The witch's house.
Hiarne was attacked by the witch's herb tea and collapsed.
A green, gooey hand emerged from the cup and knocked him out cold. That rabbit.
Putting that aside, I sat on the sofa across from her as usual.
Then I explained to the witch about Hiarne, the holy chamber, the egg, and the damage to Miss Mineha's spear.
The witch crossed her legs, lightly brushed her silver hair aside with one hand, narrowed her emerald-green eyes, and nodded.
"Oh my, oh my. That trick is quite to my taste, isn't it?"
She touched her pinky lightly to her lips, smiling with a pleasant, sultry air.
"I knew you'd say that. I thought so too."
I had a feeling Hiarne and the witch would get along.
The witch gave a faint, wry smile.
"However, however — he isn't quite my type."
"...What kind of type does a witch like, anyway?"
"Eh, eh? S-something like that... um, so you're curious about that, are you...?"
"A little, yes."
I answered the flustered witch flatly.
What was that about? Oh, right. The witch was always bad at this sort of talk.
I was only slightly curious, honestly.
The witch's fox ears stood bolt upright and twitched. What was that.
"Well, you see, my type... is someone who surpasses me."
"Someone who surpasses a witch? Does anyone like that even exist?"
I thought about it for a moment and came up with nothing. The witch was staring at me intently.
Ah, this was that kind of conversation. Was I supposed to say what kind of type I liked too?
"Ah, yes, yes. I'm hoping young Wof will surpass me someday."
The witch smiled gently as she said that.
Like a disciple surpassing their master? Hmm. Was that what this was about?
"...Um, okay. I'll do my best."
"Heh heh, heh heh. I'll be waiting with great anticipation."
"..."
Somehow, it was embarrassing. She was the one who brought it up, but what was with this atmosphere?
I didn't know how to put it — it was oddly awkward.
Last night, this morning too... anyway, the atmosphere was strange.
I glanced over. Hiarne was still unconscious. That rabbit.
For now, I tried to break the tension by striking up idle conversation with the witch.
The witch, perhaps sensing the awkwardness too, played along without pressing the matter.
"Come to think of it, does Miss Mineha's spear have some connection to you, Witch?"
"Mm-hmm. Originally, that spear was something I found."
"You did?"
That was an unexpected history.
"Mm-hmm. For a while, I formed a party with Emmy and Ruriha. During one of our explorations, that's where we found the 'Fairy Phantom Spear.' But when we found it, it was all battered and rusted — anyone else would have tossed it out."
"Is that so."
Ruriha was Miss Mineha's mother, then.
A Class 1 delver. The 'Fairy Queen,' wasn't it?
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. The one who cleaned up that junky spear and made it presentable was Miss Mineha's late father. He was in charge of maintaining Ruriha's weapons and armor at the time."
"So it's also a keepsake from Miss Mineha's father?"
"That's right, that's right. Whether she knows it or not, she probably thinks it came from her mother — but it was actually a gift from her father."
"That must be something she treasures dearly."
"That it is."
The witch glanced sideways.
"So you have ties to it too, Witch."
"Mm-hmm. That's probably why — I have sentimental attachment to it."
I really wanted to help somehow. If anyone could, it'd be that rabbit.
Still unconscious. Hmph. So this was the legendary alchemist.
Suddenly, the witch asked me something.
"One more thing, young Wof. There's something I've been curious about."
"What is it?"
"It's that — even though you've become a delver, you're still using a knife. Wouldn't it be about time you carried a sword?"
"Ah, well, about that..."
I gave a brief explanation of the circumstances.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So it's a Relic with the effect of the beloved sword of Generous."
"Do you know something about it?"
"Mm-hmm. That OOPArt imbued with a soul — I believe someone from the first floor had possession of it. But one carrying the soul of a god? That's a first for me."
Come to think of it, I had heard something like that somewhere before.
"But is something like that really possible?"
"Mm-hmm. It is possible. Relics of tremendous power beyond human understanding truly exist."
"I've been wondering for a long time, but what do Relics actually... consume?"
"Oh? The resource of Relics — in other words, the energy problem."
"Yes."
Relics don't have a resource like magic power or mana.
But that couldn't be right. Relics had to be consuming something to produce their effects.
"Oh my, that's a truly, truly difficult question. Since ancient times, various theories have been put forward — ether, mana, and all sorts of other names for that energy. More recently, the concept of mental energy has emerged."
"Mental energy..."
Not that different from magic power, really.
"Well, in short, it still hasn't been figured out."
"I see."
"But, but — perhaps that rabbit over there knows something."
"You think he might?"
I glanced at the rabbit.
Still unconscious. The witch chuckled.
We kept talking after that.
The topics were completely ordinary — nothing special, just talk about everyday life.
But that was precisely what made conversations with the witch so enjoyable.
I enjoyed talking with the witch until Hiarne woke up.
Well, the reasoning was understandable, but that didn't mean I was okay with it.
"Honestly, I thought I was going to die! What the hell was that green hand!? No, wait — crawling out of a teacup in the first place — what was all that about!?"
"Is that so. Try not to talk too much."
"H-hey. Wait. That girl just now. Wasn't she cute?"
"Don't move, don't talk."
I was exasperated by the red-eyed rabbit squirming on top of my shoulder.
No — not purple eyes. Hiarne's eyes had turned red.
It was the doing of the small hair ornament attached to his ear.
According to the witch, this ornament was an old Transformation Legendary that the previous Eda used.
The effect was merely changing eye color. What kind of person would make something like that?
The reason Hiarne was riding on my shoulder was simply that he was too small and couldn't keep up with my pace.
"How wonderful. Even in this age, women are truly beautiful."
"Is that so?"
"Setting that aside — Wof, you're being tailed."
"I know."
"So you had noticed after all."
"Well, I do have a certain Relic."
With Relic [Danger Discernment], I'd long since noticed the multiple red dots behind me.
Probably them. The clan called 'Dragon Fang Row' or something.
"Oh my, how interesting. So what are you going to do about it?"
"As long as they don't cause any harm, I'll leave them be."
"Surprisingly level-headed."
"What did you expect?"
"A boy who punches people out of nowhere. Ah, sorry — so stop holding me like that!"
"Ugh."
Honestly, this rabbit. I was still gripping his ear and dangling him. Should I just carry him like this?
That was probably not great either. As I moved to lift him up —
"Wait, keep it like that — just a little more and I'd get to see the inside of her skirt — whoa, don't swing me around!"
"Haaa."
This rabbit. Should I just throw him at the people behind us?
Reluctantly, I set him back on my shoulder.
"Dammit, I was so close!"
"Please stop. Honestly, this rabbit."
"Hmm? The ones behind us..."
"Are they about to make a move?"
Would they really start something right here in the middle of the street?
Hiarne looked puzzled.
"...Who are those people?"
"An inferior version of you."
"What?"
"A clan. They're called 'Dragon Fang Row.'"
"A whole clan is after you?"
"Yes, well — I seem to be getting in their way somehow."
"Hmm. My very existence is in the way, then? I used to hear the same thing."
He was getting told that 4,500 years ago too, huh.
Completely unsurprising, really. And then the red dots drew closer.
"Hey."
A somewhat loud voice called out to me. I turned to see a man standing there.
He was tall, with short black hair and an unremarkable face. His equipment marked him as a delver.
"What is it?"
"You. Kid. You're Wof, right?"
"That's right. And you are?"
"Hmph — you really are just a kid, aren't you?"
The man sneered. I sighed.
"I am a kid."
My answer clearly didn't sit well with him. The man suddenly threw a punch.
I deflected his fist with one hand, grabbed it lightly, swept his foot, and took him down in one smooth motion.
He slammed his head and body hard into the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of him for a moment.
"Gaaah!?"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"You little brat!"
I caught his raised arm, twisted it upward, and simultaneously stomped hard on his torso.
"Gaaahhh!!"
The man lost consciousness.
"What the..."
Hiarne wore a look that defied description.
Seeing a rabbit pull that expression was oddly surreal.
"Self-defense techniques taught to me by the witch herself."
"Self-defense...? That looked like straight-up hand-to-hand combat."
"Well, I can't really deny that."
"But that perverted witch... something like this..."
"Don't call someone's master a pervert."
Even if it was true. But seriously — what was up with that guy?
Trying to punch someone out of nowhere in the middle of the street — he was out of his mind.
"They've pulled back."
"Looks like it."
The red dots were receding. What had they been trying to accomplish?
Eventually, the man was taken away by the guards.
But I needed to think about this 'Dragon Fang Row' clan situation.
Getting accosted every time I went out like this was going to get old fast.
But what to do about it?
Shrinking their numbers every time I got attacked would be tedious. Maybe I should just...
"Hmm... hey there, young man!"
"Wof-kun!"
"Riv. Bid. What brings you here?"
The two of them appeared out of the blue once again.
"Bid and I... took on a job..."
"And we just finished it!"
It seemed they had teamed up for a commission.
And sure enough, the rabbit perked up immediately.
"Oh my! The lovely Lady Riv, and... who might the beauty beside you be?"
"Bid — the rabbit is talking?!"
"Well, you look like a rabbit yourself, don't you?"
"I'm not a rabbit. Bid is a rabbit-person."
"What's that supposed to mean, anyway? This rabbit..."
"...Rabbit."
With a perfectly straight face, Riv managed to make a very obvious expression of distaste — a rather impressive display of contradictory expressions.
Then she turned her gaze to me.
"Hmm... young Wof... you seem... like you're worried... come on, tell... old big sister... anything at all..."
"What's going on, Wof-kun? If you're troubled, I'll help too! Just tell old big sister anything!"
"Hey — 'anything'? Wait, stop holding me like — let go!"
"Well, yes, I am currently in the process of being troubled."
With Hiarne's ear still in my grip, I recounted what had happened earlier.
Riv and Bid listened in silence, and when I finished, they spoke.
"Mmm... alright, I understand... old big sister... has a good... idea..."
"What a coincidence! I've got a good idea too!"
The two older sisters smiled warmly. I had a bad feeling about this.