Episode Four
The unexpected fight had cost us time, but we’d still make it to Lintz Village before dark, apparently.
We’d been riding in silence for a while, but Kiaran’s unwavering stare eventually wore me down, and I opened my mouth reluctantly.
“When I was a child, a teacher told me that ‘magic means borrowing strength from the mana around you.’”
I found myself remembering days spent waving staves at the edge of a small village, Selene beside me. Back then, once practice was over, we’d hold hands and talk until the sun went down. Looking back now, maybe that was where the supply began.
“Selene was improving so fast, and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I got fed up, and one day I just tried saying the incantation however I felt like it.”
“Like — pierce through — that sort of thing.”
I kept my eyes on my hands as I spoke, catching Kiaran listening quietly at the edge of my vision.
“And suddenly, magic I’d never been able to use worked straight away. After that, my incantations have always been like that.”
Magic meant speaking the designated name. That was what they’d taught at the elementary academy too — but apparently I was a little different.
Kiaran, who’d been leaning back against the seat, sat up and finally spoke.
“Is the range of magic the same as normal?”
“Yes. Nothing unique to me — just ordinary black magic. The same as anyone else’s.”
“I just genuinely have no idea why I can use it this way.”
A self-deprecating little laugh escaped me.
“Sion really is remarkable. She always has been — since we were small.”
Selene said it quietly, almost to herself. I appreciated it, but in the end all I could do was cast faster. My actual ability was nowhere near the level of skill she’d built through sheer relentless effort.
Kiaran had been unusually subdued — but eventually, as though she could no longer hold herself back, her shoulders shook and she leaned in close and took my hand.
“Black Witch, you are genuinely amazingly cool!! I was so moved!! “
“I’ve never seen anyone incant like that, and now I want to try it too — like, zap ‘em or bzzt bzzt—!”
Kiaran was shaking me back and forth and my vision was lurching in every direction. This was going to make me very, very carsick.
“Black Witchhhh. Show me more amazing things. I think I’m falling for you.”
I eased quietly away from the face hovering close enough to brush noses.
She was endearing in her own way — warm and animal-like in how freely she expressed herself — but the closeness was something I might never adjust to.
“That’s quite enough. Sion is uncomfortable.”
Selene came to my rescue, and Kiaran finally drew back. In the instant before she returned to her seat, her expression seemed briefly unlike itself — something different crossing her face.
“So… that’s the story with mine. Your magic was incredible too, Kiaran. Possibly a little beyond incredible.”
A thunderclap that could have scorched the whole forest to ash. And judging by how she’d looked afterwards — that probably wasn’t even close to her full strength.
“I mean, yeah. I did say we were pretty strong.”
She said it bluntly, and immediately turned her gaze to the window.
“And Uno — you kept the carriage protected through all of that. I was genuinely impressed.”
Selene said it while looking at Uno, who was now sleeping contentedly.
“Yeah. Uno’s incredibly strong too.”
Kiaran brushed the fringe gently from Uno’s face and murmured it. The calm in her voice gave me a quiet sense of how the two of them fit together.
The conversation fell away, and a peaceful quiet settled in again. The sun hadn’t gone down yet — we still had some time before we arrived.
“How’s your mana?”
Selene’s voice, pitched low enough for only me.
“Fine. Still alright.”
“Good. Sleep if you’re tired.”
Whether it was the White Witch’s usual consideration, or guilt at making me use magic — I wished she was always like this.
“Thanks. I’ll borrow your shoulder for a bit.”
I didn’t fully understand why — but in that moment, I decided to let myself lean into her gentleness.
Before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep entirely. I was roused by someone rocking me gently, and woke with my eyes still heavy. Looking out of the window as I rubbed them, the sun was most of the way down and the landscape had changed beyond recognition.
“…Sorry. I slept too long. Is your shoulder all right?”
“It’s fine.”
“We’re almost there. Get yourself ready.”
Looking across the carriage, I found Kiaran and Uno both fast asleep. Selene must have been tired too — and yet she’d been keeping watch alone while the rest of us slept.
“Adventurers — the village you can see ahead is Lintz Village. Thank you for travelling with me.”
I looked out of the window and a large river came into view, splitting the village in two. Not many people, not many buildings — a quiet, unhurried place. There was something in the air here that felt faintly like home, and something in me settled.
We thanked the driver and the horses who’d carried us this far, and climbed down.
A short walk along the road, and an older woman came out to meet us.
“A long journey — welcome, and well done. The guild told us to expect you. You must be hungry — please, come this way.”
I dipped my head to her gentle smile and followed.
Everyone we passed on the street greeted us with easy warmth. There were only a few stalls, but I couldn’t take my eyes off a spit-roasted cut of meat, and the faint sweet smell drifting from somewhere nearby caught at me too.
“Sion, stop gawking. Keep your guard up.”
“…Sorry. It’s just, I don’t often see places like this.”
I straightened up and kept walking. Kiaran and the others, surprisingly, were composed — and my own unguarded excitement started to feel a little embarrassing.
The woman who’d come to meet us turned out to be the village head. We were led into the most prominent house in the village, and seated at a table almost overflowing with food.
Nothing showy like the capital — just simple, honest, settling food. For all that it had been a long journey, just arriving in this village made the job feel worthwhile.
After dinner, over post-meal tea, Selene got to business.
“A little early perhaps, but let’s go over the details of the job once more.”
“Ehhh. Can’t it wait till tomorrow? I always get sleepy after a big meal. Uno too, right?”
“…I slept on the way here, so I’m not tired. And I want to talk with the Witches.”
Selene, apparently now accustomed to managing these two, simply talked over them.
“We depart tomorrow after nightfall. You’re free to do as you like during the day, but please rest and keep your strength.”
The two of them watched Selene with the attentive focus of students in front of a teacher. They probably weren’t much different in age — but somehow the impression didn’t fit.
“The target is the Grave Shaman, yes?”
Selene gave a small nod.
“But — Shamans aren’t that serious a threat, are they? Why is the reward so high?”
Kiaran was right that Grave Shamans, while troublesome, were not particularly uncommon monsters. The reward did seem generous, even allowing for that.
“These are merchant and traveller accounts, so treat them with caution — but there were reports of undead being summoned in numbers enough to fill the entire abandoned settlement.”
Selene must have slipped out before dinner to speak with the village head. I thought of how I’d been distracted by the food, and felt a small stab of embarrassment.
“We don’t have the full picture yet. Let’s go in carefully. It’ll be dark out there — the conditions won’t be in our favour.”
“Got it! But if there are loads of undead, couldn’t we just — drop lightning and be done?”
“No. Your magic is something we can rely on — but anything that conspicuous will draw in whatever else is out there.”
“So if you use it at all, it should be—”
Selene paused, turning something over.
“…Only when someone’s life is in danger.”
She said it with her eyes lowered.
Whatever she was picturing — I wondered.
“Understood. Uno, let’s hold off on the flashy stuff.”
“…Yes. I’ll protect the Witches.”
I couldn’t read her expression, but the small fist quietly clenched at her side told me Uno meant it. Blue magic was strong in defence — that might give me a little more freedom to move than usual.
“I think that covers everything. Sion — anything to add?”
Selene looked at me over the rim of her cup, the gesture unhurried but her eyes quite serious.
“I think we’re alright. Both of you — thank you. I’m counting on you.”
I looked at Kiaran and Uno as I said it.
Selene went without saying. Kiaran and Uno were clearly formidable. If anyone was going to be a liability — that would probably be me.
“Yeah, likewise~! I’m so happy to be fighting alongside the Black Witch! I still haven’t seen the White Witch’s amazing magic either — let’s all make sure we come back in one piece~”
Kiaran said it lightly and popped a sweet from the table into her mouth.
Watching the two of them eat happily, something in my face went soft without me deciding it should. I glanced sideways at Selene — the job briefing was done, and the tension had gone out of her shoulders. The corners of her eyes had eased.
It was a serious job and I’d been worried — but everyone was here. The unease was still there, but it would probably be all right. Thinking that, I reached for a biscuit from the plate on the table and took a bite.