A burst of magical energy flashed from the blade. The bluish-white light formed a crescent-moon shape and flew toward us with the force of his swing.
“Oof.” I dodged it no problem.
It hit Saya.
“Owwwwwwwwwwww!”
The sound of her shrieking filled the hall.
“Oh, sorry.”
“Wahhh… How awful…”
It sure would’ve been nice to know that sword can use magic…
Watch out. That sword can release accumulated magical energy when he swings it. It will really hurt if it hits you.
And why are you telling me this now?
“Tch… So my ordinary methods won’t work against witches—in that case, how about this?! Take that!”
Over and over, the king swung the sword, firing blasts of magical energy. I knocked down every attack so they wouldn’t hit Saya.
Behind me, I could hear signs that Saya was watching, in her half-desperate cries of “Hyah!” and “Damn you!”
“Your Highness, do you think this country has improved since you banned all lying?”
“Of course! All the citizens of my country are happy, aren’t they?”
“Isn’t that because the only people left are the ones who admire your country, while the others have all been chased out?”
“Same difference. We had to eliminate any rebels or traitors.”
“That’s true—on that point, we agree. But there’s a possibility that not everyone really admires what you’re doing.”
“…What did you say?”
As the king furrowed his brow, I thought back to all the signs I had seen in this country—and to the men who had been fighting in the street.
“This place is the Country of Truth Tellers, right? Here, lots of people openly admit their feelings and speak their real opinions, for better or worse. However, there is a downside to all this honesty.
“If you go out of your way to say something that doesn’t need to be said, it’s probably not just because you want the other person to improve their ways. More often than not, it’s stress and frustration taking over.
“It’s the same thing if you write something that doesn’t really need to be written. Not to mention the fact that some other person might then come along and make harmful additions to what you wrote.
“Your citizens may cheer for your speeches, but they keep their mouths shut the rest of the time to hide their true feelings.
“It turns out honesty isn’t always the best policy. And so, in this country where lies—”
“Elaina! Sorry to interrupt, but we’re out of time! There are too many enemies! I can’t deal with them all! It feels like my brain is boiling! Nooooo!”
Do your best, Miss Witch from the United Magic Association.
“Heeeeelp meeee!”
I’m sorry. I’m just an observer.
……
“It seems we’re out of time, so let’s wrap this up, shall we?”
But the king snorted at my proposal.
“Wrap this up? You fool. It’s taking everything you’ve got just to defend against my attacks!”
“…No, sorry. I already finished my preparations for taking your sword long ago.”
“Hmph. You’re bluffing.”
“Look behind you and tell me if you still think so.”
“…What?”
Without letting his guard down, the king peeked behind his back, then hesitated.
Behind him, my broom was floating there.
“Wha—? When did that—?”
Cutting the king off, I recalled the broom. At full throttle.
Whoosh! The broom charged at the king’s back. Letting out a low groan, the king flew toward me.
In that moment, the magic sword fell from his grasp.
“Hyah.”
I conjured up a lump of solid iron and sent it flying at the falling sword. Boom! With a heavy crash, the iron broke the sword in two, then cratered the floor.
With a pleasant snap, magical energy shot out of the sword all at once, and the bluish-white light returned to Eihemia. The shimmering beads of magical energy looked like stars in the night sky.
I marveled at the beautiful spectacle for a moment.
“People with ill will can do evil deeds without lying, and there’s no guarantee that all the people left in this country are good people.”
“……”
“Plus, not everyone who lies is a bad person.”
If the sword was truth, then lies were the scabbard. To keep it from swinging around indiscriminately and injuring people, lies held the truth in check. That was one way of thinking about it.
“……”
The king slowly dropped to his knees. He stared motionlessly at the floor, either deep in thought or simply upset. And then, after several very long seconds had passed…
“So what’re you saying…?! That I’m… That I was wrong…?” he mumbled at someone.
“No, you weren’t wrong.”
Replying to the king was a voice I hadn’t heard before, but I knew right away who was speaking.
It was Eihemia. She had regained her voice.
“My king—it’s just, you’re a little too honest about your own feelings. From now on, how about you take a breather and use every trick in the book, including lying—and holding your tongue when something doesn’t need to be said?” Eihemia spoke, smiling gently.
I couldn’t tell whether she spoke the truth or lied for the sake of the king.
It was no longer possible to tell which was which.
Here’s what happened after that.
The king appeared before his people and apologized for the six-month period that banned all lies. He told them with sincerity that he was sorry for everything he had done and begged for their forgiveness.
As for how the citizens reacted, they were surprisingly indifferent. They didn’t revolt or anything—didn’t even jeer at him. They just accepted his apology dispassionately, and when he was finished talking, a smattering of applause rose from the crowd gathered before the palace.
It was clear that the king had not yet won back their trust.
Eihemia, who had regained her voice and ability to use magic, was reinstated as the official palace witch.
“I’m going to be busy from now on!” she said rather enthusiastically. Her eyes twinkled as she stood next to her king, who was eager to put an end to the whole affair.
It seemed like it would take some time before the country was back to normal—before the various tasks of the king had been completed.
“Elaina, I’d like to talk to you about the payment for this job.” Saya grabbed my sleeve as we passed through the gate and left the country.
“What is it?”
“I got your help with this job, didn’t I? So I was thinking… I should probably pay you.”
“Eh, that’s okay. I don’t really need any payment.”
“You can’t say that.” Saya frowned. “According to the rules, I must split my reward with any mages that help me. I have to repay you somehow.”
“If you always stick to the book, you’ll never learn to act off script.”
Besides, it’s not like I did it for the money. I can’t say that, though.
“But please, let me do something to thank you!”
“…No, it’s really fine.”
She was begging me to let her show her appreciation, but I just kept shooting her down.
It felt strange.
“Well, how about this? I’ll give you something nice, as thanks for giving me this great hat!”
She clapped her hands, fished around in the bag she was holding, and pulled out something small.
In her hand were two necklaces.
She held on to one and held the second out to me.
“…What is this?” I asked as I took it.
Saya snorted. “Hmm-hmm. What is this, you ask? This is something I bought using all the money I had on hand, for when I nex
t met you, Elaina. Actually, the reason I ran out of money is because I spent it all on these. Because of that, I took this commission, and I was able to meet you here. It must be fate!”
“Oof, that’s a lot to bear.”
I thought it was weighty enough to rival Eihemia’s backstory. It seemed likely that she had talked me into letting her give me a token of her appreciation just so she could present me with this necklace. That little rascal.
“Treasure that necklace as if it were my heart.”
“……”
I don’t really want something like this, though…
What if I think of you every time I look at your gift? And what if it makes me miss you?
That’d be a pretty bad habit for a traveler to develop.
……
After staring at the necklace in silence, and at Saya for several seconds, I finally said, “Thank you very much. I’ll take good care of it.”
Well, whatever.
I guess it can’t hurt to go with the flow every once in a while.
“Well then, this is where we part ways—I’m heading for the branch office of the United Magic Association, and I suppose you’ll be getting back to your travels, Elaina?”
“Yes,” I said as I put on the necklace. “This is good-bye, Saya.”
“…Well, let’s meet again sometime, somewhere.”
“If we meet, then we meet. If not, this is it.”
“I won’t let this be the end.” She stuck out her pinkie and thrust it toward me.
“…What are you doing?”
“This is a good luck charm for promises, from my hometown! Hook your little finger onto mine, please.”
“……”
How on earth is hooking our pinkies together supposed to bring us good luck?
I latched my pinkie onto hers.
“Elaina. I promise. I will definitely see you again someday. And by then, I will have become an even more impressive witch,” Saya said, grinning.
So I replied, “I’ll travel as I wait patiently.”
CHAPTER 9
Regarding the Bomb
There was a forest full of tall, thin trees.
On my broom, I glided over the winding path that seemed to force its way through the gaps between the trees. Piles of dry leaves rustled and stirred as I passed.
The air was cool, and the wind was gentle.
Wow, this feels great!
This would definitely be a wonderful place to just lie down and take a nap.
“……”
I proceeded through the forest for a while until I caught sight of a carriage. To everyone’s inconvenience, it had stopped dead in the middle of the narrow path, luggage piled high.
I could only see the back of the carriage from where I was, which meant I couldn’t see the coachman. He must be enjoying a nap of his own. Or maybe he’s the self-appointed gatekeeper, holding up anyone trying to pass.
“…Hyah.”
There was no way around it, so I tilted my broom upward a little, lifting higher off the ground.
High enough to fly over the obstacle.
When I was directly over the carriage, I looked down.
There I saw the carriage roof and a horse munching on some grass—and also the silhouette of a man lying on the side of the road.
With a single glance, I understood the reason why the carriage had stopped in the middle of the road. The man wasn’t taking a nap or slacking off, and he certainly hadn’t meant to block anyone’s way.
“……”
The man was covered in wounds and smeared with blood.
He had collapsed limply by the side of the carriage.
What on earth happened here?
I had no way of figuring out what transpired, but what I did know was that the life of the coachman was in danger.
I felt it would be too heartless of me to fly away and let him be, so I landed my broom right away, pulled out my wand, and healed him using a magic spell. A warm white mist enveloped the man, caressing the bloody cuts and bruises all over his body and erasing them.
He was on the younger side, although he looked older than me. Around his midtwenties, I guessed. His disheveled black hair was dull and full of dirt.
“…Unh.”
As the man’s wounds finally faded, he cracked open his eyes. He stared vacantly up at the forest canopy before noticing my existence.
“Are you all right?” I spoke to him from above.
“……”
There was no response.
“Um. Are you all right?” I tried passing a hand over his face.
“……” And then, after that, he blinked his eyes, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally pushing himself up into an upright position. “Ah, um…! I don’t know who you are, but how long was I out?”
He must not be fully awake yet. His inquiry seemed hurried and hysterical.
“I just happened to be passing by, so I don’t know—but it couldn’t have been that long.”
Because the blood hadn’t dried yet.
“Th-thank goodness! In that case, I can still make it…! Um, I don’t know who you are, but—”
“Elaina. That’s my name.”
“Elaina! Would you be so kind as to listen to my request?” He reached out to grab my hand, but I deftly pulled away.
“I’m very sorry, but I’m in a hurry.”
“I u-understand, but please just lend me an ear!”
“…Uh-huh.” I sighed. I could already sense a big old headache coming on.
Ignoring my growing exasperation, the man desperately tried to string together an explanation. “I fully get that this request is outrageous, especially after you’ve already helped me once. But if we don’t do anything, the unthinkable will happen! Please, I’m begging you! Lend me your strength!”
He knelt on the ground and bowed over and over again. “Please, please,” he repeated as he bowed.
…Somehow, I feel like I’ve had this exact same exchange somewhere before.
Giving it some thought, I realized this was just like an earlier turn of events, when I got roped into a strange situation after healing some other person. It was starting to feel like this was my inescapable fate. I guess I’m just the type of character who gets roped into things after helping those in need.
With my finger, I felt around to confirm that the star-shaped brooch was on my breast where it belonged. “Well, I suppose I can just listen to your story.”
When he heard that, without a moment’s delay, the man shouted, “If we don’t do anything, lots of people will die!”
I was more confused than intrigued.
Eventually, I got him to slow down and backtrack.
According to him, he was the driver of the coach and a merchant, and he had been in the middle of hauling a certain package to the next country over. However, the carriage ran into some trouble along the way.
Long story short, it was attacked by a gang of thieves.
One horse and one feeble man against a gang of ten brawny outlaws. He never stood a chance. The man had very quickly been yanked from the carriage, and then the thieves beat the living daylights out of him and stole anything of monetary value.
“That sounds awful.”
“Yes. It was very painful. It’s a small mercy that I didn’t die.”
“So how is this connected to the deaths of lots of people?”
Are you royalty disguised as a merchant? Is there a twist, where you’re going to kill a bunch of thieves in retaliation?
The man took a deep breath. “Well…the thing I was carrying in the back of my carriage was made at the behest of the country down the road… It was a bomb.”
“A bomb?”
“Yes. They said it was for making a tunnel or something. I don’t really understand it. They spent an unfathomable amount of money to have someone else make it for them.”
“Oh-ho. How much?”
“About ten thousand gold pieces.”
But now I understood.
Somehow, the plot was coming together in my mind.
“In other words, you handed over an incredibly expensive bomb to a bunch of thieves, giving them the ability to use it for their own evil purposes—Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right. It’s a very grave matter. If the thieves carry the bomb into our country, many of our people may die.”
“That does sound serious.”
From the way he spoke, it sounded like he wouldn’t be nearly as concerned if the thieves had carried the bomb off toward the country down the road.
Why is that? Are they on bad terms? Why even make this bomb in the first place?
“Yes… Also, most importantly, the bomb is extremely volatile. If there’s even the slightest error in calibration, it will instantly explode.”
“What the heck…?”
“I’m one of the people who was involved in its development, so I know how to handle it, but the bomb has an extremely complicated structure. And of course, the customer paid for power, so it’s got plenty of that, obviously.”
“You helped make it?”
“Yes. I designed it, and I wrote the manual.”
“……”
That’s not exactly what I would call helping. You’re no simple merchant; you’re the lead developer! Why did you lie, I wonder?
“We made it easy to operate, but even so, I can’t say it would be impossible to make a mistake.”
“In other words, even thieves could easily handle it.”
“That’s exactly the case. And since they can use it, I don’t know what they’re going to do with it.”
“……”
So this man must want to keep the gang of thieves from going to his country and using the bomb for evil.
I see. Now I get why he’s so flustered. There would be nothing sadder than having your own country destroyed by a bomb you had a hand in making.
“If we do nothing, then something bad is going to happen. We have to take the bomb back from the thieves by any means necessary.”
Obviously, we couldn’t let this sit. Sooner or later, this situation was bound to get even more troublesome. It made me feel like we didn’t have time to hesitate. If no one did anything, people would die.
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 2 Page 11