C2 Part1

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A reminder that this is the first half of chapter 2. I don’t know when I’ll be able to release the next one, but please witness for yourselves the insanity of Orelie. Enjoy!

（２）

As he promised, Orélie did not show up at the witch’s cave for the period of two weeks.

The witch regained her own life by herself after a long time. Although it didn’t feel like the best refresher, one might say that having another person as is was a change of pace. The witch personally agreed.

Once more, Orélie came along the first day after the two weeks were up. Seeing him making an expression reminiscent of clinginess in some respects, the witch sighed. As she thought, was it no good?

“How was it?”

“It was no good. Something like thinking about other things to refresh my mood, I wasn’t able to do it. The more I tried not to think about it, the more I had thought about it.”

Well, with a lovesickness like that, it probably wasn’t going to work.

“So? Did you go and meet up with the girl?”

“Yes, just some time ago. Maré’s condition was really identical to two weeks ago. ‘Welcome, and thank you for coming!’ she said.”

“And then?”

“I tried saying to her, ‘Even when I couldn’t meet you, I was very lonely.’ And when I did that, she replied with a smiling face, ‘My, didn’t you meet me just now?’”

“…… ‘ssat so.”

It was already useless. This was the right time. She was too much of a formidable enemy. Still, all the same, the order for Orélie to accept the end of his love should have set in by now.

“Well, in any case, drink this warm soup and even your heart will settle down.”

In the meantime, suddenly changing the subject, the witch took out a piping hot pumpkin soup filled with ample ingredients and fluffy, airy bread. Orélie took one scoop of the soup and slowly poured it into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he kept silent for a short while so that he could search for the soup’s warmth seeping through his chest.

“It’s the same for me. From keeping company with you as is, understand very well that I’m telling you that you aren’t a bad guy. However, I’m afraid that this time’s partner wasn’t your fated partner – I’m only saying. You could send the other person into a daze with nothing but a single glance and no reasoning behind it, or even if they don’t have a reason, there are also times where they dislike you. Surely as far as a girl is concerned, there’ll probably be an existence like that for you in your lifetime. It’s not as if anybody was in the wrong.”

Orélie continued to mutely eat the soup and bread.

“It’s natural that the world is like that, y’know. But it doesn’t mean that you can go out and do everything as you like. That’s why, although there are very painful times, on the contrary there are also very happy times that come around without fail. It’s alright. You’ll most certainly discover a wonderful girl. At that time, I think you’ll be able to feel a joy that’s no less delightful than the current pain you feel now.”

The witch continued giving an encouraging speech unbefitting her character. Since Orélie was only silent, it was a little worrisome.

Before long, Orélie had completely finished eating the meal that was set out in front of him. Slowly placing down his spoon, he raised his face with a somewhat feverish look.

tanuki

“It’s already fine about Maré now.”

“Huh?”

“These past two weeks, I’ve thought carefully about myself along with about Maré. And then, about you as well…”

His eyes were twinkling with a sparkle in them. When the witch saw that, shivers went down her spine.

tanuki

“Somehow, it looks as though I’ve fallen in love with you.”

In a corner of the cave, the crow was pecking at various nuts and berries. As if it was laughing scornfully at the two, once again after a long time, the crow let out a caw.

The witch had forgotten, but Orélie was the youngest out of three sons, and from time to time he selfishly did things at his own pace without consulting anybody else, and―― even from the witch’s point of view, who was out of step with normal people’s morals ―― he was thoroughly an oddball.

tanuki

A hag with a face similar to a crumpled piece of paper with wrinkles piled upon wrinkles, and in addition to that, the witch of the forest who everyone disliked and sought to keep a distance. In all honesty, being confessed to by the likes of a youthful man was completely opposite of her predictions―― was it all adding up? That was the witch’s first and foremost impression. However, Orélie said that in both seriousness and with seriousness. As she knew more than plenty enough the limits to his personality, there was also no form of skepticism on her part.

tanuki

Over a long period of time, the witch was a woman who did him a favor and listened to what he had to say, at times speaking severely, and at times speaking tenderly. It was the first time, he said.

Rather than when he would go to the florist for the sake of meeting Maré, his heart had felt more at ease when he would go to the witch’s cave in order to meet her, he said.

At the time shortly after he was forsaken, and when he was thinking by himself without coming to the cave – he was so sad to the extent that he wept, he said.

When he lost his patience and revisited the cave, he received a warm ushering in without any change from the usual – as he thought, he was so happy to the extent that he wept, he said.

These past two weeks without being able to meet were painful to the extent that he wasn’t yearning for Maré, but yearning for the witch, he said.

Orélie passionately continued talking about further details like this until the witch broke her silence, giving up with a please forgive me already.

tanuki

At any rate, on that very same day after saying “Come back when you’ve cooled your head overnight,” the witch forcibly sent him away. But, there wasn’t any expectations for that Orélie to recover his senses when left there overnight. No, in the first place, “that” was the human called Orélie’s true character! This was why oddballs like that guy were absolutely incorrigible.

And as she thought, the next day Orélie came along carrying a heap of flower bouquets under his arms, just like the other day. His sparkling and feverish look remained unchanged.

“Here you go. Please accept these.”

“What’s the matter with these flowers?”

“I bought them at Maré’s store. I bought them normally as a customer and when I quickly left, it was the first time Maré looked like she showed an interest in me. But after such a long time now, I didn’t really feel any happiness in particular.”

“Something like flowers in this cave… decorating the skeletons like the objet d’art in your room would create an imbalance, you know.”

“Well then, I’ll even bring an appropriately rare bird mummy to this cave the next time I come.”

“I’m begging you, let the matter drop. If you walk around searching for that kind of thing, you’ll really be branded as the true meaning of an oddball.”

This young man called Orélie… was he always drawing near Maré in this kind of manner? If that was the case, even if you clearly severed with him, Maré discerned that it was futile. The witch was obliged to recognize her exceedingly prudent choice of openly disregarding everything about Orélie.

“As I thought, looks like wanting you to cool down your head overnight wasn’t enough to completely sober up, huh.”

“As time elapsed, my thoughts regarding you proceeded to transform into something firm and stable.”

“Please try looking very well at my face. I’m a grandmother who’s filled with wrinkles. For a man as young as you, it’s impossible to harbor any feelings of love for something like this as your partner, right?”

“Especially when loving someone, there’s no connection between appearance and age.”

Those weren’t the words of the man who was taken with the famous belle of the flower shop. But, that kind of thing wasn’t a case worth plunging into.

“Certainly, I looked after you. And because of that, you think you like me. Then that’s probably because you’re channeling the deep affection you have towards your own grandmother, isn’t it?”

“That’s wrong. Even now, my grandmother is in good health. But the feeling I get when I carefully think of my grandmother versus the feeling I get when I carefully think of you are completely different. I can’t get married to my grandmother, but I was thinking that I wanted to get married with you.”

“Married!”

In her defeat, the witch nearly fainted.

“Y-you… I wonder if someone didn’t make you drink some strange thing somewhere.”

“Certainly not. I’m extremely sober.”

This is why this guy is called a true oddball… argh, really! What was a witch supposed to do?!

tanuki

With this day serving as a turning point, once again Orélie spent every day commuting back and forth to the cave. However, the meaning behind those visits were now significantly different than from before.

On one occasion, he became unable to barely grope his way around and reach the grotto when the witch placed down a magic spell stretching along the surroundings. The condition of Orélie at that time, who was shaken up, upset and going into pieces, was so miserably pathetic that, even for the witch who was observing it, it was unbearable. He truly was continuing to be a steady volunteer, intent on persuading the witch face to face today as well.

However, if the lord’s son continued commuting to this questionable cave, alone and unaided, any more than this, then his surrounding people probably wouldn’t stay silent. As a last resort, the witch arranged for the mixing of an ultra-strong “Separation Potion” to make him hate everything about her – but, the day to decide to use this may possibly be close.

One day, an entirely different character from Orélie showed up to the cave.

With a basket full of flowers in one hand and luscious, long black hair undulating like the waves, it was a fascinatingly beautiful young lady. It was supposed to be her first time seeing that girl. But from the witch’s intuition, she instantly saw through that character’s true nature.

“――Master Belliamélie!”

When the witch called out a name in astonishment, the young lady smiled sweetly and,

“It’s certainly been a long time hasn’t it, Liselle?”

– so she said in return, carelessly calling out the witch’s real name.

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