“Hello there. It’s been a while, Eva.”

Suddenly, a girl with violet hair appears and greets me.

The Witch of Sloth, Beatrice.

Seeing her smiling face in front of me, I felt a chill run down my spine.

…Other witches must be able to sense each other’s energy, so it’s unsettling that I didn’t catch any signs of her approaching until now.

I couldn’t tell if she used her powers or how she did it, but either way, it was quite chilling.

This meant that I could have been attacked while I was completely off guard just moments ago.

But…

Swallowing hard and staring at the presence in front of me, I realized that the fact she didn’t attack me despite being able to do so meant that Beatrice had no intention of coming at me right now.

Now that I think about it, we’ve encountered each other several times, yet she had never directly attacked me.

So, I decided to keep as calm as possible and asked Beatrice.

“Why are you here, Beatrice?”

“Hehe. You remembered my name, I’m glad. It’s a bit disappointing that you don’t call me Bea as a nickname.”

Beatrice responded not by answering my question but by smiling broadly.

Is she implying that if I want to hear an answer, I should call her Bea?

Slightly annoyed by this ridiculous request, I stiffened my expression. But then I took a small breath to settle my mind.

I’ve never understood why she was so obsessed with the nickname Bea, but there’s no point in angering someone who could be a source of trouble.

Especially since we’re near the city.

So, thinking to swallow my pride and adjust a bit, I asked Beatrice once again.

“I asked why you came here… Bea.”

“Hehe, Eva, you’re quick on the uptake.”

As I mentioned the nickname Bea, Beatrice responded with a satisfied smile, as if the concession had earned me an answer.

“Why did I come? Hehe. It’s nothing much, I just noticed that Eva seemed troubled.”

“…Troubled? What on earth are you talking about?”

Her words seemed as if she knew everything about my situation.

Feeling slightly displeased, I glared at her and asked, to which Beatrice chuckled, as if genuinely wondering if I didn’t know.

“I’m called the Witch of Gluttony, right? She’s supposed to wake up soon, and that would be a big problem, wouldn’t it?”

“Ugh…! How do you… know that?”

Hearing the name “Witch of Gluttony” come from Beatrice, I couldn’t help but shudder.

How on earth does she know that…?

But then again, I suppose it’s not strange that a witch could sense the energy of the Witch of Gluttony growing stronger even now, behind her seal.

Still, this was our problem; it had nothing to do with her.

Thinking that way, I shot her a glare.

“…That may be true, but what does it have to do with you? Are you saying you came here because of the Witch of Gluttony?”

“Hehe, I’m not Eva, I’m Bea.”

To my question, Beatrice giggled and muttered that, before nodding and answering.

“Anyway, it’s true. That is why I came.”

For her to say she came because of the Witch of Gluttony was utterly baffling to me, and I simply stared at Beatrice quietly as she continued to explain.

With an expression far too calm.

In a tone that suggests it’s no big deal.

“When she wakes up, all of you humans, including you, will die. It’ll end without you being able to do anything against the overwhelming unfairness. It’s something that will happen again, just as it always has.”

Beatrice stated.

“That’s why I came. It’s going to end pathetically anyway, so I thought maybe I’d end it myself.”

“…Huh?”

After hearing Beatrice’s words, I blurted out that strange exclamation, a moment too late.

The calm demeanor of Beatrice in front of me was in stark contrast to the horrifying words that came out of her mouth.

Wait, did I just hear that correctly?

Did she just say she came to finish us off herself…?

In the midst of that sudden and bewildering declaration, before I could even wrap my head around it, Beatrice continued speaking without giving me a moment to gather myself.

“Still, it would be boring if it ended so futilely, right? So, I’ll give you a special opportunity, Eva. Let’s play tag one last time.”

“Tag…?”

“Yeah! I’ll hide, and you have to find me. If you find me, fight me, and if you kill me, it’s your victory. Hehe, it’s quite unfair, don’t you think?”

In a bizarre and sudden suggestion to “find and kill” her while calling it a game of tag, even before I could respond, Beatrice continued to ramble on.

“To make it less one-sided and unfair, I’ve prepared a reward. Since I hear you’re looking for that relic, if you win against me, I’ll tell you where it is.”

“Wait, what?! Is that for real?!”

In the midst of Beatrice’s mysterious words, her mention of locating the relic made me gasp in surprise.

Given I had no way of finding the relic, information about its location was invaluable.

Seeing my interest pique, Beatrice smirked slyly and replied.

“It seems you’re interested. Is it really so? That relic has been buried near the buildings that the dwarves have treasured for hundreds of years.”

“So where is that? Hurry and tell me!”

I shouted out in a moment of panic, as the stress over the relic was becoming unbearable, yet Beatrice just laughed and shook her head.

“Hehe, no can do. I told you, if you win in tag, I’ll tell you where it is. So, shall we play tag?”

When asked whether we would play tag, I hesitated, wanting to nod eagerly without any further questions, but I paused.

Information about the relic was certainly enticing, but believing what the person in front of me says without hesitation wasn’t reasonable.

How could I trust her?

Coming out of nowhere, saying she would kill us, then suddenly suggesting a game of tag?

She might be trying to lure me out so that she could attack the city in the meantime.

Those were the thoughts running through my mind.

“Of course, there’s no choice for you but to play along, huh?”

Suddenly, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Noticing this, I looked down at my trembling hands.

But oddly enough, it wasn’t just my hands that were shaking.

My arms, my legs too.

My entire body was quaking like a trembling aspen.

And I belatedly realized.

“…Huff.”

I had been holding my breath.

The reason for this was the sudden shift in Beatrice’s aura.

It felt unreal.

Just moments ago, I hadn’t sensed anything, but now…

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die…!

My body instinctively shrank back in the presence of Beatrice, who exuded a predatory aura.

Having met her a few times before, I had guessed she was strong from the aura she projected then.

But today, I realized the truth.

What I felt back then was merely a fragment of her true power.

I could see how foolishly naive those thoughts had been moments ago.

What? Drawing me out to attack the city?

Am I an idiot?

How could I even think such things against this monster?

As I recoiled in fear, the monster took a step forward, smiling.

“Eva, you know what’ll happen if you refuse, right?”

With those words from the monster, I felt cold sweat pouring down my body.

I couldn’t breathe.

In the monster before me, I envisioned the Witch of Gluttony I had seen the day before.

Overwhelming despair, an unavoidable calamity.

Because it’s someone who could wipe us all out by their own hand just as they mentioned earlier, I felt a bone-deep truth in Beatrice’s earlier proclamation about giving me a special opportunity.

-■■■■!!!

-■■■!!

At that moment, as if feeling the overwhelming aura threatening me, I saw the demonic beasts of wrath rushing toward me from around.

With a voice that wouldn’t come out, I managed to squeeze out a shout.

“Don’t come any closer…!”

However, the monster, upon seeing them rush over, smiled and said.

“You see, by refusing, this is how it will end today.”

And at that moment, the flames charging to my rescue…

-■■────

-■─────

Were obliterated in the air by something that came crashing down upon them, disappearing without a trace.

“NOOOOOOOOO───!!!”