[V1C5] The Silent Witch's Dream

Monica had a dream.

In front of her was a table neatly set with dishes.

When dining alone, Monica usually made do with bread or nuts and seldom bothered to arrange dishes. The only time she would set the table was when Isaac made something special.

“Monica, dinner is ready.”

As she looked up, she saw Isaac in an apron approaching her.

On the soup plate in his hand, there was a single giant pea that seemed about the size of a human head.

“I made something special today. It’s pea soup.”

Whether that green ball the size of a human head could be called a pea was debatable. Moreover, the soup part was nowhere to be seen.

“W-Wait, Ike… that… that’s…”

In front of the pale and trembling Monica, Isaac scooped up the pea with a spoon.

He offered it to Monica, miraculously balancing the gigantic pea on his tiny spoon.

Her disciple adept in the culinary arts smiled sweetly.

“Here, open wide.”

“No, no, I can’t… w-wait… waaait!!”

…And at that moment, she woke up.

(Ugh… where am I?)

She tried lifting her heavy eyelids, but it was pitch dark, and she couldn’t see anything in front of her.

Her body felt heavy, and even moving a single fingertip required energy. In addition, her head was extremely heavy, and her thoughts were slower than usual. Her mana had run out.

(That’s right… I was dragged into the giant pea plant… what happened after that… are Cyril-sama and Thorn Witch-sama safe?)

She needed to escape from here quickly, but no matter what she did, her body wouldn’t respond. If she let her guard down, she felt like she would lose consciousness again.

“Hey! Hey! Monica! Say something if you can hear me!”

Raul’s voice came from beyond the vines of the giant pea. Ah, he was safe.

Although she tried to respond to his call, only a feeble wheeze escaped her lips, far from forming a voice.

(I have to say… I’m here… I have to say it…)

Contrary to her desires, her head became heavier and heavier, and her barely lifted eyelids slowly closed again.

(…No… so sleepy…)

Then, just as her consciousness seemed to sink again, Monica heard a sharp reprimanding voice.

“Respond promptly during roll call!! Treasurer Norton!!”

＊　＊　＊

How would they find Monica, who was absorbed into the giant pea plant?

Thorn Witch Raul Roseberg, one of the Seven Sages, proposed a certain method.

“Hey! Hey! Monica! Say something if you can hear me!”

Just call out loudly and wait for a response. It was an extremely simple and primitive method.

The rampaging giant pea was currently held in check by Raul’s “White Hurricane No.1.” If they were to rescue Monica, now was the time.

However, no matter how loudly Raul called, there was no response from Monica. Was she unconscious?

Mana deficiency symptoms were more severe in individuals with higher mana levels. Being one of the Seven Sages, Monica naturally possessed more mana than the ordinary mage. When her mana ran out, she would suffer significant physical discomfort.

Her depleted mana would generally recover over time, but the presence of the mana-draining peas meant she had no hope of recovery. In other words, it could potentially be a matter of life or death.

Cyril grunted and rushed toward the peas.

After taking a deep breath, he shouted from the bottom of his lungs.

“Respond promptly during roll call!! Treasurer Norton!”

In his haste, he accidentally let slip the old way he used to address her. The puzzled Raul asked, “Treasurer Norton?”

“Ah, I screwed up…” Cyril realized his mistake in embarrassment, but then, a voice weaker than the buzzing of insects could be heard from above.

“Here, ugh…”

There was no mistaking that pitiful voice——it was Monica.

The voice came from slightly above Cyril’s head. He squinted to see small hands visible through the vines.

She was just within Cyril’s reach.

“Found her!”

Cyril carefully cut through the vines around with an ice spear and grabbed Monica’s hand, pulling her towards him.

Monica’s body flew out of the pea vines like a bug from the ground, landing on Cyril. He grabbed ahold of her small body and fell backward.

“…C-Cyril-sama…”

A faint voice could be heard from within his arms. Cyril looked down to see Monica gazing up at him with a childlike face. She seemed to be in a daze, with her consciousness hazy.

“It’s all right now.”

Cyril quickly carried Monica away from the peas.

After they made enough distance, Raul rolled up his sleeves.

“We rescued Monica, so I guess we’re done here. Well then, that’s the end of it.”

Raul slapped the palm of his hand on the white rose dragon.

The vines that composed the “White Hurricane No.1,” which had been squeezing the giant peas, instantly swelled up when Raul touched them, just like muscles bulging when someone exerted force in their arms.

The rose dragon was crushing the pea plants with its thick arms. The forcibly torn and twisted peas dripped grass juice instead of blood.

“Pull it out! White Hurricane No.1!”

After ensuring a firm grasp on the peas, the rose dragon gradually pulled it out of the ground. The surrounding soil swelled up and cracked, as the tree-like roots of the pea plants broke out of the ground. The dragon’s strength was tremendous.

To avoid getting caught up in the damage, Cyril stepped back while holding Monica, and by the time the giant pea plant was completely pulled out of the ground, it had stopped moving.

Raul wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Phew, that settles that!”

“…Hmm?”

Cyril glared at smiling Raul, then took a look around them.

Naturally, the field was in complete disarray. The remains of the giant peas and the white rose dragon dominated the surroundings.

It was a far cry from a settled matter. The place was in ruins.

“You really call this settled?”

“Plants with magical infusion will wither on their own once the mana is drained. Don’t worry. Let’s call it a day once the soil purification is done. We’ll tidy up tomorrow.”

“Fine…”

Simply thinking about the cleanup made a wave of fatigue wash over Cyril.

He sighed and collapsed on the spot, while still holding Monica.

“What’s wrong? Don’t have much stamina, huh?”

Despite using such a grand technique, Raul showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

Perhaps it was due to his regular involvement in agricultural work. Raul had a splendid physique that seemed incongruent with his refined beauty.

As Cyril envied those well-toned arms, Raul quickly finished purifying the soil and effortlessly dragged over a cart he had left a little distance away.

“Get on. I’ll pull the cart down the mountain for you.”

“…I’ll take you up on that offer.”

In the past, Cyril would have thought it unthinkable to have one of the country’s most powerful individuals, one of the Seven Sages, pull a cart for him, let alone give him a ride.

But now, Cyril felt no inclination to be considerate of Raul. In addition, he wasn’t confident that he could carry Monica down the mountain, so he took Raul’s offer without hesitation.

The cart, albeit cramped with farming tools, was spacious enough for both of them to sit side by side.

Cyril had Monica sit leaning against the edge of the cart, and he sat beside her, supporting Monica to ensure she didn’t fall.

“Are you okay?”

When Cyril spoke to Monica, she mumbled something incoherent.

“…Cyril-sama… This month’s budget proposal is here… The vendors for the school festival are listed here…”

It seemed that the Silent Witch was dreaming about the student council.

Feeling somewhat nostalgic, Cyril leaned on the cart and sighed.

Eventually, the cart started moving slowly. It rattled and shook horribly, but there was no sign of Monica waking up.

“Hey, speaking of which…”

“What is it?”

While pulling the cart, Raul turned his head to look at Cyril.

“That wreath we used for ‘White Hurricane No.1,’ it was neatly packed in a beautiful bag. Could it be it was meant as a gift?”

“…”

Cyril fell silent, and Raul suddenly seemed to realize something.

“Could it be… a gift for me!?”

“Hold on.”

“A wreath as a gift before the winter solstice! Nice, that sounds really buddy-buddy!”

“Who said I’d give…”

As Cyril began to speak, he glanced briefly at Monica, who was still in a dream. Apparently, Monica was murmuring numbers in her sleep.

Cyril averted his eyes from Monica and fell silent.

Raul, still brimming with energy, continued speaking to Cyril while pulling the cart.

“Sorry for messing up the wonderful token of our friendship. Alright, this year, I’ll make an exceptionally beautiful wreath and gift it to you. Look forward to it! By the way, Cyril, you used white roses in your wreath, yeah? Do you like white roses or something?”

There was no response.

Raul turned his head to Cyril and Monica, still covered in dirt and grass, leaning on each other and breathing quietly.

“This is great, I feel like we’re war buddies already.”

Satisfied, Raul nodded and quietly walked away, careful not to wake his sleeping friends.

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