The Witch of Taboos .
The Dark Elf called herself so .
Finally... We met her .
We finally met her in person .
Howeverâ-
This is where it starts .
Putting aside Liz, I could also see relief from Seras and Eveâs expression .
However, just coming here isnât my goal .
Nevertheless...... itâs not unreasonable for their tension to loosen up .
Weâve finally reached the inner depths of the Golden Demon Zone .
It was one of those things that were said to be synonymous with unachievable .
But, we managed to do it .
Our journey until now was certainly not an easy one .
You could even say that it was a tough road that wore down our nerves .
Everyoneâs already exhausted, both in body and mind .
Therefore, no one could blame them if they felt relieved after arriving at our goal .
However, the reality is that weâre still only at the halfway point . n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Thereâs still the question of whether the Witch will accept us or not .
That needs to be clarified .
And, Iâm sure that the outcome will be dependent on our negotiation with her from now onâ-
[So?]
The Witch relaxedly placed her hands on her twisted hips
Her long black hair swayed along as she twisted her hips .
[Were you the ones responsible for all that ruckus those monsters were making?]
âFwwuuaaahhh......â
The Witch yawned .
[That abruptly woke me up, you know?]
âYeahâ, I nodded .
[Itâs unmistakably the deed of my Mercenary Group . ]
I placed emphasis on the word âmyâ .
Itâs to show that Iâm the representative of this group .
[Your group huh . ]
Her eyes narrowed, the Witch fixated her gaze on me .
[With all that clamour going above ground...... It looks like you carelessly killed the âKuchiyoseâ huh . Or am I mistaken?]
(T/N: Summoner)
That monster with the big mouth that looks like a ghost .
The Witch seems to call it a âKuchiyoseâ .
......That name sounds like some kind of ninjutsu from somewhere .
[Unfortunately, weâre not as familiar with the Demon Zone as you are . Once we entered the Demon Zone, weâre fumbling about with just about everything . Of course, we also didnât know the nature of that Kuchiyose either . ]
One of the Witchâs eyebrows raised .
[You donât sound like youâre trying to make any excuses, do you? Based on the lack of sadness in your group, I guess you didnât lose a single one of your companions along the way . ]
[Yeah, I managed to not lose a single one of them . ]
[Thatâs quite a considerable featâ- Donât move any further . ]
I stopped my feet from stepping forward .
[......Itâs because I couldnât take a good look at your beautiful face . ]
[Donât make me laughââ Donât say something that you donât have mean . ]
[I think of that as the truth though . ]
[Like I said, donât make me laugh . ]
[.................. . ]
Although itâs unclear to what extent that she had managed to understand...
It seems like the Witch knows of my range to a certain extent .
This wonât go just like my battle with Civit huh .
Well, itâs not like I planned to use my skill anyway .
For now, that is .
I aimed to get closer until Iâm within range, which was supposed to be an insurance .
However, I may have been a bit rash with that decision .
And also......
I haphazardly complimented her appearance, but she didnât even act bashful towards my words .
She doesnât seem to be the type who is immune to men .
I canât break through her guard from that side huh .
Then, I could only remove that approach from my options .
[By the way, do you mind if I ask something?]
[Yeah, you can ask me anything . ]
[I still havenât checked whatâs going on outside the barrier yet...... but it sounds really peaceful . I mean, you should have drawn waves of monsters towards you...... There should have been a significant amount of monsters there, including some Human-Faced among the ones surging towards your group, but how did you get past them?]
[Iâve just been recklessly killing them and before I knew it, the amount of monsters has decreased . I mean...... it has become quieter because the monsters have decreased . Well, some of them ran away with their tails tucked between their legs .
The Witchâs brows furrowed .
[What did you say? You...... killed them? Even the Human-Faced?]
[Yeah, Even the Human-Faced . ]
[Are you saying that you used that strange magic that bound this Erikaâs handmade golemâs movements to defeat them?]
[Itâs not some kind of magic or spell, thatâs my power as a Hero from Another World . ]
The Witch looks somewhat surprised .
However, she immediately looks like sheâs convinced by what I said .
[......A Hero from Another World . I see, I could understand it if that were the case . If youâre a Hero from Another World, itâs no wonder that you have that mysterious power . ]
Iâm going to show her some of my cards .
Thereâs nothing wrong with revealing to her that Iâm a Hero from Another World here .
The Witch seems to be smart after all .
I think she would end up with that answer anyway .
In that case, Iâll just reveal it to her myself to gain her trust .
I exchange looks with Seras .
She also looks back at me .
...Good, itâs alright .
Seras also understood the meaning of my gaze .
The Witchâs wordsâ- itâs for her to judge its authenticity .
Whether sheâs lying or not .
Or perhaps, to judge whether sheâs the type of person who would lie to us at any given time .
Even if the words she judged its authenticity were important or not, it still gives us an idea of the other personâs personality .
[I see, I understood now why you guys were able to get through this area . Thenâ-]
Thunk
The Witch struck the floor with the bottom of her staff .
[Whatâs your purpose for coming here to Erikaâs abode?]
Her cold purple eyes asking for the truth .
Even though itâs quiet, I could feel the blazing pressure pressing down on me .
In response to her question...
[Can I also ask one thing from you?]
I asked another question back .
The Witch looked down towards me .
After a brief moment of silence...
[Well, it would be unfair if Iâm the only one who asked a question . Ask away . ]
......It looks like sheâs open for conversation .
[You didnât show any vigilance when you heard that Iâm a Hero from Another World . Why is that? We could probably be the Goddessâ underlings who came to reap your life, you know?]
The witch exaggeratedly brushed away to the side the hair beside her neck .
[Even though youâre a Hero from Another World, it doesnât look like youâre of those people that were just following the Goddess every word though?]
The Witch pointed the end of her staff towards my direction .
[Sometimes, when multiple people are summoned, there are some outliers mixed in the group . Well...... most of the outliers that didnât follow the will of the Goddess would probably find themselves rotting inside the Disposal Ruins after being disposed of . And since it looks like you werenât sent there, Iâd say you have quite the luck in you, donât you think?]
It seems that sheâs aware of the existence of the Disposal Ruins .
[No, itâs probably just as you said just now......]
The tip of the Witchâs staff began glowing .
A belt-like shaped Magic Technique appeared on the tip of her staff .
......Sheâs using magic huh .
[Are all of you pawns of that damned Goddess?]
I guess this is where we say our real intentions huh .
Itâs dangerous to probe into the other personâs true motive if youâre not careful with what you say .
Then, you would find that the âdistanceâ between the two of you get closer the more you fumble about with the other person .
[Rather than that, you could say that Iâm someone who sees the Goddess as an enemy . ]
I could feel that Eve and Liz who were standing behind me reacting to my words .
Although they didnât speak, I could infer that they were surprised .
After all, I havenât told the two of them that I was hostile to the Goddess .
[Soâ- Which âsideâ are you on?]
Itâs time .
I mustnât miss the reaction of the Witch here .
If, by any chance that the Witch is on the Goddessâ side, thereâs only one option .
We just have to deal with the Witch and leave this place .
I waited for her answer .
I would know the correct answer from Seras, someone who could see through lies......
[Hah?]
The Witchâs nose intensely wrinkled .
Putting her hand on her waist, she shows discomfort on her face .
[Alionâs Goddessââ That evil god who saw this mistress as a threat and carved that âTabooâ word on my name? Where the heck would the reason be for this Erika to have any good will to that f*cking goddess? ..................... . What? You... You just smiled a bit, didnât you? Hey? Hey, whatâs up with that?]
The Witch shows a somewhat stronger emotion .
It seems that she also has condemning thoughts towards the Goddess .
And...... At that moment, I unintentionally forgot to stay calm .
[No, my bad . ]
Heh......
She surprisingly had a foul mouth on her .
But well, I see......
That f*cking goddess huh...