Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 3 - Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Ten-Year Ceasefire

The ground squelched and squished beneath my feet.

Rain had been pouring down hard over the region until this morning, and the dampness was sticking around, making the forest muggy.

Bathed in the light of the morning sun, the raindrops that slipped off the tree branches from time to time scattered sparkles as they fell before being absorbed by either the sodden ground or my pointy black hat.

The forest road was steamy, heat rising from it as in early summer.

It’s so hot. Ugh, this is annoying.

“…Ughhh.” The shadows of leaves swayed in the tepid breeze, dancing across the ground beneath my feet.

I was extremely reluctant to be walking through the forest feeling so unpleasant, but if I flew my broom in a situation like this and left the coverage of the trees, I was sure to get soaked by the leftover raindrops that got caught in the wind created by my broom’s passing.

However, while that may have been the case, I was getting drenched with sweat the longer I walked, so it wasn’t doing me any good.

“It’s hottt…”

I was holding my wand in both hands, using my magic to conjure up a breeze.

“Ugh…it’s not even cool…”

I didn’t want to wear my robe on a day this warm. I had cast it off and wore only a shirt, a skirt, and my pointy black hat. In this outfit, someone would probably squint their eyes while looking at me, unsure if I was a witch or not.

To beat the heat, I was blasting myself with a breeze from my wand, which was strong enough to cause my ashen hair to flutter up loosely as it brushed past the nape of my neck. Even so, my spirits did not brighten at all. Rather, my discomfort got worse and worse.

I hate the time after the rain in humid climates.

I just want to hurry up and get to the next country and relax and rest up at a nice inn.

Let me see…how much longer to my destination?

“…Hmm.”

Apparently, I should arrive in about thirty minutes.

A sign reading THIRTY MINUTES TO CERIAL KINGDOM had been considerately placed beside the path.

TAKE A REST.

Just next to the sign was a small bench.

My goodness, that’s a bit of a misplaced favor in this climate, though.

“……”

However, it seemed there did exist in this world some broad-minded individual who could patiently accept such a misplaced favor.

Idly loitering on the bench, fanning himself with a folding fan, was a lone man.

By the looks of him, he had been sitting there for quite a long time. The sweat spots on the shirt had formed an intricate pattern, and I could clearly make out the fatigue on his face. Appearance-wise, he seemed to be in his mid-thirties. A few streaks of silver were mixed into his black hair.

Is it possible he’s been sitting here patiently for a very long time?

Incidentally, there was a huge quantity of water and food by his side, so it was possible that he was planning to sit here for a long time after this, too.

Well, I don’t suppose that would be the case, huh?

Also, beside the man’s feet sat some kind of strange creature with fur like a mop.

Maybe his pet? It kinda looks like a big moss ball, though.

……

“Are you a traveler?”

I spoke to the man once I had come as far as the side of the bench, conceitedly conjuring my own personal breeze all the while. I forced myself to put on an air of feeling slightly cool.

It was too hot for me to worry about someone else’s comfort.

The man slowly shook his head in response to my question. “No. I’m from that country.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the road I had just traveled, down which my footprints stretched into the distance.

At this point, absolutely nothing was visible down the road except for forest, but if you went way that way, there was the Mellnell Kingdom, where I had stayed until this morning.

By the way, there was nothing much there.

“If you’re from that country, then…ah, you must be a merchant or something. Thanks for all your hard work.”

“No. I’m not a merchant. I just live there. Also, I don’t have any particular business in the Cerial Kingdom.”

“…?” I tilted my head in confusion. “Well then, why are you in a place like this?”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

“Oh. From the looks of it, the person you’re waiting for has a very loose sense of timing.”

Aren’t you drenched in sweat?

“You’re telling me. They’re very bad with time.”

“About how long have you been waiting?”

I was genuinely interested. There was no particular deep meaning to my question, and neither did I especially admire the patience of a person who would endure this heat, waiting for someone while getting soaked in sweat.

“I’ve been waiting here for over a decade,” the man answered, and while that was cause for some concern, it was the next part that really worried me. “…and I’ll continue waiting, as long as it takes.”

“Of course, I’ve got a job, too, so I’m not here twenty-four-seven or anything. But when I have the time, I sit right here, just like this. I’m always here, waiting. I’ve watched the days and months go by for ten years, waiting.”

My interest piqued, I had taken a seat on the bench, and the man had told me his name was Nord as he talked to me about this and that.

I gave my own name, dropping in the fact that I was a witch so there would be no confusion, and then asked with a tilt of my head, “Who are you waiting for?”

“My wife. She left and went to the country down the road ten years ago, but she never returned. I’ve been waiting here the whole time.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go and meet her?”

But the man slowly shook his head.

“My nation and the one down the road were at war ten years ago, and since then, neither will have anything to do with the other. Even now, they won’t open the gate if someone from our country goes there.”

“So that’s why you can’t go.”

“Right. That’s why I’ve been waiting here.”

For ten whole years?

No, rather…

“If she went there ten years ago, then that means—is she, you know, dead or something?”

“No. My wife is a witch. She went to fight that other country.”

“……”

“I think I know what you want to say. If she hasn’t come back after ten years of waiting, then she’s probably dead. That’s what you’d like to say, isn’t it?”

I nodded.

“I think so, too. But as long as there’s a chance that she’s alive, I can’t just give up on her, can I?”

“So that’s how it is…?”

“That’s how it is. We’re married, after all.”

“……”

I kept silent for a while, searching for the right words.

During that pause, the creature by the man’s side stood up and began squirming restlessly.

“……”

Its mop-like hair wriggled and stretched, lifting up its round, mossy body, and it began crawling around on countless legs made of hair.

The hair-legs were longer than I was tall, so I, still seated on the bench, looked up at the creature’s face—or the part that seemed most face-like anyway. I couldn’t see any eyes. Just a round body, covered in dense hair.

“…Um, what is this creature? I’ve kind of been wondering about it this whole time.”

The ball of dense hair stretched its legs out between me and the man and took a seat on the bench between us.

The man stroked the hairball by his side and said, “Ah, I was wondering when you’d ask. This is some sort of mysterious creature.”

“Um, I can tell that by looking at it.”

“Maybe so, but it’s the thing that lives on this bench.”

“Huh.” I nodded without thinking, but when I gave it some more thought, I was completely confused. “Wait, what on earth…?”

It lives on the bench? Huh?

“The truth is, I don’t really know anything about this creature either. When the war ended and my wife didn’t come back, I came to wait on this bench, and from that day onward, this creature has always been here. From morning to night, it’s always right here.”

“……”

“I think it might also be waiting for someone.”

“…Might be, huh?”

“It’s thanks to its company that I’ve been able to wait for my wife so patiently. For some reason, I feel peace of mind with it next to me, and the waiting hasn’t seemed so bad.”

As he spoke, the man stroked the ball of dense hair again.

It quivered slightly.

“…It doesn’t like that?”

“No, that was a happy shake.”

“……”

I mimicked the man and tried stroking the creature. As expected, it quivered again. I could feel the vibrations through the thick, matted hair.

“Oh, it doesn’t like that.”

“It looks like the same response as when you stroked it, though.”

“I’m sure it looks that way to the untrained eye, but I can tell.”

“So that’s how it is?”

“That’s how it is. We understand each other just like an old married couple.”

“Since you’ve been together for ten years.”

“……”

Then, while fanning himself with the folding fan, the man said softly, “And we’ll continue being together. Why, I’d say, I know everything there is to know about this thing…”

The damp breeze blew between us, and the ball of dense hair trembled slightly.

I had absolutely no idea what emotion that signified.

After that brief interlude, I finally made it to the next country’s gate.

However…

“Hmm…?”

It was strange. The scene before my eyes ran counter to the man’s description.

“Welcome, Madam Witch! Are you a traveler from the country down the road?”

I was sure the fellow on the bench had told me the gate would be closed, but it was open just as one might ordinarily expect, and the guard was smiling from ear to ear when he greeted me.

“I am a traveler, but I’m not from that country.”

“I see! And how many days will you be staying?” the guard asked. “We would be happy if you would stay at least three, if possible, but…”

“Hmm? Why?”

It was a strange request.

Why three days?

Then the guard said something else strange. “Because in three days’ time, this country will no longer be at war!”

My head hurts.

After entering the country, I spent two days going around sightseeing. I had been asked to stay at least three days, and I had to admit I was curious.

The people here seemed to be eagerly awaiting the end of the war.

At last, an end to war!

The day we’ve awaited for ten years has finally come!

Finally, we can move forward!

Signs and slogans like these were on display all over town. There were so many that it was actually a little annoying.

By the way, why is the war ending in three days? In the country I was just visiting, the war has been over for a long time. Why is it still going on here?

I wanted to go around asking this and that and actually did in order to kill time, but unfortunately, no one would answer me.

“Don’t worry, you’ll understand in three days,” they suggested.

“……”

Then, before I knew it, the day of the ceasefire arrived.

However, now that the day was here, I was at a loss.

“…Why?”

I absolutely did not understand.

The people were gathered in a plaza in the middle of town. It looked like they were all watching the center of the plaza with smiles on their faces, as if anticipating something spectacular.

There, in the middle of the onlookers, soldiers holding rifles had formed a ring. Each of them had the barrel of their gun pointed toward the center of the ring.

“……”

However—

Why are there so many of those strange living balls of dense hair? What are a group of creatures like the one I met with the man on the forest road doing here, surrounded by soldiers?

To me, it looked like the people of this country had joined forces to persecute the poor things just like pilloried criminals.

The balls of dense fur were huddled close together, shaking.

“What on earth are those?”

When I tapped the shoulder of one of the people next to me watching the creatures and inquired, I received my answer right away, as if it were the most natural thing.

“What are they, you ask…? I thought everyone knew that they’re the witches from the other country.”

I finally got someone to tell me the truth about what had happened here ten years ago.

The effects of the war had finally reached the home front. A group of ten or so witches from the other country had formed an elite squad to strike at the heart of enemy territory.

They were opposed by the sole witch who lived in this nation. She was doomed to fail from the start.

The group of witches had overrun the countryside, demolishing buildings, destroying weapons, and snatching away the people’s means of waging war, one after the other.

Driven into a corner, the people entrusted their futures to the lone witch.

“Is there no way to defeat such a large number of witches all at once?” they asked.

The lone witch, loving her home above all else, gave up her life to stop the enemy witches’ attack.

She sacrificed herself and cursed them all, transforming them into those odd creatures.

This city had lost its only witch and, with her, their last ray of hope. As such, they were forced into a campaign of desperate defense. On the other side of the battlefield, the invaders had lost all their witches and did not want to risk a second attack.

In this way, the war naturally came to an end, and the two countries had nothing more to do with each other.

“By the way, those strange creatures have several peculiar characteristics.”

“Oh?”

“They’re less like animals and more like simple objects. They don’t need to eat anything, and they can’t die, no matter what.”

“Meaning?”

“They remain calm even when drowning, and somehow they don’t burn even when engulfed in flames. When you hit them with a volley, the bullets are spit back out of the ball of dense hair. They’re practically immortal.”

“……”

“It’s like our city’s witch devised a plan so that, no matter what happened, they would never be free from their war crimes. But there’s an end to their immortality. There was a time limit on our witch’s curse. Their immortality is supposed to wear off ten years after the curse was initially cast.”

“…In other words, you mean…”

“That’s right. Today marks the day that ten years have passed.”

“……”

“That’s why we’re celebrating. That’s why the war truly ends today.”

Then it happened.

The scattered cheers of the people grew louder and merged into a unified countdown.

The sound of disciplined clapping fell into a rhythm, as if to urge on the soldiers. I could just barely see them raise their guns from across the crowded plaza.

And then—

The sound of gunfire pierced the air.

In the center of the plaza, which was engulfed in cheering and clapping, red flower petals danced prettily in the air.

“……”

That’s not a metaphor. There were actually red flower petals flying around. When I held out my hands, one of the petals, carried by the wind, settled on my palm.

This floral confetti had been fired from the soldiers’ guns. They hadn’t been loaded with actual bullets, and of course, no one had died.

On the contrary—

“…Hooray! We’re finally human again!” “Ah…that was a long ten years…” “At last, we’ve been freed from that hell…seriously, those were some dark days…” “Booze! Bring us booze!” “I want to eat cake!” “I want a man!”

The strange creatures that had been huddled at the center of the circle were restored to human form. They were witches once more. In the shower of red flower petals, they shouted happily, embracing the soldiers and the people of this country.

“Huh, what’s going on?”

I was puzzled once again.

“What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious? We’re all happy because the war is over!”

“……”

Huh? What?

“Um, I thought surely, now that ten years have passed and they’re not immortal anymore, you would kill them all. I thought there was going to be that sort of gritty plot development.”

“What are you talking about? Of course not. We’ve spent these last ten years repairing our relationship with those witches. We’ve forgiven one another and decided to move on and live in peace.”

“…But in that case, why did you close the gate and cut off contact with the other country?”

“That was unavoidable. How well do you think it would have gone if, after we had stopped attacking each other, we’d handed over the witches in their transfigured states? Do you think we would have been forgiven if we said, ‘We turned all of your witches into these strange creatures, but we don’t feel like fighting anymore’? It would just have been pouring oil on a fire, so we waited for ten years to pass.”

“And you all forgave the people of the other country?”

“We forgave and were forgiven. It’s been a long time. That’s why we’re celebrating the end of the war with those witches.”

“……”

All things considered, it was a pretty anticlimactic ending.

When they said that the creatures would lose their immortality after ten years, they had simply meant the curse would dissolve at the ten-year mark, and the trembling balls of dense hair, surrounded by soldiers, had neither been shrinking back nor shaking with fear but had been quaking with joy.

How unsatisfying.

Truly anticlimactic.

“I believe you said you were a traveler, correct? Does the other country still harbor a grudge against us?”

I smiled bitterly at the question.

“It seems that this year is the tenth year of that very grudge.”

After that, I spent several days in a country full of joyous celebration.

I met the witches who had regained their humanity and told the people of this country about the state of the outside world.

The townspeople had apparently already decided on their plans for the future. They would open their borders for the first time in ten years and petition for reconciliation when they returned the witches to their neighbors.

I hope it goes well.

Though I guess it doesn’t have too much to do with me.

“……”

I left after several days.

All signs of rain that had been in the air over the forest had disappeared, and a crisp, dry breeze was blowing past my collar.

The breeze felt nice.

I bet this would feel even better if I was on my broom.

“Let’s go!”

I had been taking a bit of a break.

I rose from the bench set in the shade of the forest, took out my broom, and sat sideways atop it. Beneath the gently rising broom, dry dirt swirled through the air, covering the bench.

The empty bench sat there stoically, as if waiting patiently for a new person to come and have a seat.