My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 409 A Time and Space Where Only You Are Not (Part 1)

An inn covered by multiple layers of papal magic soon appeared before the group.

“We’ve arrived.” Suren said, looking at the strange inn ahead. “To prevent things from getting out of control, Lady Flam had me cast a few divine spells before I left, just in case.”

"Although I don't think that if even she can't solve it, then these spells I cast will be of any use."

"Please come in."

Suren partially dispelled the divine spell enveloping the inn, then led the group inside.

Meanwhile, Kalia and her three companions were on the second floor of the hotel.

When Suren opened the door, Roland immediately saw Kalia fast asleep, Iluvia and Flam beside her, and Nash, still in cat form, pacing anxiously back and forth on the table in the room.

"Roland!"

The moment the door was pushed open, Iluvia saw Roland and rushed over, hugging him tightly and refusing to let go.

"Are you really alright...?"

"Very good……"

Looking down at Iluvia, who had thrown herself into his arms, Roland gently embraced her as well: "Yes, I'll be back. Leave the rest to me."

"I've already resolved the issues with the cult members and the hole in the sky, so there's no need to worry."

"You should get some rest too. You've been working so hard lately, haven't you?"

Iluvia didn't speak, but simply hugged Roland tightly, burying her head in his chest, as if afraid that Roland would disappear again.

Upon discovering Roland, Fram interrupted the heartwarming reunion, saying with unusual anxiety, "Roland, come and check on Leah's condition."

“This time is different from any other time.”

“I can sense that Leah’s soul is in a strange state. Although it still exists within her body, it seems to be constantly drifting between the real world and an unknown dimension… I’m worried…”

For once, Furam became nervous.

Clearly, although the master and apprentice did not seem to know each other well in normal times, they would show their true feelings when faced with a life-or-death situation.

Roland's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he nodded, saying, "Calm down, Ms. Flam... the situation might not be as bad as you think."

Sinos, standing behind Roland, also nodded.

This three-meter-tall man, who could only enter the room by squatting down if he wanted to stay inside, agreed with Roland's statement based on his knowledge and experience.

"That's right, don't be so nervous, elf."

"Although it is rare, this phenomenon of soul wandering does not endanger life."

"All we need to do is find a way to bring the wandering souls back and then fix them in place."

"Moreover, even if you don't actively seek it out, after a while, the rules of the world will apply, and the physical body will generate gravity, guiding the soul back. In this way, you will enter a period of soul weakness."

"Therefore, it is best to actively seek out one's soul if possible, as this will have the least impact on the person involved."

"Moreover, those spaces that exist outside the dimension of reality are composed of very subtle elements, some of which are even fragments of the world that the Great Source Will actively detached."

"Although most of them are absolutely desolate places where all life has been lost, there is no danger, but no one can say for sure what Kalia's current situation is."

After listening, Roland turned to look at Sinos: "How can we bring her soul back?"

"Since you know the reason, you should also know the solution, right?"

……

……

Kalia wandered around the treehouse, somewhat bewildered.

She has been here for a long time.

But she still couldn't grasp her current situation.

Wasn't I just helping to evacuate people in the city of Heria in the Kingdom of Platia? Why am I suddenly back here?

Hmm... Have you ever been to this place yourself?

Plataea... seems to be a constituent country of the Northern Federation, right?
But I've never left Blackthorn Territory since I was a child.

Could it be a name I remembered from reading a book before? And now I have this feeling of déjà vu?
Considering that I often seem to fall asleep while reading, this possibility doesn't seem impossible.

I must have had a strange dream.

She had no reason to go to such a distant place to evacuate civilians.

If evacuation is necessary, it should be done within Blackthorn Ridge.

Thinking this way, Kalia, feeling as if she had figured out the situation, vaguely walked toward the location of the kitchen in her memory.

Sure enough, everything was just as I remembered.

"It really was a dream. Even the vegetables I went out to buy yesterday are still here in good condition."

"Hmm... I'm a little hungry, let's make something to eat."

Once inside the kitchen, Kalia seemed to have triggered some strange switch, quickly putting everything else out of her mind and starting to think about what to eat.

Although she had just bought a batch of fresh ingredients yesterday, the sheer variety of them put her in a difficult position.

After a long pause, she nodded: "Well, if we can't decide what to eat... we'll just have one serving of everything. We can just make each serving a little smaller."

With that thought in mind, Kalia prepared to cook a sumptuous meal for herself, but just as she was about to do so, she received a message from her old hag who had been away for a long time and hadn't returned.

"Hey, teacher, is there something you need? Or are you planning to come back?"

【Kalia, please deliver that cross pendant from the secret vault to the capital for me. Remember, the sooner the better. I need it urgently.】

"Hey~~~wouldn't it be faster for you to fly back and get it yourself?"

I'm busy and can't get away, so please hurry.

"Hey! Tsk, you hung up so quickly."

Kalia pursed her lips. Although she was somewhat reluctant, she put down the kitchen knife in her hand, took off her apron, and walked into the secret vault, which was surrounded by heavy barriers. She easily found the pendant.

"But... isn't the old woman a bit strange? Why is she calling me by my full name?"

A strange sense of doubt welled up in her heart.

It's as if I had fallen into some kind of trap, leading to an irrecoverable fate.

A strange unease and vigilance rose in her heart, prompting her to consider sending a message back to Flam.

Thinking this, Kalia hung the pendant back in her vault. "Hey teacher, is what you just told me true?"

[Sizzle~~Sizzle~~Sizzle~~]

【That's right, Kalia, hurry up. Stop asking so many questions.】

"...Okay. I'll set off now."

Kalia hung up the call, but at the same time confirmed one thing.

This order couldn't possibly have come from my annoying old woman.

Someone is impersonating her voice and talking to her!

Whether it was the sudden heightened sense of alertness she had felt earlier, some kind of intuition, or something she had actually experienced, Kalia did not believe what the "Flam" on the other end of the communication magic said.

Thinking about this, Kalia pondered and decided to stay inside the treehouse's barrier.

She felt that something was watching her.

Or perhaps they've set their sights on their own annoying old woman.

The safest course of action right now is to stay inside the barrier and do nothing.

Several days passed just like that.

Over the next few days, Kalia went about her business at a leisurely pace, cooking, eating, reading, sleeping, and practicing her control over her innate spells in her spare time.

However, she discovered that her control over her innate spells seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap.

Previously, the spells that required suppressed effort to avoid going out of control are now as docile as lambs, even when using one's full strength, as if they were under one's control.

She didn't think much of it.

Just continue with your own life.

Until a dozen or so suspicious-looking guys approached the treehouse.

Upon discovering these people and sensing their hostility and their attempt to enter the barrier, Kalia used her mind to instantly drag them into the shadows, whereupon they never reappeared.

This sudden turn of events left her somewhat bewildered.

I only wanted to use the spell to teach these people a small lesson...

but……

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her mind.

Immediately afterwards, a vague memory surfaced in her mind.

It was a calm little lake, with an unremarkable little wooden house beside it.

He sat on the grass in front of the wooden house, wolfing down the fish soup with its simple seasoning, looking like a starving ghost.

Beside the fire with the small iron pot, there seemed to be a person sitting there, saying something to her and handing her a piece of bread that looked rather dry and hard.

But why... can't I see his face clearly?
Have you ever had such an experience?

Kalia calmed down, but her heart could no longer find peace.

She wants to go out and take a look.

Go find that little cabin by the lake.

The moment this thought crossed her mind, Kalia left the wooden house where she had grown up and came to the lake where the memory had just flashed back.

only……

The lake water had begun to turn a nauseating dark green, and pustules-like bubbles kept rising from it. Just one look at it made Kalia want to vomit up the meal she had just eaten.

The lakeside meadows and forests had also withered away, their pale green and gray hues obscuring all life and beauty.

But... she didn't see the little wooden house.

Even the ruins of a wooden house.

She looked at the tranquil city in the distance and subconsciously walked towards it.

There was no sound in the city except for the rustling of rats.

After she unleashed her innate spell due to her fear of rats, the entire city fell completely silent.

The rats that originally covered the entire city were instantly dissolved and swallowed by the shadows, turning into nothingness.

Eternal tranquility finally descended upon this dead city.

In the middle of the dilapidated street, she saw a standing corpse.

It was the corpse of an old man whose body was half completely dissolved and turned into bones, while the other half had collapsed, leaving him a bloody mess.

He held a sword in his only intact hand, pinning another corpse to the wall on the side of the street.

The old man's tattered uniform reveals some characteristics of the city defense army's uniform.

Kalia made a simple guess about what had happened.

A group of cultists caused a disaster in the city, and the city's defense forces did their best but were unable to stop it.

Perhaps it was due to a lack of timely detection, or perhaps it was due to insufficient combat strength.

In short... this city has been destroyed by this bizarre plague.

But then some blurry images began to flash through her mind again.

That's the story of how he and another person saved the city.

She and the other party investigated the cultists' intentions and stopped them before the situation got completely out of control.

Finally, his teacher, the great mage, rushed from the capital to end everything.

What a perfect ending... Was it just a scene I imagined because I couldn't bear to see the actual situation?

Kalia felt that something was wrong with her.

It was as if two completely different memories were fighting in my mind.

"call……"

Kalia took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Then she started walking down the street, and came to a seemingly ordinary house, where she stopped.

(End of this chapter)