Champignon Witch (シャンピニオンの魔女)

LIZE, THE BLACK WITCH'S APPRENTICE

Well, this is a surprise.

I did not expect Henri to drop in with Luna and her friends.

I apologize for intruding,

but this is the only truly safe place I could think of.

I don't mind. We are protected by a very strong barrier here.

Even the royal family

cannot communicate with us here, nor enter without my permission.

You made the best decision for protecting them. You have my thanks.

Um, I'm honored.

By the way, Master Bird, about this... official? This part-white magician?

How do you know him?

He is my blood relative.

The same white magician blood runs in our veins,

but he has agreed to perform certain tasks for the black magicians.

He assists me in various ways, as I live secretly as a black magician

inside the white witches' royal palace.

We are both in precarious positions, but he performs his duties diligently.

Henri...

As I cannot use magic, I don't think I've been particularly helpful.

But while I do not understand why,

I have this nagging feeling that I can't ignore the plight of the black witches.

Even if it puts my life at risk, I want to do whatever I can to help them.

Huh, so that's what you're about.

Well, Master Bird himself is already an anomaly as a white witch,

so I guess this isn't any stranger.

This connection between them is suffocating me.

Even if I try to look away, I can't help but see it.

I, on the contrary, am weak enough to disappear.

I sense such a strong bond between them... I don't want to see any more!

By the way, Wind, were you able to fulfill your duty regarding

The End of All Things without incident?

Huh?

I see. You shredded its poisoned skin into smaller pieces

and scattered them everywhere.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

There was nothing else I could do!

It was pretty much a corpse anyway, so what's the harm?

Huh? Don't look at me like that, guys.

I see. So you spread the seeds of The End even further.

What an absolute catastrophe.

Breathing that air has clearly taken a toll on Lize, as well.

I only spread a little bit!

I made sure to send all the rest to Flame and Stoney with wind teleportation!

POISON (END OF ALL THINGS) CLEANUP CREW

CRYSTAL WITCH | FLAME MAGICIAN

I mean, you were all asking way too much of me, anyway!

Miss Luna, would you quit inventing scary faces to glare at me with? Please!

Today is the first time I've met black magicians other than Miss Witch,

but this Wind Magician...

seems to have no problem at all flaunting ethical standards.

Wow! Look, now you're all doing it!

Come on, guys. Somebody say something! Please!

C'mon! Why're you all picking on me?! Do you know what I've been through?!

It isn't like Miss Luna and Master Bird are doing poison collection-slash-cleanup!

Slaying The End of All Things and hauling all that poison

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

is super rough work and it's scary and really stressful!

ADULTS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND

I put my life on the line fighting a monster and you want me to be delicate?

Gimme a break!

There's some things in life you just can't do perfectly!

But you all stand there judging me from a safe distance like you're above me!

That's not what we're cringing at, though.

Do you have a right to attack me just 'cause I do things a little different?!

I suppose that's true.

Wind has a good point. Perhaps we should leave criticism

to the two in charge of disposing of The End of All Things instead.

Emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse.

Surely they are in a better position to judge than we are.

I didn't realize black witches all take on different roles like that.

Like slaying The End of All Things...

Master Bird, I should take my leave now. My supervisor must be looking for me.

Very well. Thank you for everything. And be careful.

To be safe, I will cast a fake shield over your memories.

Thank you very much.

Well then, Luna,

farewell.

I very much enjoyed meeting you.

I pray that I will find you again someday, happy and healthy.

Miss Luna.

I'm real sorry for throwing a fit like that. But do you think...

you could do your thing for me, maybe?

Of course.

I've been too busy to come see you recently,

so I'm sorry I let it get this bad.

It's no trouble at all.

You must have suffered greatly if you contracted this much.

Poison magicians are much more capable of tolerating and coexisting

with poison than most, but that does not mean they have total control over it.

Luna is the exception.

The rest must carry out their duties tainted with poison.

The poisonous mushrooms, of all different shapes and colors,

almost resembled a cradle protecting Wind,

and for a moment, appeared very beautiful.

I'm sorry for being so patronizing before.

I truly am grateful for all you've done.

Then,

as if they had been watching over Wind as he slept in a great mushroom forest,

the mushrooms floated up gently into the air and then disappeared.

Phew! I'm reborn!

My body feels so light! It feels like I grew wings!

Thanks, Miss Luna!

I'm very glad that I was able to help.

Oh...

Whoa, whoops. Whenever Miss Luna smiles at me, I get this tingly feeling inside.

Miss Witch, can you cure any kind of ailment by turning it into a mushroom

and then removing it?

Sometimes, ailments are bound to a person's destiny,

so I can't turn just anything into a mushroom and take it out.

In those cases, I can either leave it there as an ailment

or try to force it out, but when I do that it comes at a price.

Price?

Now that the other guy left and we know Miss Luna's powers are back to normal,

why don't you and I have a little chat?

And then I'll make my decision.

This is a final interview that will determine if you pass or fail.

I think you know this by now, but a cursed youngling is basically an egg

that grows into The End of All Things.

So look, Lize, if this keeps up, you're gonna turn into The End yourself.

Lize? Lize!

I'm guessing that shocked face means nobody told you anything, right?

I'm sure they had their reasons not to tell you the truth about all this,

but we won't get anywhere if you know nothing,

so I made the call to tell you myself.

I always suspected something. I didn't want to believe it was true, though.

A cursed youngling is one destined to become The End of All Things...

You are the one who should never have been born.

Huh?

Oh.

What?

Man, you're always sinking into darkness. What a pain.

Would you mind snapping outta that self-pity for me?

I've got a job to do here.

He has so little empathy and compassion, it's almost shocking.

What's that?

Nothing.

But right now, I think that's exactly what I need.

So listen, Lize,

you're totally, pointlessly head over heels for Luna, right?

Ugh. Totally insensitive, too.

Wait. Did you think nobody noticed?

You reek so badly of infatuation, even a total idiot could tell.

This isn't good. I can't spend all my time cataloging other people's faults.

So have you also not realized what kind of a spot that puts Miss Luna in?

I can't bear it. Talking to this guy is too frustrating.

You're definitely hard-headed enough to be a white witch, kid.

But look, you need to smother that crush of yours once and for all.

It's never going to blossom, anyway.

I want you to tear it out while it's still a bud. You get me, right?

For black witches, love is a poison that weakens their magic.

But like you just said, isn't it completely one-sided?

Well, yeah.

If your crush on her was the reason she was struggling,

test or no test, I would have killed you on the spot.

But the cause turned out to be another person, so you're off the hook.