The Witch and the Doll Swear

On this day, the girl was idly counting the witch's long platinum hair.

The sky gradually became clear and lofty, the fine and thin floating clouds could not even cast shadows on the grass waves, and the earth spread endlessly in the field of vision.

"——!"

The unicorn from the astral world seems to enjoy such unrestrained running. It makes a clear cry, the horseshoe collides with the soil, and splits the rolling waves of withered yellow grass. Salad, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it chirps like a canary, in the wind, that's the only music.

But Tina couldn't have been as happy as this dreamy creature.

Humans are easily bored creatures, the same sky, the same earth, even the singing and running hooves of the astral unicorns are also the same, so boring that the girl even forgot how many days it was after entering the grassland.

It’s been a few days, it’s almost like reminding Tina, who is already wearing thick clothes, that winter is getting closer. From dawn to night, not to mention nomads can’t even see a single beast or monster on the grassland. All I can see is the sky in autumn and the grassland under the sky, nothing else, so boring that it is unimaginable.

It is often said that only when you really embark on a journey will you know the unchanging beauty of your hometown, just like now.

——It’s almost like wasting your life.

Whenever the girl has such thoughts, she will miss her hometown.

I miss the salty smell in the sea breeze, the taste of salt and sea fish, but the more I recall, the smell of dry grass and soil in the cold wind of the grassland can only make my longing for my hometown seem more empty.

And the emptiness aggravated the girl's boredom.

Such a vicious circle made the girl sigh more frequently.

"Miss Liliana, it's so boring..."

"……Um?"

Liliana, who was hugged by the girl, tilted her head.

"...Indeed, for Miss Tingna, such a journey is too boring."

"How do Miss Liliana and Miss Alice spend their time every day..."

"...Review all kinds of knowledge in your mind."

"Talk to nature."

No matter which one is not a way to relieve boredom as a reference.

Ha...Maybe only someone like Alice, who has been communicating with the astral unicorn in a way she can't understand with great interest, or someone who is in a daze like Liliana, can survive this extremely boring journey, right?

Because of such bitter thoughts, the girl raised her head, which made her unable to find the last strand of light blonde hair that had already been counted.

Tina sighed again, lowered her head, and prepared to try to count more than half of Liliana's hair before sunset.

Miss Witch who was held in her arms heard the girl's sigh, turned her head slightly, and then turned back with a blank expression.

"...Miss Tina, look over there."

Just when the girl counted to three hundred and twenty, Liliana called her softly.

"……Eh?"

Tina's movements froze.

Liliana took the initiative to tell Tingna what she discovered, this is very rare, it is better to say that this is entering the grassland - no, this is the first time since the reunion!

—Did Miss Liliana discover something?

Therefore, full of expectation, the girl looked towards the direction Liliana pointed at.

But there is nothing there.

The withered yellow of the horizon and the blue of the sky clearly occupy the field of vision. Thick clouds are rolling in the sky, whitened by the brilliance of Saigon's sun, everything remains the same as before, nothing has changed.

Just like the news that I don’t know when I saw it, there is nothing new under the blue sky.

"That...Miss Liliana...?"

Since she didn't see anything, the girl asked Liliana in confusion.

She really didn't feel that Miss Witch was trying to make fun of herself—although it might be rude to say so, Liliana Einstein, a witch, really didn't have any sense of humor.

When she was in the majestic old castle in Yansha City, the girl thought of making the always expressionless witch smile by joking, but she never succeeded.

"Lily, Ms. Tina can't see what [Witch's Eye] can see, you want to share vision, share~~~"

The puppet sitting on top of the unicorn turned around and touched the fingers of the left and right hands together. Before Tina could react, Miss Witch realized her mistake, turned her body slightly, and turned her head to look up at her.

"...kiss me."

Was it Liliana's magical charm that made this order faithfully carried out, or was it the venting of the pressure accumulated by the girl during this boring journey?

In short, when he realized that those dark eyes were close in front of his eyes, he had already kissed his small and soft lips.

Immediately afterwards, the scenery in the girl's eyes changed suddenly.

For a whole few minutes, Tingna didn't realize what the boundless withered yellow was, until she looked around in a panic and saw that she was riding on the back of an astral unicorn, embracing Miss Witch's petite body. Only then did she suddenly remember what she had said to Liliana before, about sharing the vision of magic.

I don't have the most important qualification to become a magician, that is [feeling and manipulating magic power]. Therefore, in order to obtain the favor of magic, and to see what Liliana sees with farsighted magic, it is necessary to supplement it with external magic power.

And the easiest way to replenish magic power without any side effects is - exchange of body fluids.

"...Miss Tina, have you seen it?"

"Eh? Eh?"

Liliana's calm voice echoed in her mind, and Tingna, who quickly came to her senses, looked around quickly.

Immediately, she saw it.

"That's... wait a minute! That, could it be..."

Tingna broke away from Gao Tianshang's vision suddenly, she looked at the expressionless Liliana, and couldn't believe what she just saw.

On the distant distant horizon, there is lush green. On the land covered by autumn grass, it is like emerald inlaid on the brilliant gold. It is a dark swamp bordered by woods. On this grassland, some small bushes can still be seen occasionally, but the swamp, this is the first time Tina has seen it, but this is not the point, the point is, the point is——

"It's a village, it's a village, Miss Liliana!"

On the swamp, a house built of dark wood.

It wasn't a nomad's tent made of wooden sticks, sheepskin and ropes, which made Tingna, who was used to stone and brick walls, feel unsafe, but a square house with pointed roofs and mud tiles! Moreover, it was built on the swamp, and on the criss-crossing bridges that were also made of wooden boards, there were still people walking, and they were dressed like monks.

A village on the prairie, a settlement of civilization on this barren prairie!

Tina suddenly became excited.

"Lily, is Macondo there? The nomads we met earlier told us that it is the destination of travelers who cross the grassland."

"...Probably, I heard that it is a small village established by some nomads and some Templars who came to the grassland because of their oath."

"Food and other supplies are still sufficient, but the meat is indeed a little less, it doesn't matter if you add more, and it's been a long time since I slept on a hard bed. Although Alice and Lily are fine, Miss Tingna is about to be unbearable. .”

The little puppet slid down from the top of the unicorn's head along its neck, as if feeling that its temporary masters were planning to re-choose a running direction for themselves, and the dream species from the astral world gradually slowed down, waiting for instructions of the release.

"So let's go!"

Ting Na looked anxiously at Miss Witch's expression that seemed to lack interest.

"……Um……"

Miss Witch was lost in thought.

After a while, she nodded.

"...Then let's go."

"--great!!"

Tina hugged her tightly and cheered excitedly.

After cheering, as if suddenly remembered, the girl smiled and said to the witch:

"—Ah, but, since it's a village, Miss Liliana can't be naked like this, you have to put on your clothes properly."

"...Sure enough, I'm not going."

"Eh-"

…………………………………………………………………………………

The completely invisible villages and tree shadows gradually appeared on the horizon. After a short time after noon, the soil on the grassland gradually became wet, and the grass blades gradually decreased. In Tingna's eager expectation, the standing The village on the swamp finally appeared in front of my eyes.

At least in a civilized settlement, you should dress neatly—Liliana, who was reluctantly put on a thick cashmere dress by the girl for such a reason, signaled to the unicorn that she was foraging and living nearby. Ting was very excited. Na took her hand and walked towards the road built with planks on the swamp.

"Miss Tingna, the village won't run away, so there's no need to rush."

"That's what it says."

At the edge of the transition between the swamp and the grassland, the villagers here also used wood to build a [Torii] that looked like the [Torii] that Tina had seen in the book. On it, the name of the place was written in the common language. .

— Macondo.

"Sure enough, there is still a place for civilization in the grassland..."

Tingna never thought that one day she would be so excited just by seeing the words in the common language. The girl couldn't wait to run there.

However, the girl frowned as soon as she walked onto the road made of dark wood.

"Why, it smells like rotten eggs..."

She covered her nose.

After experiencing the unpleasant first contact with nomads, the girl was very concerned about these odors. She looked around, but did not see a large-scale herd of livestock. Instead, she saw that the harvest had been completed on the side of the swamp This shows that the people here rely on planting for a living. Of course, there is no lingering beast smell in the nomad tribe.

However, there was a faint smell of rotten eggs in the wind.

"...the smell of swamp gas."

"Eh?"

"...This is a swamp, and there are many small monsters in the fertile soil. They feed on the soil and the rot in the swamp, and the product is swamp gas, a gas that can be burned, and sometimes there are slightly rotten eggs. Taste, it's not surprising."

Liliana lowered her head, looking down at the dark swamp soil.

Perhaps because of the autumn rain last night, this swamp was still covered with a layer of water. Tingna followed Miss Witch's line of sight and found air bubbles emerging from the soil.

"It's strange why the residents of Macondo want to build their villages on the swamp. Although the wind on the grassland almost never stops, the methane will not accumulate, but even a small amount of methane will cause harm when it encounters an open fire. It is not in line with the building principle of humans staying away from dangerous areas. Generally speaking, no matter how fertile the swamp is, humans will choose the adjacent grassland to settle down."

Alice shook her little head, and continued with Liliana's words.

"Maybe they want to be as close to the woods as possible? The founder of this village is said to have a group of people from the Holy Church, and it may be because of something in their beliefs."

"Yeah……"

Ting Na frowned. She didn't know what swamp gas was, so she didn't care.

"But what about the villagers..."

But this village is really strange. She used the [Witch's Eye] magic to see people walking on the wooden road from a distance, but she didn't see anyone until she got close to those houses.

"Have the villagers here gone to work?"

"There's no one in the field either."

"Then they are all hiding in the house? Because of us?"

"Probably? Go to the biggest house and have a look."

Saying this, Tina, Liliana, and Alice walked towards the largest house.

In human civilization, most powerful people live in big houses. Even nomads who are far away from civilized society follow such unwritten rules.

Soon, they came to this big house built of dark purple wood.

The door of the house was engraved with the Orthographic Cross of the church, and it was just like that. Looking through the door, Tina saw a dozen children.

Like the villagers seen in the field of vision shared by [Witch's Eye] before, these children of different ages are dressed in the costumes of the monks that Tina has seen in the book, sitting on the floor, using Round white stones hit marbles.

When the girl saw them, a child also happened to look up.

"..."

"...Then, that...how are you?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, and the boy seemed to be stunned.

Because the child did not move for a long time, the other children who were playing with him also raised their heads.

Then, they also froze.

Tingna even saw a relatively tall boy with a light beard on his chin, drooling—well, the girl covered her face and over-measured her head.

She knew why the children were frozen.

"...Miss Liliana."

"……Um?"

"Take back the magic charm for a little bit... These children are all fascinated at once."

"..."

Miss Witch was silent for a moment and blinked her eyes.

I don't know if she really put away the magic charm, anyway, those children came to their senses, and ran to the further inside of the room, and immediately after.

"Hey, it's a traveler I haven't seen for a long time, little Buendia...or little Usuna is so lucky to be blessed by the three of them."

A middle-aged man came out and invited the three of them into the house.

"Since the blond-haired and golden-eyed traveler came here more than ten years ago, no one other than the caravan has come to Macondo for a long, long time. Hello, I am the village head of this village, Huo A. Buendia."

This man with a melancholy and tense expression called himself Joa Buendia, the head of this small village, and this house is his home. He enthusiastically told Liliana and Tina that now, his wife A son—or daughter—was about to be born to him.

According to the tradition of this village, when a newborn baby is born and makes its first cry, the more people hear it, the stronger the baby will be, and he hopes they will come to witness the birth of his baby.

So Liliana, Tina and Alice in puppetry were invited to the living room of the house.

It seems that because the prestige and popularity of this village head are very good, everyone in the village is here. Old people sat on wooden chairs and straw cushions, young and middle-aged people sat on the ground, on tables, and even on the beams of the house, crowded and dense, their faces were flushed red by the brazier burning in the center of the living room , Seeing Liliana and Tingna walk in, they all cheered.

"Holy Light, the village head is really lucky, there are travelers coming here at this time of year."

"Although it is not a caravan, female travelers are even rarer. Look at this traveler, how cute, oh, may the holy light bless Ursula, let her have a baby Ursula, she will definitely be like this traveler Beautiful, tall like this traveler, and when he grows up, he will fascinate all the strong boys in the village!"

"It would be great to give birth to a little Buendia. It would be even better if the two passengers can get the care that the village chief Buendia doesn't have."

The villagers were chattering, and the women sitting in front of the house waved to them to be quiet, and women's painful voices could be heard from the door. After a woman opened the door and told about the arrival of a traveler, the elderly female voices in the room encouraged him together.

"It's the birth of a new life! Miss Liliana, it seems that we came at the right time?"

Ting Na, who was a little scared by such a battle, muttered softly, a little excited.

The birth of a new life—for a woman, this may be one of the greatest happiness. Tina originally thought that it would be accompanied by pain until she became a mother at least, but here and now, she But you can see it with your own eyes.

If she hadn't known that she was dusty, she would definitely not be clean, she would have asked José Arcadio Buendía to let her in, to witness this sacred moment with her own eyes.

Miss Witch didn't answer, she just frowned slightly, squeezed into the girl's arms as if trying to avoid the crowded space.

"Okay, everyone, don't scare our guests, whether it's little Buendia or little Ursula, I will love him and let him grow up, little Nikonor, are you ready? Today But it's a day worth celebrating, old Fernanda, today I'm going to buy your two jugs of wine that are hidden deepest, Ternera, ask your little Ternera to choose the fattest mushrooms for today, let's open a A grand banquet!" The village chief Joa Buendia clapped his hands to signal everyone to calm down and not scare the traveler.

But what he said made the discussion among the villagers more lively. Some people said that they wanted to show their talents, and some people clamored that the village chief must be hemorrhaged. The old man asked about the baptism ceremony of the newborn, and the old man beside him looked at him seriously, emphasizing something word by word.

Everyone said, oh, thanks to the light, today must be a good day for Macondo.

"Ahaha... Really, what a lively village..."

Ting Na hugged Liliana, almost moved to tears because of the familiar [civilization] atmosphere she had not seen for a long time.

Human beings still have to live in such a civilization.

"—the head came out, the head came out!"

What silenced the heated air was an exclamation in the room.

For a moment, all the discussions and arguments came to a standstill, and the calmness on the face of the village chief Joa Buendía disappeared all of a sudden.

"Is it going to be born? Is it going to be born?"

He yelled into the room.

"Yes, the head has come out! The head has come out, work harder, Úrsula, you are doing well!"

There was also a short answer in the room, only the woman's painful groans came out.

Like every father waiting for the birth of a child, he rubbed his hands and walked anxiously by the brazier.

Seeing Tina's gaze, the man showed a wry smile at a loss.

"Ah, what a shame."

He walked up and down, back and forth, and couldn't even calm down for a few breaths.

"I have always been the most capable and knowledgeable person in the village, because of this everyone elected me to be the village head. I used to laugh at old Pietro when Pietro was born, he was so flustered that he seemed blind Eye-eyed boar, but now it's my turn."

He kept rubbing his hands together, laughing at himself.

"I'm worse than a blind boar!"

"It's okay, your wife will definitely give birth to a healthy child for you, and."

Tina smiled and comforted her. At the same time, the girl herself was extremely excited about this matter.

"The number of people who heard this child's cry must be the most, isn't it?"

Life is precious, and the birth of life is the most precious treasure in this world.

"Ah... yes, definitely will."

The man twitched the corner of his mouth and repeated it again.

"Most definitely."

After these words were finished, the living room became completely silent. The children were standing next to the door, only they were still chattering outside the door, guessing what the newborn child would look like.

"Work harder, Ursula, the baby is about to be born, work harder, the Holy Light will bless you and your child!"

The young pastor held the golden wooden cross on his chest, praying incessantly, and the old man beside him knocked on his crutch resentfully, as if reprimanding him for not being calm enough.

But these old people are so beautiful, their eyes are also full of light, and they waited with bated breath.

Even Tingna was infected by this atmosphere, and hugged Liliana nervously, waiting, waiting for further progress.

"It's out, it's out! It's born! Mother and child are safe, mother and child are safe!"

The voices in the bedroom rose and fell, but fell silent again immediately.

"That's great! Mr. Village Chief!"

After hearing that the mother and child were safe, Ting Na found that the air in the living room was still silent. Everyone was silent, as if nervously waiting for something.

There was no cry of a newborn, no sound of relief from a mother.

"Oh, holy light, holy light! No, no no no no no!!"

And the answer was revealed moments later.

"It's a pig's tail, it's a pig's tail! Holy Light, it's a pig's tail! Ursula gave birth to a child with a pig's tail!"

Tina didn't realize what happened for a moment.

"Oh, damn it!"

"Holy Light, why is this happening!"

However, the villagers all reacted.

They cursed, the women wailed, and the old man jumped up from his chair, glaring sternly at the man whose face had turned pale at that moment.

"Joshua Buendía!"

"What are you waiting for? Go! Don't let that devil's child wake up the devil! Quick!!"

José Arcadio Buendía bit his lips tightly, as if he was struggling in pain, but it didn't last long. Before the blood from his lips flowed to his chin, he copied the He grabbed the knife on the brazier and rushed into the room with a stride.

"wait--"

what happened? What is he going to do? Tina couldn't figure it out, and even though she couldn't figure it out, she had a very, very bad feeling, so she immediately wanted to shout, to reach out to stop the man who rushed into the room.

"...Miss Tina."

But when the sound of the first word was drowned in the noise of the villagers, Liliana said it calmly.

"……look at me."

Is it the charm of magic, has it really penetrated my soul? Ting Na lowered her head involuntarily, and looked into those dark eyes.

Miss Witch's face was expressionless, and she couldn't understand what she was thinking, but no matter what, Ting Na couldn't look away.

She can only use her ears to hear the noise of this living room and this room.

Among the noise, she heard a dull thump on the planks.

She heard the woman's hoarse screams.

She heard everything quiet down, the sound of footsteps coming out of the room step by step.

The sound of water splashing on the floor.

Finally, what is thrown into the flames, the sound of crackling and burning.

"Miss Liliana, Miss Alice, what happened!"

A foul stench permeated in an instant.

"What the hell happened! Liliana!"

The witch remained expressionless.

After a few minutes.

"...Miss Tina, we are travelers."

She just said indifferently.

"...just passing by."

Look away.

The girl was finally able to move her eyes freely. She looked at the room at first sight.

"?!!!"

The sea-blue pupils shrank suddenly because of the scarlet all the way.

Blood.

That's blood.

Lots of.

Lots of blood.

The women who were in front of the wooden door avoided the scarlet color, as if it was something ominous, the men picked up their axes and smashed on the wooden board one by one.

And the bloodstains spread all the way, and at the end was the burning brazier in the center of the living room.

The young pastor's face was pale, and under the scolding and urging of the old people, he was frantically pouring spices and wine into it. The smell was very, very strong, but.

But no matter what, it can't cover up, that anxious, disgusting.

die.

Tina had smelled it before.

I smelled it when I was the receptionist of the Adventurer's Guild in Salt Sand City.

An adventurer whose entire arm was burned off by a salamander went to Mount Vesuca for revenge, and the bag that wrapped the body was filled with such a smell when he was finally sent back.

"Goo—"

Tina felt dizzy.

Of course there is such a smell, of course there is!

She saw in the flames, the human skin that was charred black and carbonized!

The red skin that was illuminated by the flames was rapidly scorching black, and the fat oozed out from it, sizzling, and under the fierce flames, there was an absurd aroma of barbecued meat.

"Uh... ah..."

Forcibly suppressing the soreness that went straight to her throat, the girl wanted to leave here, but dizzy, she kicked her own foot, her body fell forward, and hit a person.

The girl raised her head. It was José Arcadio Buendía.

The man remained silent, took off his blood-stained clothes, and wrapped them around the butcher knife that was still dripping blood.

He supported the girl with his hands that were not stained with blood, and pushed her away without letting her be stained with blood.

But even if he didn't do this, Tina bounced away as if she was electrocuted. She looked at the man who almost became a father, but could never become a father again, and stepped back step by step until Miss Witch supported her and became weak. legs without letting her fall.

"...I'm very sorry, traveler, please stay here for a while, and leave after that... the demon is completely reduced to ashes. Macondo can no longer entertain you."

He threw the clothes and the knife into the brazier, hunched over, and sat staggeringly on the ground. Several women brought hot water sprinkled with flowers and plants. He hesitated for a long time before putting his bloody hand Soaked in.

At this moment, this man seemed to have aged several decades in an instant.

"What...what happened...why did you do this..."

Tina covered her mouth, unable to believe what happened before her eyes.

This is even more barbaric and cruel than the nomads. God, how can, how can...

"The child with the pig's tail heralded the coming disaster of Macondo, which has been verified several times in a hundred years... Sorry, traveler, my mind is... confused, and next, I also want to organize everyone's refuge and fight against demons, and take care of my lover... She also needs me now. All the information we can keep after the calamity is over, if you are curious... ah... destiny..."

The man took a deep, deep breath, biting the sob to death between her teeth. She clenched her fist vigorously, and the hot water in the basin was gradually soaked in blood, so she changed basin after basin, and waited until the end When he was finally allowed to take his hand, it had lost its color.

"However, it's better for you to leave earlier. The disaster will come within one to two days. We don't want to implicate innocent passengers."

After speaking, the man stood up tremblingly and walked towards the room.

Others had already chopped off the bloody planks and threw them into the brazier, and there was a dark swamp under the floor, from which José Arca Buendía almost fell, thanks to the other man who had been standing beside him. Two strong men pulled him up.

"Cheer up, village head, this is our destiny."

"We must take refuge immediately and pick people who will fight against the demons."

They were talking, and the man just shook his head in a trance, and walked into the room.

A moment later, a woman's heart-piercing cry came from there.

"...Miss Liliana..."

The witch shook her head slightly, and walked towards the study.

Before leaving, the girl looked at the brazier where the fire was getting more and more fierce.

Blood and flesh disappeared in the fierce flames, and the wax that was sprinkled in as fuel melted, and slid down the charred skull, across the face, and across the toothless, young palate.

ahh...

It was like the first cry of a baby.