The Wandering Witch VOL. 2 - The Witchfolk Genocide Arc

13.1| A Falcon Witch

All around the three them, Chell heard the faint whispers of the people muttering among themselves. She felt an uncomfortable prickle, suddenly aware of the gathering spectators that seemed to eye them. It might have been her mistake, but Chell thought that the expressions on their faces, instead of fear or surprise, somehow seemed... uninterested. Bothered, even. Chell blinked once, seemingly confused. Their reactions were contrary to how she had expected them to.

In front of her, she noticed the Crow Thief suddenly straighten up. He was the first to finally speak.

"I see.... well, the Falcon Witch really does have a nice ring to it," he acknowledged flatly.

The witch aggressively nodded for a few times. Simultaneously, she had moved her hand to clip Chell's satchel at her belt, leaving it to hang at the side of her hip. It protruded from the cape as a result of the skull tucked inside, which Chell was certain that the girl didn't know about. Then, Jul reached out and stroked the bird's head with her free hand. It ruffled its wings affectionately.

"Right!?" The Falcon Witch sounded sincerely ecstatic, as if happy to finally meet someone who shared the same opinion. "I mean, it sounds so cool!"

Noct tilted his head slightly to one side, his expression still the same. Then, after a moment, he laughed, albeit weakly. "Hahaha. Right. Okay, then. Well... Now that you've told us who you are and shown us your interesting bird... I don't suppose you would like to give that satchel back?" He sounded rather hopeful.

Jul paused for a moment, looking at him. Then, her grin widened even further. A glint of mischief alighted in her eyes, and Chell had a feeling right then that getting her satchel back would not be that easy as the thief thought.

"Nope, I don't suppose I'd like to," she said amusedly.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them again. Chell continued to stand there unmoving, silently watching their exchange. As she did, she noticed that the people around them were now beginning to whisper among themselves. Instead of looks of fear, some were frowning with looks of annoyance on their faces. Chell caught one of them whisper in a loud voice, "Ah, here we go again."

... Again?, Chell thought.

She didn't have enough time to dwell deeper about that statement because at that moment, Jul suddenly burst out into a loud and bright laugh. Her falcon made a shrill cry in surprise, extending its wings to remain balanced on her arm as she hunched down to grab her stomach. Chell and Noct glanced quickly at each other, the looks on their faces unsure. Then, after she calmed down a little, the Falcon Witch raised her head and said something they never expected to hear at that moment.

"Say, why don't we play a game of tag?" she suggested happily.

It was amazing how a single sentence seemed to lift all the weight that had been hanging heavily around them. Chell made a barely visible frown, taken aback by her sudden statement. Noct must have felt the same, since his voice was full of confusion. "Eh... Tag?"

Jul nodded, exaggerating the gesture by lolling her head up and down. She spread her free hand outwards, as though showcasing a rare sight. "Yes! A game! The winner gets to take the prize--which is the satchel--while the loser gets nothing!"

"... Erm..." Noct trailed off, looking away from the Falcon Witch's eyes that were filled with absolute delight. Then, as if suddenly remembering about Chell, he turned around to look at her for help. His face was morphed in a very confused expression, pale eyes uncertain. He seemed completely at a loss for words. Chell could not blame him. At first, she had thought that Jul was an extremely dangerous thief, a Titled Witch who abused her powers. But now, after she made the suggestion of a game of tag, Chell wondered if that really was the case. Perhaps, if by some bizarre reason, all she wanted was to have some fun and excitement. Now that she closely looked at Jul, there was no indication that she held any ill-intent towards them. At the very least, her smile seemed genuine enough.