Chapter 584 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

A shadow of a person inside the meat fruit? How peculiar. This isn't the level of a primate. It's not up above either, where there might be humans among the branches where hoofed animals grow. So, what could it be? Let's open it up to find out. I fished out a card and tore through the fruit’s thick skin. Resembling the thick hide of a meat fruit, the card easily cut through the tough exterior. A juice, akin to amniotic fluid, began to trickle out. This is supposed to contain a cow, yet there’s something human inside. I reached inside through the slit I had made and grabbed onto someone’s ankle. "Gotcha." I dragged out a human who had been sleeping cozily inside instead of a cow. From head to toe, the person was swaddled in clothes. Underneath a thick cloak, she wore a shirt fastened tightly. Purple strands of hair peeked out from under a large witch’s hat that could easily fit a whole head. The witch, who gave off a fragile and delicate impression, was fast asleep, unaware of my presence. So, it's not that a human grew in here, but rather that a living person squeezed inside the fruit? "Mmnyah, mmnya." The Regressor noticed the sleep-talking witch and asked, "Who is she?" "Well, you see..." Who is the person sleeping in such a strange place? ‘Thanks for lending me your body, Pero. You can rest easy now. Right, let's see… I wanted to observe the ecology of the king of humans, but… The king hasn't returned to his room yet? Where could they have gone when there’s nowhere else to go?’ It's the Archwitch. Known to observe the world and communicate through familiars while keeping their true body hidden, the Archwitch immerses herself in controlling her familiars. It is a way to protect her real body, left defenseless while she manipulates her familiars. Nobody would imagine her real body to be inside a meat fruit, and even if they did know, how would they find her amongst all these fruits? "Seems like a witch. Found herself a place to sleep, it seems." What an unexpected meeting. It would be suspicious to identify her as the Archwitch right away, so let's just go with calling her 'the witch' for now. The Regressor, contemplating the peacefully sleeping witch, looked around then suddenly remarked. "Did you come here to meet her?" "Huh?" "You went straight to this fruit out of all these. Do you have some kind of business with this witch?" "..." "Why? Are you going to claim it’s just a coincidence?" "No, of course not." That's right. I felt something strange as I was coming down, so I ended up here. She’s perceptive—this Regressor. "Somehow, I see. I wondered why my arm suddenly hurt.” "I told you, it’s really hurting. Do you think you’re as light as a feather? You’re delusional." "I didn’t mean I’m light! You have a regenerative ability!" While we bickered, the witch, sensing the noise, grimaced as she mumbled. ‘I hear the voice of the king of humans. Is it outside? No, it’s too close. Almost like it’s right next to me. Oh?’ Sensing the unusual aura, the Archwitch snapped her eyes open. Our eyes met. Oscillating between looking at me and her fruit, the Archwitch appeared terrified, muttering syllables to herself. "Uh, uh, ah!" Upon seeing me, she shrank back dramatically, as if she had seen a villain. The Regressor chided me. "You've scared her completely." "That’s Shei’s fault for looking so mean." "Don’t talk nonsense! She couldn’t even see my face from that angle!" "So, you admit you have a bad attitude." "I’m better than you and your sketchy behavior!" "Excuse me? What’s wrong with my behavior?" "Strictly speaking, you dragged a sleeping person out! That would scare anyone!" Come on! The Archwitch wouldn’t be scared for fear of getting hurt. Especially since she’s an Elder. Even if her body were crushed while asleep, she’d regenerate unscathed, capable of commanding hordes of familiars and performing terrifying dark magic without risk. She is a figure to instill fear, not feel it. Thus, there can only be one reason for her fright. She's simply afraid of people. In short, the Archwitch has agoraphobia. "Hello?" “...S-stay away. Y-you’re disgusting. I’ll kill you.” "Excuse me?" YW9peUx5cktZYXhyU2hzY1VsMkQ0WFY2TS9md1VwTG5aUjJDYjNOWXlwZFhuUFBmU1NGZy9zZkZZOWRJaG1FNQ See? She doesn’t view me as a threat per se. It’s just human interaction that she finds daunting. The Archwitch, despite her hesitation, hurled insults while cautiously retreating, adjusting her collar. ‘Jeez, that startled me. I entered a place no one could possibly find, so how did they know? Is it the ability of the king of humans?’ "I sensed a presence from afar, so I came looking. I’m kind of sensitive to human auras. When I saw a human inside a cow-bearing fruit, I was curious if they were dead or trapped." “Such useless meddling….” "Really? Then I’ll just put you back in." "…No, it's fine." ‘After all, it’s been proven there’s no point hiding from the king of humans…. Oh? But does the king of humans know who I am?’ Why? Shouldn't they? Even if you’re fully covered, we met once, didn’t we? It’s not like I have face blindness…. ‘I’m currently wearing the Argartha mask, the treasure of all nations. Is it possible the king of humans can see through a mask that changes one's appearance?’ You too, huh?! I discreetly glanced at the Regressor. Though we had directly encountered the Archwitch while she rode an elephant, the Regressor didn’t recognize the Archwitch at all, merely acknowledging her as ‘a witch’ due to her attire. If I were to acknowledge the Archwitch's identity, it would be akin to admitting I knew the Regressor was cross-dressing from the start. Should I reveal it? But then.... "By the way, is it okay for a witch to be alone here? The other witches were busy working in the Primate Level." Screw it. I'll pretend not to know. It's much easier that way. ‘He doesn’t know! Even the king of humans can be fooled by the Agartha mask that embodies truth, goodness, and beauty! Maybe I can even get into the elephant graveyard at this rate!’ The Archwitch was slightly elated by my feigned ignorance. Typically too shy and hesitant to engage, her uplifted mood led her to comply amiably. “Well, uh, you see, I am the Arch...witch’s favored disciple…” "If you're an esteemed disciple, shouldn't you be working even harder?" "...Well, no. The Archwitch and I specialize more in the non-human rather than the human realm. Anything regarding humans is left to Walpurgis...." "Walpurgis?" "She's the legendary witch known as the Witch of the Night... creates revelry and illusions, trapping you in a blur between dreams and reality." Oh, the person who was always attending to the Archwitch. They were always running errands, but it turns out they're more remarkable than expected. I guess one must be of that caliber to serve the Archwitch. "When you say non-human, you mean animals?" "Y-yes. Animals, and plants and trees as well." "That's perfect timing. Would you guide us?" "Guide you?" "To somewhere important, you know. All I see here are these creepy animal fruits." "Then, you'd have to go down further to the Plant Level, not the Animal Level... There's a village there...." "A village? There's a village on Yggdrasil?" Yggdrasil is as colossal as a mountain. But that doesn't mean it's as habitable as one. No matter how large it is, Yggdrasil is still essentially a tree. Its branches swing in mighty winds, falling leaves can be as threatening as raindrops, and there's the constant risk of falling to your death. More importantly, you can't farm on a tree. To obtain food, you must gather it from the sunny fields below, under the shade of Yggdrasil. Unless you're a druid exercising ascetics or nesting, it's likely not suited for settling a village. "...Yes. The Tree of Origin produces... no, bears crops. So, on the Tree of Origin, uh, um...." Struggling to explain the complexity of it, the Archwitch scratched her head over her hat. Then, after glancing between me and the Regressor several times, she seemed to contemplate deeply. ‘To observe wolves, I immerse with wolves; to study parrots, I involve with parrots. To study humans, involving myself with humans makes sense... Think of this body as a familiar. It's less... revolting that way.’ Isn't that closer to misanthropy than just being antisocial? The Archwitch acting alongside people seemed like a major commitment for her. "...I'll show you. Follow me." "Sure, lead the way." The moment we took a step closer, the Archwitch covered her mouth, gagging. "Ugh. Don't come so close." "Well, what do you expect us to do? You're like Shei." "I'm not that bad!" Distancing herself, the Archwitch snapped off a branch from the meat fruit. She broke off six branches. Holding the leafless remnants firmly, she drew out parrot feathers from her garment and inserted them into each branch. Having completed the catalyst, she chanted a spell as she thrust the branches inside the meat fruit. “Feathers of the parrot. Wing bones of the World Tree. Fins within the air. By the gifts of the earth, we shall swim through the skies.” Finishing her murmured incantation, the Archwitch pulled out the branches with effort. “Ugh...!” After much exertion, the branches had transformed into large wings. The branches had turned into a firm framework, adorned with abundant parrot feathers instead of leaves. The Archwitch handed us six pairs of these wings. "Attach these... to your shoulders." "Wings? They seem like they’d fall off easily." "When they touch your skin... roots will sprout...." Though she spoke effortlessly through the parrot, facing someone directly seemed to induce a kind of sickness in her. Stammering and trailing off, the Archwitch leaned in to demonstrate by placing the root of a wing against her own shoulder. As soon as the stem touched her skin, roots sprang forth and tightly gripped her shoulder. She flapped her self-attached wings, casting a sidelong glance my way. "…See?" And without another word, she abruptly jumped down. The Archwitch flew off towards the branches below, clutching her clothes and hat. Though it was more akin to gliding, the wings fluttered autonomously, adjusting her direction. "It's not just acting as a simple glider." The vitality emanating from the wings was palpable. Transforming the World Tree's branches and parrot feathers into wings, the Archwitch's magic harbors a mystifying quality. The Regressor approached me, saying, "Let's follow her. There aren't many witches we can talk to. This could be a great lead." "She doesn't seem particularly good at conversation, though." "You manage well enough even with folks who lack social skills. Give it a try. It’s your chance to shine." "I suppose. I did become friends with Shei." "Am I the poster child for unsociable people now?!" ‘Still, he considers us friends... That's a relief.’ You should either be furious or touched, not both. Nonetheless, I attached the wings to my shoulder. Roots immediately sprouted and coiled around my shoulder. As I slightly raised my arm, the wings flapped accordingly. They didn’t seem to act completely on their own, responding to the movement of my shoulder blade instead. "Alright, so we attach these wings... Oh." As I attempted to place the wings on the Regressor's shoulder, I noticed her arms were tightly bound with bandages, which made me frown. Applying wings with her arms as they were would just lead to a fall. The Regressor noticed my frustrated expression and remarked, "Hmm. I wonder if this could work." “If your arms were detached, I could use the bandages, but that's not ideal.” “Stop with the gruesome suggestions. I can’t wield a sword with these wings, can I?” “Not sure wielding a sword is the issue here.” No matter how I tried, it wasn't feasible. Ultimately, there was no other option. I ended up attaching the wings I intended to give to the Regressor to my waist instead. Feeling the roots securing near my waist, I lifted the Regressor from behind. “Ugh, mmmh.” ‘I do not want to get used to this!’ The Regressor seemed rather accustomed to it, showing little reaction beyond annoyance. Nonetheless, with Regressor dangling in my grasp, I stretched the wings and leapt into the air.