Chapter 16: Re: I Really Am a Witch – Fortunately I Didn't Take the Wrong Path (Patreon)

As the sunlight grew dimmer, several houses finally came into view ahead.

"Lady Pandora, this is the temporary lodging we built along this route." Seeing it, Geuse let out a breath of relief.

"Looks decent enough." By the faint light, she could make out the rough shape of the building.

She could tell they were a few log cabins — nothing unusual there. The doors were fairly tall, and there was a window on either side of the house, though the bars across them were just plain wooden sticks.

All in all — an extremely minimalist little log cabin.

And of course, with the river running behind the house, it was, technically, an extremely minimalist "riverfront" cabin.

"Thank you all for your trouble today." With that, Pandora thanked the group.

"No, no, no! My lady, you flatter us!" This sent the Witch Cult members waving their hands in flustered denial, bowing sharply. "This is only what we should be doing."

Along the way, they had really only answered a few of Pandora's questions, nothing more.

Forget accepting her thanks — they could barely thank her enough themselves. That she cared so much about the conditions of the Church's lower ranks... truly, she was Lady Pandora!

Just as Pandora exhaled and made to step into the house—

"My lady, are you really sure you don't need shoes?" Watching Pandora's flawless white feet pressed against the frozen ground, worry crept into Geuse's expression.

"No, thank you." With that, Pandora headed toward the cabin. "Hmm... is there anyone among you who can use fire magic?"

Having glimpsed how pitch-black the interior was, Pandora turned back to ask.

"Lady Pandora, this one counts himself fortunate to be of help." At this, one of the cultists stepped forward.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Then, under everyone's gaze, the cultist walked over to stand beside Pandora.

"Goa." A soft word left his lips, and a ball of flame flickered to life above his hand.

[So this is fire magic...] Watching the light spill into the cabin, Pandora felt a small stir of appreciation.

Before long, the inside of the cabin was bright.

[There must be oil lamps or something in the room...]

Otherwise it couldn't stay lit like this.

"Lady Pandora, please." The cultist stepped back out of the cabin and gestured for her to enter.

"Mm." Pandora nodded and stepped inside.

"All right, I'm sure everyone's hungry after such a long walk..." Geuse pushed the cart aside and addressed the group. "I've still got some fruit here — let's split it up."

Hearing this, the cultists froze for a moment,

"Bishop Romanée-Conti... you... you truly are..."

—and then dissolved into tearful gratitude.

In contrast to the cheerful noise outside, the lamp-lit interior of the cabin was utterly silent.

"As I thought." Seeing the oil lamps set on the table and nightstand, Pandora nodded.

As for the fire that might break out if a lamp tipped over... what of it? Even if it happened, wouldn't a single word be enough to fix it?

Besides that, the room held nothing but a wooden bed, a cabinet, and a chair.

[Truly minimalist...]

Shaking her head to clear the thought, she pulled the hand-drawn map she'd made from inside her collar.

"Looks like we should be about here now..." She pointed to a spot below the Elior Forest on the map, her expression turning thoughtful.

After all, that great river cutting across the horizon had been visible the entire way, and they'd passed a lake earlier too — this had to be the place.

So... a Witch Cult church was out here? In such a vast, desolate stretch of nowhere?

It left her puzzled.

Just as she was mulling it over—

[Knock, knock, knock] — a soft, unhurried knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

"Lady Pandora, my apologies for disturbing your rest."

"Not at all. What is it?"

Pandora asked, puzzled, looking at Geuse standing in the doorway.

"It's just... well... there's still some fruit left, and Lady Pandora, would you..."

As he spoke, he lifted the cloth sack in his hand — there still seemed to be quite a bit inside.

Pandora only waved a hand.

"No need. To me, these are just snacks and sweets, nothing more — so give them to your subordinates instead."

As the Witch of Vainglory, she had no need to eat in the first place, so it would do her no good — and besides...

"They must be hungry." Though they'd brought plenty, it surely wasn't enough to feed that many people.

"Uh..." Geuse froze for a moment at that, then nodded and turned to leave...

"Geuse." Pandora suddenly called out. "Could you come here for a moment?"

There was something she'd only just remembered that she needed to confirm.

"Of course." Geuse bowed and walked over to stand beside her.

"Are we right about here now?" She pointed to the lower end of the lake on the map and looked at Geuse.

"This is..." Geuse immediately realized what the item in Pandora's hand was. "Yes, that's right."

He had to admit, though the lines were rough sketches, he could still make out what they represented. Still—

"So, where's our destination?" Not noticing Geuse's expression, Pandora went on to ask.

"To answer you, my lady, it's roughly here..." Geuse pointed to the lower-left of the lake. "Somewhere around here."

Though the map didn't mark an exact position, he pointed it out anyway.

"Hmm... then, is there a mountain anywhere near here?"

That would confirm what Regulus had said.

The nearest church address to here was on a mountain...

"Yes, this is it — Mount Cordor. The church is one of the sites there." Geuse nodded and pointed once more at the spot he'd indicated earlier.

"Mm..."

Only then did Pandora let out a breath of relief.

It made sense, thinking about it — following this road the whole way, they hadn't passed any other mountains, so the destination was the only place that fit.

"All right, thank you." With that, Pandora nodded, more or less ending the conversation — but...

"Lady Pandora..." Geuse suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?" Pandora felt a flicker of confusion, watching Geuse hesitate as though holding something back.

"Actually..." he said, scratching his head, "this one has a complete map..."