The witch and I stared, dumbfounded, at the white-purple knife on the table.
It was a pretty ugly knife. You could even call it incomplete.
The hilt and the crossguard were wrapped in a marbled white-purple, curled in on themselves.
The grip was small, the blade straight, and the tip rounded off.
It almost felt like it hadn't quite managed to become a knife.
"Well now, well now, it's a knife, isn't it."
"You used [Weaponize] and got a knife?"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. It's probably because the body is so small. This must be the best it can do with its current form. By the way, young Wof — what exactly is this creature?"
"I have no idea."
I gave an awkward smile. I genuinely had no idea.
"Oh my, oh my. I've never seen one before. I've seen my share of monsters, but this is one even old Kon doesn't recognize."
"You've never seen one before?"
"Nope, never."
"Na?"
From the knife, it squished back into its original creature.
So... that's how it reverts.
"Ho ho, ho ho. Well now, well now — how adorable."
The witch boldly reached out without a shred of hesitation and hugged it tight.
"Na!"
It pressed its face against the witch's chest without the slightest resistance, looking thoroughly content. What a thing.
It blinked its almond-shaped red eyes, nuzzled closer with its arms and face, and snuggled against the witch's chest.
"There now, settle down, won't you?"
"Na? Naana?"
"Mm-hm. There, there. That's right."
"Na!"
The witch gently cooed at it.
"You're a natural with it, Witch."
"Mm-hm. I've held babies like this before, you know."
"Na?"
"There now, there now, don't wriggle. That's it. Be good, be a good child, won't you."
The witch smiled and spoke in a sweet, soft voice.
When she held out her index finger, it carefully touched and stroked the finger with its tiny claws, then laughed.
"Na!"
"Hehe, hehe, that tickles, doesn't it?"
"Na?"
"Mm-hm. There, there, there, there. That's right."
The witch skillfully rocked it with gentle, small movements, cradling it carefully in her arms and hands, supporting it against her chest.
Then it let out a yawn, dozed off, and fell asleep with the witch's chest as its pillow.
The witch chuckled softly and settled into the sofa just like that.
"......You're quite good at that."
"Fufu, fufu, this little one is so well-behaved. Really just like a baby, isn't it."
"Ah... well, probably. By and large... I don't think that's wrong. Probably."
"Oh my, oh my. Won't you tell me all about it?"
I told the witch about everything that had happened since I reopened the Junkyard, and about how to handle the things I'd found.
"Well, well — how utterly thoughtless. Even for a delver, treating an elixir like that is quite the reckless thing to do."
"I'm sorry. I just... couldn't help myself."
"There, there — let's just keep this tucked away in Wof's heart."
"Thank you very much."
"Fufu, fufu — this will be our little secret."
"We've got quite a few of those, haven't we."
If anything, we were drowning in secrets.
"Oh my, oh my, so that's how it was. But still — hmm hmm. An unexpected purple light. To find something like that underneath the Junkyard. And a monster in its raw form, no less — now that is peculiar."
"Whether that place even deserves to be called the Junkyard is another question."
"And then, and then — that white-purple mass you found there..."
"Does it ring any bells?"
"Hmm hmm. Not a clue. Even Wof can't figure it out. But, let me think... I do believe it's legendary, though."
"So it really is legendary after all."
"Mm-hmm. Most suspicious things turn out to be legendary."
"That's... certainly true."
I'd more or less felt it coming, though.
If it really was legendary, then the Wheel of Fortune hadn't caught it.
A biological-type legendary… did something like that even exist?
"Oh, oh, speaking of the Junkyard, young Wof. Ever heard a story like this? Hydrangea's dungeon has been around since before the town was even built — some say it's been there for thousands of years."
"It's been around that long?"
"Nah? Nah…"
"Oh my, looks like someone woke up."
When I looked, the little thing on the witch's chest opened its eyes and gave a small stretch.
The witch lightly stroked its head, and it closed its eyes again. She shifted it gently in her arms, and it was soon sound asleep.
"It fell back asleep."
"Mm-hmm. What a good child. Now then — it's true that the dungeon was around before Hydrangea existed. So the strange part is, the Junkyard should have been buried by now, easy. Delvers have been around a long time too, after all."
"When you put it like that…"
"But it hasn't been buried, has it? So you'd have to figure something is keeping it from filling up with junk. Either some of it disappears once it reaches a certain amount, or it gets carried off somewhere else. Interesting, isn't it?"
Something was keeping the Junkyard from filling up — a portion of the junk was vanishing.
And if it was being collected somewhere else…
That meant a secret Junkyard existed somewhere inside the dungeon.
"Yes. Very interested."
Maybe if I'd gone deeper back then, I could have found it.
No, I couldn't know for sure. But… I was starting to get excited. A secret Junkyard.
Except it was a dungeon, after all. With the way things stood, I couldn't go in without delvers around.
"Mm-hmm. But Juicy Tasan — she's Rel's sister, hmm?"
"Right, right. Rel's sister is a puppy, and — wait, what?"
"Hmm? Hmm? She's Rel's sister, hmm. Putting it in his terms, she's his fourteenth sister, hmm."
"Fourteenth — what! I heard she had a quiet personality!"
If she was quiet with that, every human on the planet would be at the Silent Night Carnival.
"Now, now, don't raise your voice. You'll wake her up, hmm?"
"S-sorry. She was Rel's sister?"
So Rel was from the Marquis Tasan household. That actually made a certain kind of sense.
By the way, I hadn't told her about Fenrir. That wasn't my secret to share.
Even a witch who was your master couldn't reveal other people's secrets. Sorry about that.
"…………"
Still, the witch was… looking at her like this, she really did seem like a mother.
Come to think of it, in my memories from my past life, I'd seen a mother holding a baby like this in the living room.
The one she was holding was my younger brother. I chattered away about this and that, and Mother smiled.
My mother in this life had passed away when I was small, so I didn't have any memories like that.
"Mm-hmm. Still, a purple light, hmm?"
"That's never happened before. Does the witch know anything about it?"
"Ah, yes, yes. Rarely, a Relic can grow, hmm?"
"Grow? Actually, my Danger Discernment has been a bit off too. It normally appears as a single color, but sometimes I see it in, like, red-black or white-red."
"Oh my. Oh my. What does it look like now, hmm? Let me take a look at Con."
"Understood."
I used my Relic [Danger Discernment] on the witch.
White. Oh, with a hint of red and black.
"Go on, go on, young Wof. What do you see?"
"Almost entirely white. Just a little bit of red and black."
"Hmm, hmm. I see, I see."
The witch must have started to drift off. She slowly repositioned me in her arms, stroked my head, and nodded.
She really is used to this.
"Did you learn anything?"
"Most likely, most likely. Young Wof's Relic [Danger Discernment]—it might not just be reading the degree of danger. There's a chance it's also perceiving the other person's emotions, hmm?"
"Emotions?"
"Yes, yes. This is purely speculation, mind you. It instantly senses the danger level based on the other person's strength. But separately from that, it might also be picking up on their feelings, hmm?"
Seeing emotions. That's basically an affection gauge, isn't it?
"Naa~...?"
"There, there. There, there. My apologies—I seem to have woken you up."
"Naa..."
As the witch gently coaxed her, Fawn dozed off and fell back asleep.
"S-sorry about that."
"Hehe, hehe. As I thought—she really is cute like this."
"...Is she even a monster?"
"Well now, at least she's not a bad kid."
"That she isn't."
"Oh, oh, right, right. That investigation in the forest. I finally heard back from that old coot Abramirin."
"Did it get decided?"
"Mm-hm. He gave the go-ahead to proceed freely. Though I do have to stop by the Delvers' Guild once."
"The Delvers' Guild?"
"Oh my. Come to think of it, this would be Wof's first time visiting the Delvers' Guild, wouldn't it?"
"No, I stopped in once when returning from subduing the dungeon anomaly."
"I see, I see. The dungeon anomaly... Come to think of mind, I never actually asked about that. That forest — how did you go about liberating it? While we're at it, mind telling me about it?"
"—That... ...very well. I'll tell you."
I recount everything that happened from start to finish.
"Hmm, hmm. That Black Knight might be a Phantom Lord."
"Phantom Lord?"
The witch carefully shifts her grip, cradling the cat again. She occasionally extends her five claws, letting out a soft breath.
"Probably, probably. Well, technically it's a Phantom Knight, but yes — so that forest really was a dungeon anomaly after all."
"...Is that so."
Whether I expected it or not, I can't quite say. I just feel vaguely unsettled.
"So, so — about that village that was supposedly in the forest. It turns out there's actually information about it."
"There is?"
"Of course, of course. That village, you see — it's, well, it's actually a village of heretics."
"C-Cult...!?"
I gasped at the unexpected word.
I'd sensed something tragic had happened in that village. That's why I'd assumed they were the victims.
But this was a cult village — the perpetrators. The witch goes on.
"My my, that's quite an old village, you know. The evil deity they worship doesn't even have a name remaining, you know. By the way, by the way — something about that forest story caught my attention. Was it really true that the village was quite small?"
"Yes. There were just a handful of houses and a church."
Right. Too small to even be called a village.
"Hmm, how strange. That's quite different from what the records say. The records mention a settlement large enough for over a hundred people."
"Records... you have records?"
"Well, well. They do. But..."
Sub-
ju-
ga-
tion Records."
"...you see. That cult village — or rather, that cult group — was destroyed by a joint army of delvers and knights."
"...It was that large-scale?"
"Yes, yes. That cult controlled the undead and organized an army of the dead, they say."
"...An army of the undead."
That rings a bell. A massive horde of skeletons.
It truly was an army.
"Quite the large-scale affair with heavy damage, but the cult's eradication was a success, you see."
"But what about that forest?"
"Yes, yes, that forest. Until young Wof freed it, it remained a dungeon anomaly as 'that forest,' you see."
Somehow or other, another investigation into that place.
I'd already freed it, so there shouldn't be anything left.
"...I'm worried."
"Well, well. It's still closed off, but trespassers have gotten in and come back out, you see. If there's nothing there, that's the best outcome, you see."
"Right. Um, Witch. Changing the subject, but actually yesterday—"
I told her about the whole mess with Pies and how it ended.
"My, my. The Kuun Hunt really is hopeless, you see. Yesterday's commotion reached Kon's ears as well. In fact, those unnatural dark clouds and lightning were visible from here too. Still, who would have thought Fawn would be using Amalthea, you see."
"Speaking of that Amalthea—I heard it's a Legendary that's easy to get your hands on. Is that true?"
"Oh my, it's true, you see. Do you know about Demon Horn Fragments?"
"Yes. I've heard what Amalthea is like too."
"Oh my, oh my. In Kon's words, both of them are poison to Fawn, you see. Amalthea in particular is a lethal toxin, you see."
"A poison?"
"Yes, yes. The thing is, you see. Both Demon Horn Fragments and Amalthea are prohibited in terms of possession and use, you see. They've been designated as contraband, you see."
"Is that so? I had no idea at all..."
Contraband. This world had its own narcotics, stimulants, and opium.
And there were even more dangerous drugs than those.
The most dangerous of all were Legacies and Legendaries of that type.
A Legacy that sends you straight to heaven in one shot. A Legendary you can never come back from.
They're called contraband.
"Well, well, those two only affect Fawn, you see. Fawn ought to know about them already, though. Young Wof, you know how contraband is handled, right?"
"Yes."
The moment contraband is found, you're required to turn it in to the nearest guard post or the Delvers' Guild.
Even if it wasn't intentional — if your possession is discovered, you'll be arrested. Worst case, you're executed on the spot.
It sounds cruel, but
I
N
C
O
N
C
E
I
V
A
B
L
E
...it won't work.
There's a reason for that.
Because prohibited items are, without exception, Legacy or Legendary.
The moment you see or touch one, its effect is displayed as text inside your head.
You can know what it does even without prior knowledge.
"So, so. Oh, there we go, there we go."
The bundle on her back shifted and was about to wake her, so the witch carefully readjusted it and put her back to sleep.
The witch was quite used to handling this.
"So, so — that Fawn boy, when he got his hands on the Amalthea, he knew it was a prohibited item, hid it, and then used it. That's what happened."
"...Why would he do something like that?"
"Oh my, oh my — that question is very simple, Wof boy. He wanted to get his hands on infinite power. Because if he obtained infinite power, he could defeat anyone."
The witch spoke with a tender gaze.
"But you can't control infinite power."
"Mm-hmm. It's more than a human can handle. So if you use it, you'll definitely die."
A deadly poison called infinity.
Even if it was all his own doing — I still couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him.
"Oh, oh — changing the subject here, Wof boy."
"Yes?"
"This, this — does this dear child have a name?"
"Huh... no, she doesn't."
I hadn't even thought about it. The witch gave a wry smile.
"Oh my, oh my, that won't do, Wof. If you're the parent, you need to pick a proper name."
"Huh? Parent?"
"Oh my, of course. When you think about it, given how things played out, you're the parent, Wof."
"W-well, I suppose that's true..."
I'd had a vague sense of it, but so I'm the one raising it?
Well, I don't really have an issue with that. My place already has...
...an illegal squatter...
...living there, so I'm used to cohabitation.
Besides... well, whatever.
"Go on, go on. Give it a wonderful name."
"A name..."
Hmm. It's true that not having a name would be inconvenient. Let me think...
Appearance-wise... hmm. Purple? No, that doesn't feel right.
White-purple? White purple? Dawn purple? Hmm... No. Something's off.
Oh, right. It goes "na" and can turn into a knife, so... Knife.
Knife!
No, wait, that's a bit confusing... but going with this line of thinking... ah, this is it!
"Dagaa."
Not "Dagger" — Dagaa.
"Oho. My, my. Dagaa. Yes, yes. Dagaa. What a wonderful name, isn't it!"
The witch smiled. And then, quietly savoring the name once more, she chuckled. "Dagaa."
She seemed to like it.
"Nn?"
"There, there. Your name is Dagaa."
"Nn... nn... nn?"
Dagaa dozed off again, nestling into the witch's chest. Must have felt nice enough.
Still.
"You really are like Dagaa's mother, aren't you?"
"W-what— what— what are you saying?!"
The witch's cheeks flushed red, and her large fox ears spread out to either side.
But she still kept her voice down — probably out of consideration for Dagaa. How kind of her.
"Ah, sorry. I just thought it and it came out before I could stop myself."
"Geez, geez, you caught me off guard with that one! Honestly."
The witch seemed oddly flustered.
"But I think you'd make a great mother. You're so good at soothing her."
"Well, well, this much is nothing. Wof, young man — it's too hasty to judge based on that alone. A good mother? No. Mothers who raise the children of this world are true sages. The current Kon doesn't even come close."
She looked at Dagaa with a faint, wry smile.
Still, I think the witch could be a great mother.
When Dova became a maid, the witch had said marriage was out of the question for her.
I'd thought something rude about how she probably had no concept of romance, but let me correct that.
The witch was a perfectly dignified woman.
"Na~na-na-na-na-na-na——na~na? Na!"
That was a yawn too? Dagaa stretched wide and woke up.
Seeing the witch, she licked her cheek with a quick lap.
"Heh heh, heh heh. Did you sleep well, dear?"
"Na!"
"Dagaa."
I called out.
"Na?"
Dagaa tilted her little head and opened all four ears slightly.
"Dagaa. That's your name."
"Mm-hm. Dagaa! What a wonderful name!"
"Na!? Na!!"
She seemed to like it. She flew away from the witch and spun around in circles on the table.
It was like a dance of joy. The witch and I both laughed.
Nice to meet you, Dagaa.