"This is the chief house."
Argus knocked and then opened the door by sliding it. Argus as the leader enters first, next is Lumina, and Celes is the last one.
The room is huge. The walls are made of whiteboards and wood. This is the same room where Argus asked the chief for the cook utensils.
"We can wait here, the chief will—"
Before Argus finished talking, a different sliding door opened from another room. There stood an old woman carrying a teapot and a cup on a tray. She came prepared as if she already knew that guests were coming.
"Looks like I have a lot of visitors today." The chief looked at everyone in the room. The old woman walked slowly, being limited by her fragile body.
Lumina sat in the middle of the room. After the old woman sat down in her usual place, Celes and Argus also sat slightly behind Lumina.
"As the village leader, it must be difficult if your body is already this fragile?"
Lumina, who didn't care about manners, started the conversation.
"Being an old woman isn't that bad. It means you have more experience than anyone else. Are there any of you thirsty? I've prepared four cups here."
Celes and Argus took a glance. They both agree the atmosphere feels heavy and thus refused the offer.
"I came here intending to kill you. There's no need to be polite."
"Eh?!" "Ha…!" Argus and Celes were shocked.
"Now I see you are already on the brink of death. It seems there is no point doing that."
"L-Lumina…" whispered Celes while sweat coming from her forehead. Celes does nothing, but why does she feel guilty?
"Please forgive her. She has no manners and can be aggressive." Argus tried to calm the atmosphere.
"Look who is talking." Lumina closed her eyes. "Boy, you did a great job guiding me here. For someone who knows nothing. You better keep your mouth shut from now."
"I might don't know a thing. For almost twenty years, I have lived here. I don't know the situation outside, but aren't you speaking too harshly to someone older than you?"
Hmm, for a moment, Lumina was surprised. She took a glance at Argus for a moment. Then, her emerald eyes focused on the chief as if piercing through his soul.
"Argus, it's okay," said the Chief to calm Argus down.
"How can I keep quiet after she came here and threatened you?"
Argus, who was annoyed, turned his gaze away.
"Boy, you didn't live here for twenty years. You were trapped here for twenty years. I pity you for that. I am starting to think that bringing you two here is a mistake."
"Hahaha… Argus is such a good child. So please let him be." The chief is just smiling. "Young people are full of passion. Since you want to talk to me alone, then why don't we move?"
"Hmm…"
From behind the old woman, something sinister happened. It was a big purple eye on the wall.
"Eh?" Celes's eyes widened. Her body trembled with terror. "What is that?"
Argus keeps his mouth closed. However, his reaction is the same as Celes'. Shocked until the hairs on the back of his neck.
When the eye blinked twice. The entire room changed. Walls, ceiling, and the ground, everything absorbed by the eyes and turned black. The chief disappeared, devoured by the changes. Colors appeared. Purple, black, and red. Like a wave, it moves erratically and in circles, making things uncomfortable.
"L-Lumina, what happened?" Celes crawled, searching for protection by standing near Lumina.
The big purple eyeball that was on the wall moved. It glances, blinks, and spins.
"Is this also… magic?"
Argus swallowed. He felt dizzy either because of the room or the view.
"Living here for twenty years, and yet you don't know that woman could use magic."
"Does it matter if the chief can do magic or not?"
"Only ignorant people will say that. Closing both your eyes because you feel comfortable living here."
Lumina is standing, looking around. Her posture remains calm while observing the situation. This is the difference in experience between Lumina and normal people.
"Celes, be careful!" called Lumina.
Lumina moved her hand, reaching for something invisible in front of Celes.
"That is?!"
It was a ceramic teapot. If not caught, it will hit the Celes' head and make the girl bleed.
"What — The chief is trying to kill us! What should we do?!" Celes' screams grew louder as they irritated Lumina.
Lumina tapped her shoe twice on the floor, making a sound. Instantly, everything is back to normal, like nothing happened. On the floor was a shattered ceramic teapot. However, there was no sign of the chief in the room.
"It stopped?!" Argus gasped at how easy it was for Lumina to turn everything back to normal. "Is that some sort of illusion?"
Argus compares the magic he had just experienced with the one that Lumina had used in the forest before. This time, other than dizziness, there's no real impact on their physical bodied.
"Illusion? There's a teapot flying straight into my head."
Celes' legs went limp. She slowly sat on the cold floor, feeling relieved.
"You two go back!"
"After something like that, you still want to talk to the chief?"
Argus can tell both of them were dangerous persons. Now that he knew what the chief was trying to do, he can't tell which one was right. This is the first time the chief act aggressively and try to hurt someone.
"Let's just go back already!" Celes pulled Argus's hand forcefully.
"Wait, what are you doing? Stop pulling me!"
Argus and Celes leave the house and closed the door. Still pulling Argus, they both move away to a different location.
"Listen!" Celes sounds serious. "Lumina seems serious this time. It would be better if we didn't get involved."
"Is it okay for us to just go away like this? Are you not worried about your teacher? You are her disciple."
"Jeez! Because I am Lumina's disciple, I can say it certainly it's better for both of us if we just go away as far as possible from this place. Also, instead of worried about Lumina, I am much more worried about the chief."
What does that even mean? Argus thought for a second. Everything went from zero to a hundred so fast that he couldn't grasp what had happened.
"Lumina said she won't kill the chief, so I think the chief is going to be okay." Celes paused. "Um, maybe."
"What you said doesn't make me feel any better at all." Argus sighed.
Things got complicated, and he didn't know what the reason was. Lumina's words crossed his mind. He didn't live here. Instead, he was trapped here for nearly twenty years. It is the truth, and it's painful to understand what Lumina means.
"I am sorry for bothering you today. I will go back to my place." Celes bid farewell and parted with Argus.
"Ugh, why is she always fast when running away?"
—
Back inside, Lumina opened the white door by sliding it. It was a corridor. Seems there is more room than she had expected. Checking all the rooms will take some time for sure. For her, simply tracing the magic will lead straight to the woman.
Lumina opened another door. Fresh air comes in. The scenery is fascinating. She is in the backyard. A few meters beside Lumina, the chief was sitting on the wooden floor, enjoying the view.
The chief poured tea from the teapot into two glasses. She offered one of them to Lumina.
"Sometimes it's nice to just sit, talk, and enjoy the view, isn't it?"
"Since you took the trouble to make the tea, this time I will gladly accept." Lumina sits down, enjoying the same view.
Even though the floor was made of wood, it feels warm. In front of them, there was a tiny waterfall from the river that crosses the village. Up ahead, they could see a garden filled with colorful flowers.
Lumina inhaled the smell of the tea, then she drank it elegantly. It's not the best, but she still appreciates the tea, remembering where she was.
"Do you think it's wrong if I want to protect everyone in this village?"
From the tone, Lumina can tell there is no specific meaning behind the question.
"You made a barrier around the forest so that no one can enter or get out of this village. By doing so, this village has no development, no goal, and there's no point at all. It exists, but so what? The moment you die, everyone in this village who you want to protect will perish. When that happens, this village will disappear not by my hand, but simply by how weak everyone here is."
Everyone is just an ordinary person. No one can do magic, use a sword, or fight. The village just exists waiting until it got eaten. The world is cruel. It is only a matter of time before Lumina's statement comes true.
"Lumina Ambrosia."
Lumina just took a tiny sip. By calling her full name, it's easy to tell that the chief is also from outside. After all, she is the one who built the village.
"You live far longer than any other human. You should've understood. War never stops. When it stops, humans start a new war. It's a cycle that never stops. Stating peace can only be achieved by war, then they decided that it's better if some races do not exist. Humans are selfish creatures, don't you agree?"
"Some races, huh?"
Lutisia is the world's name, and it has a long history. The first one is when a hero tried to defeat the demon lord 200 years ago. The second is the vampire extermination mission, which is approved and carried out by the other five races.
"You're the people who took part in the vampire extermination."
Hero is such a convenient tool that kingdoms can use to increase their follower. They are like a mascot. By putting someone like that in a book, no one will question which one is right or wrong. We are humans, and thus we have to support humans by killing all the vampires that exist.
"What I seek is a peaceful life where I can spend the rest of my life without worrying about war or conflict. That is the reason I built this village far away from the capital."
"You're nothing different from the other. Using your past life as an excuse to lock everyone. Why bother asking me if you never intended to change your mind in the first place? I see no point in continuing this discussion."
There's only one reason for Lumina Ambrosia to come here.
"I don't know how that girl could find this place. What I don't like is, you let her in, watching her, and trying to know the state of the outside world. If she brought something bad to the village, you will eliminate her."
The easiest way to do so is by using poison. Almost every day, someone delivers food to Celes. It was easy for the chief to cover it up when she could do an illusion trick like before. Especially when no one else can use magic in this remote place.
"I am not as cruel as you, The Witch of Destruction."
"That's true. I am a cruel person. I destroyed a kingdom, burned villages, and killed more people than you can count."
Lumina puts the empty glass on the floor. She stood, intending to leave.
"You know what? That's also my fault for not pronouncing it clear enough." Her tone never changed. Calm and deep. "Since you aim to live peacefully, I will bring the conflict to you. If you dare to touch the girl, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
The chief could not reply. She remembered her past moment. Even when she was in her prime, there was no way she could stop or win against Lumina Ambrosia.
After all, Lumina Ambrosia is the witch of destruction. She is there to fulfill her role.
"Thanks for the tea. It's delicious."
Lumina left.
Now there is only one problem left for her to solve.