NOVEL NEXT 7 - Domain
Afterwards, Elender explained what happened at the Elder Council meeting. Although I wasn’t interested, I organized it in my mind as it was information I should know.
There are three Elders in the Witch Society.
Elder Elune, who protects me without my knowledge.
Elder Isoldia, who does nothing after being severely injured.
Elder Carmia, the leader of the ‘gathering’.
Among them, Elder Carmia pushed for our mission execution. The justification was the dangerous external situation and the witches’ duty to carry out missions.
For reference, Carmia is a witch who has only recently reached 6th rank.
The fact that such a witch has already gathered enough power to threaten the existing leadership shows how formidable she is just by hearing about it.
But it can’t be helped.
Even without knowing the exact method, if she intentionally erodes witches and raises their ranks, 8th to 6th rank witches can be easily created.
Since demons are beings that far surpass 5th rank, of course they can borrow that level of power.
The problem is that they gradually hand over their bodies to those demons.
Carmia must be in a hurry.
If she doesn’t reach 4th rank, she’ll soon have her body and soul taken by the demon.
So she’ll challenge the 5th rank ascension ritual, but…
What was the witch’s 5th rank ascension ritual again?
While I was trying to recall it one by one because I couldn’t remember well, Elender, who had sat me on her lap, explained what followed.
“I was acquainted with Elder Carmia, to be precise, we were peers. She became an Elder by reaching 6th rank first, but she created this grace period using that acquaintance as an excuse.”
“…”
“And this brazen one threw away the hard-earned grace period.”
Bonk-
She hit me once more.
Ah, I had almost recalled the preparation and procedures for the 5th rank ascension ritual.
As I held my head, Elender chuckled and patted my back.
“Let’s go to the city and make all the preparations you can.”
“Yes…”
“This is a kind of privilege too, you know? Usually, you can’t go out until you mature or reach 8th rank.”
Saying that, Elender let me go, saying she was busy.
Freed from the witch’s wicked restraint, I went back to preparing for the mission.
To do that, I had to go to the city and gather necessary things.
**
The city.
That is, the populated area existing in the Witch Society’s domain.
In Arcane Fantasy, where dimensions are completely shattered, unless you live in a domain directly created by a high-ranking being, you get swept away by monsters pouring in from the ‘outside’.
At least here, they were safe from monsters under the mercy of the Witch Society.
The Witch Society also sacrifices quite a lot for that.
Therefore, the residents here have no choice but to absolutely obey the Witch Society.
If they don’t like it, they should migrate, but of course, if they could migrate through that hopeless collapsed dimension, that person would be a 5th rank or higher being who doesn’t need to cower before the Witch Society.
So when I landed on the main street of the city riding a broom, I was treated as if royalty from the medieval era had appeared.
“A witch!”
“It’s the Witch Lady!”
Many people bowed their heads or knelt before me with fear or reverence.
Seeing that scene already makes me sigh.
Like this… even if I want to ask someone something, it’s hard to do so.
I called out to the closest person.
He was sweating profusely.
“W-Witch Lady, is there perhaps something inconvenient?”
“No, just stand up normally and talk. It’s fine.”
“No, no!”
The man slammed his head on the ground again with a thud.
Around me, other citizens cleared a wide path on the main street of their own accord.
Because they dared not block the way a witch was passing.
This is why young witches can’t be let loose in the city.
If they’re made to taste power so sweet it numbs their brain, they develop bad habits.
“Where is the Mercenary Guild?”
“The Mercenary Guild, you say? Is it alright for the noble Witch Lady to meet those dimwits?”
“Yes, I’d like to meet them.”
“T-This way, please follow me!”
I first sought out the Mercenary Guild in the city.
Basically, witches are backline.
They shoot magic from behind, support the front line, and provide firepower.
But the problem is that everyone going outside is a witch.
There’s no party with worse balance than this.
So, I need to hire mercenaries to take the front line.
They’ll be ordinary humans who haven’t even entered a faction, but isn’t it better to have that than nothing?
If they can buy even 1 or 2 seconds, it’s more than enough time to hit monsters with magic.
**
Andel is one of the residents living in the Witch Society’s domain.
And he’s also a mercenary who goes in and out of the barrier outside.
His job is to hunt monsters and bring proof to the guild.
Then the Witch Society pays for it.
Even if the monster’s value is terrible, the Witch Society pays money to mercenaries as encouragement for protecting the domain.
That’s how Andel came to have an illusion about witches.
If he met and experienced a witch even once, such illusions would shatter, but that didn’t happen because the domain’s residents were a kind of precious workforce and ‘resource’ from the Witch Society’s perspective, so they were well managed.
Moreover, there wasn’t much chance to meet witches usually.
Witches are really very few in number.
It’s almost impossible to meet them while walking down the street.
Occasionally, one might watch a silhouette flying on a broom high in the sky.
For Andel, witches were protectors who shielded residents from monsters, and women with eternally beautiful appearances that never aged.
It was an illusion that would shatter to pieces if he knew the truth, but unfortunately, that illusion seemed like it would never break.
Because Grace was the first witch Andel ever met.
‘She’s pretty and cute.’
He was startled to suddenly face a witch while sitting in the Mercenary Guild looking for work.
And an even more surprising fact was elsewhere.
“I’m looking for mercenaries to volunteer to go outside with me.”
The Witch Lady wants to go with us!
Andel immediately tried to raise his hand.
He was a veteran mercenary who had been going in and out of the barrier outside for at least 10 years.
He was confident he could perform well even outside, and he felt the desire to stand beside that Witch Lady.
It seems Andel wasn’t the only one who thought this, as most of the mercenaries in the Mercenary Guild raised their hands.
Seeing that, Grace looked troubled.
‘I don’t need this many.’
A moderate small party would be enough.
Not an expedition force of dozens of people.
Moreover, if there are just too many numbers, they become meat shields rather than manpower that can be properly utilized.
Since she didn’t want a situation where she just threw them in front and comfortably used magic from behind, Grace decided to select mercenaries.
In other words, she decided to conduct interviews.
“Your name?”
“It’s Andel!”
“Experience?”
“I’ve been a mercenary for over 10 years! I’ve killed hundreds of monsters.”
Andel was confident that his experience wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Even Grace was surprised to this extent.
No, it’s not just surprising.
‘He could enter a faction.’
With that kind of record, he could immediately enter a faction if he just completed the ascension ritual.
It’s just that these people can’t know about the ascension ritual, and have no way of finding out, so they’ve lived as ordinary people until now.
If it wasn’t a case like Grace, they would never have entered a faction in their lifetime.
The girl thought as she rolled her bright blue eyes.
‘This might be a good opportunity?’
Grace wasn’t the type to miss such opportunities.
After thinking for a bit, she recruited Andel for the request.
Andel, not knowing Grace’s inner thoughts, just rejoiced and bowed his head before her.
“Thank you! I’ll devote my life to fulfilling this request!”
“…Alright.”
Grace felt somewhat disgusted.
**
No matter if it’s a domain ruled by a being who has entered the evil faction, unless it’s a special case, they rule their domain to be as livable as possible.
Because all the residents living there are no different from precious resources.
So they make it as livable as possible.
They try to make people have many children and prosper.
Like raising pigs in a pen.
What’s the reason for feeding pigs plenty of feed?
It’s to fatten them up and then slaughter and devour them.
And aren’t the pigs happy until just before they’re slaughtered?
“This is why they’re worshipped.”
Thanks to that, I had a hard time.
I thought I’d just be treated as a high-ranking person, but actually facing it, the residents’ reverence was no joke.
Don’t they see witches as beings no different from parents who feed and raise them?
As residents, regardless of what the truth was, or even if they knew the truth, they couldn’t help but like beings who protected their lives.
A lady running a street stall puts a chicken skewer in my hand, a merchant running a general store ties an expensive hair ribbon saying to take it, children passing by praise me calling me Witch Lady.
…Next time, I should hide that I’m a witch.
After gathering necessary items like that and finishing the mercenary contract, I returned to the lodgings and could meet the other witches.
I gave a hollow laugh seeing the armfuls of things in their arms.
“You guys… What did you do out there?”
“Well, you see.”
“The people here are nice! They give so much food!”
“I was craving something sweet, want to try this?”
Their arms were full of food, various clothes, and accessories.
Of course, such things weren’t needed for the journey outside.
Especially desserts.
I get more annoyed seeing Belladrin calmly offering chocolate next to me.
You at least pretended to be serious, but you’ve thrown even that away?
Calming my heart that was boiling like an active volcano, I gave advice for them.
“Next time… let’s go hiding that we’re witches.”
“Grace, isn’t it a shame to hide it though?”
“Sharen, do you think this is the treatment we should receive?”
“Ugh.”
At most, if it was something I bestowed and received back, it might be understandable, but we’re girls who became witches just a week ago.
As I was about to lecture these kids thoroughly, Agrasha laughed beside me and said:
“Now is indeed the time to enjoy it.”
“No, Agrasha, indulging in such luxury will only ruin people…”
“Because later, you won’t feel any emotion from it.”
I swallowed for a moment at her answer.
This was the period when they could still feel emotions towards people and feel joy and ecstasy at their praise.
But as time passes, witches are eroded by demons and can’t feel emotions about human relationships unless it’s with other witches.
A time comes when the praise and worship they receive becomes numb.
I sighed.
Sometimes the witches I thought were monsters seem pitiful.
But I shouldn’t think that way.
Because it was the path they chose and walked into themselves.
Moreover, there are witches who enjoy such a path.
Days passed, and preparations for the mission were almost complete.
Various things happened, like Elender coming to tease me occasionally, Kayla lighting up her Demon Eyes red asking if I won’t come while getting chased out by Agrasha, but I’ll skip over those minor things.
Before the mission, mercenaries and witches gathered in front of the barrier.
“Interesting, Grace. Is this your idea?”
Elender, who came personally before departure, seemed intrigued.
Usually, witches don’t utilize humans well as manpower.
If they use them, it’s as sacrifices.
She praised my plan to utilize mercenaries, probably thinking it was quite good.
“If they die becoming your shields at the forefront, they’ll have been used very effectively.”
But she seemed to think I was using the mercenaries as a kind of meat shield.
Why would I let them die when they can return alive and well?
“They won’t die.”
“Hm?”
“They will survive and return alive.”
“Hmm.”
Elender’s gaze as she looked at me glowed red.
It seemed to contain some complex emotions.
“You’re young.”
Her hand dug into my hair.
“You’re still, so young.”
Elender muttered like that.