Aozaki Aoko [616-617] (Patreon)

Chapter 616: The Bad Witch Aoko

Asuka Shikinami Langley, four years old this year. Her mother, Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu, is a scientist with the German branch of the Institute of Artificial Evolution.

The reason she's in France rather than in Germany, where her mother works, is that Asuka's mother, Kyoko, is about to take part in an important experiment. With no one at home to look after Asuka, she brought her along to France.

The above is everything about her mother that Asuka can call to mind. She's absolutely certain of it, without a shred of doubt. What she can't accept is that for the past two weeks her mother has been busy with work and hasn't come to the research institute's family apartments to visit her even once, which has left her deeply disappointed.

So clever little Asuka waited until the apartment security guard wasn't paying attention, shouldered her small backpack, and slipped out. She wanted to find her mother and ask why she wouldn't come see her.

She wanted her mother to stop being so busy with those incomprehensible mysterious projects. She wanted her to come home—not to that cold apartment, but to the warm, familiar home back in their German hometown, the one in her memories.

But no matter how clever Asuka is, at the end of the day she's still just a four-year-old girl.

Once she left the apartment, she had no idea where to go to find her mother.

So she racked her brains to avoid being caught by those detestable security guards or the police on the streets of France. Making full use of her tiny size, she slipped through the sightlines of adults and finally ended up in an empty park.

By now Asuka was hungry and exhausted. Her little body was nearing its limits. There were probably still some hard, cold snacks in her backpack, so she decided to rest a bit on a bench, get some energy back, and then set out again to look for her unreliable mother.

But just as she sat down—before her butt had even warmed the bench—a tall shadow fell over her small figure.

"Ara~! And where did this adorable little girl come from?" a young woman's voice suddenly sounded behind her. "Come here and let me give you some good squeezes, some good scritches, and a big hug!"

Before Asuka's mind could process what those words really meant, she felt her bottom lift off the bench and her feet leave the ground.

Fear. That was the first emotion she felt. She had heard her mother say scary stories about criminals who like to abduct cute children. If a child fell into their hands, it would never end well…

Has it finally happened to me?

Mom, where are you…

A torrent of thoughts flashed through Asuka's little head. She soon realized she was being held in the arms of a strange young woman who was kneading and rubbing her. The woman's embrace was warm, but that did nothing to quell Asuka's terror!

"Heeheeheehee! The ultimate fate of all cute little girls is to be toyed with by big sis… and then eaten up!!"

Aoko lifted Asuka up and blew loud raspberries all over her little tummy, just like she usually did to those lazy orange cats sunbathing in the park.

"Uwaaaah!" Asuka finally started screaming and struggling. But how could the thin arms and legs of a four-year-old possibly break free from the Fourth Magician's iron-clamp grip?

"Help! A pervert!! Officer, save me!!! Mommy!!"

Tears finally leaked from the corners of Asuka's eyes. But her cries and pleas couldn't penetrate the magical bounded field Aoko had set. No matter how loudly she shouted, no police would notice anything amiss here.

"You little brat, how rude!" Aoko set the now-dazed Asuka down on the bench and sat beside her herself. "The great Miss Aoko only came over because you looked so pitiful sitting here all alone, to keep you company. And you call me a pervert? How heartbreaking!"

But the sobbing Asuka paid no attention to what Aoko was saying. She just kept wiping her tears with her sleeve, hiccuping and gulping for air.

With a conjurer's flourish, Aoko produced a handkerchief printed with a cute teddy bear and offered it to Asuka. The little girl snatched it, blew her nose hard, then tossed the now-dirty handkerchief aside.

"How about now? Cooled off a bit?" Aoko asked with a smile. "What's your name, little one? Where are your parents? Where do you live? I can take you home, you know?"

Somewhat calmer, Asuka sneaked a wary glance at Aoko and was surprised to find the young woman was very pretty—even prettier than her mother as she remembered her… Wait. What did her mother look like again?

Asuka didn't answer Aoko's questions. Instead, she picked up her small backpack, unzipped it, and took out something that looked a bit like a whistle. On the other end was a pull cord with a ring attached.

Uh-oh. 

Aoko recognized it at a glance: a child abduction alarm. The style was much more advanced than the ones she remembered, but the function was the same.

Little Asuka shot Aoko a fierce glare and yanked the alarm's pin without hesitation, picturing this weird woman being hauled off by the police.

But human plans don't beat Aoko's plans. The device didn't make a sound. Aoko merely waved her hand and the alarm flew out of Asuka's grasp and into Aoko's palm.

"Ohohohoho—calling the police? That's not happening in front of me, sweetie." Letting out an odd laugh, Aoko gave the alarm a light squeeze. Eerie blue flames welled up and reduced it to ash.

"Y-y-you—" Asuka was completely out of her depth now. A memory bobbed up of the fairy tales her mother used to tell her: disobedient little girls would be carried off by wicked witches…

Wait. Didn't this woman just say she was going to take away all the cute little girls?

Asuka's face turned ashen. She curled up in terror on the bench and stared at Aoko.

"A-are you… a bad witch who specializes in catching children?" she asked, mustering her courage.

"Oh dear, a bad witch? That I'm not," Aoko said after thinking for a moment. "But I do know a young, beautiful witch. Want to come home with me and meet her?"

Chapter 617: The Three Witch Lair"

"What took you so long? I'm so hungry my back's about to stick to my front!" Touko complained when she saw Aoko's silhouette. "Even if you went out to buy ingredients, it shouldn't take this long, right?"

"Touko, you of all people don't even need to eat, do you?" Alice glanced at her. "Honestly, the Third Magician insisting on regular meals—aren't you just being greedy?"

"So what if I am?" Touko rolled her eyes. "Don't discriminate against the Materialization of the Soul, alright? Even the Third Magician eats every day—huh? Who's that little brat?"

The little brat Touko saw was Asuka, whom Aoko had tucked under her arm and forcibly carried home. Compared to Touko, this little girl really was starving—so much so she couldn't even muster the strength to struggle.

Asuka had no idea how she'd been brought here. After realizing there was no way to resist this strange woman, her first thought was to carefully memorize the route she took her along, so that if she had a chance later, she could sneak out the way she had from the apartment.

But plans can't keep up with the unexpected. After two minutes of memorizing the streets, the view in front of her blurred and, for reasons she couldn't grasp, they were suddenly at the doors of a massive Western-style mansion.

Before Asuka could take in her surroundings, Aoko carried her into the mansion.

If Asuka had to describe the place in one word, it would be quiet.

Not the kind of quiet where you can't hear anything at all, but a hush that felt insulated from the advanced, industrialized society of this post-Awakening era.

The furnishings and fixtures were all antiques Asuka had only seen in movies and picture books. Even the hallway's landline (Asuka's home didn't even have a landline) was a rotary-dial model.

This is it. With so many old antiques, I've definitely been taken to the witches' lair!

Asuka trembled with fear. She recalled stories her mother had told her about creatures called ogresses.

The wicked ogresses masqueraded as young, beautiful women and banded together in covens of three or five. Their true forms were towering, brawny, hideous old crones, and once their lairs were stripped of illusions, they were filthy, dark caves piled with victims' remains…

And the ogresses were masters of magic. This woman who had just kidnapped her was both strong and a spellcaster—bingo! It all fit!

With that, poor little Asuka scared herself into another bout of tears. Big fat drops pattered down. She was going to be eaten by ogresses!

I don't want to be eaten. I want to go home. I want my mom…

"Eh? Why the tears again? Little Asuka, are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Seeing her start crying by herself again, Aoko set her on a soft, warm sofa and dabbed away her tears with a fresh, clean handkerchief.

"Look, Aoko, I knew you were outrageous in the past and brought home a bunch of kids," Touko said, eyeing the little girl with a tone of, "I'm only just now seeing you for who you are." "But this time it's outright kidnapping. That's a crime, you know? Where are her parents?"

Alice nodded along as if egging it on, looking like she was here just for the spectacle.

"What kidnapping? I was dispensing justice on the roadside!" Aoko rolled her eyes and unfastened the ID tag hanging from Asuka's neck, tossing it to Touko. "Take a proper look at who she is!"

"Huh?" Touko caught the tag and examined it closely. Alice leaned over as well, and the two of them showed looks of surprise. "Asuka? It's really her? But why does her name have 'Shikinami' in it?"

"Touko has a point," Alice agreed with a nod. "And wasn't Asuka Langley Sohryu born in Germany? How did Aoko bump into her on the streets of France?"

"Who knows any of that," Aoko said, spreading her hands with utter frankness. "I spotted her in a park by the road while shopping for ingredients and brought her back on the way. I don't know anything else."

While the three discussed Asuka's background, the little girl gradually calmed down. She noticed these three witch seemed to know her name. She had no idea who this "Sohryu" they mentioned was, but for the moment they didn't look like they were planning to cook her.

Just as she started working her little brain for a way out, her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl, drawing all three women's eyes.

Asuka's cheeks flushed and she dropped her gaze without speaking. Today was mortifying beyond belief!

Alice sighed and murmured a few words to the robin dozing in the birdcage beside her. Robin immediately flew off.

Before long, a silver, maid-shaped mercury came rolling a trolley into the parlor. On it sat a small plate of fragrant tea cakes and a pot of steaming hot tea.

Staring at the treats, Asuka couldn't help swallowing. She snuck a glance at the witch in a black, nun-like dress—she was indeed very pretty, and her style was different from the other two, more like the noble ladies Asuka had only seen on TV dramas.

"Have some sweets first," Alice said to little Asuka. "It'll be a while before Aoko finishes dinner. If you don't eat anything at all, you might just faint from hunger."

Alice was exactly right. Since slipping out of the apartment, Asuka had eaten nothing but dry snacks. After all the crying and flailing she'd burned a lot of energy. She no longer cared whether the food in front of her was something witch had conjured from dead frogs or bats. If she was going to die anyway, then fine—she'd at least die as a hungry ghost, right?

With that, little Asuka steeled herself, grabbed a scone from the plate, and stuffed it into her mouth.

The moment the food hit her tongue, Asuka's eyes flew wide. This wasn't what she'd feared—something conjured from dead frogs or bats. It was genuinely delicious. In fact, it was the best treat she'd ever eaten—better even than the snacks her memories said her mom made!

"Eh?! Crying again?" Aoko flustered, hurrying over to wipe the tears at Asuka's eyes and the corners of her mouth, not sure how she kept scaring this little one.

"It's probably just too tasty," Alice said. "Tears of being moved?"