Chapter 22 _ The Witch’s Legacy, or an Audience for the Title of Heroine
Unlike usual, I woke up early that morning.
I wanted to introduce Frey to Iris.
So I shook Frey awake and prepared to head out.
“Hold it!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Why should I go see her?” Frey snapped.
“Normally, the lower-ranked visits the higher-ranked!”
“…Is that important?”
“Of course it is! I told you yesterday—
I refuse to share the spotlight!
Why would the heroine come to some random mob girl!?”
“‘Mob girl’!? Frey, you really shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Silence! If you insist, then bring the girl here!”
With that, the cat burrowed back under the blanket
and promptly fell asleep again.
…Fine.
I’d bring Iris here instead.
When Iris arrived at my room at the inn,
she looked around curiously.
“This is your place?”
“Yeah. Come in.”
Inside, the cat was still asleep.
“Hey, wake up. I brought her.”
“…The person you wanted to introduce me to is… that cat?”
“Mmm…?”
“A girl, huh. Very well—state your name.”
“…Eh? The cat is talking…”
Iris visibly stiffened.
“Never mind that. Speak, or I’ll throw you out.”
“Ah—um… I’m Iris.
I’m a beginner mage.”
“This cat is Frey,” I said.
The moment I spoke her name,
Iris stepped back, her face paling.
Seeing that, I decided to ask something I’d been wondering.
“Iris… it’s okay. She’s my friend.
She helped me during the trial by combat.”
“…Then… she saved me too, didn’t she?”
She nodded slightly, as if convincing herself.
When she finally calmed down, I asked.
“Why do people in this city fear Frey so much?”
“She saved the country from the Demon King.
She even raised a barrier to protect the city.”
“I don’t understand why someone so kind would be feared.”
Iris’s large eyes darkened.
“Everyone is grateful,” she said quietly.
“But they also know what Frey-sama suffered.”
“They know the stories.”
“Abandoned in the mountains at birth.
Feared and chased away by other children when she came down to play.”
Iris hesitated, then spoke with resolve.
“…I’ll be honest.
Frey-sama already knows this, I’m sure.”
“The people whisper that one day,
she might destroy this country herself.”
“…Why?”
“There’s no reason for her kindness.”
Iris spoke calmly.
“The country and its people have given her nothing in return.”
“Unconditional love exists only from a mother.”
“In other words…
there’s no reason for Frey-sama to protect us this far.”
“She has every right to hate us.
To resent us.”
“That’s why people fear
she’ll become like the witch Carla—
and destroy everything one day.”
“…Carla, huh.”
The cat nodded slowly.
“You know her?” I asked.
“Know her?
She’s the one who unsealed the Demon King.”
“…Then the cause of everything—”
“Indeed.
Listen well. I’ll tell you what I know.”
Frey began to speak, as if recalling distant memories.
“Carla lived about fifty years before me.
Like me, she was born with exceptional magical talent.”
“They say by the age of five, she had mastered all magic of her era.
Even I needed until I was seven.”
“But her greatest trait was her beauty.”
“She captivated all who saw her.”
“Jet-black hair, large enchanting eyes,
translucent white skin, slender fingers, long legs—
perfection itself.”
“The country took notice.”
“She was chosen as bride for the crown prince.”
“He fell in love at first sight.
They married.”
“At her peak, people adored her.”
“…That doesn’t sound very witch-like,” I muttered.
“Be silent!”
Frey continued.
“The prince cherished her.
They shared a bed night after night.”
“But Carla never bore a child.”
“Time passed.
The prince became king.”
“Desperate for an heir,
he gathered beautiful women and tried to produce one.”
“One woman gave birth to a son.”
“The people turned their devotion to her.”
“By then, Carla was over forty.
Her beauty—faded, as all human beauty does.”
“People stopped looking at her.”
“Whether from despair or misunderstanding…”
“She was accused of trying to kill the infant heir.”
“In truth, she was only trying to hold the child—
or so it is said.”
“But the king believed the rumor.”
“Without proof for execution,
he banished her.”
“Carla lost everything.”
“She came to hate the country.
To hate people.”
“She swore to destroy it all.”
“With her power, she could have done so herself.”
“But pride would not allow it.”
“So she chose a forbidden path—
reviving the Demon King sealed long ago.”
“She offered her own life as the sacrifice.”
“The Demon King returned…
and rampaged as she intended.”
“The country sent its strongest—
adventurers, soldiers—
all were useless.”
“I was ten years old then.”
“You know the rest, Mario.”
“I sealed the Demon King with forbidden time magic—
myself included.”
“…That’s… horrible…”
“…That’s… horrible…”
“Stop echoing each other!”
After snapping at us, Frey looked away, embarrassed.
“So there you have it.
I bear no hatred toward this country.
Nor toward its people.
Rest easy.”
Then suddenly, she stood up and pointed at Iris.
“But girl! Remember this well!
The heroine’s seat is mine!”
“…That’s what you focus on!?”
“Of course! The heroine role is sacred!”
“You overlap with me far too much—
pretty girl, mage, tragic life!”
“But I have stronger character presence!
More fans!”
“All you have is blonde hair, hm!? Hehehe!”
“This makes no sense!
Heroine seats? Female readers!?”
—
Right after learning such a brutal history,
this absurd obsession.
And yet, faced with Frey’s stubborn brightness,
Iris and I exchanged glances—
and couldn’t help but laugh softly.
