Chapter 208

Evan D. Sherden, a Decision to Make. (2)

"You, where did you..."

It was Selune who broke the silence. Evan responded nonchalantly.

"Black monsters who lived in Area 1 were talking about such things. Not to mention... they've also been cursing out the witches."

"But how are you not contaminated? Wait, no, you're not a witch. And Belois... she still hasn't had her coming-of-age ceremony yet. I'm really glad about that."

The witches quickly reached the same conclusion that Ctheasil had reached. However, the words that followed were quite different from what Evan had been expecting.

"But I would prefer not to be related to them from now on. Anyway, they will end up self-destructing sooner or later because they've been set up for failure. Dealing with just one of them might be okay, but if you deal with several at once, you will surely be contaminated."

"Is that so? But I've heard that they absorb witch runes? Aren't they the witch's natural enemies?"

"There are many ways to stop that from happening. Such lowly creatures are not enemies of us witches."

As expected, there were many differences from the stories told by Ctheasil. Evan smiled bitterly.

'Which story is a lie? Perhaps...... I am guessing both of them are.'

At that moment, a cloud struck Melonia's face.

"Wait a minute, but how did you know that? There is no one in your group with runes. It can't be."

"You're right."

It was not something he could hide, and even if he tried to, he would've been caught soon anyway. Evan immediately affirmed.

"I met Ctheasil a week ago. She leads a village called the Witch Forest."

"...Are you sure you don't have a partnership with her?"

There was a slight tension in her voice, but the witches were not hostile to Evan. You could tell they had a subtle relationship with just this alone.

Evan spoke as he imagined abacus beads in his mind.

"It's not a partnership, but I accepted one of their requests. They told me that the Devil Rune monsters are the Devil's children and asked me to get rid of them. They had even given me a map with their location."

"What!?"

When Evan slightly pushed the map as he spoke, Melonia panicked and snatched the map to check it. The faces of the witches who approached from behind and checked the map were immediately stunned.

"So this is how far they've come... How were they able to supply their materials? Creating different forms of things would have been no easy task for them!"

"So what did you do, Evan? Did you follow the request? Did you hunt them down?"

"Yes, all of them."

"All of them!?"

It was almost time to merge with the Junior team led by Shine. They only made rounds to the easy dungeons so that they wouldn't be as late as Evan.

This would mean that they would go to dungeons twice as many as the ones shown on the map, but Evan didn't tell them about that because this alone was enough to scare the witches.

"This is insane! Evan, you've been tricked! They have used you!"

"Tricked?"

"The Devil Rune is not made by a demon. Ctheasil, that damn witch, made that up!"

Herbene shouted as she was frightened. At first, it sounded very weird.

Ctheasil, who was a witch and not a demon, created the Devil Rune monster? So why did she ask Evan to destroy the Devil Rune monster in the first place?

"Evan, look at your body! There's no way that your body hasn't eroded while hunting these numbers of Devil Runes!"

At this, Selune screamed as she tried to grab Evan. Belois, who was on standby, quickly created a shield to block her, but Selune was not planning to back off.

"Belois, stop this right now. Evan is in great danger! The Devil Rune erodes the body! If the target is a witch, the speed is only accelerated, and the average being is not safe from it either! Rather, it's even more powerful on stronger humans like Evan...!"

"Selune, calm down! Evan has no sign of erosion!"

"You think Evan is lying? I swear by my rune that he's telling the truth right now!"

"You're right, Melonia. This is a big deal. If we leave it like this, the worst ever Devil Rune might appear..."

"Then it would mean he has the means to prevent erosion!"

As Selune and Herbene clamored together, Melonia shouted and finally got them to calm down.

Belois stepped back behind Evan and stared at the two witches pathetically, as the two of them looked blank and their bodies had become stiff. She has no clue as to which of them was older.

"Evan, if you had dealt with this number of Devil Rune monsters and it hasn't affected you even with the blood of a witch, do you know how you've been able to prevent erosion? Something like an artifact or equivalent long-lasting blessing."

"Uh..."

Again, Melonia questioned Evan. Of course, Evan knew the reason behind that, but it was a separate matter if he wanted to tell her that or not.

After thinking for a moment, Evan came to a clear conclusion.

"Before that, I would like you to tell us your relationship with Ctheasil, and your basis for claiming that Ctheasil created the Devil Rune monsters. If you tell me all of that, there is nothing I would keep from you. And depending on the situation, I might even be able to help you."

Give and take; it was simple logic. The witches didn't explain anything to Evan from the moment they appeared until now. That's why it was unfair. At the very least, Evan couldn't possibly feel convinced by what they're saying so far.

'Now is the time to be straightforward and clear things up. After all, I don't want to waste my time with these useless things.'

"What is it with you...?"

"There is no need to worry or be in agony. I'm not sure if you already know this."

Evan declared with a relaxed expression to Melonia as she looked at him with confused eyes. After the breakup with Leo, it was a face that Evan could barely make— "the face which only those who believe in themselves can make."

"We can't do anything about the Devil Runes. If you doubt us, visit all the dungeons marked on here. After that, you'll probably want to tell the story with your own mouth."

"...Huh."

Melonia burst into sighs after a brief silence. She glanced at Evan with an expression that wasn't very friendly, but then laughed it off soon after.

It was a sign of her surrender.

"Evan, you aren't an adult yet, are you? How old are you?"

"I'm 14 years old."

"14 years old, huh."

"Melonia, I told you to back off! I said that Evan is mineeeeee!"

Melonia silently cast an iron claw onto Selune's face and looked back at Evan. A smile was still hanging around Evan's mouth. Melonia shrugged and spoke.

"I really want to meet your mum."

"How old are you, so arrogantly calling my mother 'mum'? You don't even know how old my mother is..."

"I am 130 years old this year."

"I am sorry, Grandmother."

Evan quietly apologized. Since Selune was twenty-three, he had thought that Melonia was just several years older than her. He wasn't expecting such a big difference in their age....!

'Could it be possible that even my mother is around that age?'

Evan didn't want to believe that his father had gotten a fraudulent marriage!

"Evan, just speak to me comfortably. Aren't we supposed to make children together in the future?"

"No, absolutely not. None at all."

It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just an elf who lived in a different time frame as humans, but as a witch's son, Evan felt quite reluctant to sleep with a 130-year-old witch.

Melonia laughed as Evan felt frightened and hid behind Belois.

"You're kind of cute now that you're starting to act your age. I'm starting to like you more and more."

"Anyways, tell me about Ctheasil. What do you mean she made the Devil Rune?"

"If you want me to explain that, first of all, we must talk about the Witch Forest."

Avoiding the grandmother's disgusting touch, he hid behind Belois and motioned for the witch to explain. Melonia smiled lightly and spoke once more.

"The Witch Forest is a village of witches that has been around for about 100 years. Twenty is the total number of witches, and we have thirty servants who help us. So, this is a village where about fifty people live together."

"Are the servants you're referring to men?"

"Yeah, we witches don't have a separate companion. To live more efficiently, we sometimes bring in and share outside seeds to give birth to stronger witches. And if it's judged that they are not useful after receiving the seeds, they are managed for several years and exiled."

"What if a witch gave birth to a man?"

"After nurturing until adulthood, and after several years together as a servant, they are also exiled. And no matter what, witches do not accept the seed of their own child."

Evan thought for a moment before asking her.

"Is that servant system a witch tradition?"

"Perhaps this happens anywhere witches live. Even my great grandmother kept this tradition."

Now Evan understood why her mother refused to talk about witches. She must've not wanted to be misunderstood.

"Don't you think there is a problem with that tradition?"

"Of course, I knew you'd say that. However, Evan, it would be too difficult for witches to have children unless they are managed this way. A witch who lives with only one companion is... Evan, your mother, couldn't have given birth to a witch right away, could she?"

"Well, yeah."

"It is the instinct of living things to connect generations. And for our witches, it's only possible to do that by giving birth to another witch."

It was then that the quiet Belois grabbed Evan's sleeve.

When Evan turned to her, she spoke, "Your mother told me..." but then trailed off.

Melonia laughed a little when he saw this.

"The witch who did not give birth to a witch had eventually met a young witch, so I'm sure she must have cherished you. In a sense, you are her child."

Even though Evan didn't know much about Belois' and his mother's relationship, he knows that Belois met his mother at least once a day. Evan could well guess what the significance of their relationship was.

However, Evan countered Melonia by grabbing Belois' hand lightly.

"That doesn't mean that I haven't been loved. My mother loves and cares for my brother with all her heart and me. I still think your traditional way is wrong."

"Alright." Melonia had a bitter smile on her face.

"I guess that's how Ctheasil thought of it too."

"I knew it."

Yeah. After all, the problem occurred in that part. Listening to Melonia's explanation and looking at the gender ratio of the village of Ctheasil, it was possible to conclude there was a problem regarding that issue.

"She took all the servants who were 'to be disposed of' and left the village with the witches that obeyed her, right?"

"What do you mean by disposal? We don't dispose of them. We give enough wealth and strength for them to live in the outside world."

Evan's expression also became radical as it was a topic that had no choice but to intensify emotions.

Melonia seemed to be a little hurt and muttered, saying that she was "130 years old", as if she was uttering a spell. Evan immediately brought the topic back on track.

"I understand how the towns split into two. So what about the Devil Rune? What do you mean she created the Devil Rune?"

"She challenged God. She doesn't know how to live within her own means."

Since Evan's words hurt Melonia completely, Herbene replied to him instead.

"She tried to break the limits of the witch race. By implanting runes, she tried to turn a man into a witch."

"And the result is the Devil Rune. Evan, you became their experiment. You became a victim of a witch who abandoned God and approached the Devil."

'This is a bigger deal than I thought it was.'

Evan sighed.

He thought that it would have been terrible if he had let the Yo-Ma Great War Series 5 happen, but at the same time, he had regrets that it would have been nice if he had died after playing the Yo-Ma Great War Series 5 in his previous life. However, it was already too late, so he decided to give up quietly.