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 49: Out of Range and a Wretched Day

Chapter 49: Out of Range and a Wretched Day

[Yubari Hikari]

“──Damn it, damn it, damn it all!! This stupid thing won’t connect to Sakurako at all!!”

No matter how many times I call, I can’t get through. Did something happen after all? Why the hell did she go to those guys in the first place…?

“What’s wrong, Hikari? Yer unusually on edge. Lackin’ calcium, are ye?”

“Sakurako went to the Ravens alone, you know!? I’m not just irritated—I’m restless as hell!! And for the record, I drink milk every day!!”

After leaving the souvenir shop in the hot springs town, Sakurako suddenly disappeared, and then—

‘I just have to take care of something. Let’s meet up in front of the inn later.’

—that’s all she sent me in a message.

After wandering around the hot springs town for a while, I headed back to the inn and ran into Vivian. Figured I’d ask her if she knew anything, even if it was a long shot.

‘Sakurako? She took some manjuu to Bubblegum and the others, she did… Oh, and she also said, “Please keep this a secret from Hikari-chan and the others.” …Oh, whoops.’

After grilling Vivian for more details, I found out that while we were skipping training at the tea house, Sakurako had some sort of run-in with the Ravens.

Apparently, things settled down in the end, but being the cute, honest, and ridiculously considerate person she is, Sakurako went to bring them souvenirs.

Even I’VE never gotten a present from Sakurako! She should be giving them to ME instead!!

“──More importantly, why the hell did you let her go alone!? And why didn’t you at least ask where she was going!?”

“Mmh, to be honest, this one came to the hot springs to relax, yet we’ve been caught up in accidents yesterday and today. ‘Tis exhausting. Sakurako is no child. Thou need not be so overprotective.”

“Damn it, she’s not responding to my messages either… That’s it. I’m going to find her.”

“…So you’re just gonna ignore everything I said? Well, fine. If you’re goin’ out anyway, could you bring back somethin’ to go with my tomato juice…?”

“Shut up and go buy it yourself!!”

Vivian’s useless. I’ll just have to comb through the facility and find Sakurako myself.

…Also, what the hell goes well with tomato juice?

***

As soon as I started looking for Sakurako, an alarm went off about some rich guy’s pet escaping. And on top of that, my phone lost signal.

Is today just cursed or what?

“…This is rough. I’m seriously low on Sakurako energy.”

Frustrated, I wandered down a path leading away from the hot springs town. With the guests taking shelter in the shops and shutters closing everywhere, there weren’t many places left to search.

“…Huh? There’s a shop here?”

At some point, I found myself standing in front of what looked like a café. The shutters weren’t down yet.

Might as well check it out.

“Excuse me! I’m looking for someone—”

“Mmfuuuh! You guys are eating way too much!! These manjuu were given to me, you know!”

“Oh, come on! You were the one who called us over after Sakurako brought the manjuu!”

“S-Sakurako-chan said… we should all share them…”

“Forget the manjuu—I wanna eat you all instead.”

“Mhaaa! I KNOW you sneaky bastards ate parfaits in secret earlier! And Brush, I saw you grabbing my boobs while snatching a manjuu!!”

The moment I opened the café door, I saw some familiar faces—along with a few I didn’t recognize—making a racket around a table.

They hadn’t even noticed me.

“…Oi. What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“…Mufu?”

At the sound of my voice, the manjuu battle froze in an instant. Five pairs of eyes locked onto me.

“…Awa… W-Welcome, dear customer… mmff.”

“I ain’t a customer. And if I were, you’d have a lot more to worry about than stuffing your face with manjuu. I’m Sakurako’s classmate, coworker, best friend, and fiancé. Now, tell me—what the hell is the Ravens witches doing here?”

Judging by the manjuu they were all fighting over, Sakurako must’ve been here.

But she was already gone.

Looks like we just missed each other. If I head back to the inn, I’ll probably run into her. But I should confirm things with these guys first.

“Mhaaa, if it ain’t Hikarinnn! As ya can see, my gang and I are workin’ hard at this café!!”

The loudmouth with the shiny forehead—Bubblegum, was it?—waved at me, holding a manjuu in both hands.

If “Hikarin” is supposed to be me, I swear I’m gonna deck her.

…but for now, I’ll hold back.

“Hell of a job you’ve got there, fighting over hot spring manjuu. So where’s Sakurako? She was here, right?”

“Mhaaa, Sakurako-chin just left! I even invited her to join the Ravens, but she turned me down.”

“Of course she did! Like hell Sakurako would join some gloomy-ass group with a name like the Ravens!!”

“…Speaking of which, what’s your organization’s name?”

A brown-haired girl asked, way too casually.

Wait, is this the same pipsqueak who came to the Seraph Witch Association, before?

“Uh… Our group? It’s called VCU.”

“VCU, huh…? Is that an acronym for something?”

Shit. She’s really pressing me on this.

And after calling their name gloomy, there’s no way I wanna explain our own dumbass company name.

“Muaa, I heard it stands for ‘Vivian is the Cutest in the Universe’!”

“…YOU KNEW!?”

Vivian… That idiot! Of course, it was her.

“‘Vivian is the Cutest in the Universe’… That’s surprisingly cute, fufu.”

“W-Wow, that’s so… uh… sensational.”

“Muaaa, I can’t stand that smug bitch, but damn, I gotta admit—that’s some top-tier naming sense!”

None of this is my fault, but my face is burning.

I never chose to be in a group with a dumbass name like this.

And that forehead girl’s sense of taste is dead.

“…I’m done here. Later.”

I stormed out of the shop, practically fleeing.

That stupid CEO! I’m gonna make Yakuma change the name later.

As soon as I stepped outside, my phone started buzzing in my pocket.

──”Geez, Hikari-chan! Geez, Hikari-chan! Geez, Hika—”

“Tch, who the hell’s spamming me right now…? Wait, the signal’s back!?”

I hurriedly checked my messages—

The sender was Sakurako.

‘Hikari-chan, I heard a crocodile escaped! Are you okay?’

‘This is bad! I found someone who got left behind while evacuating, but they’re injured and can’t move! Can you come right away!?’

‘I think the crocodile is nearby. I’m hiding, so I can’t call, but you’re reading this, right?’

Damn it, she’s caught up in something nasty.

I opened the attached file—her location info.

It’s just a few minutes away if I run.

‘Got it. Sit tight, I’ll be there in three minutes.’

Damn rich bastard’s pet… causing all this trouble.

If that crocodile so much as scratched Sakurako, I swear, I’m turning it into a wallet.

***

──Following the location data led me to what looked like a warehouse. If they’re hiding, then of course, they’d be inside.

“Oy, Sakurako, you in there? It’s me.”

The dimly lit warehouse was silent, my voice echoing through the space.

“…Ah, um, over here! Here!”

A young voice called out from the back of the warehouse. When I ran over, I saw a boy, no older than an elementary schooler.

“Hey, you okay? You’re not the one who’s hurt, are you?”

“No, it’s my onee-chan. She hurt her leg and is lying over there.”

The kid pointed toward the corner by the wall. Sure enough, there was someone lying down.

“…Hey, you alright? You’re not bleeding, are you? And where’s Sakurako? What happened to the woman who was with you?”

The woman lying there was sweating and looked like she was in pain, but she was conscious.

“You… you came to save us. I’m not bleeding, I just twisted my ankle… As for Sakurako-san, she said she was going outside to check the situation, just a while ago…”

“I see… Moving you carelessly might make it worse.”

“No, I’m fine. I’d just like to sit up—could you lend me your shoulder?”

“…Don’t blame me if it gets worse. Here, grab on.”

I crouched down beside the woman and offered my shoulder.

“Ah, ow… Sorry, could you lift me on the count of three? I need to mentally prepare myself.”

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and said that. Well, given the situation, I guess it made sense.

“Got it. Alright, here we go. Three… two… DIE, YOU BITCH!!”

I ducked, slipping her arm off my shoulder, and swung with all my might, sending her flying. She let out a scream as she tumbled across the warehouse floor toward the entrance.

A knife clattered to the ground, slipping from her grip.

“O-Onee-san!!” The kid went pale and ran toward the woman I’d just sent flying.

“…Owww… geez, what kinda person sucker punches an injured woman? That was a dirty move.”

As the kid reached her side, the woman slowly got to her feet. I had held back, but an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to stand after that.

Which meant the worst-case scenario—these two were part of the witch hunters.

“You got some nerve talking about ‘dirty moves’ after using a damn kid to lower my guard.”

“I was quite confident in my acting. What gave me away?”

“‘What gave you away’? Don’t be stupid. Sakurako would never leave a kid and an injured person behind. Besides, I can smell her scent from deeper inside.”

And there was one more dead giveaway. The scent of blood.

When I first walked into the warehouse, I thought nothing of it—of course, there’d be a blood scent if someone was injured. But this woman said she only twisted her ankle.

Blood that wasn’t hers. And Sakurako, who had vanished. Even an idiot could connect the dots.

“…The hell did you do to Sakurako?”

“Heh… what a foolish question. I am a witch hunter, after all.”

Before I knew it, my body was already moving. I lunged straight at the woman.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you!!”

“Oh my, and here I thought you were just some dog-witch with a keen nose. Turns out you can actually use proper red magic.”

I threw punch after punch, but she dodged them all by a hair’s breadth.

Not only that—while avoiding my blows, she slashed at me with her knife. The more I attacked, the more my arms were covered in cuts.

“…Fucking hell!!”

“Yes, yes, before your arms turn into minced meat, I’ll just cut your tendons instead. Now, you won’t be able to use your hands anymore.”

Countless gashes covered my arms, big and small. Both my forearms were nearly useless now.

“Doesn’t matter how much brute strength you can muster—if you can’t land a hit, it’s meaningless. Your attacks are too straightforward. That kind of fighting might work on magic beasts, but it won’t work on me.”

“…Shut the hell up. Who needs arms? I’ll just kick you to death.”

I let my arms hang limp at my sides and crouched into a sprinter’s stance.

“Still not giving up, huh? Shall I cut off your legs next? You can always reattach them later.”

She pulled out another knife from who-knows-where and held it in a reverse grip. She was ready to counter me.

We locked eyes for a moment—then I kicked off the ground with all my might.

A powerful kick flew straight for her face. She dodged with ease, then evaded my follow-up spinning kick just as smoothly.

Then, as if she had been waiting for this, she swung her knife down toward my outstretched knee—

CRACK!!

A sickening crunch rang out as she was sent flying into the warehouse wall with ridiculous force. The concrete cracked from the impact, and debris rained down on her.

“Oi, you filthy inquisitor… I’ll ask you one more time. Where the hell is Sakurako?”

“…Gah… khh, haha… Y-You… how… why are your arms healed…?”

“Don’t answer my question with another question, dumbass. If you don’t talk, I’ll just beat the answer out of you.”

That counter landed perfectly. To be honest, she was probably stronger than me in both skill and experience.

That’s why she underestimated me. Thought my magic was just some basic physical enhancement spell.

If she hadn’t, that hit never would’ve landed.

Even so, if we fought again, I wasn’t sure I’d win. It was a narrow victory.

“…Hah… haah… Sakurako-san is… cough… locked in a locker, in the back of the warehouse.”

I had punched her right in the ribs—probably broke a few. No matter how strong of a witch she was, without healing magic, she wasn’t getting back up.

I needed to get Sakurako out, fast. She was probably still alive, but there was no telling how much time she had left.

“…You didn’t lay a damn hand on her, did you?”

“Heh… capturing her alive is my job… Though, well, a knife might have… slipped in once or twice.”

“…You motherfucker!!”

The scent of blood I’d picked up earlier flashed through my mind. I turned to run deeper into the warehouse—

“…Don’t move!”

Her voice rang out from behind me—this time, steady.

I turned back.

She was leaning against the wall, holding a small device in her hand.

“The hell is that?”

“Heh… hehehe… Do you know what this switch does? It’s the detonator for the bomb I placed inside Sakurako’s locker.”

A cold sweat prickled across my skin. The situation had just taken a serious nosedive.

Not only was there a bomb, but she was recovering. I should’ve finished her off completely.

“…You’re bluffing. You said capturing her alive was your job!”

“And if that becomes impossible, killing her is my job. If you don’t believe me, I could always press the button right now?”

She placed her finger on the button, taunting me. My body instinctively moved forward—but I stopped myself. If I let her control the pace, I’d lose.

“…I’ll spare your life. Hand over the switch.”

A desperate bluff. I wasn’t sure if the bomb was real, but even a tiny chance of Sakurako dying meant I couldn’t make a move.

“My, my, you’ve got it backward. I’ll spare Sakurako-san, so surrender quietly.”

“…Tch.”

The woman had fully recovered. She wiped the blood from her mouth and stood up straight.

She was just as troublesome as Vivian—another damn enemy who could use healing magic.

I slowly lowered my stance, hands in my pockets. If I wanted to win this, I had to find a way to snatch that detonator.

“Very well. I accept your surrender… External skeleton—deploy.”

──But it looked like she had no intention of giving me an opening.