CH 26

Volume 1: Chapter 026: Makia Plays Around with Acorns

Hey, it’s been a long time, Makia here!

I had a scuffle with Tooru just now.

After he left the room, I stand behind the door, waiting for him to leave. When I judged that he is far enough, I finally let go.

“Fufufu, ufufufu”

With my left hand clenched tightly, I make my way to the wooden desk, pull a drawer with my right and withdraw a white handkerchief.

Then, I open my left hand and drop Tooru’s hair [1] onto the handkerchief.

“Tooru, you’re as easily tricked as ever…”

I couldn’t stop laughing, but I had to [1] keep it quiet, or else they would notice something wrong.

I whisper to myself. “Now, I have your hair… and… blood.”

I have a drop of Tooru’s blood with me, just a little paper cut gave me just enough blood for the next crucial step.

I take out the acorns that I have been collecting for the past few days as well as a wooden box from the desk.

Next, is the simple task of dividing the acorns according to their shapes and sizes, and taking off their little caps.

I place one piece of hair on a flat plate, bite the tip of my finger and touch the plate with my blood.

The hair melted into the blood.

“…. Fufufu”

This is the reason why I am called the Crimson Witch.

Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~

What was that? [2]

What am I doing you asked?

[2] Oh, you want to know what the romantic comedy act from the previous chapters was about too?

In order to properly explain everything, I must first tell you about my research.

I had been collecting acorns in the forest behind the estate for the past few days.

As for the purpose, I had been meaning to try and see if I could make a ‘toy’ with them.

My magic had been wasting away from disuse lately, so I thought I should try and remember the old days and give these powers of mine a little exercise. Isn’t it a nice idea? I mean, what else can one do in this peaceful countryside?

There aren’t many places or targets I can safely experiment with the toys I make. If I want to test my true strength, I would have to borrow an uninhabited island or something.

“Still, there’s at least one person I can play around with~ Someone indestructible and able to withstand my experiments…”

While poking at the contents of the flat plate with my index finger, I gazed into the brilliant red glow and… ah, this isn’t a face I can simply show to outsiders.

The liquid at the end of my fingertip is no longer blood.

It has transformed into the foundation of my magic.

By dissolving Tooru’s hair with my blood, the magic now has a target. Once the foundation is done, I apply it onto the portion of the acorn where the cap had been removed.

After I place the cap back on, the acorn now contains my will.

“Tooru… You really are weak to women”

A 13-year-old girl, embroil in suspicious work, is muttering to herself.

Now that I have openly showcased my anger against him, all acts of violence would be seen as the cute harassment of a sulky girl.

After all, I do need a valid reason to attack him.

What do you think?

Aren’t I cute? [2]

Do remember that I was the Crimson Witch of the West.

Fuhahaha!!

That said, I am a little irritated by his attitude.

He’s probably thinking along the lines of ‘I’m so loved by all’. While I was the one who encouraged this line of thinking, I have the oddest feeling of defeat when I think about it.

“Well, I guess it’s fine. This is also a form of love, isn’t it?”

Tooru, you’ve always been like that for the longest time.

You’re the only one who could take on my power.

That’s right, I am actually very pleased with Tooru’s Karted trip.

[2] The moment I heard about it, I was struck by the idea of doing this little experiment. Hence, the reason behind our ‘fight’.

I smile ironically at the completed acorn ‘toy’.

Let’s start off the experiment with one acorn.

On the first day of his Karted trip, I place one acorn inside his shoes. [2] It’s not like it’s a big deal. It will probably hurt a little when you step on it (not as badly as an unpeeled chestnut, though).

I’m pretty sure he is not aware of the true danger he was in, although he’s probably anticipating some sulky retaliation from me.

You should really be cautious from now on. You could die from my little experiment.

I [2] place a note on my bedroom door.

Day 1: Makia

Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

And don’t ever come back, you stupid eggplant black soybean!

I left this note on my door, sure that he would notice it. [2] He is the type of guy who could not leave a girl alone. [2] To ensure that only he would understand my notes, I wrote them in Japanese.

Now that I’ve established communication in a way that only he could understand, he would definitely return the favour. Tooru is that kind of guy, after all.

Day 2: Tooru

Did you put acorns in my shoes?

As expected, he is caught in a trap and suffered a painful experience.

He also replied to my note in Japanese. Regardless of whether he’s a gullible or disappointing guy, Tooru is still Tooru.

Day 3: Makia

Do you know? If you reduce your sleep time, you could die.

Sounds pretty dangerous, right?

Stop it now, kay?

While it looks like I’m cursing him, I should show a little concern under my abuse and give the impression of being worried despite my anger.

Yes, read it from that standpoint.

Day 4: Tooru

Your words contradict itself.

Also, why did you put acorns in my shoes?

Looks like he’s rather fixated on the acorns in his shoes. He must have noticed the acorns I had set up this morning.

Day 5: Makia

Was Karted fun?

Why don’t you just live there forever?

Day 6: Tooru

Were you the one who bombarded me with acorns from the window this morning?

I thought I nearly died.

From here on, the experiment begins in earnest.

I got up early in the morning to fire my special acorns through the window at Tooru. [2] The slingshot and binoculars had been specially prepared, of course, so that I could accurately bombard Tooru with acorns as he leaves the house.

Well, the amount of magic in the acorns is trivial, but they should at least burn him a little.

The game is to see how many times I can hit him until Father is finally ready to leave for Karted. [2] The first shot looks like it hurt a little, but he did try to raise his magic to defend himself against the second shot.

He is also aware enough to look towards my room.

I hide under the edge of the window.

“Fufu, this is fun, Tooru~”

I remember doing stuff like this long ago. [2] 2,000 years ago, in fact, we would often get into random skirmishes like this.

Of course, back then our power was so great that the scale of whatever [1] game we engaged in escalated into something closer to natural disasters.

I do believe we caused a lot of trouble for the people we accidentally dragged into our fights. [2] Still, back then, engaging in fights like this was the only way to have fun.

I guess, some things remain the same.

[Gumihou: Err, the Crimson Witch is scary…]

[1] Filling in the ‘Unspoken’. Often, when it comes to Japanese novels, the translation might be a bit lacking since the author deliberately choose to use fewer words and let the reader fill in the blanks through a preset cultural understanding.

If the missing info looks too sparse, Gumi will fill in some of the blanks. This is not to imply that the writer’s craft is lacking, but we do have a cultural gap. Gumi will try to fill in these gaps unobtrusively.