The Wandering Witch VOL. 2 - The Witchfolk Genocide Arc

13.4| A Falcon Witch

    It was one unexpected thing after the other. By then, she had thought that she had gotten used to the surprises that the kingdom of Gisnell seemed to have in store for both her and Noct. From having her satchel stolen yet again, to meeting the self-proclaimed Falcon Witch named Jul Orben, to running around the kingdom while following a complete stranger, and to realizing that Jul was actually, in fact, an extremely childish and simpleminded person, Chell had assured herself for a moment that considering how short the timespan had been since they first stepped into the kingdom's walls, surely, there were no more surprises for the rest of the day.

    Of course, she was proven wrong. The announcement of the red-haired girl named Yoko being the princess of Gisnell seemed so sudden that for a moment, Chell thought she had been dreaming this whole time. That was, until the thief reacted beside her.

    "... Eh?" he muttered, tone incredulous. At the same time, his hand seemed to move unconsciously to shake Yoko's outstretched one. It was as though his mind had gone blank for a moment. The princess laughed a little as she retracted her hand, amused by his reaction.

    "My name is quite a mouthful, isn't it?" she asked. "Oh, but I dislike any honorifics, so please call me Yoko instead," she added.

    Noct blinked for a few times. "Oh. I'm... Noct."

    "Noct. I see," she repeated as she nodded to him. Then, at last, she turned to Chell, holding out her hand to her for the second time. Her brows furrowed into worry. "Once again, I'm really sorry for my... companion's conduct. I'm sure you must have been been extremely bothered and offended. And also, I apologize for Jul mistaking you as the Snow Witch... she idolizes her a lot, you see. So naturally, whenever she sees someone with the same features as a Necrovitte, Jul immediately mistakes them as her. If it somehow insults you, I'd like to offer my sincerest of apologies..."

    As the princess trailed off uncertainly, Chell looked down at her outstretched hand, staring at it for a few seconds, mind spinning. She was still at a loss for what to say. Her voice was stuck in her throat. In an attempt to seek for help, she instinctively turned to face Noct, her expressionless face marred by a slight hint of panic that only the thief seemed to notice. The moment that he saw the expression on her face, however, the next thing that he did was something neither Chell nor the other two expected to happen.

     The Crow Thief burst out into a sudden laugh.

    All the others turned to him in surprise as Noct suddenly hunched down, covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle his voice as he guffawed out loud. His blissful laugher rang down the entire length of the alley, stirring the sleeping cats and dogs laying in the corners. Chell and the other two flinched in alarm, taken aback. He continued in his own amusement, shoulders shaking. Jul was the first to speak, forgetting that Yoko was still mad at her.

    "Um..." her voice was uncertain, "... has he lost his head?"

   No one answered her.

   "Ah, ah—I-I'm sorry," Noct apologized through his chuckles, shaking his head. "But really. This whole situation is just too... hilarious! I mean, first, we have a thief and a witch. Then we have a witch-thief! Then we have a princess! And then... she's actually not a thief? The little miss is apparently mistaken with her own identity? Is this the beginning of a joke? 'two witches, a thief, and a princess enter a pub...' Ahahaha, I just can't keep it in any longer!" At that, he burst into another fit of glee, his whole body trembling with hysteric laughter.

    Chell looked at him in silence, blinking in surprise. For a moment, the throb at the back of her head returned yet again. Then a second later, the thief stopped and straightened up. Jul and Yoko jumped a little in surprise. Noct raised both of his hands in front of himself. Then, he suddenly slapped his face, placing as much force behind the hit as he could. The sound of the smack buzzed in Chell's ears. It must have hurt, from the sound of it alone. He breathed out, closing his eyes and opening them a moment after.