Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 14 - Chapter 5.1

CHAPTER 5

Their Own Private World

“It’s so sad.”

The man was utterly powerless before the tragedy that had befallen him.

His lover had been killed by a mage. Every bone in her body had been broken, and her corpse had been torn to shreds.

It was supposed to be prohibited for mages to enter the small city of Astikitos. Regardless, a murderer had somehow appeared in town one day and committed the terrible crime. The culprit had cut down a young woman as if in sport, as if testing the sharpness of a new knife, and then just as suddenly, they had disappeared.

After the woman’s cold-blooded murder, hatred toward mages in the small city of Astikitos grew. The Security Corps were held responsible for letting the culprit get away, and the authorities began to crack down even more on mages trying to enter the city.

But none of that was going to bring back the man’s lover. What he had lost could never be restored.

“It’s so sad,” he mumbled again.

Why did she have to die?

“…………”

Creta stood alone behind him, staring at his back.

She couldn’t find the right words to say to him as he stood, motionless, before his beloved’s grave.

What could she possibly say to the colleague she admired, in the face of his grief? Creta had known him and his beloved well.

The two of them had talked about getting married after graduating from school. They had always been together. Creta knew the depth of their bond, and thinking about it made her chest hurt.

She had always watched over them from a distance. And so she knew that no matter what she said, it would only cause the man more pain.

All she could do now was make a vow upon his grief—a vow to never let such sorrow come into the world again.

Outside the window, rain poured down incessantly.

That day, a third victim had surfaced in the small city of Astikitos.

Just like the previous two, the victim was a city official, and the same methods had been used in the crime. It was like someone was copying the earlier murders, or perhaps the perpetrator was merely mocking the Security Corps that had been assigned to investigate.

From the state of the body, it was obvious that magic had been used. The victim had been tucked into bed, and then the bed had been folded entirely in half. There were also countless stab wounds covering the body and evidence that the killer had repeatedly tortured their victim.

No one had heard any screams or other noises. This particular incident only came to light when the housekeeper went to wake up the victim in the morning and discovered their corpse.

The night before had been quiet, considering the victim had been tortured, and there was clearly too little blood staining the bedsheets. The authorities surmised that the official had been tortured someplace else, then brought back to the bedroom and folded up in the broken bed.

“Eugh…”

A new recruit with the Security Corps clapped both hands over her mouth, trying to hold down an uncomfortable feeling forcing its way up her throat.

She looked around as tears welled up in her eyes and met the gaze of one of her senior officers.

Over the past month, there had been two other murders, committed in the same way. Creta had thrown up at both those crime scenes.

“You can go ahead and puke.” With a sigh, her senior officer pushed her back, urging her to leave the area.

“Sorry…!”

Creta quickly headed away from the corpse while trying not to disturb anything and made it to the bathroom in time to throw up. No matter how many times she visited the scene of a brutal murder, she never got used to it.

“Not again…not again…” Discomfort swirled in the pit of her stomach. Her body wouldn’t stop trembling. “Not another murder caused by a mage…”

She wasn’t sure whether she was reacting to the sight of the crime scene or to the fear and anger she felt toward the mage who did it.

She simply wasn’t sure.

“Here in our home of Astikitos, as a general rule, mages are prohibited.”

In the course of my travels, I had been to several places that refused to admit mages. In most cases, someone like me—dressed in a black robe and pointed hat, sporting the star-shaped brooch that proved I was a witch, and generally looking undeniably witchy—would be turned away at the gate.

However, for some reason, when I arrived at the city gates of Astikitos, they let me in. They first explained their policy of prohibiting mages, then asked me to wait a moment. After a little while, they showed me through.

“It must have been quite an ordeal traveling through this rain. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t permit you to enter, but this is a special case. Please come this way.”

In my opinion, it had been more of an ordeal to be left waiting in the rain for reasons unknown than to travel through it. But I kept that thought to myself.

And so, with a gloomy feeling in my heart to match the weather, I followed my guide into a reception room.

“You’re the traveling witch, are you?” asked an old man. “Please come in. You’re younger than I expected.”

Though he said he was surprised, no emotion showed on the man’s face. He introduced himself as the director general of the Security Corps and welcomed me with donuts and tea.

Donuts and tea… I’ve been seeing these a lot lately…

“Thank you very much,” I said. With gratitude, I sat down in front of the director general and made myself abundantly clear. “I’d like to go ahead and get something out of the way. If you’re only letting me into your city to commit crimes, I’m going to have to decline.”

“Surely there’s no government official anywhere who would request something like that,” the director general replied, dismissing my words with a smile.

You’d be surprised how recently one did just that.

“So then, what business do you have with me?” I tilted my head and urged him to continue.

“Take a look at this,” the director general said, setting a pile of documents down on the table, many with photographs attached.

“…………”

The documents were files concerning a number of ghastly incidents. The pictures showed men in the prime of their lives lying dead, folded up inside their beds. According to the documents, all the victims were city officials who had been murdered in the last month.

They had died with their faces so twisted up in fear that they bore little resemblance to their portraits taken while alive. I could tell from the wounds carved all over their bodies that they hadn’t merely been crushed but had also been carved up by a sharp blade.

“These are…”

What in the world?

When I looked up from the files, the director general began to explain, his tone matter-of fact. “Mages are strictly prohibited from entering our city. As you might imagine, there isn’t a single mage living in town. The presence of a mage who can so easily commit murder is a threat to our entire city.”

And yet it was obvious from the materials I had been handed that a magic user had committed these acts.

“Apparently, this threat has been lurking in our city for the past month. We have no idea where they might have come from or if they have simply been keeping themselves hidden until now, but…that doesn’t change the fact that they are a threat. And I’m ashamed to admit this, but we don’t have the strength to face a mage and emerge unscathed.”

“…If a mage committed these crimes, then why not ask for help from an organization that specializes in such things?”

“Do you mean the United Magic Association?” The director general frowned. “We can’t afford to put ourselves in their debt.”

“So you thought you would use an unknown traveling mage as a disposable weapon?”

“Now, I didn’t say that…”

But the implication was there.

If they got an outsider to confront this violent murderer, then their Security Corps wouldn’t have to face the mage head-on, and fewer people were likely to get hurt. I was no fool, so I could infer their intentions from the circumstances.

Only slightly apologetic, the director general continued his explanation. “All I would ask of you, Lady Witch, is to subdue the offending mage should they grow violent. We will handle everything else ourselves, from the investigation to the arrest.”

“In other words, I will be your secret weapon, when push comes to shove?”

“How about it?” the director general asked.

I gazed out the window. The downpour didn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon.

Would I rather wander around outside in the heavy rain or stay in this city for a while?

Which is the right choice, I wonder?

After thinking it over for a little while, I gave my answer.

“All right then, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you very much.” The director general nodded, though he didn’t look particularly happy. “Well then, I’ll bring in the officer who will be working with you, Lady Witch. Before I get back, please change into ordinary clothes that don’t identify you as a mage.”

Despite my agreeing to help them solve a murder case, they weren’t going to let me forget this was a special exception. It seemed there would be an officer of the Security Corps by my side at all times, shadowing me for the duration of my stay.

I’m being treated like a criminal, even though I haven’t done anything wrong.

Just as he was about to leave the office, the director general seemed to remember something and turned around. “Also, I must ask that you keep these incidents strictly confidential unless otherwise instructed. No matter who you meet in town, please don’t say a word to them about these murders.”

I tilted my head questioningly.

“Have you not made any public announcements about the killings?” I asked.

“Of course not,” the director general quickly replied. “If people knew there was a mage prowling around town, the city would fall into a panic.”

By the time I had changed into some simple garments, the officer assigned to follow me had arrived.

“My name is Creta, and I’m an officer in the Security Corps. I am supposed to stay with you from now on. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Creta appeared to be around my age, and according to her, she was a new recruit. Her shoulder-length hair was black, but on the underside, where no light hit it, it appeared to be the same dark green as her eyes. She wore a black uniform, and a rifle hung from her shoulder. Her expression was stiff as she gave me a formal salute. She looked nervous and wary.

“I’m sure you’ve already heard all this from the director general, but basically, you are to remain with me at all times, Lady Witch. You mustn’t leave my side, no matter what.”

“Well, I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”

Bracelets had been fitted around one of my wrists and one of hers, connecting the two of us with a chain. Judging by its length, I didn’t think I could get any farther than about three long strides away from her.

“Be careful to avoid doing anything that might make us look suspicious,” she said.

I’m certain these bracelets already make us look plenty suspicious.

I suspected the director was telling the truth about there being no other mages in the city. Although the bracelets kept me tied to Creta, I could still use my fingers freely. If I wanted to use magic, I could do so at any time. It seemed they knew very little about how mages worked.

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I said, nodding casually. “At any rate, it’s nice to be working with you.” I took one step closer to her.

“Eep…!”

She drew back immediately and assumed a defensive posture. It appeared she had moved on reflex, as if she’d just seen a black bug scuttle out from under something.

…………

“Be careful to avoid doing anything that might make us look suspicious yourself,” I said.

I’m beginning to worry about where this is going.

Come to think of it, I wonder why mages are forbidden from entering this city?

When we left the office and stepped outside, Creta put up an umbrella and walked off without even making eye contact with me.

“For now,” she said, “I’m going to show you to my house, so please come with me.”

Under the pouring rain, I was greeted by rows of houses built from worn, old bricks.

“What a lovely town,” I remarked as I tried to keep up with Creta.

It would be even better if the sun was shining, though.

Without even looking at me, Creta spoke into the rain. “In the history of our city, only mages have ever committed such serious crimes. Their offenses will never be forgotten. You see, before I was even born, when my parents were still children, mages from a foreign land invaded our city and attacked many innocent people.”

She said the mages had attacked countless homes, killed those who stood up to them, looted anything of monetary value, and finally, they’d attacked and abducted anyone who seemed useful and stolen them away from the city.

Apparently, the world had been a more dangerous place in those days, and there had been a band of mages going from country to country, doing everything they could to fulfill their own selfish desires.

Fortunately, through an alliance of neighboring states, the band of mages was eventually defeated. But in the small city of Astikitos, a deep fear of mages had been indelibly etched into the public consciousness.

All the mages living in the city in those days had been ostracized due to the acts of their peers and eventually decided to move away. Soon after, the last mage left the city.

“That’s why, since long, long ago, we have strictly forbidden mages from entering our city.” Still with her back to me, Creta mumbled her words as if she was talking to herself. “Both the director general and I were opposed to allowing a mage into our city. Because mages are not human.”

“…………”

“The reason we decided to turn to a mage for help—and allowed you entry into the city—was an order from high up in the government. This is the second time in our history that a mage has snuck into our city. The first time was four years ago. And this is the second time. This time, without fail, we will not let the mage get away. We will take them down,” Creta continued muttering. “Four years ago, we failed to catch the culprit… It’s just like a mage to worm their way in, even though we banned them a long time ago.”