Living as an Unemployed in Another World

141 – 5. Witch Moon (17)

5. Witch’s Moon – Nightmare (4)

When the knocking sound returned at the end of the silence, I swallowed. At that moment, I thought of quickly closing and organizing the messy books on the floor, but I stopped after realizing that it was pointless. To be honest with her, whatever I tried to hide from her wouldn’t mean much to her.

“…… Yes.”

I answered reluctantly, like a sigh, and the door opened slowly. The witch stood there with an alluring look, not different from usual. She looked at the journals randomly placed on the floor and at me, then slowly approached with a sigh. That step felt like a huge pressure to me not to do anything stupid.

Eventually, when the distance between me and the witch was reduced to less than two steps, instead of looking down at me as I knelt on her floor, she crouched down there to meet her eye level. And then, with a slightly forlorn expression, he said:

“…… Sorry.”

Her I tried not to make eye contact with her or be dazzled by her, but I immediately lifted my head at her words. As I put on a look of disbelief, she stammered out her words.

“I’m sorry, so…… For saying that, and then getting angry. Also… ….”

I just listened to the words awkwardly put together by a witch. I know it’s the least polite thing to say in response, but I also couldn’t believe this situation at all.

“I didn’t shout on purpose, I was just afraid that you would get caught up… ….”

It was the first time she apologized to me, just as it was the first time she took her anger out when I arbitrarily broke her flask. The remnants of her two feelings, which she had never experienced from her before, mixed in me in a dizzying way, and her heart thumped.

She apologized to me in a very serious and serious manner for a very long time. The sentence was rather crude and awkward, and it proved very well that he had never bowed his head in his life, but there was no hint of reluctance. So I decided to accept the apology.

“Yes. I will forgive you.”

A bright smile appeared on the witch’s face. Ironically, even at that moment, I caught my gaze on her face. The secrets of the mansion, the many missing wizards, everything I realized seemed trivial.

However, there were definitely things to point out. I took the opportunity to look straight into her eyes and ask.

“Master.”

“Huh?”

“Am I still Master’s disciple?”

The witch was silent for a moment, then nodded her head with her lips tightly pressed together. Hearing that answer, I was satisfied. I was relieved. I asked again.

“Unless I change, is it true that I will never be able to use magic in the future?”

“… ….”

She nodded her head quietly this time. Yes, that’s right. Again, an awkward silence settled between the two. I opened my mouth again.

“Finally.”

I asked.

“Still, do you have anything to tell me?”

The witch slightly widened her eyes. It was an ambiguous word. I just realized the truth about the mansion,

If you can read my thoughts, please answer me.

If you do that, I think I’ll be able to live happily ever after, taking care of myself for the rest of my life.

Whether it’s a mansion or a forest, don’t go out.

Because I feel like I can stay here until I die of old age.

So please answer me.

The witch shook her head with a very, very sad expression.

“…… Okay.”

I stopped talking any more. So I just kept my mouth shut. The witch stared at me for a very long time, lowering her head, then straightened her back and left her room first.

Whether it was consideration for me or just a metaphor for the disconnection of her heart, when she came in, she closed the door and left.

I was left alone and buried my head among the scattered books.

“Purrule.”

Now the skeleton, not even sure if it was the original word, cried without notice.

※

Time has passed since then. Even though such a big incident occurred in our daily routine, there was no more dramatic change between the two of us than we thought.

I mean, for example, it hasn’t happened since then that I’ve been pouting and openly ignoring her, or that she’s avoiding me out of guilt.

Although it was a big enough event to cause a big stir in each other’s hearts, the bond we built over a short period of time was far too deep for it to collapse with just one mistake.

She wanted to eat twice a day as before, wanted to spend that time with me, and expressed her willingness to continue her lessons if I wished. I, too, was still in charge of her meals, and still showed a willingness to acquire that knowledge as her apprentice.

When you think about it, it was natural. I was a greedy person, and in my opinion, I wasn’t that narrow-minded compared to my peers. In addition, he prided himself on being logical and rational, not only compared to his peers, but also to other people of any age.

In this world that is still unfamiliar to me, I couldn’t just throw away this suspicious woman who took care of me and pretended to be my protector. No, in fact, it was mostly because he still couldn’t fold her feelings for her even after that happened.

Besides, in the corner of my heart, I still had the desire to become a wizard. A strong desire for unknown territory that has never been set foot in, let alone conquered. And the source came from her recognition.

The witch said that if I truly understood this world, she would be able to use magic. That fact will not change in the future.

Because…… Previously, if becoming a wizard was a premise, knowledge of spells was required, but after that, the area was gradually expanded to include the history of magic, creatures that use magic, unknown monsters that have never been met, or geography and countless other things. I wanted to learn about countries and tribes.

It was my own effort, wondering if I could understand this world at least a little bit, even with my head. Of course, the witch gave an impeccable lecture at my request.

I hope time passes like that for three months. What was I doing after spending nearly 500 days in this large mansion…… He was playing catch with a horse bone in the backyard of the mansion.

“Old.”

I threw a ball made of tanned leather and roughly stuffed with cotton, and the guy quickly ran and caught the ball in his mouth. At first, he had only a head and floated around like a ghost in the air, but it had been a long time since the witch’s beckoning had turned him into bones and his body.

“Is it fun?”

“Purple?”

“Yeah, I’m having fun too.”

If it was a living body, she would probably be snorting and drooling. I took the ball back and sighed as I stared at the literal boneless body.

For the past three months, there has been no problem between the witch and me. That was the reason for my sigh.

On that day, she definitely drew a fine line for me, and I also resigned myself to that line and tried not to dig any further. Thanks to that conclusion, there was no longer any conflict, but it was also clear that the distance between each other, which had been narrowing little by little, would not decrease any more.

No, maybe we are further away than before. She wasn’t playing meaningless pranks on me anymore, and it seemed like she was just following a set routine, not wanting to show off her naked body. I also did not complain about it, and only faithfully performed the role of her disciple.

In our own time, not with each other, outside of the set schedule, we go into our own rooms and don’t step out. That clearly represented her relationship with her right now.

It can’t go on like this. I couldn’t stand the suffocating silence, so I held on to one of her horse bones in her backyard and let out a deep sigh.

Silence is not a struggle or a quarrel. Not even silence However, I could never get rid of the idea that the stillness was a harbinger of something. Just as there are times when the air currents are stable before a storm, there are times when the waves are calm before a tsunami.

“In the end, I have no choice but to dig myself up.”

That was the only conclusion I came to. She, too, would know that while she treated the witch calmly on the outside, on the inside she was still recalling the things I saw that day. Still, she didn’t try to explain or excuse me.

Then, are my guesses, maybe delusional thoughts, all true? A setting like in a horror movie, where many wizards who lived in this large mansion ended their lives for some reason, and maybe they are being used as ingredients for her ‘experiment’, like the black contents in the flask?

I sighed again. If so, it did not give her any justification or authority to argue with her. This world is not a place where modern, well-smelted iron laws exist, and even if there were, she wouldn’t be subject to such sanctions.

Also, just because everyone who lived in her mansion died and she survived alone doesn’t necessarily mean that she killed everyone. Wasn’t it written in the journal? If you stay by her side, it is nothing but grandiose delusion that one day you will end your own life like them.

I got up from my seat. After all, in order to resolve this uncomfortable relationship, I needed to know more about her somehow. If he had no intention of answering, he would have searched the mansion thoroughly.

After that, once you get your hands on the whole truth, either way you’ll know a little more about the witch than you do now. If that happens, wouldn’t it be possible to understand more about ‘this world’ as she said? I was soaked in such a hopeful imagination that one day I will be able to use her magic and reconcile with her sincerely and reciprocate, and I smiled at her without realizing it. Meanwhile, someone called me.

“Jin.”

I looked up. Anyway, it was her. She hadn’t spoken to her first unless there was something special, so what was it? When I was puzzled, she approached me with a very excited smile, unlike usual.

“Is it okay for a moment?”

“Oh, yes.”

As I picked myself up, she grinned, glanced at the skeletal pony next to me, and then turned around and said:

“Follow me. I have something to show you.”

When she said that, I followed her without any doubt. While I was matching her steps, I suddenly looked back at her, and unlike usual, he did not follow me, but was left alone in her yard, staring at me. I said in a mouth to the guy left behind. I’ll be back soon.

The guy didn’t answer. Instead, I cried very, very little.

That was the last cry I heard from him.

※

“Why, why… ….”

As I hugged him and sobbed, he shuddered at his cool body for a moment, then shattered into the air. The culprit, who made many guests struggle with nightmares, could not be caught forever.

I looked up at the ceiling of the room with a hopeless expression. Mira and Alphonse looked at the scene, then dropped their eyes.

“Jin, are you okay?”

As I fell on the floor and my shoulders trembled, Grace asked. I barely nodded. Before long, as I took a closer look at the faces of the three people surrounding me, I barely managed to get onto the bed and murmured in a low voice.

I remembered everything.

Now, it’s time for everyone to know the truth.