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 82: A Date with Snow – Part 3

[Tatsumori Haruto]

──Just like Bubblegum, Maria’s private room had a bath attached. Looks like corner rooms really do get special treatment.

“…I’m done. Hurry up and get in, then get out already.”

“…Yeah, yeah. So kind of you, I’m getting all teary-eyed.”

Soaked from head to toe after our unexpected dip in the winter fountain, we had come to Maria’s room to warm up.

With this freezing temperature, there was no way we could continue our date while dripping wet.

“By the way, Tatsumori. What are you planning to do about your clothes?”

Maria, dressed in nothing but a bathrobe with her damp hair clinging to her skin, gave me her usual deadpan stare. It was an oddly sultry look, though I doubted she had any such intentions. In fact, she probably felt nothing seeing me like this. Sometimes, the way she looked at me reminded me of how someone would regard a pig in a factory farm.

“…What do you mean? You’re gonna do something about it, aren’t you?”

“There’s a shower in my room, so just come with me.”

──She had said that, so naturally, I followed her here.

Don’t tell me she expects me to put my drenched clothes back on after showering. That would be just cruel.

“Hah? And why exactly do I have to take care of you?”

“Uh, pretty sure I got soaked saving your life just now?”

“…Tch! Fine, I’ll find something for you.”

One thing I’ve learned about Maria: she does at least settle her debts. More like, she probably just hates owing anyone a favor.

***

After finishing my shower, I stepped out to find a neatly folded set of clothes and a pair of shoes placed outside the bathroom.

The outfit was predominantly black with striking red accents—a very distinct uniform. I recognized it immediately from the cleaning I had done in Scarlet’s room a few days ago. This was the uniform of the Ravens faction.

Cautiously unfolding it, I was relieved to find that, at the very least, it wasn’t a skirt.

Still, I was surprised to see a male version of this uniform. Did they even have a use for it? Well, I was about to use it now, so I guess the question answered itself.

Either Maria had a keen eye or she got lucky, because the uniform fit me perfectly.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but notice how different I looked just by changing clothes. I appeared oddly more mature.

It reminded me of when I had worn a tuxedo during that bridal fair. Clothes really do have power.

──When I stepped out after drying my hair, I saw Maria had also changed into the Raven Claw uniform. She must have noticed me leaving the bathroom, but she remained silent, gazing out the window.

“Thanks for the shower. And the clothes too.”

I approached her by the window and thanked her, but she still didn’t turn to face me.

The thin winter sunlight made her black hair glisten. I found myself staring at it absentmindedly.

“…On my way to get that uniform, I ran into Latte and Heather.”

“…?”

Maria suddenly mentioned this out of nowhere, and I had no idea how to respond.

“…I had a little chat with them. Apparently, eating a meal in front of a fountain, bowing twice, clapping twice, and spinning three times while meowing isn’t something normal people do on a first date.”

“…M-Maria, that was… uh…”

Even though I had just stepped out of the bath, my entire body broke into a cold sweat.

She found out.

And so fast.

Right now, she still seemed calm. If I apologized right away, maybe I could get out of this unscathed.

Cautiously, I stepped to the side to try and see her expression.

That’s when I noticed.

Maria was holding a knife.

In the very next moment—

“Die, human!!”

“…Hiiih!? Whoa—Gyaaahhh!?”

I barely dodged the knife as she lunged at me with terrifying speed.

But while I avoided the blade, Maria grabbed me by the collar and threw me.

Towards the window.

“…Mmmffhh!?”

The window shattered, and I was hurled outside.

By the way, Maria’s room is on the third floor.

“…Ow! Guh! Oof!?”

I hit the ground, bounced a few times, then tumbled into the forest.

If I hadn’t instinctively activated my magic, I would’ve definitely died. I should probably thank Ys for her brutal training later.

“…Shit, that was overkill, Maria!”

Groaning, I staggered to my feet and glanced up at the third-floor window.

Maria leaned over the windowsill, her eyes gleaming with rage.

“…You really are as stubborn as a cockroach, huh? Hailo Joker.”

“Wait, why the hell are you summoning a magic sword!? Calm down, Maria!”

Ignoring my desperate plea, Maria hefted a massive scythe-like weapon and leapt out of the window.

“Don’t you dare say my name so casually!!”

“GYAAAAHHHH!!”

I ran for my life.

At some point during my frantic escape through the forest, I spotted Bumblebee.

I rushed toward her, hoping for help.

──But the moment she saw me being chased by Maria, she doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach.

After getting her fill of amusement, she simply walked away.

***

Maria, furious beyond belief, chased me down relentlessly. In the end, she caught me in about ten minutes and half-killed me.

By the way, it wasn’t like Maria was satisfied with just half killing me—she was aiming for full annihilation… but Latte and Heather stepped in before she could finish the job.

If I hadn’t had healing magic, I have no idea how many months I would’ve spent in the hospital…

Anyway, my date with Maria was forcibly cut short, and I was dragged back to my cell.

“—So? Now that all your fun little dates are over… did you manage to win over everyone?”

“…Not a chance. I almost lost my life, you know.”

Not long after I returned to my cell, Bumblebee showed up.

As always, she carried herself with that laid-back, nonchalant air.

“Haha, you should be proud—surviving a date with Snow is no small feat. That uniform, is it from Snow?”

“Yeah, I ended up soaked for various reasons, so I borrowed it.”

Ravens’ uniform was as durable as expected. Maria had beaten me to a pulp, but the fabric remained intact—no rips, no loose threads, just a few stains here and there.

“Looks good on you. I can’t wait to see who you end up marrying.”

Bumblebee pulled up a chair and sat across from me, facing me directly as I sat on the bed.

“…I know it’s a little late to ask, but am I really supposed to get married? I mean, this whole thing just… happened. I honestly have no idea what Scarlet, Ys, or the others are even thinking.”

Yeah… really late to be asking that.

The whole situation is basically: whoever marries me gets to decide my fate. That’s why this is happening. But seriously, is it okay to decide a marriage just because someone wants to turn me into a scarecrow? Or a pet? Or even—God forbid—just kill me?

I get that it’s only a technicality, but still. Isn’t marriage supposed to be one of the biggest events in a person’s life?

“—The timing was just right. We’ve been fighting to eradicate witch hunters for centuries, but over the past twenty years, the extermination rate has skyrocketed. If things keep going at this pace, we might finally achieve our goal in just a few more years.”

Bumblebee rested her cheek on the armrest of the chair with her one remaining hand as she spoke.

She looked like a young girl, no different from Ys or Scarlet, yet she carried herself with such an air of maturity that I found myself unintentionally captivated.

“…Once people see the end of the road, they start thinking about what comes next. Some witches are joining the Seraph Witch Association, some are traveling the world freely, and others… are looking for a partner.”

A partner… as in, a lover or a spouse.

When she put it like that, it kind of made sense.

“…But even so, why me? There’s got to be better options—”

“Tatsumori-kun, you have no idea just how rare someone like you is. Incredibly rare. Very few humans can even become familiars. And creating a familiar means going against the Seraph Association Seraph. Blood-sharing… is forbidden, after all.”

“Not every witch is into women, and human men? They don’t last long. So when someone like you comes along, well… it’s an opportunity they just can’t pass up. And on top of that, you’ve got a cute face.”

“…So you’re saying that the witches I went on dates with are actually serious about this?”

“They each have their own motives, but yeah, more or less. Snow, for instance… she’s definitely serious, in her own way.”

“…What am I supposed to do?”

I had thought this whole thing was just some ridiculous farce, a forced engagement with no real meaning behind it.

But now that I knew they were at least somewhat serious, it was a whole different problem.

I couldn’t deny that I felt something for them, at least a little. And if I don’t get married, I’ll be executed.

But marriage… without even dating first? And with a witch, no less? I don’t even know if Fuu is safe, and yet here I am, worrying about this…

A whirlwind of thoughts spiraled through my mind.

“When you’re lost, when you’re stuck, the answer is always within you. Luckily for you, tomorrow, a certain witch is going to help draw it out.”

Brush wields a special kind of magic. Her commands and questions hold an almost terrifying level of compulsion.

In other words, whether I like it or not, she’ll force the truth out of me.

“…That just makes me more anxious, honestly.”