Witch Escape

  Currently, there are 22 witches belonging to the Witch Surveilnce Organization.

  All the witches have been injected with medication and are living in a state of extremely low magical power.

  There are cases where witches want to escape from the surveilnce of the agency due to dissatisfaction, a desire to release their magical powers, or personal reasons. After confirming a witch’s escape, another witch is sent to pursue them based on their ranking.

  Ranking of the dangers of colored witches by the Witch Surveilnce Organization:

  1st pce: Bck Witch Saeko Kurozaki2nd pce: White Witch

  Rankings three and below are referred to as the Rainbow Witches

  3rd pce: Red Witch Akane Sumeragi4th pce: Orange Witch5th pce: Yellow Witch6th pce: Green Witch7th pce: Blue Witch8th pce: Indigo Witch9th pce: Purple Witch

  Basically, the pursuit team that pursues escaped witches is formed into a three-person ptoon consisting of one person ranked third or above and two persons ranked fourth or below.

  For example, I am the captain, with two witches ranked four or below in my squad. Escaped witches have no restrictions, so their magical power recovers over time. Therefore, it is necessary to capture escaped witches in a short period of time.

  After determining the danger of the escaped witch, the agency gives the captain a potion that releases magic.The types of magic release medicine include drugs with release times of 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes.After drinking the release medicine, my magical power suddenly returns to its peak.If a witch drinks the 10-second medicine, they will recover to full power for 10 seconds only. Short? Don’t underestimate the witches.

  Well, for example, Beni, my best friend.If the Red Witch drinks the 10-second release medicine, she can emit an immortal fme. If she hits you with it, you won’t be able to put it out before the other person burns out. If the Red Witch uses her big move, Fme Phoenix, it will take less than 10 seconds.

  What about second pce and me?Hehe…I can’t tell you. The second-ranked witch and I don’t get along so well that I don’t even want to talk about her.

  This has never happened before, but what if a third-rank witch or higher escapes?All the witches within the top 10 will be mobilized. That’s how dangerous it is.When Beni’s child was born, we almost had a situation where the First and Third Rank almost ended up running away together.In the end, we both took a step back and compromised.

  The power of witches ranked 3rd or higher is in a completely different league compared to those ranked 4th or lower.

  It’s not just about strength, there are various reasons why the rankings for those 3rd or higher have never changed. Even if the rankings for those 4th or lower change, it doesn’t really matter. The strengths are almost the same.

  In short, the strength of those ranked 3rd or higher and those ranked 4th or lower are completely different.

  It’s a completely different level of danger.

  .

  Today is the st day I can spend with the baby.I had pnned to go to the park at first, but I gave up on that.Since it’s the st day, I think it’s better for the family to py together in this house.

  “Yami, do your favorite transformation show.”

  “Sure thing!”

  PON!

  “I’m a cat~. Nya~ Nya~”

  PON!

  “I’m a kid~”

  PON!

  “I’m an adult”

  Fu-eehehehe

  Yesterday, I was a little jealous watching this, but now I think this transformation show is great. The baby is really happy.

  “Alright, I’ll do it too! Peekaboo!”

  I looked it up online earlier. How to make a baby ugh. Cover your face with both hands, then quickly open them.

  Fuheehehehe

  “I did it! Yami! Look! The baby ughed!”

  I wanted to brag to Yami about making the baby ugh using the light from the ring. But now I don’t want to use the ring at all. Because you can see the bck thread.

  After that, I did various things to make the baby ugh.Yami turned into a cat and sat on my head. She did various cat tricks.A talking cat is very convenient. You can express circus-like tricks. However, jumping through a ring of fire is definitely not good…

  All day long, the baby kept ughing. It was a very fun day, but seeing the baby’s smile made my heart ache a little. Because it’s the st day. It’s so unfair that I have to leave behind such a fun life. It’s really…unreasonable.

  .

  When it’s bedtime, I pick up my baby and go to my room. I feel bad for Yami, but since it’s my st night, I just want to be with my baby. I put the baby in the same bed as yesterday, and I get into bed and lie down next to him and look at him.

  The baby is already asleep. He must be really tired after ughing so much.

  “I know it sounds bad, but I gave birth to my daughters. I just picked up that child of Kuro’s.”“It’s just my own specution, but … you and the child compatibility is just too good.”

  I remembered what Beni said. Beni wasn’t wrong. If I were in the same situation, I might say and do the same things. So when I saw that bck thread, I panicked. Once that thread appeared, it became impossible to stay with the baby.

  “Don’t do something stupid like running away with the baby.”

  .

  Run away together. This is also an option, but honestly, not a wise one.

  Let’s imagine for a moment.I’ll run away with the baby. It will take three months for my magic to fully recover. In short, it takes about three months to hide after running away. If I run away with the baby tomorrow, a witch-pursuing team will come at night. Beni will definitely report it to the authorities right away.

  Let’s analyze the difference in strength.The captain of the hunting squad is probably Beni.

  Captain: Red Witch. Knows me best. We have fought many times.Since the number one in the ranking escapes, I’m sure everyone in the pursuit team will receive a 10-minute release medicine.

  Third in ranking, the Red Witch, specializes in fire magic. Immortal fmes and the fme phoenix.My limited magic won’t stand a chance against this. Creating a mini bck hole is my limit.

  Next is the second-ranked witch, White Witch, excels in white destructive rays and instant healing magic. Both are troublesome. It’s impossible to hold the baby and face that destructive ray. Additionally, with limited magic. We don’t get along well with each other, so out of all the witches, she’s the only witch among them who can counter my mini bck hole.

  Fourth in ranking, Orange Witch, specializes in close combat and can match my reinforcement magic. It will be impossible to avoid her and other long-range magic.

  Fifth in ranking, Yellow Witch, Witch of Wisdom. If Beni takes charge of the field, the Yellow Witch will likely take command at the headquarters to devise a strategy. She will probably find me even if I hide right away.

  Sixth in ranking, Green Witch, Healing Witch. Can use area healing magic. Despite witches being immortal, they still need time to recover after taking damage. Not as powerful as the White Witch’s instant healing magic, but can heal multiple witches within the area.

  …I don’t want to analyze anymore. There’s almost no chance of winning. Maybe I can win if my magic fully recovers. On top of limited magic, I also need to protect the baby. And most importantly,

  “I don’t want to curse this child with the Bck Witch’s curse.”

  The Curse of the Bck WitchA curse that emerged from the Bck CurseThe effects of the curse are unknownThere is a possibility of being cursed by all kinds of bad curses.

  It is possible to be cursed with distorted or evil things such as murder, rape, destruction, crime, theft, imprisonment, insult, bckmail, fraud, obscenity, etc.

  “I don’t want to make you a bad child.”

  I lightly stroke the baby’s head. At this moment, the baby cried.

  Whaaaaaaa~ Whaaaaaaa~

  “Don’t cry, maybe it’s the diaper. Let’s change the diaper.”

  I take a new diaper and change the dirty one. This may be the st change. Tomorrow morning, I won’t change your diaper anymore. If I can’t see this child, I may never have the opportunity to change diapers again. These three days, I experienced various things. It was tough at times, but there were also interesting things. It was very fun.

  Morning came. I haven’t slept at all. I have been staring at this baby the whole time. It’s almost time for the promised time. I give the baby milk one st time. I hold the baby and go to the living room. Yami comes over to see the baby.

  “Saeko, when will the people from the orphanage come?”

  “8 o’clock in the morning. It’s almost time. Yami, get the milk ready. This is the baby’s st milk here.”

  “Understood~ I will prepare the most delicious milk!”

  After preparing the milk, Yami holds the baby first. Each of us feeds the baby half of the milk. After Yami gave the baby half, I take my turn. This is the st milk. I can’t… give you milk anymore…

  I don’t understand my feelings at all, and the baby seems happy drinking milk. Seeing this, a dark impulse boiled up. What should I do? Should I take the baby and run away now? Is it still possible?

  I really don’t want to be separated from this child. For such a stupid reason, am I going to be separated from my child? Aren’t my child and I compatible? Yet we can’t be together?

  Ping pong!

  At that moment, the doorbell rang. My thoughts were interrupted. My head became calm. The dark urges are gone too.

  “The people from the orphanage have arrived.”

  .

  I opened the front door, and there stood an elderly man and woman who looked to be about 60 years old.

  “Good morning. We are from the orphanage. We received a message from Mr. Sumeragi to pick up the baby that is here.”

  “Good morning. I am this child’s…”

  This child’s mother?Mother… If I really is this child’s mother, I wouldn’t abandon him.No, in reality, this child’s biological parents abandoned him.

  They didn’t want their own child, so they abandoned him.I want him, but I have to let him go.It’s ironic.

  “I have been taking care of this child for the past three days.”

  The old man and woman didn’t seem like bad people. Beni must have found a good orphanage for him. After telling the old couple about the child, it was time to say goodbye. I handed the child in my arms to the woman. It felt like I’ve lost something important in my heart.

  Waahhh… Waahhh…

  The baby cried. He looked at me and reached out his small hand towards me. I wanted to grab that hand. But… I couldn’t.

  “There, there. Good boy, good boy. Don’t cry. Well then, Kurozaki-san. This is where we part ways.”

  “Ah… Goodbye.”

  Goodbye, my child.

  The old man and woman walked away, and the baby’s cries grew quieter.

  “Saeko, are you okay?”

  Yami asked me, worried about me. Maybe Yami is suffering too.

  “Ah, but for now I just want to be alone for a little while.”

  “Okay, then I’ll go back to the living room first.”

  Yami then went upstairs to the living room. I’m just standing there in a daze at the entrance. I held onto a faint hope in my heart. If that child were to come back…but, no matter how I think about it, it’s impossible. A baby can’t come back on their own. I know that, but…

  Ding dong! The doorbell rang. Could it be?!

  I hurried to open the door, and it was the old man from earlier. Just the old man…the baby wasn’t there.

  “I’m sorry. I forgot to ask for this child’s name. Would you mind telling me?”

  Name…? That’s right. What is this child’s name? Was it written on that paper in the basket? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Haha…in these past three days, so much has happened that I forgot to give the baby a name. Do I even have the right to give a name to the baby I abandoned?

  Waaahh~ Waaahh~

  I remembered the baby’s crying. Waaah, waaah.

  “His name is Yuya.”

  Even though I may not have the right, I want to give him a name.

  “Yuya, huh. That’s a good name. Well then, excuse me.”

  Once the old man heard the name, he left again. This time, there won’t be another chance to meet. Even if we were to meet somewhere in the future, we probably wouldn’t recognize each other. Live with courage. This name is the only thing I can give to that child.

  .

  Since the day I was separated from the baby, I’ve been holed up in my room for three days. I colpse on my bed, not wanting to do anything. I don’t eat or drink water. After all, I’m supposedly immortal.

  “Saeko, are you okay?”

  Yami is worried about me and calls out from outside my room. But I don’t have the energy to respond. I’ve had moments of disappointment after failing missions before. But that was a work-reted failure. This time, it’s the first child of the Bck Witch, my first child. I separated from that child for such a ridiculous reason. The blow I received was too great.

  Good compatibilityToo compatibleAre we too compatible that I have to be separated from the baby?God, if this is a joke, please stop.One of my family members is now far away.God must have known how much I loved that child!So why!? Why can’t the two of us be together for such a stupid reason!!

  The bck impulse came again. It would be dangerous if it really went out of control.I’ve decided. I’ll forget about that child.

  Two more days have passed since that day, and I came out of my room. Yami seemed relieved when she saw me.

  “Yami, help me, I have something I want to do.”

  “What is it?”

  Thirty minutes ter, Yami and I are on the rooftop of the building.

  “Are you really going to do this, Saeko?”

  “Yeah, I am. This is the fastest way.”

  I focus my magical power into my right hand, creating a mini bck hole about the size of a baseball. I fix it in the center of the rooftop.

  “Let’s do this! Yami! On the count of three! One, two, three! Let’s go!”

  Yami and I throw a rge number of things into the mini bck hole.All the things reted to the baby.I hadn’t had the chance to sort them out that day, so they were still at home.

  Bck clothes of the babyTossed into the mini bck holeGoodbye

  Baby’s bottleTossed into the mini bck holeGoodbye

  Baby’s diaperTossed into the mini bck holeGoodbye

  Baby powder milkTossed into the mini bck holeGoodbye

  Everything reted to the baby was tossed into the mini bck hole.Goodbye

  Goodbye, child of the Bck Witch

  “Well, now all traces of that child are gone! Today, Saeko, the Bck Witch, is back!”

  “Ohhhh!”

  “Yami, let’s eat something delicious! I haven’t eaten anything in 5 days, so I’m starving. What do you want to eat?”

  “If it’s what Saeko wants to eat, anything is fine.”

  “Then, sukiyaki! Let’s go buy some very high-quality meat!”

  “Understood~”

  .

  The next day, I went to Beni’s office. When I was holed up in my room, Yami told me that Beni had called multiple times. I should show my face to not worry my best friend.

  “Kuro, are you okay now?”

  “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s impossible to forget that kid right away, but I’ll forget with time.”

  Even though I said that, when I saw Beni’s baby, memories of that child came flooding back. My heart hurt a little. I focused my gaze, putting magic in my eyes, and saw the red thread connecting Beni and her baby.

  Why is it that Beni can be with her own baby?Red CurseRed Witch’s curseThere are two types of cursesOne type involves anger, arson, explosions, and other impulsesThe other type involves sexual cursesSex, intercourse, orgies, lewdness, arousal, sexual frustration, all things reted to intercourse can be cursed by the Red Curse

  It’s not as dangerous as the Bck Curse, but it’s still dangerous enough.

  “It may sound bad to say this, but I gave birth to my daughters myself. But Kuro’s child was picked up.”

  When Beni said this, I wondered, if I had given birth myself, can we be together? It seems we’ve come back to the root of the problem. In the first pce, I can’t get pregnant, so I picked up that child. What should I do to get pregnant?

  Meet my soulmate?Can we meet?Can I get pregnant if we meet?If I get pregnant, can I be with the child?

  I don’t knowIt’s become a hassle to think about it anymore

  There is only one question in my heart

  “If the Red Witch can do it, why can’t I, the Bck Witch, do it?”

  I’ve never thought about it until now.The Bck Curse is dangerousThe Bck Witch’s curse is also dangerousBecause it’s dangerous, I won’t take on any disciplesIs it really that dangerous? No one has ever been cursed by the Bck Witch’s curse before.Maybe the Bck Witch’s curse is actually a very cute curseIt might be a curse that just steals my panties

  The more I think about it, the more I head in a strange direction.Enough already. That child is no longer there. Let’s stop.

  “This is the time to forget about the hardships of work. There haven’t been any missions from the agency recently. The timing is really bad.”

  “Wouldn’t it be okay to take a little break? If you want to py with the baby, Suzune and Rin are here.”

  “Oh, I’ll come when I want to py. It’s almost time. I’m going home.”

  I left Beni’s house. I feel bad for Beni, but I’m not in the mood to py with the baby right now. When I see the baby, it reminds me of that child. Since that day, I have never hugged Suzune or Rin.

  .

  A week ter, still no missions or requests. In the morning, I watched a movie in the living room with Yami.

  Ding dong! The doorbell rang.

  “Who is it? At just the right time. Yami, you bought another game didn’t you? Go answer it yourself.”

  “Hmm? I haven’t bought anything recently. There’s no game I want to py now. Saeko probably bought something again. Saeko, you should go downstairs and get it.”

  Neither of us had any intention of getting up from the sofa. Useless human and a useless cat.

  “That’s not possible. I’m not in the mood for shopping tely. Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

  Pipon～Pipon～

  “Alright, I’ll get it already.”

  The fact that I’m at the front door means I lost at rock-paper-scissors. Unlucky to lose to a Bakeneko. I opened the door. If it’s a newspaper solicitation, you don’t need it!

  “Hello, this is a delivery for Ms. Saeko Kurozaki from XXXXX.”

  “For me? That’s strange… Who’s it from? XXXXX? I don’t remember buying anything online recently. Wow, it’s huge.”

  A very rge box, barely fitting into the house, looks pretty heavy as the delivery person carries it.

  “Please sign here. Thank you.”

  “Thank you for your hard work.”

  After the delivery person left, I stood in the entrance looking at this rge thing. I really don’t remember. What did I buy? Something this big. Well, let’s open it up.

  I opened the rge box and peeled off the tape. What’s inside is-

  A bck ribbon attached to it?

  In my memory, something came to mind. I opened the whole big box. What I saw was…

  “Ahhhhhhhh!!”

  Hearing my scream, Yami rushed over.

  “What’s wrong!? Saeko.”

  “Yami, it’s come back…”

  “What do you mean come back? Ah… this.”

  Inside the rge box was something I ordered online two weeks ago.

  It’s a bck wooden crib.Inside the bck crib, there are still a dozen or so bck baby clothes.

  “Saeko, I prepared for something like this.”

  Yami points to the top of the crib. It’s definitely the bck crib that was ordered that day.

  There are letters on the wooden frame of the bck crib, hard to see because they are bck, but not invisible. The letters are carved into the wooden frame. What is written there is…

  “Happy Birthday, child of the Bck Witch.”

  Ha ha… ha ha…

  The memories I wanted to forget have come back. That day, I felt a little jealous watching Yami and the baby py. That’s why I prepared this birthday present. If we didn’t know the baby’s birthday, I decided to make the day I gave this present the birthday.

  Today should be that child’s birthday…

  I miss you!I want to see that child!What will I do if I meet him?I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find out when we meet. I might not know.But I want to meet you!

  “Saeko, Saeko! Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just lost in thought.”

  “What should we do with this? Should we take it to the rooftop and throw it into the mini bck hole?”

  “No, I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”

  Using strengthening magic, I pced the crib in the vacant room next to my bedroom. I don’t know how to handle it yet. But just throwing it away might not be right. I’ll decide after meeting that child again.

  I want to see that child. I’m thinking of ways to meet him.The only person who knows the whereabouts of that child is Beni.Beni will definitely not tell her the location of the orphanage she searched for.The quickest option is to ask Beni, but it’s also the most impossible choice.

  “I guess I’ll have to rely on an informant…”

  As a detective, when I need information, I go to an informant.One witch runs an information brokerage, but she’s probably in the same position as Beni, so asking a witch informant is also not an option.

  “I guess I have to go to the Mantis’s pce…”

  .

  The next day, I went out in my usual bck suit. I didn’t tell Yami. I wanted to move on my own. I drove for about 50 minutes one way. I came to the informant Mantis. He specializes in selling surveilnce equipment and cameras in the old electronics district.

  “The shop is closed…still sleeping? This damn informant.”

  I kept ringing the bell outside the shop.

  Ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong

  No response. Damn it, wake up.

  Ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong

  “I’m coming, I’m coming. Stop ringing the bell.”

  The informant came out from the back door. I called him Praying Mantis (Kamakiri) because of his appearance. Unusually pointed chin and nose, eyes that are too big. A short and small man. Probably around 40 years old.

  “What’s up, Saeko. What do you need?”

  “I have a request. I want to ask you something.”

  “A request? Well, come in first.”

  I followed the informant and arrived at his study. The informant sat in a very expensive-looking gaming chair and stared at six lined up LCD screens, pying some kind of game. He resumed the game and asked me.

  “Request? I haven’t had any requests for information from you tely.

  Informant Kamakiri, one of the information routes designated by the Witch Surveilnce Agency. I don’t know what methods he uses, but if you ask him, you can usually get the information you need.

  “It’s a personal request from me. I want you to find the whereabouts of a certain person. Keep it confidential.”

  “Oh? The Bck Witch is making a request to me. Very interesting.”

  The hands typing on the keyboard stopped. I told the informant about the events two weeks ago. I was hesitant about whether to tell everything, but if I only told half the information, I might end up being investigated by them and causing more trouble. So, I told him everything.

  “I see. Don’t worry. This is the kind of job where I won’t tell anyone. But, if it’s a request from the Bck Witch, the reward might be a bit higher. Payment upfront.”

  “How much do you want?”

  I have as much money as you want.

  “I have as much money as you want. What I want is something different.”

  The informant got up from the gaming chair and came over to my side. His right hand touches my lower abdomen in a circur motion.

  “Hey, I heard that you guys have something called the Witch’s Miracle, right?”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Well, I’m an informant. Just so you know, I didn’t spill the beans. The information came from a witch.”

  Who is it? Which stupid witch is it? Oh well. Anyway, the Witch’s Miracle isn’t something to hide. It’s just that if other people find out, things can get messy. Like me right now. The informant’s hand has been touching my lower abdomen this whole time.

  “How long are you going to keep touching me there? Do you want my lower abdomen?”

  “No, no, I don’t want your lower abdomen. It’s something simir. Let me expin. It’s a trendy thing these days. A challenge between those who know about the existence of witches and those who know about the Witch’s Miracle.”

  “A challenge?”

  “The thing is, witches have a hard time getting pregnant, right? No matter how much they try, they can’t conceive. As a man, it’s a turn-off. But the Red Witch got pregnant, didn’t she? And she even gave birth safely. Seeing this miracle, everyone wants to take on the challenge of that miracle. They all want to boast about their manly virility. They want to procim, ‘I am the one who can perform the Witch’s Miracle!’”

  These guys are all perverts.

  “Bck Witch, spend the night with me and give me a chance to challenge the Witch’s Miracle too. Hehehe.”

  The informant said with a lecherous smile while touching my lower abdomen.

  “Tonight, I will be the one to take on the Witch’s Miracle. Let me borrow the womb of the Bck Witch. Hehehe”