145: Beryl Gut does not want a gentle love.
"Yo. You're the Meinster witch, right?" I asked, giving a light wave.
It was already obvious she was a little bit of a strange girl. Her frilly western dress was completely at odds with all of the passers-by - even if this small Japanese town was full of people in western clothing, the type she was wearing was… probably an older style, if I had to guess. I couldn't really say what it was called, though. Mother's teaching never went quite that far.
She turned to me as I spoke. There was a kind of muted surprise on her face, but it quickly vanished, like a fleeing rabbit - and man, wasn't that enticing. I wanted to chase that emotion down and splatter it into full view.
It was decided. I liked quiet girls now.
"...Who are you?" The girl asked, breaking me out of my lovesick reverie.
"Oh, right! That's right, introducing yourself first is the right way to do these kinds of things. Name's Beryl Gut."
"...Gut," Her eyes narrowed. "The Grime Witch?"
"Yeah, that's my mother. Or was, anyway," I admitted, pushing up my glasses. "She died the other day, so I decided I would go ahead and come see the girl she was always complaining about."
Almost imperceptibly, the girl relaxed. "I see. Since you've brought me some good news, I suppose I can entertain you for a bit."
One thing led to another, and we found ourselves chatting at a small, sunny cafe. It was a kind of light, easygoing conversation - and to some degree, I could tell she was humoring me. I was about three years younger than her apparent age, and she wouldn't be a witch if she wasn't making herself look younger somehow. But eventually, the topic came around to love.
"It's a bit late, but I'll correct what your mother told you. The Meinster Witches aren't immune to the dangers that love holds for a witch," Miss Alice said. "I told her as much, but she must have forgotten."
"Huuh, really?" I asked, leaning forward a bit. "I'm not that surprised, since she only really screamed about you on her bad days, but can you elaborate a bit? Actually, the whole thing about love being dangerous for witches is pretty muddy too. Something about weakening the soul…"
"Just what was that woman teaching you..?" Miss Alice sighed. "It's nothing as strange as that, probably. This is just what I believe now, after a long time thinking about it, but the danger of love for witches isn't some matter of fate or destiny. There's every possibility of being happy, at least until the inevitable end. It's just that our nature is a bad match for it. You know what witches are, right Beryl-kun?"
"Fairies, right?" I asked, taking another vigorous bite of my croissant. Unless that was just mother being crazy too.
"Something like fairies, yes. So, like fairies, we're bound to the human legend of witches," She said. "...And so, it's 'our fault'."
"Hm?"
"The well dried up. My child was stillborn. The sheep are sick. Her husband cheated." The Meinster Witch said. "And these are all the fault of a 'Witch'."
"Well, yeah, they could be," I replied. "I could do all of those things, if I felt like it."
"That's right, you could," She nodded. "Beryl-kun, I'll tell you a secret - scapegoats are not always innocent. The only requirement to be a scapegoat is to accept the blame. Considering the nature of witchcraft, any witch will be guilty of at least one person's misfortune - and once the justified stone is thrown, people who have just been unfortunate can throw their own."
"A scapegoat that's always guilty, huh…" I said. "Which means, when it comes to love, it's something like 'you can have love, but every single thing that goes wrong will be your fault.' It's not like I've ever been in love, but I've heard that blame always gets tossed this way and that in a romantic relationship."
"So, that's the necessity for a witch who falls in love. We must be always in the wrong. Some religious sects call marriage a type of martyrdom, and this is thrice true for a witch. We must be willing to abandon all we are, to accept the destruction of our 'self' in order to stand a chance in love," Miss Alice said as she drained the last of her tea, and then let out a wry chuckle. "So I suppose, in that sense, the Grime Witch's idea that love destroys a witch's soul isn't actually so untrue. But, even if that woman had been able to reform her personality enough to accept what love means for a witch, I don't think it would have helped much. She didn't have very good taste in men, you see."
Well, that was true enough. "I guess you mean 'if you pick the right person, they won't destroy you despite how vulnerable you need to become'?" But that explanation didn't sound so true to me, though, at least not instinctively.
"That's right. Simply put, the secret of the Meinster witches is just that we have better taste in men than other witches," She said, and then looked like she was going to continue - but the waitress returned with the check, and the witch's attention was diverted to more mundane matters as we sorted out payment and left the cafe.
-But, her explanation was wrong. I saw that now. The Meinster witches were just cowardly. Choosing someone that couldn't destroy you was a cheap cheat. I didn't understand beauty, but I knew this wasn't it.
"I don't know whether a male child of witches needs to worry about that kind of thing, but if you find a good person to love when you grow older, it should turn out pretty well either way," She finally continued as we slipped away from the crowds and into a relatively clean alleyway.
No, that was enough of that. My hand slammed into the wall next to her head. I leaned terribly close to her, like those sleazy pickup artists I've seen here and there. I might have been just thirteen at the time, but I was still a little taller than her. With a low voice, I spoke, "Alice. I might be younger than you, but don't look down on me. I'm plenty old enough to be falling in love right here and now. And as for picking someone harmless… I can't do that. That's not beautiful at all."
If the one I love won't destroy me, I won't see it. I won't have proof that it was love. Destruction is what confirms beauty. I proved that myself, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
My mother's eyes were never more beautiful than the night I tore them from her head.
Her eyes barely widened in response to my action - god, that's so cute. A moment passed, two, and then-
"What do you think you're doing to my girlfriend?" A man's voice smashed through the silence.
Blinking, I turned towards him - at the same time, a dusting of red appeared on Alice's cheeks. "S-shizuki-kun..!?" she muttered. Excitedly. Well, damn.
He had a kind of stupid look on his face, but his clenched fist gave an aura of confidence, and… there was something about him. The wolf I had devoured a few weeks back was reacting to him, acknowledging him. This man had achieved something. All wolves must kneel before his fist.
In any case, though-
"Ah jeez, so there's another guy…" I sighed, backing off. "Well, you seem happy enough so I guess that's it for me."
Miss Alice looked at me with a neutral expression, but I like to imagine I saw some worry there. "...Beryl-kun. I can't give you what you're searching for."
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. If my mother was still alive, things might have gone differently, but I've got no choice but to back off," I said with a laugh, and started to walk away, pausing briefly next to her boyfriend. "Best of luck, you dumb-looking fist king. Make sure to tear her to pieces."
"...What?" Killing intent started to waft off of him as he realized the kind of love I had in mind - but that was fine. I was already lost in the crowded shopping district - and shortly after, lost in the big, wide world.
"Of course, maybe even that was wishful thinking on her part," I said with a shrug. "The other Meinster witches, her predecessors - they all still died tragic deaths, or so I've heard. But, that's what the witch my mother said was most successful in love thought."
"...Well, what if it's both of us? If both Medea and I are willing to be completely destroyed by the other at the first moment of betrayal… it might work out, right?" The Alter Ego said. "And, even if it not might end well… if we both disappear before the supposed tragic ending, then maybe-"
I laughed. I couldn't help myself. "That might be it! That might be what I'm looking for too! Well, I'm a man, but I'm the son of a Witch, so I feel like the curse'll apply to me too."
"You're a warlock, then?" He said, a slightly guarded tone slipping into his voice.
"Warlock… that's a term that doesn't strictly exist in the world of magecraft," I said, stroking my chin. "But I don't think it's wrong, really." I paused for a moment, thinking about what I knew about Natsuki Subaru. "So, do you think you're one too? You, using the abilities of that world's 'Witches' -"
"I can't use them," He said, shaking his head. "The Authorities that Natsuki Subaru bears are something exclusive to him."
"And so? What do you think he is? Warlock? Archbishop? Something else entirely?" I asked.
-But, he didn't have time to answer. A certain scent, carried on the sea breeze, snatched away my attention. And so, I dashed away, amidst the waves, to meet the woman who would destroy me.
Canon Omake:
"Shizuki-kun… why did you say you were my boyfriend?" Alice eventually asked, after agonizing over it for a time.
"Huh!? I did!?" Soujuuro Shizuki shouted in shock, because the 'a time' spent agonizing over the incident was close to a month, and he had already forgotten about it.
"Yes. In the alley near Cafe Ahnenerbe, that one time," Alice replied. "I think it was a few weeks ago."
"Oh, you mean that time with the pick-up artist?" He replied. "I mean, it's common sense, right? A guy should interrupt that kind of event, especially for his friends."
No, that was not common sense. Obviously, Alice Kuonji would have been able to fight off a thirteen year old boy who couldn't take no for an answer. But more importantly- "But you could have interrupted without calling me your girlfriend, right?"
"No way. Aozaki was really clear about that," He said, and it all fell into place at last.
1. Aoko comes by to visit.
2. She gets hit on by clueless men half her age.
3. She's about to blast them all away, but spots Shizuki-kun nearby, so she waits for him to come save her.
4. Shizuki-kun knows his help isn't needed, so he doesn't help.
5. After Aoko boils over, beats up all the poor playboys, and kicks Shizuki-kun in the face several times, she teaches him something unreasonable.
"...But that would mean Aoko has become conscious of Shizuki-kun as well." That wasn't fair. Alice had only just (five years ago) realized that she was in love with him. And now, Aoko was trying to steal a march on her? This wouldn't do at all. Alice needed to make her move. "Shizuki-kun, I'll cook dinner tonight." Brilliant. Surely this would convey her feelings.
"Okay?" He says. "Um, was there something wrong with what Aoko told me?"
"No, she was exactly correct. The next time you see me being hit on, you should act the same way."
-And thus, history's slowest moving love triangle reset to more or less status quo once more.
A/N:
In hindsight this chapter should have been earlier in the story. In my mind this was a brief flashback, but it became a whole chapter, so... oh well. I might re-order them later.
Anyway, next chapter will be the actual Beryl vs. Herc fight. Sorry for the delays.