The Witch's After Tea Party / One Wild Night Part 1

The Witch's After Tea Party / One Wild Night Part 1 (魔女のアフターティーパーティー / One Wild Night 前編) is a side story featured in Monthly Comic Alive.

Summary
In a terrible snowstorm, the fierce sheer cold of the crosswind cut through a girl’s body and sapped her energy. Another nearby person calls out her name and grabs her from the deposit of snow reaching up to her waist. The girl, Omega, was saved by another girl with a refined appearance and a fury burning in her eyes. Omega’s consciousness drifts, and the angry girl, Palmyra, does not relent and gives her companion a headbutt. Just beforehand, Omega fell into a pile of snow and was buried within after she chose to leave during the cold weather and got caught in a blizzard. In her approach towards delirium, Omega confuses Palmyra with Minerva because of her yelling, causing the rough-eyed girl to slap the elven girl’s cheeks.

Colette arrives and asks if the two are okay. Palmyra states she’s fine, but that she can’t find shelter. Death is approaching for Omega, and she meekly relays to her companions that she has one final thing to say to the two. However, she realizes there is one more thing she can try. If she can not resist like a fool, then only the concession of a sage remains. She chooses not to resign to fate and accepts her last moments graciously, as this action would never be accepted by a black-haired boy. Using her magic, Omega launches a fireball in an attempt to push the cold back. Palmyra and Colette become confused and worried. Because her body was constructed from mana, there would be no corpse left upon Omega’s death. She remarks that she’d like to see the crying faces of her companions before she dies, and Palmyra reacts negatively as she continues to slap Omega’s cheeks despite Colette’s warnings. This continues until a voice, coming from a thick-robed woman, says that the fire she saw was real. The woman introduces herself as Lysa, an itinerant preacher who has arrived to help them.

Lysa gives Colette her jacket and makes a hole using a cane she has. Colette helps too, and they finish making a cramped hole with an air vent. A fire is made, and Omega accidentally falls into it after failing to heed Palmyra’s warnings. She ponders if the pain of being burnt was what Carmilla felt before cooling off her face by applying snow to it. Lysa states that the other three are a strange bunch and reintroduces herself again as an itinerant preacher. She receives thanks from Colette and Omega asks if she’s a member of the Gusteko Church. This is affirmed by Lysa, who reveals that she found the trio from the red flames in the snow, which were created by Omega.

Although Colette introduces herself and Palmyra to Lysa, she is interrupted by her third companion before she is able to say their name. Omega discloses her name; it was suitable for the body, but the name was unsuitable for a Witch living in the present era. As an itinerant preacher, it is surmised by Omega that Lysa would have traveled around various places in Gusteko. She questions her newfound preacher acquaintance about it being a difficult job for a woman, though she is met with an affirmation and resolution from Lysa towards her duty. It was hard for Omega to believe that the Holy Kingdom’s teachings were still being spread when everyone should have been aware of it. However, Lysa reveals that the teachings are undergoing a transformation and her role as a servant of the Holy King is to spread them.

An apology for asking about Lysa’s faith is given by Omega, which Palmyra scrutinizes. Colette asks Lysa if they should stay until morning. The preacher says this should be avoided and that there’s a nearby church they can go to. Everyone was content with the suggestion, even Omega, who expresses a slight disbelief at how trying to survive in the snow used up a great amount of mana. Palmyra bickers with her, causing Lysa to ask Colette if the three were always like this with each other. According to Colette, although it generally is this way, the three of them have only started their journey together and that every day is always different and fun.

In the distant past, those with high authority often preferred places with higher elevation. Churches on mountains are similar, as they are landmarks to follow when looking from below and are often considered as beacons of hope for those on the verge of death. Palmyra resultantly grumbles at Omega after hearing the explanation, for she is explaining this while being carried on Lysa’s back. She questions the itinerant preacher carrying her if she always takes on such burdens, and subsequently states she used a double entendre by substituting “myself” with “burden”. Lysa says she doesn’t always have to carry Omega on her back, but that Gusteko is the type of place where she has to take a lot of difficult roads.

The Holy Kingdom of Gusteko is a land drenched in an eternal frost far too harsh for any humans to live within. The Church protects those who hold their beliefs, and Omega thinks to herself that it hasn’t changed in hundreds of years regardless of her interest in its history. She says she would like to visit the Holy City; Lysa says it would be suicide in their current state. Colette sees the church while the others cannot. This is due to the effect of her bracelet, which protects her, allows her to see through the harsh winds, and even gives her more stamina. The group eventually reaches the church, where Lysa calls out for anyone there after opening its doors.

A middle-aged man with wide eyes greets them, and he calls out for another person to bring out something that the group brush the snow off their clothes with. A tall multi-armed figure approaches, causing Palmyra to let out a shriek. Colette is awed at his extra hands. The man replies meekly, introducing himself as a member of the Multi-Arm Clan before giving Colette a towel. The middle-aged man asks the group about their recklessness. Omega takes offense to this; the man thinks that she is quite the talker. He is Podoso, a man who works as a guard in a town at the other side of the mountain, while the man from the Multi-Arm Clan is Admonsah, a self-proclaimed travelling entertainer. With brightened eyes, Colette questions Admonsah if he has any skills. He suddenly swings his arms and throws four knives to the doors at the back of the church with terrific speed despite not needing to look. A woman with wavy blonde hair, however, emerges from behind one of the doors and screams out with worry that she could have died.

The screaming woman is Maqueena, a bard. She gets mad at Admonsah and Lysa, who tries to interfere in the midst of her rage. Omega laments on how bards never change in their passionate and emotional ways of stomping on the hearts of others. This momentarily offends Maqueena, and she calls out Omega for being a pessimistic tiny child reflecting upon humanity until she notices the girl’s ears. Not meaning to say that as “Omega”, the girl pushes her hair back to highlight her ears and tells the bard that half of the blood running through her veins is an elf’s, making her a half-elf. Maqueena jumps around, yelling that elves are slightly more preferable to a half-devil.

Podoso apologizes to Omega after failing to calm Maqueena down and acknowledges that he usually tries to be unprejudiced, but the half-devil understands the way she is treated and divulges how she regards the feeling of prim and proper people suddenly mistrusting her for her race as addictive. He asks Omega for her age and has doubts after hearing her response. The other women there bar Omega herself collectively view his question negatively, earning him a scowl from Palmyra, a head shake from Lysa, a sad stare from Colette, and a foot stomp from Maqueena. The bard shows distaste for most of the people there, though one of the two she did not address, Colette, comforts her by affirming Omega’s personality and Admonsah’s kind eyes. Although she does not think highly of Podoso’s inconsiderateness, she affirms his helpfulness and disavows his capability to understand a woman’s heart.

With Colette’s help, Maqueena apologizes to everyone. Lysa applauds, Palmyra watches with pride, and Omega asks if her companion is content. After a short stint of rebuttals from Omega and Palmyra, a new topic was launched by Podoso as he scratched his short green hair. He is asked if he’s concerned by Omega. In the church where seven people were present, the pastor living there was not among them. His name is Pastor Coatl, a great man by Podoso’s standards. There was a section in the church for his living quarters; however, they appeared far too small for a grown man. Podoso visited to ensure the pastor’s safety. Maqueena also came to write a song about him, as he was a hero who had saved a nearby town. Lysa also sought to see Pastor Coatl. Admonsah did not come to visit, yet he wanted to see the pastor anyways. According to Podoso, the pastor should understand the dangers of heavy snow and is probably outside. But the blizzard outside only got worse as time went on.

Anyone experienced in this weather would be consumed in the extensive snowfall. Regardless of the type of person who Pastor Coatl was, long life did not correspond to a high survival rate. Yet this did not explain jeopardizing his life by leaving the church. Letting her thoughts spill out, Omega acknowledges that she died at 19, so she could easily be incorrect. Maqueena is shocked at her muttering and surmises half-devils are scary. The half-devil in question jokes by declaring she’s only muttering about how she plans to eat the bard. This tease reverts Maqueena back to her prior state of screaming, which generates admonishment from Lysa. Shrugging, Omega says she forgot her manners and asks if she will receive a punishment for her insolence in the church. Shaking her head, Lysa denies her status as the church’s head and voices that she believes someone with good sense should correct the mistakes of children. Omega lowers her head, bears the fault for her tactlessness, and apologizes.

This apology astonishes everyone, including Palmyra and Colette, the latter of whom expresses that she was unaware of Omega’s ability to apologize. Omega openly thinks on her tendency to reflect on something if Colette says something rather than Palmyra, eliciting an angry reaction from the sanpaku-eyed girl, who barks out that she should reflect no matter who says it. Disregarding the two girls, Omega questions Pastor Coatl’s character. Maqueena’s nostrils flare up and he interrupts someone else from speaking. She pulls out a lyulyre and began singing the tale of Pastor Coatl, the clergyman who stood up against a great disaster that struck the area and became known as a hero to the locals. However, despite the content of the story, it was better to not mention Maqueena’s singing skills.

A town was once destroyed in the chaos of an avalanche. Pastor Coatl unhesitatingly saved the lives of townspeople, used his savings to restore the town, and took up residence in a local church to watch over the town. Maqueena complains at this Omega’s summary, yet nobody stands up for her due to the song’s quality. The pastor lost his leg while rescuing others, according to Podoso. Both Admonsah and Colette clap their hands when hearing of Pastor Coatl’s work. Palmyra, meanwhile, is not as interested because she did not believe it was interesting enough to be a song, nor could she tell if it even sounded like a song, much to Maqueena’s chagrin.

The song, known as The Saint of the Avalanche, is generally unpopular as the consensus feels like something is lacking from the climax of it. In order to expand its story, Maqueena came to visit Pastor Coatl. She claims that she’ll turn to the subjects for songs she’s heard coming from Lugunica if she fails. Chiming in, Podoso relays that he’s heard about the Royal Selection, the Hakugei, and the Oousagi. The bard laments about that unknown hero not doing anything in Gusteko.

Omega asks Lysa for her reason to see the pastor. The itinerant preacher says it was mostly for the same reasons as Maqueena’s visit. Rather than hearing the truth behind Pastor Coatl’s story for a song, Lysa wanted to learn from her predecessor, a former itinerant preacher himself whose name was famed in the Holy Church. She receives praise from Omega for being hardworking, earning surprise from Podoso, who asks why she was there with her two companions. It was because they were chased out of their homes. Omega’s reason was obvious from her appearance, but Colette and Palmyra had to leave since they knew her. She laughs and says it was all her fault. She subsequently attempts to make a joke by apologizing for being born, but this causes the atmosphere to sour.

Ignoring her friend, Colette asks Maqueena for more stories. She begins to think about the Ice Thieves until Admonsah grabs her lyulyre and holds it up high to prevent her from performing again. The bard eventually uses up her energy and falls to her ground. Podoso takes over, explaining that they were a group whose stolen items were buried in an avalanche a long time ago. Omega tries to hijack the story by claiming the story’s supposed moral was to not steal things without using them, until the original storyteller informed her that there was no moral. The idea of buried treasure excites Colette and Admonsah.

Lysa, who has heard that many people have tried to discover the stash belonging to the Ice Thieves, is also interested. But Omega interjects again, saying that people’s senses of values are ridiculous no matter the era and nobody understands what is necessary to live a full life. The preacher questions her rationale. With an immediate reply, Omega voices that it is entertainment. She fights ignorance by learning what she does not know, as she is the embodiment of the thirst for knowledge, longing for every unknown. At Omega’s answer with a smile, everyone besides her two companions disregarded what she had said. Among the seven people there, only Palmyra and Colette knew of her true character.

Maqueena tries to head off. To her dismay, Podoso insists on going with her. She finally relents and leaves with him. Colette notices he was acting nervous. Admonsah was unaware; despite being a member of the Multi-Arm Clan which specialized in fighting, he was quite gentle. Lysa confidently contends she can take care of anything that happens. A woman who travels alone as she does must be able to protect herself. This was also part of the reason why Omega brought Colette and Palmyra with her; it had not just been because it was lonely to travel without companions. Omega in turn declares she will use her true strength if necessary, receiving an amused comment from Lysa and a wry smile from her companions.

A knock on the church from outside abruptly rings out as someone is requesting for the door to be opened. Lysa heads to open it after a brief moment of shock. The man outside thanks Lysa and complains about his unluckiness, for he thought the ongoing blizzard was only going to be light snow. The man is in his early twenties; he sports ashen hair tied behind his head and charming, gentle features. His name is Trellock, a peddler claiming to be destitute after he was forced to abandon his wagon in the snow. Trellock asks if Lysa runs the church. She tries to resolve the issue and explain where the head of the church is, but a scream belonging to Maqueena suddenly cuts across the building.

Lysa runs to the back of the church and tells everyone to wait. Despite this, Omega instantly bolts after her. Colette insists for Palmyra to start following them, leaving the sounds of a bewildered Trellock in their wake. The back of the building had Coatl's living quarters, including a small bedroom, living room, restroom, and a hall which joined to a storeroom. Neither Podoso nor Maqueena were there, but there was a part of the wall that had been dislodged and went underground. The first one to go down was Lysa, and although questioned why the others were following her, she did not stop them. The group did not need to walk too far into the underground passageway to discover the two missing people. The man was frozen in place and the woman had sunk to her knees as they stared at what was in front of them.

With but a small light coming from a lagmite crystal, an ore that glowed upon impact, Omega and the others finally saw that the two were looking at the corpse of a middle-aged man. He laid there with a split head in a pool of his own spilt blood and spinal fluid. His limp body showed that it was too late. As Colette and Palmyra saw this, a strangled sound was emitted by the pair. The corners of Lysa's typically gentle eyes tightened. Maqueena was on the verge of tears and questioning why this had happened, and a pale Podoso utters that the victim, Pastor Coatl, had really been inside the church. Shortly afterwards, Admonsah and Trellock arrived there, much to their terror. This was especially visible for the peddler who had arrived with a lack of luck. Omega discerns the situation may not be as straightforward as it seems and closes one eye, and at no one in particular, she comments, “So it seems that a cold-blooded killer — whether male or female — may be planning to murder us all.” As she fanned the blazes of confusion and worry amongst her group with her comment, Omega bore a vicious sneer — one worthy of a Witch.

Characters

 * Omega
 * Palmyra
 * Colette
 * Lysa Conwell
 * Podoso
 * Admonsah
 * Maqueena
 * Trellock
 * Minerva (mentioned)
 * Carmilla (mentioned)
 * Coatl (mentioned)