Living under the same sky, yet being sworn enemies.

That was the perception that the people of this world held toward witches.

For a long time, they had to live confined within a limited land due to witches.

Recently, they had also experienced the loss of those close to them because of witches.

It was understandable for them to harbor ill feelings toward me, a witch, though it was unfortunate for me.

To put it simply, I felt like the blood relative of Hitler who appeared in the city of the Jews.

Even if I didn’t want it, how many people wouldn’t hate me in such a situation?

It was a scenario where it wouldn’t be strange even if I were to be killed by them. In fact, I was almost killed like that.

Because of that, when I managed to escape the city, I was mentally prepared.

Prepared for the possibility that I might never return.

If I were guilty of no crimes, I might have felt wronged, but since I had wronged Yoon Si-woo by injuring him, I couldn’t even think that way.

So, it was something that couldn’t be helped, and I accepted the possibility of never stepping foot in the city again, half-heartedly giving up.

Toward me, Silvia said,

“So please, trust us. We will definitely send you back to the city.”

She insisted they would surely return me, asking me to believe in them.

The moment I heard that, countless thoughts flooded my mind.

Could it really be okay for someone like me to return?

Wouldn’t I just be met with hatred and be driven out again?

Even though such fears were certainly lingering.

When I came to my senses, I found myself nodding along.

Unbeknownst to me, a half-tearful smile escaped my lips.

Hearing my friend’s words to trust her felt like I was lifting the suppressed feelings inside me as if they had been revealed.

…Yeah. Deep down, I was just saying to myself that it was okay.

The truth was, I also wanted to return to where everyone was.

*

“I was thinking that everyone might just end up dying at the hands of the lesser demonic beasts! And then, out of nowhere, Scarlet suddenly stood up and blocked the demonic beast──”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As I nodded along to Silvia, who was chatting enthusiastically, she seemed to get even more excited and began pouring out stories.

Since I couldn’t quite remember what happened right before I fainted yesterday, I had asked her to tell me about it, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her becoming such a chatterbox.

Somehow, it seemed I would have to be a bit cautious when asking Silvia for a favor in the future.

Just hearing that would make her pour her heart into anything…

Well, still, it was quite a relief that Silvia was so eager to talk this time.

If even Silvia had been quiet during our return to the city with the members of the Aegis Academy hunting squad, then the atmosphere would have been quite awkward.

Whenever our eyes met with the members of the hunting squad, they would bow their heads and sincerely apologize, looking truly sorry, which honestly made me feel quite burdened.

Even though I genuinely felt fine, they kept apologizing, making it hard for me to know what to do…

Yet, I couldn’t help but understand how they felt.

How could they not feel sorry with someone they almost killed right next to them?

In that sense, I thought it was fortunate that the World Tree had been revived.

The fact that Silvia could chatter away so loudly was also because the nearby magical powers had been completely purified, so they didn’t have to worry about the lesser demonic beasts.

The scenery on our way back had also become beautiful thanks to the World Tree’s revival.

When I casually glanced around, vibrant green trees full of vitality surrounded us on all sides.

A place that had been filled only with charred blackened trees had transformed into such a beautiful forest.

Looking at this scene made a part of my heart feel a bit more at ease.

It felt like this beautiful landscape, which I couldn’t see in the original story, was telling me that my existence wasn’t purely a negative influence in this world.

While I felt somewhat comforted looking at the forest, I noticed Silvia, who had been chatting earnestly, finishing her story.

“So that’s what happened. Scarlet, now you know what transpired, right?”

“Yeah, thank you, Silvia.”

Thanks to her hard work in telling the whole story, I was able to grasp what had transpired, and I expressed my gratitude to Silvia.

By the way, even though Silvia was the one sharing my story, why did it feel as if it was someone else’s?

Since I didn’t remember sending back the demonic beast, I thought to myself, ‘Did I really do that…?’

While I was lost in my thoughts, a loud rumble echoed from somewhere.

Whose belly was that coming from? I glanced over to see Silvia with her face bright red.

“…Are you hungry?”

“Eep…! T-this is because reviving the World Tree consumed a lot of energy!”

I hadn’t said anything in particular, but perhaps feeling embarrassed that her stomach had grumbled, Silvia shouted defensively, and then Elder One spoke up, as if to ease her embarrassment.

“Silvia, everyone has been walking quite a bit, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to take a moment to rest and have a meal together? I happen to be a little hungry as well.”

“Is… Is that so? Let’s do that then!”

Elder One’s suggestion made Silvia shout excitedly as if she had been waiting for this moment.

As we all shared amused glances at her adorable demeanor and took our seats, Silvia cautiously turned to her companions and asked,

“Um, everyone…? Did you bring any food?”

“Well, we had to prioritize easy-to-carry items to prevent contamination by magic, so all we have are combat rations from the storage…”

“W-what?!…”

As everyone pulled out little round balls from their pockets in response to her question, Silvia truly looked despondent with a pained expression.

I wondered what the problem was, but then I recalled that Silvia once mentioned those round balls tasted horrible.

She probably wanted to fill her stomach with something other than these…

But what could be done?

Her rations were likely just as limited as ours.

Sighing deeply, Silvia pulled out a round ball that looked just like everyone else’s from her waist.

After glaring at it momentarily as if she wanted to kill it, she pinched her nose and stuffed the ball into her mouth.

“$#@%@^~~!!”

What followed was a silent scream.

Silvia, shuddering as if having a seizure, seemed to remember something and urgently pulled out a macaroon from her bag, popping it into her mouth before finally exhaling as if she had just survived.

Seeing her looked like a child searching for candy right after taking bitter medicine, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

Did Silvia think I was mocking her? She glared at me, slightly miffed, and asked,

“…Is it funny? What’s happening now?”

“Ugh, Silvia. I’m not mocking you…”

“…Scarlet doesn’t know how terrible that was.”

With an overly serious expression directed at me, Silvia said this.

I smiled at her earnestness before asking,

“…Is it really that bad?”

“…It’s not just bad. It’s inhumanely horrible. It feels as though nutrients were sacrificed to the devil in exchange for convenience in portability…”

Upon hearing her description, I noticed the others nodding in agreement with grim expressions on their faces.

…It wasn’t just Silvia; everyone else looked concerned, making me curious.

Just how terrible must it taste for them to react that way?

As I wore an expression full of curiosity, Silvia hesitated for a moment before pulling a ball from her bag and asking,

“…I won’t recommend it, but if you’re really curious, would you like to try one?”

Although her voice suggested against it, what kind of creature is a man?

To satisfy curiosity, they would sometimes risk their lives.

A manly man doesn’t shy away from things like this.

So, as a manly man, I unhesitatingly grabbed the round ball from Silvia’s hand.

“Oh my, are you really going to do it?!”

“Does he even know what he’s trying to eat…?”

I heard the whispers around me, as if everyone thought I was insane.

But I felt kind of confident.

I was notorious for being able to eat poorly-made food without complaint.

I had earned the nickname ‘the guy whose stomach is a trash can’ for eating everything, including the notorious military rations like Gohsun Tui, Myungsun Jorok, and Haebim Som.

That was me.

In fact, it was probably just that I didn’t like leaving food uneaten due to my poor upbringing.

I could hear someone swallow nervously as tension filled the air.

Looking around, I noticed that even more people seemed more tense than I was.

Seeing their reactions only made me more determined to eat this.

Since coming to this world, my life had been a constant struggle.

Because of that, I was always living with the mindset that I couldn’t afford to lose to this world.

This was just an extension of that.

Thus, this world’s horrible taste would not be able to defeat me.

With that mindset, I shoved the round ball into my mouth.

And

“…”

The taste hit me, and I froze at once.

“Scarlet?”

Silvia looked worried while also unable to hide her curiosity about my impression.

Toward her, I could only reply,

“…It’s edible. Doesn’t taste like much.”

I had no choice but to respond that way.

Why? Because that was exactly how I felt.

The only bothersome sensation was a light roughness in my mouth.

I had quite been tense, fearing some outlandish taste would await me, but that was a letdown.

However, against my calm demeanor, the response of everyone else was sheer shock.

“Impossible… Is it really edible?!”

“Indeed, witches are witches. Truly… truly monstrous taste buds!”

Their gazes looked at me with bewilderment as if they were witnessing something beyond understanding.

Feeling those eyes on me made me a bit disheartened as I thought, ‘Really, it just doesn’t taste like much…’

*

Following a meal filled with shock and horror.

After walking without a break for a while, we finally managed to exit the forest.

As the scenery beyond the forest came into my view, I unconsciously closed my mouth.

In the distance, which had become clearly visible now that the magical power had lifted,

I saw the city I had fled from, the city I had to return to.