NOVEL NEXT 6 - Witch Society (5) Revised
I wasn’t particularly concerned about contracting with a dangerous demon, but the witches considered it very important.
Because for them, it determines whether they die devoured by the demon in a few years due to the contract, or struggle to the end.
Although this attention wasn’t pleasant, I would have made the same choice even if I went back.
As long as the mental fortitude perk exists, there’s no reason to lose against a demon that needs to dominate and suppress a witch’s mind to fully take over the body.
But there was a separate part that piqued my interest.
“When did you reach 7th rank?”
“About 2 years after becoming a witch?”
An astonishingly fast promotion speed.
Perhaps it’s a shortcut only possible for witches.
It’s probably because it’s a faction that rises through a contract form dependent on demons.
To put it simply.
It’s close to giving your body to the demon and raising your rank.
It may look like suicide from the outside, but…
It actually is suicide.
7th rank isn’t low, but it’s too far to reach 4th rank, which surpasses a witch’s limits, in a state that’s no different from a time bomb.
I looked at Kayla.
Her red pupils gleamed.
The level of her ‘Demon Eyes’ won’t be able to penetrate my mental fortitude.
After confirming that my judgment was a pure decision without any tricks, I answered.
“The invitation…”
“Kayla, why on earth are you here?”
Agrasha blocked my front.
It was a bizarrely fast speed.
Her brown hair fluttered, and a faint flower scent bloomed.
Do all witches have their own unique flower scent?
Come to think of it, Elender also said I smelled like flowers.
“Agrasha, do I need permission from the likes of you wherever I go?”
“That’s not it, but… this child is under my education.”
“Hm, playing the great teacher, are we?”
“Elder Elune won’t stay quiet about this.”
Though Agrasha is much older, the difference of one rank is an insurmountable wall.
So she can’t help but fret.
Kayla smirked and stood up.
“Already, they’ve marked her?”
“That’s not…”
“What do you mean it’s not, you even brought up the Elder’s name.”
She took out a broom and sat astride it.
Her red gaze turned to me again.
“Grace, you’d better think carefully. Even if Elder Elune protects you, the balance will eventually tip to our side, and our time to gain power will come.”
“…?”
“You look like you don’t understand. Well, a child doesn’t need to know much. Just know one thing, the gathering will rule this Witch Society.”
Treating me like a child, Kayla smiled and spoke as if prophesying.
“You will surely join us.”
Whoosh-!
She flew up and disappeared in an instant.
As I watched that, my long silver hair swayed.
While I was grasping my scattered hair, Agrasha, who had been showing her back to me, turned around.
Her face showed some sadness.
“Now, let’s go back. You’ve worked hard all day, so you should rest.”
“Ah, yes.”
She grabbed my hand and moved forward.
As she did so, I fell into thought for a moment.
Seeing that even Elder talk came up, it seems there’s some power struggle within the Witch Society.
It looks like Elder Elune, Elender, and Agrasha form one faction, and Kayla’s ‘gathering’ is on the opposite side.
Honestly, it’s not my concern.
Why is there so much conflict in this small domain ruled by a 5th rank?
Of course, as the saying goes that politics starts as soon as three people gather, it’s reasonable to have fierce fights over this scale and interests.
But what’s the meaning of it all?
I’ll say it again, the Witch Society gets swept away by high-ranking clergy from the early stages.
Moreover, considering good and evil made it even more meaningless.
In my eyes, they’re all the same witches.
There might be slightly better or worse witches among them, but they all treat human lives like insects, so who’s to judge right and wrong?
After this, an ordinary day continued.
Practicing magic and flight, studying.
Additionally, learning about potion-making, cursing, summoning, and knowledge related to demons.
These can be considered sub-positions for witches.
If you’re not skilled in magic, you can learn potion-making to use poisons, spread curses, or summon monsters.
I wasn’t particularly interested in those.
Magic alone was enough, and it was burdensome to learn more.
A short week passed.
I started preparing to go outside the barrier.
To collect the hidden pieces I had researched in advance, and to hunt monsters.
9th rank doesn’t require extraordinary conditions, but from 8th rank, a kind of ‘achievement’ is needed.
Killing an enemy of higher rank than yourself, or killing an equivalent monster, or slaughtering that much.
Such achievements come out as specific numbers, and if you meet the conditions, you can perform the ritual from then on.
If you succeed in the ritual? You rise to 8th rank.
To do that, I had to quickly hunt monsters and stack achievements.
I had no intention of passing time by slaughtering people like other witches, and that would only come back as a kind of karmic retribution anyway.
For that reason, I was planning to sneak out in the dead of night when everyone was asleep to go outside, when a good opportunity came.
No, it might not be a good opportunity considering Agrasha’s expression as she brought it.
“You have been given a mission.”
At her words, the young witches all had question marks on their faces.
They looked like they didn’t even know the word ‘mission’.
But for witches, missions were duties to be carried out for life.
How much resources were sacrificed for these seven girls to become witches?
The Elder personally presides over the ritual and directly summons demons with incantations.
Moreover, precious materials obtained from magical beasts and the outside are consumed.
The five human lives consumed each time are the cheapest thing here.
Of course, they’re relatively cheap, but considering the labor those five people could have produced, it’s an enormous value.
Therefore, they need to spit out as much as the resources consumed in the ritual for the Witch Society to minimize losses.
That’s how repayment is made in the form of carrying out missions.
It’s not just here, other domains are similar.
The only problem is that the young witches here are still rookies who’ve only been here for a week.
Fight monsters outside with these members?
Is this telling them to charge to their deaths?
One of the young witches asked in a trembling voice.
“We, we have to go outside?”
Thanks to that, Agrasha’s face was full of guilt.
But no matter how much she didn’t want it, there was no way to stop it.
“It’s the Elder Council’s orders, so there’s no choice. The situation outside is getting more dangerous, and someone has to step up.”
When they say do it, you have to do it.
An 8th rank witch had no way to resist the Elder Council’s orders.
Moreover, it really is a dangerous situation.
From my occasional observations of the outside, increasingly powerful monsters are pouring in.
It’s not that they gave the mission already with bad intentions, but it’s really urgent so they need even small hands.
While Agrasha turned her gaze like that, she brought a small hope in the gloomy atmosphere.
“Still, three of you can postpone the mission for a while. This is something Lady Elender strongly argued for and barely obtained.”
I tilted my head as I heard those words.
What’s with that person, why does she keep caring about me?
I don’t know the reason, but I don’t need it.
“If four volunteer, the remaining three don’t have to go. So raise your hand if you want to hunt monsters outside.”
Of course, I raised my hand.
I thought I would be the first to raise it, but there was someone who raised their hand even faster.
It was the barbarian witch Ulrisa.
“Monster extermination, that’s a duty bestowed by Mother Earth.”
It’s not strange.
Barbarians were originally that kind of people.
It’s just a bit odd because she’s a witch from a barbarian background.
Following that, Sharen also raised her hand.
She seemed to raise her hand with the meaning of following me.
And the last witch to raise her hand was Belladrin, the noble from Eldorania.
I’m not sure why she raised her hand, with her chick-like impression.
I wanted to ask her once, but we weren’t close since she usually kept to herself.
Anyway, four members were decided in an instant.
The problem is that Agrasha’s gaze is piercing through me.
“Are you really, really going to go out?”
“Yes.”
“Your courage is admirable. But you…”
Agrasha hesitated a few times and then grabbed my hand.
She’s worried.
That I might lose control of my power and go berserk.
And the moment young witches go berserk, they essentially hand over control to the demon.
Moreover, if that happens outside, not inside the Witch Society, it’s practically no different from dying.
And outwardly, I who contracted with a dangerous demon would be the most vulnerable.
“Don’t worry.”
I shook my head, saying such worry wasn’t necessary.
Still, Agrasha’s gaze wouldn’t leave me.
Even if I say it’s not needed, she’s worried.
Her heartfelt affection made me feel a bit strange.
At the same time, I wanted to ask.
Could you give that same gaze when I wasn’t a witch?
You probably couldn’t, to a male sacrifice who’s not even a woman.
While I was lost in such thoughts, there was an interrupting remark.
Belladrin looked at me and bluntly said:
“Why don’t you just stay quietly instead of going out, commoner?”
“What?”
“Because if you go out and go berserk, you’ll just be a hindrance.”
Suddenly saying such things?
I wanted to punch her once for calling me a commoner and saying such things.
What hindrance, you weaker one.
But Belladrin wasn’t without grounds to say such things.
Her magic skills are almost next to mine.
She was too talented for someone from Eldorania, a light faction domain.
I understand why the witches kidnapped her despite knowing her dangerous background.
If she’s thinking:
Barbarian Ulrisa can’t even handle magic properly, I can beat Sharen 100 times out of 100 fights, Grace? Hmm, she showed stronger magic but that’s no different from a self-destruct button so exclude her.
Therefore, I’m the strongest.
Something like that.
Of course, I easily ignored whatever Belladrin said.
So it was decided that I, Belladrin, Sharen, and Ulrisa would carry out the mission.
“You four have been decided.”
Agrasha looked at us with a hardened expression.
She looks like she’ll trust us since the members are good enough.
Although it was decided we’d go outside, there was no time to be excited or anything.
There’s a mountain of things to prepare in advance.
So we were insanely busy.
In the midst of preparing without rest, Elender came to visit.
She gave me a light knock on the head and said:
“Throwing away the grace period I obtained by risking my life and bowing my head at the Elder Council meeting, are you in your right mind, Grace?”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll let it slide because your confused look is cute. You rascal.”
Then she hugged me tightly and started rubbing.
No, hey, since when did we become so close for you to do thiiiiis?
I struggled hard in Elender’s embrace.
But because there was an overwhelming difference in strength, I couldn’t overcome it.
Elender, who was looking at me cutely as I tried to escape somehow, opened her mouth.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“What?”
“What was said at the Elder Council meeting that you have to go outside?”
“…”
If I honestly say I’m not really curious, will I get hit again?
I wisely nodded.