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 63: Bandana and Sparta

Chapter 63: Bandana and Sparta

[Tatsumori Haruto]

“──Where… am I?”

“Scarlet, you’re awake!”

Scarlet, who had eaten the kuri kinton tainted with darkness, had been unconscious for nearly an hour. But finally, she had woken up.

I had made sure she vomited out all the toxins in the toilet, but how was her condition now?

“…Huh? Tatsumori-kun? W-why am I in bed?”

“Don’t you remember? Just a while ago, you took a bite of that osechi you brought, and then you suddenly collapsed.”

“──!! K-Kuri kinton…”

Looks like she remembered. But the way she solemnly murmured kuri kinton was kind of amusing.

“S-sorry, Tatsumori-kun. I think the Njahyunurkoppe must have gone bad. It tasted horrible.”

“Njahirurupeppe can spoil?”

“It’s Njahyunurkoppe. I don’t really know much about it myself, but it’s not supposed to taste that awful. Thinking back, the color was kind of off too.”

Yikes… that’s terrifying. If even the person who made it passed out after just one bite, it must have been a deadly poison. Just imagining what would’ve happened if I had eaten it sends chills down my spine.

There’s still a lot I don’t understand about Njahirurupeppe, but I think it’s best not to dig any deeper. Best not to mess with things beyond our understanding.

“Scarlet, let’s put Njahirurupeppe on lockdown for now. We nearly lost a life today.”

“Y-you’re right… It looks like I caused a lot of trouble. I should just throw out the rest of the Njahyunurkoppe…”

But just before making her final decision, Scarlet suddenly froze. Not only that—her face rapidly paled.

“Scarlet? Are you okay? Do you feel like throwing up again?”

“M-my… my bandana…”

Scarlet was staring past me, her gaze locked onto the neatly folded bandana placed on top of the chest behind me.

“Oh, it slipped off while I was helping you earlier…”

“…No… No way… NOOO!!”

The moment she realized, Scarlet clutched at the horns on her head and dove under the covers.

“W-wait, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“…I-I’m sorry. I thought I was hiding them properly… It’s gross, right? Something weird growing out of my head…”

So that’s why she was always wearing a bandana—she was trying to hide her horns. Was this something she was self-conscious about?

“I don’t think it’s gross at all, though.”

“…L-lies. A-and… wait, did you… see my… t-tail too?”

“Yeah. It’s actually still sticking out from under the covers.”

“…!!”

In an instant, her tail darted back under the blanket.

“Uh, seriously, I don’t mind at all, you know?”

“…No way… A girl who looks like some kind of monster… of course you’d think it’s disgusting…”

Sure, when I first saw Ys, I was pretty shocked too. But honestly, I’ve already gotten used to it.

And if we’re talking about things that are truly terrifying, that yandere girl who attacked me was way scarier. Compared to that, Ys and Scarlet were downright adorable.

“Okay, I’ll admit I was a little surprised at first. But I think you’re cute. Your horns are basically like cat ears, aren’t they?”

“…R-really?”

“Really! Scarlet, you’re cute!”

Though… she really should clean up her room.

“….”

Scarlet fidgeted under the covers for a moment, then, hesitantly, she crawled out and awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed.

“M-Must’ve been an unsightly sight… Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re the only one who’s been kind to me here, Scarlet. I’m really grateful.”

I’ve seen way worse—like that disaster of a room. Compared to that, pouting under the blanket is actually kinda cute.

“Oh, stop it! Gratitude and all that…! I-It’s not like I’m actually happy about it or anything!”

“That actually sounds pretty honest to me.”

Yeah, Scarlet is definitely the type who just can’t lie. Or if she tries, it’s way too obvious.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Alright, come at me from anywhere! I’ll smash you into the ground!”

“Uh, no need to go that far. This is just training, remember?”

After her breakfast disaster, Scarlet wouldn’t be back until noon.

Until then, I was set to train with Ys.

She had already taught me the theoretical side of magic, so now it was all about practice.

“Haven’t moved my body in days. Got a lot pent up! If you come at me half-heartedly, I’ll make you regret it!”

“Understood. Here I come!”

I focused my mind and let magic flow through my body. This was what they called “mana activation.”

It felt like every muscle fiber in my body was tightening like steel, and my body instantly felt lighter—like shedding a heavy burden.

“Too slow, dumbass!!”

“—Guh!?”

Ys suddenly punched me clean across the training ground. The world spun, and next thing I knew, I was eating dirt.

“You’re taking way too long to activate your mana. You trying to die?”

“I-I have to focus, or I can’t do it yet!”

She knocked me several meters away, but it seemed she held back—it didn’t hurt as much as I expected.

Still, my activation time should’ve only been two or three seconds. If that’s too slow, what the hell am I supposed to do?

“A fight to death isn’t some neat little sport! The moment you run into an enemy, it’s already begun! If you can’t activate mana on reflex, you’re dead meat!”

“…I get what you’re saying, but how am I supposed to train that?”

“You just keep getting hit until you can do it!!”

“Agh—!”

Once again, Ys closed the distance in a blink and punched me into the ground. No surprise, we’re doing full-on Spartan training.

She’s rough, but sometimes she’s surprisingly meticulous. I had a tiny shred of hope for a more rational teaching method, but—nope. Just pure barbarism.

“Get up, weakling!!”

“Aaaagh!!”

Two hours of this later… I finally mastered mana activation.

The brand-new clothes Scarlet gave me?

Utterly destroyed.