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 47: Souvenirs and Work Clothes

[Tatsumori Haruto]

“—Phew, with this much, I should be able to smooth things over with Ryuna.”

After fully enjoying the bridal fair, we were now scrambling to buy souvenirs before checking out in the evening.

“Scrambling” might not be the best word, but since it’d be a waste not to use up the remaining vouchers, we were grabbing anything that caught our eye.

“Wow, you’re getting a lot for Ryuna! Are you not buying for anyone else?”

“Ugh… well, yeah, I guess not. There’s no one else to give them to.”

As usual, she hit me right where it hurt. I did buy something for the manager and Sakurako too, but compared to Ryuna’s share, theirs were almost nothing.

That crappy old man of mine is out of the question, and I don’t really have other friends. Speaking of which, ever since I met Fuu, I haven’t seen Sakurako in a while. I wonder if she’s doing okay.

“…Anyway, we’ve almost used up all the vouchers, so let’s start getting ready to head back.”

“The hot spring was fun! Let’s come again next week!”

“…Yeah, this isn’t the kind of place you can just casually visit that often.”

“Really? That’s too bad…”

Fuu’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“Well, it’s not like we can never come again. We’ll come back someday, okay?”

“…Really? You promise?”

“Yeah. But next time, we’ll have to invite Ryuna too.”

I glanced at the mountain of souvenir bags hanging from both my hands. Hopefully, this will be enough for Ryuna to forgive me.

If not… I might not be able to keep my promise to Fuu. After all, I only have one life.

***

—After completing the checkout procedures, it was finally time to part ways with the inn that had taken care of us for the past two days.

It was way too luxurious for a mere high schooler like me.

The staff had been great to us right until the end. When they saw the sheer number of bags we had, they even offered to deliver them straight to our home. Their hospitality knew no bounds.

“Phew, I was holed up inside for so long—this was a great refresh.”

“Yeah! The crocodiles were the best part.”

“Hm? Oh, the crocs… yeah, they were something, alright.”

I had no idea why, but Fuu seemed to have taken a real liking to the crocodiles.

The crocodile pond wasn’t too far off from the station. If we took a slight detour, we could pass by it on the way back.

“Hey, how about we take a little detour and check out the croc pond before heading home?”

“Really? I wanna see! I wanna see!”

“Then it’s decided. By the way… what do you like so much about the crocodiles?”

“Hmm… their faces.”

“…Their faces!?”

That was unexpected. So Fuu was into that kind of wild-looking face, huh…

“…Haré, why’d your face suddenly scrunch up like that?”

“…Do I look wild right now?”

“Hmm… nope. You look like a cat’s butthole.”

“…Even Ryuna wouldn’t go that far.”

I thought I was making a tough, rugged face, but I must’ve been trying too hard. I guess what really matters is the heart, after all.

***

After walking for a while, we arrived at the crocodile pond—only to run into a problem. The crocodiles weren’t there.

“…This isn’t a croc pond—it’s just a pond now.”

“Maybe they’re all underwater?”

“No, even if they were, you’d still be able to see them in a pond this small. Maybe they moved them somewhere else?”

“Oh! You’re right! Look, the fence over there is broken. Looks like they escaped.”

“…What did you just say?”

I had assumed they were temporarily relocated for pond maintenance or something, but… did I just hear something seriously concerning?

I squinted and looked in the direction Fuu was pointing. On the far side of the circular fence, the section furthest from us was clearly broken.

I slowly lowered my gaze. The fence around the pond had two layers—one to prevent people from falling in, and one to keep the crocs inside.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me. Even the containment fence is broken.”

That meant the containment fence broke first, and then the outer fence got damaged. If the culprit was a croc, that would make sense.

“So… the crocs really ran off somewhere?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. And worse, what if they’re still nearby…?”

I nervously scanned my surroundings, but luckily, no nine-meter-long monster was in sight.

But just as I started to feel relieved, an ear-splitting siren blared.

‘Emergency alert. Crocodiles have escaped from the Croc Pond. If you are outside, immediately seek shelter in the nearest building or underground shelter. I repeat…’

So the facility finally realized they’d lost the crocs. That meant someone had already spotted them elsewhere.

In any case, we needed to get to shelter fast. It wasn’t like a magical beast had appeared, but those crocs were big enough to be mistaken for one.

“…Hare, they’re telling us to evacuate.”

Now that the alarm had gone off, even Fuu was getting nervous. She clung to my arm, brows furrowed.

“Yeah… But the hot spring town is kind of far from here. We could head straight for the station instead, but…”

There were definitely shelters in the hot spring town, but we could run into a croc on the way.

On the other hand, there was no guarantee the station area was croc-free either, and I had no clue if there were shelters there. Tough call.

“—Hey! You two! It’s dangerous here! There’s a shelter this way—come with me!”

Just as I was agonizing over the decision, salvation arrived in the form of a facility worker. He was wearing gray work clothes and a cap.

“Got it! Please lead the way!”

I tightened my grip on Fuu’s hand, and we followed the worker at a brisk pace.

It looked like we were heading toward the station, away from the hot spring town.

“This is Yamada. I’ve secured two people and am en route to Shelter No. 3. Prepare to receive them!”

The worker ran while speaking into an intercom attached to his ear, contacting someone. He was moving at quite a pace, but would Fuu be alright?

“…Fuu, do you think you can keep up at this speed?”

“Yeah, totally fine! Did you forget that I carried Hare on my back all the way home?”

“Oh, that’s right. I owe you for that one.”

Just the other day, after I was injured by a magic beast, Fuu had carried me on her back all the way from the Central District to our home in the Northern District. The stamina of a witch was no joke.

***

──About ten minutes into our run, the worker suddenly came to a stop, veering off the main road and into a deserted forest path.

“Um… what’s wrong? Where’s the shelter…?”

“Ah, about that. There’s something I need to tell you.”

The worker removed his cap and turned toward me. Since I had only been looking at his back this whole time, I hadn’t really seen his face—but it was a face I recognized.

“We’re not heading to a shelter. That was a lie.”

“…Huh?”

It was the guy from the bridal fair, the one who had been taking part in the mock wedding ceremony. His permed black hair, his lazy, indifferent eyes… Why was he dressed like a worker, and why was he lying to us?

“The truth is, I have a favor to ask. Here, take a look at this.”

He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out. I had no idea what was going on, but I reached out to take it from him.

“…Die here for me.”

“—Guh!?”

The moment I reached for the paper, an overwhelming impact sent my vision spinning. Before I knew it, I was face-down on the ground.

“Hare!!”

I could hear Fuu screaming. She was shaking my shoulders, trying to wake me up. But my body felt numb. My breath was ragged, as if something was clogging my throat. I couldn’t breathe.

“…Still alive, huh? My bad. I guess I went too easy on you—I wanted to keep the corpse intact.”

“Why are you doing this?! Stop it, don’t come near Hare!!”

“Orders, kid. And you’re coming with us too—Experiment No. 11, Eleven.”

“Kya!? Stop it, let me go!!”

A thin, wheezing breath escaped my throat. I tried to get up, but my body refused to move. I could barely turn my gaze toward Fuu. A woman was holding her down.

“Everything went smoothly, as expected of you, darling.”

“…Kuh, cough… Who the hell… are you people…?!”

Forcing myself to breathe properly, I managed to stand up somehow.

The taste of blood filled my mouth… I might have suffered internal injuries. Everything hurt, I was scared, and I had no idea what was happening—but I knew one thing. I had to protect Fuu.

That alone was keeping me on my feet.

“…We are an organization known as ‘Witch Hunters.’ Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Even in my worst condition, I forced myself to process her words. Witch Hunters? An organization? Never heard of them… Were they some kind of mafia? A dangerous cult?

“Hey, don’t go blabbing so much, you idiot.”

“Oh, come now. There’s no harm in telling someone who’s about to die, is there, darling?”

“Killing a kid already seems like enough of a reason for karma to bite us in the ass.”

“Oh my, karma? As if killing a brat like this would bring any misfortune.”

“…You’re a walking contradiction.”

One thing was clear: they were planning to kill me. And since Fuu was restrained, they weren’t planning to kill her right away.

“Fuu, I’ll—cough—buy you some time… run!”

There were two enemies. Given that kick earlier, I didn’t stand a chance in a fight. But if I risked everything, I might be able to buy a few seconds… No, I would buy them.

“This is the part where you’re supposed to piss yourself and scream, kid. Gotta say, you’ve got guts. But courage without skill is just recklessness.”

The man tossed aside his worker’s uniform and started walking toward me. The woman kept restraining Fuu.

I had to draw the man’s attention and find a chance to free Fuu. Then all I needed to do was buy her time to escape. Assuming I didn’t get killed instantly, that is.

“…!!”

A fist grazed my cheek. He was still outside my range—yet he had already struck at me. His speed was unreal.

But… it wasn’t completely unavoidable. I sharpened my senses to their limit.

“…Don’t dodge too much. I’d like to put you down painlessly.”

“Shut up, you psychopath!”

I swung my fist with all my might—but he dodged. I didn’t care. I kept attacking. Each step sent searing pain through my ribs, but I couldn’t stop.

Yet none of my attacks landed. They couldn’t land.

He was dodging after seeing them.

Was he even human…?

“You know… you might’ve made a decent coworker.”

“…Huh? Guh…!?”

The moment he grabbed my outstretched fist, blood surged up my throat.

It took me a second to realize—his right hand had pierced through my chest.

…Guess this is it.

I swore I’d fight to the death, but in the end, I couldn’t even buy Fuu time—

“Hare… NOOO!!”

Fuu’s scream rang out as I turned my head, his arm still buried in my chest.

“…Get away from him!!”

“Kyah—!?”

Fuu tore through her restraints and sent the woman flying with a single punch. The sheer strength was unbelievable—the woman was flung several meters, slamming into a tree.

“Wha— Kokoro!!”

Seeing this, the man ripped his arm from my chest and rushed to her side. I barely felt any pain. No, I couldn’t feel my body at all.

“…Hare!! It’s okay, I’ll heal you, so don’t die!!”

“Fuu… run…”

Fuu clung to me, pressing her hands against my chest wound. A wave of warmth spread through my body.

“Hare! The wound’s closed! Does anything else hurt?!”

“…Ah… Aah, I think I’m okay… Did you really heal me…?”

In just seconds, the gaping hole in my chest was gone. Even the pain in my ribs had vanished.

Her magic… was on a completely different level.

And for some reason, I felt an unfamiliar power coursing through me.

“…Ow, ow… I can’t believe she activated her magic… That report was worthless.”

“Kokoro, I don’t care if you have to break her arms. Just neutralize her. I’ll finish off the brat first.”