The Witch of Taboos.

The Dark Elf called herself so.

Finally We met her.

We finally met her in person.

However-

This is where it starts.

Putting aside Liz, I could also see relief from Seras and Eves expression.

However, just coming here isnt my goal.

Nevertheless its not unreasonable for their tension to loosen up.

Weve finally reached the inner depths of the Golden Demon Zone.

It was one of those things that were said to be synonymous with unachievable.

But, we managed to do it.

Our journey until now was certainly not an easy one.

You could even say that it was a tough road that wore down our nerves.

Everyones already exhausted, both in body and mind.

Therefore, no one could blame them if they felt relieved after arriving at our goal.

However, the reality is that were still only at the halfway point.

Theres still the question of whether the Witch will accept us or not.

That needs to be clarified.

And, Im sure that the outcome will be dependent on our negotiation with her from now on-

[So?]

The Witch relaxedly placed her hands on her twisted hips

Her long black hair swayed along as she twisted her hips.

[Were you the ones responsible for all that ruckus those monsters were making?]

Fwwuuaaahhh

The Witch yawned.

[That abruptly woke me up, you know?]

Yeah, I nodded.

[Its unmistakably the deed of my Mercenary Group.]

I placed emphasis on the word my.

Its to show that Im the representative of this group.

[Your group huh.]

Her eyes narrowed, the Witch fixated her gaze on me.

[With all that clamour going above ground It looks like you carelessly killed the Kuchiyose huh. Or am I mistaken?]

(T/N: Summoner)

That monster with the big mouth that looks like a ghost.

The Witch seems to call it a Kuchiyose.

That name sounds like some kind of ninjutsu from somewhere.

[Unfortunately, were not as familiar with the Demon Zone as you are. Once we entered the Demon Zone, were fumbling about with just about everything. Of course, we also didnt know the nature of that Kuchiyose either.]

One of the Witchs eyebrows raised.

[You dont sound like youre trying to make any excuses, do you? Based on the lack of sadness in your group, I guess you didnt lose a single one of your companions along the way.]

[Yeah, I managed to not lose a single one of them.]

[Thats quite a considerable feat- Dont move any further.]

I stopped my feet from stepping forward.

[Its because I couldnt take a good look at your beautiful face.]

[Dont make me laugh Dont say something that you dont have mean.]

[I think of that as the truth though.]

[Like I said, dont make me laugh.]

[.]

Although its unclear to what extent that she had managed to understand

It seems like the Witch knows of my range to a certain extent.

This wont go just like my battle with Civit huh.

Well, its not like I planned to use my skill anyway.

For now, that is.

I aimed to get closer until Im within range, which was supposed to be an insurance.

However, I may have been a bit rash with that decision.

And also

I haphazardly complimented her appearance, but she didnt even act bashful towards my words.

She doesnt seem to be the type who is immune to men.

I cant break through her guard from that side huh.

Then, I could only remove that approach from my options.

[By the way, do you mind if I ask something?]

[Yeah, you can ask me anything.]

[I still havent checked whats going on outside the barrier yet but it sounds really peaceful. I mean, you should have drawn waves of monsters towards you There should have been a significant amount of monsters there, including some Human-Faced among the ones surging towards your group, but how did you get past them?]

[Ive just been recklessly killing them and before I knew it, the amount of monsters has decreased. I mean it has become quieter because the monsters have decreased. Well, some of them ran away with their tails tucked between their legs.

The Witchs brows furrowed.

[What did you say? You killed them? Even the Human-Faced?]

[Yeah, Even the Human-Faced.]

[Are you saying that you used that strange magic that bound this Erikas handmade golems movements to defeat them?]

[Its not some kind of magic or spell, thats my power as a Hero from Another World.]

The Witch looks somewhat surprised.

However, she immediately looks like shes convinced by what I said.

[A Hero from Another World. I see, I could understand it if that were the case. If youre a Hero from Another World, its no wonder that you have that mysterious power.]

Im going to show her some of my cards.

Theres nothing wrong with revealing to her that Im a Hero from Another World here.

The Witch seems to be smart after all.

I think she would end up with that answer anyway.

In that case, Ill just reveal it to her myself to gain her trust.

I exchange looks with Seras.

She also looks back at me.

Good, its alright.

Seras also understood the meaning of my gaze.

The Witchs words- its for her to judge its authenticity.

Whether shes lying or not.

Or perhaps, to judge whether shes the type of person who would lie to us at any given time.

Even if the words she judged its authenticity were important or not, it still gives us an idea of the other persons personality.

[I see, I understood now why you guys were able to get through this area. Then-]

Thunk

The Witch struck the floor with the bottom of her staff.

[Whats your purpose for coming here to Erikas abode?]

Her cold purple eyes asking for the truth.

Even though its quiet, I could feel the blazing pressure pressing down on me.

In response to her question

[Can I also ask one thing from you?]

I asked another question back.

The Witch looked down towards me.

After a brief moment of silence

[Well, it would be unfair if Im the only one who asked a question. Ask away.]

It looks like shes open for conversation.

[You didnt show any vigilance when you heard that Im a Hero from Another World. Why is that? We could probably be the Goddess underlings who came to reap your life, you know?]

The witch exaggeratedly brushed away to the side the hair beside her neck.

[Even though youre a Hero from Another World, it doesnt look like youre of those people that were just following the Goddess every word though?]

The Witch pointed the end of her staff towards my direction.

[Sometimes, when multiple people are summoned, there are some outliers mixed in the group. Well most of the outliers that didnt follow the will of the Goddess would probably find themselves rotting inside the Disposal Ruins after being disposed of. And since it looks like you werent sent there, Id say you have quite the luck in you, dont you think?]

It seems that shes aware of the existence of the Disposal Ruins.

[No, its probably just as you said just now]

The tip of the Witchs staff began glowing.

A belt-like shaped Magic Technique appeared on the tip of her staff.

Shes using magic huh.

[Are all of you pawns of that damned Goddess?]

I guess this is where we say our real intentions huh.

Its dangerous to probe into the other persons true motive if youre not careful with what you say.

Then, you would find that the distance between the two of you get closer the more you fumble about with the other person.

[Rather than that, you could say that Im someone who sees the Goddess as an enemy.]

I could feel that Eve and Liz who were standing behind me reacting to my words.

Although they didnt speak, I could infer that they were surprised.

After all, I havent told the two of them that I was hostile to the Goddess.

[So- Which side are you on?]

Its time.

I mustnt miss the reaction of the Witch here.

If, by any chance that the Witch is on the Goddess side, theres only one option.

We just have to deal with the Witch and leave this place.

I waited for her answer.

I would know the correct answer from Seras, someone who could see through lies

[Hah?]

The Witchs nose intensely wrinkled.

Putting her hand on her waist, she shows discomfort on her face.

[Alions Goddess That evil god who saw this mistress as a threat and carved that Taboo word on my name? Where the heck would the reason be for this Erika to have any good will to that f*cking goddess? .What? You You just smiled a bit, didnt you? Hey? Hey, whats up with that?]

The Witch shows a somewhat stronger emotion.

It seems that she also has condemning thoughts towards the Goddess.

And At that moment, I unintentionally forgot to stay calm.

[No, my bad.]

Heh

She surprisingly had a foul mouth on her.

But well, I see

That f*cking goddess huh