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 68: The Elder Sister and the Little Sister

[Tatsumori Haruto]

──The dim underground prison was bathed in an otherworldly glow, illuminated by the pale blue flames and the red crystals reflecting their light. It was a sight unlike the usual dreary atmosphere.

Before me stood two witches, tension crackling between them like a sword poised to strike.

One was a habitual food thief and a heavy drinker, the good-for-nothing witch who lived in luxury even in a dungeon—Ys Baccarat.

Opposing her was the overseer of hell’s prison meals, a witch who manipulated dark matter. Apart from her cooking and her disastrous living quarters, she had no discernible flaws—a noble witch by all accounts, Scarlet Hoist.

Scarlet had just drawn her magical sword, signaling that the fight was about to begin in earnest.

Though, calling it a “sword” wasn’t entirely accurate—Scarlet’s weapon was unmistakably a spear. Calling it a magic lance would be more fitting.

“Drop dead, you vomit-stained excuse for a chef!!”

“Shut up, you drunken hag—!!”

At a perfectly synchronized moment, as if they had rehearsed it, the two witches swung their magic weapons high.

Ys and Scarlet—at last, they clashed—

“—That will be quite enough.”

A voice rang out across the hall, just before the sound of metal colliding—so forceful it could be mistaken for a shockwave—briefly numbed my ears.

At the center of the hall, Ys and Scarlet stood frozen, their eyes wide in disbelief.

For in front of them stood a woman, pressing down upon their overlapping magic weapons with a single leg, driving them into the ground.

The one who had halted their fight with just her foot was the one-armed witch—if I recalled correctly, her name was Bumblebee Sevenbridge.

“Now, now, Ys, Scarlet. It’s good to be energetic, but fighting is hardly admirable. I don’t care which of you does it, but would one of you care to explain this situation to your dear onee-sama?”

“B-Bumblebee… There’s a reason for this. You see, Tatsumori-kun was out of his cell, and—”

“—And that’s why you’re getting distracted?!”

Ys lunged at Scarlet before she could finish explaining, throwing a punch.

It was classic Ys—honestly, her sheer lack of restraint was almost impressive.

“Now, now, no fighting. Scarlet, continue—”

Bumblebee caught Ys’s fist effortlessly, not even bothering to look at it.

I knew firsthand how brutal Ys’s punches could be—I’d been on the receiving end often enough—but for her to stop it so easily… that was beyond ordinary.

In that moment, I fully understood that Bumblebee possessed monstrous strength.

“Tch, let me go, you old hag!!”

But of course, this was Ys we were talking about. She didn’t flinch in the slightest, even as Bumblebee held her in place. Instead, she flicked her tail with incredible force, striking Bumblebee’s cheek.

A sharp SMAAACK!! echoed through the underground hall like the crack of a whip.

I knew from experience—that was painful as hell. If it were me, I’d be crying.

“Y-Ys, what are you doing—?!”

“I can’t stand it when someone interrupts my fights!!”

Ys yanked her magic weapon from where it had embedded itself in the ground and turned to face Bumblebee.

Bumblebee, who had staggered slightly from the tail-whip, lifted her head. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her cheek was flushed bright red—it had to hurt like hell.

“…Ys, my adorable little sister. I think you’ve gone a bit too far.”

“…Wh-what, you got a problem with that?”

Bumblebee was smiling. Blood ran from her lips, yet she was grinning from ear to ear. But her eyes… Her eyes were cold as ice, and absolutely terrifying.

“Ys, clench your teeth.”

“Huh?—GWAH!?”

It happened in an instant.

One moment Ys was standing there—the next, she was gone. Then, with a thunderous CRASH, she slammed into the far wall of the hall.

Her magic weapon, flung from her grasp, followed a beat later, embedding itself into the floor.

“Now then, Scarlet. Please, continue your explanation?”

“Y-yes! Um, when I brought lunch, Ys was attacking Tatsumori-kun, so I tried to stop her, and, well… that’s how this all happened… Yes.”

Scarlett shrank back completely upon seeing Ys sent flying. Of course, so did I.

“Hmm… But how did Ys manage to get out of the cell? It’s a new prison, so there shouldn’t be a spare key hidden anywhere.”

Bumblebee was smiling at me. Naturally, her eyes were not.

“I used a spare key to get out of my own cell… and then unlocked Ys’s.”

There was a pressure in Bumblebee’s gaze that wouldn’t allow anything but the truth to be spoken. Well… in short, I got scared and confessed.

“Honest. That’s good. I’m guessing Ys sweet-talked you, right? Ys likes people who follow orders, so I bet she treated you quite nicely.”

“…Tatsumori-kun, is that true?”

This woman, Bumblebee—her strength aside—had a terrifyingly keen insight. She was more or less spot-on.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet. I just… I couldn’t afford to die here. So I made a deal with Ys to escape.”

“Well, my little sister’s mess is my responsibility too. No need to be so scared, I’m not going to kill you.”

“…I appreciate that. So, Bumblebee-san, what exactly brings you here?”

Bumblebee’s purpose was still unclear. The commotion in this deep underground prison wouldn’t have reached the surface. She couldn’t have come because she heard the noise.

Most likely, she had some reason for coming down here in the first place and happened to stumble upon Ys and Scarlett’s fight.

“I came to see you.”

“You came to see… me?”

“Actually, there’s someone who’s been opposing your imprisonment. They’ve been persistent, so we decided to have a proper discussion with you involved.”

An unexpected stroke of luck. Up until now, my only options were execution or escape. But now, a new possibility had appeared—one that wasn’t entirely hopeless.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it… Who’s been opposing it?”

“You’ll see when we get there, Scarlet. Everyone’s already gathered at the entrance. If we don’t hurry, Snow’s going to be fuming.”

“U-Um, Bumblebee-san… About Ys… There were some misunderstandings, but… I wasn’t actually attacked or anything…”

“You’re a good kid. Don’t worry, Ys is already under house arrest. As long as you and Scarlet keep quiet, she won’t face any further punishment.”

As much as she could be a pain, she was still the one who trained me every day. And no matter what form it took, I couldn’t stand the idea of someone who cared about me getting severely punished.

But… it seemed Bumblebee was quite a reasonable person. My worries were probably unnecessary.

“…Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. If I end up having to kill you after this, I’d rather not feel guilty.”

“……”

“Now then, let’s go. Tatsumori-kun, bring Ys along.”

Why she asked me instead of Scarlet, I had no idea. But it didn’t seem like a question I should press. I decided to just go along with it.

“Ys, are you okay?”

“…’Course I am.”

Even after being blasted into a wall hard enough to make it crumble, Ys was still conscious. However, her left cheek was red-black and swollen, leaving her with a rather gruesome expression.

Before pulling her up, I should probably use some healing magic. And maybe fix her clothes too…