“……A witch, you say?”

“Right. Where should I start this story… First—”

The story told by Eve began, shocking those who were taken aback by the revelation that she was, indeed, a witch.

As the long years she had lived flowed from her lips, those around her could only listen in a daze to the unbelievable truths she was revealing.

Their respected teacher and benefactor being a witch?

How were they supposed to accept this fact?

No, how could anyone even believe such a thing?

“──For 400 years, I’ve lived as a teacher at the academy and a legendary magician while hiding my true identity,” she said.

Thus, the silence among the people continued until Eve finished her story.

When the tale came to a close, it was hard for her listeners to believe what they had just heard.

After all, what they had just been told was simply too incredible to grasp.

Perhaps that was why a man broke the ongoing silence and asked Eve,

“If what you say is true… does this mean you are, in fact, Lady Luna?”

With a confused look on his face, the man asked.

Luna was the name of the previous legendary magician, the one said to have been passed down through a single hereditary line—Eve’s teacher.

He was told repeatedly by the elders of his family that he must never forget the gratitude owed to the woman who had helped them through difficult times, preventing his family from falling apart.

So, it was natural for him to have maintained a friendly demeanor towards Eve, a disciple of Luna. If what Eve was saying was true, it meant she was the one who had helped his family directly.

This was why he had no choice but to ask for confirmation, and upon seeing his earnest face, Eve smiled gently and asked,

“You must be Philip’s descendant, right?”

“……How do you know?”

The man was taken aback when she suddenly mentioned his great-grandfather’s name. Eve answered him with a wistful smile.

“If you are asking whether I was the one who helped that boy, who lost everything in an accident and was about to give up, then yes. I am Luna, who helped Philip.”

Eve murmured as she snapped her fingers.

In an instant, her appearance changed, and the man gasped softly.

Standing before him was the spitting image of the woman whose portrait hung in their home, which was a reminder never to forget the benefactor’s favor.

Watching the man’s reaction, Eve turned to the others who shared his bewilderment and spoke.

“It’s hard to believe, I know. But everyone you are imagining in your minds right now was, in fact, me.”

With her golden hair, Eve transformed herself once more into the figure of Luna.

“I am Maya.”

Then, she morphed into the next legendary magician, Maya, who had chestnut hair.

“I am Yuria.”

Eve transformed again, this time into Yuria, who had a black bob.

“And also, Abigail.”

Finally, she displayed herself as Abigail, the legendary magician who protected humanity from the gluttonous witch alongside the great hero Aegis, the one who created the barrier.

For them, she was no less than a legend.

Realizing that the person before them was such an extraordinary figure filled the onlookers not only with surprise but with the enormous shock that such a being was indeed a witch.

How could a revered figure be a witch?

Whether they could accept this truth or not, one person shook his head in disbelief and shouted.

“B-but if they are the same person, how could they all have participated in the succession ceremony at the same time…!”

Abigail’s magic was a legendary craft that was passed down through a single hereditary line. Thus, the one who inherits it needs to announce their succession through a formal ceremony.

Naturally, it was a ceremony in which both teacher and disciple participated, so if what Eve was saying was true, it raised the question of how the same person could exist simultaneously.

Eve simply answered such queries with ease.

“You all understand that deceiving others is my specialty, right?”

“With this kind of trick.”

With that, she created an illusory twin of herself that stood beside her.

Eve had the ability to act as if one person was two, never raising any suspicion that they were the same person creating an illusion.

And showing the people this evidence of her tale, Eve addressed them.

“Now, do any of you believe a little more that what I’m saying is the truth?”

At her question, a few people gasped in surprise.

Was her story truly a fact?

Were all the legendary magicians they had heard about merely one person?

They all knew the history well.

They were aware of the countless contributions Eve’s mentors had made for the people.

But if all those deeds had been accomplished by Eve alone, it meant that for 400 years, she had tirelessly dedicated herself to helping others.

In their teachings, they had learned that witches were the enemies of humanity.

How could such a belief clash with the newly injected facts, causing confusion amongst them?

People sought order rather than confusion, and the simplest way to quell such turmoil was to—

“Witch, how are we supposed to believe your words…?”

Though a little irrational, it came across as a refusal to accept the new information.

This minority opinion conveyed a sense of hostility, refusing to trust anything a witch might say.

However, Eve, familiar with such responses from the people she had helped, could only smile faintly at their reactions.

Knowing better than anyone the animosity humanity held toward witches, she wouldn’t be hurt by such things.

Yet, she wasn’t the only one unimpressed by this; someone beside her had a different demeanor altogether.

“……What she says is all true. I can vouch for that.”

Mark Aegis, standing next to Eve, stepped forward to defend her.

“Mark…”

Eve gently tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to refrain from saying more, but Mark shook his head, unwilling to back down.

“As you’ve heard, my ancestor, the great hero Aegis, made a pact with her. And this pact has been passed down through the generations of the Aegis family. As the current bearer of the pact, I can assure you that there is no falsehood in her words; she is a witch on humanity’s side.”

Aegis made a pact with Eve.

And that same pact had been passed down through the generations of the Aegis line, alongside the position of headmaster of the academy.

This position was the perfect cover for Eve’s secret as she worked as a teacher at the academy.

That was why the headmaster of Aegis Academy was elected through hereditary succession.

Yet, such a meticulously kept secret had been exposed so openly.

Now that the secret was revealed, Mark had only one thing left to protect.

The dream of Eve to live as a teacher.

Mark vowed to protect that above all else.

With this in mind, the man who had questioned Eve earlier asked in a dubious tone,

“……So, you mean to say what you said is all true?”

“Indeed. Or do you mean to say you can’t trust Aegis’s name because I’ve made a pact with the witch? If so, that would certainly offend me…”

“Ah, no… it’s not like that!!”

Mark’s incredulity came as the man acted in dismay at being countered.

Or perhaps this foolish individual had spoken such nonsense due to his limited perspective.

If he thought even a little rationally, he’d understand that Eve was too remarkable to be discredited simply because she was labeled a witch.

As Mark contemplated, someone else chimed in with an incredulous expression.

“……I’m having a hard time understanding. If what Teacher Eve says is true, then why have you hidden this fact all this time? No matter how much of a witch you are, considering the things you’ve done…”

“Unfortunately, there are many who cannot think rationally when it comes to witches. Like him.”

Glancing at the man who had just questioned her, Mark replied with irritation.

Eve had tirelessly worked to assist those people all along.

Knowing the life Eve had lived, Mark, the only one who truly understood her, could not hold back his anger at the way others treated her.

Ironically, Mark also understood why people had such behavior.

He knew the man who had asked how they could believe a witch had recently lost his family to one.

And Mark’s anger stemmed from the fact that Eve was the only family he had left.

When it came to loved ones, it was hard for anyone to think rationally, and sadly, many had lost family to witches.

That was precisely why Eve had kept her identity a secret, only revealing it now because a student was in a troubling situation.

But Mark knew that, despite the dire circumstances, things weren’t entirely hopeless for her.

“Anyway, so you mean to say everything Teacher said is indeed the truth? Who would have thought Eve was a witch…”

“There are good witches among them, it seems…”

Once the explanation concluded, most of the people were dazed yet gazed at Eve with friendly eyes.

Her long-established meritorious deeds enabled such a response.

The wealth she had accumulated over the years, which she donated to help those in need and fallen heroes who had protected the world.

Her dedication in helping those in hardship rise again and nurturing countless students into heroes.

She had exhausted most of her strength fighting against the gluttonous witch, to the point where she appeared weak, unable to fell even a single high-ranking demonic beast. Yet she still smiled, stating that her strength was even enough for teaching, had enabled her to be seen by the people not as an enemy but as a teacher, a benefactor.

Even with all those extraordinary accomplishments, Eve spoke as if those weren’t important at all and addressed the people.

“Hey, everyone? More importantly, could you give Scarlett a chance?”

What mattered to her now was solely the student in a precarious situation.

In response to her unwavering focus, the people exchanged awkward glances and nodded.

“Yeah, well, I’m okay with it. If, as you say, Eve, we can give her another chance.”

“Honestly, I never thought she was a completely bad person from the start.”

The assembly gathered in the meeting room agreed that granting Scarlett one more chance was reasonable.

However, one big issue still remained.

“We’re fine with it, but you know if the citizens oppose it, we can’t do much.”

“Yeah… There’s nothing we can do about that. We’ll have to do our best to persuade them. But even if you agree, we can at least offer Miss Evande the bare minimum of opportunities.”

With a wry smile, Eve replied to someone’s question.

That was to be expected.

Scarlett’s story had already circulated widely among the citizens, and trying to reintegrate her into the city would undoubtedly face intense opposition.

Of course, if the central committee outright rejected it, then Scarlett wouldn’t even get a chance to return to the city, which was part of why Eve had risked revealing her identity to persuade them.

But Mark understood the truth.

That it would be extraordinarily hard for Scarlett Evande to seize any given opportunity.

Scarlett Evande was different from Eve.

Eve had built a reputation over the years as a good figure, so revealing her identity as a witch would trigger less backlash. But Scarlett had a tarnished reputation as the witch who harmed Yoon Si-woo.

Still, Mark wished Scarlett good luck.

He held positive thoughts toward her, more so because he didn’t want to see Eve looking sad.

*

After sending Sylvia off, I walked for a while and found myself arriving near the city as night fell.

“Miss Scarlett!”

Then, as if she had been waiting, I saw Sylvia flying over the barrier, glowing in the night.

I cautiously asked the hovering figure beside me.

“What… how did it go…?”

“Ah, well…”

Judging by the expression on Sylvia’s face, I could tell the situation was far from hopeful.

After all, they wouldn’t easily let a witch back into the city.

With such thoughts, I forced a bitter smile as I saw Sylvia flustered as she spoke.

“Well, the meeting itself went well! The citizens’ reactions are a bit of a problem… But I’ll figure that out! Astra has a terrifying legal team that even demonic beasts fear—”

As Sylvia spoke with a bright voice, I smiled slightly, assuring her I was okay and took her hand.

Seeing that, Sylvia murmured softly, as if she was feeling something deeper.

“…Please wait until tomorrow morning. Everything… will turn out well, Scarlett.”

“Okay. Thank you, Sylvia.”

“…”

And so the night passed, and morning broke.

I saw the city gates opening amid the rising sun.

And beyond the gate stood—

“……”

Heroes with stern expressions waiting for us.