The Witch and Her Companion: I'm Just a Normal High School Student, but I Became the Familiar of the Highest-Ranked Witch. Also, It Seems I'm the Only Guy in the Witch Organization I Joined

Chapter 105: Special Bubblegum Sundae and the Old Man

[Todoroki Ryuna]

“—Okay, keep focusing like that…”

“…Got it.”

“Picture connecting your heart to his… slowly.”

“…Heart to… heart—”

—Between a witch and their familiar, a special bond forms.

Familiars receive immortality and magic from the witch, but in exchange, their life and soul are bound.

If the witch dies, the familiar follows soon after. A one-way, all-in pact.

—And if the witch strongly desires it, they can know exactly where their familiar is, what they’re seeing, hearing, touching, feeling… as if it’s in the palm of their hand.

“…A stone ceiling… an iron door, a black chest.”

Fuu-chan, sitting in the living room with her eyes closed, muttered softly. Looks like she successfully linked with Hare.

“Good job! Anything else? The location?”

“The location… it’s really far from here… across the sea?”

“Across the sea… like, overseas? Where the heck is that idiot…?”

Fuu-chan, still with her eyes shut, furrowed her brow, trying to deepen the link.

“…Ugh, no good… my head hurts.”

“Oh, sorry, Fuu-chan, did I push you too hard!?”

At Fuu-chan’s neck, part of her white collar was blinking red.

This collar suppresses most of her magic, making a link that should be easy much harder. Worse, it seems to strain her body.

“I’m okay, but my head hurts so much the link keeps breaking.”

“…It’s that collar’s fault. But we got a lead. We know he’s indoors somewhere, not outside, and super far away. That’s clear!”

“That’s… not exactly clear, is it?”

“A lead’s a lead! Zero and one are totally different. Anyway, we’ll try linking again in an hour!”

“Right, yeah. I’ll do my best!!”

After collecting Fuu-chan’s clothes and souvenirs, we woke up early the next morning and kicked off our serious search for Hare.

~One Hour Later~

Fuu-chan and I sat facing each other at the living room table again. We nodded, and she started the link.

Ideally, we’d pinpoint his general location today. If we take too long, Dad might come back, or that yokai geezer could stick his nose in.

“…The place… it’s the same as before… but Hare’s using magic?”

“Magic? Healing magic? Is he hurt!?”

Her unexpected words made me raise my voice. Wasn’t he supposed to be hiding somewhere safe?

“No, I don’t think it’s healing magic. It’s like… he’s holding his hand out, making some kind of crystal?”

“…Could it be a magic sword? What’s that idiot trying to do first thing in the morning?”

And how did Hare, who’s supposed to know nothing about magic, even think to make a magic sword? Self-taught? No, that’s impossible. So, what’s going on—

“Ryuna, what’s a magic sword?… Oh, wait, someone’s coming…”

“…!?”

Fuu-chan, already looking like her head was throbbing, groaned and furrowed her brow, struggling to keep the link.

“…Phew! Hah, hah… that’s my limit…”

“You okay!?”

Fuu-chan clutched her head with both hands and slumped onto the table. I gently stroked her head.

“…Right before the link broke, I saw a woman.”

“A woman?”

Still slumped, Fuu-chan turned her face toward me and said that.

“Yeah, with white hair and super long bangs… and she was wearing a black dress or something.”

“…Nope, I’ve got no clue. Sorry, Fuu-chan.”

From what she said, probably not Japanese, so Hare’s likely overseas. But who this woman is or how she’s connected to Hare, I’ve got no idea.

“…I’ve seen her before.”

“What, really!?”

Unlike me, who’s totally stumped, Fuu-chan seems to have a lead.

“When Hare and I went to the hot spring, we stopped at a café on the edge of the hot spring town… That woman worked there.”

“…Wait, hold on, why’s Hare with some café worker from the hot spring town?”

“I don’t know that part.”

I thought we’d gotten a lead, but now it’s even more confusing.

“…Anyway, let’s check out that café. Keep linking every hour if you can.”

“Got it! By the way, their recommended dish is the Special Bubblegum Sundae!”

Bubblegum… that’s a bad name if you ask me.

＊　＊　＊

[Hirata Masaki]

“Yo, Shorty, you doing alright?”

“…“

It’s been a while since the capture mission, and I tried greeting my much younger colleague, but he turned his face away. What’s his deal?

“Fufu, Darling, you’re so bad with kids. You’ve gotta be gentler to get them to open up! Let me, the kid-loving expert, show you how it’s done! Ahem, long time no see, Yuu-san, have you been well?”

“H-Hiih!”

Kokoro crouched to meet Shorty’s eye level, but he flinched back and froze. So this is the example I’m supposed to follow, huh…

“Didn’t he just go ‘hiih!’ at you?”

“…I hate kids.”

“What, you got multiple personalities now?”

Kokoro stood up, looking embarrassed, and buried her face in my shoulder. Seems she took it pretty hard. Dumbass.

“—Hey, don’t just barge in and bully my Yuu-kun, Hirata-san, Kirisaki-san.”

“Onee-san!”

Anekitsune appeared with a tray of tea, sounding exasperated. Shorty, who’d been frozen, zipped behind her at lightning speed.

“We ain’t bullying him. At least I ain’t.”

“I’m not bullying him either! I’m sensing some malice in your tone, Darling!”

Kokoro, still clinging to my shoulder, started smacking it while glaring at me.

“Yeah, yeah, quit flirting and take a seat. Then tell us what you want and get out.”

Anekitsune set the tea on the low table in front of the sofa and sat down. Shorty plopped next to her.

“I’ll cut to the chase. We need help with a job. Investigating and taking down Vivian Hearts’s organization. Split the reward—how’s that sound?”

“Pass. Drink your tea and leave.”

Talk about a cold shoulder… Instant rejection.

“Hey, we’re asking seriously here!”

“And I’m seriously refusing. Hirata-san, do you even know what kind of witch Vivian Hearts is to make that kind of request?”

“Yeah, I got the order straight from that old fart at Stake, so I’ve heard the basics and I’m consulting you.”

We didn’t get much on Vivian Hearts at the hot spring due to time, but it seems Anekitsune knows just how dangerous that witch is.

“A job directly from a Cardinal, huh… Far from falling after that failed security mission, you’ve climbed the ranks.”

“Not thrilled about it, though.”

“…Just the other day, I looked into Vivian Hearts out of curiosity. Founder of Ravens, former leader of the Seraph Witch Association, one of the four Great Witches, an immortal monster… And you want to take down the organization she leads? That’s insanity.”

Anekitsune chugged her tea and slammed the cup on the table. Shorty flinched next to her.

“You’ve got a deal to catch two more witches this month to get some freedom from the organization, right?”

“…You heard that from the Cardinal?”

“If you help, we’ll let you take credit for any witches we take down. And despite the ‘take down’ part, Vivian’s immortal, so she’s not on the list.”

“…Even so, the VCU witches are a tricky bunch. Especially that Baba Sakurako… She uses extraordinary magic, and on top of that—”

“…On top of what?”

“…Her identity’s a mystery. I hacked into various info servers, but everything about Baba Sakurako is fabricated. I couldn’t trace her true identity, and it’s honestly creepy.”

Baba Sakurako—Target D. The report said she and Target C drove Anekitsune off, but… something’s fishy.

“Then we’ll have someone else handle Baba Sakurako. You just pick one witch, anyone you want.”

“Someone else? Todoroki-san? Or maybe Gozaru-san? Oh, or perhaps Andou-san?”

Somebody call that guy Leonardo already.

“Todoroki’s on another mission, and we haven’t reached out to the others yet. We’ve got another collaborator for this one.”

“Oh? Who’s that?”

“Help us, and I’ll tell you.”

The witch ‘Hime,’ that old fart Stake’s right-hand. I can’t just blab about her.

Stake trusts her, so she’s probably pretty capable… but can we rely on her?

“…Onee-san.”

After a long silence, Shorty tugged on Anekitsune’s sleeve.

“…Fine, I’ll take it. For Yuu-kun’s sake.”