I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 47
Thanks to Carbuncle’s invisibility magic, we managed to escape successfully. However, we found ourselves in the upper levels of the Holy Church. The pathways were so complex that we had no idea where to go.
As we wandered around, fewer and fewer people were around us.
I wondered where we were when, eventually, there was not a single person in sight.
There had been several places where what seemed to be Holy Knights stood guard on either side, but perhaps those areas were restricted to authorized personnel. Since there were no doors blocking the way, we had simply walked through without realizing it.
I figured if we went down some stairs, we’d eventually reach the outside. But there wasn’t a single staircase in sight.
Maybe—no, definitely—the inside of the Holy Church didn’t have stairs. Instead, people probably used teleportation circles to move between levels.
Teleportation circles were always monitored by Holy Officers, who ensured the correct number of people were transported. If an invisible person tried to sneak in, the magic might not activate properly, leading to horrifying accidents—such as being torn apart or ending up in a nonexistent space.
Given this, there was no way for us to escape from here.
I looked out the window.
“Wow, that’s high.”
“Oh… That’s way too far to fly!”
“You sound like you’re seeing this for the first time.”
“I am seeing it for the first time!”
Even though Carbuncle was the Saint’s familiar, it wasn’t allowed to move freely. Besides, the Saint’s quarters were apparently located on a lower level.
“Wait, does that mean the Saint’s status isn’t actually that high?”
Carbuncle looked away and muttered, “Don’t say it out loud.”
“In this era, the Saint is basically just a figurehead—a symbol of faith. They’re necessary to keep people’s devotion strong.”
“I see.”
The Holy Church must have its own reasons for doing things.
Anyway, we continued walking down the long hallway until we reached a dead end.
“This is the worst. Do we have to turn back?”
“Wait a moment.”
Carbuncle started touching the blank wall, and suddenly, a magic circle appeared.
“Wait, what is this!?”
“It’s a Gate—a passage to the World Tree!”
“W-What!?”
There were no Holy Officers managing it, but Carbuncle was certain.
“I’m going. What about you?”
“I’ll come with you.”
“That’s the spirit!”
There was no way back anyway. If we checked out the World Tree and returned, Ie should be back by then.
As soon as we touched the magic circle, the scenery changed instantly.
We landed in the middle of a lush forest.
“GROOOOOOOH!!”
“Huh!?”
Right in front of us stood a bull-like monster—a Minotaur.
Two sharp horns protruded from its forehead, and its mouth had knife-like fangs. It stood on two legs, gripping a club, and was about seven feet tall.
“W-What is this thing!? It just appeared out of nowhere!!”
Actually, we were the ones who had suddenly appeared, thanks to the teleportation magic.
I felt a little bad for the Minotaur.
“GROOOOOOOH!!”
Carbuncle kept darting around like a buzzing insect, which made the Minotaur swing its club wildly.
“Gah! What’s your problem!?”
I had to help quickly. I activated my magic.
I picked up a fallen branch, pointed it forward, and shouted:
“—Pierce through, Tree Spear!!”
The branch stretched into a spear and pierced through the Minotaur’s stomach.
“Guh!?”
The Minotaur twisted its body, trying to shake off the branch.
I was thrown into the air but quickly grabbed a leaf and activated Sewing Plant magic, weaving a net beneath me.
Thanks to that, I landed softly instead of crashing into the ground.
I gripped the branch tightly with Sun Hand, igniting it.
The flames spread along the branch and engulfed the Minotaur.
In no time, the Minotaur was consumed by fire and fell silent.
The smell of burning meat was strangely appetizing.
“Phew, that was a close one.”
Carbuncle, who had been watching in shock, finally spoke.
“Wasn’t that a bit too much?”
“If I didn’t do that, it would have kept chasing us forever.”
Minotaurs were notorious for holding grudges.
The Lust Witch had taught me that if you left a monster alive after wounding it, you’d regret it later.
“Anyway, where are we? Where’s the World Tree?”
“Ah, this is the Great Forest.”
“The Great Forest… You mean the place adventurers dream about? The one full of rare treasures but also swarming with deadly monsters, earning it the nickname Adventurers’ Graveyard?”
“You’re well-informed.”
The Great Forest was also a place where struggling witches often came.
“Why did this gate lead here?”
“Because the World Tree is inside the Great Forest.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that.”
Not that it really mattered right now.
“But wasn’t this teleportation circle supposed to lead directly to the World Tree?”
“That one is controlled by the Holy King. This is a different teleportation circle that might lead closer to the World Tree.”
“Wow…”
“We don’t even know where exactly we are, but the World Tree is somewhere in this forest!”
No wonder there weren’t any Holy Officers managing this gate.
I wanted to scream, ‘We’ve been tricked!!’