Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 4: The Witch’s Apprentice ④
The witch regained consciousness.
Then, she eagerly drank the pink-colored herbal tea on the table.
Ah… well, whatever.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp… Pwaahhh! I-I thought I was gonna die!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Goodness, what a surprise, what a surprise. That was truly astonishing, indeed.”
The witch, her vocabulary seemingly weakened, wagged her three tails as she sat down on the black sofa.
“Y-Yeah, I suppose so…”
“Who would have thought… that was a Pseudo-Divine Relic.”
“Pseudo…?”
“Oh my, you don’t know? Wof, my boy. A Pseudo-Divine Relic. A legendary relic, indeed. This is the fourth time I’ve seen someone in possession of one.”
“There are others!?”
Now I was the one surprised.
“Yes, yes. Two among the First-Class. One in the Seihou Church. And another one.”
“Even the Seihou Church has one?”
The Seihou Church. Commonly known as Seihou.
It was the largest religion in the world. Most churches in towns and villages belonged to it.
Its doctrine—”May the grace of peace be upon all”—was widely known among the people.
That was about all I knew.
Few people truly understood its inner workings.
And now, I found out that the church housed a Pseudo-Divine Relic owner. Was that even allowed?
“The ones in the First-Class… That means one of them is… the rumored Second Coming…”
“Ah, ah, Narcissus is among them, yes. Oh dear, oh dear. That means there are two Generous now. Hmm…”
The witch placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought.
I started feeling uneasy.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, no, not an immediate one, at least.”
“Not immediately…?”
“Well, well, as long as no one finds out that you, Wof, can become a Generous, that is.”
“That’s true…”
As long as no one found out, it should be fine.
“Alright, now all the secrets are—”
“Not quite. I don’t have it anymore, but do you know about the Binding Relic [Banishment Line]?”
“Hmm, hmm. Never heard of it. And it’s a Binding Relic, you say?”
I explained what had happened at the Grand Temple—how I had defeated the Clown with it, and how, as a result, the world had changed through inductive reasoning.
The witch listened silently, then nodded slightly.
“Yes, yes. That is an ancient act of the gods themselves.”
“So it really is divine power?”
“Exactly. Only a Pseudo-Divine Relic could handle something like that.”
“I… I’m a monster, but I erased the Clown, a monster called The Fool, from existence entirely. If I hadn’t, Axe and Bid… everyone wouldn’t have survived. But even so… was that really the right thing to do?”
Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I think about it.
But if I had to choose again, I would make the same choice. Again and again.
Maybe that’s why it troubles me so much.
“Well, well, what’s done is done.”
Ad
“That may be true, but…”
“Listen, Wof, my boy. Life is nothing but a series of choices. Sometimes we regret them, but all we can do is learn from them and move forward.”
“Have you ever regretted something, Witch?”
“Oh, plenty. More than I can count, really. And you know, Wof, my boy… once, long ago, I did something similar using a Binding Relic.”
“Wait, you did!?”
“Yes, yes. I had planned to take this secret to my grave, but since you’re my apprentice and have been through the same thing, I suppose I can share it.”
“Are you sure? Thank you.”
“Yes, yes. It happened in the deepest part of a dungeon… The First-Class explorer party led by Alexander, the so-called Dungeon Master. The Raven Saga, a group known as the ‘One-Night Dawn,’ was nearly wiped out by a high-ranking gemstone-class monster, Decadant. I used the last of my strength, paid the price, and unleashed the Binding Relic [Destruction Zero]. It completely erased Decadant from this world. And when that happened, it was as if it had never existed in the first place. Just like you said, no one but me remembered. [Destruction Zero] disappeared as well. And, as a side effect, Raven Saga was credited with defeating a lesser variant of a gemstone-class monster, Abstract Ego, in some city dungeon. I couldn’t help but laugh.”
“Alexander and the others… had they died back then? But… what if the world keeps changing like that every time something gets erased?*”
I felt a chill run down my spine as I voiced my thoughts.
What kind of world was this?
Even now, was someone somewhere erasing something, rewriting reality?
And what if, someday, the entire world disappeared without anyone noticing?
The witch gazed at me as I grew anxious. Then, she smiled.
“Hmm, hmm. You may be right. But, Wof, my boy… I think this: If something disappears, something else is born. Some things can only come into existence because something else was erased. And in that world, new encounters become possible.”
Ad
“That’s quite optimistic…”
“Well, well, that’s just the kind of witch I am.”
So that’s why she’s a witch.
Something was born because Crown disappeared.
Something I could only encounter in this world where Crown no longer existed.
Hmm… It still sounded too optimistic.
But I felt a little relieved.
At least Axe and Bid were alive.
The tragedy never happened, so there were no victims.
Yeah. That’s good enough for now. That’s optimistic too, isn’t it?
But maybe… that’s okay.
“Thank you, Witch.”
“No, no, it’s only natural for a master to give advice to a troubled apprentice.”
The witch grinned triumphantly.
“Well, well, that should be all of Wof boy’s secrets.”
Ad
“There’s still more.”
“Hmm, hmm. There’s still more, huh…”
Even the witch, as impressive as she was, seemed half-impressed and half-exasperated.
I took out a Holy Elixir Egg from my pouch.
The moment I did, the witch’s eyes changed.
“Oh my, oh my, a Holy Egg, isn’t it?”
“It’s an Elixir’s Holy Egg.”
“Hmm, hmm. And of all things, you have the most abundant kind. Well, I’m a little surprised, but Holy Eggs aren’t exactly rare, you know.”
…Is that so?
When Mineha was born, both mother and child were saved by an Elixir’s Holy Egg.
But if I remember correctly, the Holy Egg from back then was left empty after it was used.
“This Holy Egg, though, refills itself in about ten minutes.”
“Eh? Eh?”
The witch’s expression shifted.
“Witch?”
“…Hmm. Hmm. Hmm, hmm. Well then, let’s see it for ourselves. It’s not that I doubt you, Wof boy, but Kon wants to witness it firsthand.”
“Understood.”
I opened the lid and poured its contents into an empty porcelain cup.
The liquid was clear, slightly viscous, and faintly glowing.
“Hmm, hmm. No doubt about it, that’s Elixir.”
As she spoke, the witch took an hourglass from a nearby shelf.
She turned it over.
“Exactly ten minutes, then?”
“That’s right. Oh, that reminds me—I gave you a different-colored one before, didn’t I?”
“Yes, I still find it very useful. In the meantime, I’ll reveal my final secret.”
“…You still have more, huh.”
The witch let out a wry smile.
I pulled a square black slate with a red line across it from my pouch.
The moment I placed it on the table, the witch’s gaze sharpened.
“A Relic Plate.”
“Oh my, oh my, now this is quite an interesting find…”
She knew about it, just as I expected.
Alexander, the former First Rank explorer, also recognized it. Now that I think about it…
“Witch, were you a First Rank explorer?”
“Oh my, Wof boy. You didn’t know? Yes, yes. I haven’t gone exploring in a long time, but Kon is indeed a First Rank explorer. I go by the title ‘The Peerless Witch.’”
“…I see.”
A question suddenly formed in my mind.
What was the witch’s actual name?
She had always told me to just call her “Witch,” so I never questioned it.
Well, given her appearance and behavior, she certainly seemed like a witch, so it never felt strange to call her that.
That’s probably why I had never wondered about it until now.
“Witch, what is your name?”
“Hey, hey, Wof boy. May I touch the Plate?”
“Ah, yes, I don’t mind…”
Wait, did she just dodge my question?
Ad
The moment she touched the Plate, the witch’s eyes widened slightly, and she let out a chuckle.
Hmm. So her name is a taboo subject, huh?