Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 6 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

An Honest Politician

The anonymous tip that the newspaper company received that day seemed, to the surprise of no one, to be part of a foolish grudge.

Inside the envelope that had been casually stuck between the front doors of the newspaper office were several photographs, bundled together with a letter. When you’re in the business of selling information, these sorts of anonymous tips are commonplace, and they run the gamut from secrets that could throw a whole city into an uproar to complete and utter nonsense. The reporter, arriving at work early that morning, opened the letter, but didn’t have much interest in the contents.

The city was in the midst of a presidential election. It wasn’t like he had the time to spare chasing some cheap story. So long as it was nothing major, the reporter was thinking of tearing the letter up and tossing it out right then and there.

The fact is, what was written in that letter was pure foolishness.

The Ashen Witch, Elaina, who entered this city several days ago, is an evil witch. She tricked me, and I lost everything I own. I want my revenge on that witch. Do you think you could use your connections to hunt her down for me?

There was no name attached, just photographs of a young witch in her teens with ash-colored hair and lapis-colored eyes.

The reporter was, of course, already aware that a young girl holding the highest rank of mage—a witch—had arrived in the city some time ago. It didn’t take a journalist’s intuition; magic users were practically unheard of in that city, so a visiting witch was a rare event indeed.

Perhaps in quieter days, the reporter might have put together some material for an article about the witch’s visit, but right now, the whole city was in the process of deciding its future. The newspapers had plenty of material already.

It went without saying that this was no time for a cheap story.

“……”

Nevertheless, the reporter tucked the letter into his breast pocket before opening the office doors.

“Yeah, that’s great! That disgusted look in your eyes is just great!”

The click-clack of the camera shutter captured the dirty looks being thrown by the normally very tenderhearted and beautiful girl before it.

Who could she be?

That’s right, it’s me.

“Um…is that enough?”

“No, wait! Let me take just one more! Okay! For the next one, try holding this flower and smiling like this!” The man stuck his face out from the cloth hood of his camera and handed me a white rose. “Hold that in your mouth!” He gave me a thumbs-up. I considered smashing the flower instead.

I had been warned by people in neighboring countries: Apparently, photography was all the rage here, and it was common to be asked to serve as a subject by amateur photographers like this one.

Apparently, really common.

Today was the third day since I’d arrived, and I’d already lost count of the number of times I had been called out by these creeps and asked to pose for a picture.

“That’s great! …Ah, hang on. I told you to hold that in your mouth, but…you threw it away… Ah! But that disgusted look in your eyes…it’s just great! Incredible! Just the best!”

Click-clack continued the camera shutter.

“I’m exhausted…”

In the end, after spending several hours trapped by the amateur cameraman, I finally escaped.

I had spent three days in this city already.

Today, as always, the main avenue was noisy and packed with people. Among all the hustle and bustle, I walked alone, wearing a weary expression, the clamor of the city ringing loudly in my ears.

Apparently, this city was going to hold a presidential election in several days’ time, so the campaigning had reached a fever pitch. That explained why the place was in such an uproar.

“Shine a light on the disadvantaged! As a politician, I… I pledge to serve this city, for the sake of those who showed me the way!”

I walked down the main avenue and caught sight of a man speaking loudly atop a wagon in the middle of the street. He was wearing a black suit and was surrounded by a throng of people. He looked relatively young for a politician. If I had to guess, I’d say he was in his thirties.

The man’s name was Matthew.

He was so famous that anyone who lived in this city—no, even someone like me who had only been here for three days—would recognize him.

VOTE FOR MATTHEW, FOR THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF OUR CITY!

Posters decorated with political slogans and images of the man in the black suit were plastered everywhere around town. When you see the same smiling face every day, for better or worse, you remember it.

“I will not abandon our citizens who are struggling in this recession! Do you know the most important thing for resolving the territorial dispute? I think it’s forgiving one another! I, too, have made mistakes, and in the past, I even took a break from politics. But I faced the consequences, and my lovely wife, who forgave me, has brought me this far.”

Well, whatever he was going on about was all nonsense to me.

But he appeared to have a certain amount of support among the people, judging by the comments from the crowd.

“He should definitely be our new president.”

“I’ve never seen such an honest politician before.”

Since I had set off on my journey as a witch before coming of age, and since I had lived a life unconcerned with regional politics, I’m afraid the words being spoken on the eve of the election rang hollow in my ears.

Sweet talk is easy, but it doesn’t get results. And every politician makes the same sorts of exaggerated promises, so it’s not like there’s a marked difference between them anyway.

The people of this city, however, seemed to feel otherwise.

A short way down the road from where Mr. Matthew was giving his speech, another person—another politician, clearly—was also speaking from the back of a vehicle. Though in this case, it was a luxury carriage rather than a simple wagon, and the man was definitely not young. You could tell just by looking that he was a veteran politician.

“I want to bring prosperity to all citizens. And prosperity is not what you’ll get from a government run on youthful idealism. But it’s something I can offer, precisely because of my years of experience guiding the development of our nation.”

The man with the calm demeanor who was smoothly criticizing the young politician was Bernard.

A VOTE FOR BERNARD IS A VOTE FOR PROSPERITY FOR ALL

This man was also one of the candidates for president. I’d seen his campaign posters stuck on the walls of many people’s houses.

In other words, the election for the next president seemed to be a one-on-one contest between the young Matthew and the veteran Bernard.

As for which one of them would be victorious, it was impossible to tell just from a quick look. Both the veteran and the amateur had people crowded around their wagons, in what appeared to be roughly equal numbers.

“Howdy-do, Miss Witch. Could I have a moment?”

I was standing there watching the speeches absentmindedly when a rather unassuming middle-aged man stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

……

“Sorry, but if it’s for a photograph, I must decline.”

No way am I falling victim to another amateur cameraman.

I turned to flee.

“Huh? Wait, no, no! I’m not a photographer!” The man stepped in front of me, blocking my escape.

“That’s right, you’re not a photographer… Because you’re an amateur aspiring to become a photographer! That’s right, isn’t it?!”

“No, that’s not it…” He presented me with a business card. “This is who I am.”

……

“Sorry, but I don’t have any interest in the entertainment industry.”

You’re going to butter me up, then try to get me into show business, right? Well, I won’t fall for that old trick!

Again, I turned and fled.

“No, I’m not attached to an entertainment company or anything…” Again, he blocked my path. “…And you have an awfully high opinion of yourself…,” he muttered.

“Huh… All right then, what are you?”

“…I already told you, this is what I do.”

The man held out his business card to me again.

……

I took it, reluctantly.

AZAMI NEWSPAPER - REPORTER - FRANK

I see. So he’s a newspaper journalist, apparently.

“Sorry, but an interview is a little…”

Of course, I turned and fled.

“No, no, no! Just wait a second! Will you just listen to what I have to say? Please? I’m begging you!”

“Eh………………”

Sounds like a pain…

“I’ll pay you for your time!”

…and suddenly I feel up to it!

I skidded to a sudden halt. “What exactly would you like to know?”

“So greedy…” The astonished newspaper journalist took out a pen. “Anyway, you’re visiting from another city, right? What do you think the results of the upcoming election will be?”

I was wondering why on earth he had gone out of his way to speak with a foreigner like me, but it’s just an ordinary interview about the election. I feel like there are lots of people in that crowd more qualified to answer this question than I, but… More than likely, he wants to hear an unbiased opinion from an outsider. I bet it’s one of those circumstances, huh?

“…I’m not particularly backing either one of them, so I can’t say much, but…” After looking back and forth between the two people who were this very minute delivering speeches, I answered, “Right now, you could probably say that they’re evenly matched, don’t you think? I wouldn’t be surprised if either of them won.”

“Oh-hoh! And why do you think that’s the case?”

“For starters,” I said, “when young Matthew was delivering his speech, he frequently mentioned his relationship with his wife, right? That seems to have won over the younger crowd.”

Previously, a rival politician had brought to light that Matthew was having an affair, and he had been forced to retire from politics as a result. Later, though, he had owned up to his indiscretion and apologized to his wife, and over time their relationship recovered. Now, with the support of his wife, he had apparently been able to make a comeback in this election. I had to admit, it was a good story, if a bit pedestrian. Of course, the only reason I remembered it now was because I’d heard it numerous times from campaign advertisements.

“On the other hand, the other candidate in the running, Bernard, has been a politician for a long time, and clearly takes pride in his distinguished career. Actually, the people surrounding him are all elderly. Looks like he’s winning over the older crowd.”

“What do you think about each of their political policies?”

“I don’t really care.”

“How awful…”

“Isn’t an election just a glorified popularity contest, after all?”

“Truly awful……”

The young politician who had overcome personal tribulations to get ahead in the world, versus the veteran politician who was standing in his way… It was a familiar narrative.

I’m not surprised that everyone is so invested in the outcome.

“But you see,” the reporter Frank volunteered, “as far as we older folks are concerned, when it comes to choosing one of them, we’d prefer to have Bernard as our president. Don’t you think it would be an embarrassment if such a naive idealist managed to win the city’s highest office? Plus, he’s an adulterer.”

“But he seems to have gotten the backing of the younger crowd.”

“Right you are, but that’s just because those young guys are charmed by his youth. What is he actually talking about when he gives his speeches? It’s just a string of sob stories, isn’t it? If a guy like that were to try to lead the people, I bet he’d do a pretty poor job.”

“……”

“Well, that’s why the older crowd wants Bernard to win over a guy like that. But as you said, at the present stage, they’re evenly matched, no doubt about it. And that’s a problem, get it?” He tilted his head at me.

I had absolutely no idea what he was trying to say.

“…Are you possibly trying to get me to do something bad?”

I had more or less guessed. But Reporter Frank said, “No, no, nothing like that,” and waved his hand awkwardly. “What I want you to do is the right thing.”

Then, making sure only I could see, he pulled some photographs from his breast pocket, and showed them to me briefly.

He was holding several photos of me.

“It’s been three days since you came to this city, right? By the way, just how much did you make running your dirty scam those first two days?”

In his hands he had a neat collection of photographic evidence of me doing business in this city. The first photo was of me buying some crappy necklaces for dirt cheap. The second photo was of me opening a roadside stall displaying a sign that said, MANY SAY THEY FOUND HAPPINESS THANKS TO THESE NECKLACES. The third photo was of me selling a necklace for one gold piece.

Well, that’s awfully unexpected. Why, if someone were to look at these three unrelated photographs, it might indeed appear as though I was doing something illicit, wouldn’t it?

“You do understand what I’m trying to say, right?” Wearing a broad grin, Reporter Frank continued, “So there’s a little something I’d like to ask you to do, if you would be so kind as to come back to my newspaper office.” He turned his back on me.

“These photos came as an anonymous tip from one of the victims you fooled. I’m not particularly interested in ruining your reputation or causing you any kind of legal trouble or anything. I just want you to cooperate with me a little. To do the right thing.”

And then he said, “Well, if you won’t take our side, nothing is off the table, you know.”

I think it’s pretty safe to say he’s doing the wrong thing right now.

“The young politician Matthew has a wife named Laurie, and she’s very beautiful—really, the ideal woman.” Reporter Frank had invited me into the newspaper office and lit a cigarette as he spoke. “However, as you can tell from the fact that she chose to hitch her wagon to a third-rate politician, she can’t be all that smart. I mean, even after her husband’s scandal, she stuck around and helped clean up his mess.”

Frank handed me a number of books.

They seemed to be autobiographies, and their covers were decorated with photos of a beautiful woman.

Living as a Politician’s Wife.

How to Forgive a Cheating Husband.

These and other phrases were splashed across the jackets.

“We suspect that Matthew forced Laurie to write all these books,” he said, exhaling tobacco smoke.

This couple’s story was all too common.

It was several years in the making.

When he was still relatively unknown, the politician Matthew began having an affair with his secretary, despite being married, and eventually a rival politician had exposed him.

The populace was quick to judge the politician over a highly personal matter, that honestly had nothing to do with politics, and steadily he lost all his supporters. Even though his future had been promising, his aspirations met an abrupt end.

In the end, Matthew practically disappeared for several years. It was no surprise. The people could never trust an adulterer. But now he had returned to public life and had risen through the political ranks until he remained as the sole challenger to the leading politician.

But just what was it that made him into the man he was now?

“Everything that’s happened up till now has been a part of Matthew’s strategy.” Reporter Frank tapped away the thickly accumulated ash from his already short cigarette and continued. “From the start of Matthew’s downfall, up to the beginning of this election year, his wife Laurie has taken an active role on the center stage, as if the two of them had changed places.”

After her husband had lost his standing, the wife, Laurie, had done frequent interviews with the newspaper and other media outlets. She seemed to speak frankly about her true emotions, saying, “I can’t forgive my husband,” and “But I also feel like I want to be able to trust him.” She played the faithful wife who would stick by her husband no matter what, and the way she carried herself so courageously, never showing her pain no matter how badly her husband’s actions hurt her, captured the hearts of many people.

Time passed, and Laurie exhausted every available method in order to prop her husband back up. She published autobiographies, she gave lectures, she started her own fashion line, she even opened a restaurant. It was tempting to joke that those later things were simply her own interests, but at the very least, the people seemed quite supportive of her many ventures.

And since her popularity was inevitably tied to her husband’s, she was able to rehabilitate Matthew’s image in the public eye. But the newspapers continued to remind people how dependent he was on his wife’s goodwill.

“After his infidelity was exposed, Matthew devised a way to regain the public’s goodwill. His wife was the key. Publishing those autobiographies and delivering those lectures, even opening those businesses, all of it was the wife doing as she was told.”

“Do you have any proof of that?”

In response to my question, Reporter Frank shook his head.

“I don’t have any proof. Not a bit.”

I see. So, in short, this is all just speculation?

“But,” Frank continued, “I’m asking you to help me get my hands on that proof. Journalism without evidence is nothing but fiction. And that kind of journalism is worse than useless. I think, if we can get his wife to tell the truth, we can expose Matthew’s lies.”

“…And what would you have me do?”

“You’re a witch, right? So, can’t you use a spell to make it so she can’t lie, or create some kind of magical truth serum or something?”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“You can’t do it?”

“That’s not what I said,” I answered flatly. “But look, even if I were to do something like that, what’s your plan if Laurie doesn’t say the kind of things you’re expecting?”

This guy acted like a journalist obsessed with truth and justice and doing the right thing, but it was pretty clear that he really just wanted Matthew out of the way. It would be convenient for his newspaper company if Bernard won the election, and it would mean trouble for the company if Matthew were elected. So naturally, this reporter wanted to push the idea of a scandal and see the young politician pulled down from center stage once again.

But if he went ahead with that plan, and had me cast a spell on Laurie so that she could temporarily only tell the truth, then what would he do if he wasn’t able to get the incriminating information he was hoping for? I imagined that if I were to cast such a spell right here and now, I might catch a glimpse of a deep, dark relationship between Bernard and the newspaper company, straight from Reporter Frank’s mouth.

“You’re a witch, right?” He smiled suggestively. And then he said, “If you can make a truth serum, surely you can also make a potion to make someone lie?”

As long as it came from Laurie’s mouth, that was good enough. Whether it was the truth or not didn’t actually matter.

Apparently, that was the right thing to do, according to the newspaper journalist standing before me.

It was a weekday, and the café on the corner of the street looked deserted. At least, aside from me, there were almost no customers, and the small amount of noise that the faraway counter waitress was making as she tidied up some tableware echoed all the way to our booth by the window.

“I run this coffee shop, you know. Although as you can see, it’s not exactly thriving. Or maybe everyone’s just busy campaigning.”

Three out of four seats in the booth were filled, leaving only the seat across from me empty. Next to me sat Reporter Frank. And in the seat across from him, Laurie giggled softly, gracefully covering her delicate mouth.

She was quite stunning, honestly.

“So what brings you here today?”

“Right. We wanted to ask you about your relationship with your husband Matthew,” Reporter Frank said, after shooting a glance at me. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to ask you to tell me about the politician Matthew, from his wife’s point of view.”

“Well!” Laurie clapped her hands loudly. “That’s just wonderful! If it will help my husband in his election, I’d be very happy to cooperate!”

“Okay, that’s great. Well then.”

Reporter Frank began launching easy questions at her, pen in hand.

As far as my role went, I was just sitting there absently beside him, not doing anything in particular, and with nothing to do except listen in on the conversation taking place next to me.

I really had no idea what I was doing here.

“Thank you for waiting. Here is your coffee.”

After a short while, the waitress appeared, holding three coffees.

I must have looked unoccupied, compared to the important interview being conducted next to me. I played the part of the gracious customer and said, “Oh, put them here, please,” and collected the mugs.

And then, “Excuse me, will you take sugar?” I interrupted their interview, as politely as I could.

Reporter Frank shook his head silently. Laurie looked at me with a smile and said, “I’ll take mine with one sugar, thanks.”

With nothing much to do, I had taken up little tasks like this.

It was only fitting, since so far, I hadn’t been called upon to do much of anything.

But my real duties would begin soon.

I dropped a single white lump into her coffee cup with an exaggerated plop! then stirred the hot liquid with a spoon. I was extremely thorough with the stirring. As if I was really getting to know that cup of coffee.

“Here you go.”

Laurie took the cup that I passed to her without suspicion, said, “Thank you,” and smiled at me.

She doesn’t seem two-faced at all, though.

“……”

But the reality was that we were all about to find out just what sorts of dark secrets she might be harboring.

She had no idea what I had really added to her coffee.

“Let’s see. All right, I’ve got one more question,” Reporter Frank said, after Laurie had set her cup back down. “It’s about your relationship with your husband. Would you say that the two of you have an equal partnership?”

The final question struck right at the heart of the matter.

Were the rumors just rumors, or were they true? Did Matthew wear the white hat, or the black?

If Laurie still possessed the ability to think normally at this point, she was certain to answer, “Yes, we’re equal,” with a smile.

“……” But there was no smile on her face now. “…No. We’ve never been equal…not since the start.”

She answered the question weakly, as if in a kind of trance.

“You’re not equal? And what might you mean by that?” Reporter Frank tilted his head and made a puzzled expression.

How transparent can you be? Even though the truth is spilling from Laurie’s mouth, thanks to my intervention.

“……”

I watched the two of them carefully.

Laurie was now speaking the full truth about anything and everything. No matter what kind of question she was asked, she answered in detail, without shame or forethought.

And just in case she didn’t say what Reporter Frank was expecting, even under my spell, we had a plan to order another round of coffee shortly and dose her with a different potion.

Ultimately, one way or another, she would have to speak the truth that the reporter was hunting for.

“For a long time…between me and Matthew, there has been a clear…master-servant relationship…”

But there was no need to order a new coffee. Because every word she said was more than meeting Frank’s expectations.

“The two of us…have a master-slave contract…disguised as a marriage… There is absolutely…no room for disagreement…”

“What did you say? What does that mean?” Reporter Frank looked surprised. Though he was obviously smiling.

“His sudden return to politics…his presidential campaign… It’s all because everything…went according to plan…”

“…What are you talking about? Are you saying that from the start of the affair, everything has been part of a larger plan?”

He was no longer making any effort to mask his leading questions.

“That is correct…”

Well, she didn’t seem to be trying to disguise anything either, though.

“What on earth…?!” Reporter Frank looked honestly surprised. Nevertheless, his face was all smiles. “So just to clarify, are you saying that Matthew’s unprecedented presidential campaign was the result of a long and deliberate scheme? That even though the two of you pretend to be happily married, you’ve been his slave all along?”

Reporter Frank wasn’t trying to hide anything. His unabashed pressing showed that he wanted to hear all she had to say.

And since Laurie was in a state where she told all quite indifferently, it was totally natural that she would answer this question too honestly. We were waiting for her to confirm all our suspicions.

That’s what should have happened, but—

“…No, that’s not right.” She slowly shook her head.

And then she said, “…I’m not the slave. He is.”

I daresay, that was not the answer Frank had been anticipating.

Reporter Frank had clearly not expected anything like the words that had just spilled so casually from Laurie’s mouth. His suspicions concerning the truth behind Laurie and Matthew’s marriage had not been entirely misplaced, though he had gotten the exact nature of their relationship precisely backward.

“Everything he has done has been to serve me. That’s how it was arranged.” She spoke matter-of-factly. “Even when he committed adultery with his secretary and resigned in disgrace—all of that was done under my instruction.”

She told us that everything had been arranged from the beginning. The devoted wife would loyally support the young politician during his withdrawal from the public sphere, and when he returned to politics, he would compete in the election for leadership of the whole city. Even that development was part of the plan.

The young politician had gone up against a veteran once before, but he’d had fewer resources and no reputation to speak of. And of course, the newspapers had run many more articles about the established candidate and had mostly ignored the younger politician. He had clearly been at an overwhelming disadvantage.

Name recognition is essential to surviving in the world of politics.

So they needed to sell his name.

Because a politician with no name recognition might as well not exist. And that was true for more than politicians.

“And so, I had an idea. Rather than try to get people to notice us by doing all the ‘right’ things, we would get the world to give us all the attention we wanted by doing the ‘wrong’ things.”

And the method they chose for this publicity stunt was Matthew’s infidelity.

They allowed their marriage to be tarnished by a cheap lie.

As expected, Matthew attracted a lot of negative attention, and was eventually shuffled out of the political world after facing a barrage of criticism. Laurie handled everything after that.

She gave lectures, she opened businesses, she continued to publicly insist that her domestic life was happy and harmonious. She did whatever she could to stay in the spotlight.

And the image of the forgiving wife, standing loyally by her miserable womanizer of a husband, quickly captured people’s hearts.

As time passed, Matthew’s indiscretions were completely eclipsed by Laurie’s various enterprises.

That was when Matthew stepped back onto center stage, with his wife publicly supporting his presidential ambitions.

By that time, the popular impression of Matthew had already reversed one hundred and eighty degrees.

“Look, sometimes a bad person who occasionally does good things will give a more favorable impression than a good person who does one bad thing, right? All I did was make my husband play both those roles,” Laurie said, wearing a smile as always.

EVIL WOMAN OF THE CENTURY? THE TERRIFYING TRUE NATURE OF MATTHEW’S WIFE LAURIE

The headline in the following day’s newspaper said something like that, accompanied by a photograph of Laurie—the paper was running an article about her. Well, it’s probably more accurate to say it was about him, rather than about her.

“What do you think? With this, Bernard is certain to win the election! I don’t think anyone will continue supporting that loser Matthew, who’s been under the spell of an evil woman the whole time.”

“……”

I had been summoned to the newspaper office and was asked to look over the piece they were writing, based on the previous day’s interview. But it would be difficult to describe what they had handed to me as an actual news article.

They had printed the entire interview, every word that Laurie had said. Nothing had been held back.

“Isn’t this the very definition of biased reporting?”

I glared at him while waving the crackling newsprint, but Reporter Frank just gave me an exasperated shrug.

“No? I just told the truth, exactly as it is!”

“But isn’t this the same as your newspaper company supporting Bernard?

“Well, it is, yes. But I don’t think the world will see it that way.”

“……”

I guess that in this city, the word “impartiality” carries less weight than wet newsprint.

And there’s not the least effort to disguise it.

How outrageous.

“You have my gratitude, Miss Witch. Thanks to you, this nation’s future is secure. Bernard will win the election and lead our city in the right direction.”

“…Sure, no problem.” I held out my hand, without looking at him.

“…? What? You want a handshake?”

Are you stupid?

“Aren’t you going to hand over those secret photos of me?”

“Oh, those?” As if he had actually forgotten about them until just a moment ago, Reporter Frank began searching through his bag. “Let’s see, where did those get off to…?” Finally, he came up with several black and white photos of me. “Here we are.”

“Thanks.” I snatched the photos away from him and stuffed them into my pocket. “So now our informal collaboration is formally dissolved, right?”

“Ha-ha-ha! Personally, I’d like you to lend me your powers for a while longer. It’s just like a witch to be able to make convenient little things like potions that make people confess their deepest secrets. Won’t you come work for our newspaper?”

“You’re overestimating me.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, in any case, I will absolutely not be collaborating with you any further.”

He snorted when I turned him down politely.

“Well, all right. If you happen to visit this city again someday, I’ll ask you again anyway.” And then he turned abruptly on his heel and strode back into the newspaper office.

“Whatever. See ya.”

I don’t think we’ll be meeting again.

Allow me to tell you what happened to Matthew after that.

His wife’s evil deeds were exposed in the newspaper, and he collapsed during a campaign speech. Tearfully, he apologized, saying that everything he had said up until that point—that he was able to make it so far due to the support of his wife, and everything else—had all been nonsense.

The truth was, his evil wife had tormented him and forced him to have an affair as part of a scheme to win the election.

He also revealed that they were currently moving forward with divorce proceedings.

The people were outraged, but their anger was not directed at him.

Laurie was made out to be the villain of the story. Nearly all the businesses she had opened to date were forced to close, and her books formed mountains of returns at the shops.

Before long, her divorce from Matthew was finalized, she was driven out of the house she had been living in, and she disappeared from public life.

It was the type of ending that typically awaits evil women.

On the other hand, Matthew continued his presidential campaign. Even though he had been tormented by his wife for a long time, the feelings he had for his city had been real, he insisted.

The people were moved by how he had endured her abuse for such a long time.

“Do your best!” “Don’t give up!” Such common phrases gave him a boost.

Sure enough, Reporter Frank’s exposé on the evil woman had completely upended the election. However, his scheme had brought about exactly the opposite result from what he had intended. Since the article came out exposing Laurie, and since her and Matthew’s divorce, Matthew had become far more popular than ever before.

Despite the trauma he had experienced at the hands of his evil wife, Matthew continued to devote himself to the service of his city. The people were captivated by his sincerity.

The misdeeds of his evil wife couldn’t be held against him. The people living in the city understood that very well, even if all the newspaper companies didn’t.

For this reason, Reporter Frank had been mistaken, and his efforts to sabotage Matthew’s campaign had only strengthened it.

By the way…

I had lied to Reporter Frank.

When we went to interview Laurie at the café, that wasn’t my first time meeting her.

“…According to today’s newspaper, Matthew seems to be projected to win the election. What do you think?”

“Too predictable, how boring.”

After their divorce, she invited me to her house, and treated me to coffee.

Freshly ground, it looks like.

Stirring her steaming cup with a spoon, she smiled.

I looked at her and took a sip of coffee.

“This coffee…it’s delicious.”

“Isn’t it? I mean, it’s the same coffee we served at my café.” She drank her coffee—with one sugar—and smiled. “Tastes just like always.”

It must have had the same flavor when she was sitting across from Reporter Frank, too.

After all, the only thing I had added to her cup was ordinary sugar.

I had initially met Laurie on my first day in the city.

After wandering around aimlessly for a while, I had, by coincidence, stepped into one of the cafés she owned.

“Oh my. Would you happen to be a traveler?”

A woman suddenly sat down across from me at the window-side booth where I had taken a seat.

What is with her, coming up to me out of nowhere? It’s pretty scary!

I was on my guard when she produced a business card. “Oh, please, you can relax. I promise I’m not a suspicious person.” That was a very suspicious thing to say.

“…Huh.”

The card had a lot of dense writing on it. It seemed to say that she was the wife of some kind of businessman or politician or something.

Definitely suspicious.

Then the very suspicious woman began to tell me, completely unbidden, all about the city.

“Right now, this city is bubbling with excitement over an election. It’s coming down to a head-to-head between an influential politician and a spirited newcomer.”

But there were certain problems with the political system here, she told me. The problems rested with the newspapers. All the news companies were firmly backing Bernard, and the articles they published focused on his campaign and nothing else. The candidates did not receive equal coverage on their pages, and all the reporting was thoroughly biased, she insisted.

“If this continues, my husband’s campaign will be crushed by the newspapers. That’s why I want you to lend me your power,” she said.

“Politicians should be elected because of their positions on the issues. The people should choose an upright and honest person to lead the city. But the government is too corrupt for that to ever happen. Elections to decide the future of our city have been reduced to simple popularity contests.”

The reality was that even the speeches I had witnessed in town were merely a way to attract big crowds. People were naturally more likely to gather around popular candidates, and in this way the more attention a person could gather, the more support they continued to gain.

It reminded me of swarming insects attracted to a light.

“Won’t you lend me your power in order to get a truly upstanding politician elected?”

That’s what she said to me.

But I wasn’t going to nod my head right away and accept her proposal just like that.

After all, there was the possibility that she was lying, and I wasn’t willing to work with her until I had drawn my own conclusions.

And so, I said only, “I’ll think about it.” Then took my leave that day.

By that point, I had already been approached by several amateur photographers, caught up in the craze that was sweeping the city. As I took simple strolls around town, they’d called out to me, asking me to model for their pictures. It had happened to me frequently on my first day in the city, and again on the second day.

And whenever I agreed to have my photo taken, I took several of the pictures with me as mementos.

Then, on the second day of my stay, I visited Laurie’s café again.

“Have you decided to help me, then?” Laurie asked, with a tilt of her head.

“……” I pulled out several of the photos that had been taken around town, as well as a short letter I had written. “I don’t know whether you’re in the right, or whether the newspaper company is in the right, so I can’t promise you my support just yet.”

The straightforward missive accused me of an assortment of crimes.

“In the middle of the night tonight, stick this in the door of the newspaper office. If the journalist is someone who wants to do the right thing, he’s certain to ignore this letter, or else try to expose me for all the bad things it says I’ve done. And if he’s someone who wants to do the wrong thing, he’s certain to think he’s got me at a disadvantage and come threaten me. If he does that, I’ll cooperate with you. If he doesn’t, then I won’t.”

And so, on my third day in the city, I discovered that the newspaper reporter was exactly the type of person to try to do the wrong thing.

“But is it really all right? In the end, you stand to lose everything in order to get your husband elected.”

Laurie’s method for getting Matthew elected seemed rather desperate.

“I don’t mind.”

As always, she smiled as she sipped her coffee.

She had orchestrated the uproar over the affair several years earlier, and later spent a long time laying the groundwork to make her husband famous, which she would have to do if he was to have any hope of winning the election. There was no other way, except to prove his honesty.

That must have been what she was thinking.

So for that reason, Laurie had forced her husband to have an affair several years earlier, and was now preparing to have that fact exposed.

By confessing that all his crimes were really her own, she could create an image of him as an honest man who kept his misguided wife by his side no matter what.

She had even come up with the scheme involving her truth serum confession—she would put on a show of revealing all her evil deeds.

“I had to do the wrong thing for the right reason,” she said. “I want him to be the type of politician who will do the right thing for the right reason.”

“……”

I set my coffee cup down and looked at her. “It sounds like Matthew will do a lot of good after you cut him loose.”

Right now, his popularity knew no bounds. He seemed certain to become the next president.

“I’m sure that he will. At least, I hope so. It’s what we’ve waited so long for.”

It seemed like the city would finally have a leader dedicated to its people.

But did anyone have any idea that he had only made it so far because of his unscrupulous wife, who had been willing to do the wrong thing at the right time?

I was certain that nobody knew that fact.

Not before then, and not after.

Several days after the departure of the Ashen Witch, a new president was sworn in. He was the youngest president in the history of the city.

This was a turning point in the city’s history—claimed all the newspapers, rather shamelessly.

At the start of the election, nobody had imagined that Matthew would go up against a powerful and influential politician, armed only with his idealism and devotion to his city, and actually win.

Of course, the whole city buzzed with excitement as the new president was inaugurated. He would lead the city down a new path for sure. Everyone was convinced of it.

“Thank you.”

At a small private residence near the border, a single man bowed deeply. This man was supposed to be carrying the city on his shoulders. This man had just become the new president. And this man was perhaps more honest than anyone imagined.

After bowing for a long time, as any politician would, he rose.

His gaze met that of his ex-wife, chin resting stoically in her hands.

“Please guide me again,” he blurted out, imploringly. “What should I do next?”

At his words, the corners the woman’s mouth raised ever so slightly.

Standing there was certainly a devoted politician.

However, no one else knew that his devotion had never been directed toward his beloved city. Not a single one of his constituents understood that he had always been devoted to a certain someone.

Not before then, and not after.