Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 2

by Jougi Shiraishi

  “It’s fine! I’m planning to go back eventually! But I’m going to have my fill of this place first!”

  “…Haven’t you lost sight of your goal? Are you all right?”

  “Do I seem like I’ve lost sight of it?”

  “I think you know what I mean.”

  “Ah, look at this little one!”

  Somehow, it seemed she had even lost the will to speak to me. Once she saw the figure of a kitten toddling over toward us on unsteady legs, she immediately leaned down and began clicking her tongue, hand outstretched.

  I don’t know whether it was intentional, but sure enough, the kitten did finally make its way to her.

  And then, it chomped down on her hand.

  With a tight hold on Lucie’s index finger, it began gnawing gently.

  “Ah…”

  Lucie stared in surprise at this state of affairs, then—

  “Aaaaaaaaaah! How cuuuuuuuuute!” She looked like she might keel over. She was breathing heavily as the kitten kept biting her finger, like it was trying to drink milk, twisting its little body around.

  Isn’t that a little much? Are you all right?

  “Ah… Aaahhh! Haaaaaaaaah!”

  “……”

  This seems hopeless.

  I withdrew from her sudden, overwhelming change in personality. I withdrew quite far.

  This was the person who, until just a moment ago, had been having a normal conversation with me. She was now blushing and fawning over a kitten. It gave me the creeps, and my entire body immediately felt itchy.

  It was enough to make me want to leave already.

  “Achoo!”

  I sneezed with every step I took.

  How many times was that today? Did I catch a cold or something? My body feels very heavy. Come to think of it, the back of my throat seems a little scratchy, too…

  I guess I need a good night’s sleep later.

  “Does this country have any inns with good amenities?” I asked Lucie, who had been in an excessively good mood since a merciless kitten attack.

  “Um… Let’s see, my recommendation would be that place over there. Their rooms are basically heaven, crowded with cats that you can curl up with.”

  “Maybe I asked the wrong question. Please show me to a more habitable inn.”

  “What about cats?”

  “Not necessary.”

  “……” After puffing up her cheeks in a sullen expression, she pointed out a different building. “In that case, the inn over there is probably good.”

  After that, we continued walking around town totally normally. I got her to show me a good inn, several delicious restaurants (which were all full of cats), and various other things.

  We continued our tour of the timeworn townscape, and before I realized it, the sun had set, and the sky had turned red.

  I suppose we’ll be heading our own ways? I thought as the tour seemed to be coming to an end, but I remembered that there was one more thing I had to get her to tell me.

  “By the way, what is the third law?”

  There are three laws I gotta obey, right?

  “Oh, sorry. I totally forgot.”

  “Please tell me. If you don’t, I can’t go to the inn with any peace of mind.”

  And I don’t want to spend the night in jail.

  “Ah-ha-ha. But it’s rare to even be confronted with the final law in the first place, so I don’t think it’ll really be a problem. Well, the third law is—”

  It happened just as she opened her mouth.

  The people walking through town began to stir. Their agitation rippled through the passersby like waves, and from behind me, gasps of astonishment mixed with the evening air.

  When I looked around to see what had happened, I found every single resident staring in the same direction.

  “Oh… It’s the Divine Cat!”

  “The Divine Cat has graced us with her presence!”

  “How many days has it been?”

  “What a statuesque build…”

  “Just incredible…!”

  As these comments and more spilled from their mouths, they all, without exception, began to kneel.

  Lucie joined them.

  “Ah…beautiful…!” She spoke in a feverish tone, sighing, and assumed the same respectful posture.

  ……

  …What?

  All of the people had turned to face a single cat. It had glossy black fur and blue eyes.

  “……?”

  But she carried herself in a way that was somehow different than the others.

  Walking toward us with graceful steps, that cat had two tails growing from her behind. If I remembered correctly, that was usually not the case with most cats.

  Her fur was incredibly luxuriant. She looked like she would be nice to hold.

  “Lucie, why does that cat have two tails—?”

  “Elaina! What are you doing? Hurry up and follow my lead!”

  I didn’t even have time to question it. Lucie yanked on my robe.

  “……”

  Follow your lead?

  You mean kneel down to a cat?

  I really don’t want to, but…

  If I don’t do what you say, I might end up in jail.

  “…Uhhh.” There’s no way around it.

  Reluctantly, I put one knee down on the ground and lowered my head reverently, copying those around me.

  What on earth am I doing here?

  “…Um, Lucie?”

  “Be quiet. You’re in front of the Divine Cat. Don’t cause any offense.”

  Uh…

  Don’t you think that’s a little unreasonable? I don’t understand what I could possibly do to cause offense. And just what is the Divine Cat anyway?

  My mind was a storm of troubled thoughts, and I tried to squash my bewilderment and potential complaints before my mouth could get me into any trouble.

  Then it happened.

  “Meow.”

  There was a little cry. It came from pretty close by.

  Actually, it came from extremely close by.

  “……”

  “Meooow.”

  I realized the black cat with two tails—the Divine Cat or whatever—was standing before me. The elegant feline was staring straight into my eyes.

  “Mrrow.”

  And then, right as she swished her two tails back and forth, she suddenly pounced. Claws out, she clung to my robe.

  “Huh…?” I was perplexed. What was the right thing to do?

  I tried to gauge the reactions of those around me and heard voices of admiration.

  “Oh…”

  “To have the Divine Cat pounce on you…”

  “The Divine Cat must approve of her.”

  I also heard Lucie muttering, “I’m so jealous…”

  I didn’t really understand what was happening, but it didn’t seem to be bad.

  Come to think of it, this is my first time petting a cat, huh? Well, it has two tails, so I’m not sure if I can even call it a cat.

  “…Oof.” I tucked in my knees, hunkered down on the ground, and embraced the cat who had clung to me. The cat yielded to me and curled up in my arms.

  When I gently petted her head, she made a sleepy expression and gently began to purr. I felt like I heard her say, “Pet me more.”

  She certainly is cute.

  Well, I supposed it wasn’t impossible to understand why the people of this country became so passionate about cats. That said, I didn’t feel like I was in any danger of losing my grip on logic.

  “Wh-what on earth…?!”

  “This is…”

  “I can’t believe it…”

  As I was enjoying petting the Divine Cat or whatever, I could hear the chatter rise up again. The people stood up and slowly walked toward us, swaying, to encircle me and the Divine Cat.

  What? I tilted my head to the side in confusion. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucie stand up beside me. When I looked at her, she was
staring down at me with an extremely cold expression.

  “…I—I can’t believe this, Elaina… What have you done…?!” she deliriously slurred and took out her wand.

  “…Huh? Um…”

  That was when I realized that something was amiss.

  But it was already too late.

  “You insolent girl!”

  “To pet the Divine Cat!”

  “Take your filthy hands off her!”

  “You…! Do you even understand what you’re doing?!”

  The people around me were incredibly angry.

  “Hang on… Um, wait, please! Just what is—?”

  I started to panic, unsure of what I had done wrong. At that point, of all the things I could have done, I raised my hands.

  I had let go of the Divine Cat in my arms. She fell into my lap, landing neatly on all four paws. Her claws hurt as they dug into my thighs.

  That had major repercussions.

  “She tossed the Divine Cat aside! Not only is she totally offensive, that’s an act unworthy of a cat lover! That means capital punishment! She’s guilty!”

  The one shrieking was none other than Lucie.

  “Lucie. I’m begging you. Explain to them that I didn’t know the situation—”

  “There’s no use arguing!”

  Uh… She’s not listening…

  Instead of explaining the situation, she struck my palms with her wand and cast a spell. My raised hands were yanked down by some unknown force and confined by magical iron shackles. They were pretty well-made, with chains connecting the tips of my fingers to the handcuffs, so I couldn’t close either hand, a feature I really could have done without.

  The restraints kept me from gripping my wand.

  “…Um?”

  When I looked up again, there was Lucie, seething. She handed the keys to the shackles over to a soldier, glaring at me the whole time.

  “All right, everyone! Let’s throw this insolent witch in jail!” she shouted, and the surrounding people agreed.

  “Um… Could I talk to you for a second…?”

  “All right, stand up, Elaina! If you won’t stand, I’ll drag you along with me!” She moved forward, pulling hard on the hand shackles.

  “Hey…”

  “Honestly…! How did someone this rude slip by when we take precautions to only allow cat lovers in?”

  “……”

  It seemed that my words weren’t reaching their ears.

  Something was very off about the way she was acting. It was like she was a completely different person from the one who had given me a tour of the city.

  It was as if she had lost all sense of reason.

  Like she was being controlled by some unknown force.

  “I finally found you.”

  As I was pulled along by Lucie, I imagined I heard such a voice.

  I wonder how much time passed after that.

  I was in a cold jail cell.

  All I could see were the drab gray floor and walls—and the rusty iron bars. The outside world appeared completely submerged in darkness, and through the one small window that opened onto the cell flowed the faint light of the moon and the songs of insects.

  I’m sure the moon looks beautiful tonight…but I can’t see it.

  Looking up from my seated position, all I could see was a stake driven into the wall and the shackles around my hands connected to it.

  I hadn’t been able to move from the wall since I’d been put in here. I had already lost all feeling in my hands.

  “What’s the meaning of all this…?”

  My muttered question echoed pointlessly, then dissolved into the silence.

  Of course, there was no one there to answer me.

  Actually, there was no one around at all. Not a soul. I had been abandoned in a jail without a single other prisoner.

  Is this really happening to me? This is too much.

  “…”

  Well, there’s no use crying over something I can’t change.

  For now, let’s try to think of a way out of this mess.

  First step is getting a handle on the reality of the situation.

  I can’t bend my fingers, so there’s no way I can grip a wand. My body is shackled to the wall, so I doubt I’ll be able to ride my broom. And even supposing I could ride it, I would definitely be discovered as soon as I escaped. Plus, it would be incredibly dangerous since my hands are bound. Can’t use my wand. Can’t use my broom. In other words, I can’t rely on magic. I’m unreliable.

  Oh, it’s totally over for me.

  Hee-hee-hee.

  “……What should I do?”

  I was deep in despair.

  It would be nice if I could solve this with money, huh? I wonder how that would go. I guess it would depend on negotiations. That said, I should have run away the moment I was surrounded.

  For some reason, even after I had started to suspect they wanted to throw me in jail, I hadn’t been able to deal with the situation with my usual cool demeanor.

  I wonder why? I’m really not doing so hot today.

  Did I catch a cold?

  My throat hurts, my eyes burn, and I keep sneezing. My body is kind of itchy all over. I don’t get it. What in the world is going on?

  I don’t seem to have a fever, though.

  I suspected that the real reason I had lost my composure was whatever strange illness I had contracted.

  Well, knowing that now doesn’t exactly do me a lot of good.

  “…Sigh.”

  That’s when it happened.

  Something obscured the moonlight.

  “Well, Madam Witch. How’s jail treating you?” called out a voice in the cell that was now even darker than before. It was calming and feminine—one that may or may not have been familiar.

  I looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

  “Over here, Madam Witch.”

  Just when I thought I heard the voice again, the moonlight returned. From above—from the window, something dropped down, and then…

  “Meow.”

  The cat approached, meowing cutely as she swished her two tails back and forth.

  “You’re…”

  “Good evening.”

  There in front of me was the being who the people of this country revered above all others.

  The Divine Cat, or whatever they called her.

  And she was talking.

  ……

  This cat could talk, even though she was quietly purring in my arms when I needed her most.

  She was looking like a cat that swallowed the canary.

  The cat looked up at me.

  “I finally found you. I was waiting desperately for a human like you.” Then she tilted her head. “You don’t feel like discussing this with me?”

  In this situation, you mean?

  “You say ‘discuss’… I take it to mean there is some reason why I would want to listen to anything you have to say. Is there a considerable benefit you might be able to offer?”

  “Naturally. I shall get you out of this place. That is the benefit to you. In exchange, you shall accept my one demand.”

  “Oh-ho! And that would be?”

  “I want you to get me out of this country.”

  “Achoo! …So my benefit is a side effect of your demand?”

  “I am the only one who can rescue you from this place.”

  “……”

  “Likewise, you are the only one who can rescue me from this land. In other words, our interests align.”

  I didn’t understand what she was saying at all. “Um… Would you explain it from the beginning?”

  “Oh. So you’re willing to help?”

  “Depends on the reasons,” I said. “Carrying the most sacred creature in the country out of said country without knowing anything isn’t exactly something I want to do.”

  I’d like to avoid making any more enemies than I have already.

  “…Hmm,” the Divine Cat said, casting her e
yes downward as if giving it a bit of thought. “Very well, as you wish. I shall tell you the story from the very beginning. The history of this country before the great collapse is long, several hundred years—”

  “If you could summarize just the parts that’re relevant to me, that would be great.”

  “Hmph… You’re a whiny one.” The cat sighed and began to speak like she was recounting a great legend.

  “Then I shall tell you. Well, to put it simply, this country came into being because of me.”

  This was the story of the archaic country.

  Apparently, elderly cats with lingering attachments to this world could be reborn as magical spirit cats with two tails on rare occasions.

  And she was one of them.

  About forty years earlier, she had been born in this country as a house cat. That was back when the place still had contact with the outside world. The cat spent her whole life there, loved by people.

  However, after about fifteen years, that all ended.

  An epidemic spread through the country.

  The people of the city died. Her owner was no exception and succumbed to this illness.

  In just a few years, the prosperous land was almost uninhabited.

  In that country, now desolate and forgotten, she had continued living quietly with her fellow cats.

  They had no desire to go explore the outside. They couldn’t help but feel as though their home would disappear forever into the forest if they left.

  She waited, hoping with all her heart that new people would come and that the country would flourish again. She waited and waited.

  Under excruciatingly rare situations, someone would visit their domain, but they would just kidnap a few of her fellow strays or stay only a few days and then leave. There was no one who seemed likely to settle down here.

  She continued to hold out, hoping for new arrivals.

  After about twenty years had passed since her birth, she lost the ability to move.

  It seemed her time had come at last—and she understood this somehow.

  At the very least, she had wanted to feel the love of a human one last time.

  Humbly, with that one regret in mind, she resigned herself to death.

  Or so she thought.

  The following day, she awoke as usual. She hadn’t died. And stranger than that, her body felt light, as if it had never suffered under the cruel hand of aging.