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 62: Rats and Banzai

Chapter 62: Rats and Banzai

[Tatsumori Haruto]

“—Oi, newbie!! What the hell do ya mean there’s only one bottle of booze!?”

A furious shout echoed through the underground prison, sending dust trickling down from the ceiling.

The reason Ys, who had been in a great mood just moments ago, was now raging like this was simple: I only brought back one bottle of alcohol. Well, that was intentional.

“What do you mean, ‘what the hell’…? It’s exactly as you see. Just bear with one bottle today.”

“The hell ya sayin’, huh!? You makin’ fun of me, punk!? I’m askin’ why the hell you only got this measly amount!!”

Ys slammed her tail against the ground. Cracks formed in the stone pavement, and not just dust, but tiny grains of sand rained down from the ceiling. Scary as hell.

“This is my insurance. Even if I bring back alcohol, there’s no guarantee you’ll stay cooperative with me, Ys.”

“Did ya forget what I said, punk!? I told ya if ya try any funny business, I ain’t gonna guarantee your safety!!”

A pale blue flame, like smoke, seeped out from the corner of Ys’s mouth. Seriously, is this girl really a witch? Or is she actually some kind of monster in human form? Too damn scary.

“O-oh, calm down! I wouldn’t dare look down on you, Ys! It’s just… there’s one thing, one thing I absolutely need you to hear me out on. If you agree to listen, I promise I’ll bring you the rest of the booze.”

“Heh, you got some nerve makin’ a request of me. Fine, I’ll hear ya out.”

Ys stopped yelling and narrowed her eyes. Somehow, that made her even scarier. She might be thinking, depending on what you say, I might just kill you.

“I want you to be my master until Abyss returns!”

“……Hah?”

For a few seconds, Ys froze so completely that I almost thought she had broken down.

“Uh… Ys?”

“You’re sayin’… me? Your master?”

“Uh, w-wait, Ys!?”

The moment she finally moved, Ys’s eyes bulged as she stomped towards me. Crap. I might’ve made a fatal mistake. I’m gonna die.

“…Master, huh!! That’s got a nice ring to it!! Fine, I’ll do it!!”

“Ehhh!? What’s with that misleading reaction!?”

For a second, I had braced myself for death, but Ys’s mood did a complete 180. Her tail coiled around my waist and pulled me in close.

“Alright, from now on, ya call me ‘Master,’ newbie!!”

“Fine, but I’d appreciate it if you finally called me by my name too, Master.”

“…Hmph. Now that ya say it out loud, it’s kinda embarrassing. Yeah, just keep callin’ me Ys, newbie.”

“……”

I didn’t ask Ys to take me as her disciple out of desperation. It was a painful decision I came to after a lot of thought.

I do want to escape from here as soon as possible—but then what?

Would I even know where Fuu and Ryuna are? And even if I did, could I defeat those witch hunters again?

—I’m still too weak. To fully wield the power Fuu granted me, I need a witch’s guidance.

And as luck would have it, Ys is apparently one of the strongest witches around. Not taking advantage of that would be foolish.

A month. That’s how long until Abyss returns and my execution is decided. In that time, I’ll master my power as a kenzoku!

＊ ＊ ＊

“T-Tatsumori-kun… you look even worse than I expected.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t exactly have a change of clothes, so…”

Scarlet, who had brought me a so-called breakfast straight out of the Cthulhu Mythos, was now standing in front of me.

Right in front of me. Not beyond the prison bars—right in front of me.

“I’m not sure if these will fit, but… I bought you some new clothes. Try them on?”

Until now, she had only passed things through the small slot in the door, but today, she had actually unlocked the cell and stepped inside.

And apparently, she had brought me clothes. If she’d just quit cooking and kept a tidy room, she’d be a literal saint.

“Wait… you actually went out of your way to buy these for me? That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

That was pure, unfiltered gratitude. I had been stuck wearing a bloodstained, tattered outfit all this time.

Sure, I had tried washing it, but bloodstains don’t come out easily, and holes? Those don’t just fix themselves.

Ys just kept saying, “Ya look so ragged, might as well go naked,” which was totally unreasonable, and she didn’t do anything to help either.

“N-no need to thank me! I-it’s not like I bought them just for you or anything!”

You literally just said you bought them. Looks like Scarlett turns into a classic tsundere when she gets flustered.

“Anyway, about breakfast…”

“Ah, yes, as always, thank you. Just leave it over there.”

After what I saw last night, I felt bad about flushing it down the toilet. But it was a necessary sacrifice for survival.

If I ate that, I might literally die from a gut-wrenching experience.

“…Actually, I’ve got some time this morning, so I was thinking if we could eat together.”

“HUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!?”

Huh? What did you just say? You’re thinking of eating together? Eat what? Cthulhu-sama!?

“By the way, this morning’s menu is—tada! Osechi!”

Oh no, she said “tada” and now Cthulhu-sama has descended upon us. As expected, the contents of the jubako (tiered food box) are filled with nameless, indescribable black masses.

They all look the same. All pitch black. Terrifying. Where the hell did the kuri-kinton go?

“I just threw this together in the morning, so it might not be that authentic. But I’m kinda proud of the shrimp and kuri-kinton!”

No, no, you were up all night working on this! You’ve still got a bandana tied around your head, and honestly, didn’t you pull an all-nighter to finish this?

I appreciate the humility, but the real issue here is that I can’t tell which one is the shrimp and which one is the kuri-kinton. Scarlet-san…

“…Wait, hold on. Didn’t you just hear something near the bed? A rat, maybe?”

“W-well, with such a delicious-looking osechi around, it’s not surprising if a rat or two shows up!”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

Ys, you bastard, you’re laughing under the bed, aren’t you!? The damn thing’s been shaking for a while now!!

“Well, a few rats aren’t a big deal. For some reason, they show up in my room all the time too. Anyway, let’s eat!”

The reason you have rats, Scarlet-san, is because your room is a mess.

“Um, Scarlet. I’d like to change my clothes first…”

Alright, first, I need to get Scarlet out of the room. The moment she leaves, I’ll dump Cthulhu-sama into the toilet and blame it on a swarm of rats. Genius!

“Ara, you’re right. How thoughtless of me… Alright, Banzai(hands up)?”

“Banzai!”

—No, no, I’d want her to do that if she were my girlfriend, but right now, just leave already!!

And why the hell did I raise my hands without thinking!?

“You don’t need this outfit anymore, right? Oh, don’t put anything on just yet, I’ll wipe your back for you.”

This is bad. There’s a war breaking out inside me—one side wants Saint Scarlet to stay forever, and the other wants Messy-Room Bad-Cook Scarlet to get the hell out.

“Alright, all done! Now, Banzai?”

“Banzai!”

—You spineless coward!! At this rate, I’m doomed! This is bad. This is really bad!!

“Alright, now that you’re dressed, let’s eat!”

“S-Scarlet, actually, I’m not really hungry…”

It probably won’t work, but let’s go with the classic “fake illness” strategy.

“Oh… I see. I’m sorry… I didn’t think about how you must be feeling.”

“…Huh?”

“You got seriously injured, were dragged here, then locked up in a cell… And yet here I am, making osechi like it’s no big deal… I totally ignored your feelings, didn’t I?”

C-Crap, I shouldn’t have lied about being sick!!

“No! That’s not it! I was feeling a little off earlier, but now I’m starving! Wow, what an amazing osechi!!”

It’s over. I can’t win against Scarlet. Why the hell did I even think of flushing food made by such a good person down the toilet? Am I an idiot?

Even though another Ravens, Ys, is literally under the bed laughing about my impending doom—

Alright. Let’s eat. I’ll accept my fate and eat Scarlet’s cooking. That’s what it means to be human.

“R-really? You’re not forcing yourself?”

“Not at all! So, which one is the kuri-kinton? I’ll start with that!”

She worked hard on the kuri-kinton last night, carefully peeling the sweet potatoes so they wouldn’t have fibers in them. I’ll eat it. Scarlet, I won’t let your effort go to waste!

“Eh? What do you mean, ‘which one’?”

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

—Oh no, I said something I shouldn’t have. I spoke without thinking because everything looks the same. Wait, does Scarlet even know which one is which?

“Uh, forget what I just said! I’d love some kuri-kinton!”

“O-oh, right! Kuri-kinton! Hold on, I think this is it, let me check!”

Scarlet picks up a piece from the jubako with her chopsticks and puts it into her mouth.

“…Wait. Scarlet, you don’t know which one is which either, do you?”

“…”

“S-Scarlet?”

“…”

“She’s dead.”

“No, she’s NOT!!”

Ys, you bastard, stop saying ominous things from under the bed!!

I mean, I get why she’d say that, though. Scarlet has gone completely white-eyed, foaming at the mouth.

T/N: This is Scarlet btw

“T-this is… what incredible power…”

“She was about to make us eat this. I get one free punch, right?”

“You’re heartless, Ys… She’s already suffered enough.”

Snapping back to reality at the sheer tragedy before me, I realized something—thank god I never ate it. It was totally fine to flush it down the toilet. Good job, me.

“Well, now that this idiot is unconscious, I’m heading back to my room. You take care of her, or she might actually die.”

“Wait, you’re ditching me now? Are you drunk?”

“I’m sober, you fool. Burn in hell. I don’t even have alcohol here!”

Muttering something under her breath, Ys hummed a tune as she strolled back to her own cell. For all her genius, my master’s personality is seriously flawed.

“Alright, first things first—I need to make Scarlet throw up.”

I lifted Scarlet off the ground, still foaming at the mouth.

As I did, the bandana wrapped around her head slipped off.

“…Huh?”

Scarlet had horns.

They looked similar to Ys’s, but slightly different in shape. Still, there was no mistaking them.

And then—I felt something brush against my shin. Looking down, I saw something slither out from under her skirt.

A tail.

“…Well, horns or a tail, doesn’t really change what I need to do, does it?”

It was shocking, sure, but this wasn’t the time to get distracted.

If I don’t help her purge the poison soon, she might actually die. Hell, the foam dripping from her mouth is starting to turn black—