Niavella.

Known as the Witch of Embers, she, true to her title, wielded fire as her own unique power. Just like how Diayursil used gemstone crafting magic as her signature.

The strange thing was, most witches didn’t use elemental magic. That’s because the majority of witches used lunar mana rather than elemental mana, but Niavella was an exception, as she specialized in fire, which aligned more with elemental mana.

Because of this, her flames were far more powerful than the typical fire magic used by ordinary mages.

"Is that… really a giant made of fire…?"

"How can something like that even exist…?"

Serlin and Lafirier stared in disbelief at the massive figure moving along the ridge. It was a towering giant, over 30 meters tall, made entirely of flames.

Yes.

That giant was a creation of Niavella’s magic.

'In the original story, she’s trapped inside.'

But despite it being her magic, she wasn’t able to control the fire giant. It was advancing slowly, turning everything around it into a sea of flames, and it was heading toward a nearby city.

Surprisingly, the giant wasn’t something Niavella had created by choice.

It was the result of her magic going out of control.

And what had caused it? The answer lay in the city that the giant was moving toward.

"We need to get ahead of that giant! Let’s move out!"

At the hero’s command, everyone mounted their horses.

"Lux."

I mounted my Nightlux, and oddly enough, it didn’t seem frightened at all. Tempest and the other party members’ horses seemed tense, but Nightlux was behaving as if it was just going for a leisurely stroll.

"Let’s go!"

It would take about three hours to travel from the village to the city. Fortunately, the giant wasn’t moving very fast.

"What is that thing? Some kind of demon?"

Lafirier’s question was answered by Aria.

"I don’t think so. I don’t sense any demonic energy from it."

"Right. I feel the same."

With their divine powers, both Aria and the hero were able to quickly tell that it wasn’t a demon. Lafirier’s face twisted in frustration.

"Then what is it…?"

I decided to drop a hint.

"I can sense a strong mana from it, but it’s not the usual kind of mana."

"Strong? And not the usual? What does that mean?"

"Hero-nim, do you remember the witch who taught me gemstone crafting?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I remember."

The hero replied, his gaze fixed ahead.

"The Gemstone Witch, Diayursil, like most witches, uses lunar mana. It’s different from the elemental mana that regular mages use."

"So that means…"

"Yes, I can sense lunar mana coming from that fire giant."

"Does that mean it’s a witch’s doing?"

I didn’t answer. That was something we needed to confirm when we arrived at the city.

'At least things should unfold like in the original story.'

The reason I was concerned was simple.

Unlike the other three heroines, Niavella had a “tragic past.”

A tragic past. In her case, it meant the discrimination she faced for being a witch.

In this world, witches were viewed in a wide variety of ways. There were negative perceptions like in my previous life, but also positive or even mysterious ones. The public opinion of witches varied greatly from one person, or even one city, to another.

In a large city like Alphares, a witch could run her own shop.

That would be unthinkable in a kingdom or city that was hostile toward witches.

But in the empire, thanks to the support of some great mages and the contributions of witches themselves, there was a generally favorable view of them.

However, there were still some rare towns and cities that remained hostile to witches, and the city we were heading to was one of them.

"There’s a fork in the road!"

"Left!"

The four horses kicked up a cloud of dust as we sped toward the city. At the city’s gates, a group of tense guards awaited us.

"Are you the hero?"

"Yes. Who’s in charge here?"

The hero, his eyes scanning the area coldly, asked in an unusually stern tone. A middle-aged man with a mustache came running up, panting heavily.

"That would be me, hero-nim!"

"Can you tell me what’s going on?"

"Y-yes, of course! According to our intelligence, that giant was created by an evil witch!"

"Evil, you say… Do you know why?"

"Why? I don’t know exactly… But please, help us defeat the witch with our guards!"

"…Wait a moment."

The hero’s tone was heavier than usual. He seemed to sense something was off about the situation.

'Well, in the original story, the hero realized Niavella’s tragic past and saved her.'

Even now, I could see him furrowing his brows, deep in thought, as he tried to uncover the truth.

"Louis."

"Ah, yes, what is it?"

When the hero suddenly called my name, I was startled.

"You seem to know a bit about witches, judging by how you handled Diayursil. Is that right?"

Caught off guard, I quickly answered.

"I’m not an expert, but I do know quite a bit."

Combining my knowledge from the original story and what I had learned since coming to this world, I probably knew more than most people.

"Do witches ever attack people without a reason?"

Ah, so that’s what he’s getting at.

"Of course not. They’re human too. If anything, they’re more cautious about using their powers. They’d only act if…"

"…If they were attacked first?"

"Exactly."

"Is that true?"

The hero turned his cold gaze toward the middle-aged man.

"W-what?! N-no, that can’t be! Why would we attack someone like her…!"

"Someone like her, you say. Is this city still hostile toward witches?"

At the hero’s words, Serlin, Lafirier, and even Aria frowned.

"Hostile? That’s our right as a city…!"

"By the way."

The middle-aged man was about to continue, but I interrupted him.

"Five years ago, the Emperor officially declared a friendly stance toward witches. You do remember that, don’t you?"

"…"

This was common knowledge, so there was no reason to hide it. However, the details of this declaration were sensitive because of the people involved.

'Speaking of which, she should be nearby by now.'

Aside from the guards and the middle-aged man, there were many citizens gathered at the gates. Among them, there was one person who had been close to Niavella and had supported her.

She had blue hair…

'Found her.'

Her expression was filled with distress, unlike the others who were either angry or scared.

'In the original story, it took a long time for her to come forward and help the hero’s party.'

In the original, she hadn’t been found until the fire giant had already half-destroyed the city. She had tried to inform the hero’s party, but the middle-aged man, fearing his own crimes would be exposed, had her locked up.

'She’s realized it too.'

The man, who had been groveling before the hero, suddenly became sharp-eyed.

'I need to end this now.'

If the city were to be destroyed, more people would come to hate Niavella, and eventually, the hero’s party would even be ambushed by humans for the first time.

A true chain of hatred.

If I could make sure that this girl revealed the truth, all of that could be prevented.

"Lux, let me down."

Whinny

"Louis? Where are you going?"

"I’m going to speak with that girl over there."

"That girl?"

Lafirier followed my gaze toward the blue-haired girl. The girl, realizing I was approaching her, flinched in surprise.

She tried to flee, but I called out a name.

"Diayursil."

"…That name!"

The Witch of Gemstones.

The reason she recognized that name wasn’t because of its fame. It was because Niavella had mentioned it to her during their time together.

[“I’m so happy you want to be my friend… Up until now, the only person who ever helped me was Lady Diayursil…”]

The girl had reached out to Niavella when the townspeople were cursing her. At first, Niavella had been wary, but eventually, she opened up and shared the name of the most important person in her life.

I took out a pen and created a private space, where only the two of us could hear each other.

"I’ve come to help Niavella at her request."

That was a lie. But there was no way the girl could know that. She only knew Diayursil’s name, not her location, appearance, or age.

"Really…? But Niavella mentioned that name before…"

"Yes, that’s right. So, can you step forward and help me? I’ll support you."

To reassure her, I gently patted her blue hair and smiled softly. Feeling a gaze on me, I glanced back and saw the hero and others watching us closely.

"But, but…"

"What’s your name?"

"Me? I’m Rosen…"

"If you help, we can save Niavella. Don’t worry about those people. We’re the hero’s party."

"…Alright. Niavella liked the hero, so I’ll trust you."

"Thank you. Now, let’s go."

Rosen. A character who was never mentioned again after this incident in the original story.

"Uh, excuse me! Hero-nim! I have something to tell you!"

But this girl now held the key to saving a heroine.

As I looked at her, I glanced over at the hero, who briefly met my gaze before turning away.

For some reason, his cheeks seemed a little flushed.