It was a torch.
A chunk of thick wood, a broken cross on top, a spear end sharply carved, wrapped in oil-soaked cloth.
Thud, thud.
The oil soaked in flames dripped down from the cloth, drop by drop, onto the ground.
“It’s a witch—!!”
“…Tch.”
“…Ah… Aah…”
The shout of a person who discovered me. At the same time, the crowd rushed in, and the alley I was in was quickly blocked.
The flames they held painted this dark place red, even though the sun hadn’t risen yet.
It felt like a gigantic change, far beyond what a single shout could create.
As a line of villagers—about a hundred—approached, I could only emit a small whimper and hide behind Rumi.
No matter how strong my resolve might be, my essence was that of a coward.
“R… Rumi…!”
“…Hahn.”
I wanted to ask if this was too much of a joke.
But the terror and contempt in their eyes told me this situation could hardly be described as just a ‘joke.’
Witch, hunting.
The words rolled slowly off my tongue.
What hunting?
What did I do?
I was just living like any other day…!!
Each step they took made me bow my head further.
All I could do was gaze at Rumi in front of me, sending a look of salvation.
“—Hahn, listen carefully.”
“…Huh!? Uh-oh!”
A single thread of hope.
Color flushed my face slightly.
With those little words Rumi had thrown at me, I felt a sense of relief.
Earlier, she had said there was a way to resolve this.
Yes, she would have a way.
Rumi was the only person I trusted in this village, someone who wouldn’t harm me.
So, I believed—
“—Hold on tight.”
“…Huh?”
Thud.
When Rumi said that to me as she held my hand,
I felt a small shock, and when I saw her body move away from me,
The villagers rushed in like a herd of angry bulls to catch me.
I couldn’t think of anything.
“R… Rumi…?”
“—You did well, Rumi!!”
Creak.
I was simply restrained, my body lying flat and unable to move.
A dirty, smelly cloth stuffed into my mouth made it hard to breathe and was agonizing.
“…..—?”
Why, the word didn’t come out.
I could only blankly stare at Rumi.
I wished she would say anything to me.
I wanted her to tell me it was all planned.
To tell me this was all a lie.
With such a firm gaze.
“…….”
But Rumi didn’t say anything to me.
Only sent me a smile that felt like it could freeze.
“Ha ha! Rumi, you brought the witch here so she couldn’t escape!!”
“……..”
“Didn’t you get cursed or something? I heard witches leave nasty curses when they’re in danger.”
Surrounded by torches that felt like they would swallow me whole, I was bound up.
Each slight struggle tightened the ropes, the cloths filling the wide-open jaws around me.
With every breath, the stench surged.
This was torture.
“……!!”
“—Don’t move!”
Even small movements sent cold glares and scolding my way.
All of this was unbearable suffering for me—
“…It’s okay, nothing’s wrong, Chief.”
“Ha ha, that’s a relief!!”
But more than any pain, it was the painful betrayal from a friend I had believed in.
“……”
Rumi, why?
Why have you abandoned me like this?
Were you really no different from them?
Did you just pretend to be my friend to use and look down on me?
Thoughts without form struck me like steel blades.
The pain of being abandoned by the one I trusted was incomparably worse than any tight rope or stones thrown by the villagers.
Right now, I honestly appreciated that innkeeper’s skill who stuffed cloth in my mouth.
If my mouth was free,
I might have bitten my tongue to death.
“—I found the witch, just as you said, Chief.”
“Right, you found her, Rumi. Your brave actions will be remembered forever. Ha ha!”
If I could bleed from my eyes, I would shed tears of blood.
If I could show my heart, I would display a heart butchered by blades.
If I could rummage through my brain, erasing memories again and again.
That’s how much her betrayal hurt.
“—No.”
“……!!”
So, when her negative words came out, I cheered.
Thud, thud, like a long drought being quenched by much-needed rain.
The cracked earth and my heart began to absorb those tiny droplets.
But that was a mistake.
The small water that fell on the fractured ground would eventually widen the cracks.
I didn’t know,
And I was truly foolish.
“—I found the [real] witch.”
“…What do you mean, Rumi?”
Rumi’s confession.
The villagers fell into confusion.
Some threw stones, others drew their torches closer, as everyone looked at Rumi at that moment.
As if they couldn’t believe it.
As if they couldn’t accept it.
“Of course! That clueless thing couldn’t cast such a big curse.”
“But—”
“And that ‘monster’ has been around for over ten years— there wouldn’t be a reason for it to just start causing trouble now, right? Isn’t that true, Aunt Redao?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Rumi captivated the villagers’ hearts in an instant with her strong charisma.
With eyes sparkling with conviction and unhesitating words, her claims added credibility, despite no material proof.
Still, was it because their lives or the village was at stake?
Some villagers still blamed me.
Wasn’t that better?
Wouldn’t it be better to catch something certain than uncertain speculations?
“But Rumi, there’s no one else that could do this but this monster—”
“—There is.”
“…What do you mean?”
“There is, the witch.”
And those who had just been shouting now fell silent like they had eaten honey.
“……..”
I had no idea what was happening or why I had to endure this rough treatment.
I could only vaguely guess that something was wrong in the village, and it was being blamed on me.
So when Rumi claimed I wasn’t the culprit, I felt relief.
Just let me out of these ropes.
I didn’t even know what a witch was; all I knew was that I wasn’t one.
I would forgive everything if only I could go back.
At that moment, all I wanted was to rest.
“—Recently, no, for the past two months, there’s been a child luring Hahn.”
“…What did you say?”
My salvation turned into my worst nightmare without me even predicting it.
I didn’t realize it was a far worse fate than being accused of being the culprit.
At that time, I was foolishly and quietly relieved.
I genuinely wanted to kill her.
“According to Hahn, they don’t want to be discovered, so they live deep in the mountains where those beasts reside.”
“…Is that really true?”
“Yes, it is! Have you seen those strange corpses of animals recently? It was definitely the witch’s doing! There is no one else but that person. You know that creature doesn’t wander around at night, right?”
A strangely flowing story.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe due to the weight of those words.
I might not be sharp or bright, but I could generally grasp that this situation was going awry.
What are you saying, Rumi?
Rumi… it’s not like that, right?
No way.
Rumi?
…
Stop it now.
Stop, I said.
I shouted.
“…..—!!!!! ———!!!”
“Hey!? This guy is having a fit!”
“—It seems the witch’s curse is taking effect! Don’t let him speak!”
“…O-Okay, Rumi!”
Thump, thump, I shook my body, trying to loosen the bonds.
I threw a fit so no one could hear Rumi’s words, screaming.
Crawling on the ground, wailing, I smashed my head against the floor.
Dirt flew into my eyes and the hard, rough ground scraped my face without me noticing.
All I could think of was to somehow stop Rumi from speaking.
That I got a new friend.
That I had someone precious to me.
The cherished memories that I had shared with Rumi and Alice, only revealed to Rumi in this village.
“—They even sang together in the woods after sunset!”
“Oh my god..!! That’s…”
Rumi twisted and colored those memories like they were something strange.
“This is undeniable! Hahn is just a victim lured by the witch. The real culprit is that ‘witch,’ right?”
“…Really…”
“If we don’t kill the real witch, this will keep happening!”
“Right, that’s definitely true.”
The eyes that should have been looking down at the writhing form on the ground were nowhere to be found.
The crowd showed no reaction to my cries.
All torches were raised high, signaling to head in the direction of the mountain Rumi pointed at.
All hostility aimed there.
In that moment, I comprehended the meaning of Rumi’s words.
That she had a way to resolve this situation.
That I would be okay.
I realized it all too painfully.
“…..———!!!!!!!”
“…She might have left a curse on Hahn who she often met, so keep the ropes tight.”
“…O-Okay, Rumi.”
“…Yes, now, let’s go.”
As things began to shift and point towards me being innocent, an old woman who had come to untie me stopped her actions with Rumi’s firm voice.
To make sure I wouldn’t have a chance to defend myself.
To shift all blame to the child.
To save me through that child’s death.
“———!!”
What are you saying?
Let me go.
This, let me go.
You know that child is innocent.
Why are you doing this….!!
“———,———!!”
But no matter how much I screamed.
Even if I showcased power I had never shown before.
Even if I struggled to escape the hands that were dragging me away,
I couldn’t untie the thick ropes binding me.
“……Then, shall we all go?”
Whoosh, she just turned her head without saying a word, ignoring my desperate gaze.
Her hair, illuminated by the rising sun, was redder than the flames beside her.
Rumi slowly walked at the front of the villagers.
I could only watch her retreating figure, bound at the end, in utter bewilderment.
As if preparing to move upward, Rumi walked between the raised burning crosses.
Behind her, the procession continued.
“—To catch the [real] witch.”
The long procession of people hunting the witch.
