Chapter 60: The Witch
Sorry for the delay……
Shion continued to the next hole after conquering the first one while thinking, it really is egregious…
There are just too many traps. Poisoned arrows flying at you, floors that explode when you step on them. If it was the witch who set these traps, Shion gave up with the idea that they would be able to get along.
And the seventh hole was also home to many monsters that were quite troublesome and a pain in the ass to handle.
After defeating them while leaving some energy left, he came to a door that seemed to lead to the witch.
In front of the iron door embedded in the wall, there was a sign that said only “Blood”. Shion was a little troubled, wondering what it meant.
He looked at the door again and noticed that there was a small gemstone embedded in it. It was a blood-sucking stone that absorbed blood.
Thinking that this was the key to opening and closing the door, Shion cut his finger slightly with the blade and let the blood-sucking stone suck some of it.
It was a success.
The door opened with a heavy gurgling sound. Shion stepped inside, careful with his surroundings.
Although it was in a cave, it was a small room with several bookshelves and shelves on the walls for storing things.
At the back of the room, an oddly aged woman sat alone. She had wavy black hair and her skin was unhealthily white. Her eyes were purple and her lips were also a similar color.
“You’re the witch who lives here, the one who’s been placing so many traps and monsters?”
When Shion asked, the witch took one look at him and opened her mouth in a whisper.
“I’m surprised you could make it here. It’s been over ten-ish years since the last one”
“I’m here to get some medicine”
“I’ll tell you one thing; I didn’t set those up. It was a trap in this cave itself”
Shion was a little tired, thinking that the conversation was not exactly on the same page. However, eccentric people usually talk at their own pace, and he has seen such people before, so he is used to it.
He observes the items on the shelves.
Shion felt unspeakable anger.
This is because he has found another elf ear liquidizer. And not one, but five.
Shion asked, trying not to get too emotional.
“Where did you get those elf ears from?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Because I’m personally very curious. I have friends who are elves after all. Every time I see that thing, it makes me angry, honestly”
The witch stood up and with a leisurely motion, stuck her hand into the pocket of her robe and pulled it out, throwing the knife at the same time.
It was aimed at his throat and was filled with murderous intent. Shion flicked his sword effortlessly and threw it as hard as he could to imitate it.
Far superior to the witch’s throwing speed, it sliced the enemy’s cheek and pierced the wall behind him. Blood flowed from the thinly sliced cheek. The witch chuckles.
“I can usually tell at a glance if someone is stronger than me or not. I’m good at what I do. The traps in this cave are no match for me. But I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t win against you”
“If you can see it at a glance, why did you waste your time throwing it?”
“It’s a witch’s whim”
“I’ll ask again. What’s with those elves’ ears?”
The witch answers honestly this time.
“I can use transference magic. I use it to go into town from time to time to buy ingredients for a potion from a man there”
She probably wants to hide the man’s name, but Shion keeps pressuring her.
In terms of the situation, from the witch’s point of view, it’s like being cornered. If Shion gets serious, he can kill the witch and take all the medicines here.
Of course, he’s not that kind of person, but he can’t read that much into a witch he just met.
“… His name is Opt. He runs a curio shop in the Kingdom. The biggest one”
“He’s not an ordinary man, right? Who is he?”
“I don’t know anything either”
GASHASHASHA———!
The top of the shelf where the medicines were arranged was cut off with a horizontal slash. In the process, several poisonous colored bottles were destroyed.
The witch rolled her eyes and yelled at him.
“What the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea how much that thing is worth?”
“I don’t particularly want to know. I have no intention of having a real conversation with someone who lies to me”
“…………He is part of the Resistance”
“Are you one of them too?”
Definitely not, the witch denied with a shake of her head. Nevertheless, the fact that she had made a deal with them meant that she had given them useful medicine.
The Longevity Potion, a medicine that can amplify one’s magic strength, you gave it to them? Shion asks. The witch nodded.
“So, you spread a rumor that you only traded once a decade, holed up in here, so that you wouldn’t arouse suspicion”
While in truth, she’s been using Transference Magic to go in and out of the city on daily basis, as she confessed.
GASHA——!
Shion’s sword broke one of the bottles on the shelf again.
“That’s what you wanted to drink, right? I can tell by the way you’re looking at me. I know it’s supposed to make you stronger, but it’s useless. You’ll never be able to beat me”
“…… How can I make you let all this go?”
“One, you will tell me everything you know about the Resistance. Two, you will never do business with them again. Three, you will give me breast enlargement medicine. These are the three conditions”
The witch accepted this. She thought she was lucky that he hadn’t taken all her medicine.
After listening to the story and getting some breast enlargement medicine, Shion turned around and went back to the square.
‘Shion-san! How was it over there?’
Haku came running up to him, looking happy. He had already conquered the part he could enter and was bored.
“There really was a witch. She gave me some medicine and told me some interesting stories”
‘As expected, you have really good luck. While I was lucky on other meaning…’
“Hm? Come to think of it, you smell”
‘There’s been a terrible trap! You’ll have to listen to this’
Excitedly, Haku talks about how the hole he entered had a terrible poo trap.
Until they met up with Aria, Shion decided to listen to him complaining.