Chapter 83: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 83
The girl with jet-black hair lay quietly, staring blankly up at the sky.
At first glance, the sky seemed motionless, but on closer inspection, it moved at a fairly rapid pace.
The sun and moon took turns rising and setting, while clouds constantly drifted by on the wind.
To the girl, who had spent centuries gazing at an unmoving ceiling, the speed of the sky felt incredibly fast.
As she watched the sky, she pondered.
It was amazing how the sky moved without rest.
Though she couldn’t understand why the sky moved so quickly, she didn’t mind it.
Watching the ceaseless movement made her more acutely aware of her own stillness.
Thus, her recent pastime had become lying down and staring blankly at the sky.
Then, dark clouds filled the sky she had been gazing at, and raindrops began to fall one by one.
“...It’s raining.”
Soon, the rain began to pour down heavily. The girl, still looking up at the sky, muttered to herself.
Despite the rain pouring down, her musings ended there.
Even as the rain continued, she stared blankly up at the sky, unchanged.
Raindrops fell onto her half-closed eyes, but she gave no reaction.
No matter how much rain poured down on her, she didn’t get wet, remaining exactly as she was before.
As if she was the only one detached from the world, the girl remained motionless in the rapidly moving world.
Then, the sky in her view, filled only with rain, was suddenly replaced by a black hole that appeared out of nowhere.
From the hole, a hooded woman’s head peeked out, absorbing the falling rain.
The hooded woman, with a grunt, emerged from the hole and stood by the girl’s head.
Sensing that the woman’s arrival meant trouble, the girl frowned slightly.
The hooded woman, smiling, spoke as if she were hurt by the reaction.
“Aha, it seems you’re not too pleased to see me. Making such a face at me, you might hurt my feelings.”
“What brings you here...?”
“What else could it be? I’ve come to ask you for another favor.”
The girl’s face, already frowning, scrunched up even more at the mention of a favor.
“...You said last time that it’d be a while before you needed anything again.”
When the girl complained, the woman responded in a regretful tone.
“Well, things didn’t go as planned. So I had no choice but to come to you for a second favor this soon. I regret using up one of my remaining requests like this. I usually prefer to save these for last.”
“...If you want to save it, then don’t use it...”
“But if I don’t use it now, it’ll go to waste, so it’s better to use it while I can. I went to great lengths to find and free you from deep underground, so you should repay that effort. That was our deal, remember? You agreed, so don’t complain too much.”
At the woman’s words, the girl recalled the day she made the contract with her.
She had been living underground for centuries.
She could have escaped anytime she wanted, but it seemed too much trouble, so she just stayed put.
Then one day, the woman had appeared and said:
“Aren’t you bored here? If you want to get out, why not make a contract with me? I’ll free you from here in exchange for doing three favors for me later. They won’t be too difficult. How about it?”
Thinking she could get out without any effort, she had accepted the contract without much thought. In hindsight, she regretted it.
She hadn’t realized then that doing someone else’s bidding would be even more bothersome.
But a contract must be honored, so there was no going back.
The girl quietly muttered.
“...So, what do you want me to do this time?”
When the girl asked, the woman grinned and pulled out a black orb from the hole in the air.
“It’s not much different from the last favor. In fact, this one’s even simpler. You just need to enter the barrier and release the creature inside this orb without drawing attention. That’s all.”
The girl accepted the black orb the woman handed her.
It was a peculiar orb capable of containing demonic beasts, created by the woman’s power.
Last time, she had trapped a demonic beast inside, but since the woman said nothing this time, the girl asked nonchalantly.
“...What’s inside this time?”
“Oh! Good question! To explain that, I’ll need to give you an overview of my plan. Where should I start?”
As the girl asked, the woman’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Seeing this, the girl realized she shouldn’t have asked, but it was too late.
The woman began to speak enthusiastically.
“Remember the last time I asked you? The plan was to send a bunch of low-level demonic beasts to lure the heroes. You, being able to pass through the barrier unaffected, would release the demonic beasts to cause chaos and confusion. That plan failed, unfortunately.”
The woman continued with a grin.
“But I had prepared something else to cause more confusion. I have another helper, besides you. This helper has tiny parasitic demonic beasts that attach to other creatures. I had those parasites embedded in the low-level demonic beasts I sent. They transfer to any creature they come into contact with or get close to. They can’t parasitize strong beings, but most humans are weak.”
The girl watched the woman prattle on with a look of exasperation.
Unfazed, the woman kept talking.
“If those parasites enter a human, they settle in the brain, causing emotional instability.
They also make the throat feel incredibly itchy, but that’s not important. Anyway, I spread those in the city, so people who lost their families to the demonic beasts might go crazy and start riots.
I figured that would eventually bring down the human city, but unfortunately, your released demonic beasts didn’t cause much damage, so that plan failed.”
The woman shook her head regretfully but then smiled.
“But I found out that my helper can control creatures infested with these parasites. If we can control people and stir up chaos, the city will fall into disarray. My helper’s power can’t reach beyond that annoying barrier without a sort of transmitter. That’s what’s inside the orb you’re holding.”
Finally, the woman fell silent.
The girl, looking weary, stared at her and then asked a question.
“Is your goal to destroy the human city?”
The woman smiled and replied.
“Well, if I had to state a purpose, the ultimate goal is world domination. Destroying the human city is just a step toward that.”
The girl asked nonchalantly.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to just ask me to wipe out the city?”
Though it was bothersome, the girl had the power to do so.
Even the greatest hero of the dwarves, clad in mithril armor made by the most legendary craftsman, posed no threat to her.
Even an attempt to blow up their underground city to destroy her only buried her beneath the ground, leaving her unscathed.
So, humans stood no chance against her either.
The being who had caused countless to despair in ancient times.
The Witch of Sloth, after hearing the girl’s words, replied with a smile.
“I don’t want to. The easier it is to get, the less value it holds.”
Under her hood, the woman’s eyes glinted quietly.
“I want to see my plan unfold gradually over time. To see how they fall and when they will die. Watching it all is my goal. Taking the easy way won’t let me see that. You might not understand why I go to such trouble, but that’s how it is.”
The girl muttered.
“...I guess I can understand a little.”
Remembering a being that once brought interest to her mundane life.
Recalling the emotions from that time, she felt she could somewhat understand the woman now.
The woman smiled brightly at the girl’s words.
“Oh, really? That’s good to hear! Anyway, I’m counting on you! You’re the only one who can get in and out of there without any hindrance. Don’t take too long to release it just because it’s a bother.”
Intending to take her time because it was bothersome, the girl clicked her tongue inwardly and spoke.
“...Take me near the city, then.”
At her words, the woman grinned, and the hole above her head, which had been blocking the rain, descended, swallowing the two of them.
As if seeing them off, a massive beast, as large as a mountain, howled in the rain, carrying the girl.
So she's sloth huh. True to her name she is absolutely lazy lol.
ReplyDeleteI think she was the first witch to be "defeated" and throughout all of this, she was just chilling in the caves lol.
absolute chill
DeleteThe way it's worded, it sounds like the one asking for the favor is the Witch of Sloth?
Delete