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 93: Shortcake and Ume Kombucha

Chapter 93: Shortcake and Ume Kombucha

[Rachel Poker]

“—Whew, I’m stuffed! That was delicious, Emilia. Thanks for the feast!”

Emilia had promised a lavish meal for dinner, and she didn’t disappoint. After an early dinner with Hikari, even I’m completely full.

“My, my, I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you’re that full, I suppose you won’t be able to eat the dessert Sakurako-san brought right away?”

“Dessert’s got its own stomach.”

“…I’ll fetch it.”

Emilia shot me a look of mock exasperation and headed to the kitchen. By the way, the dessert I brought is a shortcake I picked up at the station’s bakery.

Since arriving at Emilia’s place, we’ve just been eating and chatting about nothing in particular. Her true reason for inviting me to dinner still isn’t clear. It’s probably about what happened at lunch, though.

“That cake looks delicious! Where’d you get it?”

Emilia called out from the kitchen as she plated the cake. I could hear water boiling—probably for tea or coffee.

“The cake shop by the station. It’s got all these fancy cakes, like a jewelry store for sweets!”

“Oh, that place? I’ve been curious about it for a while. Sakurako-san, tea or coffee?”

This girl’s so considerate. Almost too good for Karta.

“How about ume kombucha, just to mix things up?”

“We don’t have that.”

I’d be shocked if she did! I don’t think I’ve ever even tried it.

“Kidding, kidding! Tea, please. No sugar, extra milk.”

“Understood.”

Emilia replied with the prim tone of a café waitress, giggling as she deftly prepared everything. The clinking of the tea set was oddly soothing to my ears.

“No sugar, extra milk.”

“Thanks, you’re spoiling me here!”

Emilia set the cake and tea on the table from her tray. I can’t help but think—times like these make me realize how luxurious the modern world is.

“—I’ve told you before that I’m a throwback witch, just like you and Hikari-san, right?” (T/N: Throwback witch as in someone who became the incarnation of a witch from the past.)

During our elegant dessert time, Emilia took a sip of tea and finally broached the subject.

“Yeah, you mentioned that.”

By the way, my real parents were a witch and a human, so I’m a half-breed witch, not a throwback.

“The first time I used magic was when I was nine.”

Emilia cradled her teacup in both hands, speaking slowly as she began her story.

“My father’s Japanese, but his job took him to Germany. There, he met and married my mother, a German woman he got close to at work.”

“Oh, so you’re half-Japanese? That’s news to me!”

That explains why her Japanese is so flawless. She doesn’t look like she has Japanese blood, but as a throwback, maybe she inherited traits from generations back?

“Not long after they married, I was born. Apparently, no one in my parents’ family, even going back to their great-grandparents, had red eyes or gray hair, so they were quite shocked.”

“Well, yeah, that’s not exactly common!”

Still, from what I know, red eyes seem pretty frequent among witches. Vivian, Bubblegum, Lilac… they all had them, didn’t they?

“Then, when I was two, my mother died in an accident.”

“…Oh.”

The sudden shift caught me off guard, and I couldn’t find words. Sometimes, silence is the better response.

“My father raised me on his own, but seven years later, he remarried another woman. And she, like him, had a child from a previous relationship.”

The way she referred to her stepmother as “that person” gave me a hint about their relationship.

“Honestly, I couldn’t accept my new family. Maybe I was jealous that my father, who’d always been so kind to just me, was now sharing that kindness with my stepmother and stepbrother… A few months after the remarriage, my stepbrother, who was four years older, sicced our dog on me. I don’t think he meant any real harm… but it was such a big dog, and I was terrified…”

Emilia’s hands, wrapped around her teacup, trembled slightly, making the cup clink faintly.

“…When I came to, the dog was dead, and my stepbrother was injured.”

“Emilia…”

I stood up from my chair and moved to sit beside her. When I placed a hand on her back, I realized it wasn’t just her hands—her whole body was shaking.

“Because of me, my father got divorced… No, worse, he was sued for a huge settlement and lost everything—our house, everything. I was taken in by the Seraph Witch Association and wasn’t allowed to step outside for seven years. They called it ‘protection,’ but it was really just glorified confinement… So when I heard I could finally leave, I was thrilled, but also so anxious. My first meeting with you all, as you know, was a total disaster… It’s embarrassing just thinking about it, but even so, meeting everyone has been my salvation.”

I thought I understood, but hearing it now, the weight of Emilia’s past, those seven long years, feels impossibly heavy, endless, and painful.

“Emilia, I… no, we’re so glad we got to be friends with you. Especially Karuta—she practically can’t live without you anymore!”

“…Thank you.”

Emilia smiled at me as I patted her back gently. Tears welled in her eyes, but they weren’t tears of sadness.

“—That’s why…”

Emilia spoke again, gripping my free hand tightly.

“That’s why I want to be there for you, Sakurako-san, and Karuta, Kanon-san, and Hikari-san—everyone. If you’re struggling or have a problem… will you talk to me?”

“…Oh.”

Emilia had noticed something off about me lately and had been thinking about this all along.

To make it easier for me to open up, she arranged this private dinner, prepared a lavish meal, and even bared her own painful scars first.

What should I do to repay someone who’s gone this far for me…? No, the answer’s already clear.

“—Emilia, the thing is… I’m not Sakurako…”

“…What?”

I said it. I told Emilia something I’ve never shared with anyone.

But once the words left my mouth, it didn’t feel like “I slipped”—it felt like “I did it.”

Even though I thought I could never tell anyone about myself, maybe deep down, I wanted to confide in someone. Maybe I wanted someone to know the anxiety buried in my heart. Because just doing that—something so simple—has made my heart feel so much lighter.

“…I know it’s hard to believe when I spring this on you, but my real name is Rachel. Rachel Poker.”

“…Rachel, as in… one of the Four Great Witches…?”

Emilia’s eyes went wide as she stared at me. Of course she’s shocked—who wouldn’t be, hearing something like this out of nowhere?

But now that I’ve said this much, I’m going to make her hear the rest.

It’s time for my story—Rachel’s story—