/
Despite the church’s announcement permeating through the entire continent, everyone was skeptical about it. No one believed that the hero would ever be able to defeat the witch.
And so, my first mission was to gain the trust of the people.
I responded to people’s calls for help and defeated the various demons that swarmed around the continent.
I did the same thing over and over again to the point that people recognized me as a real hero.
It was only later that I found out that this was a part of my training to fight against the witch.
“Golden hair, clear blue sky and a pure white sword
 Everything matches the rumors
 Are you the hero who was chosen to defeat me or something like that?”
I didn’t expect to meet the witch in that kind of situation.
Underneath the silver hair, there were a pair of bewitching red eyes and a face so beautiful that it could make anyone have their heads fall over heels. Below that, were a well-proportioned body and a pair of beautiful thighs peeking over from her damaged clothes.
Her features matched the description of the evil witch from the rumors.
“
Are you the Witch of Calamity, Cerys Flores?”
“How rude of you, answering my question with another one. Why don’t you answer my question first before asking?”
“You’re right. Yes, I am the chosen hero, Grey Handlet.”
“I see. Then, I’ll introduce myself. The strongest witch and magic user, the person who plunged the world into a disaster, the one who laughs at the pitiful scream of the weak! The one and only, Cerys Flores.”
With a confident tone and a fearless smile, the witch introduced herself.
“I’m not trying to badmouth you, just trying to tell you a fact. No human would be able to beat me, hero or not, it doesn’t matter. I’ve beaten thousands of people like you and I doubt that your fate will end up differently from them. That’s why, get out of my sight. As long as you aren’t foolish enough to take up your sword against me, I’ll show you mercy.”
The witch let out a killing intent as she declared that.
Unknowingly, chill ran down my spine as I swallowed my saliva. She was strong. Really strong.
Only when I came face to face with her like this did I understand. This woman was far stronger than anything I’ve faced before.
She was way stronger than me, who was dubbed as the strongest person in the world by Sage Alicia.

But, there was something that bothered my mind for a while now.
“Well, I won’t know that unless I try it. But first, I have a question for you.”
The witch who had been watching me with crossed arms, tilted her head.
“You were the one who created the demons, weren’t you? So, why did you kill the being that you created?”
The reason why I came to this place was to defeat a powerful demon that had been terrorizing this area.
But, in front of the cave where the demon lived, I found the witch in the middle of a battle against said demon.
I didn’t understand what was going on, so I stayed to observe how the battle went. In a short time, she managed to kill the demon by herself, albeit she was a little injured. The demon was supposed to be so strong that no one in the area could manage to defeat it yet, she defeated it in mere minutes.
While there was nothing strange about that, as the witch surely had enough power to do that

Why would she do that in the first place? It didn’t make any sense to me.
Hearing my question, the witch furrowed her brows.
“
My, they’re my creations. I can do anything I want with them.”
Something strange was going on. She was different from the rumors.
Well, whatever, I could find out about it after I took her into custody.
“
I guess that’s true. Alright, prepare yourself.”
I drew my sword. A silver light appeared on the surface of the sword when I infused my exorcism into it.
“What a reckless man. Even though I went as far as to warn you.”
The witch sighed and summoned her staff.
It was a coincidence that I met her here, but it was an amazing coincidence as it was the perfect opportunity to defeat her. After all, her wounds from the last battle hadn’t healed completely yet.
As a hero who carried the hope of the people, the sooner I got to defeat the witch the better.
“Here I come, witch!”
“Come forward, hero.”
The battle on that day.
Ended in my complete defeat.
*   *   *
“
Another dream, huh?”
I muttered as I woke up from my sleep before clicking my tongue in annoyance.
No matter how many times I’ve dreamt about the time when I got beaten up by the witch, it always made me feel sick.
The hands of the clock on my desk pointed to 6.40. It was too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep, so I dragged my body off my bed. I picked up my phone on the desk and unplugged the charger. Then, I noticed that there was an unread RINE message.
It was from Shindou Yuuka.
I went down to the living room while reading the message.
[Wanna do a study group with everyone?]
“
Why now?”
I didn’t mind, but why did she ask about it now? She shoulda asked about it at school later.
“
Ah, right, today is Saturday.”
Realizing that, I went back to sleep. (T/N: Me.)
*   *   *
Currently, I was in front of the family restaurant where I was working at.
I entered the restaurant, bowed to the senpai who was on shift and noticed Yuuka waving at me.
“Yo, you’re late, you know?~”
There was a soft smile on her pretty face.
It was currently 1.30pm, thirty minutes late from the promised time, which was 1pm.
“My bad. I overslept.”
Shinji, who was sitting next to Yuuka, shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly.
“Oi, oi, get a hold of yourself, the exam starts this monday, you know?”
“
Huh? Really? It’s that close?”
“At least remember the date of your own exam, idiot..”
Hina muttered exasperatedly at my reaction.
“I mean, I remember it, it just slipped my mind.”
“By the way, are you ready for it? I’m not.”
“Saying something like that so proudly, what the hell is wrong with you? 
Also, what are you doing?”
Shinji was playing a game on his phone while munching some fries.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group were studying.
“Dumbass, I’m taking a break here. Studying all the time is tiring.”
“You had rested long enough already, Shinji! Your resting time is longer than your studying time, you know?”
“That’s because I don’t need that much time to study. I just need to study the important bits.”
“And who was the one who summarized those important bits for you?”
“I can’t thank you enough, Yuuka-sama
 Please accept my gratitude.”
With that, Shinji suddenly bowed down to Yuuka. There was an empty seat next to Hina, so I sat there.
The four of us here gathered to study together.
“Anyway, this is unusual. Why are we holding a study group, anyway?”
I asked Yuuka.
I thought that Yuuka was smart enough that she didn’t need to study with other people.
“Well, doing it once in a while isn’t bad. Besides, it isn’t like I understand everything that I have to study.”
“And that’s why this Hina is here.”
“Well, Godou and I won’t be much help, that’s for sure.”
I didn’t know why Shinji always had that arrogant tone
 Well, whatever.
“Well, there are other reasons too
”
“Like what?”
“Secret~”
Said Yuuka while smiling.
“By the way, I’m tired of studying. Can I go home?”
Shinji blurted out. He looked completely unmotivated.
“Jeez, Shinji!”
Yuuka lightly hit him in the head.
“Cut that out. You won’t get good grades if you keep this up.”
“I mean, it’s a miracle that I got into this school in the first place.”
“That’s why you gotta study harder. You barely even studied and yet you got into this school anyway, that meant you aren’t bad. I’ve summarized everything, so you just need to study this
”
“Math still looks like moon runes to me
”
Shinji tried desperately not to face Yuuka’s gaze as she was gently telling him off.
“
Never change, you two.”
Those two were always on good terms.
I knew that both of them were friends since middle school, but they were so close to each other to the point that I felt suspicious about their relationship.
Shinji tried to flirt with a lot of girls, but the only girl he actually tried to befriend was Yuuka.
“What are you trying to say? Your grade is as bad as mine.”
Shinji grunted as he said that. It seemed like he misunderstood my words.
“I’ve never got a red mark, though.”
“Huh? Really? That’s news to me.”
Yuuka said in surprise. Hina joined in and said,
“I don’t know how he did it, but he always managed to barely pass the red marks somehow.”
“
That’s amazing in a sense.”
“Don’t praise me too much, you two. I’m embarrassed.”
“You know it isn’t praise!”
Hina retorted sharply.
It was true though, I’ve never got a single red mark in my life.
“Anyway, Shinji, how was your midterm?”
When I asked, Shinji laughed confidently.
“Heh
 I’ll exercise my rights to stay silent.”
“He barely passed everything except for math. He got a red mark for math.”
“I mean, I hate listening to Murakami’s class
”
“Stop making excuses, just do it, it’s not that hard!”
“Ugh
”
“At this rate, you’re going to be dragged by Murakami-sensei to his supplementary class, you know?”
When Yuuka said that, Shinji made a horrified look on his face.
“If you don’t want that, then study properly.”
“Got it
”
“Somehow, it feels like she’s his owner or something.”
I smiled at the sight wryly.
Hearing that, Yuuka puffed her cheeks in frustration.
“I don’t want to be this guy’s owner!”
“His mom then.”
“That’s even worse! I don’t want a womanizer as a son!”
Her response was unusually fierce.
She acted like this, but whenever she was with Hina by themselves, all she talked about was Shinji.
“Is that so? My bad then.”
I should leave those two alone. I approached Hina and started studying together with her.
After ordering a drink and a light snack, I asked Hina,
“So, how are you faring?”
“Good, I guess. I should be able to get 80 in everything at least
”
“Same as usual then.”
Her hands didn’t stop moving as she answered that question.
She was solving the math problems at an absurd speed. No wonder her grades were so high.
This girl always occupied the second or third place of our grade. That was only because the first place was reserved to Yuuka, though.
“What about you?”
“Math is too hard for me
”
“I know right? It’s harder than back in the first year.”
While we were chatting like that, the waiter, one of my senpai, brought me my order.
We exchanged a few words of greeting before he continued with his work. Then suddenly, Hina muttered something,
“Ah, right, this is where you’re working at, huh?”
“Did you really just come to this place without realizing it?”
When I asked her that, Yuuka joined in,
“While we’re at it, since you’re our friends and all, can we get a discount–”
“No.”
“Eh
”
Yuuka pouted after hearing my answer.
This restaurant’s location was right in front of the station. It was close to school and the price was reasonable, so it wouldn’t be strange for students like us to gather here. The place was spacious too, so other people wouldn’t be bothered even if we were to make some noise here. In fact, there were two other groups studying here too. Some people in those groups were my acquaintances.
“Ah, she’s here!”
Hina, who had been looking at her phone, suddenly shouted.
She turned her gaze toward the entrance and waved her hand energetically.

I had a bad feeling.
Well, I knew that it would come to this.
After all, why else would Yuuka invite us to study together?
“Here, Mai-chan!~”
“Y-Yes
”
The witch appeared in front of us, carrying a backpack with her.
She was wearing a white blouse and a black skirt. It was simple, but it suited her well.
It was frustrating for me to say this, but she looked really cute. I wouldn’t say it to her face though.
“Heya, Mai-chan. Let’s study hard together!”
“Yo, Shiina-san. That outfit suits you well. You look cute.”
“Eh? T-Thank you very much
”
“Don’t say anything unnecessary, Shinji. Ah, would you like to sit next to me?”
“Y-Yes! U-Um, Yuuka-san?”
“Haha, Just Yuuka is fine. Well, if you’re comfortable calling me that, it’s fine!”
The way they referred to each other seemed to have changed.
I suspected that they became closer, but despite that, the witch was still the witch.
She looked very nervous in the beginning, but when she noticed me, she furrowed her brows.
“
You want to say something to me?”
“
No.”
Didn’t you hear about me being here?
The witch took her seat. Yuuka smiled at her.
“Since you’re a new student, there might be a lot of things you don’t understand or the exam’s scope is different from your previous school, that’s why I invited you here, Shiina-san! You can ask Hina if you have any questions!”
“I don’t mind, but isn’t this the part where you tell her to rely on you instead?”
“I mean, you’re a better teacher than me, Hina!”
“But your grade is higher than mine
”
The witch flustered, probably because she was left off the conversation.
Then, Hina tried to bring her into the conversation again.
“Um, anyway, Mai-chan, let’s review the exam’s scope first. I made a summary of it, you can check mine.”
“T-Thank you very much!”
The witch bowed her head.
After that, she took her seat and the study group finally started in earnest.
At first, everyone was chatting about random things but, as time went by, those conversations died down as everyone became more focused on their studies. Though, it wasn’t like we didn’t talk at all. It was just, all of our ‘conversations’ were just us teaching each other.
Yuuka was taking care of Shinji, meanwhile Hina and I helped the witch out.
“Phew, I’m going to get myself a drink
”
Hina let out a deep breath as she lightly shook her empty glass.
“
Ah, let me get it for you, I want to get some too.”
Said the witch as she raised her hand.
“Really? Then, can you get me melon soda?”
“O-Okay! Um, what about the others?
”
Shinji and Yuuka were too occupied with their things, so they didn’t answer her question. Or probably they just didn’t hear her because her voice was too low. The witch’s gaze turned toward me for a moment, but she immediately turned it away again.
Maybe she realized that she didn’t need to do that much for me.
I stopped studying and looked at her. She went to the refill area with two glasses in her hands.

And when she got there, she stared at the machine listlessly.
She didn’t know how to use it, of course.
If this was an anime, there would be a question mark floating around her head at this moment. Well, to be fair, she wasn’t a commoner like us, so she’d probably never used the machine in her entire life.
I sighed and headed toward her side.
“W-What?”
I ignored the glare of the embarrassed witch and got myself a drink. Since I drank melon soda just now, I decided to get oolong tea instead.
The witch stared at me and snorted after realizing what I was doing.

Then, she suddenly furrowed her brows, as if she was in pain.
“Oi, witch, what’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?”
I could tell that her center of gravity felt off. Even though her expression was the same as usual, her body seemed unsteady.
“Of course not, I wouldn’t be here if that’s the case. I don’t want to trouble the others
”
“I guess so. Well, if there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s all good then.”
The witch boldly operated the machine and tried to get melon soda. When the drink came out of the machine, her body trembled for some reason.
“What’s wrong?”
“I-I’m not surprised or anything!”
I didn’t ask if you were surprised or not.
I decided to leave her alone and got back to my seat first.
The witch did the same after she got her own drink.
I observed the witch when she was walking toward us. She walked slowly and carefully, as if she was afraid to drop the drinks.
While that wasn’t a problem, she seemed to be putting all her concentration on keeping her body steady.
“Thank you!”
When she came back, Hina thanked her for the melon soda.
The witch just exhaled lightly in response. After that, she began to study with Hina again. From time to time, she would frown and rub her forehead with her hand.
No matter how I see it, she didn’t seem to be okay at all.
I stopped writing.
“Shiina, do you have a moment?”
I stood up as I asked her that question.
I asked that, but in truth, I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about with her.
There were simply too many things to talk about.
“Godou? What’s wrong?”
Hina and the others looked at me strangely as I was the only one who was standing.
The witch seemed to understand my intention when our gazes met.
When I turned around and left, she followed behind me.
“U-Um, we have something to talk about, s-so we’re going outside for a bit.”
The witch smiled as she explained the situation to the others.
For some reason, I didn’t prepare an excuse to tell the others.
I just realized that I had been distracted for a while now.

Ah, I see.
I had been feeling irritated toward the witch.