[V8C32] Humans and Monsters Are All Trash
Translated by Jodas 8: The Witch of the BoundaryThe sound of ground hardened by frost ‘crunch, crunch‘ing beneath someone’s feet echoed throughout the forest.
Just outside of the Crystal Territory, a single man walked through a place known as the Forest of the Boundary.
He looked to be about in his mid-twenties. Appearing injured, he had bandages wrapped all over his body.
He clothed himself in moderately fancy clothing and a wide-brimmed hat over his luscious blond hair. An ornament resembling a crimson rose adorned the brim of his hat.
All of a sudden, he came to a stop in the middle of the forest, in an area where the trees were particularly dense. There, he placed his hat upon his chest.
“I’m home, Great Witch.”
Once he said that, a vine of roses stretched out towards him like a snake from deep within the forest.
As if guided by that vine of roses, the man proceeded deeper into the forest.
The Forest of the Boundary marked the line between the lands of humans and the lands of Monsters. As a result, it contained an eclectic mix of areas with high mana density and areas with very low mana density.
After proceeding deep into an area with particularly high mana density even by this forest’s standards, eventually the man caught sight of a house surrounded by a garden.
There lived a witch who possessed a garden where the four seasons twisted into one. Some knew her as ‘The Witch of the Boundary.’ Her house had a certain magecraft deployed around the perimeter that prevented both humans and Monsters from coming near.
The only ones who could reach this house were those who had gained the permission of the Witch.
—That, of course, being him.
As he walked through the garden, he felt that something was just a little bit off. Something told him the bucket he used for laundry was in a slightly different place than he had left it.
Stepping into the house itself, he noticed another discrepancy. The wicks on the candles looked a little bit shorter. Even though he had just changed them out for new ones right before he left.
(Did Tia come here?)
While Kai would normally have been the only person who could reach this house, if Tia were to show up, it wouldn’t be strange for the Witch to invite her in.
After all, Tia was a Harpy. Kai knew very well that the Witch held a deep affection for Harpies.
But when he took a peek into the kitchen, he trembled at the sight of a clear anomaly.
There was evidence of water being boiled, as well as used tea leaves.
Tia had no custom of preparing Tea for herself. He’d had her drink a cup when teaching her about human culture, but she could only conceive of it as “Hot leaf water.”
There might be some Monsters out there who drank tea when imitating humans. But for all intents and purposes, the only ones who actually brewed tea for their own enjoyment were humans. A human had come here. A human. A human. A HUMAN!!
(What the hell is going on? There’s no way the Great Witch would have invited a human into this house!)
With swift feet, he dashed to the Witch’s room.
“Great Witch!”
He flung open the door with force.
This was the room with glass balls hanging from the ceiling. Books were piled up on the floor, but there was no sign of the Witch who normally sat atop them.
“Great Witch! Show yourself to me!”
He laid a hand on the rose atop his hat.
Then, focusing his consciousness, he searched for the Witch… There she was. Kai dashed out into the hallway and headed for the Witch’s location.
The Witch had sat herself on top of the writing desk in the back of the study, reading a book.
Seeing her form, Kai laid his hand on his chest.
“Great Witch… Ah, thank goodness. You’re alright.”
The Witch said nothing. Without even a ‘Welcome back,’ she wordlessly flipped through the pages of the book.
Nevertheless, Kai loved the Witch.
To Kai, whom the whole world rejected, she alone was his home—his salvation.
“Did someone come while I was away?”
“……”
“Was it a human?”
“……”
The Witch rarely ever spoke, and when she did, she spoke as few words as necessary. That was how she had always been. Ever since Kai was a kid. Always. Always.
As a result, Kai had naturally developed a habit for talking to himself.
“…I’m glad no bad guys came to take you away, Great Witch.”
This house, and the Witch sitting inside of it, were all fabrications made by the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chromatic Garden.’
In a sense, it was only a facsimile of the real thing, but at the moment the consciousness of the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chromatic Garden’ resided within the Witch’s humanoid ‘doll.’
‘If he cared about her so much, then why would he do such a thing? Would it not be safer to keep her as just an Ancient Magical Artifact that he keeps on his person at all times?’ — Surely, some might see it that way.
But that would conflict with both Kai’s and the Witch’s desires.
Kai wanted a companion to be with him. He wanted a home. So he made one.
The Witch wanted a human body. She wanted a garden. So she made one.
That was all there was to it.
“Hold on, I’m going to go wash off some dirt from my journey.”
Saying that, Kai left the study and headed for the bedroom. As expected, there were signs of use. Most likely, someone had slept in this bed.
Kai took out some boxes of medicines and bandages, stripped his clothes, then unfurled the bandages covering his body.
Black and blue bruises with internal bleeding; evidence of strangling; slashing wounds from sharp claws — The scars left on him by those damned Monsters. Disgusting.
Kai brought in some hot water to wash the dirt off of his body, then silently applied the medicine and rewrapped the bandages.
Since this area had high mana density, Tia, as a Harpy had recovered unnaturally quickly from her wounds the first time he brought her here. … No, there was nothing unnatural about it at all. That was normal for Monsters.
(I’m jealous of them. Those fiends.)
After he finished wrapping the bandages and changing into a fresh set of clothes, he placed the precious hat back on his head.
Be it the bedroom, the kitchen, or the laundry room, everywhere in the house had evidence of someone being here. And it probably wasn’t Tia. Tia could not make proper use of human tools. She would never bother to wash up or clean up after herself.
The one who came to this house had to be a human with a reasonably organized personality.
That fact continually bubbled in the pits of his stomach.
(That dammed human who came into this house… I’ll find you, tear you to shreds, and feed you to the Monsters.)
Of course, he would make sure the Witch never found out.
The Lange Hamlet was not far from here. It might be best to start looking for information there. As he planned out his course of action, he once again visited the study.
The Witch was of course still reading in the same pose as she was earlier.
“Great Witch, I will be heading out once again for a short while. I might be a little busy in the coming days.”
“……”
“The next time I come back, for sure I’ll…”
He cut himself off and smiled.
Just a little more. Soon enough his wishes would be granted.
Just as the Witch kept secrets from Kai, so too did Kai hide things from the Witch.
—Such as the fact that his revenge would soon be complete.
—And that he, calling himself ‘the Chancellor,’ had set the Monsters in motion.
(Great Witch, it won’t be long now. We will leave beyond the Wall, and become free. We can go wherever you want.)
Kai knelt down beside the desk and, like a child begging for his mother’s affection, pulled on the Witch’s dress.
“When that time comes, let’s you and I go on a journey together, Great Witch. I want to show you the great wide world.”