Chapter 19: The Primal Resolve

In the end, I wasn’t able to recover my strength and free myself from my sisters’ overbearing care until five days after waking up.

As expected, their care was excessively overprotective. While my body had time to rest, the emotional strain left me feeling completely drained.

Hecate or Demeter were constantly by my side, leaving me no room to breathe or relax.

Even Istos, who would leave during the day, always returned home at night. The constant presence of all three created a suffocating pressure.

I couldn’t stop worrying about the state of the outside world.

What had happened to the famine and the witch hunts while I was bedridden?

After five days of rehabilitation to regain my strength, I finally decided to step outside.

Just as I was about to leave, Hecate—who had been at my side this entire time—stepped back and spoke to me.

“Woolgear-nee-san, before you go outside, there’s something I want you to remember.”

“What is it?”

“From now on, no matter what happens, we sisters share the same fate.”

“…I understand. I’ll remember that.”

After giving her my answer, I took a deep breath and opened the front door.

What lay before me was a grim reminder of hatred and violence.

The outer walls of our house were dented, likely from stones being thrown, and the roof tiles were cracked in several places.

Scattered across the cobblestone road in front of the house were numerous flyers. Picking one up, I saw it was filled with hateful slurs against witches.

“A whore who sold her body to the devil, is it? How very typical of the people of this era,” I muttered to myself.

With that, I began wandering through the familiar streets of the town.

The peaceful, bustling image of this once-thriving commercial city was long gone, replaced by a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

The shops were all deserted, except for the food store, where a small crowd had gathered outside. Even there, a “Closed” sign hung on the door.

The townsfolk walking past me were gaunt and frail, their faces marked by despair. Listening closely, I could hear murmurs of dissatisfaction.

Some blamed the king and the nobility.

They cursed the incompetence of the rulers, who offered no relief while the people suffered.

Others directed their anger at the wealthy merchants and landowners.

They condemned the greed of those who hoarded food and raised prices, caring only for their profit while ignoring the pain of the starving masses.

…And many of them cursed the witches.

The famine, caused by droughts and wildfires, was seen by the people as the work of witches. They believed this with unwavering conviction.

Without any evidence, they blamed witches for all their hardships and misfortunes, cursing their powers and declaring them the source of every tragedy.

“You there, are you the eldest of the witch sisters?”

“Yes, and what of it?”

“Nothing, really. I’m just impressed by how boldly a witch like you can walk around in public. Well then, see you later… criminal.”

As I strolled through the streets, a man suddenly addressed me, spitting out his words with disdain. I silently watched him leave without saying a word.

While such direct hostility wasn’t common, I had felt hateful glares on me ever since stepping outside. It was enough to make me feel like I truly was a criminal of the highest order.

Thinking about Istos, who faced those same hostile stares daily as she went out to work, filled me with anger at my own helplessness.

If I were to insist on sticking to conventional methods, resolving this situation peacefully was no longer an option.

Even distributing food now would be like pouring water onto a blazing fire—it wouldn’t make a difference. The infamy of witches had already become so ingrained in people’s minds that it was practically common sense.

However, if I abandoned the idea of conventional methods, I still had one possible course of action.

A way to return this world to one where witches could live in peace.

There would undoubtedly be sacrifices, but I could restore the peaceful daily lives of my witch sisters.

“It pains me, but I’ll need your help again, my sisters. This will truly be the last time, so please forgive your incompetent elder sister.”

As I walked through the town, surrounded by enemies on all sides, I whispered these words to myself, ensuring no one else could hear.

Ah, Hecate.

You said that we sisters are bound together by fate, but I have neither the right nor the worthiness to share such a bond with you all.

Yet, if my absence would bring you and the others grief, then I have my own plan to ensure your happiness.

With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I concluded my rare outing. The next morning, at breakfast, I gathered my sisters to discuss my decision.

“I’ve come to understand the state of the town. I had hoped to stop things from getting to this point, but it seems I wasn’t strong enough.”

“It’s not that you weren’t strong enough, nee-san! This… this isn’t something one person could ever solve on their own!”

Hearing Istos’s words, I shook my head silently in my heart.

She was right—this wasn’t a problem any ordinary person could have resolved.

But I wasn’t ordinary.

As a witch, I possessed immense power. And as a reincarnated soul, I had knowledge that could have helped me foresee these events.

Yet, despite all of this, I had accomplished nothing.

If this wasn’t a failure of my own strength, then what else could it be?

“So, Woolgear-nee-san, what are you planning to do?”

“…I’m going to use the last resort. I’ll cast a transformation spell to change the very concept of witches. I will alter it so that witches are recognized as nothing more than ‘humans with high magical power and long lifespans.’ If I forcibly change this concept, witches will no longer be seen as different from ordinary people, and the discrimination should disappear.”

“What!? Onee-chan, you can really do something like that?”

“Yes. I’ve never done it before, but I believe it’s possible if I can gather enough magical power.”

There are no limits to the transformation magic I wield.

If I wanted, I could turn stones into bread or water into wine.

However, I usually refrained from performing such extreme transformations because they demanded an immense amount of magical power.

Attempts to alter the fundamental structure of matter, or to change time or concepts, were divine-level feats, and they had always failed due to insufficient magic.

In other words, as long as I had enough magical power, it should be possible.

“So, Istos, Demeter, Hecate—I’m sorry, but I’ll need to ask for your help again. I need you to gather what’s necessary to secure the vast amount of magical power required for this spell.”

“And this will solve everything, Onee-chan?”

“Everything… yes, this will solve everything. I’m sure of it.”

“Then there’s no reason not to help. Right, Hecate?”

“…Yes, of course.”

With my sisters as supportive as ever, we began gathering the materials needed to secure the magical power for the spell.

However, I couldn’t shake a slight unease—Hecate’s behavior seemed a little strange.