I Picked Up a Witch from a Novel

**Episode 2-a. The City Where Night Does Not Come, Tevriss.**

Under the bright lights, there are shadows.

Where there is light, there must also be darkness.

And that is.

Certainly, night does not come, and the buildings decorated with splendid lights exist.

It is the same story in the city where the sun and lights of the day seem to last forever.

If there is a brilliant landscape on the ground, below the hidden red-light district, a low shadow is cast.

The secret, a blessing and a curse that has continued for a hundred years, has been revealed.

The ancient ruins sleeping beneath the city, where black wizards are stirring up unknown deeds, are the shadows gnawing at the city.

Although I was unable to reach the very depths of the subject, I could not discern what kind of mischief they were up to.

“Ah… I really thought I was going to die.”

At least nothing suspicious could be more questionable than the black wizards doing something in the city’s underground, making it the most suspect.

As I glanced at my still throbbing arms, a voice came.

“Have you finally woken up, weak little brat? What do you plan to do by sleeping an entire day when there’s no time?”

“Wow, he’s awake!”

Three people surrounded me as I lay sprawled on the bed.

“Yes… my arms still hurt like hell. Did you happen to visit the city mayor?”

If a full day had indeed passed, it would now be the night of the 7th day or the morning of the 8th.

Then it was suspicious timing for the activity at the red-light district.

“Yes, I went and delivered the message. When I explained the location with proof, he reacted with a horrified expression and said he would gather a hunting party. We were keeping an eye on the red-light district, waiting for you to wake up.”

Fortunately, it seemed that Horn and Avery had handled things well while I was unconscious.

“Ah, thank you for your trouble. But I don’t think a half-hearted hunting party would suffice. I wonder if the higher-ups will send support…”

“Not my concern. That’s something they will have to figure out. Besides, since there hasn’t been any significant movement yet, it shouldn’t be a problem for now.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

Still, it seemed that things were going smoothly in some way, so I dropped my aching arms onto the bed and sighed.

In other words, our role was done for now.

From the beginning, participating in the hunting party and making remarkable achievements with our level was nonsense.

Breaking through the well-prepared black wizard encampment and seizing whatever was inside was something I believed was impossible for us.

I was halfway convinced that even the prophetic letter did not lead us here expecting us to completely resolve things.

An ancient ruin of which we could not even guess the mechanism, and a group of black wizards that could easily number in the hundreds.

If the prophecy were that we could completely resolve such a thing, it would be the empty ramblings of a delusional ancient.

Thinking of trying to go back in with greedy ambition would surely lead to death.

Just the fact that I had passed out for a whole day after having my arms melted away by two spells from what would have been low-grade black wizards made me think that such a thing was likely.

“More importantly, the mayor wants you to come to the mansion for the first discovery reward when you regain consciousness. Choose between a Derana or one of the treasures in the treasure house.”

“Oh, right. That is important.”

So, what we could hope for was about that much.

Compensation for being the first to discover the secret of the city that no one had found before.

“Will you go right away?”

“I want to go right away, but I’ll wait for Avery to return.”

“Okay, he’ll be here soon anyway.”

So we all collapsed onto the bed, waiting only for Avery to arrive.

Bang—

“Uh… Ain. Finally, you’ve woken up…?”

“Yes, pack your things. Load everything onto the carriage and stop by the mayor’s mansion to collect your reward before getting out of the city immediately.”

“Ah, finally… Let’s hurry out…!”

On the morning of the eighth day, I decided to leave a little earlier than the remaining limited time.

I was anxious about how much fatigue had piled up from all of us bustling about without resting for even a moment.

“Hmm, aren’t you going to wait until the hunting party resolves everything?”

“How long do you think the hunt will take? Unless a grand wizard shows up, it might take over a month. Asking for help to gather troops from the neighboring cities will take a while.”

“Oh, thinking about it, that’s true.”

Waiting for leftover crumbs from the hunt would mean being stuck outside of the city until the curse was lifted, which would certainly be a waste of time.

Moreover, the temporary hunting party formed from drifters currently in the city would lead to everyone’s pointless demise once they ventured in.

A proper hunting party needs to be formed to break through, but it’s uncertain how long that might take.

So.

“We’re going to quickly leave with just the one treasure we can receive as a discovery reward. If you’re really disappointed, it might be better to rest in another nearby city and come back hoping for crumbs.”

“Alright, then pack your things.”

“Yes!”

My companions and I packed all the belongings we had left at our lodgings onto the carriage, and our carriage headed towards the mayor’s mansion.

Thus, we arrived at the mayor’s mansion.

“Ah, the heroes of the city have come! How—would you like to have a cup of tea? And how is your arm? I heard you were severely injured.”

“It’s fine. I came because you wanted me to when I regained consciousness, Mr. Mayor.”

Inside the mansion, I could see soldiers bustling about, and there was a middle-aged man welcoming us.

“Oh, indeed. The first discoverer ought to receive due rewards. You may choose between 5 million dera or one treasure from the treasure house.”

Receiving 5 million dera would make one a wealthy person in an instant.

With that much, even an ordinary commoner could live off leisure without working for a lifetime.

However.

“Then… I would like to enter the treasure house first.”

“Yes, yes. Here, please guide them to the treasure house!”

For me, there was a value more important than money.

I placed higher value on items that could aid me in my journey.

Thus.

The scenery inside the treasure house was as brilliant as the city itself.

“Mother.”

“A beautiful horse.”

“Mom…”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because they were making such a great revenue from treasures, everything sparkled and beckoned.

“You may choose one of the items you wish.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you…”

The soldier who guided us said this while handing a booklet, and we opened the one containing the list of treasures and wandered around the storage.

“Brat, I want this axe.”

“No way.”

“Why not, you bastard. I want it.”

“Sir, please come to your senses.”

Horn was drooling and looking around unexpectedly at the stunning sight.

“Ah, Ain… I want that ancient potion over there whose effect I can’t even be sure of…”

“Would you really?”

“Is it not possible…?”

“You can only choose one, so what would you do with a bottle of potion whose effect is unknown?”

Avery also looked longingly at the various expensive experimental materials and ancient potions that sparked his curiosity.

And.

“Ain, can’t we choose that biscuit labeled as ‘heavenly taste’ over there?”

“Or brother, how about the set of drinks labeled ‘tears of the gods’ next to it?”

“What you mentioned sounds like the most nonsensical choices.”

“Why!”

The children were pulling at my clothes, gazing at things that sounded appetizing.

However.

Even though I wanted to give everyone what they wanted, we could only pick one item.

So I wondered why everyone was acting this way, even before we arrived.

“We’re following through with our promise, our promise.”

“Geez.”

Are these people collectively losing their minds?

Anyway, what we decided to choose was an item that could be of help in our journey or something we could use for the ash-gray.

Thus, I continued to examine items while flipping through the booklet for a while.

“This one won’t do… This one is ambiguous too…”

“Such a meticulous brat.”

“Sigh… It makes me sad when you say that.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“….”

Thinking of Horn’s age, it was about time he started losing his sanity, but I hoped he would at least do so after our journey ended.

Ignoring his grumbling, I continued to select items.

“Oh.”

Then I discovered something a little odd.

An item sitting idly by.

There was no proper explanation written in the booklet.

“Excuse me, soldier. Is there no explanation for this item?”

“What item are you referring to?”

“This one has no description in the booklet and is just set in the corner.”

I lifted the item and showed it to the approaching soldier, who looked at it quizzically and then brought over another old booklet to open it while he spoke.

“Please hold on a moment. The ones not listed in the booklet are likely items that have been stored for a very long time or ones whose uses are entirely unknown.”

“Ah, I see.”

He searched through the book and then smiled as he found the explanation about the item I was holding.

“Ah, here it is.”

“What does it say?”

Curious about what it said as he looked at me, the soldier slowly recited what was written.

“Um, it’s said to be a magical analysis device made by the great sinner, Nasatya, from ancient times.”

“…What?”

He announces that this is the first step towards the traces of Nasatya I’ve been searching for.

“A fallen twilight star, Nasatya, who was erased from the records as a sinner, created this eccentric invention. However, for some reason, it has been marked as unusable, so it is excluded from the latest book.”

“…”

“We also don’t know much about this item, so we’ve simply been keeping it. It’s really a worthless antique since it doesn’t function.”

My companions looked at me and the item in turn with surprise.

“…Is there anything else he made in the storage?”

“Hmm… Just a moment.”

At my query, the soldier quickly scanned the book again, but soon shook his head in response.

“There is none. That is the only item made by the ancient Nasatya in this storage.”

“…Then I will choose this.”

“Excuse me…? Are you choosing that unusable antique?”

The soldier asks again as if unable to comprehend the choice of an antique over countless treasures behind.

“I’ll go with this.”

“Uh, then I’ll note that as your selection, and we will close the storage again. Changes or additions can no longer be made…?”

“Yes.”

My voice answering contained no hesitation.

Rather, the corners of my mouth lifted up quickly expressing my elevated mood.

Horn, who had been coveting countless treasures, along with Avery and the twins, approached and poked my side, smiling.

I found it.

Though we could not resolve the city’s curse with our own hands.

We grasped a clue to what we wanted to know and seized at least one object with traces.

Bang—

With that sound, the door of the treasure house closed again.

Bang—

Bang—

With that sound, my heart raced violently.

As time passed.

The carriage slowly left the city.

In the end.

We only revealed the curse of the city, but did not directly lift it.

“Wow, brat. Finding this is really…”

“Isn’t it just luck, hyung!”

“Yes, it’s worth giving up the snacks and drinks!”

“Um… I do feel a bit regretful about the… potion…”

We lifted the corners of our mouths again as we began our journey anew.

The snowball was rolled.

Someone will take the snowball we rolled and make it larger to drive away the darkness.

And.

“Ugh… this is…!”

“Crazy…. Ugh…”

In other words, as soon as the carriage left the city, we wriggled in pain.

The children collapsed completely with a “Kek!” sound and fainted, while Avery was convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

All the fatigue that had piled up from our relentless hustle to unearth the secret came crashing down at once, and we had to lay sprawled for several days.

********

Regrettably.

We grasped the tip of the trace of Nasatya, but.

You have not approached the true secret of Tevriss.

You have failed to unveil the scenes created by the black wizards established in the ancient ruins hidden underground for a century.

You have not discerned the ancient magic rising from the deepest part of the ruins.

Though you acquired an item of Nasatya, you do not even fully know what the trace is.

The residents of the city still have to wait for the curse to be lifted, and there will be those who inevitably die before the curse is broken.

You may have been satisfied with only the immediate results before your eyes, but you cannot deny that it is only half of a success.

However.

There will be countless adventurers or travelers who will visit the city in the future.

And among those many people, someone.

Perhaps a woman hiding beneath the ash-gray will take on your will to uncover the city’s secrets.

Perhaps the snowball you rolled will be picked up by the ash-gray woman and be rolled and rolled into a larger and grander snowball.

Perhaps her identity will be exposed, leading her into peril, or perhaps the blades of those aiming to kill the ash-gray will point at her.

So.

I look forward to all those moments.

Hoping to approach better conclusions through such processes.

This has been “The City Where Night Does Not Come, Tevriss.”

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