Chapter 22: A Brewing Storm and an Unwelcome Voice

I thought encountering the man in dark priestly robes would make the journey to the west a massive hassle.

But after a few days of frequent attacks, they nearly stopped altogether once I unleashed my magic.

Just a few starving low-tier beasts occasionally ambushed us, right?

The journey became safer, with only the pursuing elves to worry about, so I relaxed a bit.

Still, I didn’t let my guard down.

With the story being remade, I had no idea how the evil god’s followers had changed.

Who knows what schemes they’re plotting?

In the original, they started assassination attempts the day after an encounter. Would they really leave us alone until we reached the west?

If they retreated because they got caught in that blind mana blast I fired into the forest, maybe.

But what kind of idiot villain gets taken out by a stray mana shot?

“…It’s the calm before the storm. I need to prepare thoroughly. You never know what’ll happen.”

Carefully rousing my sleeping magic, I gathered it at my fingertips.

As expected of a witch’s body, I’d already mastered mana control after just a few practice sessions.

Dispelling the dark mana at my fingertips, I let out a long sigh.

“Why am I so uneasy?”

The peace itself made me anxious.

I almost wished they’d keep attacking like before.

Wasn’t it like this in the Great Forest?

After meeting the priestess, it was quiet for a few days—then the protagonist showed up.

And right after, the main arc, the “Great Escape,” kicked off.

Peace is never a good sign.

In other novels, maybe, but in this one, a brief calm always precedes hell.

And that hell is more than enough to turn fleeting moments of peace into dread.

As long as I’m with the protagonist’s party, I can’t afford to bask in this leisurely calm.

Crackle—

As I practiced mana control again, Stroheim, who’d been peering through a telescope, suddenly spoke with a joyful expression.

“I see a city! Haha! We can finally resupply!”

“Actual good news for once. Is the city intact?”

“Intact and then some! Those sturdy walls look perfect for a night’s stay!”

Ten days since escaping the Great Forest and heading west.

We were looking rough and desperately needed proper rest, so the party headed to the city without hesitation.

For the first time since being possessed, I could finally enjoy the comfortable rest I’d dreamed of.

The issue of identification was handled by Carl, the only one with proper credentials.

He flashed his mercenary badge and slipped some loot from the bandit raid into the gatekeeper’s pocket, and we were let through.

The priestess’s flashy robes probably helped too.

Once inside, the party immediately secured a place to stay for the night. Since it was too early for dinner, we stepped out for personal errands.

My tasks were obvious: buy a magic tome and gather intel.

Even if I didn’t know about the evil god’s cult, I needed to pinpoint the elves’ location. And to survive the western arc, mastering magic was essential.

Recalling the original novel, I headed straight for the bustling market and found an antique shop.

Why an antique shop, you ask?

As someone with my status, it’s the only place I could likely get a magic tome.

Creak.

True to a shop dealing in antiques, it was rundown.

Pushing through the creaking door, I found a blonde witch sleeping at a desk.

…A witch here too?

Should I be happy to meet a kindred spirit or worried that the shopkeeper’s a weirdo?

As I pondered, my eyes caught a desk littered with experimental tools, evidence of intense research.

Approaching the desk, the blonde witch woke with a sultry moan.

“Ugh… who’s there…?”

“A customer.”

“Ugh… forgot to lock the door… I’m not open… get out…”

Waving to shoo me away, she realized her magic had no effect, rubbed her eyes, and stared at me.

Then, smacking her forehead, she grimaced.

“Sigh… Why’s someone chasing the end coming to a dump like this…? What do you even need…?”

“I didn’t expect the antique shop owner to be a witch either.”

“Nothing worth seeing here… Scram… If you wanted something, I’d already be using it…”

Yawning lazily, she tried to go back to sleep.

I tossed a pouch of coins looted from the bandits onto the desk and stated my needs.

“Got any spare magic tomes? You must have at least one.”

“…Why’d you want trash even I wouldn’t touch…? What, raising a slave or something…?”

“Let’s say that’s the case. So, got any or not?”

“I do… But you know magic tomes are pricey, right…?”

“Didn’t you just call it trash you wouldn’t touch?”

“Did I…?”

Feigning ignorance, the sleepy blonde witch pulled a tome from somewhere, counted the coins in the pouch, and nodded slowly.

“Alright, this should cover it… See ya, sucker… Hehe…”

“I’m not done yet.”

“Ugh… What now…? What else do you need…?”

“Info on recent movements of the Great Forest elves. And their exact location.”

Originally, I only planned to get a magic tome here.

I’d intended to gather elf intel by piecing together rumors in the market.

But with a witch as the shopkeeper, things changed.

This wasn’t some half-baked witch like me—she was the real deal, a so-called “omnipotent” witch.

In other words, I could get solid, reliable intel instead of patchwork rumors.

Eyes gleaming with anticipation, I stared at the blonde witch.

She sighed heavily, shook her head, and opened her sharp blue eyes, snapping irritably.

“Hey… Can’t someone of your level use [Clairvoyance]…? Why make me do it…?”

“You sold me ‘trash’ for a high price. Can’t you at least do this much?”

“…Fine, there’s gotta be a reason you’re asking me. Getting treated like a magic errand girl at this level… Ugh, my life. This better not be a big deal… or else…”

Grumbling, the blonde witch summoned golden mana and stared intently, as if peering at something.

After a while, she dispelled the mana and screamed so loud the shop shook, her voice dripping with horror.

“…What the hell did you do to those crazy bitches?!?!?”

A voice emanated from a crystal orb containing information obtained through [Greater Magic – Clairvoyance].

[Sisters, due to an evil witch, we’ve lost our seed providers.]

[We protected the mid-tier ones, but countless high-tier ones were lost, and we lost every top-tier one.]

[Those who’ve tasted high-tier or above know. The pleasure is on another level—the richness and quality are worlds apart from mid-tier.]

[Though the situation is chaotic, we can’t just watch. To resolve this chaos, we must address the root cause.]

[We’ll capture everyone, starting with the ‘top-tier.’ It’s only been a few days—riding bicorns, we’ll catch them quickly.]

The intel from the blonde witch boiled down to this:

The elves I thought were already chasing us had only just finished preparing to set out, and they were pissed.

They were riding bicorns, which were as fast as unicorns.

Their confident tone suggested they were certain they’d catch us.

And one thing was clear: if caught, we were in for a bad time.

My suspicions were right.

No wonder I felt uneasy—days from now, I’d have to fight those mating-crazed elves again.

The silver lining was that, unlike in the Great Forest, I could use magic now.

And outside their home turf, the elves wouldn’t have an absolute combat advantage.

Still, the situation remained grim.

Fuck, I was just starting to enjoy a proper rest.

I glared at Kotath, who was mindlessly tearing into a chicken leg.

…Should I starve him for a few days?

If I toss a famished Kotath at the elves, maybe we could fend them off again.

Shaking off the bad idea, I reconsidered.

No, it won’t be that easy. They got burned last time, so they’ve probably prepared countermeasures.

Starving him might be the worst move.

Shifting my gaze from Kotath, I looked at Veldum and Stroheim.

Even now, they were heatedly debating perfect muscles.

The absurd sight snuffed out the faint hope I’d had.

…Those two are useless. Next.

Finally, the original protagonist, Carl.

Staring blankly at his crotch, he covered it and hardened his expression.

“…Twice is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Hm.”

He’s right—twice won’t work.

The elves aren’t idiots, and we’re outside the Great Forest, so luring them into complacency is harder.

What do I do?

This feels hopeless.

A dark future with no clear path ahead.

Sighing at the despair welling up inside, I heard it.

A voice that shouldn’t have been there.

“Mind if we talk for a bit?”