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 57: Me and Myself

Chapter 57: Me and Myself

[Rachel Poker]

—Have I ever hesitated this much before opening the door to my own home?

When I return home, my mother always greets me as usual. Perhaps she’s preparing dinner, or maybe she’s watching TV.

But no matter what she’s doing, I’m afraid to see her. Because if my gut feeling is right—if I truly am Rachel Poker—then that woman is not my mother.

After all, someone who isn’t supposed to exist can’t possibly have a mother.

The one afraid to open this door right now—is it me, Sakurako? Or is it me, Rachel? Even I’m not sure anymore.

It feels as if two different personalities exist within a single body. They seem to blend together, yet remain distinct at the same time—an uncanny sensation.

But no matter what lies beyond this door, I can’t turn back now.

I brace myself and open it.

“…What… what is this?”

The moment I step inside, something feels off. No—something is wrong.

The shoe rack that used to be neatly lined with pairs of shoes is empty.

The large mirror that once stood there is gone, leaving no trace behind. The painting that hung on the wall—gone. Everything is gone.

A terrible premonition wells up inside me, and without even taking off my shoes, I rush down the hallway.

The living room, just like the entryway, is completely barren. It’s so empty that, for a moment, the absurd thought crosses my mind: Was my house always this spacious?

The laundry room, the bathroom, the closets—everything is empty.

Only my room remains untouched. My furniture, my clothes—everything is just as I left it before heading off to the hot spring retreat.

“…I guess that’s something.”

Faced with the incomprehensible situation before me, I collapse onto my bed.

At the very least, I now understand one thing for certain.

I am not Baba Sakurako.

And the person I thought was my mother… was never my mother to begin with.

＊　＊　＊

[Hikari Yubari]

Sakurako called me about an hour ago—just past 8 PM.

She suddenly asked if she could stay over. I was pretty surprised, but she sounded down, so I didn’t press for a reason and just told her she could come.

Now that Sakurako can use magic to travel, it should’ve taken her at most thirty minutes, even if she had to check directions.

But she never showed up.

—Finally, after thirty minutes, the intercom buzzed.

When I opened the door, there she was, lugging a massive suitcase behind her.

“…Hey, get in. It’s cold out.”

“Yeah… Thanks for having me.”

Sakurako looked distant—like she wasn’t fully here. That suitcase of hers probably had something to do with it, but for now, I decided to just make her some warm coffee.

“—This is good. How was yakiniku?”

“Hm? We didn’t go. The others decided to wait for a day when you could join us.”

“…I see. Sorry about that. Maybe I should’ve just gone after all.”

Sakurako forced a smile, but it was stiff—unnatural.

I couldn’t stand seeing her like that.

I took a sip of coffee, then silently sat beside her, letting my shoulder rest against hers. She was trembling.

“Hikari-chan, you’re warm… like winter coffee.”

“…”

I didn’t fully understand what she meant, but it didn’t seem like a bad thing. So I just sat there, quietly keeping her company.

“You know, I always make my room extra cold when I sleep in winter. Because when I wake up and drink hot coffee, it makes me feel so safe somehow.”

Sakurako placed her hand over mine. It was ice-cold.

“…But tonight, it was just a little too cold. So I thought… I’d rather sleep somewhere warm. That’s why I came.”

It was obvious that something had happened to her. But if she wasn’t ready to talk about it, I wasn’t going to force her.

What mattered was that she came to me when she needed someone. And that meant I had to be there for her.

“I’ll be anything you need—coffee, a hot water bottle, whatever.”

“…Why?”

“Because I like you.”

“Why do you like me?”

“…Because you’re you.”

“…Ugh, that doesn’t even make sense.”

She playfully bumped her forehead against mine.

You don’t know this, do you? Saying I like you straight to someone’s face—it’s actually pretty embarrassing.

“Hey, Hikari-chan.”

“What?”

She gripped my hand tighter. I could feel her resolve strengthening.

“…If one day, I’m not me anymore… will you still stay with me?”

“Unless you push me away, I’ll be stuck to you for life.”

“Ew, that sounds like a stalker.”

“Idiot. Stalkers keep following even when they’re unwanted. That’s just rude.”

“Sorry, sorry—Still… I feel better now. You really are like winter coffee, Hikari-chan.”

Sakurako leaned against my shoulder.

Time passed in silence. At some point, she had fallen asleep.

After a while, I carried her to bed and debated whether to sleep on the sofa.

I lay down, but sleep wouldn’t come. Maybe it was the coffee. Maybe it was the fact that Sakurako was here.

—No.

I couldn’t sleep because of the words that kept echoing in my mind.

“If one day, I’m not me anymore…”

* * *

——”What’s with these cards?”

“I stayed up late with Vivian last night making them. Here, have one.”

Still half-asleep, I lazily pulled a card from the stack being offered to me.

“Hmm, I picked one, but… what is this? A fortune-telling card?”

“Nope, wrong guess. Ravens has gotten pretty big, so these serve as symbols for the witches in our organization.”

“Huh… but why playing cards?”

I looked at the card I had drawn—it was unmistakably a playing card. It even had the same design as the deck Wisteria, Bumblebee, and I had used for poker yesterday.

“There are exactly fifty-three witches in the organization right now. And these aren’t just any playing cards. Vivian enchanted them, and I added a magical formula to them.”

“Oh? And what exactly do they do?”

Intrigued, my drowsiness quickly faded. If they were doing something this interesting, I wished they had invited me too.

“If you channel magic into a card, you can teleport to this castle from anywhere.”

“Whoa, that’s amazing.”

“Onyx once taught me the magic formula for teleportation. It was a real challenge, but I finally managed to make it work.”

At first glance, they looked like ordinary playing cards, but to think they were imbued with such powerful magic… and they made these in just one night. No wonder they were eager to show them off first thing in the morning.

“As expected. With two Lords working together, even your whims turn into something grand. But won’t Bubblegum lose hers? She’s pretty scatterbrained.”

“No worries. Once a card has been infused with magic, it’ll return to its owner even if lost.”

“…How does that work?”

“It’s a bit complicated, so I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s similar to an enchanted sword. Just think about it, and it’ll appear in your hand.”

I had a feeling I now understood why I wasn’t invited last night. I probably wouldn’t have been of any help anyway.

“…So, what was the very first card drawn?”

“Mm, this one. I wish I’d gotten something cuter, though.”

I flipped over the card I had picked earlier, revealing its design. A strangely dressed court jester—

The Joker.

＊ ＊ ＊

[Rachel Poker]

Still half-asleep, I opened my heavy eyelids, nudged awake by the sunlight streaming through the window.

A light fixture I didn’t recognize hung from the ceiling. The blanket wrapped around me was different from usual—softer, with a faintly sweet scent.

Ah, right. This is her house. The home of my very first female friend, Yūbari Hikari.

Last night, I had been completely devastated, exhausted from everything regarding my mother, and ended up staying over at Hikari’s place.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, but the hazy blend of memories and personalities I had been experiencing since the training camp was gone.

Everything that once belonged to Babasaki Sakurako—her memories, her emotions—had completely integrated into my own knowledge.

Whether the persona of Babasaki Sakurako had truly vanished or was merely lying dormant somewhere, I had no way of knowing.

But one thing was certain: I am me—Rachel. And my own memories… little by little, I was beginning to recall them.

Lying in bed, I stretched a hand toward the unfamiliar ceiling light.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my outstretched hand. Magic coursed through my body, gathering at my fingertips—

When I opened my eyes, a card had appeared in my hand.

It was the exact same Joker card from my dream—or rather, my memory.

I finally sat up in bed and traced the card’s design with my fingertip.

This proved it. It wasn’t just my personality—physically, mentally, I was truly Rachel Poker. And for some reason, I had lost my memories.

Considering that the world believed me dead, and that I had been living under a false persona with a fake mother, it was unlikely that this memory loss was caused by an accident.

No, this had to be intentional. The work of someone with immense power.

But in my current state, with barely any memories to go on, I had no clue who was responsible or why.

Most likely, the key to the truth lay within my own lost memories.

“——If that’s the case, I just have to do what I can for now.”

My memories don’t exist solely within me. If I had been a part of other people’s lives, then their memories of me were also pieces of my own past.

Which means, if I don’t have my memories… I’ll just have to ask someone who does.