I Run the Protagonist’s Favorite Café in a Hopelessly Depressing Game World - V1 Chapter 6

The Discovery

The Astraedia United Kingdom uses a constitutional monarchy, so parliament basically decides the country’s policies. At the same time, though, there’s an organization with just as much power as parliament.

It’s the Witch Association.

The witches risk their lives to protect humanity and the whole world, so it only makes sense that they ended up with real authority. That’s how the organization was born.

Anyone who graduates from the academy automatically gets membership, and the country gives them plenty of generous support.

This is why witches who picked up lasting injuries from fighting monsters can still live comfortably even if they can’t hold down a normal job.

The Witch Association has sunk its teeth deep into the heart of the nation and holds enormous power.

They can even pull up footage from surveillance cameras all over the country.

“…!”

Inside a dark room.

Dozens of screens glowed faintly.

This monitoring room belonged to the Witch Association, and its whole purpose was to find the world’s strongest witch, Aoi Komeiji, who had suddenly vanished.

They had been able to access every surveillance camera in the country for years now, yet they still hadn’t found her.

No.

That was in the past.

Through her thick round glasses, Mayuko Tobitsuka, a board member of the Witch Association, widened her eyes.

She held her breath and stared hard at the screen.

On the monitor.

There stood the person she had dreamed of seeing for so many years.

“Aoi…!”

Was this just a convenient dream?

If she woke up, would the same gloomy reality wrap itself around her again?

Mayuko doubted the scene in front of her and pinched her own cheek.

“Ow…”

Her sense of pain was dulled from the aftereffects of magic, but she definitely felt the pull on her cheek and a stinging itch that reached her brain. It was real. The scene on the screen was real. No mistake. Aoi Komeiji was alive. After years with no word, when she had half given up, Aoi was unmistakably alive!

Excitement made Mayuko forget her tiredness.

Her body had already passed its limits, but it forgot all about those limits too.

She kicked the chair back and stood up, then pulled out her smartphone.

The person she hurried to call was a comrade who shared the same goal.

With trembling fingertips she tapped the screen and made the call.

“What? I’m pretty busy here too, you know. If this is some pointless thing, I’m hanging up.”

A grumpy voice came through the phone.

It was Mizuka Asamura.

She used to be a member of Aoi Komeiji’s old party too.

“This is the most important thing possible. I’ll swear on it. If you hang up now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Skip the buildup. Just get to that so-called important thing already. You know how busy a board member of the Witch Association is, Mayuko.”

“Yeah, sorry… I think the excitement has me a little messed up.”

Mayuko shook her head and let out a breath, trying to cool the heat building inside her body.

But excitement kept bubbling up from the bottom of her heart, and she couldn’t hold it back at all.

Her voice still shaking, she spoke.

“I’ll cut straight to the point—Aoi Komeiji has been found.”

“…Where?”

“On the northern route heading from the capital toward the dungeon.”

“Travel speed?”

“Walking. But fast. Depending on where you are, Mizuka, you might miss her.”

Mizuka sounded surprisingly calm.

Maybe she was just trying to cut out every waste of time.

“Miss her? …You’re joking, right?”

A sniff came through the phone.

Yeah, that was her.

Mizuka Asamura was exactly that kind of witch—full of confidence.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t notice Aoi. And there’s no way Aoi wouldn’t notice me. Even if I’m not there, I’ll follow her traces and meet her for sure.”

Click.

When she looked, the call had already ended.

“Haa…”

Mayuko let out a sigh.

She really is impatient. Well—if their positions were reversed, she would probably act the same way, so she couldn’t really blame her.

She could only pray they would reunite safely.

Mayuko sat back down in her chair, making the backrest creak.

Mayuko Tobitsuka had lost most of her bodily functions.

She could stand up and move around, sure.

But quick movement, running—pretty much any action needed for combat was impossible.

That was why she had retired as a witch and turned to this kind of mental work.

“Please, Mizuka.”

She looked up at the ceiling and murmured.

Happy memories from the past flashed through her mind.

A witch’s life was almost always miserable, but the few years she had spent running around with Aoi Komeiji were so much fun that she could forget that fact. They really were fun.

They say love and hate are two sides of the same coin, and in the same way, the years after Aoi disappeared had been hell—gloomy, depressing, and full of pain.

“Aoi… why did you suddenly vanish?”

She whispered into empty air.

Of course, no one answered.

The silence rang painfully.

Mayuko Tobitsuka stared at the ceiling for a while, then gave a bitter smile and closed her eyes.

◇

I made it out of the dungeon.

The area was already dyed in the light of the setting sun, and the grassland had turned orange.

This wasn’t a space full of magic power. It was a space full of ordinary air.

The world where humans were meant to live.

When fresh air filled my lungs, every cell in my body seemed to rejoice, and I naturally trembled.

“Um—thank you so much, really.”

The teacher bowed her head.

It felt awkward, so I quickly held up my palm.

“It’s not something that deserves thanks.”

“But…”

“Raising the next generation is the duty of those who came before. A lot of people slack off on it, though. If you think about what’s best for humanity, my actions were only natural. Nothing worth thanking me for.”

“…Hehe.”

What a hopeless person.

That’s the face she made as she shrugged her shoulders.

Why?? I thought I said something completely reasonable…

There are plenty of things in the world that understanding just can’t catch up to.

“I understand. I’ll take it that way then. …So, I’d like to talk about the reward, could you give me your contact info?”

“Yeah, sure—”

In that instant.

I sensed magic power rushing toward me at an unbelievable speed.

“……”

“Mr. Komeiji?”

“Sorry, something came up. I’ll take my leave here.”

“Mr. Komeiji? …Mr. Komeiji!?”

While feeling the teacher’s shock on my back, I left the spot with everything I had.

I might have been moving even faster than when I fought monsters.

That’s how desperate I was. I ran desperately.

I didn’t even care if the ground might cave in.

Just straight ahead.

I sprinted at a speed right on the edge of my limit.

From the side it probably looked like my legs were spinning so fast I was flying.

In the blink of an eye a stone wall came into view, but I had no time to go through a proper checkpoint. I poured strength into my lower body and kicked the ground with all my might.

Hyooooooo—.

A high-pitched rush of wind shook my eardrums.

I cleared the stone wall and rolled to kill the impact of landing.

“…That thicket over there should work.”

I hid myself in a nearby thicket.

Then I took off my mask and the cloak that hid my build.

I stuffed them messily into my bag, put on a face like “I’m just an ordinary passerby,” and stepped out of the thicket.

—Boom. A collapse. The ground shook.

The impact was so strong I wondered if the earth itself had broken apart, and my hair flew up.

Clouds of dust blocked out everything around me.

Maybe I could escape in this confusion…

Just as I thought that.

I felt a hand grab my wrist.

When I looked down, it was a white, slender arm like fine porcelain.

A ghost? But it felt way too physical for that.

“I finally… I finally found you. Aoi!”

The owner of the voice said the words like she was holding back tears and threw herself into my arms.

The softness of her body pressed right against me.

Little by little the dust cleared.

I could see the face of the person speaking.

She stared with wide eyes, not even trying to hide her confused expression.

“Uh… who…?”

“That’s my line.”

She—Mizuka Asamura—tilted her head.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

That feeling came through clearly.

“But… I sensed your magic power, Aoi…”

“You say some strange things. I’m a guy, you know? I don’t have any magic power.”

“R-right, but…”

Mizuka’s eyes spun with confusion.

She looked like she might collapse any second.

While making sure my facial muscles stayed composed, I pointed at my wrist.

“Anyway, could you let go of this?”

“Ah—sorry.”

She must have been gripping pretty hard. My wrist had turned completely red. I waved my arm around in the freed feeling, then faced Mizuka again.

“Mistaken identity?”

“Mistaken identity… yeah, uh-huh. …It must be that, right.”

Mizuka whispered, clearly not convinced.

She tilted her head like “Did I mess up sensing the magic power?” and shook her head going “No, that can’t be…”

She still hadn’t reached the correct answer that the person in front of her was Aoi Komeiji.

Good. If the truth had come out, I would have tried to commit seppuku from sheer embarrassment.

At least I avoided a meaningless death.

Mizuka Asamura used to be a member of my old party.

We had been through quite a lot of hardship and joy together—she was a real comrade.

Even so, the reason I didn’t reveal my identity to her was…

[Redacted] was [redacted] and there was a chance [redacted] would be [redacted].

It was sad. But this was reality.

Feeling a huge amount of guilt, I gave Mizuka an apologetic smile.

“Can I go now?”

“Y-yeah… sorry. I made a weird mistake.”

“It’s fine. People make mistakes.”

I waved and left the spot.

I could still feel Mizuka’s gaze on my back the whole time.

Even feeling it, I ignored everything and walked away.