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 79: A Date with Ys – Part 3

[Scarlet Hoist]

“…It’s chilly this morning.”

I muttered to myself.

This morning’s meal consisted of grilled fish, tamagoyaki, shirasu mixed with grated daikon, and chilled tofu. As for my secret ingredient… well, I was out of stock, so I didn’t add it.

Worried that the freezing air outside would cool down the food too quickly, I hurried toward the underground prison.

If only my magic could control flames like Ys’s, it would be so convenient. Unfortunately, my specialty is the exact opposite—ice magic.

I can chill food, but I can’t warm it.

Gliding down the long staircase to the underground prison, I used magic to let myself fall smoothly. The only spell I take pride in is my ability to manipulate gravity.

I want to see him soon—

Before I knew it, I’d been thinking about him all day.

How many hundreds of years has it been since I last felt this way about someone?

My first love never gave me any love in return—only wounds that still linger in my heart.

But the one I yearn for now… he’s the one who healed those wounds.

The other day, in the heat of the moment, I kissed him. And yet, Haruto-kun still treats me the same as always.

That means he doesn’t hate me, right? So… maybe I can allow myself to hope?

As soon as I reached the hall, my eyes went straight to Haruto-kun’s cell.

The door, which had apparently broken due to some incident on his date with Lilac, remained unfixed.

At this time of day, he’s usually already awake, but I didn’t see any lights on in his room. Without a door, I could tell just how dark it was inside.

He must be exhausted after spending yesterday with Ys. I hope Ys didn’t do anything terrible to him…

I wanted to let him sleep a little longer, but today’s date partner is Snow. If he oversleeps, there’s no telling what Snow will do to him. I’d feel bad waking him up, but… I have to.

I-It’s not like I really, really want to see his face or anything! Not even a little!

“—Haruto-kun, I brought breakfast. I’m turning on the light, okay?”

Balancing the tray of food in my hands, I used my tail to flick the switch—

***

[Tatsumori Haruto]

“—Ys, are you sure this is okay? If Bumblebee catches us, we’re screwed…”

“Don’t be a coward, Haruto. If you’re scared of Bumblebee, you’ve got no business stealing.”

It was past midnight.

Ys and I had snuck out of the underground prison, making our way toward a storage room that supposedly belonged to Bumblebee. Our objective: stealing booze.

“…Why do you even have master keys for all these rooms, Ys?”

As expected, the storage room was locked. But for some reason, Ys had a key.

“Hah? I made this myself. I memorized the exact shape of the real key and crafted a perfect copy. You could say… it’s a ma-ken (demonic key), instead of a ma-ken (demonic sword).”

I see. If she can forge demonic swords, then making keys isn’t far-fetched. Still, crafting something so small with such precision takes serious skill.

It’s honestly impressive—though the way she’s using that talent is the worst.

“Power can be used for good or evil, depending on the person, huh?”

“Don’t flatter me like that, it’s embarrassing.”

No surprise there. With a mindset like his, it’s no wonder she’s been thrown into jail so many times.

“…Alright, this is the place. Just wait, my sweet booze babies.”

Arriving at the storage room, Ys grinned wickedly as she unlocked the door.

I bet this is the exact face all thieves make.

“…Whoa, this place is packed tight.”

“Bumblebee’s got a collecting habit. Not like that idiot Scarlet—at least she keeps things organized.”

Inside the room, towering four-tier racks lined both sides, reaching all the way to the ceiling. I could see additional racks in the back through the gaps between them.

It really was a proper storage space.

“For the record, Scarlet’s room is clean now. I cleaned it.”

“Tch. Can’t believe you actually cleaned that filthy place.”

“…By the way, Ys, weren’t you hiding booze in Scarlet’s room?”

I mean, there was even a hole in the wall.

“Oh, quit yappin’ and start looking for the booze already, Haruto.”

Wow. That was the most blatant topic change I’ve ever seen.

“…Still, there’s a lot of random stuff here. Are these… uniforms? And this… a book? I can’t read a single word.”

The storage racks were packed with all sorts of items—some immediately recognizable, others completely mysterious.

The book I randomly pulled from what seemed like a bookshelf was handwritten… and in English. I had no clue what it said.

“…Oi, I told you not to mess around.”

While saying something like that, Ys snatched the book from me and began flipping through the pages, reading aloud.

“It seems that Vivian is about to part ways with Ibis. Many of the older members, including Wisteria and Hoan, are supporting Vivian. I wonder what the younger ones like Rose will do…”

Ys flipped a few more pages.

“It seems that the new organization Vivian is creating will be called Seraph. If this is meant as a tribute to Rachel, there couldn’t be a more ironic name for witch hunters.”

She turned a few more pages.

“In the end, most of the witches sided with Vivian. Considering Ibis’s current state, it’s not surprising… Still, leaving Black Maria behind as a parting gift, she really is a chaotic woman to the very end.”

Having read up to that point, Ys snapped the book shut.

“…It’s like a diary, huh?”

“Before the Ravens split, which was about four hundred years ago… Interesting, right? I think I’ll take this home with me.”

A four-hundred-year-old diary… The sheer scale of it was enough to make my head spin. Isn’t this something you’d typically find in a museum?

Certainly, it’s a very intriguing book, but…

“I think stealing someone’s diary might be a bit too much.”

This wasn’t some centuries-old diary you find in a museum. What makes it different is that the person who wrote it is still alive.

If we get caught peeking into it, we’re definitely in for trouble.

“Idiot, until we get caught, it’s not stealing!”

“…Somehow, that’s kind of cool.”

But this is Ys for you—no thoughts for the future whatsoever. Honestly, I just want to call her an idiot.

“You fell even more in love with me, didn’t you?”

As if I’d fall in love again!

Later, we successfully found the alcohol that Bumblebee had confiscated, and we headed back to the dungeon.

***

A pleasant morning—

There’s obviously no sunlight shining into the dungeon, but I felt strangely clear-headed, as though I had woken up in the sunshine.

Looking at the clock, it was still just before six, but since I was already awake, I thought I’d do some magic sword training. I tried to get out of bed—but then…

“…Ngh, my body…!”

I couldn’t move. It felt like I was paralyzed—could it be sleep paralysis? Not only could I not move, but the pressure was getting worse, and it was hard to breathe, like a giant snake was constricting around me.

“~~!?”

And then, something pressed against my face. It was completely covering my face, and I couldn’t breathe at all.

The discomfort quickly gave way to a strange sense of euphoria. As my body began to envelop in this bizarre feeling, a memory briefly flashed in my mind…

–This sensation… this pressure… it’s marshmallow.

“…Buhah!”

I woke up—though before my eyes were even fully open, my mouth was wide open.

I instinctively began gasping for air like a fish searching for food.

Finally, I managed to breathe in some air, and my vision began to clear up.

In front of me was a massive marshmallow mountain—no, a glorious pair of breasts.

And, of course, where there was a mountain, there had to be a valley. It seemed like while I was sleeping, my face had been pressed into a very deep valley.

To top it off, my body was tightly held in place by a tail and a thigh.

“…Y-Ys?”

“…Mmm, only cooking wine, huh? Nnn, well, that’ll do…”

It was definitely Ys. I didn’t know why, nor did I want to know, but for some reason, I was sleeping in the same bed as Ys.

No, that’s not the right way to put it—calling us “lovey-dovey” is misleading.

What’s actually happening is that Ys somehow broke into my bed and was trying to strangle me in her sleep…

“Ys, wake up! What are you doing in my bed… and why do you smell like alcohol?”

“…Mmm, no disinfectant alcohol, huh? Nnn, well, that’ll do…”

She wasn’t waking up at all. And you can’t drink disinfectant alcohol!

“I-It hurts! My bones are breaking! Yssss, Yssss!”

The tail wrapped around my body was tightening with the force of a vice. This wasn’t just a bad sleeping position—this was something else entirely!

At this rate, I was going to end up as Iesu’s cuddly pillow and get killed…

“…MUGAAAHH!!”

I activated my magic and used all my strength to shake off the tail. Without wasting a second, I tumbled out of bed, escaping as quickly as I could.

“Hah, hah… I seriously thought I was going to die.”

“…Mmm, Haruto… wa-ter…”

The shock of shaking off the tail seemed to wake Ys up, as she flailed her arms around like a zombie, mumbling.

“Ys, why are you sleeping in my bed?!”

“…Ugh… my head hurts… don’t shout… wa-ter… wa-ter…”

How much did she drink? She was acting completely unlike herself, weak and fragile like a girl. Her speech was even all soft and delicate.

“…Once you drink some water, you can go back to your cell, okay?”

Ys just groaned and didn’t seem to have the strength to reply, so I poured some water into a glass.

I glanced at the clock on the wall—4:10 AM. She was a walking bundle of trouble.

“Here’s your water, Ys. Seriously, how much did you drink last night?”

“…Kill…? I drank it all?”

I was left speechless.

The alcohol that Iesu and I had stolen from the warehouse last night had come in a giant glass container shaped like a gourd. There was no way it could be consumed in one night—it had to be at least 30 to 40 liters by my estimate…

Also, I remembered her saying something about it being a high-proof drink.

“All of it? What were you thinking? If anyone saw you like this, they’d immediately know we drank that much.”

“…Mm, sorry…”

Ys sipped the water, wobbling as she swayed her head, and gave me a salute.

This drunkard, her usual behavior is so rough and reckless, yet she somehow looks cute in this state. What the hell is going on?

“…How are you feeling now? Calmed down?”

“…Mmm, thank you… let’s sleep together?”

“No, go back to your own room, please.”

Even though my adrenaline was still running high after using magic, I started feeling sleepy once the rush wore off. It was only 4 AM, so of course I was tired.

I had to kick this drunk out of here, or I wouldn’t get any peace.

“…Sniff, sniff… Haruto, you… you don’t like me, do you?”

“What are you even…”

Is she one of those people who cries when they get drunk? Seriously, I never expected to see the tears of a demon. Also, why did her way of speaking change? Now she’s just like a girl. And by the way, my name is Hareto, not Haruto.

“…I guess I have no choice. I’ll sleep with you, but I’m warning you… don’t, don’t, wrap your tail around me.”

“…Aye.”

If I kept having these pointless interactions with this cute drunkard, I’d just lose more sleep. I should let Iesu fall asleep first, then take her back to her cell. That’s the fastest way to handle this.

“Well then, good night.”

“…Haruto.”

“Sigh… what now?”

“…Can I hold your hand?”

“…Sure.”

If only she were this cute all the time… We lay down together on the bed, and in just a few minutes, Ys was already softly snoring.

“…Mmm… only fuel alcohol… guess that’ll do…”

Her sleep talk was still in her usual tone, though. For some reason, that was kind of cute, too.

Since Ys was now asleep, I thought about carrying her back to her room quickly. But when I looked at her hand tightly gripping mine, I started thinking that maybe I could just let it be and stay like this for the night.

I’ll wake up at seven and get her back to her cell before Scarlet brings breakfast. That should be good enough for now.