you let him go, can you check his body for any personal effects.¡±


    ¡°Y-you¡¯d desecrate the dead¡­!?¡± Amelia¡¯s misunderstanding was easy enough to understand.


    ¡°N-no. Look! It¡¯s wet, but the ink isn¡¯t totally unreadable yet!¡± The thing I had picked up was a notebook. It was dripping with water, but the ink was indeed sticking to the paper well.


    ¡°What is this¡­? An amulet?¡± Amelia¡¯s outrage quelled slightly at the sight of the notes as we opened the small book.


    There was a very impressive drawing of what looked to be an amulet in the book.


    ¡°This is all they must see in order to understand our plight.¡± I narrated the text in the book out loud.


    ¡°I¡­ I think I found it.¡± Amelia replied upon feeling over the man¡¯s body.


    There was a secret pocket woven inside his shoe, and within said pocket was a golden amulet so beautiful, even the incredible drawing was put to shame. It looked like a bunch of golden roots amassing around a beautifully carved crest with a stylized geometric on it. Every single root was carved perfectly and even textured to mimic the surface structure. It was one of those things, where you can instantly tell it¡¯s valuable with a simple glance at it. Alongside, we also found the man¡¯s passport and other legal documents.


    ¡°H-how did you figure out it was in his shoe?!¡± I stared wide-eyed at my companion.


    ¡°I used to work as a guard. Smugglers often hid things in their shoes.¡± Amelia gave me a firm thumbs up.


    ¡°H-huh¡­! You learn something new every day¡­!¡± I marveled in a strange sense of awe.


    I then turned the page and began reading through the book. Surprisingly enough, I could read the letters. I didn¡¯t recognize any particular language they were in, but somehow the meaning was conveyed to me from simply seeing the page. I didn¡¯t really think much of it at the moment, but it certainly was odd.


    ¡°The advisor is aligned with them.¡± I continued to read.


    Amelia seemed as confused as I was, so she went over his body one more time before releasing him into the river, paying her respects.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the¡­ advisor? And who are ¡®them¡¯¡±? Amelia questioned after a moment of silence.


    Her guess was as good as mine, but there was more to it. There was also a magical graph and some theoretical talk on curses. The focus of the text was specifically about the duration of hexes and other debilitating spells.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand a thing about this.¡± Amelia¡¯s voice had a noticeable twinge of frustration to it.


    I gave the paper a good look. It all seemed like total nonsense to me, until I started recognizing some of the concepts described in it. It was a study on magic theory!


    ¡°On the subject of curses and their function¡± I began reading it out loud for Amelia. ¡°Curses are black magic exclusively cast by monsters. In order to curse a subject, a sufficient amount of mana must be provided. The duration of a curse is affected by how much mana is supplied to the target of said curse.¡± I continued.


    ¡°W-what¡­? What does this have to do with anything?¡± Amelia pondered.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to know as well. It¡¯s just a quote from some sort of magic authority. ¡¯The guild of magic deconstruction and investigation¡¯ it says.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand what any of it means?¡±


    ¡°I understand it as a concept, but I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s written here.¡± I replied, then read on a bit. ¡°The last thing it says is, ¡®The tree is infested with snakes.¡¯¡±


    Why did the book have to end in code?! It certainly created more questions than answers.


    ¡°Well¡­ No matter what, we need to get out of here.¡± Amelia began. ¡°The way we arrived in this cave system through is blocked, and the train seems risky enough even for dwarves. What can we do?¡±


    ¡°Even if we somehow could get to the train yard, I¡¯m pretty sure they check your tickets or identity somehow when you enter.¡± I added, before we wandered back a bit closer to the forest and then sat down on a big rock to fish.


    ¡°If only we could have some method of obtaining some form of forged identification, we¡¯d at least be able to try¡­¡± The paladin, who was now busy digging for worms for bait, spoke aloud.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like things are going well in the kingdom to begin with.¡± I added while I helped her.


    ¡°Yes¡­ The behavior we saw just a moment ago was not dwarf-like at all, at least from what I know. Admittedly, I¡¯ve never met one in person until now, but still. Even if they¡¯re not particularly nice even to their own, what happened at the station was most certainly excessive.¡±


    ¡°Did you see how nobody even batted an eye at the sight of the beating?¡± I asked, while both of us seemed to realize we had no hooks.


    ¡°I did¡­ It was as if they were all in a trance of some sort.¡± Amelia groaned.


    We fell silent for a moment and weighed our options in terms of both fishing and our rather bleak situation. We looked nothing like dwarves.  To appear even remotely believable, we¡¯d need to have our legs cut at the knees.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    A memory hit me. An idiotic, pointless and completely stupid memory from my early youth.


    ¡°I have¡­ ideas¡­¡± I spoke quietly. Amelia slowly turned to look at me. ¡°Bad ones.¡±


    She replied with the most ¡®Oh no¡­!¡¯-kind of look.


    ¡°I might know how we can disguise ourselves to look like dwarves.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind¡­¡± Amelia didn¡¯t even need to hear my idea to come to the conclusion it was going to be a bad one.


    The memory I mentioned a moment ago was of a circus. I was very young, still oblivious to the situation regarding my health. It was one among the first good memories I remember of my past life.


    I was there with my parents.


    There was¡­ a clown? It was a clown show about a bank robbery, I believe. The robber was this incredibly short clown who walked a bit funnily and was dragging a huge bag of money behind him. I remember being shocked to my core when I saw him at the end, where all the circus talents bowed to the audience.


    He was a totally normal, if not a bit taller than any average man!


    I remember asking my parents how the man changed his size so easily, and they simply told me it must have been magic.


    Thinking about it as an adult, I think I figured out the trick.


    The man was walking on his knees, with his lower legs hidden inside the bag of money. He had shoes on his knees, giving the impression his legs were just really short.


    He was walking funny because obviously, it would be difficult to walk on your knees with shoes on.


    Unsurprisingly, Amelia thought I was mad as I explained the idea to her. Realistically, we didn¡¯t really have a lot of options here. We were stranded in an unknown, hostile country, where being even the size of a shorter human was enough reason to get beaten to death.


    ¡°First dust explosions and now this? You clearly have no sense of self-preservation¡­¡± The poor paladin groaned.


    ¡°Right? We could at least try, though. Even if the guards at the gate see through our disguises, we¡¯d still have plenty of opportunity to escape, and if we do end up being able to enter the city, we might be able to obtain papers one way or another.¡±


    ¡°I hate how lacking I am with ideas¡­¡± Amelia grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I can argue against your lunacy, when I can¡¯t come up with anything better to offer as an alternative.¡± The poor woman seemed a bit defeated over having to go along with my craziness.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t knock it until you try it!¡± I tried to cheer her on to no avail.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the other plan?¡± She slumped her shoulders dejectedly.


    ¡°Other¡­plan?¡± I tilted my head.


    ¡°You said you had PLANS as in multiple.¡± This was true. She was correct. I simply forgot for a moment.


    ¡°RIGHT! The other one...is only related to fishing.¡± All I could do was smile sheepishly. I¡¯m sure she was hoping it¡¯d be some sort of alternative to the disguise plan.


    ¡°Ahhh... I don¡¯t even know what I got my hopes up for.¡±


    Amelia was quite impressed with my fishing plan, though. Impressed enough to get a bit upbeat, even. We made a simple float out of some slightly magically charged wood bark, and the fishing line was made out of string we pulled from Amelia¡¯s clothes. The string was tied around the floating piece of wood and a worm was bound to the underside of the little boat like how cartoon villains tie up the damsels in distress.


    The water was clear enough for us to see when a fish was coming to the surface to steal the worm, and at that moment, I cast a lightning spell to electrocute the surface of the water. The magic symbol was carved into the little wooden piece itself! It was like a¡­land¡­water mine, waiting patiently for the unsuspecting fish.


    As I mentioned before, the sigil of thunder only produced effects comparable enough to something akin to static electricity, but when activated in water, it had enough kick to at least stun the fish momentarily.


    Amelia was quick enough to swim and pick up the temporarily knocked out fish. It was a pretty slow method, but it worked. I also got some much-needed long-distance casting practice out of it, so it was a win-win all in all.


    With a few fish in tow, we returned to the forest, meanwhile the sky was growing darker already.


    ¡°So, I don¡¯t suppose we¡¯re meant to disguise ourselves as dwarven women?¡± Amelia spoke as she walked ahead of me a bit. ¡°I hear they¡¯re dainty enough to be comparable to dolls, not to mention how they¡¯re supposedly even smaller than the men.¡±¡¯


    ¡°Eh!? Really?! Mmmmghh¡­ I didn¡¯t know that. I expected them to just be¡­miniature humans.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. They have a rather unique anatomy. While all I¡¯ve seen are pictures, the man we saw up close was a textbook example of a dwarven man. They have shorter limbs, a bit stouter midsection, and they¡¯re usually extremely muscular.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ So, if anything, we¡¯d have to disguise ourselves as men¡­¡± I pondered as we walked along. ¡°We¡¯d need quite full beards, huh?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Our voices would also be a dead giveaway. How would we deal with that?¡±


    ¡°Gaahhhh¡­ I¡¯m starting to get why you were so incredibly against the idea¡­!¡± I squirmed in place as we walked through the forest. As we went on, I ended up tripping and falling on my face, but luckily, the moss on the ground was soft. ¡°Whuaaa!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­! Um¡­ Are you okay¡­?¡± Amelia didn¡¯t seem too concerned over my wellbeing due to the padded landing spot.


    ¡°WHAT ABOUT MOSS!?¡± I lifted my face out of the wet moss.


    ¡°NOBODY HAS A GREEN BEARD!¡± The paladin snapped back at my idea.


    ¡°GAHHHH¡­¡± I rolled onto my back and began staring up at the trees lazily. ¡°What the hell are we supposed to do then¡­?¡±


    My eyes wandered around. There were a lot of birds¡¯ nests in the trees. I¡¯m guessing most likely due to the forest being the only area in the cave that had trees in it. Upon closer look, it seemed like a lot of the nests were made of what looked like wool¡­or even¡­beard?!


    ¡°AMELIA! BEARD!!¡± I pointed at the nests.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± She shook her head and then looked up. Her expression grew a bit puzzled¡­until it brightened a bit. ¡°That¡¯s not¡­beard. Isn¡¯t it usnea?¡±


    ¡°Howatt??¡± I got up with Amelia¡¯s help.


    ¡°I believe it¡¯s some sort of fungus¡­and it does¡­indeed look like a beard.¡± She sighed as she finally realized we now had a functional beard replacement. ¡°It grows in forests where the air isn¡¯t polluted.¡± She ended her nature exposition, glancing at me. My eyes were sparkling.


    ¡°IT¡¯S LIKE FATE!¡± I proclaimed loudly.


    ¡°Whatever your concept of fate is, I hate it.¡± She sassed back at me.


    With that, our beard issue was solved. While the stuff did look really haggard, when piled up properly, it simply looked like a REALLY DIRTY and clumpy beard. Some of it was somewhat greenish, but a lot of it was also more in the hues of gray.


    The darkness in the forest grew as night drew ever nearer. I was eating the fish with Amelia, but sadly, we didn¡¯t really have much in terms of salt or spices. The fish was a bit mild in flavor, but it was very satisfying to bite into.


    We still had the issue of creating those big bags and dwarf-like clothing. I was weighing on some ideas, when I noticed Amelia had laid down to rest.


    ¡°Good night.¡± I piped up as I kept tying the weird beard-usnea-pieces together.


    ¡°Forgive me for leaving you alone like this¡­ My offer still stands.¡±


    She was already asleep before I managed to retort. I chuckled a bit to myself and kept working on the beards. While it was definitely darker than during the daytime, the cave never went quite as dark as proper nights did. It was easy enough to see for me to continue my task of creating the manliest of beards.


    I hummed to myself and kept knitting until I was done. The beards were full and ragged! Surely, we¡¯d look like true men of the forest with these. I nodded in approval of my handiwork, before I realized how young the night was.


    There wasn¡¯t a whole lot I could do, but wander around. I didn¡¯t want to go into the forest by myself, though. Sure, it wasn¡¯t as dark as it could be, but it was more than dark enough for me to not want to go exploring at this hour. Who knows what kind of horrors rise from the earth upon nightfall.


    A small twinge of something shameful ran up my spine as I looked at Amelia sleeping so soundly in the moss.


    Shiftily, I looked around a bit before gulping dryly. I took my worn-out shoes off and slowly crawled to Amelia.


    ¡°A-Amee¡­liaaa¡­? You awake¡­?¡± I whispered. There was no reply.


    I looked around once more, before I awkwardly laid down on my back next to her. I was a good meter or so away from her¡­for the sake of uh¡­personal space!! Yeah¡­that¡¯s right¡­


    ¡°Mmmhhm¡­.¡± Amelia mumbled something in her sleep, and it caught my interest a bit, so I rolled a bit closer to her. It totally was simply curiosity over her mumbling! I didn¡¯t crave the warmth of her embrace at all! I swear!


    I leaned in to listen in on Amelia¡¯s sleep talking, but to my shock, she rolled over me a bit! She was totally spooning me at this point!!


    My mind was racing!! I had never had any kind of human contact like this in my life¡­ What was I supposed to do in a situation like this!?


    Ah¡­she was so warm and soft¡­


    WAIT! No! I definitely needed to put some effort into getting free!


    ¡°Whr¡­.am¡­¡± My panic was cut short by Amelia, who suddenly made an almost comprehensible sentence.


    My ears perked up as I snuggled up to her a bit to listen better. It definitely wasn¡¯t because of her incredibly soothing warmth and softness! I was just curious!


    ¡°Bones¡­?¡± She mumbled.


    Bones? What the hell kind of dream was she seeing? Now I was actually a bit curious, so I began to listen more closely¡­and then, a huge chill ran down my spine.


    Out of Amelia¡¯s partially open mouth, a cold air flowed out, very faintly. Alongside the coldness flowed words. They were a bit like whispers, but there was a notably wavy presence to them¡­almost like the chilly air coming out of Amelia¡¯s mouth somehow carried them.


    ¡°What if I told you¡­there was a way to get your daughter back¡­?¡± The cold air whispered out of her mouth. My eyes were wide. What the hell was this?! What was going on?!


    I rapidly got up and began shaking Amelia, but she didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°AMELIA!! AMELIA!! What¡¯s wrong?! Who¡¯s speaking in there!?¡± I screamed, but she stayed asleep. I leaned in to listen again.


    ¡°Whuh¡­do you mean¡­¡± Amelia¡¯s own voice spoke in a less clear mumble.


    ¡°The witch¡­ I can teach her necromancy¡­ Magic to raise the dead¡­¡± The cold whisper continued.


    ¡°HEY!! WHOEVER YOU ARE! GET OUT OF HER HEAD! DON¡¯T YOU FEED HER THIS BULLSHIT!!¡± I screamed at Amelia, but the whispering voice seemed to ignore me, or it simply couldn¡¯t hear me.


    ¡°Magic¡­to raise the dead¡­¡± Amelia repeated.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Wouldn¡¯t you wish to have your daughter back¡­?¡± The frozen air flowing out of Amelia¡¯s mouth kept luring her.


    ¡°Yes¡­yes I would¡­¡± The knight replied quietly as her eyes began to tear up. The big dollops trailed down her cheeks as she slept.


    ¡°AMELIA!! I DON¡¯T KNOW WHAT THIS SHIT IS!! BUT IT¡¯S DEFINITELY NOT GOOD!¡± I shouted at her, shaking and slapping her, but again, there was no response. She seemed completely paralyzed by whatever was locking her within that dream.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Amelia interrupted my panic.


    ¡°But¡­?¡± The cold voice repeated.


    ¡°I do¡­not think it¡¯s my decision to make anymore.¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was shaky, the tears kept flowing out as her voice grew clearer, almost like she was fully awake. ¡°My daughter¡­ I truly love her¡­and I wish I could see her again¡­.¡±


    ¡°All the more reason to rely on the darkness of the witch¡­necromancy can bring your precious daughter back¡­¡± The voice kept hissing through her mouth.


    ¡°But¡­what if Amy doesn¡¯t want to come back?¡± The weeping mother wept in a soul crushing sigh.


    ¡°Of course, she does¡­she loves her mother¡­¡± The voice kept tempting her.


    ¡°No! Death isn¡¯t something that simple¡­ If life and death were convenient enough to be denied by magic, this world would be a paradise where nobody had to die or suffer anymore!¡± Amelia continued.


    ¡°YES! Amelia! Don¡¯t trust the voice! I don¡¯t know what the hell necromancy even is! Even if I did! I¡¯m a monster! I don¡¯t think anything good would come out of it!!¡± I protested, whether she could hear me or not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to disrespect the passing of my daughter by yanking her soul back from wherever she has found peace. Death is inevitable. To some it comes faster than to others. As cruel and unfair as it might have been for my daughter, death itself isn¡¯t to blame.¡± Amelia argued. She had an air of conviction to her voice despite the shakiness.


    ¡°Death¡­isn¡¯t to blame¡­?¡± The hissing voice quieted down to a point where I had to lean in closer to hear it properly.


    ¡°No! Whatever this necromancy you speak of is, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a direct offense to the very nature of death itself! I don¡¯t know what unholy nonsense you¡¯re trying to get me tangled up in, but KEEP MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THIS!!¡± Amelia screamed the last words with enough force to cause my ears to ring. Due to her sudden increase in volume, I had to pull my head further away from her.


    ¡°Cur¡­o ¡­s¡­ ns¡­.¡± I couldn¡¯t hear what the ghastly voice said. I was too far off¡­and then suddenly, Amelia¡¯s eyes were wide open.


    I scurried over to her, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her. ¡°AMELIA! Amelia!! Are you okay!?¡±


    The paladin seemed perplexed over my state. ¡°Wh-whuh? Did something happen? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean¡­? Don¡¯t you remember?¡± I stared at her in disbelief. She simply stared back at me, looking puzzled.


    ¡°Remember what¡­?¡±


    I fell back on my butt. Amelia didn¡¯t remember¡­ It was as if she didn¡¯t have that conversation with the frozen voice to begin with. What was it then? Did I imagine it¡­?


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Why am I¡­¡± Amelia began wiping her eyes, as she finally realized she had been crying in her sleep.


    I took a moment to calm down and explain what happened to Amelia. She had no memory of the conversation she had with¡­whatever entity she talked to in her dreams. Her tears were the only reason I knew I wasn¡¯t hallucinating the whole event.


    Oddly enough, Amelia didn¡¯t dismiss my words as nonsense. She didn¡¯t have any recollection of what happened as she slept, but somehow, she believed I spoke the truth.


    The most fearsome thing about the whole ordeal, was how I was completely unable to wake her up. Whatever took hold of her in her sleep was strong enough to keep her under, even with me shaking and slapping her.


    We agreed I¡¯d rest close to her from now on, so I could hear if she ever started seeing that weird dream again.


    I felt a bit bad about my original reasoning for laying close to her to begin with, but it probably was for the best considering the circumstances.


    Amelia slept for a few more hours afterward, but she didn¡¯t begin mumbling in her sleep again. She rested peacefully as I watched her carefully, listening for any potential noises.


    As the brightness in the forest began to grow, my adventuring companion finally woke up.


    I was too nervous about the events of the night to really worry about anything else, which¡­ I guess in a really weird sense is a good thing?


    ¡°Did I mumble in my sleep again?¡± It was the first thing Amelia asked as soon as she opened her eyes.


    ¡°No. You slept like a baby.¡± I was relieved to see she was okay.


    ¡°Very well. Forgive me for the fright I gave you.¡± She bowed at me politely. She was an earnest woman for such a ladykiller.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! How about you pay me back by making something nice to eat for breakfast?! I don¡¯t know whether I feel hunger or not, but the satisfaction of eating things is not lost on me!¡± I declared, feigning my real mental state a bit. I was still a bit nervous, but I was also simply glad Amelia was okay.


    ¡°Hah! You got a deal.¡± The knight stood up and stretched a bit, before she walked into the forest. I decided to follow her.


    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re coming too?¡± She smiled.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind. I can¡¯t help but still be a bit worried.¡±


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a worrywart.¡± The paladin giggled in a surprisingly girly manner. ¡°You are more than welcome to do so! How about we discuss our plans for today?¡±


    I walked along and explained to her how the beards would work, but there was still the issue of lacking clothes¡­ Which brought us to the next subject matter.


    ¡°So, how do we get dwarven clothing?¡± Amelia smiled as she collected some herbs while we moved along. Sadly, I wasn¡¯t very helpful with my lack of an arm, so I did my best to at least be good company.


    What better way to be good company to Amelia, but with another crazy plan! ¡°We need to rob a caravan.¡± I stated matter-of-factly.


    Amelia just dropped her herbs and stared at me with eyes of immense disbelief. I get she must have been quite out of her element with my crazy ideas, mostly because they went completely against the morals, that she had valued her entire life.


    ¡°I must still be asleep. I seem to still be getting tempted by some sort of a shadow demon.¡±


    ¡°Nope! You¡¯re totally awake! Let¡¯s rob a carriage! I¡¯ve seen them driving around near the roads a bit of a ways away from the forest.¡± I declared cheerily.


    ¡°NNNNNNGHHHHH¡­¡± Amelia¡¯s sense of justice was being tested as she convulsed in the moss. It was clear she REALLY didn¡¯t want to go through with this.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯ll just threaten them a bit and steal their stuff! We won¡¯t hurt them!¡± I tried my best to reassure her.


    ¡°THAT DOESN¡¯T MAKE IT ANY LESS ILLEGAL!¡± She screamed into the moss, which muffled her rage ever so slightly.


    ¡°Well¡­do you have a better idea?¡± I tried my best to not snicker as I spoke because I already knew the answer to my question.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ No.¡± She almost shouted into the moss.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to pull you into this¡­ But I don¡¯t know-¡°


    ¡°I know¡­! You wouldn¡¯t be safe robbing people as you are¡­! But one day!! Just so you know! ONE DAY! WHEN YOU FIGURE MAGIC OUT! I¡¯ll leave this immoral nonsense to you!¡± The paladin kept shouting into the moss.


    ¡°Deal.¡± I smiled a bit apologetically and helped her up.


    From plans to action. We began taking notes on when the carriages would travel down the road. We didn¡¯t have a clock, so we could only make rough estimates based on the brightness of the day.


    Around midday, a rather poorly guarded caravan ran all the way to the train station. From observing it a bit, it seemed to be the ride of a noble who happened to be working in there in some administrative position. Whenever he¡¯d get out of the cart, a few guards would walk up to him and greet him politely.


    For whatever reason, the carriage seemed to be full of more stuff when it returned than when it went. I wondered if it was used to transport something out of the station?


    ¡°Okay. The next time it drives away from the station, we strike.¡± I explained to the nervous paladin, who sat right next to me in a bush we were hiding in.


    There was a somewhat paved road that went all the way from the station to the city. It was honestly quite poorly kept. The surface of the road was worn out and there were big potholes on it about once every twenty meters or so.


    ¡°Something is seriously fishy about this kingdom¡­¡± Amelia whispered under her breath.


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°While the dwarves look as they did in the books I read back in Rachasia, their behavior is completely off. That gigantic stalagmite castle is not a feat any other race, but dwarves can make. They are known for their immense skills in handicraft of various sorts.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­! You mean the disrepair of the road? It is weird, isn¡¯t it!¡± I piped up.


    ¡°As much as I hate your illegal ideas, I am admittedly curious to see what is going on behind the castle walls.¡±


    ¡°The tree is infested with snakes.¡± I quoted the text we found on the dead man.


    ¡°You mean¡­ The tree refers to the castle?!¡± She peered up at the vast structure extending far into the distance. ¡°That¡­ I didn¡¯t think about¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about it later! Now¡¯s our chance!¡± The carriage started approaching us in the distance.


    We jumped out of the bush with a mighty war cry! The horses got spooked and started dashing around a bit.


    ¡°YAAAAGH! WHAT!? BANDITS?!¡± The dwarf riding the carriage screamed and the horses stopped.


    ¡°ARRRRGGGG! GIMME ALL YOUR MUNNNEHHH!¡± Amelia grumbled. I almost burst out laughing the moment she said it. WHAT WAS SHE EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE?! A BANDIT OR A PIRATE!?


    ¡°YARRRR! THAT¡¯S RIGHT!! ARRR!¡± I went along with Amelia¡¯s character.


    To my amusement and immense surprise¡­IT WORKED.


    The dwarves were absolutely horrified to see humans attacking them. It was clear their initial perception of us was basically that of monsters, and luckily for us, it worked in our favor.


    ¡­ Somewhere in the back of my head, I had a feeling they were just scared of our crazy behavior, though.


    Even some more guarded dwarves dropped their weapons and surrendered at the sight of our towering height¡­ and Amelia¡¯s fearsome ¡®ARR¡¯s...


    We only took what we needed, and conveniently enough, the carriage was carrying a bunch of old dusty clothes. I didn¡¯t quite understand why they¡¯d need to do it so frequently coming from a train station, but it¡¯s not like I really had the time to ponder on it. As soon as we gathered the supplies we needed, we fled into the tall grass, leaving the cowering dwarves screaming for help.


    ¡°Hahahahah! That was exhilarating!!¡± I giggled as we carried our haul into the forest.


    ¡°IT WAS AWFUL! WHAT DO YOU EVEN MEAN!? Ahhh¡­! I¡¯m so ashamed of myself!¡± Amelia lamented dramatically.


    ¡°HEY! You were a great highway robber! Your ARRR¡¯s were totally natural!¡±


    ¡°YOU BE QUIET!!¡± She flailed; her ears were red like a beet¡­ I was content, though! I finally discovered her weakness!! INJUSTICE! Whenever she bullies me with her infinite handsomeness, I¡¯ll in return swing back by forcing her to commit petty crimes!


    The momentary laughter helped us focus less on the slight air of nervousness. Our sneaking missions were now becoming a reality, but would it really be worth the risk?

 Chapter 7: The Mana Siphon

    After calming down a bit, we finally got a chance to go over our loot. We got some clothes covered in a weird ash-like substance. They were definitely going to be better off with a good washing. Amelia also stole a simple short sword for herself.


    We also got a small box of select textiles and accessories. I could only make haphazard guesses to the why the group was carrying around such random items.


    To our good fortune, there were big goggles and some sewing supplies inside the accessory box. They would definitely help conceal our identities on the sneaking mission.


    We fashioned the outfits together with some trouble, and while they were certainly crude, they did conceal our bodies completely.


    The outfits consisted of long-sleeved, turtle-necked shirts and baggy pants with many pockets. My shirt had a polka dot pattern, and Amelia¡¯s was checkered with red and brown. The beards were tucked partially into the shirts. The sleeve with my missing arm was filled with more of that tree-beard stuff to make sure I wouldn¡¯t stand out too much.


    As planned, we had big bags fashioned together from sewing a bunch of the rags we stole into single pieces. We filled the bags with herbs and some animals Amelia hunted to act like we¡¯ll be there to sell our catches.


    We tied stolen leather shoes on our knees with some leather straps. Our legs were in turn hidden inside the colorful knitted fabric within a secret compartment we sewed on the bottom of the bags. That way, even if someone were to dig the bag empty, they wouldn¡¯t see our legs. To conceal the rest of our faces, we had the goggles and big leather hats with some sort of straps to their sides.


    All in all! We looked fashionably awful! But¡­this was about the best shot we had for now, so no point in nit-picking!


    Night soon fell, so we decided to get some rest before the big day tomorrow. I rested a small distance away from Amelia in order to make sure I¡¯d hear if she started speaking to herself again.


    No such thing occurred however, and it turned out to become a quiet and slightly chilly night. The dwarven outfit was a lot less filthy than the wolf pelt, so I opted to use it to keep warm instead. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the hair that got burnt at the back of Amelia¡¯s head had recovered at all.


    Maybe I could check it out later. For now, I decided to just rest my mind. I tried to figure out some sort of happy place to think about¡­ but my life hadn¡¯t been a whole lot of fun so far¡­


    While I did enjoy my time in this world despite all the horrors I had encountered so far, thinking about all the things that have happened here simply got my adrenaline pumping, so it was out of question in terms of a happy, relaxing place.


    Upon really thinking on it. I realized I¡­don¡¯t have a happy place to go to. My happiest memories from the past have twisted into unpleasant ones due to how people¡¯s attitudes towards me changed when they realized I was a burden.


    I really¡­really needed to make sure I remained useful to Amelia. I couldn¡¯t let myself go back to being unnecessary baggage again.


    I wondered if I could figure out magic better, maybe I¡¯d become more beneficial to have around. It was kind of disappointing, to be honest. A vast majority of the witch sigils I remembered from my past life didn¡¯t actually end up doing anything. But A COUPLE of them did. It felt a bit weird. Why did only a couple of them work?


    Was it just a coincidence? Or was there something I didn¡¯t truly understand about them?


    Admittedly, while the sigils of stuff like fire and water were straightforward to figure out. There were also sigils with considerably more vague meanings, like ¡®Solid¡¯. What would a solid spell even do? Maybe it was to be some kind of body strengthening thing?


    Honestly, now that I thought about it¡­ The sigils were weird to begin with. Why did the symbols all have single word meanings in the first place? The words were completely random too! I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if the words were like ¡®Darkness¡¯ or ¡®Curse¡¯ or ¡®The Moon¡¯ or something. Those would have at least been thematically appropriate, but all the sigils¡¯ meanings I remembered in addition to the three elements were ¡®Solid¡¯, ¡®Sky¡¯, ¡®Earth¡¯, ¡®Heart¡¯, ¡®Faint¡¯, ¡®Clear¡¯, and ¡®Reflection¡¯


    As you can probably figure from here too, they were completely random words, and no¡­ ¡®Sky¡¯ and ¡®Earth¡¯ didn¡¯t actually correspond to something like wind or earth element magic.


    They did nothing.


    None of these words did. I remembered a few other sigils too, but I couldn¡¯t remember their meanings if they ever even had any. Something about¡­my memories from the past were a bit weirdly fuzzy.


    I remembered about the witches, I remembered some of my life experiences, I remembered my misery. But¡­ I couldn¡¯t¡­remember what I looked like¡­or what my name was, somehow. Thinking back on it, I wasn¡¯t sure anymore if I remembered my name at the moment Amelia asked for it either¡­


    Somehow Yverna had become so natural to hear even though it wasn¡¯t my name originally.


    ¡°Mmmgh¡­¡± Amelia began stirring. To my surprise, the dawn was already breaking. Did I really spend that long thinking about magic? It felt as if time just flew by.


    ¡°Morning.¡± I spoke softly and adjusted myself a bit. The air had grown warmer already, so I no longer needed to cover myself up so well.


    ¡°Morning¡­ Did I¡­do the thing again?¡± A faint twinge of concern was more than clear in Amelia¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Nope! You were totally quiet all night.¡± I tried to give her my best reassuring smile.


    ¡°Good. Maybe it was just something trying to possess me in my sleep then?¡± She pondered a bit groggily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it gave up, huh!¡± I nodded, and soon we had some breakfast.


    After the breakfast, it was time. TIME FOR INFILTRATION! I was honestly pretty nervous about it all. In my opinion, our outfits were rather convincing, but there was always the fear of stuff like¡­what if the dwarves had some kind of a secret greeting¡­ Or some cultural quirk we didn¡¯t know about?


    Sadly, for me, there wasn¡¯t really any realistic way of finding answers to my questions outside of testing things out, marching into the hornets¡¯ nest was the only option¡­again.


    ¡°Guuhhhh¡­.¡± Amelia groaned as she ¡®walked¡¯ with me. Walking on our knees was insanely hard after the first few minutes of doing so.


    ¡°Mmmmghh¡­ We probably look like penguins waddling around like this¡­¡± I joined Amelia¡¯s groaning chorus.


    ¡°P-penguins¡­?¡± The knight replied.


    ¡°O-oh, right. Uh¡­ It¡¯s a bird that lives up north. They swim instead of flying.¡± I explained. ¡°They have a silly waddling gait. I¡¯ll draw you one sometime.¡±


    ¡°H-how exotic¡­ I wish I could see them¡­ In fact, I wish I could be doing anything but whatever this is¡­¡±


    I honestly didn¡¯t even know if this world had penguins. I kinda blurted it out without thinking, and soon we started getting closer to the castle town gates already, giving us no chance to discuss the odd birds further.


    The gigantic stalagmite castle was also surrounded by a rather large city. The urban area was on the ground, and it was built around the biggest stalagmite in a circular shape. There were tall stone walls all around the place to protect it¡­from¡­something? I couldn¡¯t figure out what the stone barriers were for, considering there were no monsters here to begin with.


    To my relief, the guards didn¡¯t seem to inspect the dwarves walking in and out for passports or any paperwork of the like.


    ¡°You there! What¡¯s in the bags?¡± A surprisingly tired voice asked us somewhat quietly, as one of the guards walked up close to us, pointing at Amelia¡¯s bag.


    ¡°Game¡­ and some herbs.¡± Amelia spoke in a low, grouchy voice. It¡­was not a good male voice at all, but for whatever reason, the guard didn¡¯t seem to pay any attention to it.


    The guard took a moment to browse through the contents of both of our bags. Luckily, he didn¡¯t seem too concerned over our slightly staggering movement, simply yawning and letting us go.


    I¡¯m sure if I had a heart, it would have been beating like crazy at the moment. I couldn¡¯t believe it! We got in!! And so easily too!! Amelia seemed to share my excitement¡­until we got to see what awaited us there.


    ¡­


    My general idea of what a dwarven kingdom would look like had something along the lines of blacksmiths around every corner, immaculate architecture all over the place, bars and pubs and loud laughter echoing on every street.


    ¡°W-what the¡­hell¡­?¡± Amelia whispered at me shakily.


    The sight expanding before us was haunting. The dwarven citizens were slowly walking up and down the streets in wave-like masses. Their clothes were stained with a gray ash. It looked like the same kind of strange soot our stolen outfits were originally covered in, too.  Clothes aside, the people themselves were the most sinister sight. Be it men or women, or old or young, they all looked incredibly tired to the point of looking almost withered. Their skins were pale and unhealthy, most dwarves¡¯ hair was turning gray at the tips in the most unnatural manner¡­and the silence. The silence was the most foreboding of all.


    Nothing but the footsteps of the gray masses made noise. Not a single person was talking.


    The stillness was suddenly broken when a carriage ran through the street. It carelessly rode over one of the meandering dwarves, and a dry cough was all the poor man could muster out as the carriage continued onward.


    Not a single dwarf even turned their head to look at his twitching body now laying on the street, heaving weakly.


    I quickly pulled Amelia to a narrow alley and began whispering to her quickly.


    ¡°W-what is this? Why are they like this?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I cannot tell. Are they perhaps under a spell of some kind?¡± She questioned hastily.


    ¡°As inexperienced as I am, I can still sort of feel if things have mana to them¡­ There is barely any on these people! I¡¯d imagine I¡¯d see at least something if they were cursed!¡± I hissed in response. My voice was panicked, too.


    Now, that I was actually looking at the dwarves¡­ Didn¡¯t they have way too little mana? There was¡­almost nothing. I know I¡¯ve commented on Amelia¡¯s lack of mana a few times¡­so I¡¯ll use it to put things into perspective here. I don¡¯t think I saw a single dwarf with even half of what Amelia had.


    Several of them were almost completely devoid of those glimmering sparkles of magic. Like¡­ Even inanimate objects had more than multiple dwarves here¡­and the ones with the least mana seemed to also be the ones with the least brain-function remaining.


    ¡°In fact¡­ I think they have¡­an unusually low amount of mana to them¡­¡±


    My words got a curious gesture out of Amelia, but before I managed to elaborate, someone was screaming on the streets.


    A dwarven woman, or perhaps a girl? It was difficult to tell. The dwarven females were honestly so doll-like, it was very hard to decipher their age at all, so for the sake of clarity, let¡¯s just call her a lady.


    The little lady was being dragged along by the guards, as she was trying to run away from a long queue leading to a massive hourglass-shaped structure.


    ¡°What the hell is that¡­?¡± I gasped under my breath.


    ¡°What do you mean? The strange hourglass?¡± Amelia questioned, squinting her eyes in an attempt to see it better from the distance we were from it.


    Obviously, she¡¯d be unable to understand my expression. I don¡¯t know what kind of face I must have been making, since even Amelia seemed to grow steadily more worried the longer she looked at me.


    ¡°W-what is it!? Yverna!? What do you see?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­one of those¡­THINGS again¡­¡± I managed to utter shakily as my skin began to crawl.


    The men dragged the poor screaming lady to the hourglass, only to force her to touch a metal plate on the front of it.


    Instantly, the hair of the dwarf began to gray out, her skin began to lose color¡­and soon enough¡­she was meandering into the masses brainlessly just like the rest of her kind.


    ¡°No¡­¡± I shook my head, for I knew what this was all about. ¡°Not again¡­¡± I gasped and turned to Amelia. She was looking back at me with eyes full of concern.


    ¡°What?! What is it? Yverna! Speak to me!¡± She continued begging me on. Of course¡­ Amelia wasn¡¯t able to see it because she couldn¡¯t see mana.


    Or the lack of it.


    Deep underneath the strange glimmering sand the glass kept within laid a pitch-black spot. An immense darkness so murky, not a single sparkle of mana could escape its surface.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of those stones¡­!!¡± Cold sweat slid over my skin.


    The memory of the eerie hand print painted on that flat, smooth stone flashed through my mind. I couldn¡¯t see it, but I was certain there was one embedded at the base of the hourglass because to this moment I could not forget that horrid feeling of being near one.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­when I was¡­back in the kingdom¡­¡± I began stuttering at Amelia. ¡°I was offered a choice by the judge before getting exiled¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia listened in dead silence.


    ¡°Touch a strange stone¡­or get exiled to the swamps.¡± I continued. ¡°But the stone they brought in¡­was immensely sinister in all senses of the word¡­¡± I gripped onto my clothes tightly, as if trying to grasp for some semblance of safety. ¡°Do you remember how I told you about my magic theory? About how everything needs mana to exist?¡±


    ¡°I do, yes.¡± Amelia nodded seriously.


    ¡°I can see mana. It manifests in these little sparkles around everything, but these stones¡­they eat it.¡±


    ¡°Eat the mana?!¡± Amelia gasped.


    ¡°That¡¯s the best way I can really put it. I haven¡¯t seen a single thing outside of these weird pieces of rock that are devoid of magic! Not to mention how they seem to drain the energy of everything around them to boot!¡± I went on.


    ¡°What in the world¡­?!¡± Amelia turned to look at the hourglass, wide-eyed.


    ¡°The people¡­they¡¯re not cursed! They¡¯re barely conscious because of being drained of almost all of their mana!¡± I began finally noticing the gray ash piles all over the streets. Upon closer inspection, they had some soot-coated clothes mixed in the grey mass. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°NO¡­.¡± Amelia finally understood as well.


    ¡°We are¡­coated in the ashen remains of fully mana-drained dwarves¡­¡± I managed to finally cough out.


    ¡°Ghuuu¡­¡± Amelia began gagging.


    Just like how the wooden pieces I used to cast spells with always turned to gray ash after being drained of their mana¡­ I suppose the same applied to the denizens of this underground kingdom.


    ¡°W-why?¡± Amelia asked shakily. ¡°It¡¯s their own people¡­why would they do this!?¡±


    Before I managed to even weigh in with my speculations, a clattering on the main street caught our attention. It was the distinct sound of armored footsteps. I had grown used to it from listening to Amelia walk around before she lost her plating to the dark swarm within the dungeon.


    I assumed it¡¯d just be dwarven guards or something, but the reality of the sight left me completely stunned.


    Towering over the dwarves was what looked like a glimmering illusion. A human male, clad in gold, followed by two guards with similar armor, their white capes waving as they proceeded.


    And the most horrifying thing of all¡­


    ¡­ Were that perfectly gilded hair¡­coupled with emerald green eyes on the man walking front and center.


    I was clearly not alone with this realization. Amelia¡¯s eyes were filled with shock and confusion, and she seemed like she wasn¡¯t sure if she was seeing things right. I honestly couldn¡¯t blame her for it, either.


    The man wore armor somewhat reminiscent of that found in pictures of ancient Greek. He was clad in gilt metal from head to toe, giving him a somewhat heavenly feel with how much he shone through the gray mass everywhere.


    He was accompanied by two other guards wearing similar armor with helmets that concealed their identities completely. Small wing-shaped decorations made of white feathers adorned the sides of their helmets, making them stand out as they followed their supposed leader.


    Most intimidating of all, were their broadswords. Each knight had one in a sheath, but from the amount of magical power leaking through, it was more than obvious they were not your average weapons. I didn¡¯t know what kind of magic they were imbued with, but simply the sheer amount of mana the group was glowing with was enough evidence that this wasn¡¯t an every-day knight squadron.


    ¡°The donations seem to be coming along perfectly well.¡± The golden-haired man spoke in a slightly flippant tone as he walked.


    ¡°Yes! Sir Godwyn! It is as you say. The siphon is functional, and the donations are running as always.¡± One of the heavily armored men behind him spoke.


    ¡°Good work! Shall we go celebrate with a cup of the finest dwarven wine?¡± The golden-haired man chuckled.


    As he walked along, a dwarf from among the gray masses suddenly grasped onto his leg and began speaking in a scream.


    ¡°PLEASE!! PLEASE STOP THIS!! The princess! How are we supposed to help her like this?! Nothing has changed! Please!! Our people will be drained to death if this goes on!! My wife¡­! My wife hasn¡¯t opened her eyes in weeks!!¡± The dwarven man pleaded to Godwyn, the gold-plated man. The human responded with a sneering smile.


    ¡°Ah! Well! Aren¡¯t you passionate to helping the greater cause? Of course, a peasant such as yourself would have no understanding of our vast knowledge. Fear not, for you will be most helpful to this nation by keeping your foolish mouth shut¡­and by keeping your foul grubby hands away from my shoes.¡° Godwyn kicked the dwarf hard enough to draw blood to the point of it being noticeable even from where Amelia and I were observing from.


    The little man was left crying on the ground, only to begin screaming as the guards of his own kin grabbed him by the arms and began dragging him to the hourglass. He was rapidly silenced by the so called ¡®siphon¡¯.


    ¡°Monsters¡­¡± Amelia grunted under her breath.


    ¡°You can say that again¡­ What¡¯s with golden haired beauties being scum in this place¡­!?¡± I repeated Amelia¡¯s sentiment.


    Amelia¡¯s fist was shaking. It was more than clear she wanted to rush in to help, but we both knew it wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    ¡°I know how you feel¡­¡± I pat her on the back. ¡°But we can¡¯t go rushing in without thinking. How about we tail those golden creeps and eavesdrop on them a bit?¡±


    With those words, Amelia calmed down a bit and nodded at me. ¡°Agreed. I¡¯m sorry¡­it just¡­frustrates me so much to be this powerless...¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ I wish I could help too, but maybe we can figure out some other way to approach this situation with additional information. You know, knowledge is power!¡± I cheered the paladin on.


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s do this.¡± And with that, we departed.


    Constantly at a good distance away, Amelia and I followed the out-of-place humans into a restaurant of some sort. Luckily for us, it was one of those places where you pay after eating, so no questions were asked as we pointed to a table close to the golden group.


    ¡°And what will the gentlemen be having today?¡± A somewhat tired looking dwarven man came to us as we were browsing our menus.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t had much for a good while¡­ Mind if we think on it a bit longer?¡± I grumbled with my awful dwarf-voice. Luckily, the mana-drained waiter was too tired to question our words, so he simply smiled faintly and walked off.


    It took the group a while to begin speaking, but with some alcohol acting as lubricant, their tongues became less reserved. To my surprise, they began to speak in a language I couldn¡¯t understand, but Amelia¡¯s eyes focused, and she suddenly began translating it for me.


    ¡°Help my wife! She¡¯s sleeping!¡± One of the knights began. Booming laughter loud enough to startle a bunch of the other guests erupted. Amelia was gritting her teeth as she repeated their words,


    ¡°What did you expect of these dust-sniffing fools.¡± Godwyn spoke.


    ¡°Hear hear! A toast to the Order! Our supply of choralium is essentially guaranteed now.¡± The other guard lifted his glass.


    ¡°Not to mention getting two birds with one stone¡­ To think it would be this convenient to feed the siphon. The rebirth of our Goddess is soon at hand¡­¡± Godwyn spoke under his breath.


    ¡°I suppose we should cheer for more blessings incoming too, huh?¡± The guards sung in unison.


    ¡°TO OUR NATION OF GOLD! CHEERS!¡± The men cheered on. From then on, they simply began eating.


    Amelia and I exchanged some nervous glances, hoping to hear some more, when suddenly, a voice spoke next to us.


    ¡°Ahem¡­ Excuse me sirs. I must ask you to leave¡­! The odor from your¡­bags is bothering some of the patrons of our fine establishment¡­¡± The dwarven waiter stood before us with a couple of armored guards.


    Needless to say, there wasn¡¯t much room for arguments. We walked out to the streets without too much of a hassle as to not alert any more guards to our presence.


    ¡°I have a terrible feeling about this.¡± Amelia spoke as we walked along the less crowded alleys.


    ¡°What was that language? How¡¯d you know of it?¡± I asked my companion while we hid in the dwarven masses.


    ¡°It¡¯s Highlander. It¡¯s a human language specifically designated for those of higher standing. A select few nobles speak it as their native tongue, but it¡¯s otherwise not too commonly used. As a part of the royal guard schooling, I had to study it.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­ So, I¡¯m guessing their purpose of speaking it¡­¡±


    ¡°Was to hide how ill their intent towards these people is¡­¡± Amelia finished my sentence. ¡°How vile¡­¡±


    ¡°What was that all about the princess¡­and¡­what is choralium¡­?¡± I held my head. ¡°There are too many unanswered questions¡­¡±


    ¡°Not to mention the ¡®Goddess¡¯ Godwyn mentioned¡­and a nation of gold? Is that about Rachasia? Or something else? The golden demon in my memories was an outsider too, just like this Godwyn. Is the nation of gold their place of origin?¡± Amelia was deep in contemplation as well.


    ¡°Mmmmh¡­ Should we try to do some recon work?¡± I blurted out without thinking.


    I had to stop myself for a moment. What was I doing¡­? I was rushing straight into danger¡­ While it was possible, we could figure out important things by exploring the city, surely just following the original plan was safer. We could find some passports in here somewhere for sure, and with how mentally absent people were, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say we could easily manipulate the people to forge us official papers.


    We had been through enough life-or-death situations already, and adding more to the stack didn¡¯t seem like a great idea. Getting lucky a couple times is one thing, but we would definitely end up regretting it, if we bet our lives on good fortune too many times.


    ¡°Amelia. Before we begin. Let¡¯s talk.¡± I was speaking in a rather serious tone, but as soon as I saw Amelia¡¯s face¡­


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Aghhh¡­¡± I slapped my hand on my face. Amelia¡¯s eyes were shining. It was as if the other one read SHINING and the other one JUSTICE. She was ABSOLUTELY invested in helping these people out. ¡°I suppose¡­ It¡¯s kind of pointless of me to ask if you¡¯re really down to risking your life again¡­for the sake of these people we don¡¯t know at all.¡±


    Amelia seemed to be taken aback by my words a bit, and she seemed to realize what I was talking about.


    ¡°Oh¡­! R-right¡­¡± She sighed heavily. ¡°I¡­I understand¡­ I suppose we shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Her expression darkened. Going against such a massive conspiracy happening in a place completely hostile and unknown to us was definitely a terrible idea, but¡­


    ¡°Do¡­ You want to help them?¡± I exhaled as Amelia¡¯s eyes turned from dark to sparkles again. She looked at me hopefully and gently grasped my hands.


    ¡°Would you¡­please allow me to?¡± She asked in an adorably hopeful tone.


    ¡°Ughhhh¡­¡± I murmured and rolled my eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t look cute at all, asking that with a damn forest beard¡­¡± I slapped her shoulder and then straightened my back a bit. ¡°Fine¡­ What¡¯s a fantasy adventure without throwing yourself into danger completely pointlessly¡­¡± I let out an exasperated noise.


    ¡°Fantasy¡­?¡± Amelia repeated.


    ¡°Never mind¡­ Let¡¯s just do what we can, okay? But no overexerting allowed!¡± My declaration wasn¡¯t particularly stern, but Amelia was the type to respect it anyway.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± My paladin of justice smiled happily. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t feeling uncertain about the decision to help these people out¡­


    We hid in an alley to reorganize our thoughts again. There were numerous mysteries in the air and sadly, there seemed to be no convenient answers randomly floating around.


    ¡°So¡­what do we have?¡± I asked Amelia, sitting down on the pavement. We both crossed our arms in deep contemplation.


    ¡°We know there is a princess¡­ The golden monsters are after something called ¡®choralium¡¯¡­ a mineral, perhaps? It would make sense considering our location.¡± The knight stared up at the blue faux sky.


    My curiosity got piqued by her comment. ¡°What makes you think it¡¯s a mineral?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t minerals usually have names ending in ¡®ium¡¯. Palladium, titanium, adamantium, and so forth.¡± The paladin explained. I honestly didn¡¯t even know that. It would make sense, though¡­ Maybe there was some kind of valuable mineral here that the so called ¡®golden kingdom¡¯ was after. Also¡­is adamantium even a real metal? It sounded pretty fantasy-like.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I sat around for a moment, looking around the street. ¡°I wonder if we could go check out a bar or something? They¡¯re usually good for gossip, right? Alcohol seemed to loosen the lips of Godwyn and his group, too.¡±


    Amelia lifted her head up quickly. ¡°Not a bad idea!¡±


    ¡°Shall we then?¡±


    Sadly, as if to mock my dwarf fantasies, the bar was basically dead. Only a few people were around, and a deafening silence seemed to absorb even our footsteps into its socially awkward stillness.


    There was one red haired and bearded man totally wasted, the barkeep squeaking the same glass while staring at a wall, and last but not least, a man slowly blowing bubbles in a jar of pickles. He was so green from the pickle juice, it was about impossible to determine the original color of his beard.


    After wandering around awkwardly, we finally decided to bet on the wasted man. People in places like this should have high enough alcohol tolerance to be able to speak to us at least moderately comprehensively, I figured.


    ¡°Ay¡­ The guards are being assholes again¡± Amelia grumbled in her awful fake male voice.


    ¡°Hrrrmmmph... Nothing surpishing¡­¡± The drunken dwarf laughed. He seemed still conscious enough to have a conversation! Lucky!


    ¡°We¡¯ve been hunting and living in the woods for a while¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± I spoke in my equally awful male voice. I felt a pang of guilt for judging Amelia on hers, for mine was just as bad, if not worse.


    ¡°Bwahhaha¡­ Lucky bastards¡­ Better get outta the city fast ¡®fore the guards getchu¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are the guards behaving like that?¡± Amelia questioned.


    ¡°I dunno¡­something about¡­the princess and whatnot¡­¡± To our annoyance, the drunk began acting coy all of a sudden.


    With a sigh and a groan, I spoke up. ¡°Think we could loosen your lips with some mead¡­?¡±


    ¡°Now yer speakin¡¯ my language!¡± He piped up, swinging his empty mug around.


    You might be wondering how we were able to pay for the drinks, but seemingly rabbits were an acceptable currency to the barkeep. He simply opened his cash register and stuffed the dead animals inside¡­ It was¡­a strange sight to say the least.


    With the power of alcohol, the facial muscles of the dwarf seemed to loosen up enough to start speaking.


    ¡°It all shtharted when shhhe princhessss went and got hershelf cursed¡­¡± The drunkard started.


    With how incoherently he spoke, I feel it¡¯s easier to understand if I translate his words a bit.


    It seems like a year or so ago, the beloved princess of the dwarven kingdom of Subtherma was struck by a curse. Supposedly the princess was always a bit of an adventurous type and some monster had caught her off guard on one of her journeys.


    While she was found before the monsters could do anything to her, she has been fully immobile as if her entire body were made of stone since.


    Some time ago, the human men appeared with claims of a cure for the princess. Nobody really seems to know who they are, and yet, they were welcomed with open arms by the king, who loved his daughter like nothing else in the world.


    The drunkard depicted the king with less than flattering terminology.


    ¡°Ssshat stupid stone-faced piece of shait¡­.¡± This was the title the king was described with.


    Ever since the human men had come in, a law was placed in the kingdom, decreeing that nobody must exit or enter without a royal permit. The citizens were forced to be mana siphoned to supposedly provide mana for an anti-curse in order to dispel the hex on the princess.


    ¡°Anti-curse my ass¡­ They¡¯re just draining people¡¯s mana for no reason¡­¡± I swore under my breath¡­ and then it clicked. I rapidly stood up in realization, causing my beer to fall over. ¡°AH! SORRY!¡± I screamed in a rather non-manly voice, and both the barkeep and the drunk man gave me quite a stare.


    ¡°OHTHANKYOUTHISWILLBEALL!¡± Amelia blurted out rapidly and dragged me out of the bar. We rushed through the streets. ¡°What is it?! What did you figure out?¡± She hissed at me as we walked while some guards were pointing at us.


    ¡°Hey! You!¡± One of them shouted, and with that, we booked it.


    Luckily for us, the guards at the gates were too tired to realize we were being chased, so as soon as we made it out of the city, we stood up and fled at full force. Luckily for us, we managed to escape with ease by disappearing into the misty tall grass of the vast open fields.


    The sky was slowly growing dark. Both of us were panting as we finally reached the forest.


    ¡°THE PAPER!! The paper on curse theory!!!¡± I basically screamed at Amelia.


    ¡°W-what about it?¡± She shook her head in confusion.


    ¡°The golden people are claiming they¡¯re using the siphon for an anti-curse, but the paper we found on the dead dwarf was saying curses don¡¯t last forever unless the victim is fed constant mana!!¡± I gasped. ¡°THE TREE IS INFESTED WITH SNAKES!! THE GOLDEN MONSTERS ARE REPEATEDLY CURSING THE PRINCESS!!¡± I shouted with such vigor I feared it would leave my throat sore. ¡°THEY HAVE TO!!¡±


    ¡°What?! Then why are they collecting the mana?!¡± Amelia stepped back in shock.


    ¡°It¡¯s that accursed stone!! Something about it¡­for some reason, the golden-haired people feed mana to those weird stones by absorbing it from people! I think it has something to do with¡­the resurrection of their Goddess or whatever!!¡± I went on in a frenzy.


    ¡°Wait¡­didn¡¯t the paper say¡­something about an advisor being ¡®one of them¡¯?¡± Amelia¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°THAT HAS TO BE IT!!!¡± I slapped my thigh with my hand. ¡°THE ADVISOR IS THE ONE WHO IS CURSING THE PRINCESS! The anti-curse is just a fa?ade to manipulate the masses into getting their magical energy siphoned!!¡±


    I fell onto my butt on the mossy forest floor, panting from all the running and shouting. Amelia seemed at a loss for words, and I couldn¡¯t blame her. The situation in the kingdom was absolutely horrifying.


    The poor dwarves were being forced to march mindlessly in the corpses of their own people without even realizing it. They were being drained of their mana against their will while being manipulated into believing they were doing a good deed for their beloved kingdom.


    It was like a waking nightmare. Why does everything in this world make it seem like a bad dream?! How sadistic and evil were these gilt monsters?! Why did it seem like everywhere they went, only death and misery followed suite?


    ¡°Since when has humanity been capable of such evil¡­?! I was always taught to be just¡­and only do what is right¡­ What is this madness?!¡± Amelia was shaking with fury.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to make things worse¡­ but those knights and Godwyn. They were no joke. I don¡¯t know what is up with them, but they¡¯re all overflowing with mana all the way to their weaponry.¡±


    ¡°Enchanted gear too!?¡± Amelia¡¯s exasperation was clear enough.


    ¡°Do you know of it?¡±


    ¡°I have¡­ It¡¯s a luxury only nobles of the highest caliber can afford. I don¡¯t know the actual details of the process, but it involves embedding mana-conductive metal into the equipment.¡±


    ¡°I-is that what you called¡­mana circuits?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Indeed. Mana circuits allow the users to cast spells the weapon is embedded with little to no effort. It also works on defensive tools like armor.¡± She went on. ¡°We¡¯re essentially up against an army¡¯s worth of enemies with just those three¡­ Not to mention the hostility of the dwarves¡­the mad king¡­the advisor¡­!¡±


    ¡°Things really seem stacked against us¡­¡±


    The shadows cast by the forest seemed darker than usual. Their stillness felt oppressive and stifling to the point where I had to get up. With a bit of wobbling, I began walking to the clearing where our camp was. The faint light of the night illuminated the spot in blue.


    It gave even the safety of our camp an immediately melancholic atmosphere¡­


    With the severity of our current situation, it felt almost poetic¡­


    In a most foreboding manner.

 Chapter 8: Deathly Echoes

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything we can do¡­?!¡± Amelia sighed and slumped against a stone sticking out of the mossy forest floor.


    I wanted to answer to Amelia, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything reassuring to say. Literally, every living and breathing thing outside this forest was an enemy. How in the world would we be able to do anything?! And even if there was something we could do, where were we supposed to even start from?


    Saving the people? Fighting the golden knights? Destroying the siphon? Saving the Princess? Catching the advisor? The options were clouding my mind¡­


    We sat in silence deep into the night. At some point, I noticed Amelia had fallen asleep, and I bet she was exhausted. I sighed and walked over, gently laying her down on the ground properly, placing the wolf pelt underneath her head to act as a pillow.


    Maybe it was simply to distract myself from the dark thoughts for a moment, but I gently felt the back of Amelia¡¯s head. To my surprise, her hair had grown back considerably. The tips of her hair were still charred and hard, but a visit to a hairdresser would surely take care of them. I figured even fantasy worlds must have hairdressers, considering how fashionable a lot of the people I had met so far were.


    Suddenly, Amelia began sleep talking again.


    ¡°Whhait¡­ Why do I know¡­this¡­place¡­¡± Amelia¡¯s mumbling was a bit difficult to understand again. I instinctively grabbed onto her hand.


    ¡°Amelia¡­?¡± I questioned her quietly at first. ¡°AMELIA!!¡± I shouted¡­and she didn¡¯t wake up.


    ¡°Wher¡­were you not¡­just bones¡­last time?¡± She spoke to someone within her dream.


    ¡°WHAT IS IT?! What do you see?!¡± I tried to plead to her, but she didn¡¯t react.


    ¡°Who¡­are you?¡± Amelia¡¯s voice got clearer yet again.


    ¡°I am¡­ What you yearn for¡­¡± The cold whisper exited her mouth breathlessly yet again.


    I decided against screaming and panicking and chose to listen in a bit closer this time. As I focused, I felt the icy voice might have belonged to a woman.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall yearning for a withered corpse¡­¡± Amelia replied in a hushed sigh, but I could still hear the sarcasm in the tone. I don¡¯t know what kind of nightmare hellscape she was seeing, but it was somehow reassuring to see how cool she was even in her dreams.


    ¡°How crass¡­¡± The voice seemed to almost chuckle.


    ¡°What do you want? Why do you keep feeding me these strange dreams?! I somehow lost my memory of the last one until I was brought back here again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have plenty of questions¡­¡± More chilly air flowed out of the knight¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°¡­ And why do you look like this, when you were just a pile of bones last time?!¡± Amelia continued.


    ¡°L-like I said¡­¡± The cold voice seemed a bit annoyed.


    ¡°NO! I¡¯ve had enough of this mystical nonsense!! IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT! NAME IT! OTHERWISE, LEAVE ME BE! I HAVE ENOUGH ON MY PLATE ALREADY!¡± Amelia was rather intimidating when she got loud, even while asleep.


    A moment of silence followed, and what sounded a bit like a long sigh ensued. It was a bit hard to discern, but that¡¯s what it seemed like to me.


    ¡°I have a few questions. They will not harm you in any way. Simply answer them honestly and I¡¯ll let you wake up¡­¡± The voice was definitely annoyed now.


    ¡°Go ahead then!¡± Amelia declared loudly.


    Another moment of silence followed. I was honestly a bit thrown off by this. Amelia¡¯s force of will was truly nothing to laugh at! Somehow, she seemed to be in charge even with whatever this magic induced dream was¡­ but wait¡­


    Upon thinking about it, I tried to focus my eyes on Amelia to see if there was any unusual magic on her¡­but to my surprise, there was none.


    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­magic?¡± I spoke to myself quietly. ¡°What the hell is trying to communicate with her?¡±


    ¡°Question one¡­¡± The voice began again. ¡°If you could return one person from death, who would it be¡­¡±


    ¡°Nobody. Death isn¡¯t a game.¡± Amelia replied bluntly.


    ¡°Question two¡­ If you were to find out¡­someone close to you has died once, only to reincarnate with their memories in-tact¡­what would you think of that?¡± A chill instantly ran down my spine. Who in the world was this person Amelia was talking to?! This sounded a lot like they were directly referring to me¡­


    ¡°My condolences to them.¡± Another blunt reply was provided.


    ¡°Condolences¡­? Why?¡± The voice questioned.


    ¡°A human mind isn¡¯t designed to last forever. Even if the prospect of an endlessly repeating life might seem like a good thing on the surface, after some time everything will feel dull and meaningless when you have already experienced it endless times. Death is what gives life meaning, so a life without death is a life without meaning.¡±


    ¡°You seem to respect death a lot.¡± The voice somehow seemed a bit more energetic.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been taught to do so by my parents.¡± Amelia¡¯s tone of voice remained stern.


    ¡°Ah yes¡­ Clement and Fatima¡­ were they not?¡±


    ¡°How do you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Do not concern yourself over it too much¡­ I see¡­ I see. Is this respect towards the concept of death also the reasoning behind why you do not wish to see your daughter again?¡± The cold voice¡¯s line of questioning went on.


    ¡°I¡¯d greatly appreciate it if you didn¡¯t misconstrue my words. I do not think there is anything in this world I desire more than meeting my daughter, but that will have to happen naturally. Circumventing death is not a fate I wish to bring upon my loved ones, even if it pains me to accept their absence.¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was shaking a bit upon the mention of her want for seeing her daughter again¡­and yet, that noble conviction remained strong nonetheless.


    A silence followed suit¡­ it felt almost as if the ghost voice were gauging something up.


    ¡°Last question.¡± The voice then finally broke the silence. ¡°Do you fear death?¡±


    ¡°I do not. Once it is my time, I will welcome it with open arms.¡± The shakiness in Amelia¡¯s voice was gone.


    ¡°Very well. You qualify, so may we meet again.¡± The voice spoke and Amelia¡¯s expression calmed down a bit.


    She began breathing calmly again, until suddenly, her eyes jolted wide open.


    ¡°NNNGHHHHH!!¡± With a violent gasp, Amelia began grasping at her upper abdomen.


    ¡°AMELIA!!! WHAT¡¯S HAPPENING?!¡± I panicked and helped her up.


    ¡°It¡­ burns¡­!!¡± She seemed to be squirming in pain, so I pulled up her shirt, only to discover something bizarre.


    Right about in the spot where your ribs split to give way to the stomach, there was a pitch-black symbol of some kind. Amelia was screaming while smoke rose from the dark pattern. As much as I tried, I still couldn¡¯t detect a hint of magic in the marking.


    What in the world was this bizarre non-magical energy?! Or maybe there was something concealing the magic somehow?


    ¡°Amelia!! What can I do to help!?¡± I tried pressing my hands on the symbol, only for it to heat up and cause the paladin to shriek even further. ¡°I¡¯M SORRY! I¡¯M SORRY!!¡±


    Before I managed to think on it more, Amelia began calming down. Her face was bright red, as if she had a fever.


    ¡°Wa¡­.er¡­!¡± She gasped dryly.


    ¡°W-water?! WATER!! I¡¯ll go get some!!¡± I dashed off and stumbled a bit as I filled the soup pot with cold water from the nearby stream. Amelia hastily grabbed the pot from my hands and began downing the water like she was possessed.


    There was steam rising from her chest! STEAM!! People don¡¯t steam!! The water did seem to alleviate her pain a bit, so she began gradually calming down.


    ¡°What¡­was that?!¡± I shook my head, unable to really do anything else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I was in a big field of¡­absolute darkness¡­ There was white grass and¡­ I think butterflies¡­ In the midst of it all rested a strange white throne with a mummified corpse on it¡­¡± Amelia¡¯s voice was a bit hoarse.


    ¡°A mummified corpse?! WHAT?! That¡¯s so creepy!¡± I commented with slight hyperbole to my voice. Admittedly, I wasn¡¯t even that surprised anymore with all the awful horrors we had been through.


    ¡°H-hahah¡­ Not something I¡¯d expect to hear out of a literal monster¡­but yes. It had a very strange air to it.¡± Amelia began observing the symbol on her body.


    ¡°Do you recognize it? Did it appear in your dream? Did you get cursed or something?¡± I bombarded her with questions. Amelia¡¯s skin was bright red around the black marking.


    The marking looked like it was a part of her skin now, almost like a tattoo. As mentioned before, it was black and consisted of squares on slightly different heights being connected by a thin line. There was an empty square on each bigger one as well.


    ¡°It looks like a branding mark¡­like a stigma.¡± She commented.


    ¡°A what¡­?¡± I worried while keeping my hands away from her, just in case my touch would make her burn again.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sign of being touched by¡­something.¡± It seemed like Amelia was unclear on what the symbol signified. ¡°I honestly am just as lost as you are.¡±


    ¡°Does it hurt? Feel strange anywhere?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ My body feels fine now.¡± Amelia replied, while pulling her shirt back down. ¡°Did you hear anything of our conversation?¡± She turned to look at me after finishing with her clothes.


    ¡°I did¡­ The whole conversation, I think. The voice asked you a bunch of weird questions about death¡­¡± As the tension left my body, I realized how tired I suddenly felt. It was as if my limbs were made of lead, so I slowly wobbled to a resting position.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand a thing about what happened¡­ but I remember now.¡± Amelia followed suite and laid down on the moss next to me. ¡°The first time¡­the being was just a bunch of black bones. This time it was a mummy. It was almost as if¡­¡±


    ¡°It was¡­growing¡­or traversing back in time¡­?¡± I finished Amelia¡¯s sentence.


    ¡°Back in time¡­? I didn¡¯t think about that¡­but that would make sense! Interesting perspective!¡± Amelia piped up. Somehow, she seemed quite energetic about it.


    ¡°You seem unusually cheery for someone who just got possessed by a literal horror scenario.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ It was quite frightening, but at the same time¡­ I feel like a small weight is off my chest.¡± She began speaking. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lot¡­ About death.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± I replied quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve contemplated taking my own life too.¡± She spoke rather nonchalantly, considering the severity of the topic¡­and yet. It didn¡¯t really surprise me.


    ¡°I figured.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Now that I lay here in the moss with you¡­ I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t.¡± Amelia quieted down a bit. ¡°I felt like my life was completely without meaning after I was betrayed by my love¡­and forcibly torn away from my child.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I remained quiet.


    ¡°But somehow, I feel like putting my thoughts about the situation into words in front of whatever that thing in the dark was, has cleared up my mind.¡± Her voice cheered up a bit.


    ¡°I am sad Amy died¡­ But maybe I still have things to do in this world, before it is time for my passing.¡± She shifted to her side to look at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty cool¡­¡± I mumbled without thinking, then blushing and slapping my hands over my mouth.


    ¡°PHUA¡­!¡± The paladin mom chuckled. She began giggling a bit louder, until she was howling with laughter.


    ¡°H-hey¡­ Shut up.¡± I mumbled grumpily, face beet red.


    ¡°Yverna¡­!¡± She sighed after she was done with howling at me. ¡°Thank you for not leaving me by my lonesome¡­ If I had died there in that hut, I¡¯m sure I would have never come into terms with the death of my daughter. Who knows what kind of evil spirit I¡¯d have become.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Mmmph¡­¡± I pouted, blushing still. ¡°I¡¯ll make you commit more petty crimes as revenge for making fun of me!¡± I threatened her.


    ¡°Oh nooo¡­!¡± She began laughing even more.


    She kept making noise for a good hour or so. Eventually, it caught onto me too, and we rolled around in the moss and hollered like lunatics, until the day broke properly.


    ¡°So¡­we¡¯re just gonna ignore the unholy symbol that now decorates your skin?¡± I asked Amelia as we were dressing up in our disguises again.


    ¡°Is there much else we can do to begin with?¡± Amelia did have a point.


    ¡°Just let me know if it starts burning again or something.¡± I mumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll come and scream like a headless chicken, since that¡¯s all I seem to be good for when it comes down to this stuff.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡± She gave me a stupid thumbs up.


    Looking up at the stalagmite range reminded me once again of the lunacy of our mission. While Amelia seemed to be okay even after the events of the night, we were still pretty much without a plan.


    I sat down on a rock and peered up at the structure extending all the way to the ceiling. This world truly didn¡¯t let up, and it was as if there were monsters and horror behind every corner. How did the people of this world stay sane surrounded by this mu¡­wait¡­


    ¡°Wait¡­ Amelia¡­¡± I pointed at my companion. ¡°Do you still have that notebook from the dwarf?¡±


    An affirming nod was provided as a response. ¡°I do.¡± She dug up the notebook for me.


    I began hastily browsing through the pages. ¡°Here¡­ I thought something was weird. I just had to confirm to make sure.¡± I browsed further, until I came across the page explaining how curses work. ¡°It says black magic is something exclusively monsters can cast.¡±


    ¡°Ohoo¡­! And what¡¯s that going to do to help us?¡± Amelia tilted her head at me.


    ¡°WELL! It means there is a monster in the dwarven kingdom¡­and guessing based on the other clues we have, I bet it¡¯s the advisor.¡± I shared my thoughts with my companion with a mild sense of excitement.


    ¡°OH!! I see!!¡± The knight smacked her fist in her hand. ¡°I¡­somehow started normalizing the thought of having a monster companion because of you! But¡­that¡¯s not normal at all, is it?!¡± She nodded eagerly.


    ¡°YES! I AM NOT NORMAL! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!¡± I sassed at her in response to her choice of words. ¡°But¡­yes. Why would the dwarves suddenly let a monster inside their castle, when it was a monster that cursed the princess to begin with.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mmm¡­ That is a good question.¡± Amelia crossed her arms and began to ponder. ¡°What if they¡¯re somehow disguising the monster as a dwarf somehow?¡±


    ¡°Are there monsters like that? Like some sort of shape-shifters or something?¡±


    ¡°There certainly are. I have encountered plenty of such when I was still on duty. Doppelg?ngers, face eaters¡­not to mention the hollowed.¡± She began listing various kinds of monsters I had never heard of. I can¡¯t say I was really up for finding out what the hell a ¡®face eater¡¯ was to begin with.


    ¡°Even if the people in the kingdom can¡¯t tell the monsters apart, we still can!¡± I mused, leaning back.


    ¡°We do?!¡± Amelia turned to look at me from her position of contemplation.


    ¡°I can see mana. If we find a creature concealing itself with magic, I should be able to detect it.¡± I laid on my back against the moss.


    ¡°WHA?! That¡¯s spectacular! As expected of a witch!!¡± Amelia bounced up.


    But then, a moment of silence fell upon us again. I think both of us realized, that even if we ended up being able to detect the monster, if it truly was the king¡¯s advisor, that would mean we¡¯d have to most likely infiltrate the stalagmite castles.


    Who knows how far up the king¡¯s chambers were.


    How would we ever be able to go through while remaining undetected?


    ¡°I think our best bet is to start a commotion.¡± Amelia spoke up.


    ¡°UM!?¡± I was a bit surprised about the lunacy of the plan, but even more so, a plan about being a public nuisance coming from Amelia?! AMELIA! THE PARAGON OF MORALITY! I was definitely a bad influence on her.


    ¡°How about we take care of two birds with one stone.¡± Continued Amelia. ¡°We hit the hourglass with something, for it¡¯s clear it¡¯s important to the golden monsters. Considering the strangle hold they seem to have on the dwarves, I imagine they¡¯d have the authority to mobilize all the troops to come after whoever is putting the hourglass in danger.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ That¡¯s true, but wouldn¡¯t that essentially be a suicide mission? How in the world would either one of us escape from a situation like that?¡±


    ¡°You can activate magic from a distance away, right?¡± The paladin asked, and soon I think I was starting to understand what she was after.


    ¡°You want us to like¡­build a bomb or something and detonate it from a distance away?¡±


    ¡°You caused that big explosion in the cave with the insects too¡­ Do you think you¡¯d be able to do something like that again?¡± Amelia¡¯s tone of voice was quite hopeful.


    This damn paladin basically seemed to think I¡¯m some sort of terrorist¡­ While I certainly wanted to be threatening and cool¡­ I DIDN¡¯T EXPECT IT TO END UP LIKE THIS.


    ¡°Mmmghh¡­ The issue is that we don¡¯t have dust this time. To make something explode, you need¡­you know. The explosive material.¡± I pondered aloud. ¡°What could we possibly find underground that could make for an explosive?¡±


    ¡°What exactly can blow up like that in the first place?¡± Amelia questioned.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ Stuff like flammable dust¡­ Gas¡­ gunpowder¡­ and so forth.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Hrrrmmm¡­¡± Amelia began pacing around as she pondered. ¡°What exactly constitutes as a gas? Like something that smells bad?¡± She had a somewhat archaic understanding of chemistry.


    ¡°W-well¡­ Not alw-¡° I bounced up and began pacing around too. ¡°WAIT! YES!! Maybe we could use methane? I wonder if that would blow up?¡±


    Thinking back¡­ I really hated going to school. I had to take classes remotely online even when I was in the hospital, and I absolutely despised all of it because it felt so pointless. What¡¯s the point of learning all the completely irrelevant information¡­when you¡¯re going to die soon anyway?


    Now, while if I had been just¡­ normally dead after my passing, I guess my argument would have been sound. But here I was, remembering a class about cow poop¡­ and it was probably going to be helpful in the most unexpected manner.


    ¡°Methane?¡± Amelia repeated the strange word.


    ¡°It¡¯s a gas that is produced by stuff like¡­animal¡­droppings.¡± I explained. ¡°If we had a way to confine some of said droppings in a tight enclosed space, the gas would start building up inside.¡± I went on. ¡°We could place a piece of something with the magic sigil of fire drawn on it ahead of time inside the makeshift bomb.¡±


    ¡°And¡­then detonate it from a distance away!!¡± Amelia¡¯s face brightened up.


    ¡°Exactly. With enough fuel, it might even crack the surface of that massive hourglass, and even if it didn¡¯t, the blast should be big enough to cause a considerable commotion with the guards.¡±


    ¡°THAT COULD WORK!!!¡± Amelia¡¯s shining justice eyes were lit on fire once more. ¡°Let¡¯s get to it right away then!! I can go find some manure! I¡¯m sure the dwarves grow some sort of livestock somewhere.¡± The paladin was already ready to rush out.


    ¡°WAIT!¡± I stopped her. ¡°Remember! While the dwarves around are in a¡­lowered cognitive state, we did almost get caught yesterday. We might already be wanted people in the kingdom, so don¡¯t show your face around too much, even when disguised.¡±


    ¡°You¡­are correct. Thank you for reminding me.¡± She calmed down a bit, then nodding and waving at me. I suppose my role was decided for me. Amelia seemed to be down to do the literal dirty work, so I¡¯d needed to find a container to seal our bomb inside.


    Soon after Amelia had departed, I left on my own mission. I waddled through the plains towards the kingdom. Instead of getting close to the gates, where Amelia and I might have been recognized, I instead sat by the road where a number of travelers and such walked into the kingdom through.


    I watched a bunch of meandering dwarves drone on mindlessly. It was important to focus on their mana¡­ Focus on the ones with some mana remaining¡­ I had to find someone who would have enough energy in them to be able to at least hold a conversation.


    Mana did seem to recover naturally in ones¡¯ body over time, judging by how some of the dwarves with greyed out hair still had mana left. But it was slow, which was why being drained of it to this extent was so dangerous.


    ¡°Mmmh¡­? What are you sitting around there for?¡± An armored dwarf slowly walked up to me.


    ¡°Ah. Forgive me, brother. I am simply trying to find someone who could sell or trade airtight containers of any kind to me.¡± I replied in my awful dwarf voice.


    ¡°A container? What for?¡± He seemed a bit suspicious.


    ¡°W-well¡­recently my wife¡­¡± I sighed deep to emphasize my acting. ¡°She¡­ Has taken a lot more¡­ashen form. If you understand my plight, brother.¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡± The dwarf in armor was taken aback. ¡°I¡­ I see.¡± It was clear even the armored guards weren¡¯t doing this because they wanted to. They were unable to go against the word of the king. That was all. ¡°How about I go asking around for a bit?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d greatly appreciate it.¡± I patted his shoulder. The armored man rushed ahead a bit.


    After about fifteen minutes, a carriage of sorts stopped next to me. It seemed to be stocked full of various kinds of items, ranging from kitchen utensils to shovels and such.


    ¡°Ay! You the guy who needs a container?¡± A voice rang from on top of the carriage. A weakly smiling dwarven lady with greyed out hair peeked her head out to greet me. I looked towards the gate, and the armored dwarf was waving at me from there. He must have informed this merchant, so I gave him a thumbs up and then turned my attention to the dwarf girl.


    ¡°Aye¡­!¡± I nodded a bit shakily. It was my first time talking to a dwarven girl. They were pretty cute. Almost like walking dolls, just like how Amelia described them.


    The lady jumped down and walked around me for a bit, as if to gauge me somehow. Then she clapped her hands together and pointed to a small plain not too far off.


    ¡°How about we go conduct our business over there?¡± I had no reason to refuse her offer, so we did as she suggested.


    She guided me to the outer side of the carriage, almost as if to hide me from the crowd walking along the road.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s it gonna be, miss?¡± She began speaking.


    ¡°!!¡± I stepped back a bit. She figured me out?!


    ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t look so shocked¡­if not for the current state of our kingdom, nobody would fall for your stupid disguise¡­¡± She chuckled a bit tiredly as she began rummaging through her stuff.


    ¡°If you¡­already knew, then¡­why?¡±


    ¡°Why am I not reporting you? What¡¯d the point be anyway? Our beloved home is withering away like a dying animal.¡± She had a noticeable tone of pessimism to her voice. ¡°So, what¡¯ll it be? What are you planning? Hurting our people more, like the rest of your kind?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I stepped back, thinking on my words¡­ What should I say? Just be honest? Would she even believe me? They had been hurt by people enough already¡­


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She interrupted my thoughts.


    ¡°I want to¡­create an explosive¡­¡± I admitted. ¡°Something big enough to cause a commotion¡­¡± The dwarf cocked an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re planning on blowing us all up? Suicide bombing?¡± She chuckled tiredly. The poor creature seemed to have completely given up on life. Her eyes were dull and empty despite their doll-like visage.


    ¡°To blow up the hourglass.¡± My words caused her to stop moving.


    She tilted her head a bit, not even looking at me, almost as if to gauge if she had heard me correctly. ¡°You¡­what now?¡±


    ¡°The hourglass is not accumulating mana to cure the princess. It¡¯s a lie. I know a thing or two about curses¡­¡± I spoke rapidly. ¡°I want to destroy it¡­and use the chance to sneak into the royal castle.¡± I decided to lay my cards on the table.


    ¡°W-what the hell are you even saying¡­!?¡± The woman finally looked at me, rushing over. ¡°What do you mean?! The hourglass isn¡¯t to save the princess?!¡± She gasped hopefully, almost as if she were waiting to hear this.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a mana siphon. It just consumes your magic power¡­ I don¡¯t know why, but the golden-haired humans in the kingdom are using the princess as an excuse to drain your magic.¡±


    The dwarf went silent. She kept shaking her head slightly, her head was most likely trying to parse through the information all at once. ¡°¡­ And why should I believe a human? You¡¯re the cause of the problem in the first place¡­¡± The hopeful tone remained in her voice, almost as if she wished to be proven wrong¡­ To be given a reason to help me.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not a human¡­¡± I pulled my goggles off for a moment, revealing my eyes. A while ago, back in the hut, Amelia told me it was easy to tell a witch apart with a close look because they have burning orange eyes with sharp pupils. The dwarf girl clearly understood the implication as well.


    ¡°A witch¡­!¡± She gasped and stepped back. ¡°B-but why!?¡± She shivered; her complexion had turned even paler than before.


    ¡°I have a grudge towards the golden scum infesting your kingdom¡­ I don¡¯t care whether it saves your lives in the process or not¡­but I want to ruin those knights.¡± I spoke with my best cool-witch impression, and for the first time, it seemed to work. The dwarven lady was completely convinced.


    She gulped deep, then walked around to the back of the carriage and opened a big container that was sort of attached to the carriage itself.


    ¡°How big a container do ya need.¡± The girl spoke in a stronger tone.


    ¡°Enough to carry about ten to fifteen kilograms of explosive material.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Kilo¡­whatnow?¡± She tilted her head.


    ¡°Mmmmggg¡­.¡± I groaned and walked over to her, and she was just about to scream as I reached out to her. Even with just one arm, I was able to lift her with some effort.


    ¡°W-what are you?!¡± The poor little creature whimpered.


    ¡°About half your weight.¡± I confirmed.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Her eyes focused again; a glimmer of light seemed to return, so she began rummaging.


    After a bit of digging around, I was presented with a large box. It looked a bit like a small coffin that was made out of some strange material I couldn¡¯t quite recognize.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magical coffin.¡± The girl spoke, confirming my suspicions. ¡°It can be sealed by injecting some mana into it. They are used to keep our people''s remains preserved better in death.¡± She glid her hand over the surface of the item, staring at it a bit solemnly. ¡°It¡¯s complete sacrilege to make a bomb out of one. But if there is even a small chance to help our kingdom with this, then take it. As a witch, I¡¯m sure you can at least move mana around, so locking and opening it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have dropped this upon you.¡± I sighed and put my goggles back on.


    ¡°Psh! What the hell kinda witch even are you!? Apologizing to me? Seriously? I must be going crazy¡­!¡± Chuckled the girl. ¡°The coffin is made of mythrite. It¡¯s a magically conductive mineral. It¡¯s more decorative than sturdy, so it shouldn¡¯t hold when enough pressure builds up inside it from the ignition of¡­whatever you plan on blowing up inside.¡±


    I slid the coffin inside my bag and hid it under the game and herbs I still had there.


    ¡°What do you want for payment?¡± I asked the dwarf, but somehow, I already knew the answer.


    ¡°Our home back¡­¡± She spoke softly, almost as if on the verge of tears from simply saying it.


    ¡°Stay away from the kingdom for the following few days. I don¡¯t care what excuses you have to make. Keep everyone you love outside the castle walls.¡± I spoke to her as I began dragging the coffin.


    ¡°Please¡­¡± I could help a soft whisper growing more and more distant. ¡°Please help us¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t promise anything¡­¡± I bowed at her a bit in response.


    I eventually managed to reach our camp again. Amelia was there¡­and she was covered in¡­what I could only describe as ¡®waste¡¯.


    ¡°That¡¯s the container? It looks like a coffin¡­!¡± She looked a bit taken aback by my haul, as if her appearance wasn¡¯t shocking as well.


    ¡°It is one. I was given it by a dwarf lady.¡± I nodded sternly.


    ¡°I¡­ I see.¡± Responded Amelia. ¡°I feel a bit bad about what we¡¯re about to do with it.¡±


    I decided against telling Amelia about my encounter with the dwarven girl because we didn¡¯t need any additional stress to build up on top of what we already had going on.


    In total silence, Amelia began shoveling her¡­ acquisition into the coffin. We did as we had planned, filling it up with a bit over ten kilos of rather¡­fresh dung, and then a wooden piece with the fire sigil on it was placed inside the stinky bomb.


    I channeled some magic into the chest, focusing on only the coffin itself¡­and in an instant, the seams on the lid seemed to meld together into a completely airtight seal.


    ¡°And now we wait for the gas to build up?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Yes. And you need a bath.¡± I waved my hand around. God, it stunk to high hell.


    The coffin was left in the warmth of the open spot we had chosen for our camp¡­and then we waited.


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to stay back and create the commotion?¡± I asked Amelia after her bath. ¡°The other one will have to go find the advisor.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious it has to be me?¡± Amelia sat down somewhat close to me. ¡°I can¡¯t detect magic like you do. It has to be me. I¡¯m in better shape and sturdier than you are in the first place, so I have a much higher chance of running away from assailants successfully than you do.¡±


    ¡°True¡­true¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just a bit nervous, I guess. It¡¯s clouding my head.¡±


    Doubt filled my mind. We had everything ready for our plan, but how would we actually be able to pull it off? Even if I were to find the so-called advisor, how would I even convince the king that they¡¯re a monster? If they truly were to be a shape-shifter, I bet there was no way to discern them apart from your average dwarf.


    The drunkard in the bar we were to yesterday was also convinced the king had already gone mad. If there was any truth to his words, trying to use sound reasoning to get through to him didn¡¯t seem like a particularly effective plan either.


    Not to mention Amelia having to deal with a majority, if not all the kingdom¡¯s armed forces, and the golden trio of morally bankrupt lunatics.


    Maybe my knightly companion didn¡¯t care too much for her health, but she meant much to me already. I was not mentally ready to lose her.


    I had ¡®friends¡¯ back in my previous life, but they never lasted. Whenever any kinds of disagreements happened, the friendship was instantly over.


    I had never in my life ever gone through hardship or challenges with a friend.


    Yes, now that I thought about it¡­ I had always been secondary in importance to my friends. Whenever things got rough, whatever was more important to my friends than me came first, even if that thing were to destroy them in the end.


    I was afraid¡­this would repeat with Amelia. Her sense of justice was becoming self-destructive.


    We owed these people nothing, and we had no reason to help them, outside our self-serving sense of justice, so why did we have to risk our lives for this crap?


    Why did I have to risk the wellbeing of my only friend for this?!


    I didn¡¯t want to¡­


    It was too risky¡­

 Chapter 9: "Friends"

    I had a friend when I was younger.


    She was what I¡¯d call my best friend.


    Let¡¯s call her¡­ Bee, for the sake of simplicity. There is something about giving her an abbreviated name that makes thinking about this easier¡­ It¡¯s almost like I¡¯m just telling you a story, detached from the reality of actually living through the experience.


    This was when I was around ten years old or so. I had already been diagnosed, but the severity of the situation wasn¡¯t quite apparent to me yet. Due to being unable to play with the other children without getting exhausted fast, I was a bit of a loner when young.


    Sitting by myself and reading was the one thing I loved doing, even that early. It¡¯s kind of funny how teachers always praise you and celebrate the fact that you read a lot even though as a child, you should be playing with other children.


    That social interaction is way more important to learn, than what happens in Moby Dick. While books have essential lessons, there are plenty of things you can only learn with life experience.


    Such as social skills¡­


    Somehow, the teachers were always praising me for being so book-smart for my age, even though I was actually so socially awkward, I was unable to hold a conversation about anything apart from books with my peers for longer than a minute.


    Then there was Bee. She was a transfer student from another town. It¡¯s always awkward to transfer into a new environment, especially in the middle of a semester. Everyone had already formed their cliques and groups, so it was really easy to end up ostracized.


    This is precisely what happened to her.


    But, unlike me, she had at least a small semblance of social skills, so she approached me.


    I still somewhat remember the conversation¡­


    ¡°Hey. Whatchu reading?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I remember being a bit absorbed in my book, so I didn¡¯t realize she was talking to me. Generally, people of my age didn¡¯t come to me for a chat.


    ¡°Hey.¡± She went again. I remember finally peeking at her from behind the book.


    I would rather not describe her accurately because I feel that would¡­hurt too much, so let¡¯s say she had vividly orange hair and freckles. Otherwise, she looked completely normal and unremarkable.


    No distinctive features¡­ None at all.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ What did you say?¡± I mumbled awkwardly from behind my book.


    ¡°I asked what you¡¯re reading!¡± She laughed a bit.


    ¡°I um¡­¡± I staggered. I wasn¡¯t sure if she was laughing at me¡­or something else. ¡°Um¡­ It¡¯s called ¡®That time I got reincarnated as a potato farmer, but then it turns out my powers turn me into a potato. Now my goal is to become a salty and crunchy treat.¡±


    ¡°W-wha¡­?¡± She seemed quite stunned, and in retrospect, I can completely understand her confusion considering the word vomit I just spilled at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­an existential drama about¡­questions such as what it means to be human¡­and¡­what kind of potato chips taste the best¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what¡¯s¡­escistenteal?¡± She struggled with the word.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s like¡­when you don¡¯t know who you are¡­ And what your purpose in life is¡­ I guess?¡±


    ¡°So¡­ The hero in the book wants to be a potato¡­?¡± She tilted her head, and I¡¯m honestly surprised she managed to gleam as much from my description.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°That sounds funny! I watched a TV show about a guy who was a tomato, and his friend was a pickle just recently!¡±


    Bee had an air of naivety to her, and maybe that¡¯s what caused me to open up to her in the end, too. Instead of being treated like a know-it-all nerd, I was treated with¡­curiosity and a sort of¡­awkward respect.


    We began getting along quite fast, and we ended up really bonding over playing video games together. Our go-to game was about collecting and trading various pocket-sized monsters. The game design was built upon trading the creatures to complete your collection.


    Both of us got a different version of the games that contained different monsters, and we collected¡­traded¡­and giggled during sleepovers deep past our bedtimes.


    During those sleepover monster collecting nights, we usually talked a lot. This obviously caused us to get scolded for staying up too late multiple times, but that was only another part of the whole experience.


    One topic of the talks was my condition. I explained to her how my heart was weak, and because of it, I had to never get too worked up over things. I felt she really understood me, and I opened up to her about essentially everything I had ever thought of in my life.


    My triumphs, my failures, my fears, and my strengths. It was a liberating feeling to have someone to talk to, even if she wasn¡¯t really into books, we could still bond over many other things. I felt like, for the first time, I had someone my age to truly bare my heart to.


    It was a special time.


    A year and a half or so later, the gravity of my condition really dawned upon me. A miserable darkness laid its weight over my life instantly¡­and I was locked away in the hospital for the foreseeable future.


    Bee came over though, and it was the highlight of my life back then. She¡¯d always come over after school, and we¡¯d play games and talk about everything. It really helped me feel like everything was still normal.


    This continued until middle school ended.


    Along the time I spent talking to Bee through middle school, I came to notice something about her, which in retrospective might have been more than noticeable even when she was younger.


    She had this incredible desire to be acknowledged by someone she considered an ¡®authority¡¯.


    This manifested the most obviously in her frustration with her younger sisters.


    They were twins and quite a bit more proactive as people than Bee in general. They had sports-related hobbies and were quite competitive and pushy.


    Whereas Bee herself, while a bit similar when with people she knew well if she was put in an even slightly unfamiliar environment, her personality would tone down considerably.


    She was mostly completely overshadowed by her sisters, even though she was the elder sister. Or maybe that was why? Sometimes parents get the idea, that only the youngest child needs attention, even if the eldest is only older by a year or two.


    Either way, she was craving attention to a dangerous degree.


    I only ever found myself uncomfortable with her, when she got into arguments with her sisters. Physical violence was almost always the go-to solution to their problems. It wasn¡¯t like Bee was the instigator all the time either, so it just seemed like the twins and her simply couldn¡¯t get along at all.


    They¡¯d scream, pull hair and punch. The fights had to almost always be stopped by their parents.


    Unfortunately, Bee was almost always blamed. Sadly, something I learned much later on in social media, is that numbers matter. If you got more people behind you, you¡¯re more likely to be believed by those not privy to the details.


    Two versus one was enough to almost always make Bee the underdog.


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just me, but when neither party is crying and both are throwing punches, it¡¯s rarely just one person¡¯s fault. Not to say that Bee wasn¡¯t at fault, either. Her jealousy over her sisters was a really sour spot for her, and whenever we hung out, we¡¯d always stay away from her sisters.


    Obviously, her hatred towards them was completely misguided, but what kind of profound insight can you really expect out of a literal child? She just felt like her sisters were annoying, even though it was the fact, that her parents gave the twins more attention what truly bothered her.


    For Bee, acknowledgement was everything. She always studied in school like crazy, just so her parents and teachers would praise her.


    Eventually, I came to realize that¡¯s how she saw me, too. I was a bit older than her, and kind of opinionated on a lot of subjects. She was one of those people, who never really grow opinions or thoughts of her own, but instead mimic the opinions of whomever they happen to consider the ¡®highest authority¡¯ at the moment.


    I had a lot of opinions on things, so she would absorb a lot of my ways of thinking about various pointless subjects into herself.


    I was an authority because the subjects I talked about were simply something she was unfamiliar with. She¡¯d swallow anything I¡¯d say and tell her, simply to get my approval, for I was the authority on subject X simply because I was the first one to talk to her about it.


    Obviously, most of the things I probably told her were complete humbug. I was a stupid, socially awkward kid, and I most likely had nothing particularly informative to provide her.


    But enough of that.


    The change came in the transition from middle to high school.


    Bee¡¯s parents were doing well at their jobs, so they bought a new and bigger house further away from the place I was hospitalized at, and Bee moved over to a further away school too.


    While she kept visiting, it was about an hour-long walk from her school to my hospital, so the visits got considerably less common.


    As she visited more¡­ somehow, I felt she started to get more and more annoyed with me.


    I don¡¯t think I did anything different, and yet she found it frustrating to play the usual games and talk with me. She¡¯d give more coarse and swift answers to my questions, and she¡¯d generally stay quiet while we played our stuff.


    Summer vacation started, but I was stuck in bed, so seasons changing meant little to nothing, but something was certainly going on in Bee¡¯s end.


    For the next two and a half weeks, I got completely ghosted.


    She didn¡¯t reply to my messages or phone calls. I admittedly didn¡¯t call or message her a whole lot¡­ But it does kind of sting when on some messaging apps you can see when someone has read your message, and yet they choose not to reply for a long time.


    Then, after another week, she returned all dressed up, smelling so powerfully like perfume, she was stopped in the corridor and given a warning by one of the nurses.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s been a while¡± The person at the doorway was certainly my best friend¡­but¡­ her face.


    ¡°Ah¡­! Welcome, Bee. I¡¯m glad you managed to come over.¡± I welcomed her with the usual smile, but it was impossible to not feel a bit awkward with the amount of make-up caked on Bee¡¯s face.


    ¡°Hahah! You look like you got ran over by a bus! Is the new look that shocking? I look pretty mature, don¡¯t I?¡± She posed proudly as she sat on a stool next to my bed.


    ¡°Ahah¡­! Yeah! You look¡­pretty!¡± I lied. She looked like a clown. There was so much make-up on her face I could tell the exact spot on her neck, where the make-up ended and the skin started.


    ¡°Right?! The boys can¡¯t keep their eyes off-of me anymore! Jess taught me!¡± She laughed, seemingly quite proud of herself.


    ¡°Jess¡­?¡± I tilted my head. It was a name I hadn¡¯t heard of before.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s this super cool girl I¡¯ve been hanging out with! We got a group of girls, and we¡¯re absolutely the cream of the crop when it comes down to the entire school.¡± It slowly started dawning upon me.


    ¡°Ohhhooo¡­! That¡¯s pretty cool! No wonder you¡¯re all dolled up.¡±


    ¡°Right!? So, listen to this! Jess and us girls were walking down the corridor¡­¡± Her words started becoming a blur to me.


    I looked at her, I smiled, I nodded my head, but I couldn¡¯t hear a thing of what she was saying. I knew what this meeting was.


    It was obvious why she was here.


    The side of my eye twitched as I kept my fa?ade going.


    She had found better friends.


    ¡°Haha! That¡¯s so interesting.¡± I lied and lied.


    ¡°Right?! We¡¯re the coolest! That¡¯s what all the girls said to me too! I¡¯m totally the number two in the group already!¡± And she was probably perfectly fine with being number two. ¡®Jess¡¯ was her authority figure now.


    She didn¡¯t come here to see me. It had been nearly a month since she started ghosting me.


    ¡°So¡­ Why didn¡¯t you reply to any of my texts?¡± I giggled, even though my entire body was aching to cry. ¡°Were the girls keeping you too busy?¡± I already knew the answer.


    ¡°LOL! Sorry! You got it! I was going all over the place with the girls!¡± She laughed as if it were the funniest thing.


    ¡°Hahah¡­! I see.¡± I quieted down a bit. ¡°Well. I¡¯m glad you had fun.¡± I nodded, forcing my eyes shut.


    ¡°YEAH! And can you bel-¡° Her phone started ringing. ¡°Ah! Just a sec.¡± She answered the overly glittery phone full of all kinds of little¡­stickers and whatnot. ¡°Heyyy girl! Yeaaah. I¡¯m totes free¡­! Mm¡­ Right! Come pick me up at the mall!¡± She sparkled with positivity as she spoke.


    She was so full of life and excited. Everything was great for her.


    She didn¡¯t come here because she wanted to see me.


    She came here, because she felt guilty over the fact, that she was about to discard me from her life for good. She wanted to see I was happy and doing great, so she could leave me and join this new friend group without feeling bad about it.


    ¡°Sorry!! Something totally important came up!¡± She clapped her hands together, clasping that glittery phone in-between. She had really long fake nails on.


    ¡°Mmh. Don¡¯t worry about me and go on.¡± I spoke, but it came out more like a whisper because I was so close to crying, I wanted to see her gone as soon as possible.


    ¡°THANKS! I¡¯m off then! Bye!¡± She obviously didn¡¯t pick up on it at all.


    I was left by myself again, with only the lingering aroma of her overwhelming perfume hanging heavy in the air.


    I cried to myself for a long while.


    The bitterness of the realization was like a punch to the face, for I loved her.


    She was my only friend. My best friend. I bared my very soul to her and without exaggeration, she was the most fun thing about my life¡­ but I was¡­ just another fruit to suck dry in her conquest for more attention.


    She didn¡¯t really care about me. No, she cared about what I provided her with. Maybe it was my own naivety, because I always thought, that if I feel like someone in my life is incredibly important to me, they must also feel the same way about me.


    But that¡¯s not how people work. Life isn¡¯t that romantic.


    It¡¯s not that I necessarily wish to be the most important thing in someone¡¯s life¡­ I understand how narcissistic that is.


    I just wish¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be so easily disposable that my best friend could let go of me in a single day without shedding a tear over it. I just wish¡­that as soon as my convenience to someone ends, I don¡¯t get discarded.


    I think, out of all things in life, I probably fear abandonment the most.


    I fear being left behind because I¡¯ve experienced it multiple times.


    Bee¡¯s weakness was her endless hunger for attention, and my weakness was my endless fear of being alone.


    The Bee I had spent the best years of my childhood with was no longer there. It was someone else, with entirely different and new interests, while I stayed stuck being the same old me.


    I hate¡­how change is sometimes synonymous with abandoning things from the past. I hate how friendships have to end, just for new ones to be born. I hate¡­how life isn¡¯t like novels and comics, where true love and friendship prevails in the end.


    People are disposable, and there is no person in existence who can¡¯t be replaced by someone better because convenience is the core of friendship. After your friends are no longer convenient, all you need to do is find new and better ones.


    It really goes to show you, how fake all the fantasy novels and comics about ever-lasting friendship are. I bet most of them are written by people who are just as lonely as I am, simply dreaming of a friendship that can withstand all hardship.


    A year and a half went by without a message.


    Then one night, my phone suddenly started ringing while I was in the hospital again.


    It was Bee.


    ¡°Hhhey¡­ Can you come and¡­pick me up from the parking lot¡­?¡±


    ¡°B-Bee¡­? What? What parking lot? Why are you calling me now?¡±


    ¡°Hoshpital parking lot¡­ I¡¯m here to vishit you.¡± Her voice was distorted. I don¡¯t know if it was alcohol or what, but she was clearly under some influence.


    ¡°It¡¯s three in the morning! I can¡¯t just come there! Why are you here?! What happened?¡±


    Now, you might be wondering why I didn¡¯t just shut down the call instantly as I heard her voice, and I¡¯m not really going to sugar coat it.


    I¡¯m a hypocrite.


    I said all of those things about people being shallow and simple¡­ Acting like I was somehow above it¡­even though I was just as shallow and stupid myself.


    Even if I had been ghosted for over a year.


    Even if I knew she most likely was simply drunk off her ass and didn¡¯t want to go home to get shouted at by her parents for drinking while underage¡­


    A pointless, shriveled up sense of hope within me still wanted to believe that this was my chance to get Bee back.


    ¡°Nnoothin¡­¡± She replied.


    ¡°Why are you out this late?¡±


    ¡°Maan¡­you¡¯re starting to sound just like them. Forget it.¡±


    ¡°W-who? What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Never mind¡­ Sorry guys, no luck here.¡± Her voice was a bit distant from the phone. She seemed to be talking to someone else in the background.


    ¡°BEE!¡± I shouted into the phone.


    ¡°Bye.¡± She replied and closed the call.


    A few weeks later, I got a message from her saying something along the lines of:


    ¡®Sorry for calling you in the middle of the night. I don¡¯t really remember what we talked about.¡¯


    I remember feeling bad for her because despite all, she was still my best friend. Even if to her, I was nothing but a fragment of her past, it¡¯s not like I had made any new ones in my hospital room.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    She was obviously veering off into a dangerous path because of her craving for attention¡­and as I was essentially an outsider to her now. There wasn¡¯t anything I could do. There wasn¡¯t anything I SHOULD do to begin with.


    Years went by.


    It was only a few months from the time I died. I remember having a really bad night, and somehow, numerous past regrets always love to bubble up around bedtime when you¡¯re not mentally in the best possible place.


    I remember getting this incredible urge to find out what was going on with Bee, so I sent her a message.


    Maybe it was just to gain closure and to let go everything related to her properly, but I added a bit of a sense of finality to the message.


    ¡°Hey Bee. I know we haven¡¯t talked in a long time, and I¡¯m sure you have your life to take care of, so I¡¯ll try to be as quick as possible. I just wanted to thank you for the great times we had together when younger, even now, I still remember those memories fondly. It was the best time of my youth and really helped me through some tough times. Your friendship meant a lot to me. Thank you¡±


    Now, I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d just kick the bucket a couple of months later. This WAS NOT meant as a dying message or something!


    It just¡­kind of happened.


    The timing was just bad, and I wanted to free myself mentally¡­if that makes any sense. I didn¡¯t want to get stuck thinking about her at night anymore.


    Friendship breakups hurt just as much as relationships breaking up. Sometimes even more. Or¡­so I think. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve ever had a relationship to begin with.


    As much as I wanted to become cold and emotionless and just¡­set it all aside. I also didn¡¯t want to act like none of the good times I had with Bee didn¡¯t exist. Maybe she didn¡¯t think of me the way I thought of her, but to me at least, those times were really important.


    To my surprise, she replied to my message almost instantly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you in fifteen minutes¡­ I don¡¯t like talking when not drunk. Gimme a sec.¡±


    I¡­couldn¡¯t quite understand what it meant. What does it mean not to like talking when not drunk? What does that imply? What was going on with her? My mind was swarmed with questions, but it was all interrupted when the call came.


    ¡°Bee?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry for the call¡­ I just felt like I should say these things properly and not through text.¡± Her words put me on edge. Was she going to vent out all of her lingering hatred or something on me?


    ¡°Yeah? What did you wanna say?¡± I asked, shakily. I remember feeling like crying the moment she picked up the phone.


    ¡°Sometimes I think back to our friendship, and I realize that it was the best time of my life too. It was a really special time, and I wish it went on for longer¡­ But we grew apart. We just became different people.¡±


    ¡°U-uhuh¡­¡± I replied while my voice was cracking.


    ¡°So, thank you too, and goodbye. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever talk again, but I had a good time with you when we did, and you¡¯re still my best friend.¡±


    ¡°Y-you too¡­!¡± At this point, it was probably obvious I was struggling to not cry.


    The phone call got ended on Bee¡¯s end. I sat there in silence, sobbing to myself, while the incessant beeping implying the line was cut went on.


    Even to this day, I still don¡¯t fully comprehend that phone call, even though I remember her words almost as if I had heard them yesterday.


    Something about the fact, that she instead had such a positive view of me even in the end hurt me much more. It hurt so much. All the physical pain I had gone through so far in my journey as a witch couldn¡¯t even compare to half of the anguish I felt when I cried by myself in that very same hospital room I had spent the last ten or so years in.


    Despite holding me in such high regard, she still held her craving for attention above everything. In fact, it wasn¡¯t just me. It had risen so high up, that even her wellbeing and health came second. Judging by what she said about being drunk, I¡¯m willing to bet she was ready to ruin herself completely, just to get the approval of her peers.


    It had consumed her entire life.


    The reason to why I was reminded of this, is because it reminds me a bit of Amelia. Her sense of justice overwrites her concern for herself. If even her own life isn¡¯t as important as that justice¡­


    Then there is no way I am either.


    If I ever am to obstruct her sense of justice¡­ I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be discarded again.


    I wish I could believe otherwise¡­ But as I said before.


    Life isn¡¯t that romantic.


    Amelia had fallen asleep a while ago. She seemed so peaceful in her sleep. I wondered if she was even nervous about this venture we¡¯re about to embark on.


    She doesn¡¯t fear death¡­ And while I do to an extent¡­


    What I truly feared was losing Amelia as soon as she had become someone special to me.


    Amelia is my friend. She¡¯s someone I look up to.


    I don¡¯t want to lose her¡­


    Not to death¡­ Nor to her blind sense of justice, but if I were to step in the way of either one of those things for Amelia¡­


    The end result would be the same, so I couldn¡¯t help but admit the situation felt a bit hopeless. Like the world was preparing itself. The set pieces were falling into place in preparation for the world to teach me once again¡­


    That letting people close to you always ends up with nothing but pain.


    And yet¡­ I craved that closeness so immensely¡­


    I wished I could cry¡­


    Eventually, dawn broke.


    I don¡¯t know if what fantasy dung produces is methane or something else¡­ But judging by how weirdly bloated the coffin got when I wasn¡¯t looking, it wasn¡¯t difficult to deduce the key component to our plan was at least somewhat working.


    I don¡¯t remember exactly, but I¡¯m pretty sure the woman said the coffin was made of some kind of mana-conductive rock? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good sign when rock starts to bend like that¡­


    Wait¡­rock isn¡¯t supposed to bend in the first place, right?!


    Something about this bombing mission was starting to get me really nervous for more than one reason. I needed to make sure Amelia was clear and away from this thing when it¡¯d blow up.


    The after mentioned Miss Shining Justice was up and armed in no time. A breakfast was swiftly made, and while Amelia seemed well rested, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh as I ate.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Amelia smiled to herself as she ate.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ Nothing. I¡¯m just nervous.¡± I lied. Lying had always been easy for me, but somehow it hurt a bit to lie to Amelia. I shouldn¡¯t make it into a habit¡­ Speaking the truth, however, was a bit too frightening right now. We¡¯d come too far to just quit now.


    ¡°Hm. I can understand. It¡¯s a rather wild undertaking we¡¯re about to embark on.¡±


    ¡°It seems like suicide.¡± I let my real thoughts slip a bit without thinking.


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia stayed quiet for a moment. ¡°Look¡­Yverna. Should I maybe also raid the castle? I¡­¡± She seemed to realize how impossible her request was. She could not detect magic, so there was no point in her raiding the castle in the first place.


    I sighed again and stood up, patting down my rags, after which I grabbed the wolf pelt from the ground. Amelia helped the pelt coat on me, I couldn¡¯t help but look at my feeble arm. I was basically skin and bones under the clothes at this point. Dried up and weak¡­and yet, I was supposed to help in saving an entire kingdom.


    It felt like complete madness.


    I pulled the wolf head down to hide the upper part of my face a bit, so Amelia wouldn¡¯t notice it if my expression made it clear enough how much I would rather not do this.


    ¡°Look! I am pretty menacing like this, right?¡± I feigned a cheery tone. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be too scared to even approach me!¡± I snapped my fingers.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Amelia sighed. She seemed almost¡­ disappointed in something.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± I slapped her shoulder a bit. ¡°No point if even you start getting cold feet now.¡± I spoke and began dressing up in my dwarf disguise. Luckily, the wolf pelt didn¡¯t look too out of place being worn over it.


    Amelia was clearly troubled by something, but she swallowed whatever it was and then nodded. Without much of a word, we were off. The walk towards the castle felt longer than previously.


    The vast fields tinted in blue felt like they simply kept on stretching further and further. An oppressive silence lingered everywhere due to the lack of wind.


    We walked past the gates, and as usual, the guards were too tired to even pay attention to us. I could swear they looked even worse off than yesterday. The people were a tired mass of mindless shifting. The situation was dire, but could we really do something about it?


    To save a dying kingdom wasn¡¯t some sort of every day thing people do. Heroes from comics and such maybe, but I was a malnourished witch, whose magic essentially boiled down to being a glorified long-distance lighter, not to mention my companion. While she was strong physically, that was the extent of it. In a world of magic and mystery, muscles alone can¡¯t get you too far.


    We slowly wandered into the masses in an attempt to hide among them. Something about their glassy, empty eyes made it so incredibly difficult to figure where to even look.


    My daze was broken with a jolt of surprise, when suddenly one of the dwarven guards grabbed my hand. Luckily, it was the real hand instead of the one full of forest beard.  The man began dragging me along for whatever reason, so I didn¡¯t try to resist avoiding creating a commotion. Amelia remained quiet, but it was clear she was very nervous from the faintest glimpses of her eyes I could catch through the goggles she was wearing.


    ¡°You look energetic enough to donate some more mana¡­¡± The guard grumbled. The poor man seemed almost irritated by what he was being forced to do to his own people.


    As little as I wanted to get close to the hourglass, this was actually somewhat convenient. We did need to find some sort of opportunity to lay down the bomb after all.


    The worn-out guard guided me to the line leading to the siphon while avoiding eye contact. The guard murmured something inaudibly and pointed at the hourglass before leaving me standing there. A few other guards were watching the line, but they seemed mentally absent as well. It must have been pretty depressing to constantly watch your people suffer day after day.


    I gestured to Amelia with my hand to stand down.


    As the line kept moving along slowly, I realized we had a minor issue. This was a prime opportunity for me to get close to the hourglass, but I wasn¡¯t the one carrying the bomb¡­


    It was in Amelia¡¯s bag. Swapping bags was out of question considering the contraptions they concealed to hide our legs.


    Then an idea flashed into my mind. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t quite communicate it to Amelia, but I figured she might play along as long as I¡¯d be dramatic enough.


    I walked towards the hourglass slowly. The closer I got to it, the colder the air started to feel. A strange smell began wafting around. How should I describe it¡­ a bit like if someone has kept the door to their room closed for a very long time, and then you step in.


    The air was stagnant, as if even oxygen was getting sparser the closer one got to the stone.


    A dwarf right before me began gasping heavily as he touched the siphon. His skin was already gray to a dangerous degree. Ashen puffs of dust began spewing out of his mouth as he exhaled heavily and fell over, his body crumbling into a colorless mass. Dust flew everywhere, and I covered my nose and mouth with a hand.


    The expressions on the faces of the guards were indescribable as they came in with brooms to wipe away the remains of their own.


    Until that point, I had never seen an expression so pained. Fear¡­anger, frustration and an immense sadness all mixed into one horrifying visage of absolute despair. Their tears left black splotches on the slightly dusty pavement as they moved the remains elsewhere and pointed at me and then at the hourglass.


    While I¡¯m definitely not the most compassionate person, having seen this display up close made it basically impossible to ignore the dwarves anymore. I couldn¡¯t tell why they didn¡¯t riot. I was unable to understand, if the princess was truly so valuable, that the lives of the rest of the kingdom had to be so easily forfeit for her sake. It was clear the dwarves thought this was wrong¡­but they still couldn¡¯t voice their concerns about it.


    Sadly, I didn¡¯t have too much time to worry over these questions, as it was soon my turn at the siphon.


    I pressed my hand against the siphon while supporting it with the other, gasping dramatically and slumping down.


    ¡°Ghhuuuhhh¡­¡± I groaned aloud; the guards seemed pained from the display as well. Amelia obviously came rushing to me, holding on to me closely and whispering sharply.


    ¡°Are you okay!? Why¡¯d you touch it?!¡± The guards seemed to allow her to come to my assistance. We were still in disguise after all, so it just looked like a dwarf being concerned about his friend.


    ¡°Look closely¡­find a good spot to leave the bag, and we¡¯ll go.¡± I whispered and nodded at my arm. Amelia then looked at it¡­thought for a moment and then seemed to realize what was going on.


    I was touching the siphon with my fake hand; I was missing one arm, after all. Who¡¯d have thought it¡¯d be beneficial in a situation like this? Amelia shifted around to my side, facing the siphon. She let go of her bag and used her feet to kick it close to the hourglass. My bag was blocking the guards from seeing Amelia¡¯s feet in the meanwhile. The zombie masses behind us probably wouldn¡¯t notice even if we stood up properly, so even if some of them caught a glimpse of Amelia¡¯s feet, it was fine. Her legs were soon hidden underneath my bag and we were off.


    ¡°We need to blow it up before the next one gets siphoned.¡± I whispered to Amelia swiftly as we were waddling away from the hourglass. I didn¡¯t want to see more people die in front of me.


    ¡°Agreed. Let¡¯s hide in that alley and get started. I¡¯ve got my plan set up pretty straight already.¡± She nodded confidently. I didn¡¯t really have the courage to ask her about the plan, as it frightened me to know what kind of danger she intended to put herself in.


    The next dwarf in the seemingly endless line was already dragging his feet towards the siphon, so I raised my hand and pointed it at the bag. I was further away than I had ever been before in terms of casting spells. We were maybe a solid ten meters away if I had to guess.


    The long distance, coupled with the fact, that the siphon was absorbing all mana near it didn¡¯t make my task any easier. I wondered if it was even possible to detonate it from here like this, so my hand began shaking as I tried to focus. I could feel my breathing growing slightly erratic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can do it. I¡¯m right here for you too.¡± Amelia¡¯s voice pierced through my shaking focus. I could feel her grabbing my arm from behind and supporting it.


    I began focusing the mana around the bag¡­but as the sparkles began amassing, they were slowly being absorbed into the siphon.


    ¡°Gh¡­ The siphon is messing my casting up.¡± I groaned. My mind began racing. What could I do to aim properly¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Explain, please. Remember, that I can¡¯t see the mana at all.¡± Amelia stated in a steady, yet firm voice. Her confidence somehow calmed me down a bit, too.


    ¡°The¡­Mana is constantly veering towards the siphon as soon as I start amassing it.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Can you try to amass it while predicting the trajectory it¡¯ll get drained in?¡± Amelia suddenly asked.


    ¡°A¡­whatnow?¡± I stared at her wide-eyed.


    ¡°It¡¯s like shooting a bow in strong winds. If you want to hit a target right in front of yourself and the wind is coming from the right, you need to shoot to the right, so the wind will push the arrow to hit the target in front of you.¡± Amelia began guiding my hand slightly away from the bag. ¡°Try again.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I think I understand.¡± What I needed to do was simply guide enough mana through the sigil. Which meant I could send a clump of it traversing the strange suction ¡®wind¡¯ the siphon was creating.


    I did as guided and moved a mass of mana from outside the siphon¡¯s reach into a trajectory that would connect with the insides of the chest. I watched with anticipation as the mana began to flow towards the hourglass, then disappearing inside the chest¡­


    The next thing I remember seeing was the massive stalagmite expanding into the ceiling. Everything looked blurry and my head ached. I could feel something warm on my face.


    A dark figure leaned over my blurry line of sight. My eyes began to focus slowly, and at the same time so did my hearing.


    Screaming and a howling warning siren echoed in the cave. Amelia was shouting my name while panicking, as I reached for my forehead and groaned. I must have hit my head or something.


    ¡°YVERNA!! YVERNA!!¡± Amelia screamed in horror as I slowly reached for her. I realized my hand was covered in blood, when my bloody thumb left a print on Amelia¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°W-what happened¡­?!¡± I slowly got up on my knees with the help of my companion.


    ¡°T-the bomb¡­was a lot more effective than we expected¡­¡± Amelia staggered, and with that, my eyes went wide as plates as I turned to look at the hourglass plaza.


    There were dwarves laying around everywhere. Every single window around the plaza had shattered and blown the glass shards around. There was blood, smoke, and a lingering unpleasant odor all over.


    The scene was horrifying.


    The makeshift bomb had been much more powerful than I expected. I probably blacked out from the shockwave coupled with hitting the pavement, judging by the way my head was bleeding.


    ¡°N-no¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t know it¡¯d be this bad¡­!!¡± My breathing started getting erratic once again because this wasn¡¯t at all what I had planned.


    ¡°YVERNA!¡± Amelia shouted and pulled me back to focus. ¡°Now is not the time!! We must do as planned! Look!!¡± She pointed at the siphon. There was a gigantic crack in the glass, which caused the sparkling sand to escape and flow onto the street. Several guards were hustling and bustling around it.


    We did want to create a commotion, but I never expected this¡¯d be the result. I don¡¯t know if methane explosions were supposed to be this dangerous. In fact, I didn¡¯t know a whole lot about explosions in general, which made me feel a twinge of shame.


    Why the hell did I suggest this idiotic idea anyway?! We were supposed to save the dwarves! Not blow them to pieces! What the hell was I thinking?!


    While I began panicking, Amelia grabbed onto my shoulders.


    ¡°YVERNA! I know what you¡¯re thinking!! This is not your fault!!¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­!¡± What was she saying?! Of course, it was my fault!


    ¡°I am the one who proposed an explosive! I understand you¡¯re in shock, but we must act now! Otherwise, all of this will be for naught!!


    ¡°I¡­¡± I grimaced. Upon recollection¡­I guess it was indeed her idea¡­ But I still agreed to go along with it, so it¡¯s not like I was without guilt.


    ¡°I know. I didn¡¯t expect it to end up like this either, but we must not forget our goal. Please. ¡°


    This was pure madness. We were real terrorists now. There was no going back anymore. A large group of guards already ran to the hourglass. They were searching around and assisting any wounded or unconscious dwarves away from the device.


    ¡°Okay¡­ Okay. I¡¯ll go.¡± I spoke shakily.


    ¡°Please.¡± Amelia nodded sternly and without leaving me much opportunity to speak, she ran off.


    I was left by myself, hand shaking as I tried to gather myself. Amelia disappeared into the crowds, and from among the panicked masses and frantic guards, I could hear her roar.


    ¡°DEATH TO THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS!! LONG LIVE SUBTHERMA!!! DON¡¯T BELIEVE THEIR LIES!! THE PRINCESS IS BEING CURSED BY SOMEONE IN THE CASTLE!! YOU¡¯RE THROWING YOUR MANA AWAY FOR NAUGHT!!¡±


    I started to understand her plan now. She was trying to incite a riot, or if not, at least this would pull the guards away from the castle.


    I couldn¡¯t hear the rest of her shouting properly as her voice seemed to drift further away. Now was my turn to act as well, so I began wobbling towards the castle. People were still mostly listless, simply staring into random directions. The ones who still comprehended their surroundings even a bit kept looking around nervously. A swarm of knights flowed from the building underneath the stalagmites into the streets.


    It was easy enough to hide in the zombie-like masses as I proceeded closer and closer towards the structure rising endlessly towards the ceiling.


    A castle-like building rose at the base of the stalagmite, connecting to it. A fence encircled the entry point into the structure, but with all the guards flowing out of the building, they seemed to have set the gates to not close somehow.


    This made my entry a lot easier, not that it made me any happier.


    ¡­


    Among the regular guards, who wore a rather generic set of armor with simple short swords, also marched heavily armored men in pitch-black plating.


    The dwarves clad in darkness were much more menacing than the regular ones. They carried immensely large battle-axes of matching dark tone to their protective gear. Just like the normal guards, the dark ones also had their arms covered in decorative tattoos and their faces and most of their body were otherwise covered by the spiny pieces of metal.


    I peeked around carefully when it seemed like there was a break in the flow of guards out of the stalagmite. It wouldn¡¯t do me any good to sit around forever, so I decided to make my move and slipped in through the heavy castle doors. Luckily, they were left partially open by the flow of men.


    The bottom floor of the castle at the base of the stalagmite was quite dark and surprisingly quiet. The most immediate strike force must have been located in here, so it was left vacant in their absence.


    I decided to keep the dwarf disguise on, just in case I¡¯d get spotted on the way to the king by someone.


    There were long corridors to my left and right from the main hall. I¡¯m assuming that was probably the housing area for the guards. Straight ahead at the dead center of the room was a long, big table. It looked as if it hadn¡¯t seen much use recently, as it was covered in a noticeable layer of dust.


    Windows were not present in the room, but there were lights of some kind affixed to the ceiling. Judging by the way they flickered, I¡¯m guessing they were kept aflame with gas or something along those lines.


    My observations had to take a back seat as I heard some noises from behind a door at the northern end of the main hall. I looked around in a panic, ending up hiding underneath the big table.


    A strange noise of some kind of mechanical clacking grew closer, until the door opened and a bunch of armored dwarves rushed out. The clattering of their metallic shoes filled the room with cacophony until they exited.


    I took a moment until I decided it was safe to peek out from underneath the table. The silence had returned to the hall, so checking out the room the dwarves suddenly appeared from was most likely worth a shot. It was quite surprising how such a large group just supposedly appeared out of nowhere like that.


    It wasn¡¯t all that surprising to find an elevator-looking thing in the room they came from. The dwarves did have to have some way of moving up and down the stalagmite, after all.


    Big golden gears decorated the sides of the lift. It was like one of those big ones you see in hospitals often. The box was large enough to carry a group of maybe¡­up to twenty humans, so obviously even more dwarves fit in.


    I stepped inside the elevator, and to my horror, instead of buttons, there was a lever of some kind attached to the wall.


    I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it¡­ Outside of pulling it, of course. The main issue was that if I pulled it¡­and then ended up traveling right into the heart of enemy territory, I¡¯d be screwed.


    Unfortunately for me, I got a sudden jolt of motivation to pull it, as soon as I heard some noises approaching the elevator room from inside the main hall. In a frantic panic, I pulled the lever with all of my feeble strength.


    The door closed before me, as the machine began whirring to life. A mechanical clacking noise began ticking at fixed intervals as I began ascending. Upon looking around properly, there did seem to be some kind of system up over the door that indicated the floor I was in. It consisted of a metallic needle slowly shifting over several symbols as the lift moved.


    If I interpreted the floor-indicator right, I went from the bottom floor to the first one right above it. To my horror, the door opened with a noticeable ¡®DING!¡¯ and I was left to stare at an empty corridor. I jumped out of the elevator, as soon as the door began closing again.


    ¡°Oh, no¡­Oh, no¡­oh, no¡­!¡± I finally got up and began pacing around properly. I needed to be ready to run away at a moment¡¯s notice, after all.


    The elevator descended to the bottom floor, and then started rising again. There was nobody around, but also very little in terms of hiding places. Three dark corridors that looked like they were expanding into an eternity stretched out before my eyes, giving me no clues as to what awaited at their ends.


    All I could do was stare¡­as the elevator got closer to my floor¡­


    ¡­and then it went past it.


    How did it go past the floor now?! Was there some fundamental part of it, I wasn¡¯t understanding? My panic from before got a bit distracted by trying to figure out the mechanism of operating the machine.


    Whoever used the lift seemed to have stopped on the fifth floor. I think there were a total of twenty, and I was on floor one.


    After a moment of waiting for anything to happen, I pulled a lever on the wall to call the elevator again.


    Observing the lever here very closely, there was a part missing from it that the one inside the elevator had.


    There was something that resembled bicycle brake handles attached to the main stick of the lever. It was absent here for whatever reason, so I figured maybe this had something to do with traversing through multiple floors?


    The elevator doors opened, and to my relief, it was empty. I stepped inside and began observing the lever carefully. As I checked it up close, I noticed on the left side of the lever was a beautiful decorative carving of an arrow pointing down and on the opposite side was one pointing up.


    But the lever didn¡¯t allow you to pull it to left and right¡­ How did this work¡­ Perhaps the break-handle-looking thing had something to do with it? Looking at the slot the lever was connected to on the wall of the cage, there was an indent on it that implied I could potentially move it to the left or right after pulling it down.


    With no time to mull over it more, I pulled the lever and then tried to pull it to the right. It didn¡¯t budge, and to my horror, the elevator doors started closing.


    ¡°Gaaahh¡­ Work! Please!!¡± I tried to squeeze down the brake handle and then pull, and to my relief the lever finally gave way and moved to the right. ¡°It worked!!¡± I celebrated to myself as the elevator began ascending higher.


    Floors began flying by¡­ seven¡­ twelve¡­ fifteen. I decided to go all the way up. Why? Well¡­ Honestly, I was just making a wild guess, but usually big-boss types hide on the top floor or bottom floor of things, right?


    When the door to the elevator finally opened, vast decorated halls spread before my eyes. Immaculate stone pillars stood on both the sides of a large corridor leading forward. Red and expensive-looking curtains adorned the walls. There were a few windows to the side of the hall, letting little light in, but otherwise the large hall was eerily quiet.


    I stepped out and began walking through the corridor carefully. The curtains gave me a bit of peace of mind just in case I¡¯d need to hide from something.


    My steps echoed, making it all seem a tad more lonesome, but as I walked further, another sound began echoing around.


    At first, it was impossible to figure out what it was, but as I got closer, I could tell it was a voice. Someone was talking.


    ¡°A riot was started by some of the more violently inclined peasants¡­¡± A slightly grimy sounding voice gurgled. It sounded a bit as if someone had far too much spit or drool in their mouth and tried to speak without swallowing.


    ¡°What arrogance¡­¡± An immensely deep voice replied. Despite the quietness, the sheer depth of the tone was like a quiet lion¡¯s roar. ¡°Do those ingrates not realize it¡¯s all for the sake of Fanael¡­¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡­ But what can you expect of the mindless sheeple? Worry not, your lordship. The umbral knights will surely rid all and any seeds of mutiny from the minds of your people.¡± The grimy grumbler continued.


    I quietly sneaked ahead, and a grand ballroom-like space opened before my eyes. It had windows carved into the very stone walls, letting in the blue light, bathing the hall of smoothed out stone in a depressing hue. Enormous pillars decorated the sides of the space, providing me with a great hiding spot as I eavesdropped on the people talking. On the wall opposite of the eastern one with the windows, were indents carved into the stalagmite rock with beautiful decorative items varying from vases to armors and weaponry.


    At the northern end of the area sat a throne carved out of the same rock the entire structure was built in. Upon said throne was a dwarf clad in dark and golden armor. A beard long enough to reach his midsection was a most distinct feature of his, but it was unkempt and worn out. His eyes were glassy like the rest of his people, most likely from draining his own mana to save his daughter.


    Indeed, it was more than clear this man was definitely the king, judging by the crown that was resting sloppily on his head. He had an immense air of eminence despite some signs of desolation.


    Next to him stood another dwarf with an unusually long nose and strange wrinkly ears. He had fancy decorative clothes on, reminding me of the curtains in the corridor I had come my way through.


    He had an air of haughtiness to himself and was the source of the grimier voice. It was almost as if he were proud of the situation the kingdom was in¡­and soon enough it became more than clear as to why.


    As I finally managed to calm my nerves a bit, I focused on the mana, only to discover the advisor was indeed not normal. As if he weren¡¯t enough a bad person by his behavior alone, there was a noticeable amount of strangely murky mana around him. Was this what the mana of monsters looked like?


    The amount of magical energy alone was evidence enough he was somehow special, and my deductions were given further evidence very quickly¡­ in the worst way possible.

 Chapter 10: The Man Blessed by Gold

    ¡°It seems like a rat has made its way into the castle¡­¡± The big nosed advisor spoke loudly, as if he was trying to make sure I heard it. ¡°Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t notice your mana? Nightwalker scum!¡± Had I had a heart, it would have been leaping in my throat at this point.


    My cover was blown instantly, and my suspicions were confirmed. This man was definitely the advisor. He was clearly magically adept from the amount of mana swirling near him, but he was able to detect and see people¡¯s mana, just like I did. I was a monster, so with that logic, he was most likely one as well. I slowly stepped out from behind the pillar, as the advisor snickered at the sight of me and my feeble and ragged body. I tossed my dwarf disguise aside.


    ¡°How vile¡­¡± He scoffed. ¡°A filthy witch dares to step into this hallowed chamber?! Only the Mhiir¡¯im are allowed within his Highness¡¯ presence! Do you not know shame?!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I looked around quietly. I was nervous, but the haughty air of the advisor also ticked me off a bit. The provocation was urging my will to resist, and after a deep breath, I spoke. ¡°I could say the same for you, mister advisor.¡±


    ¡°Hah! I am a through bred Mhiir¡¯im noble!¡± He chuckled confidently, stroking his bushy eyebrows.


    ¡°Witches can also detect mana¡­¡± I replied under my breath. ¡°What are you actually? A gnome? A goblin? Some sort of doppelg?nger?¡± I listed, watching the man carefully. His brow twitched ever so slightly at the word ¡®goblin¡¯.


    ¡°Arrogant wench¡­ How dare you throw dirt on my heritage!¡± He began raising his voice, but the king interrupted him by slowly lifting his hand.


    ¡°Surely¡­ With the risk, you have taken to come here¡­ You must have a very¡­crucial reason for it. Let us hear it. I¡¯ll assume you are¡­also the cause of the riot down below¡­¡± He spoke in his low, rumbly voice.


    ¡°¡­¡± I hesitated for a moment. How would I even approach a so called ¡®mad king¡¯ with the source of his madness standing right next to him, whispering lies into his ears? ¡°¡­ Your people are dying.¡± I spoke quietly.


    ¡°For a good cause, they are¡­¡± He murmured back. He didn¡¯t even blink when I mentioned the repercussions of his decision.


    ¡°¡­ What if I told you, it¡¯s not a good cause.¡± I replied awkwardly.


    I hated talking to people like this. It was clear from the moment he revealed his hand of considering the horrors happening outside a ¡®good cause¡¯, that this man was most likely not changing his mind, no matter what I¡¯d say.


    ¡°Are you¡­saying¡­the safety of my daughter¡­is not a worthy CAUSE?!¡± The man¡¯s voice raised with each word, until the final one was nothing short of a roar, and it left my legs shaking from the sheer immensity of it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­ This isn¡¯t how curses work!! Curses only last for as long as mana is provided! Meaning, if someone remains under a curse for long, they must have someone recasting the curse over and over again!¡± I argued feebly.


    ¡°I know how curses work.¡± He rumbled, calming down a bit. ¡°Whoever cursed my daughter is still casting the curse from where-ever they are hiding¡­which is precisely why we need so much mana for the anti-curse.¡±


    The viper-like goblin had come prepared. It was clear he was ready to have someone argue against the madness, so even if I were to blame the advisor, the king would definitely take his side. My one way to prove my case, was to somehow expose the advisor was a goblin.


    But how would I do that¡­


    I looked at the goblin as carefully as I could. He was standing pompously with his back straight, clearly confident of his position. I looked him all over, and my eyes were first drawn to his different face structure. I¡¯m guessing he was probably disguised with make-up or something. Don¡¯t goblins usually have green skin anyway?


    With this, I began looking at his clothes carefully, and to my relief, around his collar were fingerprints matching his skin tone. Surveying around, I was starting to brew up an idea.


    ¡°Only monsters can cast curses.¡± I spoke. ¡°If I am able to prove your advisor is a monster, just like me! Will you listen to me!?¡± I shouted at the king, but he simply sighed deep and waved at the advisor.


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard enough out of you, witch.¡± The goblin took a few steps towards me from the throne.


    ¡°W-wait!! I also have this!!¡± I began digging through my pockets, finding the amulet we found on the goblin who had been tossed into the river. ¡°This has some kind of meaning to you, doesn¡¯t it!?¡± I pleaded at the king, who wasn¡¯t even looking at me.


    Before the royalty managed to look, a red lightning bolt shot at my chest in an instant, sending me flying back in burning pain. I didn¡¯t even manage to make a sound as I connected the stone floor.


    ¡°AS I SAID! WE¡¯VE HEARD ENOUGH OF YOU!!! WITCH!!!¡± The advisor shrieked. His face was marred with anger, so it seemed the trinket did indeed have some kind of meaning¡­


    If only I knew what it was. The golden amulet flew a distance away from me. It wasn¡¯t visible enough for the king to see what the fuss was all about.


    ¡°King!! The amu-¡° I tried to speak, but another lightning bolt roared through the air at me, making my words about impossible to hear.


    ¡°ENOUGH! I¡¯ll commend you for being able to take a lightning spell without dying¡­ I must have missed your heart¡­ But NOW YOU WILL DISAPPEAR!!¡± A barrage of flashes came hurdling my way.


    I managed to just barely dodge behind one of the pillars. The amulet had been blown to a corner of the room, away from the king and the goblin, due to all the magic being thrown around.


    Being protected from the magical barrage by the stone structure, I got a moment to think about the situation. I was having a battle to the death¡­with someone way more proficient in magic than I was, while my biggest power was to light dry things on fire.


    How the hell was I supposed to do anything here?!


    My win conditions were two-fold. Prove to the king the man before me was a goblin¡­or get to the princess. If I could reach her, I could use her as a shield until the monster would have to recast the curse again, which would reveal their identity as well.


    Direct one-on-one combat was completely out of question.


    ¡°HIDING BEHIND THE PILLAR WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! IT¡¯S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!¡± The advisor¡¯s taunts echoed in the room as I tried to think.


    He had fingerprints with make up on his collar¡­ Maybe water would be enough to wash away some of the make-up, but how¡¯d I even get water inside a castle made of stone?! As I mentioned a while ago, my water spell basically just drained all the moisture of a thing into a single point.


    If the object I drew the sigil on had no moisture to begin with, obviously no water would be drawn from it.


    This room was dry like a desert¡­ Everything was made of stone or iron. I stared at my shaking hand. What was I supposed to extract water out of¡­!?


    ¡­ No¡­


    ¡­ Wait¡­


    There WAS water¡­


    For a moment, it felt as if the shrieking of the goblin quieted down. The realization dawned upon me as if another lightning bolt had just hit me.


    My breathing began getting erratic as my line of sight began focusing on my fingers. Looking around, the amulet was too far, so I couldn¡¯t bet on it now. I needed to find an opportunity to get past the advisor, and the princess was most likely my best bet.


    In order to take care of the goblin, I needed water.


    It seemed like the advisor didn¡¯t know witches have no heart, which meant electricity wasn¡¯t as powerful on me as he was thinking. My heart wouldn¡¯t stop from a shock, as I didn¡¯t have one to begin with. This most likely meant I could take a hit or two more from his spells, but the burns they left were still painful to a horrific degree.


    I looked around, and a plan started formulating in my head. I had very limited resources, but it¡¯s exactly because of that, I had to rely on more extreme measures.


    If I tried to run, I¡¯d die, if I tried to fight, I¡¯d die. In the panic of the moment, I couldn¡¯t think of anything better, so I decided to put my plan into action, no matter how awful it sounded.


    As soon as I heard another lightning bolt connecting with the pillar, I dashed out to one of the indents on the wall and grabbed a very decorative, albeit dusty vase.


    ¡°STEALING THE ROYAL HEIRLOOMS ARE WE!? I DON¡¯T THINK SO!¡± The man laughed triumphantly as another bolt connected with my side.


    ¡°Ghhhha-!!¡± I managed to at least gasp in pain this time. The burning sears all over my skin made me want to drop the vase and run away, but some maddening survival instinct within me forced my legs to move. I managed to run behind the pillar again, heaving and gasping.


    A blackened stain of red began slowly forming around the spot I had gotten hit in on my clothes, but somehow, I didn¡¯t pay it much attention. Maybe due to adrenaline, I was able to force my focus elsewhere.


    I smashed the pot to the ground to the disbelief of the goblin next to the king, who now seemed slightly annoyed by my behavior too.


    ¡°Just go over there and kill her already¡­¡± The mad ruler murmured at his cowardly advisor, who seemed keener on keeping his distance.


    ¡°V-very well, your Highness¡­¡± The mega-nose agreed begrudgingly, and soon, I could hear his footsteps drawing near.


    Meanwhile, I set my plan into motion by casting a fire spell through one of the pot shards. It didn¡¯t have nearly enough mana to even heat up, so it simply turned to dust.


    I grabbed a fistful of the dust, and as soon as the goblin peeked behind the pillar, I tossed the dust in his eyes.


    ¡°GHAHHHH!!! YOU BITCH!!¡± He roared and began shooting magic everywhere. I hid behind the pillar for the first barrage, until I rushed in and tackled him to the ground.


    I didn¡¯t have a weapon to fight him with, so this was the only thing I COULD do. My middle finger was aching from the bloody spell-seal I had carved into it earlier with one of the pot shards.


    Soon the pain got much worse, as my finger began turning black and drying up as all moisture began draining from it. Gritting my teeth, I groaned as the crushing pain surged through, and a roughly gumball sized dollop of water formed at the tip of the dried-up digit. I guided it to the forehead of the goblin, who was now screeching underneath me.


    ¡°YOUR HIGHNESS! I DON¡¯T THINK DWARVES ARE NORMALLY GREEN!!¡± I screamed and began furiously wiping the make-up off the advisor¡¯s forehead, leaving a noticeably green area and revealing his skin.


    Just as the advisor finally managed to open his eyes, I stepped away from him, bouncing closer to the king.


    ¡°YOU CUR!!!¡± The goblin shrieked, only to notice his reflection from the smooth marble-like floor. The green of his skin was more than apparent. He howled in surprise and rapidly turned away. ¡°What did you do to me?!¡±


    ¡°You check him yourself.¡± I pointed at the king, who simply sighed and stood up.


    He started walking towards me¡­but he didn¡¯t seem to intend to check the goblin. Instead, he pulled a sword from his belt, and mercilessly lunged at me, slamming the weapon into my right leg.


    I could feel the exact moment when the blade connected with bone. I don¡¯t think I can describe the scream I let out at that moment with words. It was as if the entire center of balance to my body got shaken along the earthquake of pain surging through me.


    WHY DID HE NOT BELIEVE ME?! WHY DIDN¡¯T HE GIVE ME A CHANCE?! WHY?! WASN¡¯T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPORTANT TO HIM?!


    All fell silent, as I stared at the man up close. An immense visage of tiredness stared back at me, as I could see my own amber pupils reflected in his glassy eyes.


    The king was no longer here. It was clear to me now. He hadn¡¯t been here for a good while. He had given up a long time ago, and was simply tired of running up this rollercoaster of hope and despair. This lunatic wasn¡¯t going to listen to me, and he wasn¡¯t going to believe anything I¡¯d say unless I somehow magically awakened his cursed daughter.


    ¡°YOU MORON!!¡± I roared at him with all of my strength, trying my best to mimic Amelia¡¯s battle spirit. I grabbed my leg, the blade was still lodged in. Even with my limited knowledge of medical stuff, I could tell the wound was going to be lethal in a pretty short amount of time.


    Cupping blood from my leg in my shaky hand, I splashed it in the eyes of the dwarven king, causing him to roar and reel back. The advisor was acting a bit weird. He had started scratching his forehead wildly, groaning and screaming to himself. I had no idea what was going on with him, but at least he wasn¡¯t focusing his attention on me. I ran past the king to a pathway behind his throne. All I could do was guess that this was the way to the princess¡¯ bedchambers.


    The fact, that I was most likely going to die, was the only thing running through my head as I moved. This was a terrible idea. Behind me, I could barely hear the king swinging his sword around and flinging swearwords in random directions.


    I made my way into a dark corridor leading towards a single door at the very end of it.


    At this point, I could no longer hear anything. It was as if the entire world had lost sound. Not even the usual static hum you hear when everything is otherwise silent was present.


    It felt like the corridor kept on going forever. The decorative pillars all looked the same, so I couldn¡¯t figure how many I passed, until I finally limped my way to the door. The blood stains on the floor would surely guide my assailants in their search for me soon enough.


    My leg felt like it would give soon. What was I supposed to do even if I found the princess¡­? How would I use her as a shield, if I¡¯d faint with her in my arms soon in the first place? I could hear both the king and the advisor shouting after me as I burst through the door with some of the last bits of my remaining strength.


    The echoes of the voices behind me quieted down. Everything was completely silent once more. The room was dark, but a hint of blue light from the hand-mushrooms shone through a closed glass window, bathing every minute detail of the room in what looked like pure magic.


    I commented on how melancholic the blue hue made everything seem in the dwarven kingdom a few times, but somehow in this little room, it made everything look mystical.


    There were beautiful paintings and decorative items such as a sword that looked like it was straight out of a fantasy game on the walls around the room. There were gemstones glimmering in the faint lights lining drawers, as if whoever owned them had only left out momentarily.


    And then, there she was.


    The princess of the dwarven kingdom of Subtherma.


    ¡®Fanael¡¯.


    A visage so dainty it was impossible to tell whether if she was alive or simply a doll. Her body was completely static, and not even her chest was raising up to imply she was breathing.


    A horrifying thought occurred to me. What if she was dead?! I couldn¡¯t put it past the goblin and the golden knights¡­


    I shakily leaned in; my line of sight was spinning from side to side as I weakly held my blood-stained hand over her mouth to feel if she was breathing, and while I¡¯m not sure if it was just my imagination, I thought I MIGHT have felt a bit of an airflow.


    With a loud BANG, the door was slammed open, shining the light of the corridor into the dark chamber.


    ¡°W-what did you do to me?! You fiend¡­!¡± The advisor¡¯s forehead was red and swollen. He was still clawing it with his hands while the king rushed towards the chamber not far behind him.


    ¡°GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!!¡± He roared as he arrived.


    Obviously, I only had one choice at this point. I apologized to Fanael in my head before grabbing her with my blood-stained hand. Her face and upper body were already stained in my blood as I dragged her back to a chair propped up next to the window.


    Everything was getting dark as I held on to her. I felt terrible for staining her like this, but I had no choice.


    ¡°Not¡­one step closer, or she gets it¡­¡± I coughed weakly.


    ¡°You monster¡­!¡± The advisor faked concern, but I could see his focus was more on his growing discomfort due to whatever was going on with his forehead.


    ¡°Takes one to know one¡­¡± I hissed and wrapped my hand around Fanael¡¯s neck gently. She felt so frail, even I¡¯d be able to crush her neck in my weakened state.


    ¡°NO! LET GO OF HER!¡± The king shouted helplessly. He truly was useless when it came down to Fanael, so he couldn¡¯t approach me at all.


    ¡°Fear not your Highness¡­ Look.¡± The advisor snickered. ¡°She¡¯s going to pass away soon. We need not do a thing.¡± He crossed his arms and leaned against the bed Fanael was originally in arrogantly. God, I wanted to kill him so much¡­


    Scum like him were the source of everyone¡¯s suffering down here¡­ He and those golden perverts. If only I had the power¡­to make him pay¡­


    But everything was¡­going black.


    My line of sight began blurring. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was looking at the ceiling or the floor anymore¡­


    Until a strange, unfamiliar voice echoed from somewhere far away.


    ¡°I trusted you¡­¡± It was a slightly nasal and most adorable female voice, but there was a notable hint of anger to it. Maybe not even anger¡­? It was more like unbridled fury.


    ¡°GGHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!¡± A shrill scream of agony pierced me out of my stupor, and to my surprise, despite being unable to move due to exhaustion, my mind began regaining focus.


    Before me stood a doll-like girl in a night gown. The hem of the gown was dark with blood, but it was otherwise quite clean and pretty. Her hair was long and slightly curly, and it was tied up by a single hairband at the base, making for the wildest ponytail I had ever seen. Its color was difficult to describe accurately, but to simplify it, it was like golden fire.


    Hinted much more towards red than the golden hair of those people who caused us to end up like this, which was honestly refreshing¡­


    A magical energy in a magnitude so immense I wasn¡¯t sure if I was dreaming, was roiling around her. One of her little hands was extended at me, a white light raining upon me from it, and I could feel my body slowly regaining energy.


    Healing magic, maybe?


    ¡°F-Fanael!? H-how can this be¡­?!¡± The king¡¯s eyes were wide open, the focus and glimmer of life had returned to them instantly from seeing his precious daughter moving again.


    ¡°I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!¡± The princess roared in an almost inhumane manner, causing the window glass to shake. Looking more closely, Fanael had grabbed the fantasy-sword from the wall, and it was firmly lodged in the shoulder of the goblin.


    ¡°Y-YOUR HIGHNESS! PLEASE CALM DOWN!¡± The goblin groaned.


    ¡°YOU QUIET YOURSELF, FIEND!! YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE, BUT I¡¯VE BEEN FULLY AWARE THIS WHOLE TIME!!¡± The tiny embodiment of fury snarled.


    ¡°W-wha¡­?!¡± I¡¯m sure the goblin paled up from those words, but the make-up made it about impossible to see.


    ¡°The way your FILTHY hands were laid upon me¡­ I remember it ALL!!¡± The princess roared, and the king instantly grabbed the advisor¡¯s free shoulder, and an immense bolt of rose-tinted lightning surged through the sword into the advisor, instantly burning the right-side of his body into a crisp. The odor of burnt goblin flesh was sickening.


    ¡°RRRRGHHHHHHHH!¡± The creature howled in pain.


    The weapon Fanael had was more like a rapier than your usual broadsword. It seemed like a stinger in shape and had a flower-like design to it. The entirety of its mystical, transparent blade was coated in subtly visible mana-circuits. The way mana traversed through it was incredible. It converted the magic in the air like a laser beam, to a point where the very blade was shining with the power the princess guided into it.


    The goblin was twitching on the floor, most likely in shock. The king stared uselessly as Fanael¡¯s dress got stained in even more blood as she began violently stabbing the twitching body of the advisor.


    All I could think of¡­was how satisfying it felt to see him suffer.


    Oh, how he deserved it.


    Maybe it was the witch within me speaking, or could be I was just an evil person, but I took immense pleasure in seeing the goblin draw his last breath while drowning in his own blood.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°F-Fanael, what happened¡­!? Why are you moving?! Get away from the witch, too! She¡¯s evil!¡± The king kept whimpering.


    ¡°YOU!!¡± The girl stomped her way over the king. ¡°DO YOU NOT SEE?! THE WITCH SAVED ME!! YOU STUPID VERMIN!! I KNEW THIS¡¯D HAPPEN!! MOTHER WARNED ME OF THIS!!¡± The princess stabbed her sword at her father¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Unnnghh¡­!! W-what do you¡­mean?!¡± The dwarven king groaned meekly.


    ¡°YOU LET MONSTERS INTO OUR SACRED CASTLE!! THE PROUD AND NOBLE MHIIR¡¯IM RACE¡¯S NAME IS FOREVER TARNISHED BY YOUR INSOLENCE!¡± The booming roar of the royal made the king fall to his knees. ¡°That advisor¡­was a monster. He has been having his way with my UNMOVING BODY FOR THE LAST THREE MONTHS!!¡± The girl was livid, and judging by her words, she had every right to be angry.


    ¡°B-but they promised they¡¯d cure you¡­! Those humans!¡±


    ¡°You are blind. You¡¯re repeating what happened with mother all over again. I knew it. What the hell is going on in my country?! WITCH!! SPEAK!!¡± She turned to me, rapidly marching to me and grabbing me by the cheeks.


    ¡°The golden humans¡­they told him he needed to absorb mana from his people to cure you¡­ There is a mana siphon in town, and a massive number of dwarves are dead¡­¡± I replied weakly.


    The princess went even paler than she was before. She instinctively shook her head a bit before falling onto her rear, before turning to her father rapidly, rushing over to him and grabbing him by the collar.


    ¡°SHE IS LYING!!! SHE IS LYING, ISN¡¯T SHE?! TELL ME YOU¡¯RE NOT THAT STUPID!! TELL ME!! RIGHT NOW!! IT WAS THAT DAMN GOBLIN WHO KEPT CURSING ME, YOU STUPID MOUTHBREATHER!!¡± It was honestly quite incredible how such loud noise could come out of someone so small.


    ¡°I¡­ I thought¡­it¡¯d cure you!¡± The king whimpered in tears now. The lion from before was gone, and nothing but a whimpering little kitten was left in the hands of the princess.


    The princess collapsed while still holding on to her father¡¯s collar. She was totally silent, as if everything she had believed in had just been crushed right before her eyes.


    ¡°Princess¡­ The danger isn¡¯t over yet.¡± I gasped and slowly crawled over to her. ¡°There are three humans clad in gold¡­they are the masterminds behind this.¡± I spoke in a wheeze.


    The eyes of the little creature lit up, and she looked at me with fury so fiery I could feel the heat emanating from her aura. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    Fanael dressed up in a deep red dress, reminding me a bit of what flamenco dancers usually wore. It had golden plating here and there, but not in a quantity that¡¯d provide any real protection, so I couldn¡¯t quite figure out what their function was. The king was left staring at a wall, as the weight of his deeds seemed to have finally dawned upon him.


    I limped out of the bed chamber, with Fanael walking ahead briskly. It was a bit challenging to keep up with her when considering the condition of my leg. The bleeding had stopped, but so had all feeling from it. I¡¯m sure the leg was going to be about useless soon enough, but I was given no luxury of concern over it though, as a horrid echo sent chills down my spine.


    ¡°Must we do all the heavy lifting around here? I am starting to feel the choralium in here isn¡¯t quite worth the effort¡­¡± It was as if the voice rang all over the room. I had to take a step back as I realized the magnitude of the danger we were in now. It was that accursed golden-man, Godwyn.


    From within the darkness of the corridor, the clanging of armored feet against the floor grew ever nearer. A glimmer of metal shone through, as the first light caught the polished, shining plating of the figure appearing from the shadows.


    I felt like vomiting on the spot, as Godwyn was dragging a body alongside him¡­


    Amelia¡¯s limp frame left a bloody trail on the smooth stone floor as she was pulled along by her hair by the tall man. He had a stone-cold expression across his face, as if he was looking at dirt when he arrived in the throne room.


    ¡°The gremlin princess has awakened, I see. I hope your dreams were satisfactory¡­¡± Godwyn¡¯s voice had an air of spite to it. I suppose seeing Fanael awake was annoying enough to tick him off, but he didn¡¯t really fly into a blind fury or anything. He had this eerie calmness to himself, to the point where I started to wish he was screaming instead.


    He tossed Amelia to the side, somewhat near the golden trinket I lost during the battle with the goblin.


    ¡°Mmh¡­ I¡¯m starting to see what must have happened here¡­¡± He chuckled and nodded at one of his servants, who now appeared from the shadows as well, to go pick up the trinket. ¡°You ladies must have stolen this from someone important¡­ I did hear rumors about highway robberies committed by humans.¡± He smiled and tossed the amulet to Fanael, who caught it with ease.


    ¡°What¡¯s thi-¡° Fanael was unable to finish her words, something about the amulet seemed very shocking to her. ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°While your Highness¡¯ awakening is certainly unfortunate, our plans will remain as they are. Your heretical lot will all find light within the loving bosom of the Goddess.¡± Godwyn walked into the blue light shining through the windows, causing halcyon reflections to dance across the walls due to his armor.


    ¡°You monster¡­!¡± Fanael gripped the amulet fiercely.


    ¡°Staying asleep and quiet suited you better. Did the bed not match your tastes? The goblin surely took good care of you, did he not?¡± The man clearly knew exactly what had happened to Fanael.


    ¡°I will gut you¡­ And bathe in your blood.¡± Fanael growled under her breath.


    ¡°How barbaric¡­ I did, however, not expect anything less of your kind.¡± Without a warning, the man drew his blade and, in and instant, swung it around.


    I could only see it for a moment, but a shining wave of mana flew at Fanael, who could only barely shield herself with her sword, sending the tiny princess flying against a wall behind the throne.


    Her reflexes were insane, and she landed on her feet on the wall.


    ¡°Unseen weapon?!¡± Fanael gasped¡­but what did she mean by ¡®unseen¡¯? She couldn¡¯t see the wave of light Godwyn sent at her?!


    ¡°Those loved by the gilt light are blessed in more ways than one¡­¡± Godwyn spread his arms, causing the golden reflections in the room to shift. ¡°Your kind, who live in the darkness of the earth, would never understand its glory.¡±


    ¡°Goddess of light, my ass!!¡± I growled now too. ¡°You lunatics worship those dark hand stones! There ain¡¯t a speck of light touching that!¡± I shouted at him, and instantly, Godwyn¡¯s expression grew cold.


    ¡°For there to be light¡­there must be darkness.¡± He spoke softly, ¡°A sacrifice of the light of heretics is a necessary cost for her resurrection. You, too, will find the warmth of her light in death, Nightwalker.¡± And with that, he swung his blade in a wide arch at me, the wave shot through and cut into the pillars in the room. I slid down and ducked underneath it, which did expose me for a follow-up attack¡­but to my surprise, it didn¡¯t come.


    ¡°Wha¡­!?¡± Fanael stared at me in surprise, and so did the golden knights.


    ¡°How do you see¡­the light of the unseen weapon!?¡± Godwyn growled under his breath. ¡°It is a sacred glow only the chosen may bask in¡­!¡±


    Before I managed to reply, the princess slapped her hands together and rushed to me, pulling me behind the throne hastily. ¡°Do not tell them! This is our trump card!¡± She hissed and jumped out from behind the chair. ¡°GUIDE ME!¡± She roared and, without a warning, dashed at Godwyn.


    ¡°I see we must exert some additional effort here!¡± He shouted and swung his blade again.


    ¡°TO YOUR LEFT!!¡± I instructed Fanael, who followed my guidance flawlessly. Her reflexes were truly insane, and she reacted almost faster than my words finished.


    Instantly, her blade was lodged in Godwyn¡¯s forehead. It pierced right through and came out the back. As if that weren¡¯t enough, the furious princess set a magical lightning bolt crashing through her blade, which caused the head to burn pitch black.


    The man fell over onto his back with a clatter of gold¡­and the golden reflections on the walls ceased.


    Fanael jumped off his corpse and spit on the body. Just as I was about to jump out from behind my cover, I was caught off guard by something.


    From Godwyn¡¯s body, a small golden light slowly rose¡­and rapidly flew into one of the armored people. Fanael didn¡¯t seem to notice, so she didn¡¯t pay any attention to the knights, as the one who that strange glow went inside swung his sword at her.


    ¡°FANAEL!!! LOOK OUT!! BLOCK!!¡± I screamed, but it was too late. The invisible blade of mana swung through and cut into the uncovered backside of Fanael¡¯s outfit. As soon as the light blade hit her though, a small flash that looked a little bit like a barrier appeared. She was sent flying into one of the pillars next to me. To my horror, the surprise of the attack made her unable to react to the trajectory she was moving in on time, and she hit her head in a really severe-looking manner. She hadn¡¯t been cut¡­but the decorative metallic pieces on her armor were now somewhat worn out. Was it some kind of protective magic? Either way¡­she had seemingly been hit unconscious by the impact.


    The golden knight chuckled, and the voice coming from inside the helmet was most distinct.


    ¡°What a farce¡­¡± Godwyn¡¯s voice echoed in the room once more, as one of the knights took off their helmet, revealing another Godwyn underneath.


    ¡°W-wha¡­?¡± I stared in disbelief.


    ¡°A being of darkness cannot harm those blessed by the halcyon light¡± The man nodded at the unconscious princess. ¡°While your mysterious ability to detect the unseen weapon caught me by surprise, your fortunate little sneak attacks will not succeed again.¡± He walked to the center of the room again, the golden reflections spread on the walls once more.


    ¡°What¡­are you?!¡± I managed to gasp out, as the king rushed out from behind me with his blade in tow.


    ¡°I am Godwyn fil Halowa, a mere servant to the Kingdom of Gold. I am what the masses call¡­a hero.¡± He smiled gently, as the king was blown away by another strike from his weapon. The other knight unsheathed their weapon as well, beginning to cut at the king relentlessly, until the man was rendered fully unconscious, if not dead.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­immortal?!¡± The words barely got out of my mouth.


    ¡°Indeed I am.¡± He turned to look at me, causing the flickers of gold to shift again. ¡°However many times you manage to cut me down matters not. A hero will always remain victorious in the end¡­ Only then, can hope truly exist in this desolate world.¡±


    What the fuck¡­?! A cheat ability?! Are you kidding me?! What is this?! Am I being duped here!? Did this person also reincarnate like me? Was he gifted this skill upon rebirth by this¡­Goddess he kept talking about? Why was I reborn as a feeble skinny witch when this guy is essentially undefeatable?!


    ¡°Are you¡­from another world¡­?¡± I blurted out without thinking.


    The man seemed a bit curious and tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure if I understand your question.¡±


    ¡°N-never mind¡­¡± I guess he was just born a cheater.


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to discuss the reasoning behind your ability to see the light, time is of the essence. We still need to put significant effort into excavating all the choralium resources this dark nest hides.¡± He sighed. ¡°So, unfortunately, I must put an end to you here.¡± The man began walking towards Fanael and I from the other end of the room. ¡°Letting a monster, who can see the light, live would be a direct affront to everything we believe in¡± He then glanced at the unconscious princess. ¡°¡­ I suppose I should take care of things in order, however¡­¡± And with that, he swung his sword at the dwarven girl, sending another wave of light cutting its way through the air at her.


    I don¡¯t know why, but for some reason I lunged at the tiny creature. I laid my body in the way of the magical blade, causing the searing radiance to slice into my back.


    ¡°Nnnnnghhhh¡­.¡± I bit onto my lip until it began bleeding.


    Godwyn sighed and shook his head. ¡°Why must you make my duty so difficult?¡± He then walked over to my bleeding body, as I slowly sat up to face him, my back pressed against Fanael to cover her.


    Godwyn stepped in front of me, his shadow draped over me like a piece of cloth. His presence felt oppressive. How was I supposed to fight against a damn hero with immortality and long-range magic attacks?! Why is this stupid world so incredibly unfair?! All that effort I put into survival with Amelia¡­ It was all so¡­incredibly pointless¡­


    I slumped against Fanael more, gazing at the light shining through the window ¡­only to be met by the ugly glowing hand-mushrooms. What a miserable place this was¡­ This entire trashy world¡­ Everything was out to kill me¡­ Everything wanted to hurt me.


    I had closed off my heart at the end of my previous life¡­but somehow here it hurt a lot more to do so. I felt like letting things stay as they were would be a mistake. Letting it all end like this was a terrible¡­terrible thing.


    But what was I meant to do¡­?! I was bleeding to death for the second time today. I had a powerful, but unconscious dwarf behind myself, and my best and only friend was dead in the same room.


    I¡­really did the ¡®Yverna¡¯-name dirty. I was supposed to be a fierce and cunning monster¡­


    A being even the heroes feared¡­


    And yet, here I was getting beaten up like a rat by the first one I faced.


    I had nothing left, so I figured I could at least annoy him a bit before dying¡­


    I began pressing the dried-up finger I lost with the water spell against the ground. There was no feeling as it cracked silently, so I slid it under the weight of my good thigh and ripped it off.


    ¡°I suppose witches must not read enough books to know that heroes never lose.¡± Godwyn spoke softly as he squatted down before me, clearly not thinking much of me.


    ¡°It¡¯s often the best books¡­where the villain wins.¡± I chuckled back at him weakly. ¡°People like you¡­who think they¡¯re heroes¡­can often only think so because you never challenged yourself with anything to begin with¡­¡± I taunted him in response. ¡°Everything must have been given to you on a golden platter¡­oh¡­what a soldier of justice you are, indeed¡­!¡±


    ¡°What would a dried-up woman like you know about challenge¡­?¡± He grabbed me by the chin, lifting it up a bit. ¡°Ohoo¡­ What a beautiful eye-color you have¡­ Almost like gold¡­but not quite.¡± Godwyn¡¯s voice still had its usual soft and calm demeanor to it. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s thanks to these eyes, you¡¯re able to see the light¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the case¡­¡± I coughed a bit as he let go of my chin.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°A friend once told me¡­ My eyes are orange¡­because the fires of hell burn behind them!¡± I raised my voice, and with that, finished casting my magic. While Godwyn was reveling in his victory, I managed to carve the sigil of fire on my numb, bleeding leg using the finger I broke off as a makeshift pencil.


    The mana-lights began to gather, and suddenly a violent blaze burst out from my thigh right at Godwyn¡¯s face. The fact that he knelt before me made it effortless to make sure he got a good helping of hellfire into that arrogant mouth of his.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± I cackled to myself as the man fell on his back, his head smoking. Surely, I got his stupid golden hair if nothing else. The flare was most likely not enough to kill him with his full plate¡­but at least I got a semblance of revenge.


    While the man was still coughing and groaning in pain, I heard a familiar voice from behind myself. ¡°Good one.¡±


    Fanael dashed from behind me. I don¡¯t know when she recovered, but she was quickly upon the golden knight again. Godwyn was still squirming on the floor from the blast of my spell, and he had no time to react to the princess rushing at him.


    The man was rapidly stabbed to death in the most unceremonious manner.


    ¡°Hahahahahahahah¡­.!!¡± I laughed on my back like a lunatic, giggling at the sight of the pompous knight dying again in such a lame manner.


    The golden light rose from the man slowly yet again, and something about seeing it made me feel a strange sensation in my stomach. It felt almost like there was a pressure¡­or a giant cavity where my innards were, until the light vanished within the remaining third knight.


    ¡°You truly know how to get on people¡¯s nerves, don¡¯t you?¡± The final knight spoke as he took off his helmet, and as expected, Godwyn was there once more.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told that before.¡± I laughed weakly, but then wincing in pain due to my aching burnt leg.


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± The man spoke as he effortlessly deflected one of Fanael¡¯s lunging slashes. The princess seemed quite surprised at the sudden prowess from the golden man.


    Without much a word, the man began fighting with Fanael, and to my surprise, the princess was getting pushed back despite the man not even using the invisible magic blades anymore. It was as if Godwyn¡¯s reflexes had gone through the roof, and he was able to react to everything the smaller swordswoman was doing.


    ¡°W-what is this?!¡± Fanael groaned as she was sent back by the man¡¯s blade. ¡°Your movements are completely different from before! What did you do?!¡±


    ¡°I simply got a better body.¡± He replied bluntly and swung at the tiny princess, forcing her on the defensive completely. The man was agile and oppressive with his movements, so there seemed to be barely any opportunity for retaliation, until finally, Fanael¡¯s sword was deflected off her hand.


    The man stood there, scoffing a bit as he looked down upon the panting girl. The golden reflections shone upon the room once more. I tried to crawl towards Fanael to help¡­but what could I realistically do anyway?


    ¡°This time I won¡¯t be careless.¡± Godwyn spoke coldly. ¡°I certainly hope you didn¡¯t think you were close to victory¡­¡± The reflections on the walls shifted once more. ¡°Even if you were to kill this body here, I¡¯d simply return with an army soon after¡­¡±


    ¡°You fiend¡­¡± Fanael swore in the midst of panting.


    ¡°The only fiend here is that one right there.¡± He pointed at me. ¡°Your existence alone is an act of heresy, so you will meet a fitting end¡­ similar to that woman from before¡­!¡± Godwyn must have been referring to Amelia. ¡°What a farce. To see a human woman convincing several dwarves to fight by her side¡­!¡± He laughed sarcastically. ¡°She even managed to convince some umbral knights! I can only wonder what she told them to have them side with her.¡±


    At that moment, I looked over to where Amelia¡¯s body rested¡­only that¡­it wasn¡¯t there? I began looking all over, but I couldn¡¯t find her anywhere¡­ Until¡­ I saw something strange.


    There was something like white smoke puffing behind one of the pillars.


    Or maybe more like the kind of mist your breath makes during an icy day?


    Godwyn didn¡¯t seem to notice the absence of Amelia¡¯s body yet, and this filled me with an immense urge to stall a bit with him. Even if it was all pointless in the end.


    ¡°Godwyn!¡± I shouted from the pillar I was sitting at. ¡°What¡¯s that golden flicker that escapes your body whenever you die?¡± I spoke as loudly as I could, hoping his attention would be drawn to me.


    He remained with Fanael, but his head was turned my way. ¡°You¡­¡± All of a sudden his expression changed completely. ¡°What exactly are you?¡± It was a mixture of anger and maybe¡­concern? Was he nervous over something? Was the golden light somehow relevant? Either way, I had never seen him make a face like this before.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Perhaps you should look into my eyes more carefully this time to find out?¡± I teased with a weak chuckle.


    ¡°No¡­ Really. WHAT ARE YOU!?¡± He roared his command, causing the entire room to shake.


    ¡°¡­!!¡± I was too stunned by the loudness to even answer.


    ¡°I was certain you¡¯re merely a witch¡­ But you truly can see the light!!¡± He growled, seeming to almost want to lunge at me, but he stayed still, most likely because I was too weak to pose a threat. He was very agitated all of a sudden, and his calm demeanor was completely gone.


    ¡°Is it your weak spot?¡± I questioned; he didn¡¯t really react to it. I figured I should shoot various options at him¡­ I focused my eyes on his face carefully, watching every minute movement on it. ¡°Is it the source of your powers? The light of the Goddess? Maybe it¡¯s like a ghost that possesses bodies? Or possibly your soul? Some kind of life essence other than a soul?¡± I kept shooting, but it was clear what it was already from his reactions.


    Silence fell into the room, but the man¡¯s eyes flickered to the left ever so slightly when I said the word ¡®soul¡¯. It was almost as if a reflexive fight or flight response appeared for just a microsecond. He looked like he tried to look at Fanael, as if afraid of her jumping at him. In that tiny moment, Godwyn felt exposed, which caused him to get more afraid of the immediate threat next to him for just a second.


    ¡°Soul¡­huh?¡± I contemplated aloud, and the look on the man¡¯s face was quite horrid.


    It was like I had discovered his greatest secret. Fear, anger, defiance, and anxiety mixed into a strange concoction of facial muscle spasming.


    He just stared at me wide-eyed, as if he had seen the most disgusting thing in all existence right there, and instantly, he began rushing at me, entirely ignoring Fanael.


    It seemed like my taunt worked.


    As his footsteps echoed in the hall, it felt like time slowed down, and from behind the pillar I noticed that strange white smoke at dashed Amelia. There was an icy mist flowing from underneath her shirt, and that sigil burnt into her skin by that dream-monster was shining white.


    Godwyn gasped and turned around to look at the surprise assault.


    Fanael used the opportunity to somehow pull her sword back into her hand with what I could only assume was magic, and the two rushed at both his front and behind at the same time, making retaliation close to impossible.


    ¡°YOU HERETICS!!!¡± He screamed and began swinging his blade, only for Amelia¡¯s voice to pierce the roar.


    ¡°THE HERETIC IN HERE, IS YOU!!!¡±


    As he was about to swing at Amelia, Fanael¡¯s blade pierced through his lower abdomen, only to be followed by Amelia cutting the arm he was holding his sword with. The limb flew in a bloody arc through the golden lights of the room and clanged onto the floor heavily.


    Godwyn was left staring at it in stunned silence for only a second, when suddenly, with some immense bestial strength, he swung around and sent Fanael and Amelia back, only to grab his sword with his remaining hand.


    ¡°You will all pay for this!! EVEN IF I HAVE TO EXPEND ALL I HAVE! I WILL BURN YOU LOT TO DEATH IN THE RADIANCE OF PURGATORY!¡±


    The crazed hero began amassing mana at his sword.


    ¡°I WILL ALWAYS BE REBORN! BUT WHAT OF YOU LOT?! WHAT WILL YOU DO ONCE THE CEILING COMES CRASHING DOWN!?¡± He began preparing for a wide swing, most likely in an attempt to cut through all the supporting pillars of the hall.


    ¡°IT¡¯S COMING RIGHT AT YOU!! DUCK DOWN AMELIA!!¡± I screamed at my friend, who simply stood there. Unmoving, unflinching.


    Even Fanael stared in horror watching Amelia simply standing there, but the swing of Godwyn somehow went low, and the magical energy only managed to leave a rather intimidating burrow on the floor next to him.


    ¡°W-wha¡­?¡± The man gasped a few times in place, only to realize his remaining hand was hanging limply by his side.


    ¡°The very concept of a man being immortal stands against everything life is meant for.¡± Amelia began speaking. ¡°You are an insult to the deities and existence as it is. Godwyn fil Halowa.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­ What did you do to me¡­?! A paladin with no blessing¡­what could you possibly do?!¡± His voice was tired, but the anger and hatred in it was still just as present as always.


    ¡°I have misunderstood the intentions of someone important.¡± My paladin companion spoke, and oh, how her words made my heart flutter.


    The fact that she was alive was enough, but standing before this man of horror, like a true hero. The sight of her was truly blinding. I still had no idea what this strange mist flowing from her body was, for I couldn¡¯t feel any mana in it.


    ¡°What¡­?!¡± Godwyn attempted to reach his sword, but his body didn¡¯t yield.


    ¡°Your Highness, can you take off one of his gloves? I promise he¡¯s harmless at this point.¡± Amelia spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, and I stared in wonder as Fanael gulped and began approaching Godwyn.


    Somehow the man of gold was completely unable to move now, as if he had been petrified. I didn¡¯t understand what was going on at all.


    Maybe Amelia had managed to poison her weapon somehow? That didn¡¯t explain the mist, though¡­


    ¡°STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK!¡± Godwyn protested in a roaring voice, as Fanael grabbed one of his gloves and pulled it off.


    ¡°H¡­huh¡­!?¡± The princess stepped back and fell on her rear from the surprise.


    Godwyn¡¯s hand was pitch black. The skin looked like it was cracking, and the flesh was a bit swollen.


    ¡°W-what is this¡­?¡± Godwyn¡¯s voice shook as he stared at his limp hand. Looking at him, it seemed like his neck was also starting to grow black little by little.


    ¡°Is that¡­¡± I gulped dryly.


    A memory flashed through my head. Having spent most of my life in a hospital caused me to see numerous different kinds of cases from time to time. Occasionally, when I felt a bit better, I¡¯d wander the hospital, checking around simply to not let my mind get lost in my depression.


    There was this one guy whose leg looked similar to how Godwyn¡¯s hand was. I think it was called ¡®necrosis¡¯. Something about cells digesting themselves to death or something? I¡¯m not completely straight on the details¡­


    But basically, to simplify it, whatever tissue is covered by it, is about as good as gone.


    ¡°Necrosis.¡± Amelia stole the words straight out of my mouth.


    ¡°What¡­!?¡± Godwyn managed to just barely creak his neck to look at the female knight.


    ¡°Necrosis doesn¡¯t grow this fast!! What did you do?!¡± The golden knight staggered and soon fell onto his back.


    ¡°I simply was blessed¡­¡± Amelia spoke softly, lifting her hand to the dark sigil glowing through her clothes. ¡°A paladin is nothing without their patron deity after all¡­¡± She smiled a bit and gave me a small wink.


    I could feel warmth booming inside me. Amelia had found a new deity to worship?!


    ¡°What demon did you sell your soul to¡­?!¡± The man on the floor coughed weakly as the darkness covering his body grew in volume.


    ¡°She disliked being called a Goddess¡­ But to me, her hallowed nature was more than clear¡­ Not that I blame you for misjudging her due to your current state.¡± Amelia walked over to me and hoisted me up with ease. ¡°During the time I spent unconscious due to your assault, I was able to see her true form at last. For that, I owe you my appreciation, Godwyn.¡±


    ¡°You accursed bunch¡­¡± The man on the floor coughed. ¡°To think that I¡¯d be put in this state by a vermin princess¡­ a paladin serving a heretical Goddess¡­ and¡­what the hell ever she is¡­¡± The man looked at me. The golden reflections from his armor shimmered on the ceiling of the room still. ¡°I won¡¯t forget this¡­¡± He started closing his eyes.


    ¡°You will.¡± Amelia carried me over to the man and gently laid me to rest atop his chest.


    ¡°Whue¡­?¡± I stared wide-eyed at the surprise placement.


    ¡°W-what in the world do you think you¡¯re doing!?¡± Even Godwyn seemed to be a bit surprised by this development.


    ¡°My apologies, Yverna.¡± Amelia smiled at me gently as she let me rest against Godwyn¡¯s armored chest. ¡°I was simply told to place you like this. Supposedly, you¡¯ll know what to do from here.¡±


    ¡°H-huhhh¡­?¡± All I could do was stare at my paladin companion in disbelief. What the hell was she on about?!


    I will know what to do from here?! What does that even mean? Who told her to put me here? Her Goddess? What exactly was I supposed to know?!


    All this thinking made my stomach ache with hunger. I grasped onto it with my remaining hand and groaned¡­


    ¡­


    Hunger¡­


    I realized suddenly, that when I noticed that golden light flickering from Godwyn¡¯s body to the next, the feeling around my abdomen was most likely hunger.


    I grew hungry from seeing what I could only assume was Godwyn¡¯s soul¡­


    ¡°Y-you mean to say¡­¡± I began instinctively reaching for the golden man¡¯s face. My dry skinny fingers grasped onto his still warm flesh clumsily, as I dragged myself to stare at his face. ¡°The thing about witches eating souls¡­wasn¡¯t just nonsense¡­?¡±


    At first, the man didn¡¯t react at all, until something finally clicked in his mind. A horrifying scream exited his throat, only for it to be muffled by my blood-soaked and torn up hand being forcibly stuffed into his mouth.


    I recalled his soul exiting through his mouth previously¡­somehow it felt right¡­


    I could feel what felt almost like warm hairs inside his throat. Long thin threads tickled the tips of my remaining fingers, until I managed to snag onto one.


    ¡°HHNNNNHHOOOOGHHHHH!¡± The man screamed in horror, tears running down his cheeks, as I began pulling the golden light out of his mouth. A glowing orb of warmth exited his body and I gingerly held it in my hand, staring at it.


    The light the soul was emitting was mesmerizing. It was so warm¡­so full of life. Some of those strange strings of light were hanging out of Godwyn¡¯s mouth as I looked at him straight in the eyes, gauging his reaction.


    Absolute terror.


    What a satisfying expression it was to see¡­


    After all he had put us through, seeing tears streaking down his cheeks, and that handsome face distorted by despair¡­


    It was¡­


    Delightful.


    My stomach growled with immense hunger, as I began pulling the blob closer to my mouth.


    Godwyn kept shaking his head, but his mouth made no sound. A single strand of gold was still connecting his person and the glowing sphere I was grasping onto.


    I bit into the soul mercilessly, ripping through the strand, causing the body of our tormentor to flop back limply. His eyes began slowly staring into nothing, as I ravenously ripped into the final light of his life.


    The soul was warm and squishy, a bit as if there were a skin on top. I crunched into it with all the might of my jaw, piercing the surface, and from within a black fluid began to drip along my chin. It was¡­the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.


    The flavor was a bit bittersweet and completely indescribable. I munched and slurped like a beast, sucking out every drop of that delectable black sludge.


    Suddenly, a strange feeling overcame my body, and an immense warmth flowed through my very being. I felt as if I fell into an endless bed of absolute comfort, so I closed my eyes¡­


    I began seeing a vision. Everything was blurry, so I couldn¡¯t make out any of the details, but I think I was sitting at the end of a long table.


    To my left and right there were people with golden hair, raising glasses, most likely in celebration of something.


    Was I seeing Godwyn¡¯s memories? What was this¡­?


    The vision suddenly disappeared as quickly as it started, and I opened my eyes back in the throne room.


    For what felt like the blink of an eye, I¡¯m almost certain I could feel a single heartbeat¡­ but the familiar feeling disappeared as soon as it came. The afterglow of the immense warmth and satisfaction of eating the golden man¡¯s soul began gradually subsiding afterwards.


    My reality rapidly replaced the pleasant feelings.


    I could feel the warmth of my blood trailing down my back.


    I could feel the burnt skin from the lightning the goblin shot at me¡­


    I could feel the pain of my fully ruined leg and destroyed finger¡­


    Dizziness followed suite rapidly, and I felt like vomiting.


    Somehow, as soon as I realized this¡­ Everything started going dark.


    The faint echoes of Amelia shouting rang in my ears as I finally blacked out.

 Chapter 11: The Price of Heroism

    I think it was nighttime when I woke up.


    I figured as much due to how dark it was¡­but then again, everything was basically always blue in Subtherma in the first place.


    I didn¡¯t recognize the ceiling I awakened to staring at.


    I slowly raised my hand, finding I was missing my middle finger. My hand was covered in bandages all over, but it was clear enough my body had taken irreversible damage.


    Shakily, I pat down on the bed, finding one of my legs¡­also missing.


    Knowing I¡¯d never walk again was a bit more depressing than I expected, especially considering I lost it while saving a bunch of people I barely knew¡­


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel none of this was truly worth it.


    The gentle noises of Amelia breathing calmly next to my bed broke me out of my momentary dose of reality. Despite missing two of my limbs and one finger, I still began crawling towards her, almost desperately. Luckily for me, there wasn¡¯t really a big gap between the beds, so I could easily drag myself over it.


    I probably looked like a total creep, vigorously pulling myself towards a sleeping and wounded woman while panting like a pervert.


    Upon closer inspection, the skin around Amelia¡¯s eyes was a bit red. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why, until suddenly, the paladin¡¯s eyes snapped open. I found myself staring at her up close and personal, when she shakily reached for my face and began squishing my cheeks.


    I gave her a wry and reserved smile in response.


    ¡°You really are a witch¡­¡± She smiled solemnly, as tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°I bet you cast some sort of curse on me¡­¡± She sobbed a bit. ¡°Why am I so happy to see a monster alive?¡± She giggled a bit and wiped her eyes, while her tears didn¡¯t seem like they felt like stopping.


    Are you starting to see why I keep calling Amelia a ladykiller?!


    She really had the power to say some very cheesy stuff, totally nonchalantly.


    What a true horror she was!


    I was supposed to be the monster here, and yet all I could feel was immense respect¡­and heartless-heart palpitations from her dreaminess. I wondered how many women in her past had begun to question their straightness simply from having a conversation with her¡­


    At that moment, all I could think of was how much I wanted her to princess-carry me to a happier place.


    ¡°AHEM!¡± It was time for me to break out of my weird fantasy, but Amelia seemed to be dead set on squishing my cheeks some more.


    ¡°S-sorry¡­!¡± She finally let go as my expressions began growing odder with each squeeze to my face.


    ¡°Where¡­are we?¡± I asked and looked around. The room reminded me a bit of Fanael¡¯s room, but it was notable bit less extravagant and lacked all the personal effects the princess¡¯ bedchamber had.


    ¡°A bedchamber in the dwarven castle.¡± Amelia answered and wiped her eyes. I suppose her eyes must have been so red because of¡­crying a lot. I felt a bit bad about it¡­


    ¡°I thought they didn¡¯t let humans in¡­¡± I chuckled while gazing around, taking in the surroundings.


    ¡°Well, apparently witches are okay.¡± She smiled playfully.


    ¡°What are you doing in here, then?¡± I quipped.


    ¡°I¡¯m too tall for the guards to stop me from entering.¡±


    We shared a moment of quiet laughter, and as our giggling quieted down, I noticed a most adorable dwarven maid by the doorway. She seemed quite surprised and almost a bit frightened.


    She then dashed off and broke my fantasy of having a cute, timid maid tending to me by shouting ¡°THE MONSTER HAS AWAKENED!!¡± She had a BOOMING and powerful voice.


    A group of weaponized cuteness barged into the room as a set of five adorable little maids rushed me. They began poking me with various sticks and checking my bandages, while Amelia sat away, chucking to herself.  The joke was on her, though!!


    This was definitely the best physical check-up I had ever had in my life! Even when counting the past one too. Having the adorable little creatures bustling around and mumbling something in such a cacophony, that I didn¡¯t understand a thing they said, filled the hole made by my lacking heart with enough cuteness radiation to cause horrifying mutations.


    ¡°Would you want me to explain everything that you missed while you were sleeping for the last two weeks?¡± Amelia smiled; she clearly got some kinda weird satisfaction to seeing the dwarves climbing on me.


    ¡°T-two weeks!?¡± I gasped as a thermometer was getting carelessly jammed into my nose. I was starting to feel this group was maybe not the most proficient in medicine.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been on pins and needles here due to your¡­absence.¡± Amelia sighed, and it really felt and looked like a sigh of relief more than anything.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­sorry.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but look down a bit.


    ¡°No¡­ This is all my fault.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I really underestimated the magnitude of danger I was putting you in.¡± She punched the arm rest of her chair a bit, causing the group of little healers to jump.


    ¡°H-hey¡­it¡¯s not that bad¡­!¡± I tried to calm her down, but the way she looked at me seemed almost angry.


    ¡°Not bad?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?¡± She stood up, the little healers jolted and hid behind me in horror. ¡°I¡¯m here¡­¡± She inhaled sharply, tears beginning to run down her cheeks once more. ¡°With nothing lost¡­ And yet, you¡­!¡± She pointed at my missing leg.


    ¡°¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t really come up with a sensible argument, so I simply stayed quiet.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ so incredibly sorry you were dragged into this.¡± She sobbed and kneeled before me, grabbing my remaining hand and clasped onto it. ¡°I do want revenge¡­ I also want justice¡­ But I don¡¯t want it at the cost of the wellbeing of those who matter the most to me.¡±


    It¡¯s not like I wasn¡¯t frustrated by the situation I was in, either.


    I was rendered basically useless now, and I knew, that even if Amelia had the heart to keep me around, I¡¯d be tied to a bed forever, just like in my past life. Sure, this time I did something great with my life¡­


    But was it really a cause worth ruining my second chance for?


    I couldn¡¯t possibly think it was.


    The little healers left after my bandages had been swapped, and I was left alone with Amelia in the silence. I didn¡¯t want to talk about these sad things right after all the stress had finally worn off¡­


    ¡°H-how about we don¡¯t worry about that right now¡­¡± I mumbled shakily. ¡°Can you tell me what happened?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia bit her lip and sat down next to me. ¡°V-very well.¡± She nodded solemnly.


    ¡°Did¡­any people die from the bomb we set off near the siphon?¡± My question was a bit hasty because I felt guilty about setting the explosive off in the plaza.


    ¡°No. Some were wounded, but after everyone heard of our deeds to save the kingdom, you¡¯re considered nothing short of a hero.¡± The paladin spoke and gently helped me lay down.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­and kind of makes me feel guilty at the same time. Since when has it ever been healthy to call a terrorist a hero?!¡± I laughed a little.


    ¡°Sometimes you have to take extreme measures to address extreme issues¡­¡± The knight rested down next to me. ¡°Everyone is genuinely thankful. A little lady with slightly gray hair has been bringing you flowers every day. There¡¯s a bunch of get well and thank you gifts and cards right there.¡±


    Amelia pointed at a table full of various letters and a bouquet of beautiful and at the same time slightly weird looking flowers. I rolled over and began going over a few letters. They had cute little images drawn on them, and a few had little thumbprints pressed into the letters. It was generally wholesome enough to make me feel warm and fuzzy, so I couldn¡¯t help but smile. While my body was in a terrible state, seeing how many people were happy because of me felt pretty good.


    ¡°Maan¡­dwarves are kinda cute, aren¡¯t they?¡± I giggled aloud.


    ¡°AHEM!!¡± Amelia coughed a bit, almost in the middle of my words. ¡°I know this is definitely not the right timing for this¡­but um¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Apparently¡­ the word ¡®dwarf¡¯¡­is considered slightly¡­um¡­¡± She staggered a bit. ¡°Un¡­savory?¡± She seemed like maybe she had gotten scolded for calling them dwarves.


    ¡°R-really!? WAIT!! What was it again¡­Mhiir¡¯im?¡± I recalled the strange word the advisor and Fanael used earlier.


    ¡°THAT¡¯S IT!!¡± She slapped her leg. ¡°What did Fanael say again¡­¡± Amelia seemed to have dropped the honorifics of calling Fanael ¡®her Highness¡¯ already.


    ¡°It¡¯s like calling us TINY HUMANS!¡± The nosy voice of princess Fanael broke Amelia¡¯s pondering as the little elephant¡¯s foot of cuteness-radiation stepped into the room. ¡°Us Mhiir¡¯im are a noble race wholly detached from you tallwalker-scum, despite our anatomical similarities!


    ¡°Puha¡­!!¡± Amelia slapped her hands in front of her mouth, until she burst out laughing.


    ¡°Nyeheheheh¡­¡± The princess giggled smugly and climbed onto the bed, crawling onto my chest until she was sitting there. She truly didn¡¯t give a crap about personal space, I guess. Not that I really minded, since she was light¡­and adorable.


    ¡°Morning witch.¡± She grinned. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re up and energetic enough to flex your racism muscle!¡± She slapped my side.


    ¡°Puahahahahahahaha!!¡± I burst out into uncontrollable laughter, causing the little creature to bounce on my belly. Fanael was clearly not serious at all about the racism comment, so having someone present to lighten the mood with offensive jokes was exactly what I needed.


    ¡°Seriously though¡­¡± She calmed down a bit. ¡°I¡¯ll extend my thanks as the princess and ruler of this country later once you¡¯ve recovered¡­ But you have my sincerest thank you as the Mhiir¡¯im known as Fanael il Subtherma, right now.¡± She bowed courteously at me¡­while still sitting on my stomach. ¡°I have an idea for what we¡¯ll do for you as payment for your sacrifices, but you¡¯ll need to wait a few days until we can put our plans into motion.¡± The girl spoke a bit mysteriously.


    ¡°Plans? What are we planning? Nothing serious again, I hope¡­ I¡¯ve had enough of crazy suicide plans¡­¡± I groaned, not that I actually expected to be forced on another nightmare mission in my current state.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to say anything because I honestly don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be able to follow through with our plans in the first place.¡± She smiled a bit apologetically. ¡°The kingdom is still in shambles¡­¡± The princess sighed solemnly.


    Somehow my hand found its way on top of the little cutesy bundle¡¯s head and began petting instinctively. The princess seemed completely dumbfounded by the gesture, Amelia looked quite shocked too.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± I looked at the two, feeling almost offended by the weird looks they gave me. ¡°IS IT A CRIME TO PET CUTE PRINCESSES WHEN THEY¡¯RE SAD?!¡± I almost shouted¡­leaving the two looking even more caught off-guard.


    ¡°Eh!¡± Fanael simply shrugged and LAID OVER MY CHEST!! GOD, SHE WAS SO CUTE!


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE FINE WITH IT!?!¡± There was a noticeable twinge of jealousy to Amelia¡¯s voice. She rapidly crawled next to me and began petting Fanael too.


    ¡°Pervert¡­¡± Fanael scoffed at Amelia, leaving the poor woman completely devastated on the spot.


    ¡°AHEM!¡± I coughed. ¡°I can¡¯t take much credit for this whole venture¡­ It was Amelia who pushed us into this, so if anything, you should thank her¡­¡± I smiled contently as I pet the princess.


    ¡°Yverna¡­!¡± Amelia sighed softly, but I think there was a hint of¡­guilt to her voice once more.


    ¡°The paladin will be rewarded for her efforts as well, but I will do everything in my power to thank you too, especially since that golden bastard would probably still be alive, if not for you.¡± Fanael murmured against my body. She was very warm and soft to pet.


    ¡°OH!! SPEAKING OF! I have a lot of questions!!¡± I jolted up a bit, causing Fanael to quickly sit up to accommodate my movement. She really did have crazy good reflexes.


    ¡°I bet¡­!¡± Amelia chuckled and scratched the back of her head¡­until she tried to pet Fanael again, only to get hissed at once more.


    ¡°How did you suddenly get un¡­petrified?¡± I asked as I proudly pet the princess, who had CLEARLY granted me the honor of being her one chosen pamperer.


    ¡°When you grabbed me for the first time, you seemed to¡­gesture weirdly over my face to do something, so a bunch of your blood dripped all over my face.¡± The princess began speaking.


    ¡°A-ah¡­ I was¡­checking if you were breathing or not. I¡¯m sorry I got you stained like that¡­ It must have been gross¡­¡± I lamented, but couldn¡¯t stop petting her.


    ¡°No, on the contrary. None of this could have happened if not for that.¡± She raised her head a bit to gaze up at me. Her eyes were like big dark buttons.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious on this now as well¡­!¡± The headpat-banned paladin¡¯s interest was piqued.


    ¡°Wha¡­ Why are you two so confused about this? Are you claiming, that YOU, a witch and a former royal guard paladin, are unfamiliar with one of the most well-known things about witches?¡± Fanael laughed in what sounded like even she didn¡¯t believe her suggestion to be the case here. Oh boy, she was in for a surprise¡­


    ¡°W-what? What is it? I uh¡­ I have pretty severe amnesia. I actually don¡¯t even know how to cast magic properly! All I can do is see mana!¡± I was growing a bit excited to learn more about witches.


    ¡°PUAHAHAHAHAHA!!¡± The little bundle of joy burst out laughing with enough force to send her rolling around. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING!? NO¡­!!! NO!!! OUR KINGDOM WAS SAVED BY A MAGICLESS WITCH?! UNNNNNNNGHHHH¡­ How did we mess ourselves up this badly¡­!!¡± She groaned in both laughter and emotional pain all over the bedsheets.


    ¡°H-hey! Better than not being saved at all!¡± I interjected awkwardly.


    She slapped the thigh I still had a bit. ¡°TRUE¡± The adorable creature crawled onto me again. ¡°Witch blood is a panacea.¡± She finally calmed down a bit.


    ¡°A¡­a what?¡± I shook my head a bit because I had never heard the word before.


    ¡°¡­ Wait¡­ I think I¡¯ve heard of this¡­!!¡± Amelia climbed to sit up next to us. ¡°You mean to say it¡¯s not a myth!? Can it really cure all ailments?!¡±


    ¡°No¡­! It¡¯s not a myth at all! Curses, poisons, and impurities! Witch blood cures all three, but it¡¯s an extremely rare occurrence to ever see someone getting cured by it, which is why it has such a mythical status to it.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Why is it so rare?¡± Amelia took the words out of my mouth.


    ¡°Because it only keeps the cure-all property for roughly half a minute after being outside the witch¡¯s body. It can¡¯t be stored because it goes bad instantly. This makes it totally useless for most situations, unless you got a witch to conveniently suck up on!¡± The princess patted my cheek a bit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think it¡­¡± I laid down and began pondering to myself. ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s what helped you in the dungeon¡­¡± I looked at Amelia.


    ¡°Oh! When I got sick because of the swarm? Didn¡¯t you say there was a bigger insect in my mouth which caused my sickness?¡± As I spoke with Amelia, Fanael seemed to grow progressively more confused.


    ¡°I thought so too, but I did bite my own thumb to¡­ well. Long story, but my blood did definitely end up in your mouth in the process of digging the bug out, though.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait¡­ Hold up.¡± Fanael sat up again, staring at the both of us like a deer in headlights. ¡°What¡¯s all this about a damn dungeon?! I only know of one dungeon leading here, and it¡¯s literally an impossible to pass-through death-trap we sealed up ages ago!!¡±


    Both of us fell silent at Fanael¡¯s comment, so we simply exchanged an awkward glance.


    ¡°How about you two simply share your stories with me a bit? We got time¡­¡± She sat off my belly. It left me a bit sad, but it did help me get up to lay a bit more comfortably. I had a big pillow to support me, but my back was still aching a bit from our battle with Godwyn.


    ¡°Well¡­ please brace yourself¡­¡± Amelia began narrating.


    I simply pitched in whenever Fanael had questions about me, but the story was mainly told from Amelia¡¯s perspective. She told the princess about her life in Rachasia, the story of Amy, her family and the golden princess¡­ and how we met.


    Despite her outwardly ruthless behavior, Fanael seemed to be quite emotional when it came down to stories like this. She was fuming with rage, sobbing with empathy, and giggling reservedly whenever the story called for it.


    When it came down to the dungeon, she kept shaking her head, as if she didn¡¯t believe anything we said. I pitched in to explain my part, but she simply sat there, dumbfounded. I didn¡¯t quite understand what was so weird about the dungeon, but clearly SOMETHING was up because as soon as we finished, the princess held up a finger to interrupt us.


    ¡°Hold up¡­¡± She bounced off of the bed and rushed out of the room.


    ¡°You two feel free to wander around and whatnot! I got some¡­work to do.¡± Her comment was left cryptic. Amelia and I simply sat there looking like idiots as the door got closed, and we were left together. ¡°LISTEN UP YOU SHITS! WE¡¯RE GETTING OUR ECONOMY ROLLING AGAIN!¡± Her voice echoed through the corridor as she shouted at some of her subordinates.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± I turned to my knightly companion, who simply shrugged at me.


    ¡°She sure has a foul mouth for someone so dainty.¡± Amelia commented in a slightly disapproving tone.


    After we giggled at Fanael¡¯s wild personality, Amelia gently lifted me up without a warning, getting the most alien feeling squeal out of me.


    ¡°W-what are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well, she said to wander around, so how about we go out for a walk?¡± The princely paladin spoke as she began walking us through the corridors of the castle.


    The hallways that were previously enveloped in oppressive darkness were now brightly lit with warm lights to the point, where it made the castle look like a thoroughly different place.


    A lot had clearly happened over the two weeks. We saw some smiling Mhiir¡¯im folks patching up the cracks and disrepair the castle had fallen into over the time Fanael wasn¡¯t here.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I actually have a question.¡± I piped up as I got carried around by Amelia. She took me into the elevator, and we headed to the third floor.


    ¡°What did you do to Godwyn?¡± I asked, as we finally reached a beautiful indoor garden, and to my surprise there were flowers and even butterflies flying around. ¡°Wha¡­ So pretty¡­!¡± I marveled as Amelia gently let me sit down on a bench. I was still frail, so she supported me by letting me lean against her.


    ¡°Remember that weird dark mummy and my scary dreams?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°It seems it was a test devised by a divine entity. It was all to see if I was of fitting mind to serve her.¡± Amelia began.


    ¡°W-wait! So, you really did get one of those¡­patron deities to worship?!¡± I lifted my head up and sparkled with excitement. ¡°But¡­was that magic, then? The instant necrosis thing? I didn¡¯t sense any mana from you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t quite know myself¡­ The Goddess of Death¡­she¡¯s very cryptic, so I don¡¯t understand the hidden meanings behind her words flawlessly. It was her, who guided me to rest you upon Godwyn to truly defeat him.¡± Amelia¡¯s words stuck to me like glue.


    ¡°Y-you got the Goddess of Death as your patron?!¡± I gulped dryly. ¡°WAIT! Your Goddess told you to put me there¡­? D-did she mention¡­anything about eating souls¡­?¡±


    ¡°She did not¡­but I could deduce that¡¯s what you were doing when strange dark sludge started spilling out of your mouth after making bizarre biting gestures at the air.¡± Amelia sighed, clearly not fond of the memory. ¡°I suppose witches do truly consume souls¡­ How horrifying¡­!¡± She was playfully judging me, but I could tell she was actually a bit disturbed over finding out I could really eat souls.


    ¡°¡­I¡­really need to have a chat with your Goddess sometime in the future¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°But you made a pact with¡­the Goddess of Death, huh?¡±


    ¡°I did¡­ Does it frighten you?¡± She smiled a bit apologetically.


    ¡°HELL NO!! THAT¡¯S AWESOME!!!¡± I was all sparkles, for I loved all things edgy like this. I wanted to be a cool witch for the very same reason, and knowing my paladin companion was blessed by a Death Goddess made it all the more epic!! My witch fantasy was so close to beginning¡­if only I didn¡¯t lose most of my body in starting it¡­


    ¡°Heheheh¡­ I figured you¡¯d be the one person to say something like that, but your reaction is still quite endearing nonetheless.¡± She smiled sheepishly. Maybe she was a bit nervous over what I¡¯d think of it?


    ¡°So¡­ The Goddess of Death gives you the power to, like¡­instantly kill stuff?!¡± I was really hoping this was the case. If nothing else, at least Amelia would stay safe from the horrors of this world with the forces of death on her side.


    ¡°Well. I lose an hour of my lifespan for every minute I spend while using her powers, but otherwise it is quite powerful, although only in the element of killing things.¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°Ohoo¡­! That¡¯s a pretty good deal!¡± I nodded, crossing my arms. It made sense, that a Death Goddess would make you sort of¡­live closer to death at all times.


    ¡°She also demands I only kill things out of necessity.¡± Amelia smiled gently. ¡°I think despite her rather¡­unsettling appearance, she¡¯s a quite nice person.¡±


    ¡°Hmhm! Honestly, the moment you started shouting at her back in the last dream, she did seem a lot less scary.¡± I chuckled while reminiscing over Amelia¡¯s attitude towards her Goddess.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she takes any joy in being considered frightening, but she simply cannot help it, considering her domain of power.¡± Somehow, Amelia¡¯s attitude towards her new Goddess sounded very casual¡­ More like they were friends over a deity and a worshiper.  ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t get shocked over the¡­life span draining effect of my powers.¡± She turned to look at me.


    ¡°Well, I, for one, am hoping that maybe¡­¡± Suddenly, a strange feeling filled my nose. It was almost as if something sharp and cold went through my nostrils, and I had to rub it a bit before continuing. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just thinking¡­ We¡¯ll be living long lives, so it¡¯s not a big deal if you lose a bit from the latter end.¡± I gulped, something in my nose really bugged me, so I wiped it again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you die, but if I have to, I¡¯d rather have it be due to old age, than some gross bugs or lunatic murderers.¡± I spoke quietly, to the point where I wasn¡¯t even sure if Amelia could hear me.


    The paladin simply wrapped her arm around me, pulling me closer as she sighed deep and nodded to herself a few times in silence.


    ¡°I would rather not see you die either.¡± She quietly whispered and held me tightly. That coldness in my nose came through again, but I couldn¡¯t rub my nose, so I just had to endure it. By the end of it, my nose was leaking a bit. ¡°Ah¡­!¡± The paladin chuckled and gently wiped my nose with a napkin she had with her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to get stronger¡­ So, we don¡¯t end up like this again.¡± I nodded, until I gazed down at my body. ¡°Although¡­admittedly, at this point, it might be a bit late for me.¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡± Amelia gritted her teeth and clenched her fist with frustration.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be of much use on the journ-¡°


    ¡°NO! Don¡¯t say it!!¡± Amelia shouted and interrupted me. ¡°W-we can still think of something¡­¡± Her voice was shaking uncontrollably.


    I stared in silence. What could we realistically do?


    I was missing entire limbs.


    While magic might possibly allow me to move, I¡¯d still be pretty useless in a lot of otherwise everyday situations.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ Figure something out.¡± The paladin stood up and walked around a bit.


    ¡°S-sorry for saying it like that.¡± I apologized, sighing.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not your fault.¡± She kept herself from saying it was her fault, but it was more than clear that¡¯s undoubtedly what she was thinking. The frustration on her face was all too clear to see.


    ¡°YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATICS!! YOU SERIOUSLY DID IT?!¡± A familiar, adorable voice roared over our gloominess as Fanael ran to us.


    ¡°Um¡­?¡± I stared at her, a bit stunned.


    ¡°THE DUNGEON!! YOU TROGLODYTE!¡± She was flailing wildly. ¡°YOU KILLED THE RUST FEEDERS?! HOW?! YOU SERIOUSLY KILLED THEM?!¡± It seemed like Fanael was mostly having the shouting competition with herself, as we had no opportunity to even question her. ¡°LOOK! I don¡¯t have the time or the crayons to explain this to you! But this is HUGE! YOU TWO ARE COMPLETELY INSANE!!¡± She kept going on.


    Amelia and I simply stared in stunned silence as the little princess kept hurling weirdly insult-sounding compliments at us. Apparently emptying the dungeon was a big deal?


    ¡°W-why is this so important?¡± I managed finally to interject all the shouting.


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN!? WHAT?! IS YOUR IQ IN SINGLE DIGITS?! DID YOU NOT SEE THE WALLS?! THIS IS WHAT THAT BASTARD GODWYN WAS AFTER TOO! I WONDERED WHY HE MENTIONED IT!¡±


    I was left staring with my mouth open.


    ¡°T-the walls¡­?¡± I whimpered, hoping to not get insulted further. ¡°The uh¡­strange circuits on them maybe?


    ¡°THEY WERE COVERED IN COMPLETELY OVER-CHARGED CHORALIUM!! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY! AND UTTERLY RICH!! I CAN REBUILD THE KINGDOM WITH THIS AND HAVE PLENTY TO SPARE!! THAT¡¯S WHAT THOSE DAMN GOLDEN MOUTH BREATHERS WERE AFTER!!!¡±


    I still had no idea what this even was about. I guess she was happy? That¡¯s good, I right? Without explaining a thing, the princess just dashed off while screaming to herself.


    ¡°OH, YOU WILL GET WHAT¡¯S COMING, NOW!! OH, JUST YOU WAIT!!¡± And¡­then she was gone.


    ¡°Her mouth really does betray her looks¡­!¡± I stared in stunned disbelief.


    ¡°I heard she actually bathed in the blood of those three afterward¡­¡± My knightly friend spoke. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS, AMELIA?! WHY!? WHAT!? IS THIS A JOKE?! EXCUSE ME?!!??!?!?!


    ¡°¡­ Hah¡­aha¡­¡± I tried to laugh, but I couldn¡¯t. What the hell was that even supposed to mean?! Was she serious?!


    She simply gave me the most confusingly deadpan nod, so I was left completely mystified as she carried me back to the bedroom.


    Witches cannot sleep¡­but god, how I wished I could. I didn¡¯t need the mental image of Fanael laughing like a lunatic while LITERALLY BATHING IN THE BLOOD OF HER ENEMIES!!


    I spent the next couple of days trying to erase it out of my mind.


    When many things keep happening, it¡¯s easy to start feeling like time moves faster than normal. The days go by in a flash, and you can barely remember what even happened because of the rush. The same is also true for the opposite, and time can feel like it drags on forever when not much happens around you.


    I¡¯m very familiar with this due to my history of sitting around in a hospital. The room I¡¯m stuck in due to my current predicament is filling me with an unsettling sense of familiarity, so I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how long I¡¯d be locked here.


    One thing was for sure, though, Amelia wouldn¡¯t be able to see her goals through if I¡¯d remain holding her back in this state.


    I know she would rather not leave me behind, but she had much bigger concerns in life than I did. Even if I was able to get through everyday life with magic, the wild and dangerous adventures were definitely out of question due to my body.


    Maybe I¡¯d never be able to go on journeys of peril and horror, but at least my life wasn¡¯t ruined completely.


    Amelia, on the other hand, had her entire life stolen from her by the princess in Rachasia. Losing your child is one thing, but having your husband stolen alongside it was another. If I didn¡¯t misunderstand her, I think her husband was still alive too. I had had friendships end, and I definitely had issues with abandonment¡­


    But even then, I couldn¡¯t possibly imagine how much it must have hurt to be betrayed by someone, who you had built a family with and loved with all of your heart. Be it due to some mystical influence of the golden princess or not, Amelia¡¯s husband was now playing for the wrong team.


    Having the support pillars of your life torn down so mercilessly must have been an absolutely unforgettable experience in the worst possible way.


    Her desire for revenge and her sense of justice were the two things I knew I couldn¡¯t stand in front of, for they were leading her entire life presently after all.


    The issue, here, was that it was more than clear I wasn¡¯t capable of standing by her. I was weak, and I only survived due to sheer luck in the encounter with Godwyn. Had I been there all by myself, there would have been nothing I¡¯d have been able to do.


    The current state of my body was evidence enough of this. Amelia and Fanael survived with a few scars and scratches here and there, but that¡¯s because both of them were strong.


    I wasn¡¯t like them, so I had to sacrifice my own body just to exert even a semblance of power.


    While I was more than used to the role of the weakling in my past life, somehow being in the same situation here in this new world hurt a lot more.


    It was heart-wrenching to realize, that despite being a witch, and despite having all these innate talents, I was still the same person on the inside.


    A crippled, barely alive weakling.


    I couldn¡¯t help but gasp a bit sharply as I leaned back in my bed while mulling my current situation over.


    God¡­ How I hated myself.


    Even when I became someone else¡­ I was still the same in the long run.


    My thoughts got interrupted a bit by a loud noise, as Amelia burst into the room. She was smiling a bit as she walked in, but it was easy to tell she still felt guilty over me. This had been the case for the last couple of days so far.


    She did smile, but there was definitely a burden hidden behind the fa?ade.


    ¡°Hello. I hope I¡¯m not intruding on you.¡± Amelia walked over to the bed. She was already well enough to move around, so she was helping with the rebuilding efforts in the kingdom.


    ¡°No¡­! Nothing important.¡± I shook my head and tilted my head at her a bit curiously.


    ¡°I was walking around town today¡­and I think I found what looked to be a library.¡± Amelia was a bit coy about it, and I couldn¡¯t quite figure out why, but did she say a library?! That certainly would help me pass the time a bit better.


    ¡°Really?! Can you take me there?!¡± I almost bounced up to sit. Amelia seemed to brighten up a bit at the sight of my enthusiasm.


    ¡°Such was the plan!¡± The knight hoisted me up in her arms, and we began making our way to the library.


    The city under the stalagmite range was bustling with life. The streets were clean and pretty, and most importantly; no sight of ash anywhere. I never realized how colorful the town was until now. It was a refreshing sight to take in after the gloom and doom we had seen before. A lot of Mhiir¡¯im people came to greet me, and to my surprise! THERE WERE CHILDREN!!


    Now, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve mentioned how insanely cute the women of the little wonders are. BUT WHEN THEY¡¯RE YOUNG! THE BOYS ARE JUST AS CUTE!! Amelia had to lower me down, only for me to get surrounded by a swarm of curious children who kept asking me about the funniest things!


    ¡°Are you really a witch?! Can you turn me into a frog?!¡±


    ¡°Do you eat souls!? Are they slimy?!¡±


    ¡°What do they taste like?! I was told they taste like old socks!!¡±


    ¡°Can we be friends? I¡¯ve never seen people this tall!¡±


    The bombardment of questions went on, until the mother of the group came to shoo the crowd away. I was honestly more than okay with them continuing to pelt me with their adorable nonsense.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE SAVIORS OF THE KINGDOM!¡± The mother, who was just as cute as all the other Mhiir¡¯im girls, was howling in horror. She had red hair tied in big twin tails, and she didn¡¯t look like a mom at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s fiiineee¡­!¡± I giggled as the swarm of adorable returned around me, against the protests of their mother.


    ¡°I¡¯m SO sorry about this, Miss! There¡¯s so¡­many of them! I don¡¯t have enough hands to keep them all under control! You don¡¯t happen to know a spell to grow more arms on someone?!¡± I realized where the kids got their tendency for silly questions for.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to let you know if I ever think of one!¡± I gave the lady a thumbs up. She chuckled a bit apologetically at the sight of her little children climbing all over me.


    For reference, the adult Mhiir¡¯im ranged from about 70 to 110 centimeters, I¡¯d say. The young were somewhere closer to 40-60. I wondered where the children must have all been hiding in during the uh¡­gloomier era of their kingdom.


    I figured it might have been a tactless question to make, so I decided against it.


    After a bit, Amelia lifted me up again, and we were off after waving at the swarm of living sugar. Upon looking around, there were a lot more children around now in general. They were easy enough to see because they started pointing at us as soon as we came in to view.


    Luckily, their parents were mostly understanding and didn¡¯t scold them for gawking at us too much, as we were most likely an exotic sight after all.


    Soon enough, a vast building of white began to rise in the distance. It had beautiful pillars carved out of a smooth white stone. Maybe marble again? Either way, it was pretty. It looked a bit like a courthouse because of how ornamental the front of it was.


    We were guided inside by a couple of polite gentlemen.


    ¡°What sort of literature might the two honorable ladies be seeking?¡± A very well-dressed Mhiir¡¯im man walked over to us. He had a very gentle air to his presence.


    ¡°Good day.¡± Amelia began speaking. ¡°Might you have anything on the subject of magic or monster encyclopedias? Any notes or texts specifically on witchcraft would also be greatly appreciated!¡± The knight beamed; she could tell I was in approval of her words by the wild nodding my head did, almost reflexively.


    ¡°Of course! Books and texts on witchcraft are quite rare, so I can¡¯t promise on any particularly good results on the subject. The first two of your requests, however, can indeed be fulfilled with great ease!¡± The man beamed. ¡°I will ask one of my assistants to bring the books on magic and monsters to you immediately, and I will personally go through our archives for any potential pieces retaining to the subject of witchcraft.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you!!¡± I was basically shaking with excitement. ¡°Amelia!! They have books on magic!!¡± I repeated the already stated fact to my companion, who seemed to be delighted with my reaction.


    ¡°We are most glad to be of assistance!¡± The man turned to a couple of his supposed assistants and commanded for them to go search for the books, and then he found a couple of others, who were tasked with providing me with something to lay down on while I read.


    ¡°W-wow¡­! Talk about good service!¡± I mumbled as a big fancy sofa was dragged into a reading hall surrounded with books and a peaceful silence.


    ¡°Anything for our saviors. Miss Yverna, was it?¡± The man smiled. ¡°That lady who provided you with the magic coffin¡­happened to be my wife. Had you not told her to go back, she might have been gone for good with the next siphoning.¡± The man¡¯s voice cracked a bit. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­know what I¡¯d be without your help.¡± He lifted his head and looked me straight in the eyes. ¡°You can expect only the best of service in my libraries for as long as I breathe!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­!¡± I was caught a bit out of my element by his energetic sincerity. I had never been thanked so genuinely by a complete stranger in my life. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Glad we were of help, even if we did it a bit crudely¡­!¡±


    ¡°No-one will complain about a few bruises and scars here and there, when the alternative would have been a pointless death!¡± The man chuckled and guided Amelia to lay me on the sofa. A table was pulled in front of me, and a pile of books was beginning to grow on it rapidly.


    ¡°Whoa¡­!¡± I was basically radiating with excitement as I began looking through the titles. ¡°Do you think it¡¯d be okay if I read here even overnight?¡± I asked a bit awkwardly.


    ¡°Would sleep not be crucial for your recovery?¡± The man seemed a bit confused. ¡°I¡¯m not one to say no to you, but I do want you to prioritize your health!¡± This man had the most genuine smile, and it was almost impossible to not respond with a smile whenever he did.


    ¡°Um¡­ Witches do not¡­sleep.¡± My voice came out as a quiet mumble, but the silence of the library made it audible enough. ¡°I¡¯ve been spending my nights in the bedroom with¡­little to nothing to do. It would be much nicer to spend my time doing something productive.¡± I explained quietly, hoping the librarian would be okay with it.


    ¡°Truly?! Most fascinating!¡± The man clapped his hands together. ¡°Then certainly! I suppose the serenity of the library might even help you recover a tad mentally as well! I pride myself in our atmosphere here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d really appreciate it!!¡± His warm welcome to my suggestion made me so elated, I jumped in place a bit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come check on you every few hours.¡± Amelia smiled. I knew she¡¯d figure out some stupid excuse for getting her way even if I asked her to not lose sleep over me, so I simply smiled and shrugged at her a bit.


    Getting myself this small slice of literary paradise to sink into was extremely welcome.


    My depression was starting to get the best of me whenever I sat by my lonesome at nights¡­


    So, if nothing else, I at least had a temporary band-aid to put on my deteriorating mental state in the form of drowning myself in books.

 Chapter 12: The Rewards of Heroism

    Being surrounded by books and a gentle flickering light in the silence of a library was heavenly. I was provided with interesting Mhiir¡¯im snacks, such as strange cheese-like pieces of something on cocktail sticks¡­dry salty bread-like stuff and some square shaped green fruit.


    It was very fantasy-like¡­ But the flavors were pretty normal, which was probably for the best, as I could effortlessly munch on whatever I was given.


    I didn¡¯t want to come off as rude by leaving stuff on the plate, especially with how nicely everyone was treating me.


    I was munching on mystery-cheese while browsing through books on magic. Amelia sat on a comfy sofa-chair on the opposite side of the table, and seemed to be going through some sort of a historical book.


    ¡°What are you reading?¡± I asked her out of sheer curiosity, while I kept my voice down to not bother the other visitors.


    ¡°It¡¯s a book on the various deities and religions of the world.¡± She nodded without breaking eye-contact with her book. She had this peculiar habit of sometimes not looking at people even when she was talking to them. I wasn¡¯t really bothered by it, but it was a neat little quirk of hers. A fun Amelia fact, I guess.


    ¡°Are you trying to find information on your patron deity?¡± I asked while I turned a page.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± She furrowed her brow a bit.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not going really well?¡± I tilted my head.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming up with nothing. Seems like nobody has ever heard of my Goddess, and no mention of her exists in any books either. It¡¯s quite puzzling.¡± She huffed, then finally looking at me and smiling a bit.


    ¡°Hm¡­ Well, maybe we can ask her sometime?¡± I blurted out without thinking.


    ¡°Bha¡­!! Wouldn¡¯t that be quite blasphemous?! To bother a Goddess for such trivial matters?¡± I had to hush the paladin down a bit as she began to raise her voice. ¡°Ah¡­! Forgive me!¡± She whispered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d mind. She seemed pretty understanding. We just gotta get you to sleep and¡­figure out how to make contact with her.¡± I¡¯m sure I was simplifying a pretty complex topic, but that was really all we could work with anyway. ¡°I have some stuff I¡¯d like to ask her too¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Amelia mumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­just tell her it was your idea if she gets angry at me, I suppose¡­!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± I grinned at my devout friend. ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Geh¡­ I was hoping you¡¯d disagree with that¡­!¡± Groaned the knight.


    ¡°Too bad! Too late to go back on your words now!¡± I poked my tongue out at her.


    ¡°¡­ Witches truly are monsters¡­¡± She was sulking.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got only yourself to blame!¡± I teased.


    We giggled quietly a bit, until Amelia pointed at my pile of books and asked about my goals with it.


    ¡°Have you made any progress into magic?¡± She started.


    ¡°A bit, yes!¡± I began beaming at her.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°So!¡± As soon as I began, Amelia instantly adjusted on the sofa chair. It was as if she instinctively knew this would end up being a long session of me gushing about magic again. ¡°Magic seems to be like¡­a form of energy!¡± I started.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± She nodded, like a mom listening to her child explaining to her about their favorite toy.


    ¡°Mana exists within all things living, and is also created inside living beings! It¡¯s like energy particles! The particles are invisible to anyone but apparently monsters.¡± I went on. ¡°There seem to be theories about monsters being able to sense and see mana, which I know for a fact to be true, since I can see it!¡± I beamed.


    ¡°Mhm! That¡¯s very fascinating!¡± She kept nodding.


    ¡°And then! Magic is basically the ability to manipulate the flow of mana! Because everyone is born with magic, everyone can inherently use magic, however each body has a specific amount of¡­¡¯mana conductivity¡¯, which is why some people are more proficient with it, than others.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense!¡± The mom-act kept going. I slowly started to feel she might have been doing it deliberately to annoy me as revenge for my thoughts on her Goddess issue.


    Joke¡¯s on her, though!! I was more than glad to gush at someone about magic! I didn¡¯t care who it was! It wasn¡¯t a problem, if Amelia didn¡¯t understand a thing about it because I just REALLY wanted to talk about magic with someone!


    ¡°Magic needs a catalyst to be cast!¡± I continued while ignoring Amelia¡¯s mommy smile. ¡°Like those pieces of wood and whatnot, there needs to be a catalyst for a spell to be cast through, for the mana to flow properly.¡± I kept blabbing on. ¡°Fanael had a sword with mana circuits embedded in its blade! I bet that¡¯s her catalyst! She guides mana through it in different manners to cause spells to come out!¡± I explained further. ¡°By conducting mana through it in the reverse order, she can induce healing magic to radiate through her body!!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­! That¡¯s how it¡¯s done? That¡¯s actually interesting!¡± Amelia showed her true colors. She just indirectly admitted she didn¡¯t care about my magic theory at all! I swore to myself that one day I¡¯d have my revenge on her for not respecting magic.


    We kept talking about magic and reading through the books late into the night. Sadly, Amelia couldn¡¯t find a thing about her Goddess in the end. I still think my idea was good though, so one night I needed to make sure to try and see if I could hear the Goddess whispering within her.


    For now, I decided to let Amelia off the hook, as she seemed tired from all the reading. I¡¯m sure she was a bit out of her element spending so much time parsing through information like this.


    It was pretty normal for us, who lived in the era of the internet, to go through a lot of information in short amounts of time. The real skill in my time was the ability to know what information was good and what was worthless nonsense.


    Any idiot could post whatever they wanted online, and there were always people who agreed with even the stupidest opinions, which gave even outlandish gossip a sense of validity from time to time.


    Either way, going through a bunch of information wasn¡¯t anything too new for me, and it was maybe even a bit therapeutic.


    Amelia had gone back to the castle to sleep, so I was left by myself in the reading area. It wasn¡¯t fully quiet, though, since there was a night guard who walked around the library occasionally. He was really nice, and we had tea together on one of my reading breaks.


    Magic was a really interesting subject to study. I didn¡¯t understand a lot about some of the more theoretical parts on the structure of mana and such, but there was extensive scientific study done into the subject.


    From what I read; my fire spell was some kind of destruction magic? Apparently, witches were commonly very proficient with it, but I couldn¡¯t help but think I was most likely not. Could I really have some kinda magical affinity towards destruction magic, when my powers boiled down to me being a glorified lighter? It was a bit difficult to believe¡­


    I also found out that only monsters can cast curses. I don¡¯t know the specifics of what this meant in action, but I suppose the petrification spell the goblin cast on Fanael must have been a type of curse.


    Similarly, only the non-monster races could cast white magic. What exactly ¡®non-monster races¡¯ entailed was beyond me, however.


    There was so much information in the books, that it was very difficult to really know what would have been a good starting point into trying to understand this world.


    I did my best to simply focus on the studying of magic for now though, as it was at least a subject I had some experience with.


    Sadly¡­testing things out was proving to be a difficult task. The magic sigils I saw on the books were entirely different from anything I remembered.


    They look a lot prettier than the ones I was used to drawing, but whenever I tried to replicate one on paper, somehow it wouldn¡¯t conduct any mana at all.


    Was there a fundamental difference in how magic worked for monsters?


    As I was analyzing another work on the science of magic in hopes of finding answers, I was jolted to attention by a quiet cough.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± The library owner was there. What was he doing here at this hour?


    ¡°W-whoa¡­! You scared me!¡± I sighed of relief as I saw it was him. ¡°Why are you here all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°It pains to admit my own hypocrisy, but I actually have been here the whole time.¡± He looked a bit tired, but also a tad excited. He was holding something behind his back, but it was too dark to see what it was.


    ¡°What?! Why?! Sleep is important!¡± I sassed at him, throwing his own words at him, despite the fact, that he seemed to acknowledge the issue.


    ¡°Indeed, it is¡­!¡± He laughed tiredly, ¡°I simply¡­wanted to see if I could find even a little something to pay for everything you did for me, and my family.¡± He sighed a bit solemnly. ¡°Losing a single night of sleep is not a big sacrifice to make, and while I do not know if it¡¯ll be of any meaning to you, I did actually find something in the deepest reaches of our archives¡­¡± He pulled out a pitch-black leather-bound book.


    ¡°You could have just waited until tomorrow¡­!¡± I laughed a little, but my laughter was short-lived as I saw the book. It looked ragged and worn by time, but also unexpectedly sinister due to its dark stained colors.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite a find¡­¡± He opened the book, browsing through a few pages. ¡°It has no meaning to me whatsoever, for it is in a language I do not recognize.¡± He walked over and handed me the book. I gingerly accepted it and opened it to browse it.


    The book had a skin-like texture to the cover, and it had a few unpleasant feeling hairs sticking out of the surface here and there. It was dried up, and a bit cracked all over. There was nothing on the cover, nor the backside of it. No title or the name of the owner. Upon opening it, the paper was really coarse and bumpy, as if handmade. The first few pages were blank, but something about simply touching the paper felt¡­somehow familiar.


    ¡°Seeing you made a memory bubble up from somewhere far, far away¡­¡± The man began speaking. ¡°I believe it was our late queen, Fanael¡¯s mother, who gave me this book a long time ago.¡± He smiled big as he reminisced. ¡°She was a wild adventurer just like her daughter, and while the adventuring did end up in her demise, I feel she lived exactly the way she wanted, which I, personally, believe is what life is all about.¡± The man looked a bit solemn as he spoke of the queen.


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± I nodded a bit. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡¯s what happened to her. Is that why the king is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Overprotective? To a lunatic degree? It is indeed. He simply doesn¡¯t want to lose another one of those he loves the most.¡± He chuckled a bit, even though the subject matter wasn¡¯t all that humorous. ¡°Even if it does sometimes lead him into making monstrously bad decisions.¡±


    ¡°What ended up happening to him?¡± I mused out loud.


    ¡°Got jailed for crimes against his nation by his own daughter.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I nodded. I didn¡¯t really feel all too bad about the news. Even if his lunacy came from a place of love, he definitely needed to be held responsible for his atrocities.


    A silence fell over the room for a moment. All I could think of at the moment, was that the people in this world were ridiculously strong, not just physically, but also mentally. Being surrounded by constant tragedy can¡¯t be good for the mind, but somehow, they still stayed so firm, even against the wildest adversity.


    It was admirable.


    ¡°One day, the queen returned after one of her adventures with that book. She said they found it in a strange ritual chamber they dug into from underground. You¡¯d be surprised over how many different creatures like to hide their precious items underground!¡± The librarian seemed happy to remember the queen. ¡°Nobody at the time was able to decipher any of the text, but the queen did say it looked like a witch might have lived there, which is why you reminded me of it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I turned to look at the book and kept browsing. As soon as I began seeing the mysterious letters, my eyes shot wide open.


    ¡°I thought, that maybe the issue wasn¡¯t in us being unable to decipher the text, but in the fact that we are fundamentally incapable of it, for we are incompatible with it in the first place¡­¡± He pondered as he saw my reaction. ¡°A text only certain kinds of creatures can read¡­ It¡¯s an interesting concept.¡±


    I bet the librarian could see my sheer excitement over his find, as my eyes darted from page to another while I kept turning them. The book was full of spell sigils I was familiar with.


    It was a book for a witch. I couldn¡¯t¡­read it in the traditional sense, but I honestly didn¡¯t know if it was meant to be read in that sense to begin with. It seemed to be more like a memo, than a book.


    Each page had a vast array of sigils drawn onto it with a slightly messy ink. It felt more like¡­maybe the previous owner was using it to practice and memorize the symbols and how they were drawn.


    Almost like when you need to practice how to write letters in elementary school.


    ¡°It¡¯s incredible¡­!¡± I nodded with joy.


    ¡°I know this may be a bit presumptuous of me, but may I ask what it is about?¡± He laughed a bit sheepishly. ¡°What is a librarian, who doesn¡¯t know what their books are about?¡±


    ¡°Uhuh¡­! Yeah. It¡¯s um¡­¡± I pondered on how to explain it. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure, but my guess is, that it¡¯s a practice book. The owner probably used it to try to memorize the sigils through repetition.¡± I explained. ¡°These symbols are the language of witches. Each symbol has a meaning similar to words.¡± I explained. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how they work due to a nasty case of amnesia, but these are the core element in how witches cast spells.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating!!¡± He clapped his hands together. ¡°No wonder some sigils were drawn so many times in different ways on each page.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°One thing I am curious about, however. See, on a few pages there are sigils drawn on top of each other, even though there is still space for more practice.¡± He guided me to a page, which did indeed showcase what he was explaining.


    There were a few pages towards the latter half of the book, where two different symbols were layered over each other a bit crudely, and they made for a pretty ugly mess.


    Maybe the owner simply got bored and started doodling random stuff?


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ Admittedly, I don¡¯t have any clue to what it could mean, if it even means anything¡­!¡± Despite not understanding the book very well, I still was beyond excited to go over it in detail.


    ¡°Well! I¡¯ll leave you to it then! Please do keep me up to date on any findings! I should truly head to bed, I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t hear the end of this from my wife¡­!¡± He scratched the back of his head and got up.


    ¡°Ah! Um¡­!!¡± I looked at him a bit hastily.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He turned around with the usual smile.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I nodded, hugging the book with my one arm tightly. ¡°Please tell your wife, the flowers she kept bringing me every day were wonderful¡­!¡±


    He simply nodded and walked into the darkness with a warm smile on his face. I was going through an alien feeling¡­ I don¡¯t think I had ever felt this welcome anywhere in my life before. Somehow, in the past, I never felt like I belonged because of my physical and probably mental shortcomings.


    But here, people were really kind and helpful. They went through an incredible ordeal, and yet they still had so much kindness left to spare. I was a monster, a witch! And yet, nobody looked at me weirdly, and nobody treated me poorly¡­


    It was¡­ actually really nice.


    Kinda weird! But nice.


    Although all the warm fuzzies aside, I had a peculiar witch-book to study! At last!


    I browsed through the booklet in the silence of the library curiously. There were a lot of the sigils in on the pages I already knew. It was missing a couple I was familiar with, but it also had some sigils I didn¡¯t recognize at all.


    And yet, despite having no memory of ever seeing them, I could somehow read them.


    ¡°Dream, Words and Echo¡± I voiced to myself quietly as I saw the new symbols.


    I could also read the Mhiir¡¯im language too¡­ Or maybe there was just a universal language in this world in general?


    ¡­No, that wasn¡¯t possible.


    I couldn¡¯t understand ¡®highlander¡¯, the language of noble humans¡­ Another mystery to add on top of the pile, I guess¡­


    The messy sigil scribbles on the latter pages were still an enigma to me. I was unable to figure out why the owner of the book specifically drew this one sigil combination over and over again.


    It honestly was like among the worst ways to combine the sigils¡­! They looked like an ugly mess because the symbols didn¡¯t fit together at all.


    I dunno what the owner was thinking, when some of the sigils even had these sharp spikes to them, and the others had little indents on them to make them LOOK like they¡¯d fit together, and yet the owner didn¡¯t try to make¡­


    Wait.


    Now that I looked closely¡­there were three different types of sigils¡­


    Sigils, that had spikes on them¡­ Fire, Water, Lightning, Sky and Earth.


    Sigils, that had little crevices on them: Solid, Faint, Clear, and Reflection


    And then¡­sigils that had both spikes and crevices: Dream, Heart, Echo, and Words.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I¡­never noticed this before, and somehow, categorizing the words like this made them almost seem like there was some sort of logic behind it all.


    The sigils that had spikes on them were like¡­ substances or elements. Sigils that had crevices were adjectives or¡­like described a specific state of something.


    The last group I couldn¡¯t really find a specific rule for, so let¡¯s just call them the ¡®Abstract¡¯ category for now.


    ¡°What if¡­¡± I spoke to myself, causing the night guard to peek his head from behind a bookshelf.


    ¡°All good here?¡± He was quite an energetic bearded man for such a night owl.


    ¡°Y-yeah!¡± I laughed shakily. ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m just¡­discovering incredible secrets about magic, so I couldn¡¯t stay quiet!¡±


    ¡°Hah! Carry on!¡± He laughed and marched onward along the library.


    What if¡­the owner of the book was maybe using the sigils wrong? Could be they had been told by someone to combine the sigils, but they didn¡¯t understand what it really meant?


    What if combining sigils¡­was more like¡­attaching them to each other instead?


    Without a moment to spare, I pulled out a piece of paper, and began scribbling on it. I was pretty good at drawing sigils, if I say so myself, and all the practice from my past life was paying off.


    Wondering why this world had the same magic sigils as that one was a thought I¡¯d mull over later, for wow it was time to cast spells!


    The sigils of ¡®water¡¯ and ¡®solid¡¯ fit each other perfectly. Shakily, I channeled mana into the paper, and to my immense surprise, a very thin layer of frost began forming over the parchment I drew the word combination on.


    My eyes went wide, and I would have surely stood up and screamed in joy, if not for the fact I was missing a leg, and I was in the library!


    I MADE ICE!!! IT¡¯S SOLID WATER!!! IT MADE SENSE!!


    I rolled around with excitement on my sofa. This was surely the greatest magical discovery of the century!!


    ¡­ Well¡­ admittedly, maybe¡­freezing a piece of paper wasn¡¯t the most impressive thing, but it was DEFINITELY UP THERE! IN MY OPINION, AT LEAST!


    Now¡­there was another mystery, though. According to multiple books I read, monsters are capable of casting magic without a catalyst. That goblin bastard threw lightning at me like it was nothing too!


    How would that even work, and if witches could cast magic without a catalyst, why was the owner of the book drawing the sigils here in the first place?


    The amount of repetition on the pages was weird too. What value was there to learning to draw very clean-looking symbols?


    In my experience, even pretty hastily drawn stuff, like the one I carved into my arm when I fought the wolf, still did the trick.


    Was the quality of the sigil drawn somehow relevant? Or was the owner of the book simply keen on keeping their handwriting pretty?


    ¡°Ya sure are a hard worker, Miss Witch!¡± The night guard jolted me out of my thoughts. ¡°Care for some tea?¡± He had a tray with a couple of cups on it.


    ¡°Honestly¡­! I¡¯d really welcome it.¡± I sighed; a bit exasperated by the situation.


    ¡°What¡¯s getting ya so down? You¡¯ve been groaning and sighing for the last hour over here.¡± He chuckled and began sipping some tea after sitting down on the sofa-chair Amelia sat on earlier.


    The tea was warm and sweet, and it helped me calm down a bit from all the theory crafting. ¡°I¡¯m kind of stuck trying to figure out something related to magic¡­¡± I spoke into the cup.


    ¡°Ohoo! I¡¯ve heard witches are really good with magic. It¡¯s gotta be a pretty big deal to get ya stumped like this!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I kind of lost my memories a while ago, so I don¡¯t know how to¡­witch properly.¡± I mumbled, blushing a bit from having to admit I knew barely anything about magic.


    ¡°Hahahaha!!¡± The man laughed at me! Guhhh¡­ It certainly didn¡¯t help me feel any more confident about my current state. ¡°Well! Ain¡¯t ya in a pickle! What are ya trying to figure out? I don¡¯t mind listening! I don¡¯t know the darnedest bit about magic, though!¡±


    ¡°Mmmg¡­ What¡¯s the point if you don¡¯t even understand anything about it?¡± I grumbled, sulking a bit.


    ¡°Hoho!¡± He chuckled more. ¡°Well, sometimes, when I get stuck with some kinda bad thoughts, I like to talk about them to my friends. I kinda feel saying things out loud makes them easier to sort of¡­deal with?¡± He¡­did have a point.


    ¡°But you¡¯re not even interested in the subject¡­!¡± I huffed more, still a bit sulky over the laughter.


    ¡°Maybe! But I¡¯d like to help in any way I can. Could be saying things out loud might make you realize something that went by you before.¡± He crossed his big, burly arms and nodded, as if in approval of his own words.


    ¡°W-why are you so interested in helping me?¡± I perked up a bit. It¡¯s not like I specifically saved his wife or something again¡­right?


    ¡°Mmmmh¡­ Do you mind me telling a bit of a story?¡± His demeanor darkened a bit.


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get anywhere from mulling over this magic stuff, so go ahead.¡± I shrugged.


    ¡°I ain¡¯t a Mhiir¡¯im.¡± He began. ¡°Our people¡­the ones ya surface dwellers call ¡®dwarves¡¯ are divided into three core tribes. The Mhiir¡¯im, Haark and Nonfel.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between each tribe?¡± I admittedly got my curiosity piqued a bit. More knowledge about the world is always welcome.


    ¡°Well! I figured this might be interesting to you! Physically, we¡¯re all pretty similar, but we each got a few small quirks! Haark people have big toes, Mhiir-im women have really fancy hair colors and the Nonfels have big ears!¡± He grinned as he spoke. I couldn¡¯t help but peek under the table to look at his feet, but to my dismay, he had shoes on, so it wasn¡¯t easy to figure if he was a Haark.


    ¡°I am a Haark!! Wanna see my feet?!¡± He began pulling his shoes off.


    ¡°No! No! I¡¯m good! I believe you!¡± He seemed almost disappointed over not getting to show his gigantic toes to me.


    ¡°Ahhum! Well, anyway, like I said. Physically we¡¯re pretty similar, but you should be able to tell us apart, since every different tribe is good at different kindsa magic!¡± He crossed his arms. I did indeed adjust my posture a bit as soon as magic was mentioned.


    ¡°You mean each tribe is good with a different domain of magic?¡±


    ¡°Yah! That¡¯s the word! Domain! Mhiir¡¯im are good with the destructive kind¡­ We¡¯re good with the self-improvement sort, and then those damn Nonfel bastards are good with the kind that messes with yer mind!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle over his obvious distaste toward the Nonfel. ¡°That¡¯s pretty interesting! I¡¯ll be able to tell you all apart when I figure out how to¡­sort of read mana better.¡± I leaned back against the soft sofa.


    ¡°Yah! And my story kinda has got a lot to do with that too. See, our folks, we worship nature. It¡¯s a real big deal to us. I dunno if a witch really gets the concept of a religion, but ya know, we kinda deem the nature a sacred thing. We believe our powers are a blessing from nature itself.¡±


    ¡°Mmm! I do understand what religion is, even if I don¡¯t have a particular one, I have dedicated myself to.¡± I reassured him.


    ¡°Well, that makes my story a lot easier to explain!¡± He clapped his big hands contently. ¡°See, I was originally kinda just visiting here in Subtherma for work. We use the railway system to traverse around in the underground! Have ya seen it?¡±


    ¡°I have! The steam engine was really impressive!¡±


    ¡°Ya know what a steam engine is?! Ya are some weird witch!¡± He laughed heartily.


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent a lot of my life reading.¡± I smiled. It¡¯s not like I was lying¡­even if the reading didn¡¯t happen in this world.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a hella good thing!¡± He grinned at me toothily and took another sip of tea, although maybe a gulp was a more appropriate term. He was a rather aggressive tea drinker. ¡°So¡­ I came here from my home kingdom of Inaria, which is about a couple hour train ride away from here.¡± The Haarken man had a gruffly voice, but there was an air of friendliness to it.


    ¡°Uhuh!¡± I nodded. Somehow, I felt a bit less stressed out from listening to him, even if the mysteries of magic¡­and my worries over my future still weighed upon me.


    ¡°We had a most beautiful kingdom built within and under the roots of a big tree that reached all the way underground with its roots.¡± He smiled, but simply from his wording, I grew a bit wary. ¡°It was our tree of worship! The Tree of Origin.¡±


    ¡°H¡­had¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yah¡­¡± He sighed and had to actually take a moment. It was easy enough to see the frustration and anger brewing inside. ¡°Ya know those three golden bastards you killed with Princess Fanael?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Suddenly, something clicked within me. A kingdom that worships trees¡­ Something you get to with the train. ¡°The amulet¡­!¡± I gasped.


    ¡°Yah¡­ I heard from the royal family, that they found the royal insignia of our beloved king in the chambers ya had been in¡­¡± He shook his head. An expression of such deep sadness marred his face, and it was a bit difficult to look at him. ¡°They got us¡­ They got us first.¡± He punched his thigh a bit in frustration.


    I now understood why the goblin was so keen on hiding the amulet from the king¡­ It must have been evidence of the fact, that Inaria had already been destroyed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ We got our folks totally fooled by those golden loonies, and about everyone outside of the ones visiting other kingdoms were wiped. Those people single-handedly almost got our entire tribe extinct¡­and if not for ya and yer friend¡­we¡¯d prolly have gotten wiped already.¡± He looked directly at me.


    ¡°¡­¡± I honestly didn¡¯t know what to even say. Dawn was slowly breaking, and the blue light shone through the windows, mixing with the orange flicker of the lamp I had on the table.


    ¡°If I can admit something hella creepy, I actually followed ya on the streets. It¡¯s really my first day working at the library. I was yer average miner before the golden folks came over.¡± He suddenly confessed. ¡°I begged the librarian to let me be a night guard, as soon as I heard ya talk about spending the night here, even though I ain¡¯t got the slightest clue on what the hell these books are even about.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°W-why?¡±


    ¡°¡¯Cause I don¡¯t want someone who did something so good for us to be in any kindsa danger. Ya know, they don¡¯t even got a night guard here normally.¡± He laughed gruffly and stroked his beard. ¡°Books ain¡¯t really something us underground folk consider worth stealing! Betterment of knowledge is a thing that benefits everyone, so ain¡¯t no Haark or even a damn Nonfel gonna steal no books.¡± He nodded confidently.


    ¡°I wanted to guard here¡­just to guard ya, from¡­prolly nothing really. I¡¯ve just lost¡­a lot of things I thought were good things¡­so, I dunno if this makes any sense, but I¡¯ve gotten a bit scared of losing more good things in life.¡± He tapped his knees with his hands a bit. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten a bit paranoid or something¡­¡± He exhaled heavily after exposing his heart in such a manner.


    Every so often, the positive outlook of the people here made it possible to momentarily forget, that they just went through what essentially boiled down to mass genocide.


    I never realized there was another tribe, that met a much worse end than Subtherma. I still had no clue on what the motives of the golden people were¡­ At this moment, however, I also knew it¡¯d be extremely tactless of me to start acting like a detective and begin questioning a grieving man about the murder of his loved ones.


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s creepy.¡± I managed to blurt out, but it was definitely the wrong thing to focus on in a situation like this¡­


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± The man chuckled a bit, although quietly.


    ¡°I do¡­understand the desire to not let go of things, when you¡¯ve lost a lot in life.¡± I sighed sharply. ¡°I understand it¡­very well.¡±


    ¡°Got something weighing on yer heart?¡± He grinned a bit weakly. ¡°I told ya about my misery, so why don¡¯t ya share me yer¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°W-weren¡¯t we supposed to talk about magic¡­?¡± I huffed.


    ¡°Magic schmagic! Ya clearly got something to talk about, so forget about magic for a second!¡± He finally laughed at me. Maybe my magic obsession was somehow amusing to him, or might be it was just my lacking social skills.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really know if I wanted to talk about this to a total stranger¡­but then again, I kind of really had been bottling up my emotions for a good while now.


    ¡°Go ahead! If ya ain¡¯t speaking in five minutes, I¡¯ll go get something to lubricate that tongue of yers! If ya know what I mean!¡± He made a sipping gesture.


    ¡°F-fine¡­fine¡­ I¡¯ll talk.¡± I groaned. Admittedly, the Mhiir¡¯im beer wasn¡¯t particularly tasty, so I had no interest in having a drinking contest. ¡°I¡­have an issue with people abandoning me.¡± After wavering on the subject a bit, I finally told the man about my past with friends, and my problems with making meaningful, lasting connections¡­ ¡°I just made friends with Amelia¡­¡± I continued explaining my fears over losing Amelia, or becoming a burden to her.


    The bearded tea-gulper looked a bit stunned over my litany of issues. He just stared at me, seemingly trying to parse through all the information he had been provided with, and he ended up giving an answer I was¡­honestly sub-consciously expecting¡­


    But it was the answer I also kind of didn¡¯t want to hear.


    ¡°Well. Don¡¯t this just sound like¡­ya gotta speak to Amelia about yer concerns?¡±


    I was left in silence because I knew I¡¯d have to talk to her about it. It¡¯s not like it was some sort of incredible revelation¡­ but there was one issue.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared of what she¡¯ll say¡­or how she¡¯ll react to it. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll go away if I open up about my concerns. I don¡¯t want to be a burden¡­¡±


    ¡°Ya gotta MAN UP!¡± The man slapped his hand on the table, causing me to yelp a bit.


    ¡°B-but I¡¯m a woman¡­!¡± I whimpered.


    ¡°THAT AIN¡¯T GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!¡± He suddenly stood up and began pointing at me. ¡°A WOMAN CAN MAN THE HELL UP TOO! Ya got problems, they¡¯re just gonna grow bigger the more ya look away from ¡®em!¡± He roared. Luckily, the library was still empty, so he wasn¡¯t really being a bother.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about manning up?¡± Amelia¡¯s voice suddenly pierced our conversation.


    ¡°A-Amelia?!¡± I squealed.


    The dwarf suddenly walked over to the knight in an almost sassy march. ¡°YA! Human paladin! Ya got a real dumb companion here! Tell her to man up!¡±


    ¡°H-huuhhh¡­?¡± The poor knight seemed completely out of her element. ¡°U-uh¡­!¡± She turned to me. ¡°Y-Yverna¡­! You should¡­¡± She looked at the dwarf for confirmation again, who in turn whispered something to her, which caused her eyes to shoot open. ¡°You should! Um! Man up!¡± She staggered.


    ¡°YOU TOO!?¡± I howled, as the dwarf slapped Amelia on the thighs and pointed her to sit next to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go walk around again.¡± He murmured.


    ¡°W-what about the magic¡­?!¡± I whimpered softly.


    ¡°YOU GOT SOME MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES TO LOOK AT! Stop running away from yer problems with dumb distractions!¡±


    I was left in an absurdly difficult silence, with Amelia sitting there just as awkwardly as I was. I guess the Haarken guy did have a point¡­


    Maybe I was just using magic studies as an excuse to run away from the real issue of confronting Amelia about my thoughts¡­


    I hated how much of a point he had¡­and I hated how I didn¡¯t even notice I was just avoiding the hard-hitting topics by running away.


    Having spent a large portion of my past just trying to distract myself from my problems seemed to chase me in here as well, and I seemingly had gotten a bit too good at running away from reality, to the point where I didn¡¯t even notice when I was doing it myself.


    I took a long, sharp breath and turned to Amelia. ¡°Hey¡­ Can we talk?¡±


    ¡­


    Amelia was carrying me. She did mention she wanted to check up on me every now and then, which is why she just suddenly appeared in the library, but apparently, she had suddenly gotten something she wanted to show me, so we were on our way to see it together. The town was quiet because it was maybe four or three in the morning.


    ¡°So, what did you want to talk about.¡± She spoke softly as we slowly traversed through the misty streets.


    ¡°It¡¯s about¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really know how to even start this conversation. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­know how to say this¡­but um¡­¡±


    ¡°Take your time.¡± She was as gentle as always, but somehow it made me feel even worse. I didn¡¯t want to lose this warmth and yet, here I was risking it all with this conversation.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I gulped. Why was talking suddenly so hard? I felt like my throat was swelling up. ¡°I¡¯m scared¡­¡± I struggled to speak further.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Amelia simply nodded, and we stopped on a bench in a small park.


    ¡°W-weren¡¯t we gonna go¡­somewhere?¡± I felt almost relieved for the distraction.


    ¡°No, I can tell whatever you wish to say is important, so let¡¯s talk here. We can go see my thing later.¡± She let me sit next to her. ¡°Please go on.¡±


    I really wished the distraction lasted a little bit longer, but sadly, my throat started closing up again. I could tell I was close to crying, even if my eyes felt weirdly dry and irritated. ¡°I¡¯m scared of¡­you going away from me.¡± I managed to finally gasp out.


    ¡°Where would I go¡­?¡± Amelia whispered at me.


    ¡°Our adventures¡­ I didn¡¯t expect them to get this dangerous¡­¡± My speech was probably about impossible to hear with how quiet I was, and yet somehow Amelia was fully on track. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll die¡­and leave me all alone¡­ or¡­we¡¯ll try to go on some lunatic adventure¡­which will lead to us both getting hurt.¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡± Amelia seemed a bit shocked, but a pained expression spread on her face as soon as she started to realize what I was talking about. I couldn¡¯t help but get a bit worried she¡¯d respond poorly, so I began backtracking.


    ¡°I-I do think your sense of justice¡­is cool and I do think it¡¯s nice to be appreciated by the people we helped¡­ but¡­ I¡¯m scared someday this sense of justice will¡­lead to bad things happening to you¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what the hell do you mean ME!?¡± The paladin suddenly began raising her voice. She was already in tears. ¡°YOUR BODY IS RUINED!! YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE SO MUCH MORE BECAUSE OF MY RIDICULOUS ARROGANCE! WHY ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT MY WELLBEING?!¡±


    I was definitely blindsided by her side of viewing it. I suppose she really did feel guilty over what happened to me. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­!¡± I staggered, being yelled at made it even harder to speak. ¡°The thing I want to see the least in this world¡­is to see someone close to me get hurt¡­ I don¡¯t mind if I get hurt, I can manage it, but I¡¯d rather die than be left all by myself¡­again.¡± I continued mumbling quietly.


    Amelia shook her head in distaste, and she seemed like she was about to start yelling, but then she reeled her head back a bit, seemingly taking a second to cool down a bit. ¡°But¡­¡± She sobbed. ¡°I¡¯m the same¡­ I¡¯ve been feeling incredibly guilty for the last two weeks, because of everything that happened to you when I¡¯m still fine. I even got a patron deity¡­ Everything went perfectly for me, and yet you only lost things.¡± Her voice was shaking, and she was gritting her teeth as she spoke. It was as if there were a visceral hatred towards herself seeping out from in-between them.


    I wanted to start talking right away¡­but I instead took a moment to breathe. I tried to put myself in her shoes¡­ If she¡¯d be the one who was crippled, I¡¯d be feeling most likely just as guilty, if not even worse, over it.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­so sorry¡­! So incredibly sorry¡­!¡± She cried. ¡°I won¡¯t ever let you suffer through something so dangerous alone¡­¡± She turned to look at me, but it was so incredibly difficult to look at her. My eyes kept stinging, and I felt like crying, but nothing came out.


    I chuckled weakly, sighing a bit. ¡°Alone¡­? So, you still wanna keep doing dangerous stuff¡­?¡± I teased her a bit because I really needed to lighten the mood a tad.


    She slapped her hands over her mouth and stared at me wide-eyed. ¡°S-sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Please don¡¯t misunderstand me.¡± I figured I should just explain everything I had in my head in detail. ¡°I have¡­abandonment issues.¡± I began, and before my paladin friend managed to ask what it meant, I explained. ¡°Basically, I can¡¯t mentally deal with being abandoned. Or being left alone by someone I¡¯ve entrusted a lot about myself to. I can¡¯t recover well from it¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Amelia nodded quietly, wiping her eyes.


    ¡°I have memories of a past life¡­¡± I started, causing a puzzled expression to grow on the paladin¡¯s face. ¡°I won¡¯t go into a lot of detail¡­but essentially, I¡¯ve spent about twenty-five years stuck in a hospital. I had some friends, but the friendships never lasted, because of the burden I was tagged along with.¡±


    I told Amelia about my past life, while omitting the details of the differences between our worlds. I told her about Bee, I told her about my parents, I told her about the doctors. I told her everything.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be alone¡­¡± I began sobbing dryly. No tears flowed, but I couldn¡¯t control my breathing anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be left alone! It¡¯s the last thing I want! I don¡¯t care if my body turns to dust, if I can die by the side of someone I care for!¡± I screamed in the middle of my sobbing. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want it¡­ever again!!¡±


    ¡°T-then don¡¯t!!¡± Amelia grabbed my shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll be here!! I¡¯ve been abandoned by everything I loved¡­ I know how you feel, but please don¡¯t sacrifice yourself for that!! I don¡¯t want to see you go either!! I¡¯d have long since killed myself if not for you, for you¡¯re the only reason I¡¯m even alive!¡± She was a mess of tears, her hands grasped onto me a bit harder by the second, almost as if she were afraid I¡¯d disappear somewhere if she let go. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going together! We¡¯ll keep each other safe!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m nothing but a¡­lump of meat now¡­!¡± I sobbed more, punching down the park chair with frustration.


    ¡°DON¡¯T BE ONE!!¡± She screamed and suddenly lifted me up, beginning to carry me.


    ¡°W-what are you doing?! Amelia?!¡± I shouted, as she began running with me in her arms at full speed. ¡°Amelia?!¡± She didn¡¯t respond at all, and I had no idea what she had in mind.


    I was rapidly carried through the town, until something resembling a small factory of some kind came in sight. Fanael was standing in front of it, looking a bit confused.


    ¡°What in the world took you so¡­ oh¡­¡± She smiled a bit apologetically as soon as she saw the state Amelia and I were in. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll not intrude on whatever happened¡­but you¡¯re here, so, I guess that¡¯s all that matters.¡± She turned to me. ¡°Yverna. I have something for you.¡±


    I was just a mess of confusion now.


    What were these two on about? I couldn¡¯t even word anything anymore due to the storm of emotions I was experiencing, so I just shook my head as I got carried into the factory.


    We walked into a back room, where a long wooden box rested on top of a messy table full of various kinds of expensive looking tools. There were tiny hammers¡­some kind of¡­things with sharp edges¡­and that¡¯s about the gist of what I could understand at the moment.


    I just stared at the box confused, while the crying Amelia lowered me down on a soft chair sitting in front of the table.


    ¡°Please open it¡­!¡± She sobbed quietly. ¡°You are not a burden¡­! Please understand¡­!¡±


    I looked at both Fanael and Amelia. They both nodded in total silence. I reached out and slowly pulled the lid open. There was a¡­really dark, item inside. I think it was made of metal. The arm had strange see-through vein-like patterns on its surface, not to mention an incredible number of mana-circuits. ¡°W-what is this¡­?¡±


    Fanael snapped her fingers, and a couple Mhiir¡¯im men rushed into the room. They grabbed the strange object, which when lifted out of the box and extended looked like an arm. They pulled back the sleeve of my shirt carefully, exposing the bandaged stump left of my arm. ¡°It¡¯s our thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. I¡¯d never be able to live without guilt knowing someone else sacrificed so much to save us, who are essentially complete strangers to you.¡±


    The men unwrapped the bandages around my missing arm, and I slowly began to realize what was happening. My breathing started growing erratic, and my vision went blurry. They somehow attached the black arm to the stub, and the see-through metal wrapped around it, forming an airtight seal. ¡°Is¡­this¡­?¡± I managed to barely speak, as tears began rolling down my cheeks.


    I could feel my arm.


    I could feel it.


    I could feel it!


    I could feel it!!


    My arm! It was there¡­! I could feel my arm¡­!! My crystal-clear tears, fell on the metallic sheen of the dark arm, as I shakily touched the table. I could feel its surface¡­ I looked at Amelia and Fanael. Amelia was crying, but also smiling at me. All I could do was sob, and keep feeling the table. Even Fanael seemed like she was close to crying.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­an arm¡­!¡± I cried. ¡°I can¡­move it¡­!¡±


    ¡°We only have this prototype made so far¡­ Working with these materials is very time-consuming, but we will also manufacture a leg and the missing finger for you.¡± Fanael spoke softly. ¡°We¡¯ll need to detach it for now, but once we get the real deal on you, it¡¯ll feel even more natural! I promise!¡± The princess grinned a bit.


    ¡°Y-you mean¡­ I¡¯ll be able to walk again¡­?¡± It felt as if my tear ducts, which had kept all of my emotions bottled up for so long, were finally opened. It all flowed out at once, big dollops of tears dripping onto my new metallic palm as I let the Mhiir¡¯im men detach the arm from my shoulder.


    ¡°Yes¡­!¡± Now Fanael began sobbing a bit too.


    Amelia stood up and rushed to me, toppling the chair over and ending with us both crying out loud on the floor. All those emotions, all the fear, all the stress, all the uncertainty, were finally being let go.


    It all turned into those perfectly clear tears, now trailing down my cheeks, as I cried from the depths of my soul. Fanael eventually joined our group hug and sobbed a bit too.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I whispered quietly.


    I don¡¯t think I had ever cried out of joy in my life. It was always out of frustration or sadness, anger or hate, so I had never cried for¡­a good thing. It felt¡­wonderful, and I felt almost like my body was being cleansed by it.


    An incredible wave of relief washed over me, and I felt like my head was a couple of kilograms lighter all of a sudden. I could keep going on adventures with Amelia. I would be able to walk, and do things with my hands.


    I could live¡­a proper life, without being tied to a bed for good.


    I was wrong¡­


    I was so incredibly wrong in thinking¡­that this wasn¡¯t worth it.


    For the first time in a very long time¡­ I really felt like I had done something right in life. I did lose an arm and a leg literally, but I could replace them with metal and magic, simply because I had people out there, who cared for me.


    I wasn¡¯t alone, and I didn¡¯t have to figure out the solution to everything by myself anymore¡­


    We cried for a long time.


    Eventually, Amelia carried me out, with Fanael walking beside us. Dawn had broken, and the town was alive again.


    I don¡¯t know why¡­


    But somehow, the light shining down from the ceiling didn¡¯t feel so blue anymore¡­


    ¡°Hey¡­ Amelia.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Yverna?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t remember wrong, I think I owe you a dinner¡­¡± I mumbled and sniffled a bit.


    ¡°Why, you do indeed!¡± She laughed, and with that, we decided to head out to have something to eat.

 Chapter 13: A Journey Back into Sunlight

    I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s the logic of running a steam train underground¡­ I can imagine the cave where the train exits, is like a dragon coughing out smoke due to how much of it builds up around the train.


    Seriously.


    All I can see is smoke¡­ Or I guess¡­steam?? ¡­ Why does this train even have windows¡­!? What¡¯s the point when you¡¯re traveling underground anyway?!


    Even if the train eventually does go above ground, wouldn¡¯t the windows just be so coated in soot we¡¯d be unable to see through them anyway?


    Eh. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be so hard on the Mhiir¡¯im on this¡­ Apparently, trains are a pretty big deal, and only the folks living underground have really figured out how to even make them. I guess blaming them for¡­weird design choices is a bit petty.


    I read in some books back in Subtherma, that most religions on the surface dislike trains and other methods of moving multiple people inside machinery.


    Apparently, it reminds them of dragons¡­which in turn is some form of heresy.


    To be fair, I think back in my world, literature had plenty of comparisons between dragons and trains, so I can kind of see where they¡¯re coming from.


    The sound my cold, sharp-clawed finger made against the window glass of the train car we were in felt a bit alien. It was so piercing and snappy. It kept reminding me of the fact that my arm was now made of a metallic compound of some kind.


    ¡°Choralium¡± a fantastical metal that conducts magic like no other, is what my new prosthetic arm was primarily built out of. I guess it would be comparable to fantasy stuff like¡­ Mythril or something like that from the literature of our world.


    Amelia and I managed to somehow save a Mhiir¡¯im society from a bunch of weird creeps, and judging by what their beloved princess Fanael said, the men might have been after the choralium deposit Amelia and I found accidentally on our way to the underground kingdom of Subtherma.


    For anyone out of the loop, Mhiir¡¯im are like¡­a type of dwarf¡­ but it¡¯s apparently not cool to call them dwarves¡­so yeah.


    In the process of saving said adorable and vertically challenged people, I made plenty of personal sacrifices. Namely, to my physical being.


    Now my whole left arm, the middle finger of my right hand and the entirety of my right leg was no longer flesh and blood. Faint streaks of orange light traversed down the length of my prosthetic replacement parts occasionally as I gazed at them.


    My body felt a bit alien. It was definitely difficult to get used to something like this. Not so much because of something like¡­phantom pain or such! It¡¯s a bit different¡­ It feels¡­better? Maybe better is the right word! Choralium conducts mana really well, which in turn makes my metallic arm and leg move really accurately. Even more accurately than my flesh and blood limbs.


    The irony of this isn¡¯t lost on me, since I¡¯m half way there in terms of becoming a magical terminator. My natural parts feel clunky and slow, so ironically, I¡¯ve had to go through extensive physical therapy and muscle training to make sure the rest of my body keeps up with the choralium parts.


    I feel a lot better about myself physically. I still can¡¯t keep up with Amelia at all, but I am a bit more in tune with my body now. Furthermore, I feel being in at least somewhat alright shape is essential considering the hellhole this world is.


    Speaking of hellholes! Welcome to the second book of my memoirs! I wrote the first one while I stayed in Subtherma, and it has become a bit of a hobby for me. I feel it was a pretty natural transition into writing stuff considering how much I read in general.


    Do keep in mind I¡¯m still a total beginner¡­ so if you see some weird sentences or something, let¡¯s say it¡¯s Fanael¡¯s fault. She keeps trying to add her comments to my writing while I¡¯m not looking¡­


    But anyway! To kind of sum up the previous topic, I¡¯m in better physical shape than ever. Nothing incredible, but at least I¡¯m not a walking skeleton anymore.


    Amelia still keeps getting on my case over my weight, though¡­ Apparently, I¡¯m still too skinny and pale. Fanael lovingly described my appearance as ¡®gloomy as a ghost¡¯.


    But to me, this is fine! I am a witch, after all! Witches are supposed to be a bit dark! In more ways than one!


    Speaking of, though¡­ It¡¯s not just me and Amelia anymore.


    I was sitting in a fancy, well-lit train car as I wrote this.


    Amelia was taking a nap next to me, looking as handsome as always. She was gifted cool duotone armor by Fanael and her people as thanks for our help with the Subtherma incident. The train ride was to take two weeks¡­so there was literally zero reason for Amelia to wear her armor on the train, but judging by how she strongly refused the idea of taking it off made it obvious how much she adored it.


    ¡­ So, she was clanging around wherever we went.


    Amelia recovered from the incident well, and we¡¯ve grown noticeably closer while hanging out and about in Subtherma.


    You, however, already know Amelia. I suppose the newer companion who was sitting opposite of me, barking orders at her subordinates, is more interesting for now.


    Her royal Highness, Fanael Il Subtherma decided to join us on our adventure. The little princess wore a light dress of red and black. I¡¯d be as bold as to assume they were her favorite colors, judging by how often she donned clothes like this.


    The outfit was adorned with golden decorations all over it, making it look¡­excessively expensive. Royalty sure as hell has a completely unique idea of ¡®casual clothes¡¯ it seemed.


    Despite having this royal presence to herself, her legs were kicking back and forth while she was instructing her aides in political matters. It was a delightful conflict of serious talk and absolutely adorable people having it.


    Her aide was, of course, also a Mhiir¡¯im noble of some kind, who was sitting in place, but her head was swaying from side to side as she wrote, as if she was humming a song to herself in her head¡­


    I wondered if it was just impossible for Mhiir¡¯im girls to not be cute. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of selective breeding must have happened to create these absolute abominations of pure fluffiness.


    You might be a bit confused as to what¡¯s going on and where we are, so if you don¡¯t mind. I could explain what¡¯s happened so far a bit more, but to keep things simple for now, I was on my way to the surface from underground with Fanael and Amelia. Fanael had a score to settle with the golden people, so she joined us. The kingdom of Subtherma is now the Democratic Republic of Subtherma. Fanael is currently explaining to her aide that in a democratic society, they vote for people in charge, instead of choosing them based on their family titles and such.


    Fanael decided that remaining a monarchy would simply provide opportunity for the enemies of Subtherma to exploit the monarchs, just like what happened to her father, so she kind of¡­overthrew the entire political system of her past kingdom.


    This, of course, meant Fanael was not TECHNICALLY a princess anymore either. Her people still called her ¡®Her Highness¡¯ though. This seemed to trouble her a bit, but she didn¡¯t really raise a ruckus about it because she probably understood how significant changes like this always took time to fully go through.


    I studied magic a lot while I was uh¡­vacationing in Subtherma.


    You might remember I promised Amelia, I¡¯d take her out to eat, but our plans to go stuff our faces with good food had to be put on hold because Subtherma was extremely low on supplies due to all the events that transpired.


    We did eventually eat Mhiir¡¯im food! I¡¯ll tell you about it a bit later, for sure.


    Sitting there amidst the cloud of darkness, protected only by a thin window glass caused my mind to wander.


    It meandered to the changes my life had gone through in such a short time.


    The past life I spent being stuck in a hospital and being set aside by everyone close to me did a number on me. I think I might have closed off myself to emotions and people¡­


    Friends¡­ goals¡­ dreams. These were all things, which my mind considered threats to my mental wellbeing in the past. What¡¯s the point of investing yourself in anything, when it¡¯s all going to go away before you even manage to enjoy it.


    I avoided people, so I wouldn¡¯t get hurt when they couldn¡¯t deal with my¡­limitations anymore.


    I avoided dedicating myself to anything but stuff like video games and reading because I¡¯d just inevitably feel like a failure if I set myself any greater goals than beating some boss in a video game. Not only that, but I was working with a pretty strict time limit as well¡­


    Thinking back on it now, I think that gloomy mentality of mine was dragged into this world as well. You might remember that¡­ whole part at the beginning of the first volume about me screaming about butterflies and everything I saw around the world with joy and excitement.


    I think the reason I had such a wild reaction to it, was because I honestly didn¡¯t believe any of this was real to begin with.


    You know. Enjoy it while it lasts and all. I was sure I¡¯d wake up from the dream sooner than later.


    But it was different now. I had come to accept that this wasn¡¯t a dream. I was here, and this world was just as real, if not even more real to me, than my past life was.


    It was¡­different. I was invested in this life¡­ emotionally.


    And this realization was absolutely horrifying to me.


    When you play a lot of video games, you¡¯re kind of hardwired to think that when you see a pitfall in front of you, you¡¯re supposed to jump over it.


    But when you encounter a situation in real life where you must jump over a bottomless abyss expanding into nothing but cruel unyielding darkness, it suddenly becomes considerably harder.


    When your party mate dies in an RPG, you can just cast a magic spell to revive them, or drag them to the church or a resurrection point to heal them back up again.


    Not in here, though.


    I feel I have started to understand what I want out of this life, and it isn¡¯t revenge. Not mine, not Amelia¡¯s nor Fanael¡¯s.


    Sure, the first impression of the golden people with the princess I met, and that creepy stone wasn¡¯t outright good¡­ Not to mention the whole¡­murder exile business¡­  I still felt I couldn¡¯t get motivated to dedicate my life to vengeance.


    She definitely was an asshole, don¡¯t get me wrong, but I honestly couldn¡¯t muster the energy to hate someone like that in this world.


    I had a brand-new life in a beautiful, albeit horrifying fantasy land.


    Maybe to Amelia and Fanael this environment was the status quo, but to me, it was a magical wonderland of experiences. Focusing on something like revenge felt redundant when there was so much more I could do with my time¡­


    I never knew Amelia¡¯s daughter Amy. To me, she¡¯s like a character from a book a friend recited to me. I¡¯m not going to lie and start claiming I¡¯m empathetic enough to be able to put myself in Amelia¡¯s shoes about that experience.


    Which is why I don¡¯t really care about her revenge.


    I experienced what Fanael had to go through to an extent, but none of the animosity in that whole ordeal was directly aimed at me.


    I wasn¡¯t the target of the attack. I just¡­ended up getting involved in it, which indirectly caused me to draw enmity.


    So, to emphasize, I never cared about revenge.


    I am¡­ trying¡­and trying to distance myself¡­


    But I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t pull away from the warmth of Amelia and Fanael anymore.


    This¡­friendship.


    Love even.


    I¡¯ve come to love my friends.


    This is a major issue¡­


    If you have some kind of flaw or a weakness in your body or person, it¡¯s generally easy to start working towards fixing it, patching up those little weak spots one at a time.


    But I lived a life where my weak spot couldn¡¯t be patched up. My body was inherently faulty from the get-go. It was an awful life of uncertainty and anxiety.


    And now, while my body is functional, and I was healthier than I had ever been despite missing a couple of limbs, my weak spot was out of my grasp again.


    My friends.


    I couldn¡¯t control them, so I had two unpredictable weak spots fully exposed walking around next to me.


    Saying I was anxious about the future was an understatement, especially considering my particular weak spots were VERY personally motivated about getting in trouble.


    Seriously.


    Amelia had an idiotic sense of justice, and she was obsessed with revenge towards the golden princess who killed her daughter.


    Fanael, on the other hand, was just far too wild and bloodthirsty in general! Her mother, who passed away on some adventure a long time ago, was definitely the person Fanael inherited her ferociousness from.


    Random note on her mom, weirdly enough, I found no details on her death in any books back in Subtherma¡­


    Ahem!


    But what I¡¯m trying to say here is, that I¡¯m willing to put myself in crazy danger, simply because I would rather not see Fanael and Amelia hurt anymore.


    But deep inside, I just want to spend a happy, long life with them without strife and pain¡­


    It seemed, however, that a long road of conflict was ahead of us until we could truly rest. Fanael seemed to have a bone to pick with ALL the golden-haired perverts! All of them! She only met one!! Why does she need to take revenge on everyone?! I DON¡¯T GET IT!!


    Ahem¡­


    To sum it up¡­ I guess I just wanted to say I really liked my new friends¡­ Like seriously, and I was terrified of losing them¡­ Scared of being seriously hurt again.


    Looking out the window into the dark smoke the train was enveloped in, I felt a sense of dread.


    It was like a premonition that said everything waiting ahead of me in life was black smoke and cinder.


    Death and misery.


    It certainly sullied the mood a bit.


    I suddenly felt a finger poking my cheek. Amelia was smiling at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You look a bit gloomy.¡± She smiled gently and gestured for an adorable little servant Mhiir¡¯im who was pushing a food trolley, to hand her something to munch on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t I always?¡± I chuckled a bit. I slowly turned around from looking out through the window.


    ¡°There¡¯s a subtle difference between the general gloominess and the real gloominess you emanate.¡±


    ¡°What am I?! Some kinda depression factory?!¡± I grumbled and took what looked a bit like a croissant from the little servant.


    Fanael was still treated like royalty, so we had a really fancy train car reserved just for us. It came with around the clock food service, a bathroom with a huge bath tub and numerous other amenities I didn¡¯t quite understand due to their¡­Mhiir¡¯im origin.


    One among such bizarre oddities was what seemed to be a board game where you had to do tricks with a piece of wood with a string wrapped around it, not too different from a yo-yo.


    Fanael tried to explain the rules to Amelia earlier, but it didn¡¯t seem to go too well.


    ¡°Well! Sometimes.¡± Amelia smiled. ¡°But, please do talk. We both know it only harms you to keep things bottled up.¡±


    ¡°Mmmmgh¡­¡± I looked away a bit. It was embarrassing to be read by people like this. It¡¯s fine when I do it! But you¡¯re not allowed to! I screamed in my head.


    When I mentioned Amelia and I getting closer, this is mostly what I meant. We¡­talked a lot during the time we spent in Subtherma, which helped her grow a bit more aware of who I was as a person, I suppose. This, of course, applied both ways. I learned a lot about Amelia too, and I hold all that knowledge in the most precious wrinkles of my brain with pride.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Amelia cocked her eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯m just¡­worried we¡¯re on our way to another death trap of some kind¡­¡± I mumbled.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Amelia nodded and seemed to begin pondering something over.


    ¡°What are you so worried about?! You got me here now! I¡¯ll keep you two safe, even if you get a couple of injuries!¡± Fanael boasted, marching over to us sassily.


    ¡°You¡­don¡¯t really know what we went through before the whole Subtherma incident though.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°BAH! It couldn¡¯t have been that bad!¡± Fanael laughed and jumped next to me. Her arrogance was a bit annoying. It felt a little like she was belittling what we had to go through before Subtherma¡­


    ¡­ But surely, she will grow to understand if this world was to be equally rotten to the very end. She would eventually realize how miserable things can get¡­ I could sense it.


    ¡°Somehow¡­ I¡¯ve got a strange feeling about this. Like¡­ we just got a safe little hole to hide in¡­ I don¡¯t understand why we need to get out there just to get ourselves killed.


    Amelia smiled a bit apologetically and simply stayed silent, wrapping her arm around me. She sighed deep and nodded a bit, seemingly mostly to herself.


    ¡°Thank you for tagging along, even if you¡¯re not fully onboard with it.¡±


    I remained silent, then huffing to myself a bit. ¡°I¡¯d rather follow you and watch you die, rather than never see you again. I hate the thought of you getting hurt¡­but I hate the thought of having to part ways even more¡­¡± I mumbled a bit awkwardly. ¡°Fanael too¡­kind of.¡±


    Both girls were suddenly awkward over my words. I didn¡¯t really want to guilt-trip them¡­ but yes, I did. My two most precious people were running head long into unimaginable peril, and I was just supposed to shut up and watch?!


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re starting to sound like her.¡± Fanael pointed at Amelia, blushing a bit.


    ¡°Whu? Wha? What? How?¡± I was caught off-guard.


    ¡°You sound like a mom.¡± She replied.


    I slapped my face in my hands. It hurt a bit due to the fact one of them was made of metal. But¡­ She was right. I was saying kind of weirdly mom-like things, wasn¡¯t I?! Like I was scared for my children.


    ¡°S-shut up¡­ I¡¯ve never had close friends before¡­¡± I murmured.


    Amelia gently hugged me against her¡­but her armor made it slightly uncomfortable. I did appreciate the gesture, though.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be careful.¡± She spoke in a soft yet confident voice. ¡°I promise.¡±


    Fanael simply sighed and smiled a bit, leaning against me as well. She was soft and warm. Much more comfortable than ¡®Miss Iron Maiden¡¯ right next to me.


    ¡°I recall seeing you studying magic a lot back in Subtherma.¡± Amelia started speaking softly. ¡°Was that also¡­because you were worried about us?¡±


    I stayed silent, sighing to myself. I would rather not answer because the answer was actually ¡®Nah. I just like magic a lot. I didn¡¯t actually even think about it, but it kind of does work out nicely, doesn¡¯t it?


    Silence would conceal the fact that I was just a magic nerd.


    I let Amelia and Fanael make the assumption that I was a thoughtful person, even if it was false.


    Despite their promises, I still couldn¡¯t fully trust we wouldn¡¯t end up in trouble again.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    While I was nerding out with magic in the library of Subtherma, I also read a lot about the world.


    I¡¯m not going to go into a lot of detail¡­but to sum everything up, this world is a waking nightmare.


    I fostered hopes that maybe we just got really unlucky with our encounters so far, but judging by everything I read, that wasn¡¯t the case at all.


    About everything in this world was a death-trap. Be it the flora, fauna, or the people, everything was bloodthirsty or hateful one way or another.


    Kind of like my past world, this planet was also mostly enveloped in water. Unlike the numerous continents of my world, this one only had two, and the area habitable by the humanoid races on each piece of land was VERY limited.


    War over the best spots was more than common, there wasn¡¯t really a common understanding of¡­ almost anything between the different races of human-like beings on this planet.


    This, plus all the monstrous horrors and unexplainable darkness the world had hidden within ensured the average lifespan of people was very short.


    About fifty years, just in case you were wondering.


    Knowing all this made it very difficult to stay completely confident in our journey. I guess this is what ¡®Ignorance is Bliss¡¯ meant.


    I sighed deep once more, almost a bit dramatically, causing Amelia and Fanael to glance at me with expressions of subtle worry.


    I slowly slid my hands around them and pulled them a bit closer to myself, basking in their warmth¡­and¡­ Amelia¡¯s armor.


    It was not my intention to make them worry too much over my fears¡­ This journey¡­ it was never really about me anyway. I have no personal investment in it. I didn¡¯t necessarily want to go on a journey to begin with.


    I just wanted to be with these two, but they were hell-bent on going on this crazy adventure, so I figured I should think of something more positive to not let them grow too worried over me¡­


    Uhhh¡­ positive thoughts¡­


    MAGIC! YES! I like thinking about magic!!


    I did practice a lot back in Subtherma.


    While we had a long talk about not being burdens to each other with Amelia, I still felt obligated to get more proficient with magic.


    While I definitely enjoyed nerding out about it, I also had a more serious reason, which was to not end up becoming a weakness to Amelia and Fanael. I was begrudgingly okay with them being my personal vulnerability, but I absolutely refused to become one to them.


    Let¡¯s face it, I was undoubtedly the weakest link of the group in terms of survival skills.


    So, I studied like crazy.


    Upon the effort I put into studying magic, I made some important discoveries regarding it. Let me tell you a bit about my efforts back in Subtherma, since we still have a while until we¡¯d get to the surface.


    As a simple reminder of the past, I was about unable to cast any spells outside¡­being a human lighter and uh¡­making my fingers wet, until I started studying magic more formally.


    I was provided a practice book of some kind that had allegedly belonged to a witch by the library owner.


    With its help, I was able to figure out that you can combine the spell sigils to create more complex magic.


    Simply put, the magic words of the witch language representing ¡®Water¡¯ and ¡®Solid¡¯ could be combined due to their shape, forming a new symbol signifying ice.


    This was my big breakthrough before I had my serious talk with Amelia.


    After getting the burdens of my heart dealt with, I did indeed go back to studying magic.


    I spent multiple nights in the library studying, while Amelia dutifully snoozed the night away next to me. Every so often, I even had a few conversations with Amelia¡¯s goddess while she slept. The deity still could creepily whisper through Amelia¡¯s mouth while the poor knight slept. The goddess turned out to be a pretty nice lady, albeit maybe a bit curt. I wish we could have had tea together sometime.


    Perhaps I¡¯ll summarize my conversation with ¡®Miss Goddess¡¯ sometime, but right now? MAGIC.


    The thing I was so puzzled over, was the fact that in the witch sigil practice book I got, the witch who previously owned it kept on practicing how to draw the sigils as clearly as possible.


    But¡­ countless books I read about monsters claimed witches could cast magic without using traditional mana circuits or spell signs. They could simply somehow¡­ make magic manifest without any effort put into it.


    What was the point of practicing how well you can draw the sigils¡­if you can cast the spells without them anyway?


    How would spell casting even work without the magic sigils? Like¡­ Do I just shout FIREBAAAALLL! And a fireball comes out?


    Nope. Doesn¡¯t work. I did try and embarrassed myself in front of Amelia while trying. And yes, she did laugh at me.


    While I was smashing my face against the seemingly impenetrable ice-wall of understanding magic, I got interrupted by Fanael of all people¡­pretty much in the middle of the night.


    ¡°YVERNA! HERE! NOW!!¡± The gremlin princess rushed into the silent library, causing me to scream and jolt up in surprise, which in turn caused Amelia to bounce up and begin swinging her hand around as if she had a sword in it. She was definitely half-asleep.


    ¡°Whuh¡­?¡± Amelia began looking around as she finally realized there wasn¡¯t an enemy ambush after all.


    ¡°F-Fanael¡­haven¡¯t you heard of being quiet in the library?¡± I grumbled at her as Amelia helped me up. I was still missing my other leg at this point, so I still needed to get princess carried around¡­not that I minded anymore! IN FACT! I reveled in it!


    ¡°Shut up! We¡¯ve got bigger concerns now! COME!¡± The snarky little enemy to all things peace and quiet marched over like she owned the place¡­which she technically did¡­


    Amelia lifted me in her arms, and we went on our way. ¡°What¡¯s the rush?! The golden lunatics didn¡¯t revive or something, did they?!¡± I panicked a bit at the apparent haste we had to make.


    ¡°No¡­ They are very much dead. I made sure of it¡­ It¡¯s that¡­vile thing they had in the hourglass¡­¡± Fanael grumbled under her breath.


    It was as if the air temperature dropped by a solid two Celsius in an instant. I had forgotten the stone. Or maybe I didn¡¯t want to remember to begin with. There was one still in the kingdom, wasn¡¯t there? I never saw it back when it was hidden inside the hourglass, but I could sense the empty void it created around itself even when it was unseen otherwise.


    Fanael guided us to a rather decorated building at the outer circle of the city. It had beautiful marble carvings of what looked like snakes of some kind on the supporting pillars.


    Without being allowed to marvel at the architecture much more, we were ushered inside. Several men and women were rushing around as if there were a fire in the building.


    ¡°Princess! You brought the witch?! Please this way!¡± An old Mhiir¡¯im man spoke in a voice so exhausted it sounded like he was choking on his own enormous beard.


    We rushed through several people crowding the entry to a vast hall. There was a stone pedestal in the center, and on it was¡­


    Nothing.


    ¡°At the base of the siphon¡­¡± Fanael started.


    ¡°¡­ You found a stone with a hand print on it¡­¡± I finished her sentence, which caused about every single head in the room to turn to me.


    ¡°Y-you knew of it?! Tell me everything you know about it!!¡± Fanael rushed to me in a wild flurry. ¡°It was right there!!¡± She pointed at the empty stand. ¡°And¡­now, it¡¯s gone.¡±


    Amelia carried me to the pedestal. There was what looked almost like a burn mark on it. Some sort of dark, brittle ash had formed around the spot where the stone had touched the marble platform it had supposedly been on.


    I used my new sharp metallic claw to scratch the ashen surface a bit. The ash was the result of the stone drawing out all mana from the object it was touching. I went a bit overboard and punched the pedestal. Its surface cracked like the shell of an egg, and a bunch of gray ash flowed everywhere.


    The people in the room coughed, and then an uproar of murmurs and confusion began spreading.


    ¡°Tell. Me. Everything.¡± Fanael reiterated in a sharp tone.


    Soon, we were more comfortably seated in what seemed like a quite posh office room. Fanael was sitting behind the table like the tiny C.E.O she was. The room itself wasn¡¯t particularly bizarre or notable in any way. There were some big seemingly hand-drawn maps on one of the walls. My completely uneducated guess was that they were probably the maps for the cave systems Fanael had explored.


    There were some miscellaneous pieces of treasure, gemstones, some mining gear and a few worn out weapons. There was also a pair of really worn-out boots of some kind on a pedestal. Maybe they were Fanael¡¯s first adventuring boots? I guess the more notable thing about the room was a bunch of science-looking people with ledgers staring at us intently as we sat there with Amelia.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen one of these before, and while Amelia and I were sneaking around the town before Fanael had been saved, I could sense the presence of one of these stones within the mana siphon.¡± I started. ¡°We never actually saw the stone that had been brought to town, but it was easy enough to tell it was there.¡±


    ¡°H-how so!?¡± One of the scientists, a man with a beard ALMOST as immense as the older guy piped up.


    ¡°I¡¯m a monster, so I can detect mana.¡± I began.


    ¡°How¡¯s that going to help with anything?¡± Fanael questioned.


    ¡°Those rocks seem to absorb mana into them and¡­they do it so ravenously, that it creates this strange¡­dark zone around them.¡± I went on.


    ¡°C-can you elaborate?! Please if you could draw an example or something¡­!¡± One of the female researchers was basically sweating a waterfall as she spoke. I¡­ don¡¯t quite know why to this day.


    To my surprise, a chalkboard was brought in! I grabbed the chalk with my choralium hand, which seemed to surprise some researchers. Maybe they expected me to crush the brittle white piece or something¡­ Either way, I began doodling on the blackboard.


    ¡°Basically¡­ I see mana as these¡­sparkling twinkles everywhere. The more something sparkles, the more mana it possesses! Pretty simple right?¡± The people began writing wildly into their notes.


    ¡°And¡­does the stone look somehow different?¡± Amelia had started figuring out what I was trying to lay down.


    ¡°Yes! There is a circular area around the stone where no mana whatsoever exists. It keeps pulling all the sparkling particles towards it, and if you¡¯re within that gray area, all of your magic energy gets sucked into it, which in turn¡­well¡­¡± I looked at the door, leading to the room where I just punched the pillar into a pile of ash.


    ¡°It drained all the mana of the pillar itself¡­!?¡± Fanael seemed like she had seen a ghost.


    A side note. I was actually kind of excited about getting to play the role of a teacher for once. It was a bit¡­uh¡­nice. In a really narcissistic way.


    ¡°What a horrifying construct! I¡¯ve never heard of a mana siphon capable of draining ALL mana from a subject! Not to mention! An inanimate object!!¡± One of the scientists went wild.


    ¡°Indeed!! The fundamentals of Magic insist the object siphoning the mana must have enough magic capacity to store the mana it absorbs! There is no record of inanimate objects ever being capable of such!¡±


    ¡°I think they¡¯re somehow really evil too. It¡¯s like¡­instinctive¡­ but I can tell they¡¯re basically a death sentence if you end up touching one, even if I¡¯ve never seen someone directly touching one.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I encountered one in the kingdom of Rachasia when I was about to get exiled for being a witch.¡±


    ¡°T-there was such an evil object in Rachasia?!¡± Amelia jolted up a bit.


    ¡°The golden princess brought it with her¡­she was trying to manipulate me into touching it to get pardoned for my ¡®evildoing.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Those golden scum are linked to these?!¡± Fanael punched a desk she was sitting behind. ¡°What the hell kind of lunacy are they planning on?!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say¡­ I also don¡¯t know why the stone would disappear. I can¡¯t say I had a lot of motivation towards looking too hard into it. Just seeing one makes my skin crawl.¡± I sighed.


    The little scientists in the room seemed noticeably bummed out by the fact, that this was essentially the extent of my knowledge.


    ¡°We already figured out the rock was the source of the mana siphoning¡­ But we never could have imagined it did it to such an extent. No wonder the people who carried it here got hospitalized¡­¡± The princess grumbled. ¡°We thought it was just exhaustion¡­¡±


    ¡°T-they didn¡¯t directly touch the thing, did they?¡± I gulped dryly, starting to feel a bit guilty over not warning the princess about the stone properly in advance.


    ¡°No. We don¡¯t touch unknown substances directly. It goes against all scientific standards.¡± The sweaty little scientist remarked. I managed to sigh of relief a bit.


    ¡°This does explain why the prongs we used to carry it here withered into dust so fast¡­¡± One of the male scientists mumbled. ¡°What an incredibly sinister power¡­it can drain all mana from a subject in a matter of seconds.¡±


    ¡°Was there a strange purple image on the stone here too?¡± I asked a bit quietly.


    ¡°A strange hand with eight fingers in total, yes¡­¡± Fanael confirmed. One of the scientists brought his paperwork to me and showed a recreation of the drawing to me.


    Now that I could really look at it, it did indeed have eight fingers. At the tip of each was a crudely drawn eye. The image was an unnervingly accurate recreation of the image from my memories.


    ¡°Does this symbol mean anything to you?¡± Fanael asked.


    I shook my head in response. ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t recognize it at all.¡±


    ¡°Ghhh¡­ So, we¡¯re back to the beginning¡­¡± The group of scientists exhaled in unison.


    ¡°Could I maybe inquire on something?¡± Amelia quietly lifted her hand.


    ¡°Mmmh¡­ Go ahead.¡± Fanael nodded.


    ¡°What is¡­the general purpose of a mana siphon?¡± The knight made a pretty good question! I actually didn¡¯t really know what their purpose was either.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Generally, siphons are used to store a low to moderate amount of mana in specific items.¡± The big beard-scientist spoke. ¡°Mana bombs are created with siphons by overloading a mana crystal with excess mana.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s how they¡¯re made? Intriguing!¡± Amelia seemed to realize what was up right away! WHAT?! MANA BOMBS?! What¡¯s that?! I wanted to basically scream out my questions.


    ¡°Um¡­ What are¡­mana bombs?¡± I asked in a much more reserved manner, getting several odd looks from the scientists. ¡°I have amnesia! I know basically nothing about magic!¡± They exchanged even more confused glances with each other.


    ¡°The reason she¡¯s missing limbs, is because she fought against our kingdom¡¯s enemies despite not knowing magic.¡± Fanael began explaining my situation. Suddenly, the group began exchanging completely horrified glances at me.


    ¡°Y-you mean¡­you used your body as catalyst¡­!?¡± The sweaty female scientist whispered out so quietly it was difficult to hear. ¡°W-why would you go to such an¡­insane extent for people you don¡¯t know at all¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡­honestly have been wondering the same thing¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°I think there¡¯s just something wrong with my head.¡± I wiped my brow a bit melodramatically.


    The group of little scientists began mumbling and chattering to themselves. One of them caught a glance at me, and I winked at him a bit. He began chuckling a tad, which rapidly developed into full-blown laughter.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± The sweaty lass whimpered.


    ¡°H-how rude! To laugh at someone¡¯s sacrifices like that!¡± Another one began trying to calm the giggling lunatic down.


    ¡°Now, now!¡± I clapped my hands together. The sound was a bit unusual due to the prothesis. ¡°I would probably laugh, too, if I heard my home was saved by a monster who doesn¡¯t understand the tiniest bit about magic!¡± I grinned. ¡°It kind of paints a picture of the kind of situation your king put you in!¡±


    The group stared at me in silence¡­ Was it maybe too early? You know¡­to make jokes about the king being an idiot¡­? The silence was drawing longer, making it all the more awkward.


    ¡°Puha¡­.!¡± A high-pitched giggle started from behind me, then turning into adorable laughter. Fanael seemed to find it funny at least.


    As if her laughter granted permission to the rest, the group began howling with laughter. I don¡¯t know if it was a catharsis of sorts, but some people were in tears as they went on. To my understanding, the subterranean tribes all lived with rather utilitarian norms for their society.


    Everything had to be done for the greater good, and the benefit of individuals was always valued lower than the benefit of the masses. The whole situation with the king must have been a very frustrating experience for numerous people, so getting to joke about him was probably a pretty good way to relieve stress.


    ¡°God¡­what an oaf did we bet our lives on¡­!¡± They laughed out loud for a good while longer. I don¡¯t know if all the tears they shed were tears of laughter.


    After the laughter finally died down, the princess made a royal decree, that it was okay to make fun of the king for the events that transpired. It was clear he was going to be made into a scapegoat¡­ but then again. He did kind of deserve it.


    The response to the brand-new royal decree was welcomed with another bout of roaring laughter.


    With the mood lifted, the group of scientists got a lot more casual with me in their conversations.


    ¡°Uhuh¡­ So, uh¡­! Mana bombs, right?!¡± The sweaty scientist lady tossed her coat off after wiping herself in it like it was a dish rag.


    ¡°Hum?¡± I tilted my head as the little scientist climbed on a little stool next to me to stand on my eye-level.


    ¡°You asked what mana bombs are before that whole¡­exposure segment!¡± She grinned. She was suddenly a lot more¡­confident in her social output. Maybe she wasn¡¯t comfortable being very ¡­official in the way she behaved? ¡°Ah! I¡¯m Afita, by the way!¡± She introduced herself.


    ¡°Oh¡­OH! YES!! Please tell me everything about magic!¡± I beamed, then grabbed her tiny hand to shake it. ¡°Yverna!¡±


    ¡°OKAY! SO! MAGIC BOMBS!¡± Afita began narrating, while the rest of the group began discussing things I couldn¡¯t really participate in. Amelia sat next to Afita and I to listen in, even though it was clear from her expression that she had no real interest in what we were talking about.


    I beamed with excitement, and Amelia graciously brought me some of my notebooks to write down everything Afita explained to me. I explained to her my troubles over casting magic, and the language of witches. She seemed genuinely interested in the subject too, pondering it aloud.


    ¡°So, the reason you knew the siphon was in the hourglass thing, was ¡®cause you can see mana?¡± She mused to herself. ¡°But not only that, you can also manipulate it without a catalyst¡­¡± She continued.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I can kind of move the magic sparkles¡­¡± I began waving my hand around, which, in its usual way, caused the mana to flow around a bit like water.


    ¡°Say.¡± She glanced at my dark metallic arm. ¡°Have you tried to move the mana around with that?¡± She questioned.


    ¡°Eh?! The prothesis? N-not really no.¡± I mumbled and began concentrating similarly to when I moved the magic energy around with my body normally¡­and to my immense surprise, the way the little shimmers moved was¡­PRECISE!! ¡°W-wha¡­?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­! See, that¡¯s a choralium arm! It¡¯s basically a damn magic catalyst as it is! The circuits on it greatly promote mana flow.¡± She continued, but I felt a bit out of the loop.


    ¡°M-mana flow?¡± I repeated while marveling at the glimmers moving around my new arm.


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She crossed her arms and pondered for a bit. ¡°Basically. Normally, magic tools like your arm have pre-determined spells bound to them. We basically write ¡®FIRE!¡¯ or something on it, so when you just make mana flow through it, fire comes out.¡± She explained. ¡°But yours has no specific spells carved into it. All that¡¯s carved on it are mana-circuits to promote the flow of energy through it. We don¡¯t understand how magic functions for monsters, so we made it more a tool that allows for improvisation, than fixed solutions.


    ¡°Huuuh¡­¡± I nodded and moved the mana around with the metallic arm. The precision was insanely impressive. It was like that glimmering substance in the air had suddenly become an extension of my arm!


    ¡°Yah! Try flowing some mana into one of the lamps! They¡¯re lit by magic!¡± The Mhiir¡¯im girl guided me.


    I did as told, flowing a bunch of mana into a nearby lamp¡­which in turn burst into a ball of light and exploded! Sending burning shards around everywhere. ¡°HYEEEEKK!! SORRRY!! SORRY!!!¡± I screamed apologies as Amelia rushed around to put out all the fires.


    I got a bunch of shocked looks from everyone¡­which then slowly veered to my side, contacting Afita instead¡­ and soon her fellow scientists were already on her case for telling me to do such dangerous things.


    An argument about uncovering the secrets of witches ensued, which I was gently carried out of by Amelia in the infinite grace of her strong arms.


    Fanael followed us out while grumbling to herself.


    ¡°Sorry about them. They¡¯re usually a bit wild like that¡­ I did tell them to try to be polite and careful around you two¡­but it¡¯s clear old dogs can¡¯t learn new tricks.¡± The princess lamented.


    ¡°N-no¡­! It¡¯s fine. It was kind of my fault anyway. I put far too much mana into that lamp¡­!¡± I mumbled. Amelia was chuckling to herself a bit, but I wasn¡¯t quite sure as to why.


    ¡°Mh¡­ Well. Either way. I appreciate all the info you¡¯ve provided us with. While this won¡¯t really put us in an advantageous position with our enemies, we can at least investigate some of their operating methods now.¡± She crossed her arms.


    ¡°Sorry for not being able to do much more.¡± I glanced at Fanael solemnly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You know, we got a saying here in Subtherma: ¡®If you can¡¯t find the answer with help! Put in more effort and figure out the answer yourself!¡¯¡± She declared. It felt like a bit of a¡­redundant statement, but I decided against critiquing it. ¡°Speaking of which. What kind of plans do you two have from now on?¡± She asked all of a sudden.


    Amelia and I exchanged a glance, and we soon stopped by at the same park we had our dramatic talk in. Amelia placed me on one of the chairs to sit down, then sitting next to me. Fanael followed suite. ¡°We¡¯ll recuperate for a bit¡­and then surely continue our journey above ground.¡± Amelia spoke softly.


    ¡°What specifically are you two on a journey for anyway?¡± Fanael asked a bit bluntly.


    Amelia glanced at me as if to ask for permission, at which I nodded. ¡°¡­ Revenge.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± The princess nodded and pondered for a moment. ¡°See¡­ I¡¯ve been planning a political reform of sorts.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­?¡± Amelia and I both let out some confused noises, mostly because I, for one, had no clue to what this had to do with our revenge.


    ¡°It¡¯s called¡­¡¯democracy¡¯¡±. She began explaining. I obviously knew what she was talking about, but Amelia seemed completely out of the loop. ¡°It¡¯s a system some overworld tribes have been experimenting with. It essentially boils down to a society without a king or a royal family, but instead all people of political importance are chosen by the people, not by heritage.¡± She continued.


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯d be quite chaotic¡­!¡± Amelia crossed her arms.


    ¡°Mmmh¡­ I just don¡¯t want¡­ the idiots of my bloodline to ruin our people further.¡± She grimaced.


    ¡°I¡­ I think it could work.¡± I piped up a bit awkwardly. ¡°I¡­know the basic concept of democracy to an extent too¡­ And I think you Mhiir¡¯im would be a pretty suitable match¡­since you already¡­KIND OF prioritize the greater good in your everyday life a lot.¡± I huffed.


    ¡°You think?!¡± Fanael slapped her hands on the chair and beamed at me with excitement. ¡°I think it¡¯d be a great system too! But like Knighty here said, it¡¯d be real chaotic if anyone who got elected could simply suggest whatever the wind brought into their stupid mouths.¡±


    ¡°K-knighty¡­?!¡± Amelia frowned.


    ¡°Um¡­ From the way I remember seeing it¡­!¡± I pondered. ¡°Instead of every person and politician kind of¡­ saying their thing, there are like several political factions, that have different opinions on stuff. People speak more through the factions, than as just individuals.¡±


    ¡°Factions, you say?! Do elaborate!!¡± Fanael basically crawled on my lap. Oh, god¡­ she was so cute when she was excited about something¡­


    ¡°L-like¡­there were people who are like¡­ concerned over religion¡­ people who believe in more direct solutions¡­ people who like to approach things more indirectly¡­ people concerned over nature and self-sustaining¡­ uh¡­ Stuff like that.¡± I mumbled. Do note that I WAS NOT a political person in my past life. All I could really say, in terms of politics, is that I think people deserve free healthcare. I hated how maintaining my pointless life ruined the lives of my parents¡­


    ¡°I see! The members of each faction would be voted on by the people, and then maybe the hierarchy within the faction would be voted on by the faction members themselves¡­! Yes! It makes sense.¡± The little bundle of joy beamed with excitement. ¡°Perfect¡­!¡± She nodded eagerly.


    Amelia and I exchanged a glance. ¡°So, how does this discussion intertwine with our plans?¡± Amelia finally asked the question we had both been pondering on.


    ¡°If I can set up the political structure¡­ My presence will no longer be needed here.¡± Fanael began speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t want our nation to be bound by being reliant on the royal family anymore, so I intend to leave the kingdom as a form of shock treatment. Dad will also be exiled for his stupidity.¡± She spoke rather emotionlessly about her father¡­ But she still did call him ¡®dad¡¯.


    ¡°U-um¡­so you want to¡­¡± I was starting to get a bit hopeful.


    ¡°I would like to join you on your journey for revenge. I have a personal enough reason to wish to spill the blood of these golden perverts after all.¡±


    I, for one, was overjoyed. Fanael was strong, smart, and she was a good friend, even if every so often she worded things crudely. I did discuss with Amelia a long time ago, how we definitely needed more allies to go along on our journey, so this was perfect.


    But somehow, Amelia didn¡¯t seem too excited over it.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Fine. But I have a condition for you to come along.¡± She stated sternly.


    ¡°Hum¡­? What might it be?¡± The Mhiir¡¯im princess put her hands on her hips defiantly.


    ¡°You must¡­¡± Amelia clenched her fist.


    ¡°I must¡­?¡±


    ¡°YOU MUST LET ME PET YOU, LIKE YOU LET YVERNA PET YOU! I FEEL EXCLUDED!!¡± She roared out her declaration with gusto of such magnitude, I¡¯m sure it made the windows of the buildings around us shake a bit.


    A complete silence ensued. Fanael stared wide-eyed at the sacred pact the paladin seemed to follow. Said pact seemed to have something to do with petting cute things. Somehow, I felt this uh¡­sacred vow had nothing to do with her new goddess either.


    To my surprise, Fanael¡¯s reaction was strange. It wasn¡¯t at all what I expected. I thought she¡¯d potentially start laughing or something, but the little princess instead went beet red.


    ¡°W-hhha¡­ t¡­ kind of perverse request is that¡­?!¡± She hissed through her teeth.


    ¡°WELL!? ARE YOU GOING TO ACCEPT THE CONDITION OR NOT?!¡± The paladin was like a wall of steel. There was no getting around her!


    Now, to be fully honest, I couldn¡¯t really figure out why Fanael was so averse to having Amelia pet her. I somehow figured this wasn¡¯t the right time to ask, but I put the thought behind my ear for future inquiry.


    ¡°Ghhh¡­ V-very well¡­¡± She basically snarled. Face red like a tomato, the little royalty awkwardly placed herself on Amelia¡¯s lap, who seemed overjoyed.


    Gentle, yet eager, petting ensued. Somehow, the faces Fanael made while she was getting petted by Amelia felt somehow¡­inappropriate to look at. I decided to avert my gaze and let the conversation continue on.


    ¡°W-welcome aboard¡­¡± I added, which marked the end to the discussion. We had gotten ourselves a new ally, and a strong one at that! Fanael¡¯s magic and swordsmanship would surely prove a powerful asset.


    ¡­ And the power of her immense cuteness would surely help us recuperate mentally from any future traumatic events. In turn, we¡¯d help her on her journey to uh¡­probably bathe in more blood.


    ¡°S-so¡­anyway¡­¡± The princess huffed quietly and swatted Amelia¡¯s eager petting hands away, to the dismay of the knight. ¡°Please give me some time¡­it¡¯ll take a while to establish a new political system. So, figure out something, HOPEFULLY NOT PERVERSE to do while I prepare everything.¡± She glared at Amelia, who looked a bit too happy with the advantageous position she had managed to get herself in.


    ¡°Yeah. I still have plenty of things I want to learn about magic. Amelia and I did intend to go on a restaurant tour after the businesses in town open up again too.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Mmh¡­ Invite me on the gluttony tour as well. I¡¯ve lost far too much weight due to stress¡± Fanael nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll make time for it.¡± She grumbled, still clearly unhappy about the petting arrangement.


    ¡°Sure thing! Also! Where do the guards in here get the tattoos from?¡± I suddenly piped up.


    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s a doctor in the castle who specializes in tattoos¡­ How come?¡± Fanael slowly crawled onto my lap from Amelia¡¯s, which seemed to calm her down considerably.


    ¡°Well¡­ In my¡­very lacking memories, the witches had mana circuits drawn or¡­branded on their skin or something.¡± I began.


    ¡°Ohh! Hmmm¡­¡± Fanael began thinking. ¡°I see¡­ Interesting. Yes¡­ Maybe it could work. Instead of actual spells¡­another set of circuits that enhance mana flow?¡± The princess was quick on the uptake.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m guessing that people don¡¯t normally draw mana circuits on themselves because they can¡¯t see the flow of mana in the first place, so it wouldn¡¯t make any difference¡­or alternatively, if they made specific spells on their body, it¡¯d get the same results I lost my limbs with.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty much correct.¡± Fanael nodded. ¡°Us non-monsters do not have the ability to manipulate mana anywhere outside our bodies to begin with, so even if we enhanced our mana flow with circuits, it¡¯d make no difference, even if we could somehow figure out a way to see mana anyway.¡±


    ¡°Can you introduce me to the tattoo¡­person?¡±


    ¡°Of course! You¡¯ll probably have to wait a bit, though! The restoration process is still heavily underway. We should get the supplies early next week. I could start asking around if the doctor would be willing to tend to you then!¡± Fanael smiled a bit.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan!!¡± I grinned. ¡°Also! Please come see me sometimes in the library! And remember to take breaks from work! Maybe join me for tea overnight, if you end up doing all-nighters.¡± I smiled, to which the princess beamed with adorable joy, and we shared a little high five.


    Amelia seemed a bit jealous about it. Which is precisely why I asked the princess to join me at night! I was REALLY CURIOUS at this point! What the hell was this weird aversion to Amelia?! I had to know!!


    With that, we eventually parted ways. I was taken back to the library, and Amelia went out for a jog. Fanael of course, had to return to work.


    My reminiscing was interrupted a bit as Amelia suddenly stood up and rushed out of the train car we were in. Yes. She was jogging inside the train too. She went back and forth the entire length of the train a good hundred times or so.


    Apparently, her routine had become something some Mhiir¡¯im children considered a game, so she always had an army of energetic miniature people running after her.


    Fanael¡¯s aides returned again, and she needed to sort out more political stuff I couldn¡¯t really understand. I was glad to be of some kind of help at the beginning of her whole political reform plan, but at this point every word the Mhiir¡¯im nobles were letting out of their mouths was total nonsense to me¡­


    So, I decided to simply nap for a bit¡­


    Only to remember I can¡¯t sleep.


    Damn¡­