Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

---

Crimson landed on the ground better than Seth, despite wobbling a little on his high heels from the artificial ore that served to disperse the vibrations set out on the tracks. As he climbed out of the train through the window, he grasped Seth’s arm, who was still feeling the residual cold on his cheeks.

“I’m coming too…!”

His exhales, mingled with white breath, were shocking.

Seth’s thoughts shifted from the chill in his cheeks to Crimson.

“…What?”

He blinked thrice.

“Huh!”

Seth’s pupils dilated.

To Seth’s astonishment, Crimson continued, “You’re going after Cannibal Bouquet, right? I’m coming along too.”

“Going with me…? Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

“I heard you. That’s why I’m going with you.”

The azure eyes, which were fixed on Seth, seemed to resemble someone else’s.

“…I would rather you don’t.”

Seth twisted the arm in his grip and jerked the other party away.

His hand detached itself from the other person without a second thought, thanks to the degree of force, which could hardly be called a restraint. Seth spun on his heel, “Don’t follow me!” 

Before he could start running, his cloak was clutched once more.

And this time, he didn’t let go right away.

“Please let go of me…”

“I won’t bother you. Please. Take me with you.”

“No…”

Nevertheless, Seth pressed his foot forward.

The other party, with no intention of halting Seth and no desire to let him go, followed him with Seth’s cloak firmly held in his grasp.

“…Are you a newspaper reporter? Or are you a non-alchemical occult enthusiast?”

“Neither.”

“…I mean, aren’t you in a different mood than you were a few minutes ago?”

“You are a witch, right?”

“I am.”

“Then I don’t have to conceal it from you either.”

“You aren’t planning to say you’re a witch either, are you…?”

“I’m a genuine human being. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am… well.”

For some reason, the other party did not say his name right away, but instead, seemed to ponder it for a moment.

“Call me Roselle. That’s what intimate people call me.”

“…I have no interest in getting to know humans.”

“What is your name?”

His black cloak was tugged. He disregarded it at first, but after having his cloak pulled repeatedly, he felt despondent and stated, “…My name is Seth.”

“Nice to meet you, Seth.”

“No, it is not a pleasure.”

Tonight was a full moon.

The thin crescent moon and the inner round moon shone brilliantly in the cloudless sky, and the small residual snow reflected it.

Seth, whose eyesight originally functioned day and night, ventured deeper and deeper into the forest.

He intentionally made his way through the gaps in the trees that were still covered with leaves in the cold, blocking the moonlight as he proceeded.

He hoped that the other, who unlike himself could only rely on the moon for a source of light, would cower in the dark, bewildered by the denseness of the forest and reveal an opening, but Roselle remained stubborn.

“…”

Seth reluctantly came to a halt, unable to let Roselle, a human being, stray too far from the train.

Behind him, the presence came to a standstill as well.

Seth quickly re-holstered the cane in his palm and aimed the end of the cane out in front of Roselle, who gazed at him in wonderment.

Roselle gently released his grip on the cloak.

“…You know, if you become any more entangled with this, you may be cursed as well.”

Seth uttered in a flat voice that was devoid of emotion.

“What happens to humans is none of my concern. If you would like to be cursed, then go ahead and be cursed. Or―”

He continued quietly.

“If you’re fascinated by the witch’s curse, I can cast a curse on you personally.”

If anyone were to listen attentively, the murmur of people could be heard drifting faintly through the darkness. The location of the train was still somehow within reach. Nonetheless, the forest at night, shrouded in the night air and cold, would create a sense of foreboding as if one were isolated from the rest of the world.

Furthermore, in front of them was a being who claimed to be a witch. Seth was a witch in every sense of the word. Even if Roselle didn’t believe him, being alone in the forest with a lunatic who professed to be an abominable witch would bring forth nothing but apprehension in Roselle.

“…You’re speaking somewhat faster now.”

But Roselle seemed perfectly at ease.

That wasn’t a sign of him putting up a strong front.

“Did you move the handle side towards me in case it hit me in the dark?”

Seth confronted the unwavering azure eyes.

“I wonder if someone who reveres a witch who doesn’t like curses as a master would cast a curse so easily?”

Crimson’s mouth curled upwards as if reciting a poem.

“You warned me earlier that I was in danger. Even on the train, you protected me from the Cannibal Bouquet.”

“…T-That’s…”

“I was the one pinning you down, yet you didn’t fight back when I did that. You, on the other hand, attempted to communicate with me. Doesn’t that imply you have no intention of harming anyone?”

“…Maybe that could just be a deception, right?”

“Revealing that you are a witch to the person you are trying to deceive? You even told me your name.”

When Seth was forced into silence, his gaze unconsciously drifted away from Roselle.

“At the very least, you don’t want to hurt humans. In fact, you’re trying to distance yourself from them. Even now… Don’t you agree?”

A hand gingerly reached for the tip of Seth’s cane.

The other’s palm touched the rounded end of the handle, not the pointed tip.

“Thank you for your concern. You are a gentle witch, Seth.”

Before Seth can affirm this, Roselle’s face burst into relief.

Seth lowered his cane as though escaping Roselle’s grasp, and his shoulders slumped heavily as well.

“…It’s dangerous, so please go back.”

With resignation, Seth let out his true feelings. As he had thought during their conversation on the train, Crimson seemed to be a very observant and quick-witted person to deal with.

To begin with, Seth was not good at oratorical battles. If anything, he sucked at it.

“I’m certain it isn’t the witch Boojum’s curse. But that doesn’t mean I have a clue what the Cannibal Bouquet is about…”

The other party would not be fooled by lies or threats.

Conversely, Seth felt that it would be counterproductive, so he maturely dropped the act.

“I’ve heard rumors myself, but… I’ve never seen the real thing before…”

It was not the curse of the witch Boojum.

Then what was it? If asked, Seth could not answer.

Even if the witch Boojum was not involved, it was impossible to rule out the involvement of other witches.

“If the rumors are true… that thing devours people. You, a human being, are definitely in danger. You shouldn’t be careless with something you don’t know.”

“I guess so…”

“Then.”

“But no.”

Seth’s throat constricted as he heard the quiet but unyielding refusal. There was no retort, only a half-ventilated gasp.

“I’m not going back. I finally found a clue.”

“A clue…?”

“You have your own reasons for wanting to clear your master’s name, but I have a use for it too. No matter what you say, I can’t go back.”

With unwavering resolve, Roselle assured him, not that he would not go back, but that he could not go back.

Those azure eyes shot through Seth.

The clear yet spirited gaze resembled someone else’s.

It was a sense of déjà vu that he had felt earlier. Seth recognized these eyes.

He pondered who it was, and his ― hair stood on end.

It was someone Seth was familiar with.

“The Cannibal Bouquet, and the witch, were both real. I just couldn’t let this one slip away.”

It was too pure to be termed blind faith, yet it was too earnest to be labeled curiosity.

He did not know why on earth Roselle was so obsessed with Cannibal Bouquet.

Seth backed away instinctively, for reasons that were unclear to him.

“…”

Roselle’s azure eyes resembled those of the witch Boojum.

These were the eyes of someone who would follow their own will at all costs. When Seth realized this, he also became aware of something else.

He must not be involved with this kind of person.

His instincts, based on his past experience, triggered an alarm.

Any involvement with him will end up disastrous.