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 65: Fractures and the Golden Ratio

[Tatsumori Haruto]

──The flow of magical energy through the body, gathering it in the palm, and sharing life force. That’s the kind of image I have when using healing magic.

“Man, you never cease to amaze me! My broken bones are already back together!”

“…Sorry, I might’ve overdone it.”

“Idiot, if you held back, I would’ve been breaking your bones instead!”

To measure my magical power, I had thrown a punch at Ys… but somehow, it was Ys’s hand that ended up injured when he caught it.

Several fractures in his hand and fingers, blood pouring out everywhere—it was a huge mess. Well, at least I was the only one making a fuss about it.

“Well, now that my hand’s all healed, hurry up and tell me what your master really is!”

“I think I mentioned this before, but… to be honest, I don’t really know. Who Fuu was, where she came from… all I know is that she was a witch.”

“Sounds shady as hell. Didn’t she vanish along with the witch hunters? After stabbing you?”

“…Yeah. I still don’t know why she did that.”

Even now, I remember it vividly. The searing pain of my chest being pierced, the sensation of life slipping away like mist.

Without a doubt, Fuu had stabbed me with the intent to kill. She had become a completely different person from just moments before.

“Regardless of who she really was, that witch is seriously strong.”

“How can you tell?”

“You broke my hand, didn’t you!? Like I said, a familiar can only use, at best, about half the power of the witch they’re bound to! Most of the time, it’s around thirty percent!”

“So Fuu is more than twice as strong as I am?”

“Exactly. That means she was strong enough to break my hand while using less than half of her actual power! Even without body reinforcement magic, she’s a monster!”

According to Ys, familiars can typically use only a fraction of the power of the witch who created them—five-tenths at best, and usually around three-tenths.

If I was only using thirty percent of my potential, then that meant Fuu possessed at least three times my strength.

“Ys, do you know of any witches that strong?”

“Heh, I’ll have you know I’m one of the top ten strongest in the world! If there’s anyone stronger than me, they’re very few and far between!”

…Of course, she doesn’t say “I’m not bragging”. That’s just so Ys.

“Well, the only ones who fit the bill are the Four Great Witches or maybe a few former executives from Raven.”

“…The Four Great Witches? Sounds like a big deal.”

“To put it simply, they’re the four strongest witches. And guess what? One of ‘em is your Grim Reaper!”

That explanation was way too simplified, but I got the gist of it.

In other words, Abyss, the current leader of Raven, is one of these Four Great Witches—a true powerhouse.

And Fuu’s abilities are on par with someone that powerful.

“No way… You’re saying Fuu was that amazing? Could she have been one of the Four Great Witches?”

“Nah, that’s not possible. One of them is dead, one was the former leader of the Seraph Witch Association, and our boss is another. The last one is missing, but their appearance doesn’t match Fuu’s.”

“How do you even know that?”

“Bubblegum saw her in person. That girl knows what the Four Great Witches look like, so if it were the same person, she’d have realized immediately.”

I see… So at the very least, Fuu isn’t one of them.

For some reason, that actually makes me feel a little relieved.

“Then what about the former executives of Ravens?”

“That’s harder to say. The only one still with Ravens is Bumblebee. There’s also this woman called Wisteria Crazy-Eight, but rumor has it she’s running a hot spring inn somewhere now.”

So at the very least, it’s not those two. But in the end, we still don’t know who Fuu really was.

…Wait. A hot spring inn? That’s gotta be that innkeeper, right? I swear I just heard a ridiculous name just now…

“Well, no point overthinking it right now. Let’s get back to the main topic.”

“Main topic!? The hell was that again!?”

“The magic sword, Ys. Don’t forget.”

We got sidetracked, but the real question was whether I even had the potential to create a magic sword in the first place.

And since we’ve confirmed that Fuu was insanely strong, then as her familiar, I should be benefiting from that power as well.

“Ohhh, right, the magic sword! With your potential, you’ve got way more magic than your average witch. You should have more than enough to forge one!”

“That’s a relief to hear. Now, teach me how to make one!”

“Slow down there, newbie. You gotta take it step by step. First, you need to learn how to crystallize magic.”

According to Master Ys, forging a magic sword required three key steps:

1️. Learning to crystallize magical energy.

2️. Learning to shape the crystal at will.

3️. Learning to compress the crystal’s density.

Obviously, there was no way to master all of this in a single day.

So the plan was to spar with Ys in live combat training every morning and dedicate the afternoons to learning the art of magic sword creation.

* * *

Crystallizing magic turned out to be way harder than I expected. It drained my stamina, focus, and magical power all at once, leaving me utterly exhausted.

“──Tatsumori-kun, I brought dinner.”

“Ah, thank you. Come in.”

Just as my stomach was crying out in protest, Scarlet arrived.

Since we’d eaten breakfast and lunch together, it was safe to assume we’d be having dinner together as well.

“For tonight’s dinner, I thought I’d make hotpot! I’ll whip it up real quick!”

“Huh? You’re making it here? That’s unusual.”

Scarlet entered the room carrying a pot and a full set of ingredients. Normally, she’d bring over something already prepared.

Did something happen…?

—Wait, there’s no ventilation fan here… is it really okay to cook in this place?

“The kitchen’s a bit hard to use right now, so I’ll be cooking here for the time being. It might get a little noisy—sorry about that, okay?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! I should be the one thanking you, Scarlet, for cooking for me. Actually, since we’re at it, how about I do the cooking today?”

As long as the ingredients and utensils are available, I can make just about anything. Besides, I have strong opinions when it comes to hot pot.

To show my gratitude to Scarlet, I’ll make the most delicious hot pot she’s ever had.

“Tatsumori-kun, you can cook?”

“I took care of all the housework back home, and I work at a restaurant part-time. Cooking’s second nature to me.”

“Oh? Then I’ll take you up on that. Mind if I watch from the side?”

“Of course not. But don’t go sneaking in any njahiruruppeppe, okay?”

“Geez, I told you, I already threw that away!”

—It had been a while since I last held a kitchen knife. As Scarlet and I chatted idly, the hot pot preparations steadily came together.

Now that I think about it, the first time I met Fuu, I made hot pot too. I just threw together whatever I had at home—it was an absolute mess. But Fuu ate it like it was the best thing in the world.

No way that was a lie, right…?

“Tatsumori-kun, the hot pot’s boiling over!”

“Huh? Oh, you’re right. I spaced out for a second. Let me turn off the heat.”

I looked up and found Scarlet watching me with a puzzled expression.

“……?”

“Tatsumori-kun, if there’s ever anything I can do for you, just say the word, okay?”

“Eh? What’s with this all of a sudden?”

“…Because, just now… you looked like you were in so much pain.”

Seems like when I think about Fuu, my face gives everything away. I ended up making Scarlet worry unnecessarily.

She really is an attentive person. I’m sure she has her own troubles, yet she’s still looking out for me.

“I’m just a little tired. Besides, Scarlet, you’ve already done more than enough for me. Any more and I’d feel like I was tempting fate.”

“That’s not true… I haven’t really done anything at all…”

“Don’t say things like ‘I haven’t done anything.’ I really am grateful to you, Scarlet.”

“…Grateful, huh…?”

As Scarlet averted her gaze, a thought suddenly struck me.

She must still be struggling with what Snow said last night.

On one hand, she’s been taking care of me—cooking for me, bringing me clothes. But on the other, when the time comes, she’s the one who will have to execute me.

That contradiction must be eating away at her.

“Scarlet, can I ask you for just one thing?”

“…Yeah, anything.”

“Would you take off your bandana?”

“…Eh? Why…? Why would you ask me that?”

Scarlet always wore a bandana. I knew she had a complex about her horns and tail, but by now, there shouldn’t be any reason for her to hide them from me.

It had to be because of last night. Snow must have said something awful to her—something that hurt her deeply.

I wanted to ease that pain, even just a little. I wanted to cheer Scarlet up so much that Snow’s words wouldn’t even matter anymore.

“Because I can’t see your cute little horns.”

“…I’m sorry. I just… I was thinking, maybe my horns make people uncomfortable, so I should hide them…”

“Did someone tell you that?”

“……”

Scarlet lowered her head, saying nothing.

“There are always going to be people who say cruel things about how someone looks. But I want you to remember that there are also people who love you just the way you are.”

“…Tatsumori-kun…”

“And besides, this might not be the best thing to say to you, Scarlet, but—I have no intention of dying here. I’m going to escape, no matter what. So you don’t need to feel guilty about keeping me locked up. In fact, when I do get out of here, I’ll make sure to teach a lesson to whoever hurt you. Just look the other way when that happens, alright?”

Well, before that, I need to figure out how to crystallize magic power. But all I can do is keep training.

“…You’re such an idiot. You really shouldn’t be saying things like that to me.”

“Finally, you’re smiling properly. So, how about that bandana?”

“Alright… I won’t wear it anymore.”

Scarlet removed her bandana and placed it in my hands.

“Now then, shall we eat?”

“Yeah! It smells amazing—I’m absolutely starving!”

That usual, energetic smile of hers was back. I’m glad.

“Whoa—this broth is incredible!”

“I have a secret golden ratio for it. I’ll share it with you later, just for you, Scarlet.”

“Really!? Yay!”

Getting kidnapped and locked up by Ravens was undeniably unfortunate. But moments like these… they’re irreplaceable.