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 accept 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 a far too harsh eternal frost 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.

''This summary is currently under expansion. As of now, only three out of five sections featured in One Wild Night Part 1 have been summarized.''

Characters

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