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 44: Engines and Nosebleeds

[Baba Sakurako]

On the second day of our hot springs training camp, we were undergoing various special training under the watchful eye of the company president and director.

──That said, unlike everyone else, I was still a beginner, so I wasn’t given anything too difficult to handle.

“Heed me well, Sakurako. To wield magic, one must have mana. Yet mana doth not freely spill forth at all times. Thus, thou must unshackle the slumbering power within thy form.”

“I see… I have no idea what you just said.”

“Hmm… to liken it to a thing more familiar, even shouldst a carriage be filled with oil, it shall stir not unless one turneth the engine. ‘Tis much the same.”

“…President, I didn’t know you were capable of normal explanations—ow!?”

In my shock, the words slipped out before I could stop them, but there was no time for regret. The president’s flick to my forehead landed with a force that would leave a lump for hours.

“…Now then, the gravest struggle for fledgling witches doth lie therein: the means to ignite their engine, so to speak. Yet thou, with but a mere breath of focus, canst set thy mana astir. Thus, thy training shall be naught but the ceaseless effort to shorten the time betwixt thought and power.”

“…It feels like I came to this training camp, yet my training is oddly mundane.”

I sighed, rubbing my still-throbbing forehead.

“Do not despair so, child. In battle, shouldst thou fail to stir thy mana in the span of a heartbeat, thy life may be forfeit. Yet fret not, for I shall not make this a dull affair. Indeed, ’tis I who shall take upon myself the role of thy foe!”

“…Wait, Vivian-san, you’re going to be my opponent?”

The president, already stretching her Achilles tendon, had a certain gleam in her eye. I had a very, very bad feeling about this.

“Now then, we shall play a game of tag. When I count to ten, I shall give chase. If thou dost not wish to feel the sting of mine divine flick upon thy brow, then guard thyself well with Kurobane!”

“W-wait, hold on! You can’t just spring that on me—!”

I had never heard of such a brutal version of tag in my life. And if I got caught and flicked in the forehead over and over, my skull might just cave in.

I was tired of dull training, sure, but I wasn’t looking to play a death game either.

“Now then, let us begin. One… two…”

“Hiii! Someone, help meee!!”

Ignoring my panic, the countdown to my doom had begun. I bolted in the direction of the others, desperately seeking salvation.

“—Oh, hey, Sakurako! Look at you, working hard on training! We’re about to take a break and head to the teahouse in the hot springs district. Wanna come with?”

From several dozen meters ahead, Hikari-chan’s voice called out. Squinting in her direction, I tried to catch sight of her—

“…To dare avert thine eyes whilst in the midst of a game of tag with this one? Ho? So thou dost believe thyself ready to be pursued in earnest?”

I didn’t even hear her footsteps, but suddenly, the president was right behind me.

“Nope, nope, no way!! Absolutely not!!”

Dodging the incoming deadly forehead flick with every ounce of desperation, I sprinted off once more. I no longer had any idea where I was even running toward.

“—Well, if ya can’t make it, too bad! We’ll be around for a while, so come find us later!”

Hikari-chan’s voice rang out again from a different direction. Apparently, they were really going to just leave me to my fate.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant—!”

“Come now, child. Set thy mana astir, else thou shalt suffer mine wrath.”

“Guh—OWWAAAAHH!?”

And thus, for the second time that day, her merciless forehead flick struck home.

* * *

Thanks to President Vivian’s merciless training, I managed to master mana ignition in just thirty minutes.

At this point, just seeing her enter my field of vision triggered my mana to surge. Well, even if I activated it, if I didn’t use magic to defend myself, I’d still get flicked. But the difference in pain when I had mana flowing and when I didn’t was night and day.

Even just having mana coursing through my body drastically boosted my basic physical abilities. Maybe now I could start entering office buildings through the windows… Well, elevators exist for a reason.

“…Huh? Did I take a wrong turn?”

With training done for the moment, I was making my way toward the teahouse where Hikari-chan and the others had gone. But lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed that the street I was walking along had grown eerily quiet.

I had been following the stone-paved road, but perhaps there had been a fork somewhere that I missed.

“…Oh? Maybe that’s it?”

Just as I considered turning back, I spotted the roof of a building in the distance. It was down a slope, and as I walked closer, its full shape gradually came into view. A fine weather vane perched atop the roof… though it was oddly tilted. Was that really okay?

“Uhh… Wetterhan… huh. Rather than a tea house… it’s more of a café, I guess?”

I circled around to the front of the building and checked the sign written in German. From the looks of it, this was indeed some kind of café.

It seemed like an interesting place, but—yeah, I definitely took the wrong path.

After all that running around, I was parched and starving, so the thought of stopping for a drink was tempting. But since Hikari-chan and the others were waiting for me, I reluctantly turned on my heel—

“Muaa!? Oi, ain’t you Sakurako-chin?!”

A voice suddenly rang out behind me. The moment I heard it, I immediately knew who it belonged to. That unique way of speaking… it could only be one person.

“…Ah, good morning… uh, Bubblegum-san?”

I turned around—and sure enough, there she was.

Unlike the pitch-black robe she had worn when we met at the Witch Association, Seraph, today she was dressed in an adorably frilly maid-like outfit.

“Muaah, ya actually remembered my name! Color me impressed… So, whatcha doin’ in a place like this?”

“Uh, well… I’m here for a training camp. More importantly, why are you here, Bubblegum-san?”

The encounter was so unexpected that I just answered without thinking. Rose-san had warned me to avoid getting too involved with Crow Raven, but now I needed to find a way to cut this conversation short and get away.

“Mufuhh, a training camp, huh? Well, dunno what that’s about, but whatever! As ya can see, I’m on the job!”

“Wait… are you saying you work at this café?”

“Muaa, damn right I do! Not like I wanna be here, though! Long story, but hey—how ‘bout a coffee? My treat!”

…This wasn’t good. The conversation was heading in a dangerous direction.

Why, oh why, was I so bad at avoiding these things…?

“A-ah, I’d love to take you up on that, but actually, I have people waiting for me, so… I’ll have to pass this time.”

“Muaah, Sakurako-chin! A real lady’s gotta keep people waitin’! C’mon, in ya go!”

Even though I had mustered all my communication skills to politely decline, Bubblegum-san ignored me completely and tried to drag me inside with some incomprehensible logic.

No good. This person wouldn’t take a hint unless I was blunt.

“Uh—listen! I really gotta go, so… I-I’m leaving!”

“Muaa… Oi, don’t tell me ya refuse to drink my coffee?”

“…C-co-coffee… I… w-would love to drink it…!”

My last bit of courage was utterly crushed by the sheer force of her presence.

Scary. Way too scary!

“Muaa! One customer, comin’ right up—OI!!”

Before I knew it, Bubblegum-san had grabbed my arm and was dragging me into the café.

At this point, there was no escaping.

Alright, fine. I’d drink the coffee as fast as I could and get out of here.

Yeah, I was just here to drink coffee.

Nothing scary was gonna happen… right?