I Picked Up a Witch from a Novel

Chapter 31.

Hermann Hesse said.

An egg is the world of birds.

Anyone who wants to be born must destroy one world.

I don’t know how much the world he spoke of includes, but I shattered a world with an unwanted death.

I broke the shell of reality and spread my wings in the world of the novel.

Though I was merely an extra and couldn’t even obtain proper wings, I wanted to reach Abraksas from a young age.

In my desperate attempts, I flapped my wings to at least tear at Abraksas’s hem.

The witch’s watchman.

That was my first flap of wings.

I saved the ashen girl who was dying in an alley and plunged into the storm of the novel.

I wanted to prove that I could fly even with feeble wings.

And now, I finally wished for a second flap of wings.

A wandering traveler in the world.

Having turned sixteen, I hoped for that role to be given to me.

I wanted to break the egg again and acquire more beautiful wings.

I thought I wanted to prove the value of my life.

Though I might wobble and one day fall into the mud, I wanted to move forward.

Time flowed again.

After a full two years, I became an adult.

Of course, I reached the age I had longed for, but that didn’t mean I was going to set off on a journey right away.

“Ain, help me with this.”

“Hmm.”

I was still working at the grocery store.

Asha was working alongside me, busily moving about.

“Hmm or help me, I’m going to get angry if you keep this up?”

“Okay, okay… I’ll help, so don’t get mad.”

As I watched her struggle to move a sack of potatoes, she pouted and glared at me.

In those two years, Asha matured and transformed into a truly beautiful woman with no trace of her former childlike appearance.

She was no longer the emaciated girl I used to feel sorry for; if I just looked at her quietly, I would be surprised in awe at her beauty.

Now she only addressed me formally, and sometimes I wondered if that small girl I knew was really the same person.

However.

Even so, when she joked around like this, glimpses of her old self would occasionally show.

As Asha giggled and lifted the sack of potatoes, I was unable to stop teasing her once again.

“Ain, you’re being annoying lately.”

“What’s so surprising about that… Ugh. Asha, that hurts.”

In the end, her shoe kicked my shin.

This was due to the advice from an uncle who said to kick me whenever I acted annoying.

“See? You’re busy, so why would anyone want to tease you? That’s all karma.”

“…”

So when I looked at her as if I felt wronged, Asha stuck her tongue out and dashed toward the counter.

Of course, once she reached the front of the counter, she would glance back at me and give a shy smile.

So, after becoming an adult, we were still in such scenery together.

It was still a scene we shared.

When I think back on past events.

The day Asha told me it was okay to go on a journey.

The day ash dust swirled, and gray snow piled up in the alley.

She certainly smiled and said it was okay.

But the scenery surrounding us was definitely saying otherwise.

The hand gripping the hem of her clothes trembled, begging me not to go.

The corners of her mouth, vibrating lightly, contorted grotesquely like her emotions.

That was the unmistakable trace of ash that a woman could never hide, no matter how hard she tried.

So I understood.

I realized how much Asha was holding back to say that, how much she had stored in her heart over the years.

From the stories of ash I had seen in novels to the scenery I had faced alongside her for nearly a decade.

I understood how hard she was working.

Always seeming vacant and always smiling.

Thus I realized that the woman in front of me was not simply innocent.

And.

“I’m okay.”

“…”

There was a woman who seemed to not want to say any other words, repeating the same line.

“I can wait, Ain.”

“…”

There was a woman with hands clenched tightly, bleeding as if suppressing her emotions.

Though she said it was a long time of hesitation and decision, when the moment came, she had trouble controlling her feelings.

So.

Staring blankly at that sight, I began to think.

At the very least, I must give her the assurance that I wouldn’t forget her even if I set off on a journey.

I had to accomplish more in the remaining two years than the memories I had built up until now.

Thinking this, I pinky-promised.

I said I would always choose a gift for her no matter where I went.

I suggested we create more memories in the remaining time.

“A promise… right, Ain.”

“Yeah. I promise.”

Looking at her as she tried to settle the ash dust, I made that promise.

Even after becoming sixteen and starting a new role, I promised I wouldn’t abandon the role I had held until now.

Thus, those two years continued.

Even if it was trivial, the fact that she could comfortably kick my shin and dash away without glancing back carried a certain significance.

And.

“Ain, let’s go for a walk together.”

“Sure, just let me change my clothes.”

As the days of my adulthood drew nearer, she seemed to sense it and asked me to go for a walk every day.

Spring rain arrives without notice.

Plop- plop-

The raindrops falling on the street make such sounds, and people who didn’t take their umbrellas rush to avoid getting soaked.

“Ain, I think your shoulder is getting wet.”

“…, it’s okay. I can wash up later.”

And we are walking under one umbrella.

Plop-

Clop-

The sounds of our two shoes matched a steady rhythm as we moved forward.

“I don’t want to hear you can wash up later; I meant to say get closer.”

“I actually don’t mind getting wet.”

“I don’t like it.”

The distance between the two people who were slightly apart closed instantly with those words.

“…, you could have just brought two umbrellas.”

“If I did, it wouldn’t be romantic. You said romance is important in life.”

At Asha’s grumbling, as I felt uneasy about the close distance, I gradually realized that there was a sweet scent coming from her skin.

“…”

“…”

The scent of a mature woman was like that.

Though I called it a sweet fragrance, it wasn’t something that could be simply defined.

It was something that seemed to flow out slowly only when we were close, wrapping around my surroundings.

I found it a bit overwhelming and tried to turn away, but she wouldn’t let go of my arm.

“Don’t fall behind again; your shoulder will get wet.”

“…”

Now a woman who had shed all traces of childhood and looked up at me with a slender jawline was a beautiful sight.

“…”

“…”

As our eyes met, we inevitably came to a halt, and the world seemed to stop as we maintained our silence.

However.

The only thing not stopping in this world was the rain, continuing to tap against the umbrella we held.

“…, where shall we go?”

“To where you want to go.”

To break the awkward silence created by the brief pause, we decided on the direction we wanted to go, just like always.

“Well then, let’s go to the library. It’s almost the day I promised Ildrin too.”

“Hmm, is that okay? If we go, you’ll have to deal with him again.”

In response to my question, the destination Asha suggested was the library.

“If you were worried about that, you should have never introduced me. Now that you’ve told me everything and say that now, do you think I’ll appreciate that?”

“…, let’s hurry.”

Then, unable to come up with a suitable reply to her glare, I hurriedly started moving.

In truth, I didn’t like rainy days.

I disliked my pants and shoes getting damp, and I hated gloomy gray clouds that made me feel strangely depressed.

Rain has a way of making people emotional, and I didn’t care for being reminded of old memories.

However.

“Ain, don’t keep falling behind; stick close.”

“…, okay.”

That said, I didn’t particularly dislike it anymore.

Perhaps because the gray clouds were ashen.

Perhaps because the scenery created in such a way was hazy and heavy.

Or maybe it was because of the two of us wandering together under one umbrella.

I wasn’t sure of the precise reason, but now, I didn’t think it was particularly unpleasant.

Plop- plop-

The rain continued to tap on our umbrella.

With each sound, she gradually moved closer to me.

The path to the library was quite long.

As we walked silently, I looked at her and found the corners of her mouth subtly lifting.

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