Chapter 49 – 49. Return

“John, here you are.”

After entering the room, Evangeline said so and slowly walked towards John. As if the young witch in front of me didn’t care, it was an unstoppable movement.

Of course, Beatrice wasn’t just watching. As she had done with John, she swung the thin steel wire and bound Evangeline’s limbs.

“You, what are you again!”
“…… Oh.”

Evangeline smiled lightly at Beatrice, who blocked her movement. Regardless of her height or her magic, she is a young witch who was just born.

If it was usual, she would have done it well with words, either touching the young witch or educating them on the fact that there is a line between witches.

“What are you talking about, I can’t hear anything. Kid.”

However, now Evangeline was kidnapped by John and was in a state of nervous tension, and the compatibility of the two people’s curses was not very good.

A witch of love who cannot be loved by everyone.
Among doll witches who can only communicate with dolls.

No productive conversations can come and go.

“This, this, this monster-!!”

In Beatrice’s eyes, Evangeline was a monster. A creature with a repulsive appearance, a terrible being that even a child would confuse with fear.

And even in Evangeline’s eyes, Beatrice felt like a monster. He opened his mouth and continued to talk, but the story came crashing down like a monster’s murmur.

“Die!”

Beatrice used her magic to pounce on Evangeline, just as she did to Johann earlier.

Thousands of stuffed toys ran wild and charged at Evangeline, who sneered and activated her magic lightly.

The dolls that touched Evangeline lost their shapes in turn and returned to the form of separated electrons and atoms.

“Uh huh?”

Seeing this, Beatrice stared blankly at Evangeline in bewilderment. Evangeline looked at Beatrice and smiled lightly.

“You… Haven’t you ever fought a witch before?”

Evangeline said that and moved forward little by little. Beatrice did not understand what Evangeline was saying, but instinctively felt fear.

Step back little by little However, the stride length created by Evangeline’s long legs is greater than that of Beatrice’s short legs.

Before long, Evangeline, who grabbed Beatrice, grinned and used her magic at her.

“Master—!”
“Kyaheuh!?”

Exactly, I was trying to use it.
Even if it wasn’t for Yohan who rushed from behind and hugged me tightly and prevented her from using magic.

* * *

The first time I saw Master entering the room, I looked at Master trembling with anxiety.

I didn’t worry about not being able to go back here forever. Because I trusted Master that much.

And as much as I believed in Master, I was also anxious. If it was because of Beatrice’s confinement that I was imprisoned here, not because of my will, Master might kill her.

‘Then no.’

Killing a child was unimaginable for an Earthling. But not for witches.

Basically, witches who live with a curse are all hikikomori, social misfits, and extremely individualistic people.

To the point of being hated by everyone, or being cursed to be invisible at all – it must have been inevitable.

“Disciple, what were you doing to get caught like this?”

Hahah— Margaret covered her mouth and let out a yawn, walked over without paying attention to the two of them and cut the threads from my limbs.

Released from bondage, I looked at Master and Beatrice while rubbing my red-stained wrists.

“—!%#^”
“~#$%#”

It was so far away that I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Beatrice attacked Master with her dolls, just like she did to me before, and Master brushed the dolls away casually and approached Beatrice.

Seeing Beatrice, who was terrified at first glance, and Master approaching her with a nonchalant expression, I immediately ran to Master and hugged her.

“Master! No!”
“Kyaaah!?”

The hug was so hasty that it squeezed my chest, but I didn’t care about that and focused on pulling Master back.

“No, Master! You can’t kill me!”
“Yo, John? What is that all of a sudden…… Hehe- let it go, will you let it go? Yes?”
“I won’t let go until Master says I won’t kill you!”
“Ah, okay! I won’t kill you!”

In fact, she wanted to continue hugging her, whether or not she was promised, but she quickly turned around and stepped between Master and Beatrice before carefully letting Master go.

Master stroked my chest, which was strongly pressed, and looked at me with a slightly reddened face.

“…… Yes, John. So? Why are you covering him?”

“Beatrice is my friend.”

“Friend? I don’t know which friend in this world kidnaps and imprisons people…… You can’t be friends with a monster like that.”

“It’s not a monster. Master, please cancel.”

I said that and looked at Evangeline. Beatrice is young Evangeline. Evangeline as a child, unable to come into contact with people due to a curse, and therefore confined to a small room.

If Beatrice was called a monster, it could well mean Master was also a monster. He didn’t like calling his friend a monster or calling his teacher a monster.

“Is that child that good?”

“It’s not like that. Master, if you hear me…….”

“Did you know he sent his familiar to kill me twice?”

Hearing those words, he opened his eyes and turned to Beatrice. With eyes that seemed to ask if what Master had said was true.

However, Beatrice looked up at me with an ignorant expression.

‘Oh, please…….’

It was only then that I was able to accurately grasp what Beatrice’s curse was.

The curse of not being able to communicate with people. Yes, with a curse like this, I could understand why I stayed alone in a mansion on top of a mountain like this, making dolls.

“Beatrice.”
“Yes…”
“That is my master. Master said… You said you tried to kill Master twice, is that true?”
“I don’t know……”

Is it a childish lie, or is it really ignorant? I looked into Beatrice’s eyes.

Her eyes were shaking with fear and anxiety. I burst out laughing after seeing those eyes.

“I will believe you.”

After lightly stroking Beatrice’s hair, she looked at Master again.

“They say they don’t know.”
“You don’t trust Master?”
“I never said I didn’t. It’s just that it could be something this kid didn’t ask you to do.”

At my words, Master slightly frowned, then sighed lightly and shook his head.

“Yeah, what. It’s not that my life was in danger, John, if you say that, I’ll just let it go…….”

“Master…….”

“All right? Let’s go back soon John. I am very hungry because Master has already skipped two meals.”

“Oh, sorry.”

At those words, I turned to Beatrice and brought them to eye level. I make eye contact with the young woman and carefully open my mouth.

“Beatrice, I’ll go back now.”

“No…Don’t go….”

“You are my friend. Friends break up and then meet again.”

“No, no…….”

As if the world was collapsing, she looked at Beatrice crying and looking at herself – she glanced back at Master.

Master looked at me and was shaking her feet, as if she wanted to return as soon as possible.

Beatrice clung to me as she grabbed my sleeve as she looked at Master as if she were leaving at any moment.

“Can’t I be here? Huh? I’ll treat you well…… Feed me, clean up for me, wash me, put me to bed…….”

“That’s a doll, not a friend.”

“Well, then John can do that for me! Feed me, wash me, put me to sleep…… Or you could just stay with me…….”

Realizing that her persuasion was not working, Beatrice hung her head as if she had given up on her own.

The color of her face, which had been sparkling white, turned black. Seeing her face, I had a hunch that something would happen if she went back like this.

That wouldn’t be a good thing. Intuition that I might lose the first friend I made in this world…….

Seeing this, I carefully got up and approached Master.

“Master, I have a request…….”

* * *

Returning home, Evangeline immediately slumped on a chair in the living room and shouted at John, who had followed her.

“John~ I’m hungry~.”
“Yes, Master. I will do it quickly.”

Yohan heard Master’s order and moved quickly to prepare the dish. Physical training, which I thought would be useless for cooking, rather became the basic physical strength to cook faster.

Yohan, who cooked quickly and finished the food in an instant, arranged the dishes on the table and called Master.

“Master. That’s it. Margaret-san, please go ahead and eat.”

After watching the two of them sit down, Johann sat down on a chair, and Beatrice, who had been watching them closely, carefully sat down on John’s lap.

“…… Beatrice?”
“I want to eat here… I like Yohan’s arms.”
“Well, be polite when eating…….”
“I like it here. …… No?”

Hearing that, seeing Beatrice raising her head and pleading, Johan let out a laugh as if he couldn’t help it and stroked her hair.

After Johan gave permission, Beatrice excitedly waved her legs back and forth, pointing at the delicious-looking food.

“I-I want to eat that.”
“Okay. This?”
“Yes. Aang-.”

Beatrice asked John like a child who couldn’t do anything with his own hands, and John smiled and fed Beatrice the food he had made.

After taking a bite of the food John gave her, Beatrice opened his eyes and was startedled. The fact that these foods can exist in the world, she realized now for the first time.

“Tasty……!”
“Of course, it’s food made with Master’s seasoning.”
“Okay…… ?”

Beatrice heard that and looked at her Evangeline. Then she trembled and burrowed into John’s bosom.

Wondering why he was doing this, John followed Beatrice and looked at the two witches sitting in front of her.

The faces of the two witches sitting in front of me were distorted as if they had been killed.