At the end of a year-long harsh journey, remembering the faces of her companions from the village who had sacrificed themselves, Aoi just cried and cried. Her tears fell on the grass wet with morning dew, mixing with the dewdrops on the leaves.
“Uuugh…! Uuuuuuuugh…!”
Aoi’s arduous journey had now borne fruit.
After calming down, she entered the city. With the little remaining money, she tidied herself up and had a meal at a small diner. The warm meal soaked into her hungry body, tasting exquisite. This country wasn’t one that would make a fuss just because someone had red eyes and call them a witch.
This city was designated as the meeting point with Irias and the others. Aoi’s body was exhausted from running all night, but she thought she should rest for a while and then go look for Irias and the others.
Had Irias and the others managed to cross the fence safely and enter this country? Were they already in this city? As Aoi ate, she thought about her comrades in the village.
“Hey, did you hear? That story…”
As she was thinking, she heard voices from a table in the corner of the diner. The men were talking loudly, and although Aoi didn’t intend to listen, she could hear their conversation.
“What story?”
“Well, last night, near the border of the neighboring country, four witches were captured.”
“…!?”
Upon hearing that, Aoi’s heart skipped a beat.
“It seems they’re going to be taken to the major city of Progardia. I wonder if a pretty big witch trial will be held?”
Aoi’s fork slipped from her hand at the men’s words.
“T-that…”
Aoi’s eyes widened, her mouth agape. Her mind went blank. The wooden fork hit the floor with a light sound.
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Several weeks after four witches were captured at the border, a witch trial was about to be held in the plaza of the major city of Progardia.
Tables and chairs were arranged in the plaza managed by the city. An outdoor trial was being prepared, and several judges faced the witches. The surrounding crowd surrounded them, watching with keen interest.
Irias and the other four witches were tied to wooden posts fixed to the ground. Although the judges were present and the form of a trial was being followed, firewood soaked in oil was piled at the witches’ feet, indicating that the trial’s outcome was already determined.
“We ask the defendants. Have you continuously deceived the people of the neighboring village with your magical arts, stealing the village’s reserves? Is that not true?”
The weak sun from the cloudy sky cast a dim shadow over the plaza. The bound witches were filthy, and the crowd looked at Irias and the others with eyes of disgust.
“No. We conducted fair transactions with the people of the village and performed work commensurate with the compensation. We did not deceive anyone.”
“The claim lacks credibility. The defendants’ statements are dismissed.”
The chief judge tapped his gavel lightly. Irias responded calmly to the questions of the chief judge without raising her voice. They knew they wouldn’t be saved anymore. At least as a last bit of pride, they faced the trial with a firm attitude.
“You used magic brought forth from demons to profane the dignity of our God. Is that not true?”
“No. The magic we use is not the wicked magic of demons. We have the same faith as you and live under the same customs.”
“The claim is not recognized. The defendants’ statements are dismissed.”
No matter what Irias and the others said, the chief judge wouldn’t listen. The surrounding crowd smiled maliciously, watching as if they were the epitome of justice.
“You were performing impure rituals to summon demons to this land. Is that not true?”
“No. The summoning of demons is a figment of your imagination. Such a thing does not exist in our arts.”
“The defendants’ statements are dismissed.”
“You abducted people from neighboring villages as sacrifices in your research of demonic arts. Is that not true?”
“No. We do not use arts that sacrifice human lives. There is no such fact whatsoever.”
“The defendants’ statements are dismissed.”
The opinions of Irias and the judges didn’t meet at all, and the trial progressed, and the chief judge pronounced the verdict.
“The four defendants shall be sentenced to death by fire.”
“…………”
The conclusion, which had long been decided, reached its conclusion without being overturned.
The crowd sighed with relief, with faint smiles on their faces, and Irias and the others clenched their teeth and looked up at the sky. The judges breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had finished their work, and leaned back in their chairs.
—And then, something unexpected happened for the chief judge.
“Huh…?”
One of the judges sitting next to the chief judge suddenly stood up and charged at the chief judge, who was still sitting in his chair.
“Uwah…!?”
“Eh…?”
“W-what’s going on?”
The surrounding crowd was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. The chief judge was knocked over along with his chair and fell to the ground. And the judge who knocked him over remained on top of the fallen chief judge, pinning his body to the ground.
“Wha…? W-What are you doing!?”
“………… “
The judge’s sudden action left the presiding judge helpless, and he was restrained without resistance. The surrounding judges were astonished, rising from their seats and stepping back a few paces. The crowd was in disarray, and the presiding judge looked around with wide eyes, as if not understanding what was happening. Even when the presiding judge questioned the judge restraining him, the person said nothing.
In the midst of this, a woman in a black hooded cloak leaped out from the crowd. Amidst the chaos, she approached the fallen presiding judge and pressed a knife against his neck.
“W-What are you doing!? You…!?”
“Don’t move.”
The woman declared in a cold voice. Her knife lightly grazed the skin of the presiding judge’s neck, drawing a trickle of blood. The presiding judge found himself unable to move, more so than when he was restrained by the other judge.
The woman removed her black hood to reveal her face. Chestnut-colored, semi-long hair swayed gently.
“Aoi…!?”
“Irias…”
The woman in the black hood was Aoi. Irias and the other witches were astonished, their eyes widening. When Aoi waved her hand, the judge restraining the presiding judge stepped aside. That judge had been brainwashed by Aoi before the trial began.
Aoi took a deep breath.
“I… am a witch…!”
“What…!?”
As she loudly declared herself a witch, both the judges and the crowd stiffened in surprise. The presiding judge, with a knife at his throat, couldn’t resist Aoi.
“A witch isn’t a special existence…! Magic isn’t a special power…! Magic resides in everyone…!”
“……”
“Don’t fear magic! It’s something anyone can use! It’s not a dangerous power reserved for special individuals! With study… anyone can use it…!”
Aoi addressed the surrounding people, her voice becoming hoarse. She asserted that magic wasn’t dangerous and that they weren’t sinister beings.
“……”
But her words didn’t reach the crowd. They were frightened by the sudden appearance of a witch and incredulous at what she was saying.
“Don’t persecute us! I want you to understand! We’re not dangerous…!”
“What’s that witch saying…?”
“Maybe she’s gone mad…?”
“Someone kill that woman quickly! She’s a dangerous witch…!”
“We’re not dangerous! We’re not guilty of anything! Don’t try to kill my friends! Magic isn’t dangerous…!”
“This witch!”
Stones were thrown from the crowd, hitting Aoi in the forehead. Her skin was cut, and a trickle of blood ran down, but Aoi didn’t flinch or groan in pain. With an expression as if the pain were nothing, she remained resolute and looked in the direction from which the stones had come.
“……”
“Ugh…”
The person who threw the stone backed away. Aoi’s determined attitude made the people around her recoil.
And then Aoi took the next step. While holding the presiding judge at knifepoint, she took out a large parchment from her bag and spread it out in front of the fallen presiding judge.
“What…?”
The crowd murmured at Aoi’s new action. Drawn on the parchment was a large magic circle. Several circular patterns overlapped, multiple magic circles intertwined, and a large single pattern was drawn on the paper.
Aoi placed a small candle at the center of it.
“You, put your hand here.”
“……Huh?”
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