Chapter 52: Learning About the Witch from the Eldritch Godness

Everyone gathered in the student council room.

The student council members—Klaus and Felix. The academy investigation team’s Emilia and Leonhardt. Then my best friend, Frieda. And also Elizabeth and Professor Matthias.

"First, I must tell you all something about my true nature—something Emilia and Leonhardt will be hearing for the first time."

I made my confession before them all. Felix was watching me with concern.

"I am an Eldritch godness from another world. I’ve kept it hidden until now, but… I am not human like the rest of you."

"Wh—What…?!"

Leonhardt reacted with shock. Emilia’s expression darkened.

"S-So… the incidents up until now were also…?"

"Yes. Most likely because of me."

I still resisted fully accepting the blame. It wasn’t like I had outright commanded, "Go insane!" or "Kill yourselves!"

"I suspected as much. I’ve always sensed something… unusual about you, Iris. From the very first day we met in the library…"

Come to think of it, Emilia had seemed uncomfortable when we first shook hands.

"But even so, I can’t believe you’re truly evil! If you were, you wouldn’t be so… human-like, so caring toward your friends, or so… well, a little airheaded!"

"A-Airheaded…?"

"I-It’s a compliment! A compliment!"

Emilia hurriedly tried to soften the blow, but… I came across as airheaded? Really…? Huh…

"So, why reveal your true nature now?"

"Because the witches of the Witch Association have made contact with her." Elizabeth interjected. "The Witch Association is a cult dedicated to the worship—or rather, the study—of Yi-Sri-Lis. They are fanatics who forsake their humanity in pursuit of forbidden knowledge."

"Such a cult exists within the Empire…?"

Leonhardt fell into deep thought at Elizabeth’s words.

"Witches… They are dangerous beings."

"Emilia. You’ve encountered one before, haven’t you?"

"Yes. During a previous incident, I met a witch."

Klaus posed the question, and Emilia answered.

"Would you tell us what happened?"

"Of course."

And so, Emilia began her story.

"Near my family’s home, there was a mountain long rumored to host witch gatherings. Just an old legend, really—no one had ever actually seen them. But one day, a woman arrived in our town."

Emilia explained that she grew up in the town of Ritterbach—a small, peaceful place with little crime.

"She moved into an old building in town, and soon, reports started coming in… strange noises and flickering lights at night. That was the beginning."

After the woman’s arrival, unsettling incidents began.

"Livestock outside town were found slaughtered, their bellies split open. The vet confirmed the wounds were from a sharp blade—not an animal attack. Then, the town’s cats began vanishing without a trace…"

"And the incidents didn’t stop there," she continued. "Crows began gathering in unnatural numbers. Drunkards living on the streets vanished without warning. Artists in town started suffering from horrific nightmares."

"Then came the incident we couldn’t ignore—a child went missing."

When a family’s child disappeared, the police launched an investigation. The prime suspect? The very woman who had moved into town.

"I was the one who told my father she was suspicious. I’d met her a few times, and there was always something... unsettling about her."

"You felt it from the beginning?" I asked.

"Yes. She’d even 'predicted' missing persons’ locations before, so my father advised the police to look into her. That’s how I ended up joining the investigation."

Emilia nodded as she spoke.

"When the police raided the woman’s home, she was gone—vanished. But what they found inside was worse: occult magic circles, altars, grotesque idols... and the skeletal remains of the missing vagrants."

The evidence of heretical worship left the officers in chaos.

"I also found a grimoire there. A tome of forbidden magic. Using notes left behind, I deciphered parts of it—enough to uncover the witch’s ritual methods. But then..."

"What happened?" Klaus pressed.

"Every officer involved in the decryption... went mad. Some committed suicide; others attempted it. A few are still institutionalized."

Ah. That’s why Emilia had warned me not to try understanding the grimoire’s contents.

"Using the deciphered clues, we searched the mountains for the witch and the missing child. And we found it—her hideout, hidden deep in the very mountains rumored to host witch covens."

The entrance to the cave, carved into the mountainside, was marked by a sinister magic circle.

"The police surrounded it. A scout team went in first. But after their screams echoed out... they never returned. That’s when we launched a full assault."

"Did it work?" Leonhardt asked.

"In the end, yes. We carried talismans engraved with anti-magic sigils from the grimoire. What we saw inside... I’ll never forget it."

Emilia’s voice trembled as Klaus leaned in.

"The woman was a witch. Her lair held the same circles and idols as her home—and the sacrificed child. The body was... mutilated beyond recognition. I don’t want to remember."

"S-So the witch was caught?" he stammered.

"Yes. Arrested for murder, sentenced to death, and executed—or so I heard."

Emilia’s story concluded as she scanned our faces.

"Witches are truly terrifying," Felix muttered. "To sacrifice a child..."

"Indeed," Elizabeth agreed. "They pursue blasphemous knowledge and commit atrocities. Yet Emilia’s case was mild. A more skilled witch could’ve caused far greater devastation."

"And now the worst of ’em—a high-ranking witch—has her eyes on us," Professor Matthias drawled, grinning. "You kids ready for this? Or gonna piss yourselves?"

Ugh. His teasing always rubbed me wrong.

"We’re ready," Felix declared firmly, his gaze flicking to me.

"I’m sorry for dragging you all into this," I said, bowing my head. "But I swear—I won’t let anyone else become a victim."

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