“……”

I slowly engrave the distant cityscape into my eyes.

Why is that?

When I think about it, it hasn’t been that long since I escaped from the city, yet it feels so unfamiliar, like a foreign land.

Or maybe it really is that way.

The me before I became a witch and the me now who has turned into a witch—those two versions of myself must see that city in entirely different lights.

So, if I were to return, I’ve already been thinking that the likelihood of being treated properly is quite low.

For the reason that I could be monitored closely, just in case I might cause some trouble, or I might even be restrained like a dog on a leash, unable to move freely.

Yet, even so, when I gaze at that city, I can’t help but think that it is indeed the place I need to return to.

It must be because there are things within that city that have not changed, despite its transformations.

When I fled from the city, Dwight told me.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

Perhaps, all my friends would have said the same to me.

Hoping that I would return someday.

Because I have grateful friends who treat me as a friend, even though I’ve become a witch.

It is only natural that I feel a desire to return to the city, just as they wish.

As I looked at the city, recalling the fireworks that my friends launched that night and their faces, suddenly, Yoon Si-woo’s face popped into my mind.

Alongside that, a tremendous sense of guilt pushed away my feelings of longing.

I know.

I know that feeling guilty like this is foolish.

But, knowing that it is a foolish act, I still can’t help but succumb.

I find myself wondering if Yoon Si-woo blames me for hurting him.

And whether I, the one who brought him such distress, truly have the right to return to the city.

And when that thought causes me to hesitate in taking a step toward the place where the city lies, Sylvia seemed to sense my emotional turmoil and asked me.

“What are you thinking? Your expression isn’t good. Are you worried they won’t let you into the city?”

“Well, that’s part of it, but…”

“……Just to ask, is it because of Yoon Si-woo? Are you feeling sorry or guilty toward him?”

I flinched at her direct hit, and Sylvia murmured with a wry smile.

“I somehow thought you would be holding onto those feelings, Scarlet. It makes sense you would feel guilty since Yoon Si-woo isn’t in a good condition… but, do you know what this is?”

As she mumbled, Sylvia pulled something out and asked me.

Upon seeing what she had taken out, I was left astonished.

“That’s… Yoon Si-woo’s…”

What Sylvia pulled out was one of the holy swords Yoon Si-woo possessed, the Sword of Truth.

Why does she have that?

Seeing me flustered, Sylvia nodded and said.

“That’s right. It belongs to Yoon Si-woo.”

“How…? Did he wake up? He was definitely in a comatose state…”

I had heard that Yoon Si-woo’s holy swords do not lend their power to anyone without his permission.

So, I asked hoping that perhaps he had awakened, but unfortunately, Sylvia shook her head in response to my question.

“……When I left, his condition hadn’t changed. It’s uncertain when he might wake up.”

I was disheartened by her answer, but then Sylvia spoke to me.

“Yet, even in that condition, Yoon Si-woo lent me his strength to help you, Scarlet. Without this, I wouldn’t have been able to find where you are, so it’s as if Yoon Si-woo has helped you. Even in an unconscious state, Yoon Si-woo was trying to aid you.”

Her words squeezed my heart, and I bowed my head deeply.

Such circumstances made me feel conflicting emotions, and I felt a prick in my throat.

Then, perceiving my downcast head, Sylvia said to me.

“So, Scarlet, feeling this way is an insult to Yoon Si-woo, who worries about you, even in that state. If I were Yoon Si-woo, I wouldn’t want you to feel this way. So please, let go of those thoughts, alright?”

After nodding at her words and gathering my emotions, I lifted my head slightly, just to see Sylvia smirking playfully as she muttered.

“Ah, by the way, this is serious. I promised to never lose to the feelings I have for you, Scarlet. I need to step up my game. Hmmm, I wonder if it will take about a day to walk back.”

Gazing toward the city and mumbling as if measuring the distance, Sylvia suddenly conjured a cluster of stars that could fly and hopped on, saying,

“To not be outdone by Yoon Si-woo, I need to do something for you, Scarlet. In that regard, I’ll go ahead and persuade everyone to ensure nothing goes wrong for you. The others will accompany you and return slowly. Understand?”

“I’ll obey the order.”

With that said, Sylvia left me with a smile and flew toward the city.

As I watched her, a thought struck me anew.

I really do have such precious friends.

*

Meanwhile, in the Northern Front Region.

“……Is there any additional information?”

“Oh, nothing particularly special for now!”

“……Alright. If you find out anything, report immediately.”

The place was in a commotion.

It was due to a sudden burst of bright light emerging from the forest on the opposite side of the Northern Boundary Region.

Although there are times when flames are observed due to the angry demonic beasts, this time was different.

It appeared as if the forest was completely engulfed in light.

As a precaution for emergencies, heroes were urgently summoned, and gathered heroes could only stare agog at the sight before them.

“……Hey, is that grass growing there?”

“If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it certainly looks like it…”

“Wow, I’ve lived for years, but I never thought I’d see grass growing outside the boundary region…”

It was because it had truly become a forest.

You might wonder what that means, but the Northern Forest was once known as a forest, simply out of convenience.

However, it had genuinely become a forest now.

If not called a forest with lush trees standing tall, then what else could it be called?

It was unfathomable enough, but even the ground in front of the barrier, which was far from the forest, had sprouts growing.

“What on earth is happening here…”

Martina Ivanova, head of the 4th unit guarding the North, could only doubt her own eyes.

The presence of trees and grass indicated that the magic had disappeared.

To confirm, she leaped down below the barrier to examine the surroundings and took a deep breath, letting out a small chuckle.

The air was so refreshingly clear.

Such a feeling, just breathing it in, couldn’t easily be experienced even in places with air purification magic, and yet, to think that a place filled with magic only yesterday had transformed like this.

How should I even process this fact?

Certainly, it wasn’t a bad thing.

The absence of harmful magic meant good news for humanity.

However, Martina couldn’t purely feel joy.

She had no idea what had caused such a phenomenon.

Hence, she couldn’t dismiss the thought that this could be a sign of some impending catastrophe.

“Captain, over there…!”

“Yes…?”

But those worries were resolved by a silver-haired girl who flew in alongside the bright light, landing right in front of her.

“……Miss? What exactly is going on?”

“It seems you have many questions, but could you hold a meeting first if you want to hear them?”

That girl, however,

“I also have a lot I want to say.”

While the lifted worries would be replaced by new sources of concern.

*

“…….”

An emergency meeting was convened.

The leaders of each unit guiding the heroes, including Eve and Mark, the principal of the academy, were present, and everyone sat silent as mice.

The tales of the hunting squad, the demonic beasts, and the World Tree that Sylvia had shared just moments before leaving the meeting room.

Even as they listened, it was hard to believe, yet given what had occurred in the North, they had no choice but to accept the truths presented to them.

However, among those, one factor stood out that caused them significant distress.

It was the matter concerning Scarlet Evande’s treatment.

In fact, for a time, this had been a topic they had all mentally erased.

The issue had seemed resolved once they sent a hunting squad from Astra.

But who could have known?

The hunting squad, which had gone out intending to kill Scarlet Evande, would return having saved their lives, now supporters of her.

Let alone the World Tree.

Being able to accomplish something that should benefit humanity not by someone else’s help, but with the aid of the witch herself, left them in complete disarray.

“Can we really trust that witch…?”

Someone murmured.

It seemed like nonsense.

To trust a witch of all people.

But now, that thought had become unavoidable.

After all, the only person Scarlet Evande had harmed directly was Yoon Si-woo.

And yet, they said it wasn’t intentional, making it sound like a sufficiently convincing argument.

Yet no one dared to speak up hastily.

Who could easily say to trust a witch?

And so, while all remained silent, it was at that moment…

“……What do you all think? If you share your thoughts about Evande with everyone, I believe it might aid in deciding our position.”

Eve finally spoke.

That question was directed at the unit leaders gathered in one spot.

Leon, Natalia, and Martina.

All three had experience teaching Scarlet at the academy, which added to the reason for her inquiry.

After a moment of hesitation, the leaders began to speak up.

“……I thought she was someone who puts in a desperate effort into everything. I believed she would become an outstanding hero someday.”

“……She had an unbelievably strong will. A remarkable hard worker too.”

“There’s nobody with the level of self-sacrifice she possesses. That’s what I thought…”

Positive responses emerged.

It reflected the fatherly gaze of a father looking at his treasured daughter.

It was the mother’s gaze at her daughter’s often praised friend.

And it was the viewpoint of an officer cherishing a valuable subordinate.

However,

“Yet if you ask me whether we should trust her… honestly, I can’t say for sure.”

“……I, too, cannot bring myself to say we should trust her.”

“……Even so, that is a bit difficult to accept.”

Even they could not bring themselves to say, “Let’s trust her.”

As such, Eve asked them.

“……Why is that?”

Their answers to her question were unified.

“……Because she’s a witch.”

The reason being that Scarlet was indeed a witch.

Moreover, they were men who had lost their wives to demonic beasts and had become widowers for quite some time.

They were wives who cried every time she saw her husband in a critical state after being harmed by a witch.

They were heroes still haunted by nightmares from the moments they lost their companions to demonic beasts.

And upon hearing their response, Eve spoke lightly, almost in resignation.

“……I see, naturally.”

That was how the perception of witches was entrenched.

Even those who looked favorably upon Scarlet could not easily say they trust her due to her status as a witch.

No one could easily take the leap to believe in the existence of a witch.

“……Indeed, we cannot trust a witch. After all, witches have always been humanity’s foes.”

Someone remarked.

Throughout history, witches have always been humanity’s enemies; hence, it was their consensus.

And to that, Eve murmured,

“……After all, I don’t want to be a teacher who can’t do anything when a student is in trouble.”

She cast a sidelong glance at Mark, who was seated beside her.

Sensing something from her gaze, Mark was startled and shook his head.

Yet, seeing Eve’s unwavering gaze, he instinctively felt that he could not dissuade her and lowered his head.

And with that unspoken consent, Eve smiled apologetically and addressed the gathering.

“……Everyone. Can we give Evande one more chance? Can we not trust that girl? I ask this of you.”

As she bowed her head, the others were taken aback.

She was the mentor of every hero present here.

She was, for many, the one who had saved them.

Thus, there was no one who felt comfortable watching her bow like that.

Yet that was that and this was this.

“……No matter what you say, we cannot trust a witch.”

A firm rejection came to her request.

She turned to the one who had refused and asked,

“Is it because witches are enemies of humanity?”

“Yes, witches are enemies of humanity.”

To the one who answered that witches are enemies, Eve asked,

“Why can’t there be a witch who is on humanity’s side?”

“……In a world like this, where can you find such a witch?”

The response came immediately, as if to say it was nonsense.

For not a single instance had there ever been such a thing.

Witches had always been enemies of humanity.

And as she addressed those declaring such things:

Eve smiled sadly and opened her mouth.

“Listen, in front of you.”

A long time ago, there was a witch who was jealous of humans and wished to become one.