Chapter 3 – Artificial Hero

‘Hero Creation Project.’

It was a large-scale project led by the sage, Alicia Edwards¹アリシア゠エドワーズ.

The plan was to produce a hero capable of killing the Witch of Calamity and send them out to the world as an agent of God. In truth, it was just the church’s attempt to gain more power by gaining the achievement of killing the witch.

But, the plan ran into various difficulties.

To begin with, gathering enough children that had talent for exorcism was difficult.

Although they managed to gather a hundred children from all over the continent, not many of them managed to survive. Some of them had their bodies broken down from the physical enhancements used for the project. Some of them had their spirits crushed because they couldn’t endure the side effects of the drugs used for the project. Some of them were ruthlessly killed by the demons during their training. Some of them were afflicted with mental traumas they couldn’t recover from.

And so, ninety nine of the children became useless and Sage Alicia almost gave up on the project. But one particular boy persisted through. He managed to grow rapidly and eventually managed to achieve the goal the sage had set.

As the boy was originally an uncultured young orphan, Sage Alicia taught the boy everything he needed to know to be a man worthy of being God’s chosen hero.

She decreed to him.

‘Vanquish evil, save others.’

And so,

God brought salvation to the world where people mourned because of the witch.

The church announced that He had chosen a hero to drive the evil witch away and save the world.

And the name of said hero was Grey Handlet.

He was the church’s masterpiece, an existence that was created only to kill the witch.

* * *

“…You’re such a sinful man, aren’t you?”

Shinji, who was lying his cheek on the table in front of me, said that in disgust.

“I don’t want you, of all people, to tell me that.”

I had just finished recounting what happened with Hina last night.

“Oi oi, normal childhood friends wouldn’t lay down in the same bed, under the same blanket, when they became high school students, you know?”

This was the case of a pot calling the kettle black.

“You misunderstood something. Yes, we laid down under the same blanket, but she left before we did anything else.”

“Elaborate on the ‘anything else’ part.”

“Look, we’re like family, we won’t be doing what you’re thinking about.”

“That’s what you think, she might think otherwise.”

“Of course not. Or else, why would she even get into the blanket in the first place?”

I didn’t need to prove anything to him. Yes, sometimes, I was conscious of Hina as a girl, but at the end of the day, she was like a sibling to me and I believed that she also thought the same as me.

“…This guy…”

For some reason, Shinji looked at me with a disgusted look.

“I want to beat the crap out of you so badly, right now.”

“What? Why?”

“Not only you’re playing with Hina’s heart, you’re playing with Shiina Mai’s heart too.”

“What the hell are you on about? I did none of that.”

“Why are all the beautiful girls flocking around you? This isn’t fair!”

“…I don’t want to hear that from you!”

He shrugged his soldiers.

“Let me set this straight, I’m more popular than you and I look better than you.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up.”

“However, why are all the prettiest looking girls flocking around you?”

I furrowed my brows. What the hell was this guy even talking about?

“I’ll spell it out for you. In our class, Shiina Mai, Kirishima Hina and Shindou Yuuka, then there’s that first year, your co-worker, Kawasaki Saya. They’re all top tier beauties and I wouldn’t doubt it if someone were to tell me that they’re actually idols.”

“How the hell do you even know about my co-worker…”

That was just creepy.

Well then again, Kawasaki went to this school too, so I guess it wouldn’t be strange for him to know her.

“Well, let’s just say that my information network is wide.”

He waved his hand, told me that he wanted to get some drinks and went outside.

I let him go without saying anything.

It was currently lunch break and I had already finished my lunch, but there was still time to spare.

…Since that was the case, should I just play a game?

I took out my phone and opened a certain RPG game.

The game felt strangely realistic to me because it was similar to my previous life.

Thanks to my memories, I had a way to enjoy the game on my own despite the differences in setting compared to my previous life.

By the way, the school forbade us to bring our phones, but they didn’t actually enforce it strictly.

Of course, if you were to use it during the classes, they would confiscate it, but if you were to use it during the lunch break like this, no one would reprimand you for it. In fact, some of my classmates were watching something on their phones for a while now.

That was why I decided to play a game today but, sadly, I couldn’t concentrate on playing because of a certain someone.

“I see. You like novels, huh? I read some famous ones sometimes too.”

“Y-Yes… I could read novels on my own, so…”

The witch was talking with Hina and I was listening silently to their conversation.

“E-Especially light novels… I love them… A-Ah, sorry, do you know what a light novel is? Y-You probably don’t know, right? I-It’s a novel with anime-esque artstyle on it… N-No, that’s not it… H-How should I describe it… U-Um, sorry, I rambled on…”

The witch started rambling on her own, but in the middle, she started stuttering and her voice faded little by little.

Hina looked at her with a wry smile and said, “You can take your time if it’s that difficult to explain.”

The witch only laughed shyly in response.

“Uwah…”

I had to remind myself that this girl was the Witch of Calamity.

After that, the conversation, though I didn’t know if I could call it as one, continued. Hina managed to skillfully handle the witch’s poor communication skill, as expected of her. If it was any other person, they’d left her the moment she started her light-speed otaku speech.

I asked Hina to take care of the witch yesterday and she said that she was planning to do it anyway. But in the end, no matter how much Hina tried to accommodate her, the situation won’t improve if her communication skill doesn’t improve anytime soon. This situation was troubling…

I hope that the witch would be able to find someone she could trust in this life.

It would be sad if she were to live under the assumption that everyone in this world was her enemy, like she did in the past.

* * *

As I was having difficulties keeping myself awake in classes, everything had ended for the day before I knew it.

Because I didn’t catch a cold, I decided to come to school, but my condition still wasn’t great. Though, I still could do my part-time job, no problem. Hina would probably scold me again, but it wasn’t like I’m torturing myself or anything, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Unlike my previous life, my current body was more fragile, but I only needed to adjust to it.

That aside,

“Oi, Witch, what the hell were you up to yesterday?”

When I inquired her about the familiar, the witch, who had her head propped up on the table, slowly raised her head.

“…What? Are you mad that I found out you’ve been flirting around with a first year?”

“Who’s flirting?! You know that’s not what I’m talking about! Why were you stalking me?!”

“It’s my duty as your nemesis to stalk you to learn of your weaknesses.”

“Can you stop doing that, please?”

Ignoring my complaint, the witch yawned.

“…Wait, were you sleeping? Girl, you’re just transferred in, listen to the class properly.”

“…Unlike you, I’m smart. Even if I slack off a little, I won’t get into any trouble.”

The witch rubbed her forehead and asked me,

“So, why are you bugging me? Is it about the curse again? I told you to do it once every three days, right?”

“I don’t mind if we’re doing it every day.”

“…No can do. I know that it takes a lot to even attempt to dispel that kind of curse from my body. If I don’t give you time to rest, you’ll break down. I mean, yesterday took a toll on you, didn’t it?”

She was right, my body still felt uncomfortable.

Like she said, I became like this because I was treating her curse yesterday.

But, this much fatigue was nothing. It wouldn’t hinder my daily life.

Besides, I was really worried about her condition. The curse seemed to erode more part of her soul compared to back in our previous life.

Was it really okay for us to take our time like this?

“Is everything going to be alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I keep treating you, will you eventually get better?”

She responded to my question with silence.

I couldn’t see her expression from where I stood because she was looking downwards. After a while, she asked with an emotionless voice.

“…What if I say no?”

The witch gradually raised her face. The face that was staring at me looked like she was about to break down.

“What are you going to do if I tell you that what you’re doing is nothing more than first aid?”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll find a way to help you for real this time.”

“…What if I tell you that a way to help me exists and it requires you to sacrifice your lifespan?”

“Just that? Well, I don’t like the idea, but if that’s what it takes to save the world, yeah sure, I’ll do it. I thought it’d be something big, but if it’s just that… How are you going to do it, though? What kind of magic will you use?”

“…”

She didn’t answer me for some reason.

“Witch?”

“…Idiot, that was a rhetorical question. Things aren’t that simple.”

“Is that so? Oh well…”

“Forget about it, get away from me quickly. We’ll do the treatment again the day after tomorrow, so don’t talk to me until then. I don’t want to see your face everyday, it’s an eyesore.”

“Don’t bring my face into this!”

She snorted and left.

For some reason, she seemed to be in a bad mood. Then again, that was her default state.

“…Guess I’ll go home.”

I walked out of the classroom and went to the parking lot.

Like yesterday, it was still boiling hot outside. The intense sunlight was burning my skin.

I tried to fan myself with my hand, but it did nothing to reduce the heat.

“Are you going to work again today?”

When I was on my way, Hina called me out from behind.

“H-Hina?! I only have a four hour shift today, so I’ll be fine!”

She had already changed into her club uniform. Her smooth, juicy thighs were laid bare for me to see.

“…Why are you freaking out?”

She furrowed her brows in suspicion.

Because I was scared of her anger, I was flustered when she called out to me and that made my voice crack when I answered her question.

“Whatever. So you didn’t take a day off?”

“I mean, if I were to suddenly do that, it’ll trouble the manager…”

I didn’t want to increase the manager’s worries.

After Kawasaki decided to take a break, we became more short-staffed than we already were.

“…Please don’t overdo it.”

“I know. Don’t worry, I won’t do something that I’m unable to do.”

I didn’t really understand what Hina was trying to say to me, but I knew that she was worried about me. I mean, I’ve never pushed myself too hard. I knew my own limit.

The current me was merely an ordinary high school boy. There was a lot I couldn’t do, so I only did what I could do.

“Don’t worry too much about me, okay?”

I stroked her head.

For some reason, she went quiet after that. Come to think of it, when was the last time I patted her head?

“…W-Well, I won’t worry too much about you. You’re uselessly strong.”

She averted her gaze away with a ‘hmph’.

“What do you mean by uselessly strong? Are you mocking me?”

“I meant what I meant. All those strengths and you didn’t even join any clubs. You’re just a lump of muscle now, you know that?”

“Oh shut it! Oi, don’t punch me in the stomach!”

“Woah, your abs are as amazing as always…”

I tried to get her away from my stomach.

“Isn’t it about time for your club activities to start? Why are you dawdling here?”

“Ah, right! Oh crap! I’m going to be late!”

Hina left the parking lot in a hurry.

She was a rowdy girl as always. Thanks to her, my days didn’t feel boring.

“…Hm.”

Then, I felt a presence behind me, so I turned around to face them.

There was a black haired girl hiding behind a tree.

Was she trying to hide or something? What the hell was she doing, anyway?

“…Whatever.”

If she was actually trying to hide, I guess I should just let her be.

I got on my bike and started pedaling leisurely.

Along the way, I passed through the residential area, wide paddy fields, various roadways and a park filled with children energetically playing around. It took five minutes for me to get to where I was from school. At that moment, I stopped my bike.

…And heard the sound of a bike falling from behind me.

When I turned around, I could see a black haired girl trying to hide her face behind a pole. There was an upside down bike near her feet.

“O-Oi, are you okay?”

I didn’t expect something like this would happen. I ran to the witch’s side in a hurry.

It seemed like she had been following me from school.

Did she seriously think that I wouldn’t notice her?

“What are you doing, even?…”

She hid her face with her hands.

“I, you, know not… Go…”

“Uh, no.”

I sighed at the witch, who muttered such dumb things with a fake voice.

“Look, even if it isn’t you, I’ll still help anyone who fells off a bike like this. They could be injured and all. C’mon, let me take a look at you.”

Reluctantly, she revealed her pouting face to me.

“…What? You want to say something to me?”

I fixed the witch’s fallen bike’s position and said,

“Of course, your stalking aside, there’s no way I won’t have something to say to you after this kind of thing happened…”

The witch suddenly crouched down, trying to hide her bleeding knee.

“I knew it, you hurt yourself.”

“This is nothing.”

“Lucky for you, the park is nearby. We can wash it off there.”

“I told you, this is nothing.”

“This is not nothing. This is not our previous life, don’t make light of small wounds like this.”

She could fix it with healing magic back then, but that simply wasn’t the case anymore.

I carried the bicycle to the park with the witch following me behind. She was unusually docile this time. Probably because she was embarrassed since she hurt herself after failing an attempt to tail me.

In any case, we couldn’t leave her wound like that, so I helped her to wash the soil off it.

“Does it hurt?”

“…I don’t feel a thing.”

Her expression didn’t change, so I’d assume that her words were true.

“Alright, it’s clean. Let me put some disinfectant on it.”

“Why are you carrying that around?”

“There’s no harm in carrying it around.”

“I know, but why? Normal people wouldn’t do that.”

“Is that so? Well, whatever, a useful thing is useful.”

“…You never change, Hero.”

“Could you stop calling me that? I don’t want people to treat me like a chuunibyou.”

Maybe I should stop calling her ‘witch’ from now on too.

“Does it matter? It’s just the two of us here.”

The witch let out a cough.

“Besides, I don’t want to call you by name. I refuse it with every fiber of my being.”

“Is that so?…”

Well, I understood her feelings. We were enemies after all.

It wasn’t like us to be overly familiar with each other. After all, we weren’t in that kind of relationship.

“Even though our status is different now, our relationship stays the same.”

The witch continued,

“Also, you’re not a hero anymore. You’re just a normal high school student. There’s no reason for you to help other people anymore. Are you still disillusioned from the fact that you used to be a hero in your past life? Is that why you’re doing all this?”

“…What are you talking about?”

I laughed at her words.

“This is just a small thing, not really something I’d consider as ‘helping’. Besides, giving first aid to someone who needs it is a normal thing to do, everyone in this country does it. This is the best thing I can do considering the circumstances too.”

“…The best thing you can do, huh?”

“…What’s with your tone?”

The witch stared right into my eyes. Her tone sounded like she saw right through me and that felt unpleasant.

Before I could ask her what was on her mind, she opened her mouth.

“I knew it. You’re still thinking that you have to help other people even when you’re reincarnated in another world. Even though you don’t have your power anymore.”

“What?”

I tried to refute her words, but I couldn’t manage to say anything else.

Maybe her words were true… All this time, I haven’t been thinking about it much.

I wanted to help people because that was the right thing to do.

Back in that world and in this world, that was always the case for me.

“…Is there a problem with that?”

Was it wrong for me to do the right thing?

I furrowed my brows as I asked her that. The witch just looked at me with a gaze that looked as if she was pitying me.

“…Your mind is still trapped in that world. And, like in that world, the word ‘Hero’ is engraved to your soul like a curse. That’s why you have that crazy obsession to help other people around you… Don’t you realize that you’re an anomaly to people in this world?”

“Crazy obsession? You’re exaggerating–”

“Look at yourself and say that again. Only lunatics would help other people without minding their own condition. Yes, there are kind people who’d help other people around them too, but they wouldn’t do more than necessary. They’d only do it to the best of their abilities. Yes, to the best of their abilities.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Don’t you realize that your standard is distorted? I thought that being reincarnated in another world would fix it, but it seems like you’re a lost cause.”

I couldn’t understand what she was talking about and what was the reason why she said all this to me.

I was raised to live as a hero, so it couldn’t be helped that my standard would be different from normal people’s standard. After all, I was born to be different from normal people. That was all there to it, nothing worth discussing at all.

“You’re right, helping people is the right thing to do, but the thing is, you don’t have to do it. That’s common sense, that’s what normal people believe… Only you would think that helping people is something that someone must do… I’ll ask you once again, you realized that you aren’t a hero anymore, right?”

The witch lowered her gaze and stared at my leg.

“Yesterday, when you helped that girl, you hurted your leg, didn’t you?”

“…What about it?”

I replied as I flopped my leg slightly. I could still feel the pain.

“Normal people wouldn’t think of doing something as reckless as you, but you did that without hesitation. I’m sure that you’ll still do it even if you know that you’re going to suffer more injuries than a mere sprained ankle.”

“…I have a good reason to do it. If she were to actually fall, her head would bump into a table. Since I could prevent it, I did it.”

Compared to someone’s life, a sprained ankle was nothing.

Even a child knew that.

“I guess you’re right.”

As if she could read my thoughts, the witch continued,

“You made the right decision at that time, but I’m sure that you’ll do the same even if you know that she’ll only get a few scratches.”

“…Stop talking as if you know me that well.”

“Oh, I know. How many times did you think we tried to kill each other in that world?”

The witch smiled widely.

“You will still do it and will continue to do the same thing even if you have to pay with your life as the price. Just like back then…”

When I heard the witch’s words, it felt like she was foreseeing something that would definitely happen in the future.

Words were the most basic form of curse. Even without the existence of witchcraft, words had been used by humans to curse one another.

“…Are you trying to curse me with those words?”

I took a jab at her, trying to brush it off lightly.

“No. In fact, I don’t need to. You’ve been cursed since a long time ago.”

But the witch took my words seriously.

Vanquish evil, help others

Those words were what started everything in my life.

I guess her words were true. I was cursed since a long time ago.

If that was the case, heroes were a cursed existence to begin with.

I’ve always tried to live up to people’s expectations.

I’ve always behaved according to Sage Alicia’s will.

‘If it’s the hero, he’ll definitely save us!’

‘Our hero, Grey-sama, the God’s chosen, will be able to drive evil away from our lands!’

‘He’s the hero, he’ll never abandon us!’

‘Endure! Stay strong! Grey will definitely come to our aid!’

I’ve always faithfully acted according to the role that was assigned to me.

‘Sorry, I kept you waiting.’

‘It’s alright now.’

‘I’m here to help.’

‘No need to cry, I’m here to protect you.’

‘Do not worry, I’ll be back.’

‘I’ll do my best to protect your smile.’

Even so, I had no regrets.

Because it was the right thing to do. It was satisfying to see the smile of the people that I saved.

Of course, I was unable to live like a normal person as the price.

Nevertheless, I was born with this power to devote myself to the people.

It was my fate to be on the battlefield. It was inevitable that my body would be smeared with mud, sweat and blood.

And that was why, when I was reborn into this world.

I had lost the reason for my existence as I was no longer the hero.

And at the same time, I lost my sense of purpose.

“Even so…”

I voiced my thoughts.

“What’s wrong with wanting to help others?!”

I took a step forward and stared intently at the witch’s eyes.

“So what if I want to help people? Is it wrong?!”

When I asked that, the witch crumpled her face, as if she was hurting.

“…You understood nothing, did you?”

The witch turned her gaze down as she muttered that.

The look in her eyes annoyed me. It was as if she could understand everything.

“I’m going to ask you one more time, witch.”

It wasn’t like I didn’t understand what she was trying to say. I knew that there were truths in her words.

But I didn’t know the intent behind her words.

So, I spread my hands open and asked her once again,

“Is there something wrong with what I’m trying to do?”

Vanquish evil, save others.

Fight for justice.

It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

There were many times when I had tried my best but, ultimately, I failed.

More than once, I sacrificed others for the greater good.

You could call me a hypocrite, arrogant, liar and self-righteous person, I wouldn’t deny it.

Deciding other people’s fate on my own, acting like I was a God.

I knew that the burden was heavy for me to carry.

In the first place, the role of a hero was too heavy of a burden for a single person to carry.

But…

I knew that my actions had saved countless people’s lives.

I’ve protected those people’s smiles and saved them from tragedies.

This unworthy back of mine carried the will of the people of that world.

The unworthy back of none other than me…

The hero, Grey Handlet.

I wouldn’t reject the result of my own actions.

Even if it was the result of a curse.

“…With the way I am now, I can’t do much. Still, I want to help others to the best of my abilities! Is that wrong? Is that the wrong thing to do?!”

“Yes. You’re wrong.”

“On what ground—”

“Hero… No, Grey… In your previous life, have you ever smiled?”

I was at a loss for a moment.

I couldn’t remember any instance when I was smiling back in my previous life. At least, not at the top of my head.

“What are you… Of course I did!”

“Do you realize that now you’re smiling a lot more than back then?”

The witch, probably still feeling hurt because of her wounds, sat down on the bench.

“I was really surprised when I saw you smiling. I was glad for you. Finally, you could smile without a care in the world, but… It was a year ago, wasn’t it? The time when your memories awakened… Ever since then, you have become more like you were in your previous life…”

The witch continued to speak in monotone.

“I hate it, I can’t stand seeing you becoming like that.”

“What do you care? It has nothing to do with you!”

“It’s funny to hear those words coming from your mouth.”

“!”

Her words were sharp, as if she was trying to pierce my heart with it.

“…Try to think deeply about the words you said just now.”

Warm breeze brushed against my cheeks.

Before I realized, sweats had started flowing from my cheeks and fell into the ground.

“You’ve been reincarnated, but you’re still bound by a curse. You know you don’t need to help other people anymore, right? Live your own life, seek your own happiness, why can’t you do that instead?”

I felt my chest tightening.

Once again, I realized that the person in front of me was the Witch of Calamity.

My own happiness? What the hell was she on about? I was happy enough.

I had the power to help people and they believed in me.

People around me and they said that they loved me, if that wasn’t happiness, then what was?

“You tried to save everyone but yourself. You called yourself a hero, you tried to bring happiness to others, but you can’t even bring it to yourself… That’s the thing I hate the most about you… That’s the reason why I hate you.”

The witch ended her words just like that.

As she had no intention of continuing this talk, she walked away.

But.

“What the hell?”

Those were the only words I could say.

I knew that she was kind. I knew that she said those words sincerely to help me.

But that didn’t mean I could accept her words just like that.

“…What? Do you have something to say?”

“I…”

The moment I took another step toward her.

My phone rang.

I didn’t have to check to know why it was ringing. It was about time for my shift to start.

I spent too much time talking to her.

I couldn’t ignore this as I’d be late.

“…It’s goodbye then, hero. See you tomorrow.”

The witch walked away without saying another word. It really seemed that she had no intention to talk with me anymore.

Her gait was still unsteady because of her injured leg.

“…Your bike is still here, you know?”

This girl was as hopeless as always. I ignored her and answered the phone. As expected, it was from the manager.

“Hello? Yes, I’m sorry, I had a business to take care of! Yes, I’ll be there quickly!”

As I was apologizing like that, the witch came back, took her bike away and left. I could see her face was red up to her ears.

After she left, only the sound of cicadas could be heard in the park.

* * *

The witch once said to me that the most powerful curse wasn’t witchcraft.

It required no chant, mana nor preparation. The effect of the curse wasn’t visible to the senses, one wouldn’t feel pain or discomfort because of it.

Yet, it ate away the mind of the one who was afflicted with it.

And the worst of it all, said person wouldn’t be aware of its existence.

“…You are the same as me, don’t you know that?”

Probably, those words she said to me were her true feelings. She just wanted me to be happy.

Probably, she was concerned about me, that was why she said all that to me.

Even so, even if her words were true, that my way of life was wrong…

As long as she still did the same thing as me, I had no intention of admitting it.

Jingles.

My thoughts were broken by the sound of the bell, signaling someone’s arrival to the restaurant.

“Welcome— Huh?”

I almost dropped the cup I was holding when I saw the person in front of me.

“What’s wrong? You look off today, senpai.”

It was Kawasaki. She placed her hands on her hips and started to scold me.

“M-My bad…”

I was just distracted because I had a lot to think about.

“I knew it, you’re overdoing yourself. If you’re not feeling well, take a leave.”

“But, if I do that, we’ll be even more short-staffed than we already are…”

Then, I realized something.

“Wait, I thought you won’t have any shifts until after the exam?”

She told me yesterday that it would be her last day.

Then, she pouted her lips and muttered shyly.

“The manager is trying to get more senior employees to work on more shifts and since I’m one of them… Well, I can’t say no, even though it’s troublesome…”

Kawasaki shrugged her shoulders.

“I see… Thank you…”

It seemed like she was worried about me.

Well, I guess it was natural. I wasn’t a hero anymore. No one expected me to do everything. People wouldn’t put their complete faith in me without any reason anymore.

They would probably treat my attempt to help them as unnecessary.

“I’m just trying to make it harder for you to make money, senpai. Don’t thank me for that.”

“Alright, I’ll hold a grudge on you for it, then.”

“Okay, that’s too far! At least, be a little grateful!”

I tapped my cheeks a little with both hands.

I need to get myself together. At least, I shouldn’t make her worry about me.

“I’m just a little sleepy, don’t worry, Kawasaki.”

I shouldn’t let my personal problems get in the way of work.

Since they paid me for this, it was my responsibility to do my job properly.

If anything, I should do my best for the money. To do that, I need to concentrate.

I took a deep breath and analyzed my physical condition.

I felt a little tired, but this much should be nothing to me.

My current body was far less capable compared to my previous one, but I could do nothing but deal with it. I had been working out to hone my body and the effect of all those efforts had begun to appear. I managed to correct the ‘error’ in my body, little by little.

Even so, I knew that I could never become like I was back in the day.

‘You’re no longer a hero.’

The witch’s words flashed through my mind.

It repeated in my mind over and over like a curse.

“…I’m aware of that, more than anyone.”

My hand could only reach those within the reach of it.

In the first place, no one would even try to reach their hands out to me.

That was my current reality and I accepted it.

But still… The height where I stood… The reach of these arms of mine during that time… Compared to back then, my current self seemed pathetic. That was why, I kept chasing after the illusion that was my former self.

Even though no one asked for my help

Even though this was a world that didn’t need my help.

“Damn it… Focus! Stop thinking!”

I shook off the vision of the witch in my mind and tried to concentrate on my job.

* * *

Even after I was done with work and the darkness of the night became deeper, the insects still buzzed energetically.

There was barely any other sound in the neighborhood. I looked outside the window. I could see the surrounding houses were lit, showing that there were people living in those houses. Hina’s room next door was also lit. Was she still studying?

The coffee in my hand tasted too sweet for my taste. It seemed like I put too much sugar in it.

Tonight was cool for a summer night and I could go to sleep without turning the AC on if I wanted to.

“…Right.”

I noticed the textbooks and notebooks spread out throughout my desk.

I had to study for the exam. Honestly, I didn’t need to worry about getting red marks, but I felt a little worried about the witch who had just transferred in.

I knew that she was an honor student, but if the scope of the exam was different compared to her previous school, she would be bound to have a hard time.

I should summarize the main points and give it to her later.

I wasn’t a great student, but anyone could study if they put their mind into it.

After stretching my body, I sat down on the chair and started studying for the first subject, math.

“…”

Suddenly, my hand stopped.

Were the witch’s words true? Was my current action just something that was born from a curse?

All this time, was it true that I did nothing but chase after the shadow of my former self?

I thought that I had been following my own will.

If I were to think about it calmly, there was no reason whatsoever for me to help her as she was my nemesis.

…If this action was the result of a curse then, where did my will, my dream and my happiness go? It was exactly like what the witch said to me then…

* * *

Despite the church’s announcement permeating through the entire continent, everyone was skeptical about it. No one believed that the hero would ever be able to defeat the witch.

And so, my first mission was to gain the trust of the people.

I responded to people’s calls for help and defeated the various demons that swarmed around the continent.

I did the same thing over and over again to the point that people recognized me as a real hero.

It was only later that I found out that this was a part of my training to fight against the witch.

“Golden hair, clear blue sky and a pure white sword… Everything matches the rumors… Are you the hero who was chosen to defeat me or something like that?”

I didn’t expect to meet the witch in that kind of situation.

Underneath the silver hair, there were a pair of bewitching red eyes and a face so beautiful that it could make anyone have their heads fall over heels. Below that, were a well-proportioned body and a pair of beautiful thighs peeking over from her damaged clothes.

Her features matched the description of the evil witch from the rumors.

“…Are you the Witch of Calamity, Cerys Flores?”

“How rude of you, answering my question with another one. Why don’t you answer my question first before asking?”

“You’re right. Yes, I am the chosen hero, Grey Handlet.”

“I see. Then, I’ll introduce myself. The strongest witch and magic user, the person who plunged the world into a disaster, the one who laughs at the pitiful scream of the weak! The one and only, Cerys Flores.”

With a confident tone and a fearless smile, the witch introduced herself.

“I’m not trying to badmouth you, just trying to tell you a fact. No human would be able to beat me, hero or not, it doesn’t matter. I’ve beaten thousands of people like you and I doubt that your fate will end up differently from them. That’s why, get out of my sight. As long as you aren’t foolish enough to take up your sword against me, I’ll show you mercy.”

The witch let out a killing intent as she declared that.

Unknowingly, chill ran down my spine as I swallowed my saliva. She was strong. Really strong.

Only when I came face to face with her like this did I understand. This woman was far stronger than anything I’ve faced before.

She was way stronger than me, who was dubbed as the strongest person in the world by Sage Alicia.

…But, there was something that bothered my mind for a while now.

“Well, I won’t know that unless I try it. But first, I have a question for you.”

The witch who had been watching me with crossed arms, tilted her head.

“You were the one who created the demons, weren’t you? So, why did you kill the being that you created?”

The reason why I came to this place was to defeat a powerful demon that had been terrorizing this area.

But, in front of the cave where the demon lived, I found the witch in the middle of a battle against said demon.

I didn’t understand what was going on, so I stayed to observe how the battle went. In a short time, she managed to kill the demon by herself, albeit she was a little injured. The demon was supposed to be so strong that no one in the area could manage to defeat it yet, she defeated it in mere minutes.

While there was nothing strange about that, as the witch surely had enough power to do that…

Why would she do that in the first place? It didn’t make any sense to me.

Hearing my question, the witch furrowed her brows.

“…My, they’re my creations. I can do anything I want with them.”

Something strange was going on. She was different from the rumors.

Well, whatever, I could find out about it after I took her into custody.

“…I guess that’s true. Alright, prepare yourself.”

I drew my sword. A silver light appeared on the surface of the sword when I infused my exorcism into it.

“What a reckless man. Even though I went as far as to warn you.”

The witch sighed and summoned her staff.

It was a coincidence that I met her here, but it was an amazing coincidence as it was the perfect opportunity to defeat her. After all, her wounds from the last battle hadn’t healed completely yet.

As a hero who carried the hope of the people, the sooner I got to defeat the witch the better.

“Here I come, witch!”

“Come forward, hero.”

The battle on that day.

Ended in my complete defeat.

* * *

“…Another dream, huh?”

I muttered as I woke up from my sleep before clicking my tongue in annoyance.

No matter how many times I’ve dreamt about the time when I got beaten up by the witch, it always made me feel sick.

The hands of the clock on my desk pointed to 6.40. It was too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep, so I dragged my body off my bed. I picked up my phone on the desk and unplugged the charger. Then, I noticed that there was an unread RINE message.

It was from Shindou Yuuka.

I went down to the living room while reading the message.

[Wanna do a study group with everyone?]

“…Why now?”

I didn’t mind, but why did she ask about it now? She shoulda asked about it at school later.

“…Ah, right, today is Saturday.”

Realizing that, I went back to sleep.

* * *

Currently, I was in front of the family restaurant where I was working at.

I entered the restaurant, bowed to the senpai who was on shift and noticed Yuuka waving at me.

“Yo, you’re late, you know?~”

There was a soft smile on her pretty face.

It was currently 1.30pm, thirty minutes late from the promised time, which was 1pm.

“My bad. I overslept.”

Shinji, who was sitting next to Yuuka, shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly.

“Oi, oi, get a hold of yourself, the exam starts this monday, you know?”

“…Huh? Really? It’s that close?”

“At least remember the date of your own exam, idiot..”

Hina muttered exasperatedly at my reaction.

“I mean, I remember it, it just slipped my mind.”

“By the way, are you ready for it? I’m not.”

“Saying something like that so proudly, what the hell is wrong with you? …Also, what are you doing?”

Shinji was playing a game on his phone while munching some fries.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were studying.

“Dumbass, I’m taking a break here. Studying all the time is tiring.”

“You had rested long enough already, Shinji! Your resting time is longer than your studying time, you know?”

“That’s because I don’t need that much time to study. I just need to study the important bits.”

“And who was the one who summarized those important bits for you?”

“I can’t thank you enough, Yuuka-sama… Please accept my gratitude.”

With that, Shinji suddenly bowed down to Yuuka. There was an empty seat next to Hina, so I sat there.

The four of us here gathered to study together.

“Anyway, this is unusual. Why are we holding a study group, anyway?”

I asked Yuuka.

I thought that Yuuka was smart enough that she didn’t need to study with other people.

“Well, doing it once in a while isn’t bad. Besides, it isn’t like I understand everything that I have to study.”

“And that’s why this Hina is here.”

“Well, Godou and I won’t be much help, that’s for sure.”

I didn’t know why Shinji always had that arrogant tone… Well, whatever.

“Well, there are other reasons too…”

“Like what?”

“Secret~”

Said Yuuka while smiling.

“By the way, I’m tired of studying. Can I go home?”

Shinji blurted out. He looked completely unmotivated.

“Jeez, Shinji!”

Yuuka lightly hit him in the head.

“Cut that out. You won’t get good grades if you keep this up.”

“I mean, it’s a miracle that I got into this school in the first place.”

“That’s why you gotta study harder. You barely even studied and yet you got into this school anyway, that meant you aren’t bad. I’ve summarized everything, so you just need to study this…”

“Math still looks like moon runes to me…”

Shinji tried desperately not to face Yuuka’s gaze as she was gently telling him off.

“…Never change, you two.”

Those two were always on good terms.

I knew that both of them were friends since middle school, but they were so close to each other to the point that I felt suspicious about their relationship.

Shinji tried to flirt with a lot of girls, but the only girl he actually tried to befriend was Yuuka.

“What are you trying to say? Your grade is as bad as mine.”

Shinji grunted as he said that. It seemed like he misunderstood my words.

“I’ve never got a red mark, though.”

“Huh? Really? That’s news to me.”

Yuuka said in surprise. Hina joined in and said,

“I don’t know how he did it, but he always managed to barely pass the red marks somehow.”

“…That’s amazing in a sense.”

“Don’t praise me too much, you two. I’m embarrassed.”

“You know it isn’t praise!”

Hina retorted sharply.

It was true though, I’ve never got a single red mark in my life.

“Anyway, Shinji, how was your midterm?”

When I asked, Shinji laughed confidently.

“Heh… I’ll exercise my rights to stay silent.”

“He barely passed everything except for math. He got a red mark for math.”

“I mean, I hate listening to Murakami’s class…”

“Stop making excuses, just do it, it’s not that hard!”

“Ugh…”

“At this rate, you’re going to be dragged by Murakami-sensei to his supplementary class, you know?”

When Yuuka said that, Shinji made a horrified look on his face.

“If you don’t want that, then study properly.”

“Got it…”

“Somehow, it feels like she’s his owner or something.”

I smiled at the sight wryly.

Hearing that, Yuuka puffed her cheeks in frustration.

“I don’t want to be this guy’s owner!”

“His mom then.”

“That’s even worse! I don’t want a womanizer as a son!”

Her response was unusually fierce.

She acted like this, but whenever she was with Hina by themselves, all she talked about was Shinji.

“Is that so? My bad then.”

I should leave those two alone. I approached Hina and started studying together with her.

After ordering a drink and a light snack, I asked Hina,

“So, how are you faring?”

“Good, I guess. I should be able to get 80 in everything at least…”

“Same as usual then.”

Her hands didn’t stop moving as she answered that question.

She was solving the math problems at an absurd speed. No wonder her grades were so high.

This girl always occupied the second or third place of our grade. That was only because the first place was reserved to Yuuka, though.

“What about you?”

“Math is too hard for me…”

“I know right? It’s harder than back in the first year.”

While we were chatting like that, the waiter, one of my senpai, brought me my order.

We exchanged a few words of greeting before he continued with his work. Then suddenly, Hina muttered something,

“Ah, right, this is where you’re working at, huh?”

“Did you really just come to this place without realizing it?”

When I asked her that, Yuuka joined in,

“While we’re at it, since you’re our friends and all, can we get a discount–”

“No.”

“Eh…”

Yuuka pouted after hearing my answer.

This restaurant’s location was right in front of the station. It was close to school and the price was reasonable, so it wouldn’t be strange for students like us to gather here. The place was spacious too, so other people wouldn’t be bothered even if we were to make some noise here. In fact, there were two other groups studying here too. Some people in those groups were my acquaintances.

“Ah, she’s here!”

Hina, who had been looking at her phone, suddenly shouted.

She turned her gaze toward the entrance and waved her hand energetically.

…I had a bad feeling.

Well, I knew that it would come to this.

After all, why else would Yuuka invite us to study together?

“Here, Mai-chan!~”

“Y-Yes…”

The witch appeared in front of us, carrying a backpack with her.

She was wearing a white blouse and a black skirt. It was simple, but it suited her well.

It was frustrating for me to say this, but she looked really cute. I wouldn’t say it to her face though.

“Heya, Mai-chan. Let’s study hard together!”

“Yo, Shiina-san. That outfit suits you well. You look cute.”

“Eh? T-Thank you very much…”

“Don’t say anything unnecessary, Shinji. Ah, would you like to sit next to me?”

“Y-Yes! U-Um, Yuuka-san?”

“Haha, Just Yuuka is fine. Well, if you’re comfortable calling me that, it’s fine!”

The way they referred to each other seemed to have changed.

I suspected that they became closer, but despite that, the witch was still the witch.

She looked very nervous in the beginning, but when she noticed me, she furrowed her brows.

“…You want to say something to me?”

“…No.”

Didn’t you hear about me being here?

The witch took her seat. Yuuka smiled at her.

“Since you’re a new student, there might be a lot of things you don’t understand or the exam’s scope is different from your previous school, that’s why I invited you here, Shiina-san! You can ask Hina if you have any questions!”

“I don’t mind, but isn’t this the part where you tell her to rely on you instead?”

“I mean, you’re a better teacher than me, Hina!”

“But your grade is higher than mine…”

The witch flustered, probably because she was left off the conversation.

Then, Hina tried to bring her into the conversation again.

“Um, anyway, Mai-chan, let’s review the exam’s scope first. I made a summary of it, you can check mine.”

“T-Thank you very much!”

The witch bowed her head.

After that, she took her seat and the study group finally started in earnest.

At first, everyone was chatting about random things but, as time went by, those conversations died down as everyone became more focused on their studies. Though, it wasn’t like we didn’t talk at all. It was just, all of our ‘conversations’ were just us teaching each other.

Yuuka was taking care of Shinji, meanwhile Hina and I helped the witch out.

“Phew, I’m going to get myself a drink…”

Hina let out a deep breath as she lightly shook her empty glass.

“…Ah, let me get it for you, I want to get some too.”

Said the witch as she raised her hand.

“Really? Then, can you get me melon soda?”

“O-Okay! Um, what about the others?…”

Shinji and Yuuka were too occupied with their things, so they didn’t answer her question. Or probably they just didn’t hear her because her voice was too low. The witch’s gaze turned toward me for a moment, but she immediately turned it away again.

Maybe she realized that she didn’t need to do that much for me.

I stopped studying and looked at her. She went to the refill area with two glasses in her hands.

…And when she got there, she stared at the machine listlessly.

She didn’t know how to use it, of course.

If this was an anime, there would be a question mark floating around her head at this moment. Well, to be fair, she wasn’t a commoner like us, so she’d probably never used the machine in her entire life.

I sighed and headed toward her side.

“W-What?”

I ignored the glare of the embarrassed witch and got myself a drink. Since I drank melon soda just now, I decided to get oolong tea instead.

The witch stared at me and snorted after realizing what I was doing.

…Then, she suddenly furrowed her brows, as if she was in pain.

“Oi, witch, what’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?”

I could tell that her center of gravity felt off. Even though her expression was the same as usual, her body seemed unsteady.

“Of course not, I wouldn’t be here if that’s the case. I don’t want to trouble the others…”

“I guess so. Well, if there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s all good then.”

The witch boldly operated the machine and tried to get melon soda. When the drink came out of the machine, her body trembled for some reason.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m not surprised or anything!”

I didn’t ask if you were surprised or not.

I decided to leave her alone and got back to my seat first.

The witch did the same after she got her own drink.

I observed the witch when she was walking toward us. She walked slowly and carefully, as if she was afraid to drop the drinks.

While that wasn’t a problem, she seemed to be putting all her concentration on keeping her body steady.

“Thank you!”

When she came back, Hina thanked her for the melon soda.

The witch just exhaled lightly in response. After that, she began to study with Hina again. From time to time, she would frown and rub her forehead with her hand.

No matter how I see it, she didn’t seem to be okay at all.

I stopped writing.

“Shiina, do you have a moment?”

I stood up as I asked her that question.

I asked that, but in truth, I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about with her.

There were simply too many things to talk about.

“Godou? What’s wrong?”

Hina and the others looked at me strangely as I was the only one who was standing.

The witch seemed to understand my intention when our gazes met.

When I turned around and left, she followed behind me.

“U-Um, we have something to talk about, s-so we’re going outside for a bit.”

The witch smiled as she explained the situation to the others.

For some reason, I didn’t prepare an excuse to tell the others.

I just realized that I had been distracted for a while now.

…Ah, I see.

I had been feeling irritated toward the witch.

* * *

My thoughts drifted to the past.

That day, the Witch of Calamity spared my life.

After a fierce battle, I was utterly defeated.

I fell to the ground. There were wounds all over my body and I couldn’t muster any strength to take a step forward.

At that point, I’ve already given up. I accepted that I didn’t have what it takes to be a hero.

And yet…

“It isn’t even worth it to kill you. Take this as a lesson and stop playing hero.”

The witch gave me a half-assed reason and left the place.

‘Not worth killing’, she said. Didn’t she realize that there were wounds all over her body too? Even her clothes had turned into a rag and there was blood seeping through the tears in her clothes.

On the other hand, while I was in a similar state, there were no fatal wounds on my body.

In a fierce battle like that, she had the lenience to not land any mortal wounds to me.

That meant she was strong enough to kill me and she decided not to for some reason, despite the fact I was doing my best to kill her.

“I found you again, witch.”

“Didn’t I tell you to give up?”

Again and again, we fought each other to death.

The first five or six times ended in my defeat.

And yet, the witch refused to kill me and she always managed to find a reason to let me go.

When I tried to follow her trail, I found out that she never tried to kill anyone who attacked her. Aside from that, it seemed like her goal was to kill all the demons she came across.

Since I noticed this strange situation, I decided to ask the person in question about it.

“Why didn’t you kill the people who attacked you? Why did you kill the demons? Aren’t you their creator? Aren’t you supposed to be the source of all this disaster in the world?”

But the witch never answered my questions properly.

She always covered the truths with lies. Lies that made it as if she was a genuinely wicked person.

“I can do whatever I want. I’m the witch, after all.”

And so, our fights continued.

Over time, I started to fare better against her.

When we started to have more evenly matched battles, the witch started to run away whenever things got dire for her.

It was the first time that I’ve faced someone as strong as her and thanks to that, I grew stronger at a quick pace.

Not only my physical capabilities and swordsmanship, my exorcism also grew stronger. Everytime I faced her vicious spells, I had to wield my exorcism to counter it and as a result, I became more proficient in wielding it.

And so our fights continued. Again. Again. And again.

I chased after the witch and she kept accepting my challenges whenever we met.

She could always run away if she wanted to, but she only did it when I was on the brink of defeat. I didn’t understand the reason why she did it for a long time, but I managed to find out when everything was about to come to an end.

After countless fights.

I thrusted the tip of my sword to the witch’s throat.

Her mana had been depleted. She couldn’t run away anymore.

“…So, you can finally dispel my curse.”

Said the witch. Her tone was so calm and she looked like she was satisfied by this situation.

Since there was no reason for us to fight anymore, she told me to end her life and closed her eyes.

Of course, she didn’t need to tell me that. I was the hero, it was my duty to put an end to her life.

But, before I did, I asked her the reason behind her actions for one last time.

“May I ask you why you did all this?”

“…Right, it would be lonely if I’d just die like that, hm? Alright, let me tell you a story about a poor witch. Don’t forget it later, okay? Think of it as a last gift from me.”

At that time.

I decided to spare the witch.

* * *

Outside the restaurant.

There was a small space surrounded by trees at the back of the building. It was the staff’s smoking area. The staff normally would go there if they wanted to take a break. There were benches there, so we could sit down if we wanted to.

I sat down on the bench, meanwhile the witch leaned her back on the wall nearby and crossed her arms.

“…So, what is it? Can’t you just call me out in a more natural way?”

Asked the witch as she let out a snort.

Always the pleasant girl whenever she was talking with me.

Even though she acted meekly in front of Hina and the others.

“My bad, I didn’t feel like doing that.”

I apologized in a monotonous voice.

When she heard my voice, she furrowed her brows.

“What? What’s with that tone? Are you mad because I scolded you yesterday?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

Her words pissed me off, but that wasn’t the reason why.

There was another reason why I acted like this.

“You know, I’ve been thinking since yesterday…”

I continued,

“You’re one hell of a hypocrite, you know that?”

My complicated feelings toward her could be expressed with those words.

‘You tried to save everyone but yourself. You called yourself a hero, you tried to bring happiness to others, but you can’t even bring it to yourself… That’s the thing I hate the most about you… That’s the reason why I hate you.’

That was what she said to me yesterday.

Seriously, she also did that herself. She had no right to tell me off about that.

I’ve always hated that side of hers. She kept treating her life lightly and kept refusing my help whenever I offered it to her.

“…What are you on about?”

The witch tilted her head with a puzzled expression on her face.

“No matter how I think about it, there’s clearly something strange with you.”

I knew that she was a clumsy girl and her socializing skill was zero.

But, she wasn’t this bad originally.

Forgetting to change shoes at the school entrance, forgetting that the tea she was about to drink could burn her tongue, falling off her bike and so on. The witch that I knew would never do that no matter how clumsy she was.

At first, I thought it was because she let her guard down too much in this peaceful world.

But, after confirming the fact that her curse had eroded that far, I realized that,

“You’re trying to hide that your body is breaking down, aren’t you?…”

That conclusion made more sense than my first guess.

She didn’t notice those little things because she had been enduring the pain all this time.

And yet she acted haughtily in front of me, scolding me about the things that she had clearly been doing all this time.

It was just like back in our previous life.

With each battle, I grew stronger. At first, I thought that I grew up at a really quick pace, but it wasn’t actually the case. Yes, I grew stronger, but at the same time, the witch grew weaker after each battle.

The curse took a toll on her body and the more time passed, the more it made her physically and mentally unwell.

She was probably in a similar state as back then.

When I was thinking about that, she asked me a question,

“…What are you on about? Of course my body is breaking down. Is it not obvious?”

The witch said it dismissively.

What? She admitted it that easily?

“What are you?—”

“In the first place, my body is different than my previous life’s body. Back then, I was born a genius. I was a natural at both witchcraft and magic and thanks to that, my resistance to curses was much higher than now. That’s why when I casted that curse into my body, I didn’t die immediately… But this body is different…”

She always had a pale complexion.

Since she always looked like that, I always thought that she originally had a paler skin compared to other people.

But it seemed like my guess was off, yet again.

“I’m under a curse, of course I’m always in pain. My body back then was too strong, that was why I was able to endure it. Curses are meant to make the person afflicted with it suffer, that’s the whole point of it. Honestly, it’s hard for me to stand up properly right now…”

Her tone was filled with self-mockery.

“I could weaken the pain with my magic, but I can’t solve the fundamental issue without your exorcism. I need you to do something about it before I can’t endure the pain anymore and my lifespan is cut by half. That’s your duty, your atonement for sparing me.”

Perhaps because she no longer had the reason to act tough in front of me, she sat down on where she stood.

I moved to support her.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”

“Because it’s none of your business! You only need to do your duty! My pain has nothing to do with you! It’s my punishment for everything that I have done…”

“If you told me earlier, I would’ve tried harder to weaken the curse!”

“And then you’ll overextend yourself again. I’ve told you before, you aren’t a hero anymore, you have no reason to help me! I’m your enemy!”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her after hearing her cries.

“But, I…”

“Why didn’t you kill me back then?!…”

She cried out again. There were tears in her eyes this time.

“If you killed me back then, none of this would have happened!!”

She was right.

My action back then caused her this much pain.

…I had made an irreversible mistake. She was right, I had to atone for this sin of mine.

* * *

Cerys’ PoV

My past wasn’t that big of a deal.

I wasn’t a special case, there were countless people in that world who had gone through something similar to me.

I barely remembered anything about that time to begin with. I only started to remember bits and pieces of it recently.

I lived in a small remote town. Since my parents were ordinary shoemakers, I had a pretty normal upbringing. My family was quite normal. If I had to describe it, at least they didn’t hit me or anything like that. Though, I couldn’t say that they loved me that much either. Everyday they only gave me tasteless bread and soup for me to eat and I had to work every day. I had nothing to complain about living that kind of life, though.

I was sure that my parents felt the same way too. They wouldn’t get angry at me as long as I did my job and if I did my job well, they’d give me praise. I was happy enough with that life.

Though, I barely even remembered what they looked like nowadays. However, back then, they were more important than anything else to me. Mostly because I didn’t speak to anyone other than them.

But one day, they died.

They wandered into the slum by accident and ended up getting robbed and killed. It couldn’t be helped, as it was a common occurrence in that world. If you scoured through the entire continent, you’d find such things happening in every city. In any case, they didn’t come back home that day.

I only found out about their deaths when the landlord threw me out of the house my parents were renting. They showed me my parents corpse as a justification for that.

When I saw their lifeless bodies, I cried.

I felt sad.

But their deaths weren’t the cause of my sadness.

Instead, it was because I became aware of the feelings that I had been hiding.

I hated them.

In fact, I hated everything.

I hated my parents who never treated me kindly.

I hated everyone in the town who looked at me with disgusted eyes just because we were poor.

I hated the town that treated deaths as if it was a common occurrence.

I hated the cruel world.

Foolishly, I kept on hating everything.

Hatred enveloped my soul.

And with that hatred, I cursed the world.

I sang the song of hatred.

‘Let this world be cursed for eternity.’

‘Let this world be damned for eternity.’

I became a foolish girl who knew nothing about the world, hated, resented and cursed the world.

Even though I only wanted to feel someone’s warmth.

Even though I only wanted to live in a friendlier world.

I dreamt of such a future, but since the world didn’t let me realize that dream, I cursed it.

The thing that I did was a common thing that everyone who lived in misery in that world did.

Except that I was born with a talent for witchcraft.

I was more talented than anyone else in that world.

And so, the song of hatred that I sang became a powerful curse that afflicted the world.

And so, the world was plunged into a disaster as countless vicious man-eating demons appeared all over the world.

The song of a small child made millions of people suffer.

When I came to realize this fact, I had turned into the Witch of Calamity.

I shoulda known from the beginning, but my foolish self had only just realized it when it was already too late… The fact that I was someone that should have never been born.

* * *

Grey’s PoV

I remembered the story that the witch told me.

The story of the pitiful, lonely witch.

After creating the demons, she went around the world to kill them.

She prioritized the stronger demons who were more likely to harm other people.

Witchcraft was an art of casting curses, but it was unable to dispel the already casted curses. Only exorcists could dispel curses, but the witch was unable to use it. In other words, she couldn’t do anything about the curse.

And so, she killed the demons.

The people of the world called her the Witch of Calamity and resented her.

They always tried to hunt her and kill her.

She wanted to die, but if she ever died, a greater disaster would befall the world, so she decided that she shouldn’t offer herself to the people. And so, she kept running while killing the demons.

One day, I appeared before her.

As an exorcist, I was her greatest enemy, but at the same time, I could become her savior.

After all, I could dispel the curse that rooted deep inside the world’s core.

That was why the witch welcomed the fights with me, to make my exorcism grow stronger.

So, when I finally rested my sword upon her throat, the witch felt relieved.

She had no more regrets as I had become strong enough to dispel the curse out of the world completely.

I had become capable of killing her and dispelling the curse embedded deeply within her soul.

With that, she would finally be released from the painful life she had been living.

To her, I was her hero.

She told me that there was no need for me to hesitate.

There was happiness in her face as she tried to convince me of that.

She was delighted, from the bottom of her heart.

It was the first time I’ve seen her beautiful smile.

That was why, I,

“…What’s wrong? Kill me quickly, my hero, Grey.”

Couldn’t bring myself to swing my sword down.

My hand was stiff, unmoving. The reason for that was obvious.

‘Vanquish evil, save others.’

‘Fight for justice.’

‘As a hero, your duty is to kill the witch.’

‘Remember the purpose of why you’re wielding that power.’

The action was against the role I was supposed to play.

Because in my eyes, Cerys Flores wasn’t a bad person.

And since she was a good person, I had to save her.

That was what my conviction told me.

But at the same time, it was my duty to kill her.

And killing her would also be her salvation.

The witch wanted me to bring her salvation.

But I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to kill her.

And so, I racked my brain, and came to a conclusion.

I was God’s chosen. The witch was my enemy.

That was why I had no reason to fulfill her wish.

So, I sheathed my sword.

It was the first time in my life that I refused someone’s call for help.

At first, the witch was stunned after seeing my action.

Then, she started to desperately beg me to kill her.

Still, I refused to kill her. I decided that I would never help her.

I made a lot of excuses in my head, but the reason why I did it was because I couldn’t forgive her.

I couldn’t forgive the world that made her like this.

I couldn’t forgive this woman who thought that this kind of conclusion was okay.

“…Don’t fuck with me.”

It was the first time I felt anger. It was the first time the machine called hero felt anger.

And so, I vowed to show her what true happiness looked like.

* * *

“You aren’t evil. I’m a hero, a hero wouldn’t kill a good person.”

I repeated the words I’ve been saying to the witch back in our previous life.

Killing her meant I’d be going against the principle of heroism itself and I would be acting against the role that had been assigned to me.

Hearing that, the witch’s face contorted as she gritted her teeth.

“I cursed the world, you know?! I made the world suffer! I’ve caused countless deaths! How could you say that I’m not evil?!”

“You didn’t even do that voluntarily! You were just mourning the death of your parents, you didn’t mean to make anyone suffer! If you’re evil, then why were you trying to help other people?! They hated you, you could just leave them to die!”

She could just run away and admit that it wasn’t her fault.

She could just ignore those people who weren’t worthy of her help.

I had never seen a kinder person than her in my entire life.

“What I was doing didn’t matter! In the end, I cursed the world and that was what everyone in that world cared about! I helped them so I could atone for my sins! I know that won’t make them forgive me, but still, I had to do that…”

“An evil person wouldn’t even think of something like that, you know?”

I grabbed the witch’s collar.

Pulling her close, I stared deeply into her eyes.

“The world might think you’re evil, but I don’t care what they think. You’re a good person. I’ve seen your kindness with my own eyes.”

The witch let out a weak laugh.

There was a faint smile on her lips.

“…That kind of thinking is why the church executed you back then.”

She was right.

The church executed me because I was going against God’s decree.

After I decided to spare the witch back then, we went on a journey together.

A journey to save the world.

‘We’re only doing this because we have the same goal. That’s the extent of our relationship, got it?’

‘You don’t need to tell me that.’

In order to save the world, we first had to go to the center of the world and get rid of the curse from there.

‘Isn’t swinging your sword the only thing you can do? Just go forward, I’ll protect your back.’

‘…You don’t need to tell me that. I don’t expect a weak-ass like you to be the vanguard anyway.’

‘Who did you call a weak-ass?! Seriously, shut your mouth and fight already!’

To get to the center of the world, we had to travel through the Great Dungeon at the center of the continent. However, due to the witch’s curse, the dungeon had transformed to a den of demons.

‘W-Wait, are you okay?!’

‘…What? Are you worried about me?’

‘O-Of course not! If you were to die after letting me live like this, I swear I’ll never forgive you!’

‘…What an annoying woman. Well, whatever.’

Although we weren’t unscathed, in the end we managed to get rid of the curse deep inside the Great Dungeon.

‘We did it! We did it, Grey!’

‘…Yeah. Guess my role as a hero ends here.’

‘What? What’s with that lackluster response? Aren’t you happy about this?’

‘I feel relieved more than happy, honestly.’

And so, we saved the world.

I’ve done my part as the chosen hero.

But on our way back, the elite group of the church ambushed us.

‘Ex-Hero, Grey Handlet. You are under arrest.’

Although I managed to make the witch escape safely, I used up my power and ended up captured by the church. According to them, my crime was being brainwashed by the witch. I tried to explain to them what really happened, but no one lent their ears to me.

The church announced to the world that the hero had betrayed them, the people, the world and God. The witch and I were the one who successfully saved the world, but the church claimed it as their achievements instead.

In the end, I was executed as a sinner. The hero had fallen into a sinner who was hated by the whole world.

And that was the end of my previous life.

That was the end of Grey Handlet.

There was one thing that I regretted back then.

I promised the witch that I’d show her what true happiness looked like.

Yet, I left her behind in that world.

She was all alone in that world.

‘You’re no longer a hero.’

I knew that better than anyone.

Even before I was reincarnated to this world, I was no longer a hero.

I wasn’t able to become her hero.

I remained as her nemesis until the very end.

I knew that, but I was too afraid to admit it.

So, for the longest time, I decided not to think about it.

“Cerys…”

But one question remained unsolved for me. What happened to her after I died?

If she reincarnated to this world, then, how did she die?

“What happened to you after that?…”

When I asked her that, she grabbed my collar. There was hatred in her eyes.

“How could you ask me that kind of question casually?! You died, so I could no longer be saved back then! Because of you, I missed my chance to die! And…”

She let out a pained sigh as tears began to fall from her eyes.

“…After you were gone, I became alone again…”

I couldn’t say anything after hearing that.

I could do nothing but watch as her tears fell into the ground.

“…Around the time you were executed, they managed to catch up to me. The people who were deemed as failures of the Hero Creation Project by the Sage… The exorcists…”

The witch wiped her tears with her hands.

“The Sage was correct, they were failures. Even when grouped together, they were unable to dispel the curse bound to my soul. In the end, only you were able to do that. So, I decided to reincarnate both you, who were about to be executed and myself to this world…”

In other words…

“…You were killed around the time I was executed, huh?”

Her end was too sad.

“I deserved that, so I don’t really care.”

The witch let out a deep breath.

“…I talked too much. We should go back, everyone will be worried.”

“Wait, we aren’t done yet! What can I do to help—”

“I have no reason to answer that.”

She cut me off.

“…Seriously, worry about yourself first before worrying about others. Stop that curse-driven action of yours. I’ll say it again, you’re no longer a hero and I’m your nemesis, so stop trying to help me… Just leave me alone…”

“I–”

“Can you confidently say that your actions aren’t being influenced by the curse from your previous life?”

I couldn’t answer her.

“If you can’t answer, then you know what to do.”

I couldn’t even attempt to move my lips to answer her.

“You once said that you’d show me what true happiness looked like. I know you meant well and you probably are still thinking of doing it, but, don’t screw with me, you don’t even know what it looks like yourself.”

“What do you mean I don’t know? I’ve seen true happiness before.”

“But, have you experienced it yourself?”

She was right.

But what did it matter?

I’ve never experienced it because I’ve never thought about my own happiness to begin with.

“…Enough, let’s just go back.”

The witch sighed and turned away.

Sensing that my legs didn’t move, she turned her glance toward me once again.

“They’ll get suspicious if we don’t move soon.”

“…Can I ask you something?”

I asked.

The witch and I were enemies, so there was no reason for me to help her.

But, if that was the case, why did she keep admonishing me?

Why was she concerned about me?

“Cerys, why did you choose to reincarnate to this world?”

I asked.

I called her name and asked her in a serious tone.

“I understand why you reincarnated us into another world, but, why here? Why did you reincarnate us into this peaceful country? Answer me.”

I knew that it was because of her kindness.

She did everything for me.

“I… I…”

Once again, tears welled up in her eyes.

“I… Just wanted to make you happy…”

After saying that, she dashed into the restaurant.

That was unfair.

I was glued to where I stood for a while before I followed her.

The sky above was cloudy, perfectly resembling my gloomy state of mind.

* * *

After that, the study session continued and ended in an awkward atmosphere.

Well, of course it would be the case. The witch came back with both her eyes swollen because of tears. She didn’t tell anyone why she was crying and I also had no reason to tell them, so everyone could only express their concerns in silence.

Frankly, I regretted asking that to her.

I really shouldn’t have brought up that topic back then.

While apologizing inwardly to the witch, I pedaled my bike with Hina by my side.

The weather was cold for summer. It seemed like it was about to rain.

“…What happened to Mai-chan?”

Hina asked me. I couldn’t discern her current emotion from her tone.

“What if I say nothing actually happened?”

“How long do you think I’ve known you? It was obvious from Mai-chan’s face that something did happen back then. Don’t even try to lie to me.”

Hina said, matter-of-factly.

I wanted to tell her, but the content of my conversation with the witch wasn’t something I could tell others.

So, what should I tell her?

“…What do you think?”

In the end, I answered her question with an ambiguous question.

Hina’s eyebrows furrowed in suspicion when she heard that.

“What?”

“Do you think it’s normal to help other people in need?”

“Ah, I see.”

I thought this kind of thinking was natural.

Unless their nature was twisted to begin with, no one would want anyone to be unhappy. Even if it was someone that they hated. They might not want someone they hated to be in their lives, but at the same time, they would be wishing them happiness somewhere they couldn’t see.

If it was someone that they liked, it would be normal for them to help them.

I just wanted everyone to be happy.

I just wanted to see everyone’s smile.

Was I crazy for thinking something like that?

Was it some kind of curse, after all?

My desire to help the witch, did it really come from the bottom of my heart?

Hina stopped pedaling her bicycle and stared at me in silence for a while.

“You know, your balance is off.”

“Balance?”

“Between tending to yourself and taking care of others, your balance in that regard is off.”

Hina got off her bike and started to walk slowly.

I did the same and followed behind her.

“A normal person would try to look for their own happiness first before starting to take care of others but that’s only if they could afford to do it in the first place. Of course, it depends on the context. Like, if I saw someone got lost in the middle of nowhere, I’d try to call out to them, at least. In your case, you always tried to help others without minding your own well being. It isn’t like you could afford to do it either, you’re just ignoring your own happiness. That’s why you always ended up hurting yourself.”

“…I mean, people’s happiness is my happiness.”

“You know…”

She glared at me with anger welled up in her eyes.

“What would you feel if I were to give up my life to save you?”

“…No, don’t you even dare to think about it.”

I answered her with difficulties.

Hearing that, she snorted and turned her face away.

“What a selfish answer. If you want me to accept your thinking, then you have no right to complain if I were to do the same thing as you.”

No, that was not how it was. Hina and I were different. I was different from the rest of the people of this world.

…But, was it really the case?

I mean, even if I hated to admit it, I was no longer a hero.

My head started to hurt.

“You’ve always been like this, but ever since a year ago, you became even more strange, you know that?”

Her voice, as she admonished me, was sharp.

“You stopped smiling as much, you kept pushing yourself to help others and you kept insisting that you were happy living like that. Hey, do you think people would be happy if you keep on meddling in their lives?”

She came closer to me.

“Seriously, what are you even trying to do?”

Closing the distance to the point that our noses almost touched, she looked straight in my eyes.

“Don’t you realize that your life is yours? It’s not mine nor is it other people’s possession.”

She glared at me and continued talking.

“In the first place, your way of doing things is dumb. Yes, there are a lot of people that might need your help, but not everyone would welcome it. This is Japan and we aren’t in a war or something. Even if you leave those people alone, they’ll be able to take care of themselves. Your help isn’t necessary, so stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

I tried to argue, but no words came out of my mouth.

“…Honestly, I’m getting more annoyed as I talk. Hey, who do you think you are? Do you think you’re such a great person that you can afford to stick your nose into everyone’s business? Such arrogance. Since when did you become such a great person, huh? What, are you thinking that you’re some kind of hero or something? Get back to reality, you’re nothing.”

‘No one expected anything from you.’

“Hey, arrogant chuunibyou-kun, let me tell you something. Whether you exist or not, the world goes on. Your existence won’t change anything. Do you get it?”

It felt like she had vented out all her pent up feelings.

Her words were insulting. She rejected my way of life, the things I stood for, everything. Her tone sounded like she was condemning me as a person. She was treating me like a child who mistakenly thought that he was born special.

But strangely enough, her words didn’t hurt me.

“…I see.”

I thought I already understood everything that she said. But after she pointed it out again, it made me realize that I understood nothing.

“…Can I even… Live a normal life?”

When I looked at her, Hina let out a frustrated grunt.

“What the hell are you talking about? Just live your life the way you want to live. Just keep in mind that no one expects anything from you. Your existence is replaceable, the world will go on even if you don’t exist.”

Hina closed the distance between us again and gently flicked my forehead.

“…I know that, but…”

I glanced at my palm.

I could vividly remember the sensation of the blood-soaked sword I had always carried. But that sword was no longer there.

“…Is it real? No one is expecting anything from me? My existence doesn’t actually matter? …I guess so, huh? Of course, that’s the way it is, huh?”

“Exactly, you dumbass! Stupid-ass chuunibyou! Do you think you’re a hero or something? You’re a high school student already, gosh, get yourself together! I swear, I always get second-hand embarrassment whenever I see you.”

“Okay, that’s just mean!”

Hina’s insults made me flustered.

I see… I was that kind of guy huh?

Noticing my feelings, Hina looked at me concernedly.

“S-Sorry, I went overboard… I-I couldn’t help it, okay? Seeing you like that made me frustrated…”

Hearing that, I bursted out laughing.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you, Hina.”

I looked at her in the eyes and thanked her. Her words were true, there was no reason for her to apologize.

“Your words saved me, Hina.”

“…You… Are you a masochist?”

“No?! What the hell?! How the hell did you come to that conclusion?!”

It was true that her words saved me, though.

Probably it was because it came from her, the girl who had been watching over me since I was a kid.

“I’m glad that you’re my childhood friend.”

When I said that, she averted her gaze as her face reddened.

“Y-Yeah, you should be more grateful to me… Y-You’re a handful, don’t you know that?”

I was not a hero anymore, just a normal high school student that could be found anywhere.

I knew that fact since long ago, but I finally understood what it meant.

I always thought that helping people was something that I had to do.

Whether I was a hero or not, people always expected me to help them.

It always felt like people were expecting something from me, just like back in my previous life.

Hina’s words reminded me that there were no such things.

“…I’m just a normal high school student, huh?”

“No? There’s no way in hell you’re normal.”

“Eh?! What do you mean?! Didn’t you just say–”

“Don’t you realize that you’re a weirdo?”

“W-Wha?! Me? A weirdo?”

But, I was just trying to imitate my previous self.

To my horrified look, Hina bursted out laughing.

“…I guess I have to thank you once again. For always staying by my side, even though I’m like this…”

“Eh?…”

Hina flinched. It seemed like my words caught her off guard.

“T-This guy…”

Her face started to redden again. Was she okay? She didn’t catch a cold or anything, right?

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes, I’m fine. I don’t know why, but I feel tired. I wanna stop by there.”

She then pushed her bike to a parking lot in front of a convenience store.

I followed suit and we entered the convenience store together. We decided to buy some ice cream and ate it under the shade next to the building.

Perhaps because we had been talking under the sun for a while, we were drenched in sweat and we just realized it when we were resting like this.

“You know…”

I muttered.

“I want to look for a new purpose in my life.”

“Huh?”

“I want to try finding something that I really enjoy…”

Back when I was talking with the witch, the sky was cloudy, but all the clouds had already gone away before I knew it.

“…I know it’ll be hard to change myself at this point, but still…”

I thought that it was a given that I should live like I did back in my previous life.

But, Hina and the witch told me that it wasn’t the case.

“From now on, I’m going to live for myself.”

I wanted to make fun memories, to do whatever I wanted to do, to enjoy myself to the fullest and to look for my own happiness.

It was something that I always dreamed about as a kid, but when I started to regain the memory of my previous life, I started to forget about that dream.

“I see.”

Said Hina as she showed me a bright smile.

“If you’re happy, everyone will also be happy for you, you know?”

Her smile was as bright as the sun.

“You’re right… I wonder why I didn’t notice such a simple thing?”

“Because you’re an idiot, that’s why.”

She looked really happy right now. And I felt happy when I saw her like this.

“By the way, Hina.”

“Hm?”

“I can see your bra.”

Her thin shirt was drenched in sweat.

Since that was the case, it stuck closely to her skin and I could see her pink bra through her wet shirt. Gotta say, this was a pleasant sight to see.

“Hmph!”

“My eyes?!”

This girl just thrusted her fingers into my eyes without hesitation, wow.

Even in my previous life, this kind of bold girl was rare. Maybe she had the knack to become a warrior.

“I really can’t let my guard down around you…”

She moved away from me while shielding her chest with her arms.

“…Anyway, let’s get back to the previous topic. What were you talking about with Mai-chan?”

“Similar to what we were talking about just now. She scolded me really hard…”

“Huh? That girl can actually scold other people?”

Said Hina, who didn’t know the witch’s true nature.

“Anyway, that girl is similar to you. Always trying to push herself too hard.”

Then, she continued trying to analyze the witch’s personality.

“That said, she’s different from you. How can I put it… It feels like she’s afraid of people. To be exact, she’s afraid of being hated by people. It’s funny to think about it. She’s so cute, there’s no way that she only got one or two confessions in her entire life yet, she’s this insecure about herself. She’s always acting as if she’s an outcast or something too.”

That was a good analysis, as expected of her. I knew that she was a sharp girl. Among all of us, she was the one who kept an eye on other people around her the most.

“Whenever we talked to her, even though she’s scared and easily frightened, I could tell that she’s genuinely happy. We were just talking normally, but she acted as if she couldn’t be happier than that.”

I agree.

There was no doubt that the witch felt genuinely happy when Hina and the others talked to her.

“That’s why I like her. No matter how lame or suspicious she acts, I will always like that girl. I’m sure Yuuka thinks so too. That’s why, I want to ask you. You knew her for a long time, right? How did she become like that?”

I flinched when I heard her question. Should I tell Hina about the witch’s past or not?

After contemplating for a bit, I decided to tell her about it. Of course, I’ll let the other world stuff out of the story.

I told her briefly about the witch’s past. How she accidentally hurt other people without meaning to and because of that, they grew to hate her. That was the reason why she became afraid of other people.

“…I see. That’s why you’re trying to take care of her.”

Hina continued.

“But still, there’s no reason for you to keep all this to yourself. I’m Mai-chan’s friend too. Not only me, Yuuka and… Even though I hate to admit it, Shinji too… We are her friends too. You aren’t alone, we want the same thing too. We want her to be able to have a normal life too.”

Hina’s words made me feel strange.

…Sure, I was no longer a hero.

But that didn’t mean the nature of my relationship with the witch changed.

Whatever we turned into, we would always be enemies.

That meant, we hated each other.

What reason would I have to help the witch right now?

It was only after a while that I came up with that question.

ED: Dodo