Chapter 70 – Pulling Them Into a Meeting Because They're Family

А privatе room in а уаkiniku rеstаurаnt…

A man аnd a womаn аlonе. It’s nоt likе nоthing wоuld haрpеn…

“Since Ignitе, whо wаs slеeping аt the bоttom of the bаg, hаs also woken uр, wе’ll have our meeting whilе еating dessert.”

“Eh!? I was imаgining sоmething like… thе atmоsрhеrе getting sweeter with mу senior, аnd mауbe getting tаkеn hоme like this wоuld be fine tоo, or something likе thаt…”

“You’ve bееn cоming and going frоm my house sо manу timеs already, isn’t it a bit lаte fоr а ‘tаke-hоme’ now?”

“Nоw thаt уou mentiоn it, it doеsn’t fееl sреciаl…”

Аnd sо.

‘Thеrе’s an influence from the Witch of the Mind! That one is probably using magic to reach our side through the Otherworld!’

‘Nn, that is a grave situation indeed! That damnable wretch! In a direct fight, she’d be nothing! But she uses these indirect tactics!’

“Fwooooh! It’s the same voice I heard on the stream! So Senior really was Little Spice aaaaaah!”

“You saw me release Metamorphose right in front of you.”

“I thought that was a nightmare or something…”

How should one describe this?

We, having finished eating a round of yakiniku.

It’s a two-hour time slot system, so we have thirty minutes left.

We’ll use this time for the meeting.

“Isn’t there a possibility she’ll launch a direct attack on us? If she uses magic without visually confirming this world, it’ll probably end up half-baked like this time, right?”

‘That’s true. For a little while, I think the danger level of Dungeons in this surrounding area will increase. Because Master streamed, you see.’

“Ah, I see. She was probing for the places I appear. So, she’ll narrow down where I’m likely to appear from now on and concentrate her forces there? How nasty.”

‘Nn, that one only has indirect tactics! Because mental attacks don’t work between Witches!’

“Is that so…”

‘She dominates opponents with weaker Magic Power. So with the Grimoire of the Mind, you can’t oppose a superior opponent. If the opposing Witch is superior, it would be too horrible to watch.’

“I see. So, streamers or others who encounter the Witch of the Mind would be in serious trouble.”

‘Serious trouble indeed! They’d get dominated!’

This is a major crisis!

We have to find and defeat the Witch of the Mind.

“U-um.”

Mashiro timidly raises her hand.

“Me, well, as a regular person participating here, isn’t it out of place…?”

Before, that might have been the case, but…

‘Not out of place at all! I welcome the engagement between Master and Ms. Mashiro, you know! For Witches, there is such a thing as a Witch’s husband. They are existences who protect Witches through power like authority or martial prowess! By blending into society like this, Witches have been able to safely exert their influence, you see.’

“But I have no authority or physical strength at all!?”

‘Nn, your father! Didn’t he provide that wonderful hideout? This is precisely… nn, authority!!’

“I-I see!”

‘After that, please bear Master’s children.’

“Flota, that’s straight-up sexual harassment!”

“U-ussu! I’ll do my best!!”

“I’m motivated too!!”

It seems my summer campaign has ended.

“May the state be peaceful and prosperous, and the lord and vassals be rich and joyful,” as they say.

Well, it was to protect Mashiro’s safety, so it couldn’t be helped…

Besides, if I can take on Sponsored Deals left and right like this time, my income will improve.

I’ll contract with an accountant, learn about tax savings and such…

To live that kind of life, first I have to beat the crap out of the Witch of the Mind.

“So, what do we do? How do we find the Witch of the Mind? I don’t know her appearance or form. I only know it’s magic.”

‘Let’s acquire a Perception Fragment! Obtain Sense Magic! Magic, you see, has specific movements of Magic Power for each genre… waves, they’re called. If you get Sense Magic, it’ll be over in one shot!’

“That’s it. But why didn’t you tell me about that until now?”

‘We didn’t have the leeway to acquire magic not directly related to combat, did we?’

“True.”

Now that Ignite has become somewhat usable, we finally have the leeway to expand our magic beyond Metamorphose.

“Alright, let’s search for Sense Magic! I should also inform Mr. Murakami.”

‘I think that Fox can search using his connections! Because groping in the dark would be endless! Besides, from what you’ve learned so far, you understand that if you perceive a Fragment’s existence and desire it, it will approach you on its own, right?’

I see, so I should stream while imagining the Perception Fragment.

And if it’s usable, we’ll use the Labyrinth Ministry or anything else!

That’s how it is.

“Alright, meeting adjourned! I’ll pay the bill.”

Table payment, so it’s easy.

Thirty thousand yen for two.

In the end, we poor folks didn’t order the highest-grade meat.

I want to become so successful I can order without even looking.

When we stepped outside the restaurant, it was already the dead of night.

The seats on the train that had just arrived were empty, so we sat right down.

Mashiro, with the alcohol taking effect, leaned against me and was fast asleep, snoring.

The fact that it’s not a soft, gentle breathing sound here is so Mashiro.

‘My, my worries have cleared up and I feel refreshed.’

“Flota was single-mindedly trying to get me to have children.”

‘Well, of course. You never know when a Witch might be destroyed in a Witch Hunt. Or she could die in a conflict between Witches. Witches use magic through the power of blood. So it’s always better to have descendants inheriting strong blood.’

My grandmother, all the way to me, had continued the bloodline, after all.

As I was thinking such things, a message came on LUINE.

Could it be the Ancient Witch?

It’s been a while.

‘I sensed the appearance of the Witch of the Mind. It seems she had been utilizing the Otherworld you discovered earlier for much longer than you.’

“Mhm mhm, I see… So, the reason the Witch of the Mind didn’t hijack an entire plane to come here was…”

‘If she tampers with the consciousness or memories of many people, she would stand out that much more. She knows well the danger of silencing many people’s mouths at once. When many people suffer mental abnormalities, attracting public attention is inevitable. She fears being discovered because of that.’

“I see. So, something like wiping the memories of a large majority would be suicidal. If she’s going to come… it would be when she’s prepared for self-destruction.”

She’d probably come in a reckless, desperate state when we’re about to defeat her.

Preventing that decisively is probably difficult.

We either need to do damage control on our side, or acquire means to recover from the damage…

‘To return manipulated minds to normal, a strong shock should suffice. For example, memories seared deep into the heart, or a voice…’

Memories, a voice…

A voice…!?

I had a sudden realization.

If a voice would work, isn’t there a specialist?

Dungeon ASMR.

This is precisely the trump card in the fight against the Witch of the Mind.