“Long time no see, Eva.”

A girl with violet hair suddenly appeared before me, smiling faintly.

Among the many monsters I had encountered in this world, she certainly ranked among the top three most dangerous beings.

Startled like a cat, I jumped back, widening the distance as I raised my guard to the maximum and conjured flames in my hand, calling out to her.

“The Witch of Sloth…!”

“No need to be so scared. I didn’t come here to fight you, Eva.”

She stood there with her hands raised, palms facing me, as if to show she had no ill intent.

Although she didn’t seem like she intended to fight, I couldn’t extinguish the flames I had summoned.

It wasn’t that she was a beneficial opponent, but I also couldn’t just take her words at face value.

Seeing my reaction, the girl pouted, as if feeling slighted.

“Well, that’s a bit disappointing.”

Was I really going to end up fighting her?

As I pondered this, on high alert to react at any moment, she continued to speak.

“Didn’t I tell you my name last time? I’d prefer if you called me by my name rather than the Witch of Sloth.”

…Her name?

Just as I was dazed by her unexpected request—I had thought a fight would break out—I recalled the name I had heard before.

“…Beatrice.”

As I spoke that name, she nodded and said,

“Yes, Beatrice. You can call me Bea for short. Other than anyone else, it’s fine if you call me that, Eva.”

The sight of her looking satisfied at being called by her name felt bewildering.

I couldn’t understand why she seemed to have such familiarity with me.

Could it be that she mistook me for Evangeline?

Thinking that, I spoke towards her.

“…I think you’re mistaken; I’m not the Eva you’re thinking of.”

“Oh? You’re Scarlet Evande, right? We met the other day.”

However, Beatrice tilted her head, muttering like so.

“Did you think I was mistaken? There’s no way I’d confuse you with anyone else. If you weren’t the Eva I was talking about, you would have tried to incinerate me the moment you saw me.”

Her words, clearly delineating me from Evangeline, only added to my confusion.

It was odd.

There were no significant connections between me and Evangeline.

While I pondered whether there was something I didn’t know between us, Beatrice muttered.

“By the way, I honestly didn’t think it would come to this. I thought Eva would hate me so much that she would never stop until she killed me.”

Talking about Evangeline, she seemed to be reflecting on something.

As I quietly observed her, I felt an emotion bubbling up in my chest.

Unknowingly, I found myself shouting at the being before me.

“…Enough.”

“Hmm?”

“Stop calling me with that silly nickname….”

My heart raced.

From the moment I sensed her presence, my heart had been pounding.

At first, I thought it was fear of her existence that was causing my heart to race, but now, I realized.

The emotion that made my heart beat that fast was nothing other than anger.

It was the remnants of the deep, deep rage that Evangeline bore towards Beatrice, the one who destroyed her life.

“Why are you acting all friendly and calling me by that nickname? Of all people, you…!”

Having experienced the pain of Evangeline, I carried the memories of the agonizing times she had endured within me.

Maybe that’s why.

It felt utterly vile that Beatrice, the one who had thrown her life into a pit of suffering, would call Evangeline ‘Eva’ as a nickname.

“Evangeline suffered because of you…!!”

As I yelled, full of boiling emotion, Beatrice replied.

“Hmm, because of me?”

She gave a strange expression as she murmured.

After a moment of staring at me, she posed a question.

“From what you’re saying, it sounds like you know what happened before. Do you think Evangeline turned out that way because of me?”

“Yes…! If your lesser demonic beasts hadn’t killed the children in the village, she wouldn’t have ended up like that!”

“Indeed, that was a catalyst.”

She nodded, as if in agreement.

“But you see, Evangeline becoming like that wasn’t solely my fault, right?”

“What do you mean…! Evangeline turned out that way entirely because of you!”

“Hih, that’s not true. It’s different.”

When I shouted in outrage at her attempt to shift the blame, Beatrice muttered in a hushed voice.

“The demons killing the children was just a simple catalyst. It could have been an incident that could happen at any time. Was that really the reason Evangeline became like this?”

She shook her head.

“No. It was simply because people chose to blame and suspect her for being different, and no one came to her defense. If the children hadn’t died, even if her being a witch were revealed, something similar would eventually have occurred. Whenever something bad happened, they would surely blame the witch.”

“That’s just an excuse!”

Even though it had never happened before, I shouted as if to argue against Beatrice’s presumptuous assertions.

Then she looked at me with a strange smile.

“Can you really say that would never happen? Look at you, a witch, being chased out of the city right now.”

“Th-that’s…”

Given my situation, the answer was obvious.

Feeling tongue-tied by her probing words, I pondered.

I had indeed been ostracized and chased away simply for being a witch.

Beatrice looked at me with an expression that seemed to say ‘see?’

“I can’t say you’re wrong, can I?”

She continued speaking.

“There could have been someone who would support Eva, but no one did. We’ve been taught that witches are bad, so it’s easier to blame a witch. It’s more comfortable to just conform and live as we have been. No one chooses the difficult path over the easy one. There are only those kinds of silly folks in this world. That’s why Eva became like this.”

With a hollow smile, she murmured those words.

“This world is just filled with painfully dull people.”

As I looked into her eyes, which were murmuring that it was all so boring, I found myself unable to speak.

Those eyes, though clearly aimed at the world, seemed devoid of any reflection.

They appeared as black as a bottomless abyss, with not a single ray of light penetrating.

No white, no black, no yellow, no red.

None of it existed.

To be disappointed, one must have something to hope for.

To feel anything, there must be something to desire.

The gaze of hers, which conveyed nothing, suggested she had long since ceased to expect or desire anything.

As I stared into her eyes, I gradually became aware that I was holding my breath.

From the ominous energy radiating from her seemingly bored eyes.

What is this feeling?

Even if there’s a difference in strength, to feel such a substantial gap, even among witches, is terrifying.

A monster among monsters.

If I were to fight her now, there’s no way I would win.

Feeling this realization in my bones, Beatrice, now composed, smirked slightly and asked.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to. Anyway, so, you’re upset about me calling Evangeline ‘Eva’, right?”

With the atmosphere weighing heavily on me, I barely managed to collect my thoughts at her question and swallowed hard.

Damn it, she caught me, didn’t she?

Nodding at her with all my might, she gave me a strange look and said.

“Well then, I’ll call you Eva from now on, instead of Evangeline. But only if you call me Bea in return.”

Unable to stop myself, I grimaced at her proposal and replied.

“…I don’t think we’re on such friendly terms that you can call me that. Besides, why do you call me Eva? I’m not the person you think I am!”

Though it was a bit frightening to talk back after realizing her strength, to be honest, I didn’t want to force myself to call someone I found disagreeable by that name.

More importantly, I couldn’t understand why she called me Eva, and I didn’t like it, so I made a grimace and spoke. Beatrice smirked and said with a wide grin.

“No, to me, you’re also Eva. Just like the other Evas. In terms of being betrayed by people, getting hurt, and ultimately being abandoned.”

Upon hearing her say I’d been abandoned, my expression hardened.

While I couldn’t deny that there were circumstances that made it somewhat true, it felt as if acknowledging it would make it a reality, so I bit my lip and shook my head in denial.

“…I’m not abandoned. I still have friends who believe in me.”

And Beatrice burst into giggles, looking behind me as she muttered.

“Honestly, I wonder if you can really still think that after seeing this.”

Just as she finished speaking, Beatrice seemingly melted away into the air.

I realized she merely concealed her presence, as I could still feel her aura nearby.

But why would she suddenly…

Feeling puzzled by her abrupt action, I turned to follow her line of sight.

“…Huh?”

And then I saw.

A group of people rushing towards me, weapons in hand.

With ominous gazes trained upon me.

With bows aimed directly at my direction.

“Ready, aim, fire─!!”

Silver hair scattered in the wind.

A deluge of arrows fell upon me.

In the midst of that scene, a voice rang out with laughter.

“Eva, Eva.

Though you’ve changed,

the world has not.”