Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 14 - Chapter 3.1

CHAPTER 3

Sena the Judge

Elaina’s mornings started early.

“Good morning. Lovely weather again today, isn’t it? Oh? What’s the matter? Somehow, you don’t seem very lively. Hmm? You don’t want to go to work…? Well, that’s awful! Seems like your daily commute has exhausted you. But don’t worry—it just so happens that I am a traveling saleswoman, and I journey far and wide selling products that are just perfect for someone like you who just doesn’t feel like going to work.”

Early one morning, as people were going this way and that on their daily commutes, a young woman was urging passersby to purchase cookies in the shape of closed seashells. As it happened, that young woman was none other than Elaina.

She was not simply passing out ordinary cookies either. Inside those tightly closed clamshells, she had placed strips of paper on which she had written that day’s fortunes. In other words, by buying one of these cookies, a person would know their fortunes for the day.

“How about trying your luck with a cookie?”

“Try my luck…? What do you mean…?”

“Despite how I look, my predictions are very accurate. So how about it?”

“But I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff…”

“That’s too bad… Well then, why don’t you forget about the fortune and just enjoy the cookie? As a matter of fact, the cookies themselves contain some special ingredients, and just by eating one, you’ll feel much better. So how about it? Treat yourself!”

“I don’t know… What kind of effects are we even talking about, specifically?”

“Oh, well…you’ll start to feel very light and buoyant.”

“Just by eating a cookie?”

“Just by eating one.”

“Sounds like there might be some suspicious ingredients in there.”

“Heh-heh-heh.”

“So there are…”

The young woman who’d been walking around by the side of the road selling dangerous items was known as Elaina, the Ashen Witch.

You might be thinking she sounds like quite a crook, so let me make a slight amendment to my account. On that day, she was not dressed at all like a witch, but rather she wore a hood pulled down low over her head and a cloth over her mouth, hiding her face. Now and then, she’d let out a low chuckle, like some greedy knave. Yes, she was indeed an awful crook.

“As the fee for the cookie, all I ask is one piece of gold. How about it?”

…………

I would like to believe nobody would stoop so low just to make a little money. But the fact of the matter is, when one is traveling, money is an absolute necessity. Now and then, one is forced to raise funds in the field. There is simply nothing else for it.

“Grrraaaaaahhh!”

But just then, a scream reverberated down the avenue, cutting through the crowd.

When everyone turned to look, they saw a young girl running toward Elaina, the suspicious saleswoman, from the other side of the street.

The girl was wearing a long blue uniform that looked like a robe or maybe a long coat, and she appeared to be about eighteen years old. Her golden hair was done up in a ponytail, and her blue eyes were glaring at Elaina.

“You again!” the girl shouted, fuming mad.

She was a member of the Judgment Squad, the organization responsible for maintaining public order in the city.

“Hello, Miss Sena,” said Elaina, bowing amicably. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“How many times do I have to tell you before you get it into your head?! Selling things on the street is prohibited here! Isn’t that what I said before?!”

Elaina and Sena, the woman currently screaming at her, had known each other, in a sense, for about five days.

The two first met just after Elaina entered the city. She had been walking around selling her suspicious cookies, just like she was now, and just like now, Sena had come to rebuke her. More or less the same back-and-forth that had just taken place, then, had happened five days earlier, too. The only difference was the amount of fire in Sena’s delivery. To put it another way, the suspicious saleswoman had turned out to be a real dummy who hadn’t learned a single thing in five days. How lamentable.

“Ahhh, come on! How many times do you plan on making me warn you…?” With a sigh, Sena held out her hand to Elaina.

“Eh-heh-heh. Sorry.” With a chuckle, Elaina dropped a gold coin into Sena’s hand.

In this city, there was a law allowing members of the Judgment Squad to levy appropriate fines on offenders. When Sena put out her hand, Elaina produced her coin with reflexive speed. She was like a well-trained dog, with Sena as her master.

Although Elaina meekly paid her fine, she was still a shady merchant running scams daily. Sena was extremely fed up with her. Was Elaina obedient or defiant? She couldn’t tell.

“Really, give it a rest already, won’t you?” said Sena. “How many times do I have to warn you about the same thing? You’ve seriously done nothing but interfere with my work since you got here…”

Consequently, even after getting her money, Sena continued to lecture Elaina.

However, Elaina was an awful human being, and even as Sena scolded her, she wondered aloud, “Oh? Is it possible that one gold piece isn’t enough?” She slid over and leaned in close to Sena. “Now, now,” she continued, clapping a hand down on the other woman’s shoulder.

“I mean it. Give it a res—”

“Have this.” The suspicious saleswoman put her index finger to her lips and thrust a little bundle into Sena’s pocket.

“Hey, wait… Stop!”

It was unacceptable for a member of the Judgment Squad—elite guardians with the power to judge the guilty—to turn a blind eye to a criminal right in front of them, much less to commit a crime themselves at the same time. Accepting a bribe was out of the question.

“I can’t accept your money—”

Even as Sena spoke, a part of her felt a little hopeful as she wondered how much was in the bundle—an unfortunate but very natural response. Sena pulled the item out of her pocket.

“…………”

Inside, she found one of the suspicious cookies Elaina had just been selling.

“Open it up and look inside,” Elaina urged her, her tone playful yet ominous. “My predictions are very accurate, you know.” She looked proud of herself.

There was a single slip of paper stuffed inside the cookie.

Good things happen when you accept bribes.

That was all the paper said.

“…………”

Sena was at a loss.

“Heh-heh-heh. I’ll give you one more, as a bonus. It’ll be our little secret, all right?”

Then, right on the heels of the first one, the suspicious saleswoman produced another cookie. She wore an expression of great delight and satisfaction, as if to say, “See? Something good already happened.”

“This woman isn’t remorseful at all…!”

End scene.

This extremely questionable morning routine had repeated itself for the past several days.

The suspicious saleswoman’s true identity was that of a witch and a traveler. When a traveler stays in one place for as long as five days, they’re bound to make one or two acquaintances in the area. But here, in this city, Elaina had made just one friend—someone she liked so much that she went out to dinner with her almost every night.

“Ah, I love you,” said the other girl. “Keep stroking my hair; it’s so nice. Want to get married?”

“…………”

The friend in question was sitting across from Elaina at a slightly pricey restaurant, her eyes half-lidded. “You’re so cute,” she continued. “Really cute. I could just eat you up.” On second thought, perhaps she was gazing at Elaina like a beast looks at its prey.

Elaina seemed unconcerned. She stared off into the distance as she ate her meal, avoiding eye contact with the dangerous other girl.

“…………”

Though perhaps there was another reason why she couldn’t meet the other girl’s eyes.

“Hey, hey, listen, Elaina. Today, I worked super hard at my job again,” the young woman told her happily. “Once again, that same weird woman was loitering around town, right? And so I told her off like I’ve been doing. And then, listen—”

To summarize her clumsy words, the girl had spent another day working hard at her horrible job and wanted Elaina to praise her.

And so Elaina offered some half-hearted praise. “Is that so? You worked hard, didn’t you? That’s great; good job.”

“Eh-heh-heh-heh.” The woman looked delighted and put on a wide smile.

“…………”

Elaina looked conflicted and once again averted her eyes from the other young woman.