After the battle with Cap’n Bill’s crew, Dorothea had to rest for the remainder of the voyage.

While the wounds themselves were quickly healed thanks to Sophia, it was impossible to create the blood that had left her body with holy power.

Lying in the ship’s bedroom, Dorothea said, “That Captain Bill or whatever, no, even that ship and crew. This probably isn’t the end.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses agreement, saying he thinks so too!]

Adelaide’s eyes widened, “Even though they were so thoroughly crushed by Sir Knight?”

“Physical damage isn’t what’s important. The curse of ‘being unable to die’ that’s on them is a serious issue. Unless we do something about it, they’ll probably revive and come at us again and again. The problem is…”

Dorothea closed her eyes for a moment and steadied her breathing as if feeling dizzy, but soon continued, “…we don’t have a proper way to lift that curse right now. I tried to interpret it a few times while watching them fight, but the level is too high. I’m not even sure if it’s actually magic to begin with.”

She added that if anything, it resembled the power of the “dwarf” they had seen in the tower before.

Although she hadn’t received the graduation certification from the Witch of the East, Dorothea was in fact a top-tier mage even considering the entire continent.

But even Dorothea had to throw up her hands in the face of such a curse, which could be a considered a necromancer’s specialty.

Adelaide said, “Then, is there no way to deal with it?”

“Even if they don’t care about minor injuries, if we thoroughly physically crush them like this time, it should take quite a while for them to revive. Or we could incapacitate them ‘without killing’ and seal them somewhere, that’s also an option.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests that they could just stick them on something like a skewer!]

“If those guys stupidly come at us on land, that might work, too.”

Dorothea shrugged, “Well, we struggled this time because the battlefield was the sea, if it’s not that, it shouldn’t be that tricky. There are a few more terrains in the Magic State where those guys might come at us, but we can just avoid those if possible.”

“That’s true, but…”

While nodding in agreement, Adelaide glanced at the Tin Knight.

This would usually be the timing when the Tin Knight would object, saying it was nonsense to avoid battle.

Huh?

But for some reason, the Tin Knight had nothing to say.

His gaze was directed at Dorothea.

Ah, it’s because Miss Witch got hurt while fighting this time.

Although Dorothea had been injured before, this incident was somewhat unique.

It was an injury sustained in the process of helping him in a situation where the Tin Knight couldn’t resolve the incident on his own.

Instantly understanding why her teacher was silent, Adelaide felt a strange feeling.

But since she couldn’t quite articulate such an emotion to herself, the little lion just tilted her head.

Clap!

At that moment, as if trying to change the topic, Sophia lightly clapped her hands together.

“By the way, what are you going to do about the pirates?”

“What do you mean? I just said what we’ll do.”

“No, not those ones, I mean the ones who fought alongside us. They’re waiting outside right now.”

“Ah,” Dorothea opened her mouth as if realizing.

It was a reaction as if she had half-forgotten their very existence.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says we should just turn them all into EXP!]

“Sir Knight, no matter what, they did fight on our side, so that’s a bit…”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says they’re just land-adapted humanoid monsters that have changed into sea-adapted humanoid monsters!]

“Hmm.”

Adelaide looked at Dorothea as if seeking help.

While Adelaide was relatively harsh when dealing with thieves, she was still the softest among the party.

Dorothea spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, “Well, they did help in hindering the enemies, so we could let them off the hook. Why don’t we just hand them over to the local guards after we land?”

In that case, they would likely end up in prison, or if unlucky, have their heads cut off right away, but there was no need for the party to worry about that far.

In fact, they were people who had charged in to plunder the ship the party was riding, although it turned into a comedic development because they got scared and tried to run away even before the fight started upon seeing the undead crew. Coldly speaking, letting them receive a trial was quite merciful.

Adelaide also agreed readily, as while she opposed the opinion of indiscriminately killing them without question, she sympathized with the idea that they should pay for their crimes.

“What? Yer gonna to hand us over to the guards?”

“Cap’n! How can ye abandon comrades who fought together!”

“Damn it, do ye think we’ll just let this happen!?”

“Is that so? There were opinions to blow off all your heads, use you for Rapunzel’s hand-to-hand combat practice, or throw you into the sea and leave you to your fate if you’re lucky enough to survive. You might prefer those options.”

“Please hand us over to the guards!”

There was some minor resistance from the pirates, but after hearing the “options” Sophia listed, they all unanimously closed their mouths and agreed to go to the guards.

As a bonus, all the opinions Sophia mentioned were actually suggested by the Tin Knight.

And so, the situation was settled.

***

There was a rather strange rumor in the Kingdom of Ionia, located in the eastern part of the continent.

Near the royal capital. Deep in the forest where people’s feet rarely reached, there was a rumor about the existence of a castle so old that no one knew when it was built.

Of course, most people didn’t take this rumor very seriously.

Even those who tried to seriously verify the truth of this rumor, once they learned where the source of the rumor was, they erased their curiosity with disgust.

After all, the place in question was a cursed forest.

They had heard many times from their grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather that one should not go near that forest.

If one built a house with wood from that forest, the people living in that house became unhappy, if one put fruits from that forest in one’s mouth, one would fall ill, and if one breathed the air of that forest, misfortune befell one’s family.

Due to all sorts of terrible rumors, even skilled hunters and foresters didn’t dare to go near that place.

Unless they were people who didn’t know about the rumors at all, or thieves who had forgotten even fear due to excessive greed, no one tried to get close to that place.

“—He was a clever brat. He predicted that if he said so, his people wouldn’t even dare to come near this place. The one who spread the rumors is already dead, and even their descendants have forgotten the past, but the fear still wanders unchanged among the people.”

A shadow was walking through that cursed forest.

The gait was too fearless to be an ignorant person who had lost their way, and too unhurried to be someone coveting the treasures of the forgotten castle.

It was a woman with a strange appearance.

The clothing she wore didn’t fit properly, with one shoulder half-exposed, and it was clearly visible that it had been hastily thrown on.

Her long hair was hanging down messily, and her face was covered with a strange mask made of what seemed to be some animal’s bones.

What was most strange was the shading.

Usually, a person’s appearance cast shadows or brightened depending on the angle of light, but the woman’s appearance had consistent shading no matter how or from where one looked at her. It was as if light itself malfunctioned around the woman.

The forest was quiet.

Not only were there no animal cries, but not even the sound of insects’ wings or leaves rustling in the wind could be heard.

This appearance seemed as if it was afraid of disturbing the woman’s mood, or conversely, as if it was showing extreme reverence to the woman.

Letting these miracles pass by as if they were nothing, the woman continued walking.

She walked through the forest, through the hall of the castle within it, and up the hidden stairs in the castle.

And so, the woman arrived at a certain warehouse.

Rising dust. Crackling books. Rusted equipment.

And, an empty space where someone might have once been.

Without saying a word, the woman brushed off a spot that had slightly less dust than the others.

With just that, the woman could find traces of an enormous level of mana that had moved here.

It was understandable.

No matter how good the restoration function was, it couldn’t have been easy to recover something that had been left to the brink of disposal for ninety-nine out of a hundred pieces.

Unless they drained the ley lines of the entire Ionian royal capital, borrowed the power of one of the four magic towers managing the northern part of that continent, or else.

It was impossible unless that woman’s foolish apprentice stepped up.

A deep sigh escaped from the woman’s lips. Yes, from the Wicked Witch of the East’s lips.

It sounded like both a lament and relief.

After staring silently at the place where the Tin Knight had been for a long time, the woman eventually turned and left the castle.

Outside the empty castle gate, an unfamiliar guest was visiting.

It was a girl as white as snow, as if she had walked straight out of a fairy tale.

The girl, Algind, greeted, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Great Witch of the East. My name is Algind Goodwitch. I’m receiving teachings from my master, the Great Witch of the South.”

“…”

The Witch of the East didn’t answer.

She just revealed an indifferent gaze from inside her mask.

As if she had expected this reaction, Algind calmly continued speaking, “My master wishes to meet with you. She says there’s an important conversation that will determine the future of this continent. If you would kindly inform us of your schedule, we will do our best to make the arrangements as comfortable as possible.”

“Cease this foolishness. If you don’t quickly spout out whatever business this is, I’ll be departing immediately.”

“Hmm.”

Algind hesitated for a moment as if troubled, but showed no change in her expression.

Then she shrugged and said nonchalantly, “—I know that your apprentice has recently encountered them. You must have received that news as well. So, won’t you please wait quietly?”

Creak.

Space buckled.

The ground around the Wicked Witch of the East lost its vitality and dried up, the lush green leaves turned into autumn leaves in an instant and crumbled to dust, and the smell of graves overflowed from empty space.

She hadn’t used any magic or handled any tools.

It was just that the Wicked Witch of the East’s mood had worsened ever so slightly.

With just that, the surrounding area began to die, unable to withstand it.

“Oh, my.”

Seeing part of her sleeve turn dark and fall off, Algind blinked a few times.

The Wicked Witch of the East said, “Tell me the reason.”

“If you start a fight with them now, that would be exactly as heaven intends.”

“How trivial.”

Splat.

Without any warning, a large bruise appeared on Algind’s forearm.

It looked as if someone invisible had grasped it with a giant hand.

“You are an important strategic asset. This land where you are, neither the underground nor the heavens dare to touch it carelessly. Conversely, if you start fighting in earnest with those from underground, the heavens will gain great profit from that alone. It would be an absurd achievement for the price of throwing a few toys on the ground.”

“Did the one who’s wary of that kill the fool from the west?”

“Elphaba was making deals with heaven. Taking out the middleman is only natural, and in the first place, she was someone who didn’t care if this land burned as long as her own world was safe. There’s no reason to keep an unhelpful individual who only benefits the enemy alive.”

“If she had done it solely with her own power, there would be nothing to deny, but your tricks are quite petty.”

Algind’s condition was rapidly worsening.

As if someone was strangling her, clear hand-shaped marks were imprinted around her shoulders and neck.

Yet, her expression remained as impassive as a doll’s.

“I want to strike at the heavens even if I have to borrow power from underground, and you can’t stand by and watch the underground run wild even if you’re used by the heavens. But both sides have the same final conclusion.”

“And what’s that?”

“—That either way, they’re damn trash that won’t be of any help to this land. In the end, both sides intend to clear them out, so shut up and help.”

It was rough speech, completely different from the elegant demeanor Algind had shown thus far.

But the Wicked Witch of the East seemed to like that instead.

The terrible curse and malice that had been weighing down the surroundings disappeared as if washed away.

“Good, I’ll watch for a while. Actually, I wasn’t too keen on cleaning up after my grown-up apprentice, so this works out well.”

“Cough. Then, it would have been easier if you had been nice from the start,” Algind complained quietly, stroking her neck where clear marks remained.

Naturally, the Wicked Witch of the East didn’t even show signs of caring.

“If you don’t like that, then stop your tricks next time, Goodwitch.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, but I’ll convey it well to my master. I’ll send someone to visit you again later, so please treat them kindly then. Not everyone can endure like me.”

After saying that, when Algind gestured into the air, a masked strange person flew in from far away.

The strange person revealed killing intent towards the Witch of the East upon seeing Algind’s tattered state, but as if there was no choice when Algind stopped them, they picked her up in their arms.

As Algind was about to leave, the Wicked Witch of the East asked, “You said the west was cleared away because she was a hindrance. Then what do you plan to do with that one from the north?”

Algind answered simply, “—It depends on which side remains, I suppose.”

***

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