Chapter 54
After the Spider Witch safely handed Professor Ohinata over to Hiyori, I rode on her back with the fire lizards, heading back through the subway.
The giant spider's back was hard, and sitting on it made my rear hurt, but if I gripped one of the sharp, vicious giant spines and leaned my back against another, I could keep a surprisingly stable posture.
Avoiding the flooded sections and scuttling skillfully along the walls on eight legs, the Spider Witch muttered pensively.
"Sending you to Okutama is fine, but... Shouldn't you just apologize honestly?"
"No way, no way, no way! I was told very, very emphatically never to leave Okutama, you know? I'm bound to get yelled at like crazy. I need to get back before she finds out."
"The Blue Witch is a good person. I think she'll understand if you explain everything properly. I met her before she became like this, and even though she was scared, she treated me so kindly..."
"Huh? I can't really picture that. When was this?"
"Before Iruma's coup. Even now, I sometimes think everything would have gone well if only Iruma hadn't been around..."
So this was back when I was struggling through the survival life that had suddenly begun.
I had no idea what had been happening in the city back then.
From what I'd heard, the wizard Iruma who launched the coup had apparently been an unbelievably evil bastard, and the Spider Witch had called the insanely dangerous contract magic used by the Arataki Group's boss "a knockoff Iruma." Just how terrifying had that guy been? Good thing he was dead.
As I pondered a major historical event I knew nothing about, the Spider Witch gradually slowed down and came to a stop.
The sign on the station platform read "Kori." Okutama was still two stations away.
"What's wrong? Did you find a monster?"
"........ Hmm, hey, 0933. Could it be that there's no Flower Witch in Okutama...?"
The Spider Witch spoke unhappily as she slowly backed away.
"There isn't a Flower Witch, but her daughter is here. Do you dislike the Flower Witch?"
"I don't hate her. It's just that I can smell the Flower Witch's essential oils. The scent is getting stronger. If I go any farther, I'll die..."
"Ah!? Right, that's right! Back up, back up!"
A memory from a little over a year ago came back to me, and I frantically urged her to retreat.
That's right. The Flower Witch had said, "My essential oils kill magical fungi other than mushrooms, as well as insect monsters."
Spiders weren't insects, but Fuyou's essential oils had worked on centipede monsters, which were arthropods just like spiders. So they should work on spiders too.
Damn. The Spider Witch's natural enemy!
To protect Okutama from magical fungi and insect monsters, I had Fuyou diffuse essential oils throughout the area. Who would have thought that would backfire so spectacularly here?
"I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry! I can't get away with saying I forgot this time, can I? I sincerely apologize. Please forgive me."
"It's okay, I'm fine... I remember the smell from the pandemic, so I won't rush in and die. But I really don't want to go any closer. You don't need to take me any farther, right...?"
"Of course. Back up, back up—go even farther."
I had the Spider Witch retreat far enough before climbing down from her back.
The fire lizards were hungry, had been made to ride on the back of a much stronger creature, and were thoroughly exhausted and disgruntled, so I helped them down as well, then unloaded the tool bag last.
"Is that all the luggage?"
"Yeah. Are you really sure I can keep the wand? I can return it if you need it...?"
"No, no, you're being far too humble. I gave it to you, so please take it. It's a wand made specifically for you, Spider Witch-san. Please use it. In fact, it's so crudely made that I feel bad about it myself. Should I take it back and make you a proper one?"
"No, this one is fine. 0933 made it for me, after all..."
The Spider Witch gave a high-pitched squeak and moved the leg with the wand holder attached to it.
Hmm. The workmanship left me dissatisfied as a craftsman, but if the customer was happy, I supposed it was fine.
"Fuyou, the Flower Witch's daughter who keeps the mist of confusion over Okutama, has been told to let you and your familiars through. Come visit anytime... No, I guess that's impossible. Send me letters, okay?"
"...!? ... Yeah. If the Blue Witch lets me..."
"It's fine. She's a bit of a nag, but she's pretty lenient with me, so if I beg her, I can probably talk her around."
"I see. 0933, you should look behind you..."
"Behind me?"
When I turned around as she instructed, the absolutely furious Blue Witch-sama was standing barely one step away.
She had Cuanos in hand, but instead of her usual tattered black coat, she was wearing ordinary clothes like a normal woman, and she wasn't wearing her mask.
Because her face was uncovered, I could see her furious expression all too clearly.
The blood drained from my entire body.
"Eek."
"Dairi!! You idiot, you! I told you so many times not to leave Okutama!"
"Oh no, no, no...!"
The puddle at Hiyori's feet froze solid from the force of her rage. Her magic was leaking everywhere!
Damn, I'd known she'd be angry when she found me, but she was three times as angry as I'd imagined!
"Do you have any idea how I felt, leaving Kei-chan at the hospital and going to check on Okutama? Until I heard from Fuyou, I thought you'd been kidnapped! My heart nearly stopped! Idiot! You absolute idiot!"
"I-I mean, you're my best friend, and the professor is my friend. My friends were in trouble, so I thought I had to go help."
"You moron! What could you possibly do on a battlefield, Dairi!? You would've just added another hostage!"
Hiyori tried to slap me, but her self-control kicked in at the last moment, stopping her palm beside my cheek. Even so, the air shoved out by the blow struck me and rattled my head with an impact harsher than an ordinary slap.
"S-sorry. I was wrong. I know it would've been smarter to stay holed up like you told me. But I thought things through in my own way. I brought a weapon, I brought the fire lizards, I brought the tool bag, and I came through underground like this so I wouldn't attract attention..."
"Shut up. You think such tricks will work against witches and mages? If the Spider Witch hadn't... Ah, I get it! Dairi, you came all the way under Bunkyo Ward, didn't you!? You did, didn't you!? Otherwise, there's no explaining that magic-stone wand attached to your leg!"
"Aah, sorry, sorry, sorry! I won't do it again! I knew it was dangerous! I thought I'd been caught in a trap and was going to die! I swear I'll never do anything like this again! I swear!"
"You came crawling out here after swearing you'd absolutely never leave Okutama, and you still have the nerve to say that!? What did you think I fortified Okutama's defenses for? Don't mess with me, you idiot, you idiot, you idiot!"
Hiyori only grew more heated.
S-scary...
And she was completely right. I felt terrible for worrying her so much.
Seriously, I'm sorry!
"I'm sorry. From now on, I'll make sure to consult Hiyori before leaving Okutama."
"From now on!? You intend to do this again!? You idiot!"
No good! Every time I said something, I felt like I was just adding fuel to the fire.
I really was at fault, and there was no point in saying anything.
As I sat seiza-style on the cold concrete and became a machine that could only output "Yes" and "I'm sorry," the Spider Witch, who had been intimidated by the Blue Witch's fury, timidly offered me a lifeline.
"Blue Witch, may I say something?"
"What!? I'm in the middle of something! Talk to me later!"
"You know how my decoy works, right? 0933... Dairi saw the decoy as the Blue Witch. Dairi cares about the Blue Witch more than anyone else. He really acted because he wanted to help you, from the bottom of his heart. Please forgive him..."
"Huh...? Wha...! N-no...! ... Aah, I feel like I'm going insane! Dairi, you bastard, enough already! What are you trying to do to my emotions!?"
After hearing the Spider Witch's intercession, Hiyori began acting strangely. She shouted and punched the subway wall. Cracks spread out in a spiderweb pattern, and dust trickled down from the ceiling.
Stop, stop! If it collapsed, we'd be crushed and die!
"Hmm. I know it's not my place to say this, but I do think the Blue Witch is overprotective. Dairi isn't a treasure you're supposed to put away. You're friends, aren't you...? Trying to lock him away safely and get in the way of what he wants to do isn't right..."
"What are you talking about? You were protecting him... weren't you? I'm grateful that you guarded him, but you also saw how reckless Dairi is. How could I just leave him alone?"
"Yeah. He said some really dangerous things, and I agree with that... But I think things might have been different if you'd made it easier for Dairi to talk to you. You probably told him something like, 'Never go outside, no matter what the reason,' didn't you...?"
I kept my mouth shut, since opening it again would probably only make Hiyori more heated, and nodded vigorously.
Hiyori crossed her arms irritably and tapped one arm with her fingertips as she spoke.
"Then what should I have done? Taking him with me was out of the question."
"It's a matter of making him understand. Listen more to Dairi and learn what he thinks and feels. If he could understand that you wanted him not to act for your sake just as strongly as he wanted to act for his friend, maybe Dairi wouldn't have gone..."
"..."
The Blue Witch looked at me suspiciously, so I nodded.
To be honest, I might have been at fault for letting manga and novels serve as my textbooks for what friendship meant. "Risking yourself for a friend" was cool and had a real true-friend feel to it, but it depended on the time and circumstances. That was true.
The Spider Witch slowly and gently chose her words, as if nudging Hiyori along.
"Besides, because Dairi came, I was able to have a wand made. Because I had a wand made, I was able to save Professor Ohinata... It was partly thanks to luck, but Dairi and the Blue Witch really did help each other and join forces against the Arataki Group...
Dairi's feelings were kind and wonderful, and the outcome was good. His methods were just a little bad. So please don't be too angry with him. If something like this happens again, I'll keep all seven of my eyes on him and help him..."
Hiyori remained silent for quite a long time, but in the end, she nodded reluctantly.
"All right. I've said what I needed to say, so let's leave it at that."
S-Spider Witch-sama~!
The wrath of the enraged god had been soothed! You're a savior!
She's incredibly good with words. The Spider Witch should be made head of the Witch Assembly.
"Dairi, thank the Spider Witch. Also, aren't you two unusually close?"
"No...? We're about average, aren't we?"
"Really? It doesn't look that way to me."
"Ah, sorry, I should get going soon. I can't go any farther than this, so you two go back to Okutama by yourselves. See you..."
The Spider Witch hurriedly scuttled away into the darkness deeper in the subway.
I saluted her retreating figure as I saw her off. The Blue Witch looked hesitant for a moment, then placed a hand over her chest, bent slightly at the waist, and gave her a bow.
Wow, she was a good witch. A witch who could go toe-to-toe with the Blue Witch. I wanted to keep getting along with her.
When the Future Seer collapsed, a state of emergency was declared, and the Arataki Group's attack began, I wondered what would happen. Somehow, things had worked out.
It was sad that there had been casualties. Especially Professor Handa—just when I thought it was the first time I'd heard his voice, it turned out to be his last words. His sacrifice was deeply mourned.
But thanks to it, the Tokyo Witch Assembly had won.
The great professor of Gremlin Engineering had given his life to open the way to annihilating the enemy forces. I wanted to mourn the way he met his end and offer him my unreserved praise.
Another thing we mustn't forget was that every member of the Arataki Group possessed a magic stone.
That utterly outrageous yakuza group had died, bringing a massive haul of magic stones to the Witch Assembly.
We wouldn't know the total number of magic stones until all the cleanup was finished. But there was no question it was more than one or two.
I wanted to believe that Tokyo, ravaged by the Arataki Group, could be rebuilt with those magic stones.
The magic stones' time had come.
In other words, it was my turn.
I had to start thinking now about the wands I would make using the magic stones recovered by the Witch Assembly.
Looks like I'll be busy!