Witch Hunt Chapter 4 part2

(Part 2)

“Sister Michelle!” After leaving behind the church, I had been walking around for a while when suddenly a voice called out to me from a point in front of me.

Surprised, I lifted my face and saw a figure before me, big enough to block out the sun. A huge girl wearing ashen robes was standing in my way. “Marianne, are you on your way back?”

Marianne was big; so much so that she would’ve gone unnoticed among a group of adult men. Whenever I tried to look her in the eye, I always ended up with an achy neck. She seemed to be jealous of my petite size due to her stature, since she was always saying things like, “I can’t wear the robes for female members of the Society, or cute clothes!” She always greeted me with a smile when she saw me at church; given that I had so few people I could strike a conversation with, that gesture endeared the junior witch hunter to me.

“Yeah, the witch I was looking for pretty much vanished. The twins are going to get angry at me again!” Marianne pretended to be suffering at the thought. Upon seeing this, I felt myself relax slightly and my mouth loosened a bit. Just for an instant, I felt I would be able to return to my previous peace of mind.

“Ah, if only I could sense magical energies with my own body like you do, it would easier to find witches! …Why don’t I have the knack for it!”

“Um, even if you say it’s a knack… This is something I’ve been able to do since birth, so…”

“Ah. I guess it’s not surprising that brains, body and abilities are things determined since birth, right? I still don’t have holy weapons or a basic staff… This is such a hard age to live in!” Now she sounded depressed as she sighed.

I patted Marianne to console her… But my hand couldn’t reach her head, so I settled on patting her stomach.

Although she didn’t have a talent for sensing magical energies, Marianne’s huge body counted as a weapon on itself. In a hand-to-hand battle against a witch, it was sure to be a valuable asset. I considered some reassuring phrases along those lines, but in the end I didn’t say anything. Whether her strong point was a good thing or not was actually up to her, and I suspected that she wouldn’t be happy to hear that.

When I patted her stomach, I felt it vibrate slightly. I raised my face to look at her, fearing she might be crying, but her face with dazzling white teeth was, on the contrary, a perfect fit for the word ‘laughter.’

Hehe, her good mood has returned, it seems.

“Marianne, you can eat my lunch if you want.”

“Really?! I’m so glad, I’m starved!”

“Ahaha, thanks for the hard work today.”

In response to Marianne’s loud laughter, a nearby dog began barking; the people walking nearby were startled at first by the sound, but before I knew it they were following Marianne’s lead and laughing along.

To me, that power of hers was much more worthy of envy.

“I tried to console you and you ended up consoling me instead. You are truly amazing!” Marianne exclaimed.

“Console me?”

“See, you were walking along, looking as if you were cursing the ground with each step. Going by your expression one would think the world was ending. I was very, very worried…”

“Oh, did I really looked like that?” Suddenly, the situation I was starting to forget came back to me, filling my insides like a cold rain on a windy day. That icy water seeped down towards my legs, robbing me of my warmth and energy. I felt myself strongly weighted down by my feet, as if they were anchors.

“Is the mission you’re going to fulfill that hard?”

“Eh? ...Somewhat.”

“Wow, there are missions even you find hard! I’d like to help you, but all I’ll do is stand in your way!” Marianne stamped her feet, frustrated.

“It’s enough to me that you want to do it, I’m glad.” I said my thanks and took my leave of that place.

Marianne, thank you so much.

Unlike before, I felt like I was able to look straight ahead as I walked, just a little bit. My footsteps remained as heavy as they had been, but ever so slowly, I moved forward once more towards what I had to do.

()

Chapter end