The Witch and the Doll Swear

……Why is this so?

The girl lying on the bed woke up in a daze.

Dry mouth.

dizzy.

His body temperature was astonishingly high, as if a fire was burning in his brain.

Such a high temperature even gave me the illusion that I was thrown into a large pot and was being cooked by a fierce fire. Even thinking—in fact, in such a situation, my brain activity was marked with a question mark whether it was thinking or not, but Since I can still have this kind of thought about such a situation, maybe I haven't completely lost my mind...

Supporting the soft mattress, Tingna staggered up her upper body. The high body temperature took away most of the girl's physical strength. Now she is like Liliana who hasn't gotten out of bed in the morning Same.

crumbling.

It seems that I will return to the embrace of the warm quilt at any time.

"Liliana...Alice..."

The scenery in front of me became clear.

Thinking of these two names that drove me to leave my hometown that was warmer than the bed, my consciousness seemed to be much clearer.

The curtains and lights were not turned on, and the room was dark.

Maybe all magician's rooms have this feature. The big bed where I am lying is in the middle of this circular room. Not far away, the only light penetrates through the gaps in the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Tingna struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, and looked there.

Probably the windows were not closed properly, and the wind blew up the black curtains. It took some time for the eyes to adjust to the light from the window.

When the white sunlight was no longer dazzling, a corner under the sky jumped into the eyes of the girl through the half-drawn black curtain.

Very strange scenery.

The sky is like a pure blue sapphire, you can touch it as long as you stretch out your hand. But that is just an illusion, the sky here is far higher and wider than Yansha City, far higher and wider than that grassland, and the illusion that it is within reach is only because at this moment, I am compared with 99% of the human beings on the mainland. It's just closer to the sky.

"Well……"

—but why?

The girl clutched her aching head, confused by the thought that came to her.

The reason why I am very close to the sky now.

Reflected outside the windows with balconies, the names of those buildings stabbing into the sky like sharp swords...

A high fever can make people delirious and slow in thinking. Seeing those buildings that together with the blue sky outline the undulating skyline, it took Tingna more than ten seconds to remember their scientific names, so that when the name appeared in the After the girl's mind was overheated, she couldn't help but knocked herself on the head.

tower.

Mage Tower.

The pure white banyan tree-like mage tower.

The dark obelisk-like Mage Tower engraved with golden runes.

A mage's tower supported straight up and down by threaded stone pillars.

Supported by countless flying buttresses, it looks like a tower of mages.

Even, in the center of a green space, there is a tall tower with a straight and sloping body, forming a surprising angle with the ground.

The tallest and most mysterious building on the mainland.

Whenever this name is mentioned, what people blurt out is always wearing a robe with a hood, holding a wand, a mysterious magician, a luxurious and beautiful magical mechanism with unimaginable practicality, and will be eliminated without mercy. The golems of the intruders and... yes, of course, the treasures that the mages kept in their towers.

It is natural to feel strange.

Because this is not even the south of the mainland anymore, even the sky and sunshine are completely different from what Tina knows.

They stand here as densely as trees.

No city has more magic towers than here, maybe there are really as many as a thousand, just like the name of this city floating proudly above the sky.

——The city of a thousand towers.

The unique floating city-state on the mainland, the headquarters of magic and mystery, and a legendary city as transcendent as the Guanghui Academy.

——And here is Liliana's mage tower.

"Today is... is it the third day..."

When Tina finally remembered, she turned to look at the calendar on the bedside table.

The moon of stars and frost, on the 34th, another week, even the goddess Shiva who rules the cold winter will give up the night sky to the night without stars and moon, and then the moon, the year of black flowers has come to the final season.

It was already the fourth day of coming to this city.

This means that my high fever has not subsided after three days.

What about time? Shouldn't I sleep until noon again...

"Uh huh..."

Tingna stretched out her hand to swing the clock on the bedside table towards her, but just as she stretched out her hand, the nausea in her stomach accompanied by a burst of dizziness made her give up this unrealistic behavior, and fell back limply. on the mattress.

thump.

It was really impossible to tell if this was an illusion, Tina felt that even the sound of herself falling on the bed was softer than before.

"Miss Tingna, are you up already?"

"I, we'll come up right away—"

However, this slight sound seemed to be enough to make other occupants of this tower aware of their waking up.

Benedict, Benedict.

Pat, clack.

Two footsteps sounded on the stairs leading to this room.

Before the sound of footsteps came to the bedside.

Tina opened her eyes again.

"Ah, Miss Tina, are you all right?"

Warmth is coming.

On the quilt where there was nothing just now, a girl wagging her tail suddenly appeared.

She has blazing flame-like long hair, red agate-like eyes, and two small horns on her forehead that are condensed like flames. As soon as she opened her mouth, the small canine teeth were exposed, blowing the warm wind to the girl. in front of.

Whether it's the reptile-like eyes, or the tail covered with crystal red scales dangling behind the girl's buttocks, and the flame burning on the tip of the tail, all reveal the fact that it is not human.

Well, not human.

It feels like a cat or dog that is particularly clingy, and should be more dog-friendly.

"Do you still feel cold? Do you need me to turn up the temperature? If you feel cold, you can hug me-wow!"

The girl stared at Tina like she was about to jump on the big dog she was playing with, and would jump on it with a nod of the head.

—in fact, she had already planned to do so.

Tina noticed that the hands of the girl lying on the quilt with the pattern of flowing lava were tightening like springs as the body was pressed down, her knees were bent, and her buttocks were raised, which reminded people of the scene of a beast rushing to eat. This gesture will undoubtedly make people foresee the next scene.

——If there is no other girl behind her.

"Right now, Miss Tina has a fever. Don't make trouble, Salamanda. Adjust the water temperature of the hot spring. Let's take a bath for Miss Tina."

"Wow!"

The girl who is like a flame is about to be like a runaway husky - Tina doesn't know why she connects the two, probably because they are too similar - when she pounces on her, she appears like a shadow The girl behind her grabbed her tail casually and lifted the girl up.

Black hair, black pupils, delicate and smooth dark brown skin that is very close to black, the only other colors on this girl are the whites of the eyes and the teeth exposed between the opening and closing of the lips, and the powder on the tip of the tongue that is speaking unhappily.

"But Miss Tina looks very cold! There's a wind blowing in the room!"

"It's natural to feel cold because of the wind-cold and cold. Sylph also lowered the wind force. The windows can be opened but the wind force is lowered. Miss Tina can no longer catch the cold!"

"Understood, understood—"

It wasn't until this moment that Tina realized that the windows around the room had been opened unconsciously.

In midwinter, the wind from the high sky in the north blows over the body, making the overheated body feel a chill, but immediately, the wind becomes gentle and warm as the girl with transparent wings and short azure hair dances in the air.

"Miss Tingna, is this wind okay?"

"Huh? Uh, uh..."

"Then keep it like this~~~~ I'll go for a ride by the tower, call me when you need-"

The girl who manipulated the wind shook her pointy ears triumphantly, and suddenly disappeared.

"That Sylph guy is really... But anyway, Salamanda—"

"I see."

"Well, that's right. The temperature of the water should be controlled to be lower than Miss Tina's body temperature. Miss Tina still has a serious fever."

"good--"

The black-haired girl nodded her head and let go of the girl's tail. The girl with a bulging face shook her tail covered in crystal red scales awkwardly, crawled to the bed and stretched the flame at the end of her tail to the hot spring bath surrounding the bed. middle.

...Because it's a Salamanda (salamander), so it walks on all fours, wouldn't it be uncomfortable with the ratio of human hands and feet...

The picture of the girl wagging her tail and crawling on all fours was so surreal that Tina felt her mind was even more confused.

In any case, she couldn't recognize this scene as ordinary and everyday.

"Okay, Miss Tina, let me see your temperature... well, it has dropped by one degree again. Sure enough, although Miss Tina is relatively insensitive to potions for reducing fever, this traditional therapy can still play a role. It works accordingly."

There is another scene that cannot be faced with a normal heart.

Putting her forehead on Tina's forehead, the girl as beautiful as a black pearl smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to sweat a lot today too."

After speaking, he licked his lips.

... In this sentence, should... I mean should, there is really no strange meaning.

Tingna was thinking in confusion, and subconsciously shrank her body back.

But this action made the girl leaning close to her happily raise the corners of her mouth, and stretched out her hand——

"...Don't be rude to Princess Lily's guests."

Snapped!

The white hand slammed the palm that was getting closer to Tingna, the black girl exclaimed, and subconsciously withdrew her outstretched hand.

"What are you doing, Wright, it hurts!"

"...You can't be rude to Princess Liliana's guests, I don't know what you're thinking."

Repeated indifferently, the girl who had almost the same appearance as the black-haired girl calmly raised her platinum-like long hair, and her golden eyes were as bright as Saigon's sun.

"...Please leave the bath to me, Miss Tingna."

"Eh, um, um... sorry to trouble you..."

Nod, nod.

The girl who was extremely similar to Miss Witch in various senses, skillfully untied the white cotton nightgown on the girl with the reappeared hands, easily picked her up, and came to the waterway beside the bed.

"Wait a minute, Wright, obviously Miss Tina and I have a better relationship, let me do it! Obviously Miss Tina's body somewhat repulses you, doesn't it?"

"...It's just the normal repulsion of light by shadows, and it won't affect Miss Tingna. Of course, you can do it if you want...I will keep an eye on you."

"Don't stare!"

"That, that..."

The body was soaked in warm water, feeling relieved, Ting Na interrupted the quarrel between the girls with cold sweat. She wanted to say that although the high fever for three consecutive days had burned a lot of her physical strength, she should take a bath for herself. If you have the strength, there is still...

But before Ting Na had time to speak, the two girls in black and white turned their heads with a tacit understanding, and said in unison:

"Miss Tingna needs to conserve her energy as much as possible now."

"...Miss Tina must take a good rest now."

"So leave it to me!"

"...I will help."

In this aspect, they are exceptionally compatible, almost like twin sisters in one body.

...No, they are sisters, the spirit of light, Reite, and the spirit of darkness, Nate.

The free-spirited wind elf Sylph, who is flying outside the tower, is lying on the bed, using her tail to adjust the temperature of the hot spring in the circular channel surrounding the bed, and the warm and warm fire elf Saramanda.

besides……

"Please leave the job of bathing Miss Tingna to me!"

Pat, clack, footsteps came upstairs quickly.

The sound reminiscent of the sound of clear springs, accompanied by a blue translucent figure appeared in the room.

For a while, the elves and Tingna fell into silence.

silence.

Silence is an indictment without words.

"I've always been bathing Princess Liliana," the girl's voice, which was made entirely of water, became softer and softer until finally, under Tina's silent gaze.

"—I'm really, really sorry! No matter what kind of scolding and punishment I will accept, no, it doesn't matter if you punish me as much as you want! Please Miss Tina, please don't die!!"

The prostrate wow burst into tears.

"...No, I won't die, and I won't scold and punish..."

A headache in another sense made Tingna cover her face weakly.

The beautiful and plump water girl crying and begging for forgiveness to her seat is more surreal than anything she has experienced so far. Even if it happens every day, Tina still doesn't know how to react.

"Miss Tina, breakfast and medicine."

Another sound of footsteps passed by the blue girl of water. The girl with green vines wrapped around her body held a sterling silver dinner plate and put a bowl of steaming porridge next to Tina.

"Sylph."

"Understood~~~ Noam, here—"

A few invisible wind blades passed over the juicy apples on the dinner plate, and the bright red fruit was divided into eight neat petals. The wind spirit that appeared suddenly handed the fruit core to the woman with earth-gray skin and emerald pupils, and took the fruit core The female nodded towards her, and then buried the fruit core into the delicate clay-like skin.

Dark green lines appeared on her body, and soon, several clusters of green buds protruded from her leafy hair, stretching the delicate buds and leaves in the bright sunlight.

"Go to the greenhouse and transplant."

After finishing speaking, the woman saluted Tingna and walked down the stairs.

Nome, the elf of the earth, and Undine, the elf of water, by the way, the latter is the only one who didn't use the name of the race as his name, but gave himself an [Aqua]...that is, Aqua The elf of the name.

At the same time, she is also the culprit for the girl who is seriously ill and bedridden.

"……Aha……"

——Respectfully, my father and mother who are traveling with me under the blue sky in the north, but don’t know where they are traveling.

Ting Na rubbed her face in distress, and once again deeply questioned what went wrong.

——Your daughter probably won't be able to go back to the ordinary but happy daily life.

Ahh, why on earth is this happening?

The girl's thoughts couldn't help but fly to the past a few days ago.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Starfrost Moon, 31st.

If one color were to be used to describe this land, it would undoubtedly be [Silver White].

Holding a cup of hot cocoa, the girl sat on the bench and thought so.

The silvery white snow fields, the silvery white streets, the silvery white squares, and the city floating in the sky must have been built by the gods with the purest mithril.

When seeing it from a distance, Tina almost regarded it as a star at dawn.

When the airship approached, Tina realized that it was far more shining than the stars.

It is difficult to describe a city floating above the sky with a young girl's knowledge. All the metaphors and magnificent rhetoric she knows are in front of the peak of this ancient magic empire, and even the highest masterpiece of human magic so far. Overshadowed.

Magnificent?

majestic?

Ingenious workmanship?

Tina believes that the greatest writer, like herself, has witnessed countless tall towers and stars shining together, streets and fountains ups and downs in the bright aurora, and cumulus clouds in the sky hit the silvery white bedrock, just like the scene of roaring waves Afterwards, you will want to delete these words from the dictionary and replace them all with the name of this great city.

City of Thousand Towers.

From the moment she got off the airship until now, Tingna has been in amazement all the time.

"Even the cemetery is silver... ah."

The northerners believe that pure and flawless silver can purify the resentment and regret of the dead, so silver fences are used to separate the cemetery from the street, and silver-white stone tablets are used as the tombstones of the dead.

Now, a small black figure is slowly walking from the silvery white.

"Miss Liliana, Miss Alice...is it over?"

With a pocket watch-like coat of arms, the staff of the City of Thousand Towers who were in charge of entry and exit were shocked, and the witch and the doll who stopped a carriage and came here directly as soon as they left the airport nodded together.

Only when they walked into the cemetery did they say "please wait here" to Tina and asked if they needed to leave a constant temperature magic.

They wore gorgeous black dresses and wove garlands of pale roses. Even when they said these words, there was no expression on their faces, but Tina felt that Liliana and Alice were probably, very sad.

So she didn't say anything, just shook her head quietly.

Even now...

"...After all, the funeral has been missed."

"It's a pity that I couldn't see the last one. The immortal body is a little slow to the passage of time. Maybe I will miss it more times in the future."

Tina thought of the tall tower that appeared on the grassland and made the nearby nomads panic, and thought of the girl named Sephanny who appeared on the grassland by accident, which Tina saw for the first time in her life. The devil brought news of the death of their friends to Liliana and Alice who happened to pass by there.

Goy Cowell.

This is a very unfamiliar name to Ting Na, but on the airship, seeing Liliana who is getting more and more silent as she gets closer to the City of Thousand Towers, and her magic cards are becoming less and less merciless, Ting Na Na sometimes has such thoughts pop up out of the blue.

Could it be that the tall tower that appeared on the prairie by accident is a farewell to a friend by a magician who has never met before?

It's meaningless to say this idea, how many friends have Liliana and Alice witnessed the death of?

[This is the unavoidable bitter ending of the relationship between the immortal species and the short-lived species. 】

The words of that noble and beautiful blood earl sounded in his ears again, relieved but not at all relieved.

One day, when I am getting old, can I see them again before dust returns to dust and dust returns to dust?

"...Miss Tina, you're in a daze."

Liliana blinked her eyes, and the faint aura of loneliness disappeared from her side.

"Eh? Ah...Sorry...Where are we going next?"

Tingna shook her head hastily, avoiding the eyes of the witch and the puppet on her shoulder, and let go of the messy thoughts in her mind.

Even if one day... then wait until then to think about it.

Put aside the things that you can't think clearly, and don't worry about them. This is your greatest wisdom.

"Let's go back to Lily's Mage Tower. Wait until tomorrow, after we get the deciphered information from the Mage Association, we will start our journey again."

"...Although there is an option to go directly to the Magician's Association, Miss Tingna thinks it's very cold, so take a rest. I'm going to take Miss Tingna to buy a piece of clothing enchanted with [Warmth] tomorrow."

"Thank you so much……"

It seems that it is still not hidden.

The warm drink that cost more than 20 copper coins was quickly consumed. Throwing the paper cup into the garbage bin marked with garbage recycling, Tingna quickly retracted her hands that had lost the heat source into her sleeves and put them in her pockets.

The girl also shrunk her mouth and nose into the wrapping of the apron, and if possible, Tina would also like to shrink her eyes and forehead——Thinking of this, the girl pulled the plush hat on her head even lower.

It was great to have Alice's suggestion to buy this hat at the general store on the pier during the latest airship docking. Although Tina thought it was extraordinarily ugly and stupid at first, now, the girl just wants to thank the designer for putting it on. The hat is designed so thick and warm.

——It was too cold.

Because of the two extra thick plush clothes worn under the windbreaker and trousers, the girl now looks extra bloated. This was already the thickest attire she could have had the courage to wear on the street, but the cold wind in the Northland——God be there. Tina groaned.

—is it really the wind, and not the all-pervasive icy mercury?

Wearing the thickest clothes brought from home, the cold is still licking her body temperature through every weaving hole, she has already begun to regret that she was brave enough to say that she does not need Liliana to leave a barrier against the cold wind for herself, Going to buy a piece of clothing that keeps the temperature constant is the only thing Tina wants to do right now.

but……

"Miss Liliana's mage tower?"

Now there is one more thing.

"That's right, you can't see it here, but you can see the whole city after arriving at the Mage Tower. It's very beautiful, because Lily's Mage Tower has the best location."

"Eh……"

Sitting with Liliana and Alice on the golem carriage that brought them here from the airport and waiting all the time, Tina began to imagine what kind of tower it would be, so that the golem used to pull the cart Horses have lost their appeal.

The boy driving the carriage waved his wand, and the horses powered by metal and magic pulled the carriage.

Although the plain occupies the largest area, the City of Thousand Towers is not a flat city. There are hills, valleys, and scattered hills in this city. A river flowing directly from the Elemental Plane of Water winds its way around the city, turning into a dreamlike icy waterfall as it falls into the sky.

It is precisely because of this river, coupled with the fact that most magicians do not like noise, that this city is far away from human settlements, floating alone on the frozen snowfield of the extreme north thousands of miles away.

...Of course, more importantly, no country would want to have the final weapon of the ancient magic empire era floating on its head, right? It was piled up with countless money, troops, and the lives of Noble Phantasm-level powerhouses.

After traveling for a long time, the carriage finally stopped.

Soon, Tingna, who got off the carriage, understood the reason why Alice said that the location here was the best when she saw the scene in front of her.

"The hot spring..."

"...That's right, here is the largest hot spring in the city of a thousand towers."

Liliana, who raised her head slightly, spoke in a somewhat proud tone.

It's like an island in a city. On the hillside of the hill, stands a tall Gothic black tower. The flying buttress leans against the steep cliff behind the tower. It seems that it also has the function of a waterway, which continuously introduces the living water from the mountains into the tower.

The road passes through the gate of the tower and goes down into the valley. On the crescent-shaped water beside the road, curling heat is floating.

"Miss Liliana and Alice, they really like hot springs..."

"The entire Emerald Mountain is Lily's private property. Apart from the spring water in the valley, there is also a very, very rare snowmelt spring on the top of the mountain. Taking a dip in it will really feel that the soul has been purified."

"...It took me a lot of effort to buy this place."

"That's what I'm really looking forward to..."

Why does the city floating in the sky have natural hot springs, Tingna decided not to ask for the time being.

Now she really wants to take a bath in the warm and hot hot spring. Obviously, Miss Witch thinks so too. After casually throwing a few silver coins to the coachman who was holding a book and muttering magic terms and concepts, Liliana came When I reached the gate of the tower, I pushed open the gate engraved with the fallen angel——

That was the end of Tina's memory of that day.

……………………………………………………………………………………

"I really didn't do it on purpose..." Gupu Gupu, Akua hugged the body of the girl soaked in hot water in a trance, and kept apologizing, Tina murmured weakly.

The feeling of being hugged by a body made entirely of water is like being entangled in condensed water, and it is quite pleasant to be able to enjoy gentle scrubbing without moving a finger.

"I didn't either... I'm blaming Ms. Aqua..."

If I want to use the simplest words to describe what happened that day, why I was seriously ill and bedridden, I still have to start with Liliana in the end.

This is what Miss Witch told Tingna directly. Before buying this mountain, it was a very common residential area in the City of Thousand Towers. It took Liliana eighty years to get the qualification to buy land. After buying it as a private domain, I was very dissatisfied with the large amount of remaining [breath of people's lives] here, so I spent another 20 years on renovation.

Relocating all the houses and residents, removing all the pollution and traces left by their lives, even for the leading witch on the mainland, this project is too big.

So, Miss Witch thought of the six elemental lords she had signed a contract with when she was the queen of the Holy Seven Hills Empire (I just don't know why they called Liliana a princess).

That's right, besides being a powerful magician, Liliana Einstein is also the only registered six-element elf envoy since the third era, but because she is too conspicuous, she usually does not act in this capacity.

...Anyway, now even if Miss Witch has many titles, Ting Na doesn't think it's strange.

In short, with the help of six powerful elemental elf lords, Liliana established her own territory in the city of a thousand towers, and the six elves stayed here to take care of it.

Then I went all over the mainland to find the [truth] about myself and Alice.

The immortal elemental elves are particularly insensitive to the passage of time, but their favorite contractors who have not seen each other for dozens or hundreds of years still make them quite lonely.

The behavior derived from this kind of loneliness mixed with liking for the contractor is the prank they play every time Liliana comes back.

Sometimes it's a literal "fiery" embrace (Dragon's Breath), sometimes it's a gaze as deep and thick as the earth (Petrification), sometimes it's a warm southern wind washing away (Tropical Cyclone), and sometimes it's a response to the "no" The "torture" of "heart-stealing thieves" who agreed to break into private domains" and "inhumane"...

What did the last one refer to? Tina didn't dare to ask, but she didn't know at all. Therefore, the elves' way of thinking was completely incomprehensible.

And this time, the way they greeted their contractors was to combine Undine's Aqua's [Corruption] with Sylph's [Blizzard].

For the immortal witch and the indestructible doll, this is of course not a big problem. Originally, these elves were just lonely and making trouble, so.

So they all ignored Tina Von Sia, who was right behind them as she opened the door.

An ordinary girl who can no longer be ordinary.

Even if the elves have restrained the power of magic, big magic is big magic.

In an instant, Tina lost consciousness due to the sudden drop in temperature, and when she woke up again, she had already suffered from a severe cold.

This is the result of overnight rescue.

Anyway, after waking up, the girl who felt the tender skin on her body, which seemed to have just grown out, wisely endured her curiosity and did not ask herself what happened to her. This kind of truth, let it disappear in the corner of memory Well, hmm.

"Did Miss Liliana and Alice go out today?"

With a long sigh, Ting Na turned her head and asked about the witch and the doll.

Because Miss Witch and the dolls are not good at taking care of patients, and because of the passing of an old friend, they seem to be stimulated. From the first day they came to the City of Thousand Towers, they kept going out to visit those past friends. , today too.

Now, Liliana and Alice are not in this tower.

"That's right, Princess Lily and Alice are also going to visit friends today. Moreover, it is rare for them to stay in the City of Thousand Towers for so long. The Magician Association is also very happy and plans to take the opportunity to solve many problems requiring more than four people at once. Matters that can only be decided in the presence of members of the Supreme Council."

Aqua put his hands on his chest and smiled happily.

"Everyone knows that Princess Lily is finally willing to stay for a while because of Ms. Tingna. Everyone in the association is very, very happy, hehe, we are too. It's great that Ms. Tingna is seriously ill in bed——ah, Ting Miss Na, do you want some water?"

"...Miss Aqua, can you let me drink from a cup normally..."

Water represents clarity and purity.

Therefore, among the elves known for their pranks, only the water elves are the most honest and gentle.

However, this honesty, and the sincere gratitude on the girl's face, could only make Tingna roll her eyes weakly, unable to look away from the face she leaned into.

Ahh... Liliana, Alice... Please come back quickly...

………………………………………………………………………………………

Postscript of a certain day:

"...Miss Tina, you look very weak. Has the fever not subsided at all?"

"No, I'm just happy from the bottom of my heart, Miss Liliana, Miss Alice, it's great to have you all back..."

"... Aqua and Wright, didn't they take good care of Miss Tina?\

,""No... Miss elves are very gentle and take good care of me, but..."

"but?"

"...No, it's nothing, anyway, it's great that you guys are back..."

"...?"

"?"