“Ved! Ved! Have you heard? The witch is here! And—!”

Hiding behind the counter of his parent’s inn, Ved rushed to shut the mouth of his sister, who had charged in from the kitchen. Dragging her down to the ground, he used both hands to cover her mouth.

“Suie!” (V)

Fearing they’d been heard, Ved cautiously peeped around the counter quickly.

The figure of his father and the witch engaging in conversation remained undisturbed.

Ved let out a sigh of relief seeing this. In a low tone, he spoke,

“You idiot… You really have the worst—Ow!” (V)

Pulling his hand away, Ved returned the glare sent his way.

“…She’s here?” (S)

Ignoring his pain, Ved watched as his sister peeked around the corner.

Her eyes sparkling as she attempted to suppress her widening smile.

Out of everyone in the village, she stood among those most excited to see the witch. A fact not hard to understand why. Between the legendary figures that once made up the hero’s party, the witch stood out as particularly extraordinary among them. The witch, often said to possess otherworldly abilities, bore some of the most outrageous feats known. From facing an army of tens of thousands alone to engaging an Evil God in single combat.

Though time has passed since that dark past, the feats themselves still remained as awe inspiring as ever. Even now, having just gazed at the witch, Ved felt his heart race. A divine, wild yet refined aura surrounded her. One that made a being never want to look away.

“We should leave…” (V)

By word of the village chief, unless specifically sorted out, one was to not speak to the witch. It was one of the only two rules put in place as to not offend the witch. The second being never to speak of the witch. Majority of the world believed the witch remained forever secluded on the impossible to reach Grand Peak. The village chief stated, if the witch desired for her travels to be known, she would have made it known. Out of respect, they shall not speak of them.

Due to all those reasons, hiding here felt almost criminal.

…It also didn’t help that he was expected to leave after helping prepare the meal.

“Wow!” (S)

A quiet voice brought Ved out of his thoughts.

“What?” (V)

Noticing the smile his sister wore grow slightly wider than normal, Ved voiced a question in a hushed tone. While the witch coming down to their village was rare, it did happen frequently enough that any thought of interaction had been crushed. Looking at the face of his sister… It was clear an old fire had been sparked.

“It’s true…” (S)

“Huh? What’s true?” (V)

Instead of having his question answered, a hand pulled Ved to the corner of the counter.

“Look!” (S)

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Silently grumbling at the rough pull, Ved surveyed the room. Nothing unusual was going on if one wasn’t to count the presence of the witch.

‘Why is she so…’

Pausing, Ved saw something he couldn’t believe.

It was only visible for a few short seconds due to their poor angle, but already he felt his heart racing once again.

A sly grin greeted him as he turned to face his sister.

“No!” (V)

“Yes!” (S)

Desperate to turn the situation, Ved spoke,

“We, no—You can’t—!” (V)

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan!” (S)

Struggling to come up with words to retort, the sound of footsteps approaching alerted them both to the coming threat.

“Let’s go, quickly!” (S)

Following behind his sister as she ran back in the kitchen, Ved felt a weight settle on his heart.

This wasn’t going to be good.

----------------------------------------

The whole place stank.

Dragging his feet, Leion attempted to stop his “Master”. When she first stated they were going to meet people, specifically humans, Leion felt his heart skip a beat. It appeared they weren’t meeting an ambush of tigers. As they stepped onto the path and neared the settlement, his heart started pounding in his chest as the foul odour grew stronger.

Were they really going to meet people? Like normal people?

…It had been quite some time since Leion last spoke with normal individuals. Counting his time spent in the lands of the Common plus that with his “Master”, it had really been a long time. Was that maybe why he felt like this? Surprising himself, Leion felt an odd bit of nervousness come down upon him. Or, more specifically, his body.

Perhaps due to the odd smell wafting from the settlement, Leion felt his body hesitate to move. Frankly, it was fairly disturbing how it reacted. Instinctively, like a human’s yearning and drive to be social. Leion wouldn’t have even picked up on it if he hadn’t been so certain about his mental state. He has never had trouble interacting with others.

“Ah, um, can we slow down? I don’t think…” (L)

It would be wise to stop and examine himself. There was clearly something wrong with him.

“Don’t worry.” (B)

Meeting the gaze of his “Master”, it was clear she had no plans to stop. As she picked him and muttered out words of affirmation, Leion could only begrudgingly accept.

Was this the work of that overbearing giant? Trying to make him act through experiencing things uncharacteristic to him?

Clutching on his “Master” Leion let his thoughts roam.

He wouldn’t let such a thing work on him.

They had all been staring.

Sitting in the lap of his “Master”, Leion shook off those prickling stares. The way those people looked at him oddly reminded him of the cubs he had entertained not so long ago. They all possessed an odd eagerness within their gazes.

‘Haaaa… Today is just….’

Deciding he was about ready to leave, Leion questioned his “Master”.

‘…Honestly, what was I expecting?’

After receiving a response very typical of her, Leion buried himself in her warmth. If she wasn’t going to take him seriously, the least she could do was provide a nice sleeping spot. It was a bold action. One that was rewarded with two attacks.

As Leion watched the man who dropped off their food make a swift getaway, he clutched his throbbing head. She really hadn’t held back with those strikes.

“Gather the following.” (M)

While Leion was still clutching his head, his “Master” reached into her cloak and brought out a small piece of paper. Written on the paper were things resembling words. Squinting at the piece of paper revealed a rather harsh truth.

Leion couldn’t read a thing.

“Problem?” (M)

“No…?” (L)

A frown drew on his “Master’s” face.

Without saying a word, she folded the paper in half once and then folded it out twice.

‘Huh?’

Leion watched as the paper doubled in size along with the content he had to gather. Baffled at the scene and staring up at his “Master”, he was slow to notice that very same paper being slipped into his hands.

“Don’t be long.” (M)

Standing outside the restaurant, Leion clasped the list with both trembling hands.

Autopilot had brought this far in his confused state. Repeatedly folding and unfolding the list, he tried to undo the sorcery that increased its length.

‘I…I need to find someone who can read this…’

Going back and admitting he couldn’t carry out this task wasn’t an option. He had already tried that and was met with a glare so fierce he found himself standing back outside.

‘But that's not even an option right now, is it?’

The once bustling settlement was devoid of even a single person walking about.

‘This is such a crappy day…’

Staring blankly at the empty streets, Leion considered giving up.

He had been given an impossible task.

“Pssst! Hey! Over here!”

Absentmindedly, Leion turned his head toward the noise. Peeking around the corner of the restaurant, two dark-haired kids could be found. The girl, who called to Leion, had slightly longer hair than her brother and boasted a huge smile.

Fixing his gaze on them, Leion let his thoughts wander until a smile bloomed on his face.

Maybe this wasn’t so impossible after all.