Sir, Do Not Cross That River.

Even while we were inside the hut chatting, the shrill screams outside still continued.

That so-called tyrant is unbelievably unlucky. If he had copied Sword’s Cry or the Disturber of Rest here instead, he might at least have resisted a little, but he copied the priest, Holy Touch, so now he’s in danger of becoming a real punching bag.

The tyrant I watched for a moment was being hit with nonstop attacks, recovering quickly under Holy Touch’s relentless assault. If he hadn’t copied anything, he would have been erased and that would have been the end of it……

‘Exactly. You shouldn’t copy things carelessly either. You’ve crossed a river you can’t come back from.’

“More importantly, you don’t seem to have brought that fool in on purpose. Were you caught by him?”

It was Guardian’s Shield, not Sword’s Cry, who rarely spoke. But I was too embarrassed to find that strange.

“Yes……”

“Well, it’s only natural you’d let your guard down. If he’s that much of an idiot…… Still, you never know what can happen in battle. Never let your guard down.”

“Yes.”

Guardian’s Shield was right. I had already reflected on things while coming in here, and seeing the tyrant getting beaten by Holy Touch made it impossible to guarantee that I would never end up like that.

“Well, enough with the old-man talk. Anyway, you really did let your guard down well.”

“…Pardon?”

I had to feel bewildered by Guardian’s Shield’s unexpected words.

For a moment I wondered if he was mocking me, but his face was one of genuine satisfaction.

“That martial-arts otaku outside was spouting nonsense about a punching bag and such, but I agree with the meaning. A truly excellent training tool has come in. If we teach it properly, it’ll be perfect to put to work. More than anything, watching it quietly, it seemed very familiar with the mental world.”

Guardian’s Shield finished speaking, bared his gums, and smiled in satisfaction. The other three heroes around him were the same.

“Yeah, it’s better this way. As long as we’re here, that idiot won’t be able to do anything crazy, so don’t worry, Kim Han. Ah! By the way, Kim Han, could you show me that?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah! I was speaking too incoherently, right? The Apple of Youth.”

“Ah……!”

Bringing items into the ritual space had only recently become possible.

I first summoned ‘Pyosik.’ The self, Sika, existed here as a little girl.

At the time, when Sika took shape the moment I gave permission, Sword’s Cry even got scolded by the two female heroes for saying she was ‘better than her master.’

I think I know why she, the Disturber of Rest, asked to see the Apple of Youth. She is……

“Here it is.”

The Disturber of Rest, having received the Apple of Youth, wore a sad face I had never seen before. Tears welled up in the eyes of the spirit, the mental form that she was.

Drip―

At last, a single tear falls.

The Disturber of Rest was the most lively and energetic of the six heroes. In a way, she was like a cheerful, foolish mix of Arun and Naruan, split in half, and she often made silly mistakes.

And now she was crying.

“Sniff. Sorry, did I surprise you?”

“Ah, yes…… A little.”

“By any chance, do you know what the Apple of Youth is made of, and how?”

“Pardon? No.”

The Apple of Youth was already a strange item. It unconditionally doubles the target’s health Regeneration rate, so isn’t that practically a divine power?

At least I had glimpsed its origin through the ‘Check’ power, but even the ones who found it had picked it up without knowing how it came to be.

“The Apple of Youth is made from witches’ blood, flesh, and souls.”

“…Pardon?”

Today I kept giving nothing but stupid, Arun-like answers. Her words were that shocking.

While screams were heard outside the hut, she unfolded a long story. An exciting legend began to spread quietly through the hut, with the tyrant’s screams as its background.

Witches. Not merely female mages, but people with their own independent magical system; naturally, most of them are women.

If a mage’s magic is manifested through mana, formulae, and hand seals, and a shaman’s sorcery through spirits, incantations, talismans, or blood, then a witch’s magic is a system manifested through mana, unique spells, and various kinds of ‘catalysts.’

That is why witch magic is bizarre beyond imagination, and stronger than you’d think.

There is only the inconvenience of having to always carry the materials needed for manifestation, but there are clearly advantages that outweigh that.

What caused witches to begin being shunned was, surprisingly, mages who used the same magic.

Witch magic. The exclusion by mages who felt threatened by that strange and original magic.

So witches had no choice but to gather in one place. The Disturber of Rest recalled that witches were an organization treated badly in much the same way in almost every dimension.

Human desire for power and greed always go beyond anything you can imagine.

In some dimensions, witch magic was condemned for having birthed monsters that used corrupted divine power, and in others witches were persecuted for supposedly bringing plagues.

The reasons varied wildly, but the conclusion always ended with a witch hunt.

Witches. Women. What happens to women after winning a war? Above all, aren’t they beings who possess beauty equal to how much magic they have trained in?

Perhaps because of that, they were sold off here and there as sex slaves or ordinary slaves and often met miserable ends.

That is why the first magic witches learn is suicide magic. Magic that lets them take their own lives before suffering a miserable fate.

In the center of any village where witches live together, there is an altar.

The moment the will to take one’s own life manifests, the witch’s flesh and blood become the catalyst, magic is activated, and the soul gathers at the altar.

The explanation is that the witches’ souls gathered that way become the Apple of Youth.

Listening to the Disturber of Rest’s story, I did feel that the witches were pitiful and unfortunate, but that was all. They weren’t people closely related to me.

“But……”

“Ah! Why did witches gather their souls in one place?”

“I don’t know……”

“Do you know what happens to a soul that has committed suicide? Hoho. Sorry, I’ve gotten into the habit of asking…… A suicide soul suffers immense pain in the process of reincarnation and is given the fate of being born as a small creature or some even more miserable existence. No matter what reason you attach, it’s the same. The way to escape that suffering and take revenge on the one who invaded its resting place is this apple.”

“Revenge?”

I wasn’t interested in how a suicidal soul escaped. Only the word revenge felt vaguely unsettling.

“Yes. Escaping the soul’s punishment and revenge are the same thing. You know how to use the Apple of Youth, right? Hoho.”

“I know you’re supposed to destroy it.”

“Yes, ‘destroy’ it.”

“Ah……!”

The Apple of Youth was created when souls were gathered together through magic mediated by blood and flesh. Then destroying this apple meant destroying the witches’ souls.

Though it is a trick, it still leaves room for it to be seen as murder rather than suicide.

“Yes. And at the moment the soul is destroyed, you’ll gain several effects, but the soul of the one involved will be given a tremendous karma. It won’t show right away, but they’ll gradually become unlucky.”

‘Become unlucky, huh……’

Suddenly the item description of ‘Andvaranaut’s Ring’ came to mind.

Now that I think about it, the equipment I got from the two undead this time all strangely gives off an unlucky aura.

The ‘Shouting Horn’ provided the spark that led to the Empire’s downfall,

The ‘Andvaranaut’s Ring’ reduces luck by 30 every time it’s used. Should I be glad it doesn’t have ‘unconditionally’ attached in front of it?

The ‘Burning Magic Sword’ is the same.

There may be items that aren’t like that, but there aren’t many items with a good ending.

But the Apple of Youth also has a bad effect not mentioned in the ‘Check’ description.

“Then…… is there a way?”

“Yes, of course. Hoho. I’m a witch too.”

That’s right. The reason she knew so much about witches. The reason she made a sad face when looking at the Apple of Youth. It was because she was a superhuman from a witch background.

The Disturber of Rest held the Apple of Youth in her hand and, in a low and serious voice, ‘commanded’ it.

“Awaken, my children.”

The light flashed briefly and went out, and a soft glow began to emanate from the Apple of Youth.

The Apple of Youth, which had been a murky rainbow color, began to find a radiant hue as its light grew stronger and stronger.

―At last!

―Revenge……

―Revenge……

―Revenge……

With echoing voices, countless spiritual forms appeared in midair. Tiny, faint lights like fireflies filled the hut and shone brightly.

“Quiet!”

At Guardian’s Shield’s firm voice, the surroundings fell silent as if by magic.

“Then and now, witches talk too much. It’s driving me crazy.”

“What are you talking about, you meat shield? Want to die?”

“Hmph!”

Among the spirits watching the two of them, the largest soul came forward and circled around the Disturber of Rest.

―No way… this aura is……

“You’re the matriarch, aren’t you?

―Could it truly be… that person?

“So that senseless behavior is still continuing? Even in this dimension?”

―How could we ever forget! To forget Lady Ilia would be to deny our very existence. Receiving even part of Lady Ilia’s aura was not that painful.

“Tsk, so stubborn…… Anyway, you can rest now.”

―Ah!! Thank you. Thank you, Lady Ilia.

“You should thank this one instead. She’s also one of the owners of this place.”

I was just listening to a conversation I couldn’t follow, when all of a sudden everyone’s gaze focused on me.

Even though I couldn’t see the eyes of the countless small spirits, I could feel that they were watching me.

It felt like being in a quiet library, wearing earphones and speaking loudly enough to draw everyone’s attention.

―Benefactor, would you permit us to materialize for a moment?

“…Sure.”

Swaaaaaa―

The sound of wind shaking lush trees. The sound of a shower falling. With a strange sound like those two mixed together, the white spirit that had been growing larger began to take shape.

It wasn’t a face with big eyes, a high nose bridge, and lips red like cherries… It was just a round-faced woman. Not the kind of beauty that jumps out at you.

But for some reason, looking at her makes me think of ‘mom.’ Even though her face is nothing like my own mother’s……

“I greet my benefactor. I am the matriarch of the witches.”

Not in a noble’s manner of greeting, nor in the way of this dimension, but with a dignified posture she slowly bows deeply. It felt like I should automatically be handing over New Year’s money.

“Uh, uh……”

If you’re Korean, when someone you don’t know bows to you, you automatically react by taking an awkward, half-bowed stance.

I, too, received the bow in that posture, unable to stop her and unable to properly return it.

“On behalf of the witches, thank you. We are greatly indebted to you.”

The situation was strange. But the other heroes were all looking at me with interested expressions.

Let me correct that. They were looking at me with mischievous faces.

“It wasn’t intentional. It just happened by chance while I was dealing with the enemy.”

Then I told them about the old Nisten Empire related to the witches. I briefly summarized it as recorded in history books, along with the current situation of the continent and my own situation.

“I see. Still, no—because of that, I’m even more grateful.”

“Ugh. All right.”

It felt like talking to the citizens of Exorsus. They offered thanks for everything.

“By the way, the last emperor of the Nitense Empire is outside. Would you like to meet him?”

At my question, she shook her head with a kindly smile. As if that were enough, she asked without wiping away the smile that put people at ease.

“Did you just say you were the representative of the gods?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must need power.”

“…Yes.”

“Then, though it is a meager thing……”

“Hm?”

The graceful woman, who introduced herself as the matriarch, stepped up to me, gave me a light kiss, and pulled away.

Then my whole body felt refreshingly as if I had gone in and out of a place that had gathered the energy of a forest. Even though she was a spiritual being.

“A witch’s kiss can summon death, but it can also bring luck. Benefactor, may you achieve the wish you desire……”

Fwoooosh―!

She bowed her head respectfully once more, then turned into light and vanished. She wasn’t a tiny firefly. She disappeared completely.

Thump— thump thump— todongtong. Thump thump. Totototong. Totootong. Thump thump. Thump thumpthumpthump.

The spirits that filled the area came toward me and bumped into all parts of my body, then turned into bright light and disappeared one by one, like bursting soap bubbles.

After a while, all the light in the hut disappeared. The five heroes were still looking at me, smiling softly. No, looking again, they seemed to be smiling slyly.

“Wow, after living this long, I finally get to meet someone who’s been kissed by 471 witches.”

“Yeah. Witches usually dislike men, after all.”

“Mm.”

“It means Kim Han is that special. Doesn’t that mean he’s different from muscle-brained idiots like you?”

The heroes were too busy bickering with one another to bother explaining.

Outside, the tyrant’s screams kept echoing, and all I could do was make a face like Arun’s.