Thud, thud.

“That’s it…”

She covers the soil she had just dug.

Eve, who had set a small gravestone inscribed with the names of Emily and Peter at the spot she just covered, closed her eyes for a moment and offered a prayer for the two.

Though she wasn’t sure if an afterlife truly exists, she believed that the two would certainly have gone to heaven.

“It’s time to leave this place now…”

Finishing her farewell to the two, Eve stared blankly at the cabin where she had spent quite a long time.

No matter how much time passes, she would never forget the things that happened here.

At least, not until her life ends.

However, it was time to go now.

She had too much time left to only live reminiscing about her memories.

Eve reluctantly pulled her feet away from the cabin, which was not easily left behind.

There was no specific destination set ahead.

She simply wanted to meet more humans.

If it were her old self, she would have been curious about exploring other races as soon as she experienced the life of one.

Yet, even after spending quite a long time living among humans with Emily and Peter, Eve still found herself curious about humans.

In fact, she was even more interested than when she first met them.

She wanted to understand humans and had grown fond of them.

Thus, she wanted to meet more people.

If she could observe more lives and understand them, perhaps one day she could also be like Emily or Peter.

*

After that, Eve wandered around meeting countless humans.

Naturally, not all the humans she encountered were like Emily and Peter.

Some were treacherous, some greedy, and some cunning.

Although Eve sometimes found herself in difficult situations due to such humans, she never came to hate them.

“It’s just that this girl appeared out of nowhere!”

“Ha ha! We’ll kill everyone but the girl!”

That night, a band of robbers attacked the village.

By the time Eve realized it, the fire set by the robbers was already consuming the village.

“We… we have to run! Yuta, hurry!”

“Waaah, Mommy!”

“That girl over there!”

Eve rushed out of the house with Yuria and the others, seeing the robbers discover and pursue them through the flames and collapsing bodies.

If it were just her, she would have been able to escape effortlessly.

But what about Yuria and Yuta?

Was she supposed to leave them to die?

“AAAH!!”

And in that moment, she heard Yuria’s scream.

Eve thought she had to save Yuria.

Suddenly, her true abilities were unleashed.

“What the heck is that monster?! Where did it come from all of a sudden?!”

It was an illusion.

An illusion powerful enough to impact reality.

The weak illusions that could only transform her appearance by overlaying on her own body had now manifested as a giant monster in front of the robbers.

“Yikes! Attacks don’t even work!”

“Run away!!”

The robbers, struck with fear by the gruesome appearance of the illusion Eve created, fled in a panic.

But unfortunately, the situation was already too late.

“Y… Yuta? Yuta… aaah…”

Yuria was wailing.

Clutching the lifeless body of her son who had been slain by a robber’s blade.

After a long while of mourning, Yuria slowly lifted her head after dropping it like a discarded doll.

Eve met Yuria’s gaze.

The emotions reflected in her eyes were devoid of any feeling other than sorrow, which pained Eve even more.

One would blame her for not using her power faster to save Yuta and allow him to die, but kind Yuria never blamed anyone till the end.

She was the type to throw herself away rather than hurt others.

Could she consider Yuria’s intent to give up on life a weakness?

Eve could not say that.

Yuria was a strong person.

Even though great sorrow had fallen upon her, given some time, she would likely overcome it and find her footing again.

However, even such a strong person could not endure the moment of losing her only support, her son, after losing her husband.

Knowing that and understanding how beautiful Yuria could shine, Eve wished that Yuria wouldn’t die.

Thus, Eve smiled sorrowfully and said to Yuria.

“You want to be with your son, right?”

Yuria dumbly nodded.

In the next moment, she found herself standing with Yuta.

“Mom!”

“Ah… Yuta…”

Eve looked at Yuria, who was smiling in the illusion, and smiled bitterly.

Is it wrong to hope they would find happiness even in the illusions created?

Is it a sin to wish that her beloved ones could live this way?

Could it eventually lead her to overcome her sadness and live in this world again someday?

She didn’t know.

The only thing Eve knew was that this was the only method she could think of at the moment.

Sadly, there were far too many unhappy people in the world like Yuria.

*

Stories began circulating about a new witch appearing in the world.

This witch, named the Witch of Jealousy, was said to vanish several people wherever she went, filling others with fear.

At the same time, rumors also began to circulate that there was a certain woman who guided those she met to paradise.

*

When Eve heard stories about witches, she instinctively realized.

Perhaps she was from the same race as those witches.

She had heard that witches could kill all living beings just by existing, but she knew that the energy consumed every time she used her abilities was the source of such devastating power.

Her energy was not inherently meant to kill from the very beginning.

It was merely so unique and strong that any non-witch would break down just from encountering it.

Perhaps witches exist to disperse that energy, required to create a suitable environment for themselves to survive.

Of course, Eve was instinctively controlling herself not to do so.

However, upon realizing this, Eve could only feel depressed.

Because she was reminded that she was too distant from humans and that coexisting with them was difficult.

How did she end up being born as such a being?

She sometimes wished she had been born an ordinary human…

Especially lately, with people actively hunting for her, she couldn’t help but feel down. While pondering this, she felt a presence breaking through the illusions surrounding her.

Then, in the next moment, she found a man wielding a large sword standing before her.

“…So you are the witch of jealousy.”

Hearing the name that the man spat out, Eve forced a bitter smile.

It was a name that had stuck with her recently.

Because it became known that she acted to prevent people from committing suicide.

Thus, strange rumors began to spread, and she was given that name.

Up until now, those who came to subdue the witch would have been tricked back through illusion.

But now, someone who could see through her had come…

As she let out a resigned laugh, the man’s voice laced with hostility flew toward her.

“Where are the people you supposedly kidnapped? If you don’t hand them over right now, I will kill you.”

“…Please calm down. If you kill me, those people will never come back.”

“…A threat? Do you think that will work on me?”

Whether it sounded like a threat, the man exuding murderous intent made Eve wave her hands and exclaimed.

“N-no! It’s not that… Can you please listen to what I have to say?”

“…Talk? Go ahead.”

Upon her request to listen, the man nodded, and Eve cautiously began to share the story of those trapped in her illusions.

She spoke about their names, their circumstances, and how awakening them from the illusion would lead to their deaths.

Trembling with anxiety as she spoke, it wasn’t the first time she had to tell such a story.

However, the first person she confided in had regarded her as nonsensical and attacked her, barely allowing Eve to survive.

She had learned of the hostility humans hold toward witches, and her trembling wouldn’t stop.

The man before her seemed far stronger than the last one she met.

She felt that if he truly decided to attack, she wouldn’t be able to escape.

Eve thought she might die there, but her death would mean that those trapped in her illusion would be forever bound within it.

That was something she believed could never happen.

She wanted them all to live again, once they could overcome their grief someday.

So Eve prostrated herself before the man and implored.

“I… I might die, but not now. At least let these people live their lives before that. Please, just until then…”

Then, after watching Eve trembling like that, the man sighed and spoke.

“…Fine. Get up. I’m not going to kill you.”

Eve’s head shot up in surprise at his words.

“…What?”

“Get up. I said I won’t kill you. Damn those noble bastards. They probably just blabbered out those things because they were afraid people from the territory would run away because of the rumors.”

Seeing the man mutter as if he had been deceived, Eve was left utterly confused.

Did he really believe her so easily?

Her, the witch?

“Do you… really believe me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You don’t seem like a bad person, and I can’t sense any lies.”

“B-but I’m a witch, not a human…?”

The man chuckled at those words and replied playfully.

“What of that? I have an eye for people. There are a lot of humans out there who are worse than you. In fact, you seem more human than those other witches.”

“Ah…”

Perhaps it was that single statement about being more human than others that made her feel like bursting into tears, and Eve bit her lip hard.

“What’s up… suddenly trying to cry…”

“N-no… I’ve just always wanted to be human… But hearing someone say that I seem human feels so overwhelming…”

After hearing Eve’s desire to become human, the man seemed to ponder for a moment before asking her.

“…Hey, if you became human, was there something you wanted to do?”

“…What?”

“I mean, if you became human, what would you want to do with your life? Have you ever thought about that? If not, that’s fine.”

At the man’s question, Eve recalled a precious memory she had kept in her heart and softly replied.

“…I wanted to be a teacher.”

“A teacher? Like teaching students?”

“…Yes. That was my dream.”

The man’s expression turned amused as he chuckled at Eve’s dream.

“Well, that works! Hey, I happen to be planning on starting something like a school! After all, I can’t just leave you on your own, so I was thinking of keeping you nearby for observation, but it looks like you could take on a teaching position there.”

“…Me?!”

The idea of becoming a teacher startled Eve, and the man smiled.

“But, only if you promise not to hurt anyone. If you’re confident you can keep that promise, I can’t make you human, but I can ensure you live like one. What do you say?”

Feeling her heart race at those words, Eve replied.

“…Witches have contracts. They are promises that must be kept no matter what.”

“Hmmm. Okay? Shall we make that contract? I will make you a teacher, and you will support humans from now on.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, by the way, there’s no time limit on this contract. It’s forever. Even if you want to quit later, you can’t get out of it?”

“Understood.”

Bursting into laughter, the man then asked.

“Then we should at least know each other’s names. What’s your name?”

“My name is Eve. And you?”

With a sly smile, the man answered.

“Aegis.”