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 61: Hidden Flavors and Hidden Sake

Chapter 61: Hidden Flavors and Hidden Sake

[Tatsumori Haruto]

When you think of a castle, the first thing that comes to mind is probably that illustration in Japanese history textbooks—the one with a massive wooden structure perched atop stone walls.

But the castle I find myself in now is something different entirely. Western-style. In a word—flashy.

I don’t claim to be an expert in architecture, but standing beside a fountain with an urge to toss a coin over my shoulder… perhaps this place reminds me of a certain famous Roman palace.

The exterior is one thing, but the interior is just as extravagant—opulently decorated from the walls to the ceiling, but not in a way that feels gaudy.

If my circumstances were different, I’d have taken my time exploring.

—After escaping from the dungeon, reaching the castle was surprisingly smooth.

It wasn’t too far away, and I had already traveled this path once before—carried by the one-armed witch, Bumblebee.

Recalling the map that Ys had drawn for me, I made my way through the castle, careful not to make a sound. My first destination—the food storage.

The food storage was in the basement, which meant I had to cross the main hallway from the entrance to get there.

The hallway had nowhere to hide. If I ran into a witch, my life would end on the spot.

Cautiously but quickly, I slipped through the entrance and into the hallway.

Doors lined both sides of the corridor, symmetrically arranged. As I passed the midpoint, I noticed light spilling out from one of the rooms.

Holding my breath, I walked past the door. It was open just a few centimeters—if I wanted to, I could peek inside. But this was no time to risk my life out of idle curiosity.

Somehow, I made it past and descended the stairs to the basement, finally reaching the food storage.

According to Ys, the storage had a unique structure—three rooms in a row. The first held preserved foods, the second fresh ingredients, and the last was for frozen goods.

Meat and fish wouldn’t be much use in a dungeon without a way to cook them, so I focused on the preserved foods.

I was surprised by the amount of instant ramen and snacks, but there were also plenty of canned goods. Without hesitation, I stuffed them into a makeshift bag made from my bed sheets. This was full-on burglary.

With my haul secured, I moved on to my next target—Ys’s hidden stash of alcohol, supposedly on the fourth floor.

The castle had five floors in total, but only the central dome-shaped section actually reached the fifth floor. The rest of the structure topped out at four.

That meant I had to climb from the basement all the way to what was effectively the top floor.

Once again, I slipped through the long corridors, clutching my bag of stolen dreams and hopes. The door that had been glowing earlier was still the same.

Maybe someone had fallen asleep with the light on? I couldn’t sense anyone inside.

—Then, just as I reached the stairs to the upper floors, I encountered a bit of trouble.

Someone was in the room next to the staircase.

If I remembered correctly, this was the kitchen. It had struck me as odd that the highest floor would have a kitchen, so I made a mental note of it.

The problem? There was no door. If I walked past, whoever was inside would see me.

Pressing myself against the wall, I carefully peeked inside.

“…Okay, so the trick is to peel sweet potatoes thick.”

It was Scarlet.

What the hell was she doing in the kitchen past midnight?

“Still, it’s strange… It’s called kuri kinton, but we’re using sweet potatoes instead of chestnuts? Is this recipe even correct?”

The strange one here is you. Why are you making kuri kinton at this hour? It’s way too early for New Year’s.

“It’s a hassle, but… I bet Tatsumori-kun must be feeling lonely all by himself. At the very least, I want to make sure he gets a good meal. I’ve gotta do my best!”

…Wait. Scarlet was making food for me?

With a bandana tied around her head, she looked ready for battle.

I couldn’t help but be moved by her kindness.

A luxurious Japanese meal—though picking osechi of all things was a bit questionable—still, Scarlet’s sincerity shone through.

And now that I got a good look at her, Scarlet was just as beautiful as Ys. Up until now, I’d only caught glimpses of her through the prison window, but she was seriously cute.

Come to think of it, all the people who had tied me to a chair and interrogated me… weren’t they all stunning?

Maybe witches are just like that? Like elves in fantasy worlds—where only beautiful people exist?

“…Oh? The color got darker again after adding Njahyunurkoppe. Oh well, as long as I follow the recipe, it should be fine!”

No. No, it won’t be fine.

Even if you’re as gorgeous as an elf, you can’t just turn your cooking into a Lovecraftian horror. That’s not how this works.

And besides—if you’re using Njahyunurkoppe, you’re not following the recipe!

I’d have to tell Scarlet tomorrow.

‘No more Njahyunurkoppe, okay?’

＊ ＊ ＊

As Scarlet spilled the milk all over the floor, I took the opportunity to slip past the kitchen and finally arrived at my destination.

The room at the very end of the fourth floor’s west side—Ys’ private chamber.

Just as I had heard, it wasn’t locked. When I grabbed the doorknob, the door opened without resistance.

According to Ys, “There ain’t no fool reckless enough to sneak into my room without permission!”

Still, wouldn’t it be better to at least lock the door?

Contrary to expectations, Ys’ room was surprisingly tidy. Unlike the extravagant castle, it had very little unnecessary furniture and felt neat and uncluttered.

Come to think of it, this is actually the first time I’ve been inside a girl’s room… It smells kinda nice.

That being said, if I take a step back and objectively assess the situation—a guy stuffing canned goods into a bag sneaks into a girl’s room and starts sniffing the air—it’s beyond creepy.

Unfortunately, that guy is me.

“—Alright, the back of the closet… is it here?”

I opened the closet built into the room’s wall and stepped inside. Compared to Japanese houses, the space was ridiculous. In other words, it was stupidly large.

Following Ys’ instructions, I scanned the wall connecting to the adjacent room. Soon enough, I spotted an area that felt out of place.

I pressed against it firmly, and with a gakonn! sound, a section of the wall tilted forward.

A hole, just big enough for one person to squeeze through. On the other side, I could see the back wall of the neighboring room’s closet.

Giving it a push, the second barrier gave way just as easily—

And just like that, a hidden passageway linking the two rooms was now open.

“…That person seriously does whatever the hell they want, huh.”

Doing my best to make as little noise as possible, I slipped into the adjacent room.

Ys’ next-door neighbor—Scarlet’s room.

～ Flashback ～

“Huh? You’re saying the alcohol is hidden in Scarlet’s room?”

“Hell yeah! That’s the safest spot! I even carved out a hole from my closet wall, so I can come and go through hers!”

“Does Scarlet know about this?”

“Idiot! You think that moron keeps track of what’s in her own room? No way in hell she’d notice a hole or a missing floorboard!”

“Just what kind of person is Scarlet…?”

～ End of Flashback ～

Scarlet’s room was… a disaster.

To put it bluntly, there was no floor.

Not in the sense that there were holes in it—there just wasn’t any visible space to step on.

The entire floor was buried under a mess of clothes, magazines, and who knows what else. In a word—filthy.

I had the strongest urge to start cleaning right then and there, but I gritted my teeth and fought it off.

Instead, I dug through the mess and unearthed a square-shaped clothing box buried in the corner.

Inside, packed neatly in rows, were wine bottles. The way their labels were perfectly aligned suggested that Ys was surprisingly meticulous.

Ys and Scarlet… if only they could balance each other out a bit.

“Tch, better hurry before Scarlet finishes up whatever evil experiment she’s cooking.”

I plucked a single bottle from the box and stuffed it into my bag.

──Back through the closet, I returned to Ys’ room.

Now that I looked again, I noticed something I hadn’t before—

Two swords hanging on the wall.

Even to an amateur like me, they were clearly valuable.

Maybe I should casually ask Ys how much they’re worth later.

＊ ＊ ＊

Weaving my way past Scarlet’s laboratory, I descended the stairs and reached the entrance hall.

Sensing someone nearby, I held my breath.

“──Late, sorry for keeping you this long.”

“Mmm, don’t worry about it. We’re both handling the accounting, so it’s only natural we work together.”

It seemed like two witches were talking in the corner of the entrance hall.

One of them was probably the owner of the lit room from earlier.

“So, um… if you’d like… do you want to come to my room for some coffee?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline. I know it’s ironic coming from me, but staying up too late is terrible for your skin, Latte.”

“O-oh, you’re right… And drinking coffee at this hour would just make it harder to sleep… What am I even saying? Sorry. Goodnight.”

“Y-yeah. Goodnight.”

Their conversation ended abruptly, but luckily, both of them walked off toward the lit room—away from the stairs where I was hiding.

That was a close one.

Damn it, Ys, weren’t the witches supposed to be asleep?

Still, those two just now… The atmosphere between them was strangely awkward. Watching them made me feel itchy.

Well, not that it has anything to do with me.

More importantly—my hunger was reaching its limit.

There was no telling when another witch might show up.

Lingering here was pointless.

It was time to head back to my own place.