Her Way of Life

The Witch of Hell promised Saint Ruche that she would live to find a reason to live.

Thirty years ago.

Ever since then, the Witch of Hell had continued searching for a reason to live.

She still didn't know what that reason was, but she was no longer allowed to search for a place to die.

That was her promise to Ruche.

"Conrad, prepare to descend!!!"

"Aye aye, Captain. It's been a long trip."

"After I touch down, circle for about three minutes before coming down!"

"Aye aye, ma'am."

The Witch of Hell and Conrad had transformed into dragons and were flying through the azure skies over the Pacific.

Accustomed to traveling, the Witch of Hell had an excellent sense of direction, and with Conrad in tow, she had crossed the distance from America to Fiji by nearly the shortest route.

Of the gold and black dragons exchanging words, the black dragon began slowing down and descending first.

When the black dragon powerfully flapped its wings near the surface of the sea to kill its speed, the wind pressure kicked up a cloud of spray, creating a small rainbow in the tropical sunlight.

The Witch of Hell landed on her back, tail first, like a sea otter, then pulled a small boat from her belly pouch and set it afloat.

She then put her luggage in the boat, transformed into her human form, and climbed aboard.

After giving herself a quick shake to fling off the water, she hurriedly put on her clothes and waved up at the sky.

"Conraaad!!! I'm ready!!!"

She raised her naturally booming voice even louder, but there was no reply. For several dozen seconds, the gold dragon high above continued circling leisurely.

The Witch of Hell smiled faintly. Conrad was a gentleman. Not only had he closed his eyes, he seemed to have covered his ears as well.

Part of her thought that was going a little too far, but she also understood that such consideration was probably the secret to his popularity.

Exactly three minutes after the Witch of Hell landed, the gold dragon stopped circling and descended.

Unlike the Witch of Hell, Conrad wore an anti-magic suit made from a composite of Kō-1-class monster materials and Abyss Gold. A crystallization of American technology, the suit was precious and durable, with enough elasticity to withstand even dragon-to-human transformation.

Consequently, Conrad didn't need to change clothes every time he transformed.

After slowing down sufficiently, Conrad used human-transformation magic in midair, returned to his original form as a handsome blond, blue-eyed elf, and landed lightly in the little boat.

Despite being over a hundred years old, the handsome man with the gentle, sweet features showed no sign of age. His well-trained muscles stood out beneath the snug, highly elastic anti-magic suit.

Even the Witch of Hell, if she were ninety years younger, would have been unable to look away and might have let out a squeal at the hero America was so proud of. He gazed at the Fijian islands on the horizon with melancholy eyes.

The Witch of Hell raised the sail and cast wind magic, setting a course for Fiji Island. As the boat began to move, Conrad came to himself with a start.

"Ah, Witch of Hell, I'll take the helm. Rest until we reach the island. We just need to go straight west, right?"

"Mm, then I guess I'll leave it to you!! Just avoid all the big shells floating on the surface!! They're all Aikarev!!"

"Right. And I'll keep my magic power down to the level of an ordinary person, correct?"

"That's right!! And keep the power of your magic under control, too!"

"Understood."

Conrad nodded, took a parasol from the boat's luggage, opened it, and handed it to the Witch of Hell. Then he sat on the edge of the boat, cast wind magic, and took over the steering.

Conrad was incredibly popular because none of his constant consideration ever felt insincere. Everyone knew he was over a hundred years old, yet he remained the most popular man with women in America.

And Conrad still harbored romantic feelings for the Blue Witch. He was probably looking forward to their reunion on Fiji Island more than anyone.

For the Witch of Hell, it had also been about seventy years since she had met the Blue Witch in person. She would have preferred a more peaceful reunion, but she couldn't complain.

Their real objective was to land on the island where they had found traces of the current puppet mage, investigate, and respond to the threat. Even Fiji Island, where they would land as a way station, was not a place where they could afford to let their guard down.

Fiji Island was a massive colony of giant amphibious bivalve Kō-3-class monsters called Aikarev. At the same time, it was an Oceanian nation of three hundred thousand people.

Male and female giant bivalve monsters called Aikarev had very different ecologies.

The males, which were the size of houses, lived underwater. They primarily ate monsters and would not try to eat creatures with little magical power.

The females, which were the size of cows and classified as Otsu-2, lived on land. They climbed trees and rooftops, using their green shells to photosynthesize. They would eat monster carrion if given the opportunity, but they were not aggressive.

During mating season, the males came ashore and mated with the females. The males brought food to the females until they gave birth.

Fiji Island was a paradise for more than eight thousand Aikarev, counting both sexes, yet they lived in harmony with the humans.

There were two reasons they were able to coexist.

First, the females were docile and did not attack people.

The males also did not attack ordinary people with little magical power. They ignored anyone with less than 10K of magic, and even people with around 10K to 30K were safe unless the males were extremely hungry. Only those with 50K or more were actively attacked. Such humans were extremely rare.

The males were highly territorial and actively attacked and devoured monsters of Hei-1 class or above—monsters with 50K or more magical power.

Because the people of Fiji Island were magically weak, they lived under the protection of Aikarev.

The other reason for their coexistence was that fertility magic worked on female Aikarev.

It was well known that fertility magic worked on certain types of shellfish, and Aikarev was one of the species affected by it.

Kō-class monsters were highly intelligent. Female Aikarev clearly recognized humans as creatures that fattened them and made them stronger. The males understood that humans were creatures who helped their species prosper.

Humans were protected by Aikarev.

Aikarev thrived thanks to humans.

In this way, monsters and humans had achieved coexistence on Fiji Island.

Of course, only humans with little magical power could coexist with Aikarev.

Demonfolk and Transcendents with immense magical power had to suppress it to the level of an ordinary person while inside Aikarev territory. Otherwise, they would be attacked by drooling hordes of Aikarev, resulting in a catastrophe. Some people had great magical power but no control over it at all, and they were forbidden from approaching Aikarev's territorial waters in the first place.

After sailing for about two hours with a favorable wind, the two Transcendents docked at a small port while admiring the brilliantly colored coral reefs and tropical fish through the crystal-clear water.

The islanders with time on their hands gathered curiously at the arrival of the outsiders, and every face lit up the moment they saw the Witch of Hell.

"The horned lady!"

"It's the horned lady!"

"Hey, everyone! The horned lady's back!"

"What about the comics you promised us!?"

"Horned lady, if you have any magic to spare, could you do something about my granny's back...?"

"Whoa, you're still huge! Damn it, I grew taller too, but I still can't beat you!"

"I-I grew bigger too, but I still can't beat you at all... What do you eat to get that big?"

The Witch of Hell was immediately surrounded by islanders of all ages and genders. She unloaded the English comics they had asked for and handed them over, gave a boy a piggyback ride, and passed out bottled seasonings that could not be obtained on Fiji.

A short distance from the immensely popular Witch of Hell, Conrad recruited a lady who was gazing dreamily at him as a guide. He gestured that he would go to the consulate first, then left.

The Witch of Hell, who had wandered all over the world for many years, had acquaintances everywhere.

She had first visited Fiji Island a year earlier. Using the main island as her base, she traveled among the surrounding islands, taught people useful magic, came up with crafts using Aikarev shells, played with the children, and enjoyed drinks with the adults.

The Witch of Hell was huge in every way—her voice, her height, and everything else—and once someone met her, they rarely forgot her.

"Oh, Eperi, you came! Have you been a good boy!?"

"I have! So give me some chocolate too, Horned Lady!"

"Really?! If you're lying, I'll eat you! Gegegege!!!"

The Witch of Hell bared the mouths on her belly and the back of her head, then frightened him with eerie voices from all three mouths. The boy Eperi burst into laughter.

Not a single adult watching them took the Witch of Hell's words seriously.

The Witch of Hell laughed, privately relieved that she felt no appetite for anyone.

The Witch of Hell was no longer a man-eating fiend.

She could never erase the fact that she had once been one.

She would have to carry the fact that she had devoured 892 people for all eternity.

Even so, she could live with a smile while searching for a reason to live.

Driven to the brink of madness by an unbearable cannibalistic urge, the Witch of Hell had eaten 891 wicked people.

But the last one, number 892, had not been wicked.

The last person the Witch of Hell ate was Saint Ruche's heart.

Thirty years ago, when Shadow-Shedding Disease caused a global pandemic, the Witch of Hell had been in Italy.

Thanks to Saint Ruche, Italy had possessed healing magic since the earliest days of the Gremlin disaster. Though it lagged behind Japan, America, and India, it was still considered one of the great powers.

However, Italy had failed in its economic policies at the time, creating a large impoverished population and vast slums.

Crushed beneath the twin burdens of failed economic policy and Shadow-Shedding Disease, Italy was in no position to rescue the poor.

The slums were pushed far down the list of priorities by the confused government. Poverty was abandoned, and the area became a breeding ground for crime.

The Witch of Hell entered the slums in pursuit of a major criminal who had been distributing fake cures for Shadow-Shedding Disease, making a fortune, and wreaking havoc on society. There, in a dilapidated little church, she reunited with Saint Ruche. It had been about fifty years since they defeated the Demon Lord.

After cornering the villain begging for his life beneath the cross and devouring him alive, the Witch of Hell turned around when a familiar voice called out to her—and was left speechless.

She later learned that the moment Ruche discovered her flesh and blood could grant resistance to Shadow-Shedding Disease, she had gone to the poorest and most neglected people.

Ruche firmly clasped the hands of people infected with Shadow-Shedding Disease, overcome with despair, stripped of hope and salvation, and unable even to shed tears anymore.

She gently helped up old people who had no homes, who lay on the cold ground as though already dead despite still being alive, and carried them beneath the church roof.

She encouraged a gaunt girl who had lost her parents and trembled in fear of the reaper lurking in her own shadow, wiped her body clean, and gave her water and bread.

And Saint Ruche literally wore down her own body in service to everyone suffering the world's greatest hardships.

She ran around tirelessly, without sleep or rest, with such determination that even her natural regeneration and magical healing could not keep up, carefully rescuing the faint light of lives that were quietly fading away in the dark corners of the world.

The number of lives saved by Saint Ruche's devotion was said to be anywhere from several thousand to tens of thousands.

But as the price of that devotion, Ruche was in a terrible state when she reunited with the Witch of Hell, a state too horrific to look at.

The Witch of Hell had never seen ugliness so noble.

Ruche, whose continued life and ability to speak were both mysteries, rejoiced at seeing the Witch of Hell again and wished for one last brief but profound conversation.

And the Witch of Hell promised Ruche that she would live to find a reason to live rather than search for a place to die. Then she devoured Ruche's heart and brought the saint's way of life to an end.

Thirty years have passed since then.

The Witch of Hell had not been overcome by the urge to eat people even once.

Those saved by Saint Ruche's Holy Communion were granted a small amount of regenerative power and magical power.

Some of them, grateful for the saint's miracle and wishing to follow in her footsteps, founded the Vatican Immortal Order. They devoted themselves to charitable work, seeking to save poor people around the world.

In name only, the Witch of Hell was the head of the Vatican Immortal Order.

The Vatican and the Order apparently had various motives for appointing her, but the Witch of Hell had no desire to know what they were.

She did it only to fulfill her promise to Ruche.

She continued living each day, searching for a reason to live.

She wanted to believe that if love and salvation increased throughout the world along the way, Ruche would show her that carefree smile again.

Surrounded by islanders who regarded her as a friend, the Witch of Hell handed out souvenirs, healed Sissy's back, helped pry a female Aikarev off the water tower and move it elsewhere, gave Lushana a push after hearing her secret romantic troubles, got to hold Narini's eldest son, born just last month, danced and drank with everyone, and was on the verge of staying the night as a matter of course before she finally and firmly declined and set off for the Fiji Island consulate.

It was quite late, so she cast body-enhancement magic and ran.

The road cutting through the island's dense forest wound around difficult terrain. It had barely been paved with stone before turning into gravel, then changed to dirt as it entered the mountains. Even so, she was grateful there was a road at all.

The Witch of Hell had found the traces of puppet magic by accident.

No demonfolk or Transcendents lived permanently in the Fijian islands, which were Aikarev territory. Only people who could not see magic lived there, so no one noticed when someone bearing the mark of puppet magic slipped among them.

The person under puppet magic was a merchant from an island seven hundred kilometers west of Fiji's main island.

They were skilled at reading the currents and wind, and came every few years in primitive boats.

Their purpose was trade. They exchanged people and goods, then left.

The Fijian islands consisted of archipelagos of all sizes, and there were other people from remote islands who occasionally visited the main island to do the same thing. As a result, the island in question had attracted no particular attention.

But from the Witch of Hell's perspective, it was a major problem.

It was a dire situation.

The worst kind of wizard, a puppeteer, had secretly appeared and begun operating again.

The Witch of Hell quickly gathered information, then flew to America without investigating any further, afraid that the hunter might become the hunted.

She would have preferred to consult the Blue Witch, but she had been unable to determine her whereabouts at the time. (Only after arriving in America did she learn that the Blue Witch had discovered resurrection magic and returned to Japan.)

According to the Witch of Hell's investigation, a "king" had ruled the remote island in question for roughly eighty years. Rumor described him as a blond, blue-eyed boy king with long ears, matching Iruma's characteristics.

Without a doubt, he was a puppet wizard who had transformed to fill the Iruma slot immediately after it became vacant.

What kind of personality did this "king" have? What kind of magic did he use? What sort of rule had he established? None of it was known.

After all, the only information available came from the oral accounts of merchants who visited the main island once every few years. Even that information was vague and indistinct. The only merchant under puppet magic whom the Witch of Hell had contacted directly had parted on bad terms the day after they met, set off for home, and then disappeared.

There had been no reports of the king extending his reach through invasion or domination, but he could not be trusted. With puppet magic, expanding one's dominion in secret would be easy.

The fact that none of the people on Fiji's main island had been placed under puppet magic despite eighty years of contact lent the claim some credibility. Even so, remembering what the previous puppeteer, Iruma, had done made her suspicious.

One suspicious detail was the rumor that "the royal bloodline is cursed." It was suspicious only because no one knew whether it was truly a magical curse or merely a folk tale, but the rumor definitely existed. Whatever the truth, it did not sound like a pleasant story.

After bringing the information about the presumed second-generation puppet wizard back to America, the Witch of Hell quickly assembled a team to deal with the problem.

The presumed enemy was an Iruma-style wizard.

A mediocre Transcendent would simply end up being controlled.

The team members had to be Transcendents with both proven ability and experience.

First, the four members of the party that defeated the Demon Lord came to mind.

Of the four, Glenn Grayling and Ruche had passed away. No successors for their slots had been found—or at least none had been announced publicly.

Of the remaining two, Conrad was recruited immediately. The Blue Witch was first contacted through magical communications between Japan and America, then, once she began taking the situation seriously, they switched to a private line (?) and successfully persuaded her.

The Blue Witch prioritized sealing the next Iruma with Great Glacier Magic so that the succession would never happen again over guarding the craftsman.

The Mermaid Witch and the Dragon Witch were both adequate as fighting strength, but both had questionable judgment. Considering the risk that they might be talked into something, deceived, or caught in a trap, they were left off the team.

The assistance of Her Majesty the Queen of the Kingdom of Rus would have been reassuring, but there was no way she would leave her kingdom. Besides, it was difficult to contact her in the first place because of the country's isolationist nature.

In the end, the unit formed to deal with the puppet wizard consisted of three people.

Their plan was for all three to enter the "king's" territory at once and investigate.

If even one of them was placed under puppet magic along the way, the other two would immediately use magic-dispelling magic.

Their basic plan was to seal the "king" with Great Glacier Magic.

However, the Witch of Hell and Conrad argued that they should first determine whether he was truly evil, so the Blue Witch compromised: they would forgo the sealing only if all three agreed.

The Witch of Hell opposed sealing him without question, but she believed there was an extremely high chance that the current puppet mage shared Iruma's proclivities.

The influence of a Transcendent's slot was impossible to resist. It warped the very root of a person whether they wanted it to or not.

She found it impossible to believe that the next Iruma, successor to someone so evil, could be an innocent, pure-hearted, blond, blue-eyed, elf-eared boy of exquisite beauty with clear eyes and a clear heart.

If he appeared that way, it would only be a disguise, just as Iruma had disguised himself as a good person.

Even as the Witch of Hell admitted that it was impossible—just a fantasy—she still held a faint hope.

Just as she had somehow come to terms with her cannibalistic urges and overcome them through her friend's devotion.

Perhaps the next Iruma had also come to terms with his own evil nature and overcome it.

Somewhere in her heart, she hoped for a story with such salvation.

She would never say so from any of her three mouths, though, because the Blue Witch would make an unpleasant face if she heard it.

As she ran along the bumpy road lost in thought, the dirt road eventually became flat and changed into gravel.

The gravel road gave way to paving stones. The forest vanished from the scenery, houses increased, and the sounds and smells of daily life grew stronger. At last, the Witch of Hell arrived at the consulate gate in the middle of town.

Conrad and the Blue Witch had already arrived and were chatting.

They looked like a handsome man and beautiful woman enjoying a pleasant conversation, but Conrad could not hide his excitement.

The Witch of Hell was surprised when the Blue Witch gave her a small smile and waved.

Seventy years ago, when the Witch of Hell had traveled with the Blue Witch for a while, the Blue Witch's expression had been so dark and frozen that it seemed she would never smile again.

"It's been a long time, Hiyo-chan!! I heard the craftsman came back to life—congratulations!! I said it over the phone too, but I'll keep saying it as many times as I want!!"

"Thank you. I've heard bits and pieces about your appetite, Yui-chan. I don't know if congratulations is the right thing to say... but as your friend, I'm glad."

"...Wow, you really have gotten brighter!!!?"

When her expression softened, so did her words. There was a warmth reminiscent of the days when she was still called the Witch of Aoume.

The Witch of Hell's heart wavered. Shouldn't the next incarnation of that piece of trash Iruma, who had forced such a long, painful road on a woman with a smile that wonderful, be erased from this world without question...?

"Conrad told me I've gotten brighter too. Oh, right, Conrad. How many decades has it been, anyway? Give up already. Try someone else."

"I can't grant that request, even for you."

"...Sigh. Maybe I should have rejected you more harshly back then."

"No matter what might have happened, I would still have become the person I am now, with the same feelings."

The hints of romance wafting from the edges of their conversation made the Witch of Hell fidget.

Watching the two of them exchange words like a young couple made the Witch of Hell feel young again herself. She wanted more of this.

However, the reason three of the world's foremost Transcendents had gathered on a southern island was not for a melodrama.

A grave crisis lay before them.

Reluctantly, the Witch of Hell brought the conversation back to the main subject.

"So!! About that island—the records from the previous era suggest its population is at most three thousand!! In the worst case, we may have to fight all three thousand!! Be prepared!!"

"Hmm, and monsters on top of that. During his first coup, Iruma controlled more monsters than humans. It comes down to how many troops the island's land area and offshore fishing can support, assuming his dominion hasn't spread beyond the island... In any case, we have very little information. Should we approach the island and scout it from a distance first?"

"A lightning-fast assault could work too!! Or a stealthy surprise attack!!"

"Yui-chan would make a loud noise no matter what. Stealth and surprise attacks are impossible. The question is where the king is, right? If we knew that much, things would be easier."

As the Witch of Hell and the Blue Witch exchanged opinions and refined their plan, Conrad raised his hand during a break in the conversation.

"As for transportation――――"

As soon as he said the first half of those words, the Witch of Hell wanted to cover her ears.

She somehow knew what words would follow.

The Blue Witch and the Witch of Hell had deliberately avoided mentioning the specific name, but Conrad, an American who had learned Japanese from stiff textbooks, did not understand why.

With an utterly earnest, extremely serious expression, Conrad spoke the name that had an awful meaning in Japanese—one that made them want to cover their eyes.

"――――How are we getting to Eromanga Island?"

The Blue Witch and the Witch of Hell needed considerable willpower not to let strange expressions show on their faces.

About seven hundred kilometers west of Fiji's main island.

The current puppet mage was the king of Eromanga Island.