The Witch and the Doll Swear

In the grove, a shallow brook gurgled.

Macondo's water source comes from this short, shallow stream, which eventually silts up in this low-lying area, soaking in dark soil, and silting up this swamp that is incompatible with the withered yellow grassland.

Because of an autumn rain last night, the water level in the swamp rose a bit. The white stones scattered in the soil were smooth and round, and together with the fertile soil, they were covered by some dirty water, like a dirty mirror reflecting the blue sky.

Even the sky became unclean because of it.

On the wooden bridge far away from the village chief's house, Ting Na stared blankly at the sky of the prairie, which was as clear as ever. Perhaps this part of the swamp is particularly dangerous, and the villagers only put up railings on this bridge and put up warning signs for falling.

But the girl ignored that, she lay on the railing, beside her, Liliana came over.

"Miss Liliana... is investigating, how is it going?"

Tingna looked at the shadows of herself and Miss Witch on the water, without looking up.

The girl didn't follow Liliana to the study. After the villagers said they could leave, the girl fled the disgusting house without even saying hello, throwing out everything in her stomach.

Now, the running water washes away the filth, but it can't wash away the haze in my heart.

"...For the time being, the origin of the village was found, but the cause of the disaster and the pig-tailed child were not found." "Really..."

Liliana put Alice on the railing.

Not far away, the villagers were yelling and driving the poultry, carrying the harvested wheat straw that hadn't had time to be threshed and dried.

The adults frowned, the children were confused, and the few old people who could be seen had a sense of enlightenment in their cloudy pupils.

Everyone is doing what they should do, they must be prepared for refuge, they must welcome the disaster, and they must fulfill their destiny——

No one cared about them. In the face of the coming [disaster], it seemed that they didn't even have time to explain to the travelers, but occasionally a few children would come over to convey the words of the old people and persuade them to leave quickly.

Because no one was paying attention here, Alice stopped pretending to be a puppet. She floated to Tina's left shoulder and reached out to stroke the girl's hair.

"It is said to be a collection of books, but there is basically nothing of value. It may have something to do with the disaster twenty years ago, but... let's talk about this village first, Miss Tingna, don't be scared? This small village may have What about the history of two epochs?"

"……Eh?"

As if she couldn't understand Alice's words, Tina was stunned.

Two... epochs?

The current history of the mainland is only the Mythical Era, the First Era, the Second Era, and the current Third Era, a total of four eras?

"...This village was established as early as the first era, at the end of the Eternal Night Court."

Miss Witch spoke slowly to the girl who seemed to be stunned by this.

These are the records in the oldest book that can be found in the village chief's study, and even that book uses the ancient human language.

In the era of mythology, the humans discovered by the fairies in the wilderness learned [discourse] from the orcs with similar blood, and learned [words] and [grammar] from the fairies, and they have been using them all the time. The tyranny of two generations made human beings not only hate and fear the vampires, but also hate the goblins who handed them over to the vampires. With the advent of the age of theocracy, humans began to move away from alien cultures.

But it is not easy to create a language from scratch and promote it on a continental scale, especially since the fairy characters have been used from the era of mythology to that time, and have been deeply engraved in the culture of the mainland, which cannot be removed.

Therefore, humans retained [pronunciation] and [text], and created a new [grammar]. This language has evolved to the present and has become the lingua franca of the mainland.

"...At that time, the Ellon Grassland was also a barren grassland where only a few aborigines settled. It was not fertile and had no development value. Such an area is not uncommon on the mainland, and it still maintains its original posture several epochs ago. , a knight from the Holy Church came here to fight against a monster entrenched here."

Written in this ancient language is a diary, very thin, written with thick monster skin and magic ink, and there are protective magic spells on it. It belongs to the chaplain of this knight team. He uses this diary , recorded their last lives.

"...under the tyranny of the vampires for two generations, almost all mortal races—humans, orcs, dwarves, have fear of the vampires engraved in their blood, and it has not weakened until today. However, because of fear, So rebellion, in such a dark age, the church of the Holy Church, which believed in light, developed secretly, and finally set off a rebellion, overthrowing the palace of the dark night, and the first era of the mortal race on the mainland began. Born in such an era The Church of the Holy Church has a deep and radical rejection of monsters and non-human races, which is not much better now, so this statement should be credible, and Macondo is indeed related to the Church of the Holy Church."

Recorded in ancient language, the history belonging to Macondo was presented to Tina coldly and without any embellishment from Miss Witch's narration.

These knights almost wiped out the monsters, but they failed in the end. The priest wrote "fatal mistakes" in his diary countless times, which caused them to "almost all die in battle", but facing the seriously injured The knights, the monsters who were also seriously injured did not choose to kill them, but used the monster's innate magic to hide under the ground.

Of course, it may also be because these knights would die if left alone.

But what the monster didn't expect was that after it hid in the ground, a group of daring aborigines came.

"Because of the holy light used by the knights, the nomads regarded them as the messengers of the gods. They rescued the knights, but the knights who were almost completely disabled were unable to leave the grassland, so they asked the nomads to deliver letters, but As one good rider after another is gone, it makes nomads reluctant to go [outside the world] any more.”

Helpless, in order to monitor the unkilled monsters, the knights had no choice but to teach them the knowledge of civilization, built a village here, named the villagers with their names, and let them continue their unfinished mission.

"—We will watch here, this is our oath, this is your destiny, until the monsters disappear and the disaster ceases, only then can we return to the hall of the Holy Light with supreme glory."

From behind Miss Witch and Tina, the recitation suddenly sounded.

"This is the oath we were taught from childhood, and it is our destiny."

Tina turned around.

The young pastor who came from not far away was still pale. What happened just now undoubtedly dealt a great blow to this slender young man.

He read it again, and as he read it, the girl could see the majesty in his face.

However, thinking of the man pouring oil and various spices into the brazier, and filling the living room with the absurd smell of barbecue, Tina felt a little sick for no reason.

"I'm very sorry for letting you see the worst scene in this village. I'm Nikonor, just call me Nikonor Jr. The tradition of Macondo is that sons take their father's name and daughters take their mother's name, so often It would be confusing."

The blatant disgust on Tina's face made Pastor Nikonor slump his shoulders a little weakly, but he immediately picked himself up again, and asked in a low voice if there was anything he could do to help.

Of course, if they were free, he would also like to hear about their journey.

"Because a traveler lived in Macondo for a period of time more than ten years ago, he taught us the current common language, some planting skills, and often told me a lot of outside stories to me when I was a child, so I Loved the travellers...”

Tina's gaze was suspiciously mixed with a little coldness.

Nikonor's explanation did not relax the girl's guarded expression.

"...Of course there are."

But Miss Witch didn't care about such things, she looked at the young priest with her deep and dark eyes, and asked a series of questions.

Does this happen often?

What was the disaster twenty years ago?

Of course, there is the most important thing - what is the disaster.

These questions caught Nikonor off guard, he hesitated for a while, and then he collected his thoughts and answered them one by one.

"Children with pigtails will be born in Macondo every ten or even decades. They are children of monsters and will bring terrible disasters. Whenever a child with pigtails is born, Macondo will die the next day. There will be a disaster."

And the disaster, the disaster, was the revenge of the dying monsters suppressed by the knights underground for countless years.

It is a blue flame that spews from under the earth.

It must have happened the day after the pig-tailed child was born, and the terrible blue flames burned through the earth and shot into the sky, burning the clouds and the earth.

"Although I have not seen it with my own eyes, according to my father, all the survivors of Macondo saw it twenty years ago, as recorded in a large number of books that were burned at that time, from the earth without warning. The blue pillar of fire gushing from below went straight into the sky, instantly reducing the entire village to ashes, except for some people who left the village to go to other tribes in exchange for furs, and some people who worked outside the village, everyone died."

The young pastor shook his shoulders, full of fear for the scene he had never seen before.

"...Twenty years ago, what accident caused the tragedy?"

"According to my father, it was because a family gave birth to a child with a pig tail, but they didn't hide it from everyone. My father told me that the family had scoffed at the traditions of the village. They didn't kill the child, probably I want to raise him and tell everyone that the tradition they have been following is just a joke... This is what my father told me, because they left Macondo the day before the disaster. At that time, only the Families gave birth to newborn babies."

Of course, that's what his father told him too.

After the village was established for a period of time, after discovering the law that the pig-tailed child brought disasters, the villagers made a rule that the pig-tailed child must be killed immediately. The traditional compassion of parents, the disaster caught everyone off guard, almost all food and livestock were destroyed, and only a few books in the village collection survived.

Fortunately, some people survived by chance, and it was a summer, relying on food bought from other tribes, the survivors survived and rebuilt Macondo.

Also since then, Macondo has established the rule that at least half of the people in the village must be present for every newborn birth.

Miss Witch glanced at Ting Na, then nodded to the young man.

Just when the young man was excited to ask them something.

"...How long will the disaster last?"

She asked another question,

As soon as this was mentioned, Nikonor's face was covered by clouds and sadness.

"That is a disaster that will destroy the grassland. If you don't take care of it, you will definitely burn the land here so that no grass will grow. Those knights told our ancestors so. In order to keep suppressing that monster, the knights stayed. Take off their armor and weapons, and use them to fight against disaster... Maybe it will be clearer to use them, please follow me."

He took Liliana and Tingna to a wooden house next to the village chief's house. There was a cross decoration on the top of the wooden house, which looked like a church.

"Little brat, why haven't you left yet?!"

As soon as I walked into this shabby church with only a few rough pews, a scolding was thrown over my head and face.

Tina was taken aback, but when she looked carefully, she froze again.

On these benches, sat eight people, all of them were wearing heavy silver-white armor, their faces were completely covered by faded helmets with red tassels, their voices became muffled, they leaned on swords or spears, looked at When someone came in, they all raised their heads.

"Father, father, that, travelers want to know something, about disaster, and our destiny—"

The young pastor shrank his neck and answered obediently.

"My fate is to kill that monster!"

Before Nikonor could finish speaking, old Nikonor—a man sitting on a bench and leaning on a mace—interrupted him.

Tina still remembered the old man sitting next to Nikonor in the living room, but this roar was like a lion.

"But what about you? Have you fulfilled your duties?! Has the transfer of supplies been completed? Has the camp been built? Is everyone safe?!"

Through the knight's helmet, old Nicanor glared at his son with an aura as if if he dared to squeeze out half a "no" from between his teeth, he would immediately throw the vicious mace in his hand. .

"Yes, yes, I'll check right away..."

In front of his father, this weak young man was like a stripped cat. He retreated timidly, lowered his head and dared not say anything.

He looked at Liliana and Tingna with some regret, and at his father with some reluctance, then turned and walked outside the church.

"... You will be the pastor of the village from now on, cheer me up! Hold your head up! Hold your chest up! Don't cringe like a mouse! Run!"

"Yes Yes!"

The young pastor ran up.

After repelling his lackluster son, through the eyes of the helmet, the old man in thick silver armor turned his gaze to Tingna and Liliana again.

The armors on him and the other seven or eight people in this church were spotless, shining with a silvery white halo. Just by looking at them, one could feel the extraordinary courage emanating from them.

This village obviously cannot forge such things, that is to say, are these relics of the knights?

The old man leaned his body on the back of the bench. Although he was wearing armor, his figure seemed to be a little stooped. The aged pastor asked the girls who were still in front of them:

"Travelers, are you still planning to leave? Although I'm sorry, we don't have enough energy to entertain you two."

"...just curious."

Looking at the girl beside her, Miss Witch, who found that she had no intention of speaking, spoke calmly.

"Ah? Oh, wonder why we haven't taken refuge yet? How much has that kid Nikonor told you?"

These endless words made the old man a little confused, but immediately, he reacted.

"Your son told us that in times of disaster, you will wear the relics left by the knights to fight... But, what are you fighting with? Monsters... aren't they underground?"

Tina looked at them puzzled.

"Because we were unable to open the ground and jump in to chop up that monster."

Another man in armor spoke, straightened his waist, and from the sound of his voice, he was also an elderly man.

"When the first disaster came, the blue fire gushed out for three days and three nights, as if it would last forever, and even the grasslands and woods were ignited. At that time, the bravest young men in the village put on the armor of the knights and took Raising the weapon, he heroically rushed into the blue fire, and then, a silver light burst out of the flame, which was extinguished that night."

"They re-suppressed the souls of the monsters with their lives and saved the grassland, just like those knights, and we will be like them, and beat back the souls of the monsters who tried to escape!"

Another old man, reciting the ancient oath.

——We will watch here, this is our oath, this is your destiny, until the monsters disappear and the disaster ceases, only then can we return to the hall of the Holy Light with supreme glory.

No matter which voice it is, it is fanatical and solemn.

Everyone smiled proudly at the witch's question.

--This is our destiny.

they were talking.

——In order to fulfill the vows of our ancestors, and for our children to live peacefully on this land for the next twenty years, it is time for our old bones to regain our glory.

They clanged and slapped the silver armor.

That action was not like those old people I saw in the living room, but like a brave warrior, with sacred brilliance shining on his armor, and a decisive aura in his words, who was about to embark on a journey to fight and kill.

"But, this is so strange..."

Tina couldn't understand.

Obviously to die, why these people are so fearless.

"Please leave, traveler, this is a matter of our village, we don't want to implicate others."

Finally, he said this, with a little tiredness in his voice.

"...I still have two things to confirm."

"What a curious little girl, just ask."

"...The disaster always comes one day after the pigtail's child is born? Never earlier or later?"

"No, at least that's what the ancestors told us from generation to generation, and it's never been wrong."

Pastor Nikonor replied.

"...every time [disaster] strikes, are there no outsiders in the village?"

"No, not a single one."

"……I see."

After hearing this answer, Liliana frowned slightly, then bid farewell to these old people calmly, and walked out the door.

"Li, Miss Liliana!"

She didn't stay long, and left the swamp directly.

The astral unicorn is lying on the grass at the entrance of the village, attracting the attention of the children.

This crystal-clear life interested them very much, but the grown-ups held them back and asked them to help, holding a hen or a clay pot full of wheat grains.

Although this is a small village, it is still very nervous to take refuge.

"Miss Liliana...Miss Alice..."

When she got to the side of the astral unicorn and watched Miss Witch pat the creature's stomach to make it stand up, Ting Na finally realized that Miss Witch was planning to leave.

"Shall we just leave like this..."

Miss Witch hugged the doll and nodded calmly at Ting Na.

"But……"

"...I don't know what is going to happen here, nor the cause of the disaster, so I can't do anything."

"……Eh?"

"Don't show such a surprised expression, Miss Tina, although Lily and Alice are very powerful, they are not omniscient."

Alice was put on the back of the astral unicorn by Liliana, and she burst out laughing because of the girl's unbelievable voice.

Although she felt it somewhat, Ting Na really believed in them.

This can be regarded as the sequelae left by the incidents that have been resolved calmly, but.

That's the way it is.

"Originally, after reading that diary, Alice and Lily really thought that there was some dangerous monster buried under the swamp that could make the elite of the elite composed of several Noble Phantasm-level powerhouses like the original Templars invincible. , but after searching with magic, they found nothing. After hearing that the disaster was a blue flame gushing from the ground, Lily and Alice felt that the monster might have died. Periodic eruptions, pigtailed children are deformed due to the increase in the concentration of methane in the swamp when they were born, but..."

"...After hearing those old people say that every disaster happened the day after the pig-tailed child was born, I'm not sure. Even though the eruption of methane gas has its periodicity, it can happen for such a long time. It happened that a woman in the village was pregnant, and it happened to explode the day after giving birth..."

Miss Witch raised her head.

The bright sun and the calm sky are unimaginable anyway. Under such a sky, a disaster is about to fall.

"...The coincidence is too much. This kind of coincidence has been repeated so many times as the villagers said. Maybe only [fate] can explain it. Miss Tingna, can you understand? I don't understand the reason for the disaster to trigger , mechanism, consequences, if it is something between this land and its people, we as passers-by may even bring about unexpected problems. This speculation is not supported by any evidence. When it comes to things, I tend not to interfere.” “…”

In the pitch-black pupils, starlight that the girl could not see was reflected.

A chill slid down his spine like a poisonous snake.

There is indeed such a saying.

Repeated coincidences are not coincidences, but inevitable fate, which is recognized by everyone on the mainland.

On the other side of this vast starry sky, the starry sky of destiny that reflects the trajectory of everyone's life has long been proven to be real. Even though "individual efforts can change fate" believers will always have a large proportion on the mainland. Among the events that change history, there will always be astrologers, fairy visions, prophets and witches.

This is also an indisputable fact.

[Fate] or [Fate].

——This is no longer something that we, who just pass by here, can touch.

Miss Witch's eyes seemed to be saying so.

"Even if that's the case...Even if Miss Liliana can't fundamentally solve this problem, but if you just save them, it's fine..."

"...Who are we going to save? The villagers who are evacuating in an orderly manner, the children who don't know what's going to happen next? The village chief and his wife who lost their children, or those old people who died bravely and regarded it as an honor? ""..."

Tina opened her mouth.

—Who are we going to save?

Shouldn't the one who should be saved the most be the child with the pig's tail who was snatched and killed by his father before he even uttered the first cry?

The girl believed it from the bottom of her heart, believing that the child was born to warn of the coming disaster. But she also understands that this is just what she wants to believe.

Whether it portends disaster or brings more disaster... She is just an ordinary person, she cannot make a judgment.

Even Liliana, whom she had hoped for, did not dare to make a conclusion, and even if there was a conclusion, it would be too late.

He is dead.

Then, who are we going to save?

"Well, in that case, at least we can persuade them to move. Marsh gas is only found in swamps, as long as you leave here... Besides, didn't Miss Liliana say that the monster might have died and rotted long ago? In that case, they don’t have to keep that oath, no, it’s better to say that it was imposed on them by those knights—”

"...Miss Tina."

Liliana looked at her calmly.

His eyes went over her body.

Tina turned her head in a daze.

At some point, the nearby villagers stopped their work and looked at her.

He looked at her with admiration.

For a moment, Tina almost mistakenly thought that she was admiring herself for thinking of this solution that neither of them had thought of——

"Miss Traveler."

But no.

From the entrance of the village, a hoarse voice sounded. Before Ting Na turned her head, a hand was lightly placed on her shoulder.

José A Buendía.

The girl bounced away two steps like an electric shock, pursing her lips and looking at this unqualified father.

Beside him, the young priest Nikonor was also there. He and another young man were carrying a stretcher. On the stretcher, a pale woman was sleeping.

"Is that your wife?"

"Ah, my Ursula, I took some medicine and let her rest."

The girl's blatant rejection made the corner of the man's mouth twitch bitterly, but he still answered the girl's question well.

"Thank you very much for your concern, traveler, but we will not leave. We are the villagers of Macondo, and Macondo is here."

"But!"

"In the past, there were people from the village who followed the passing caravans, and there were people from other nomadic tribes. They should have lived a good life. Ten years ago, the one who didn't tell us his name had beautiful blond hair and golden eyes. The traveler also said that there are many interesting things outside, which makes many people want to travel."

That's right, that's right, the villagers responded in this way, and amidst their noise, Tina heard the sea, desert, snow, aurora, continuous city-states, towering spiers... When the villagers were talking about these , there was some anticipation and excitement in his tone.

These are the scenery that they have never seen before.

"Then, in that case!"

"But, no."

The man shook his head, and interrupted the girl when there was a trace of joy on her face.

"This is our destiny. If we are gone, when the terrible blue fire spews from the ground to burn the grassland, who will stop it?"

The grief of losing his child seemed to have disappeared from his face—no, this man, he just buried his grief deeply in his heart, suppressing it with an excuse called "Fate".

"That said, while those things are beautiful, it's not our home."

【fate】

"Macondo was devastated and we could rebuild, but if we all left, we would have no home."

【fate】

"It would be too much for only some people to leave, so it's good for everyone to live here together. Although there will be a disaster every ten years, it's nothing."

【fate】

Is there something wrong with my ears, or is that the case?

Why do men and women, children and adults, chew on fate and enjoy it?

Tina looked at Liliana, hoping that she could tell the man in front of her that there were no monsters in the swamp. The so-called disaster might be a natural phenomenon that would not burn the grassland. Their vows had long since lost their meaning and they were just taking away the villagers their lives—but when she said this wordlessly, Liliana and Alice shook their heads silently.

...Miss Tina, you still don't understand one thing.

—The question is not what we can do, but the consequences of what we do.

The voice echoed in her mind.

The Witch and the Doll calmly questioned the girl who was still looking for a way to help these people even after witnessing such a horrible scene.

——Alice knew that Miss Tina had the most optimistic expectation in her heart, but that was not necessarily true. What if it's something that even Lily and Alice can't solve that brings disasters to this village? At that point, maybe Alice and Lily can escape with Miss Tina, but the villagers are completely helpless.

...If Miss Tina insists, we can also persuade them to migrate, but what will happen after the migration, will it become better than it is now?

They didn't say yes or no.

Instead, like a mentor, she informed Tingna of the possible consequences.

Of course they can save these villagers.

At the same time, they also told Ting Na that if they really made a move, it was not because they wanted to.

Maybe the magic was performed by them, maybe the turmoil was quelled by them, but in the end, no matter what the consequences were, it was due to the girl's [goodwill].

A simple question.

——If the final result is out of control, if it is not a good result in the end.

... Tina, can you take that responsibility? Or should we bear it?

As long as girls say yes or no, they can act.

Like in Salt Sands, before going to Visuka.

But the girl couldn't say anything.

[Fate] was like a fishbone choked in her throat, stinging her and making the girl speechless.

"Please don't worry, Macondo has been like this for thousands of years, every disaster brings sadness and parting, but we always stand up, no matter how many times, I'm sorry for you to see that But if you come here next time, everyone will treat you well."

Facing the girl's aphasia, Pastor Nikonor smiled shyly.

"Although I have thought about whether to ask you to take me on a trip... But since this kind of thing happened, there is nothing I can do. If my father is not here, I will be the only priest in the village. Leaving at such a critical moment, haha, maybe, this is also my fate."

He was clearly talking about something that might change his life, but the young man's laughter was as calm as if he had let go of something.

It's just, fate... fate?

Haha... It's almost like, like the wealthy citizens of Maixing City who are obsessed with material life and don't think about making progress.

Is [fate] more convincing and acceptable than [abundance], a reason not to change?

Tina didn't know.

It's just that I can't bear that responsibility.

This impotent self knows.

That's all.

"...Miss Tina."

"Uh, eh?"

"……Cried."

"...Why am I so useless? Obviously, as long as you muster up the courage to bear the consequences and let Miss Liliana and Alice persuade them to move, at least those old people may not have to die, and from now on, this village will never be the same again. When you encounter such a painful thing-"

"..."

The witch turned her head and looked at the village that was gradually going away, and there were still people waving in this direction.

"...Did man choose fate, or did fate choose man?"

Even her tutor couldn't answer this question.

Liliana hugged the little doll, gently rubbed it against the girl's arms, and patted the astral unicorn's back.

The beautiful dream species runs faster.

………………………………………………………………………………

After a certain day:

late at night.

After the bright Diana Moon crossed the boundary between [today] and [yesterday], on the horizon, the direction of the outline of the forest could still be vaguely seen, and a blue flame rose soaring into the sky.

The deep blue spouted from the earth and went straight to the sky, even the glow of Diana's moon and stars seemed dim. In the blue pillar of fire, eight silver rays of light flickered and intertwined, as if in the sky. It danced, and seemed to be struggling with something.

"...Hey, Miss Liliana."

"...?"

"...No, nothing..."

"Isn't it a beautiful scene...ah, I fell asleep."

"...It's a disaster, but it's beautiful."

dawn.

The pillar of fire and the silver light all disappeared.

A curl of black smoke drifted across the horizon.