I and the Witch of Time Who Seeks the Past

Escape (1)

Who’s outside the door…?

My brain tensed up, but I knew panic would only make things worse. I forced myself to calm down and asked Lijedahl in a low voice:

“How strong is the person outside?”

“Similar to… a witch hunter.”

So, about elite level? History never taught me about things like this…

“Do you know who it is?”

“No. Maybe it’s because my seal was lifted, and the Church sensed it. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why an ordinary person would radiate such strong magic.”

So it is someone from the Church. Damn it—I might be in real trouble.

Besides…

Would my self-defense skills even work against magic?

If worst comes to worst…

My hand brushed against the pistol hidden inside my coat.

God, I must be insane! Do I really need to go this far—hurting someone—for the sake of a girl I’ve barely just met, just because I felt sorry for her and wanted to help?

I smacked my forehead, but waiting passively was useless.

“I’ll open the door. Lijedahl, hide in the wardrobe.”

“Alright… be careful. If anything happens, I’ll use magic to help you.”

She slipped noiselessly into the wardrobe and closed the door with a soft click.

Then I walked forward.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

The man outside called again.

I edged along the wall and peered out through the peephole.

Through it, I saw a blond, blue-eyed young man in a police uniform, his expression a little off.

That unnatural look…

It was nervousness—the sign of someone unsure of what they’d encounter.

That meant he was a rookie.

I pieced this together instantly, then readied myself and opened the door.

“Oh, hello there, officer. May I ask what this is about?”

I spoke politely, showing friendliness.

“Ah, apologies for disturbing you, sir. I just need to ask you a few questions.”

He smiled courteously and flashed his police badge.

“We received a report—a claim that someone in this hotel has taken in a homeless girl. We have a duty to help her. Would that be you, sir?”

I noticed the nervous quaver in his voice, and the flaw in his act: a police officer would never investigate something like this alone. His lie was transparent.

And perhaps, from the very start, he already knew it was me who had taken Lijedahl in. I couldn’t say how, but from what she told me, he carried a strong magical presence. That all but confirmed he was from the Church—or a mage.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I booked a single room, and I haven’t seen any homeless girls. Sorry, it’s not me.”

He looked flustered—probably regretting his excuse the moment he said it.

“Well then, good luck to you.”

“Eh? Sir—”

I shut the door immediately, not giving him another word.

But I knew he wouldn’t let us off that easily. He’d try something else. And before this got bigger—before more people came after us—we needed to find a way to escape.

No… how long have I even known Lijedahl? I haven’t confirmed if her story is real, if she’s good or evil. Am I really going to commit a crime, hurt people, for someone I barely just met?

At that moment, Lijedahl slipped out from the wardrobe. Her eyes were black again—signaling that she was calm.

“Will, I can feel that presence fading. Looks like he’s gone.”

“Lijedahl, there’s something I need to know.”

I had to find out the truth about the person standing in front of me.

My expression became serious.

“Will?”

“Lijedahl… why were you being hunted by the Church in the first place?”

At first, I thought this question didn’t even need asking. Surely it was nothing more than the same old slanders and witch trials from the Dark Ages. But suddenly I felt—maybe the Church had a reason for what they were doing.

I needed to know if I really wanted to get involved in this mess.

“Why do you ask that?”

Her eyes shifted to a blend of blue and pale green. I still didn’t know what that color meant.

“Lijedahl… I need to know the truth. Only then can I decide… whether I should help this friend I’ve only just met.”

I hadn’t meant to soften my words, but something in me warned against being too harsh, against making things unbearable.

“Ah… I see.”

Lijedahl let out a sigh, understanding what I meant, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

“So, in other words, you don’t trust me. Fine… I’ll explain.”

Her irises shifted fully toward blue.

“It’s simple, really. I only saved a child.”

“What?”

“It’s complicated, but to put it simply, the boy was accused of harboring a witch. Just as he was about to be hanged, I stepped in and rescued him. That’s when my identity was exposed… and from then on, I was hunted.”

She spoke in a calm, measured tone.

“And why was that child accused of harboring a witch?”

“…When he was ten, he fell gravely ill. His family couldn’t afford treatment—and he himself had been an unwanted child, born by accident. His parents decided he was a burden. After he became sick, they abandoned him in a slum corner, left him to die.”

Her voice was steady, but her eyes had turned completely blue.

I thought I understood now—blue meant sorrow.

“And then we found him—my sisters and I. We rarely separated, always staying together, hiding in the blind spots of those who wanted us dead, continuing our magical research as a group. That’s how we met him.”

Lijedahl paused, closing her eyes gently.

“We saved him. We healed his illness with magic. And to our surprise, he wasn’t afraid of witches at all. He was grateful. From that day on, we lived together and acted together.”

She smiled faintly.

“Those were happy times. Because of our magic, our bodies aged more slowly—we didn’t feel time slipping away. After we took him in, we watched him grow, shared his joys and sorrows. He eventually grew taller than any of us and matured into a man.

At last, we had some sense of what it felt like to be mothers. He became our child. We—witches who had long been detached from the world’s joys and griefs, always fleeing and studying our magic—felt so happy with him in our lives.”

Her eyes flickered yellow for a moment, then shifted to a blue deeper than before.

“But… how I wish there had been no ‘but’…”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“He fell in love with a girl. She was an ordinary girl, and when she learned of his ties to us, she reported us.”

“So that’s how… it came to this day…”

“Mm.”

She nodded, her tone still unshaken.

“After I rescued him, we decided to scatter and flee. My power is strong, so I planned to run to some desolate place. But I knew he was only human—he might die on the road—so I entrusted him to others, and then we separated. What happened after that, you already know. That was the last time I saw him, and the last time with my sisters.”

She was calm—calm to the point of stillness. But her eyes told me she was drowning in an unspeakable pain.

It’s hard to explain—my suspicion ran deep, but looking into her eyes, I felt an abyssal sorrow. That damned doubt inside me broke completely.

I am a very suspicious person, but looking into her eyes, I felt a sadness as deep as an abyss. In that moment, the last of my cynical doubts vanished completely. During my training, I'd learned human psychology, and I now knew for a fact that her emotions were too genuine for any human to fake.

So I made up my mind: I would help her to the very end.

“Lijedahl—”

“…It’s fine. You don’t have to comfort me.”

“No. I believe everything you’ve said.”

“Eh?”

A thread of pale green interrupted that abyssal blue.

“I believe every word you’ve told me so far. I trust you without condition.”

I half-knelt before her and spoke earnestly.

"I will do everything I can to help you. I hope you won't let my trust be in vain."

After I said that, I stood and began to plan.

Lijedahl lowered her head slightly; her bangs hid her eyes.

“You… you’re willing to believe me?”

"I am sorry for making you feel so sad, but I have learned everything I needed to know. Now, I have to get you out of here first."

“Ah—!”

She lifted her head a little.

“Thank you.”

I smiled softly.

“Ahem—let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Yes. We can’t waste another moment.”