Chapter 167

#167 Witch and the Contract of Magic (9)

Dorothea wasn’t sure if ‘Tuberosum’s Chalice’ would actually help with this kind of situation.

But…

“Better to try than not try at all.”

Since there was no risk involved in failing, there was no reason not to choose it.

Dorothea decided to freely abuse the power of prophecy.

“Yes, did you call for me?”

Sophia, who responded to Dorothea’s call, approached and offered her magical power.

The others were still panicking due to the spirits and couldn’t regain their composure.

Dorothea’s eyes glimmered with wine-colored red magical power, and a crack appeared right in front of her.

Whether it was because Sophia’s magical power was at its peak or for some other reason, the crack was unusually large and clear.

Dorothea reached out towards the crack.

***

Once upon a time, in an ancient past.

A dwarf was born in darkness.

The dwarf’s world was dark and stuffy, but the dwarf didn’t know about discomfort.

Because the dwarf had never experienced anything other than darkness and stuffiness.

So, the dwarf couldn’t understand the lamentations of the surrounding adults.

The adults were always complaining.

The adults were always angry.

The adults told the dwarf.

There existed a land much wider, brighter, and more livable than this one.

The dwarf asked.

Then why don’t you go there?

The adults replied.

We tried to go, but we failed.

The dwarf asked.

Why did you fail?

The adults answered.

We managed to acquire vast lands, but we were unable to claim the land of faded ashes.

The dwarf asked.

Why were you unable to acquire it?

The adults replied.

Because there was a queen ruling over the land of ashes and her knight.

Half of the great king’s brave eight generals fell one by one to the knight, and the remainder were vanquished by the heavens.

The dwarf was taken aback.

The king the dwarf knew was truly a great being.

He was the king of the dwarfs, the king of the adults, and the king of all in the dark.

It was simply unbelievable to the dwarf that such a king had suffered defeat.

Astonishment soon transformed into curiosity.

The dwarf began to search for a way to reach the ‘livable land’ spoken of by the adults, but it was not an easy task.

Only the great king and his close aides knew the way.

To stand in the presence of the great king, the dwarf exerted effort.

And when the dwarf could no longer be called young, the chancellor serving the king called him.

The chancellor asked.

Are you the dwarf who wishes to step into the sunlight?

The dwarf answered.

Yes, oh second most great one of this land.

The chancellor asked.

Why do you wish to go there?

The dwarf replied.

Curiosity has settled in my heart, causing it to race.

The chancellor chuckled softly and then told the dwarf the way to the bright land.

The dwarf said.

Thank you, oh second most great one of this land. What can I do to repay this debt of gratitude?

The chancellor replied.

You need not repay anything.

Our great king is the king of those who rage, lament, wail, and cry out.

On the day of vengeance that will come someday, there is no need for someone whose heart beats with curiosity instead of hatred. Go forth and seek your freedom.

But it would be wise to be cautious. The arrogant heavens may see us as an imperfection.

The dwarf once again thanked the chancellor and headed towards the bright land, leaving behind the dark place where he was born.

The bright land was an incredibly fascinating place.

Endless skies, air not suffocating to breathe, abundant food.

The dwarf understood why the adults had wanted to seize this land so much.

As he wandered, the dwarf began to be called ‘wizard’ by the people of the bright land.

Though the dwarf thought that the magic used by the bright land’s people was different from his own power, he didn’t bother to deny it.

He quite liked the title of ‘wizard.’

Wandering on the surface, the dwarf found that there were creatures and plants in the bright land that were quite similar to those he had seen in his homeland.

Perhaps due to the gentle environment, they were much weaker than what the dwarf was familiar with, but they shared the same roots. The people of the bright land referred to them as monstrosities.

However, there was also something amusing.

The people of the bright land labeled not only the dark land’s creatures and plants as monstrosities, but also those native to this land that had been tainted by magic.

They even grouped together ‘people of the dark land’ like the dwarf, remnants left behind during the ancient war, and called them monstrosities.

The people of the bright land were oddly ignorant of the dark land.

Because the heavens had deemed that knowledge a taboo.

The dwarf attempted to correct the misconception of the people, but that was a foolish action.

Those with emerald auras sought to hunt him down, labeling him as a heretic.

The dwarf’s encounter with the golden witch happened during a grueling escape.

The witch, possessing excellent alchemical skills, protected the dwarf in exchange for the knowledge he had.

Exhausted, the dwarf agreed to the deal.

He shared knowledge about the various races living in the dark land with the golden witch.

How massive and strong giants were, how delicate the works of small folk could be, and how intelligent the centaur hybrids were.

The golden witch referred to the knowledge he provided as she sought to recreate them through alchemy.

The dwarf thought the witch’s creations did not resemble the originals much, but he kept that opinion to himself.

He had realized why the tenacious and cruel emeralds did not appear near the witch.

As time passed and the pursuit faded, the dwarf left the witch, and the witch, who had obtained the knowledge he promised, did not detain him.

Later on, still hidden in his identity, one day the dwarf discovered a young and beautiful lady.

The dwarf felt a pang of disappointment.

He found the lady very charming, but she had already given her heart to another young man.

The dwarf thought to himself.

If I cannot win the heart of the lady, I shall settle for her daughter.

After all, the dwarf’s lifespan was vastly longer than that of a human being.

He could afford to wait for the time it would take for a child to grow.

The dwarf proposed a contract to the lady and presented her with a potion of love.

In truth, the potion was nothing special.

It simply made her more beautiful and more noticeable to others.

However, the effect was undeniable.

The lady obtained the love she desired.

The problem arose afterwards.

The lady changed her mind and refused to pay properly for the price.

The dwarf felt amusingly disdainful.

A wizard’s contract was not only about the written words.

The concept included mutual agreement and understanding as well, even if not explicitly stated.

There was no way to get away with shifting the meaning of the contract with mere wordplay after fully understanding its terms when signing.

If he had wanted, it would have been possible to forcibly collect, but the dwarf decided to take a more petty revenge fueled by his grudge against the lady.

He twisted the interpretation of the contract as if the other party had committed the first offense, placing a much heavier burden on his counterpart.

The backlash of that excessive burden meant that the dwarf too had to give some means for the contractor to escape, but since the initial offense was made by the lady, the escape route was effectively nonexistent.

For the contractor to avoid finishing the contract without offering up her daughter, she would have to guess the dwarf’s name.

However, that was impossible.

Since the dwarf had never revealed his true name to anyone since coming to the bright land.

In a space where no one’s ears could reach, the dwarf mocked the foolish contractor with a song.

Today I will make the potion, tomorrow I will build the tower, the day after tomorrow I will bring her child.

How delightful it is that no one in this land knows my name as ■■■■■■!

***

“I found it.”

The vision ended.

Realization settled in the witch’s blue eyes, and sensing doom, the dwarf trembled the tower in place of his body.

《Wait a moment──》

“You have every right to feel wronged. But if you want revenge, you should have finished it with the parties involved. The moment you dragged in an unrelated third party, there’s no room for excuses left.”

The witch raised her staff high.

The red magical power of Tuberosum’s Chalice surged alongside the witch’s jet-black power.

The dwarf’s name carried a potent strength in itself, and without this level of force, even properly pronouncing it in human language would be impossible.

Amidst the red and black storm, the witch intertwined the language of magic with human language.

Aiming her staff towards the tower, the witch declared.

“The contract is over. ‘Rumpelstiltskin.’”

***

The tower crumbled.

The tower in reality remained intact, but the one overlapping it in this space could no longer maintain its form and was collapsing.

The eerie energy that had been emanating from the tower too began to dissipate like a parting mist, ultimately vanishing completely.

Dorothea let out a short sigh and sent away the surrounding spirits.

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if he has died!]

“That’s not it. However, he probably had quite the scare. All those years of hard work likely went to waste. He might be lost in despair, I suppose?”

[‘Tin Knight’ expresses understanding that it would be shocking to see limited edition items selling out while waiting in line!]

“Using strange metaphors again, I see.”

Shaking her head disapprovingly, Dorothea turned her gaze toward the lady sitting on the ground.

The lady seemed momentarily dazed but soon began to stammer out words.

“T-Thank you. Really, truly, this gratitude…”

“About that statement just now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Most likely that dwarf, or rather ‘wizard’ treated you the same way, right?”

The lady swallowed hard, seemingly caught off guard.

The witch, looking down at the lady, was smiling, yet her eyes were cold as ice.

“I certainly will repay this kindness. I will apologize to the children I used too. I mentioned that earlier. Although it was merely a verbal promise, a promise is a promise.”

As the lord and others approached from a distance, the witch whispered into the lady’s ear.

“I believe you’ve learned the consequences of carelessly toying with a contract this time. After all, people can make mistakes once. But if you attempt to repeat the same mistake knowing what it is… Well, who knows what will happen? Care to test it yourself? Seeing as there are some friends here with many things to say to their ‘mama.’”

With those words, several spirits floated around Dorothea’s hands.

The lady trembled and shook her head repeatedly.

Just then, the approaching lord and soldiers, upon seeing the lady’s pale face, shouted at Dorothea.

“You there! Step away from the lady!”

Dorothea shrugged silently and willingly stepped back.

The lord approached the lady and supported her.

“My lady, what’s the matter? Are you alright? Wait, what is this?!”

The lord attempted to brush away the spirits clinging to the lady, but they stubbornly refused to detach themselves.

The lady could hardly open her mouth, quietly sobbing.

Again and again.

Crushed under the weight of her sins, endlessly.

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