Until The Witch Dies

Chapter 12

Section 5: Grandfather's Watch

Translated by AmaLynne

Within ten minutes, the uncle came out from the back.

「Sorry to keep you waiting, you two.」

「How was it?」

「I’m afraid this clock has run out of its life.」

Uncle shook his head slowly.

「I thought I could replace the parts or do something, but the hands and glass are very damaged, and it’s so old there are no replacement parts. It looks like it’s been in use for a long time, so I doubt it can be fixed.」

「That’s harsh, you know?」

「I thought I gave you only the facts…」

「Girls are very sensitive. Beautiful girls are especially sensitive. Like me.」

「Ha-ha-ha.」

「What are you laughing at?」

When I glared at my uncle, Finne dropped her gaze like a scolded dog,「I knew it…」and we fell silent at the sight of her.

Perhaps it was understandable that she was depressed.

She had inherited this watch from her late grandfather, whom she had loved very much.

Finne’s grandfather died when she was still very young.

I remember well how she used to wail and cry as if she was hanging on to the corpse of her grandfather.

You don’t see that kind of emotional crying very often in your life.

How important this watch is to her.

I know how much this watch means to her.

Because I am her best friend.

「I am sure this watch was happy because you took good care of it. I could feel that it was cherished.」

「Thank you… Well, if I don’t throw it away, I can keep it as a keepsake.」

Finne smiles as she says this.

However, her expression was somewhat gloomy.

She must have been telling herself that.

It can’t be helped, I have to give up.

「Hey, Finne.」

「What is it?」

「I have a proposal.」

◆◇◆◇◆

「Memorial?」

A square where dead leaves fall from the trees and gather.

Finne’s eyes twinkle as she sees me drawing a magic circle on the ground with a tree branch.

「That’s right, a traditional ceremony of the memorial for witches. We give thanks to those that have worked for us for so long and tell them to take a good rest.」

「I didn’t know there was such a thing.」

「Witches and wizards believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in all things. It is a kind of courtesy to give thanks to the spirits after they have completed their work.」

「It’s a little religious.」

「Well, magic is like a religious belief system…」

Draw a small circle, then draw an even larger circle around it.

Then, between the circles, construct the incantation.

Each verse is separated from the others to give it meaning.

This is also linked to the chant.

While I was building the magic circle on the ground, Finne peeked at me with a curious look on her face.

「The patterns used for this kind of thing are kind of beautiful, aren’t they?」

「You mean runes?」

「What are runes?」

Runes are a special type of writing that combines lines and symbols.

Each letter is imbued with meaning.

Unlike today, people in the past lived much more closely with nature.

The ancient letters produced by such a civilization that lived together with nature have the power to work with nature and science.

「You use it for things like fortune-telling. Don’t you know?」

「I’ve never heard of it before. Do you remember all these things?」

「I think I have the symbols of the twelve signs of the zodiac, the runes, and other things that are easy to remember in my head. For the time being, I have memorized only the Thebes letters, which are used for magic. I don’t know what they mean.」

「Hee…」

Finne looked at me with some kind of admiration.

The look in her eyes was strangely disturbing.

「What?」

「No, Meg is actually surprisingly smart.」

「Actually? Surprisingly? Do you want to die?」

In the meantime, the construction of the magic circle was completed.

I lay a handkerchief in the center of the magic circle and place Finne’s watch on top of it.

「What are you going to do with it? Here. You’re not going to burn it, are you?」

「It’ll be fine. Do I look like I would do something like that to something my best friend holds so dear?」

「I’m telling you this because I know… And that best friend who tries to give me pills that I don’t understand.」

「Come on, let’s just get started.」

I snapped my fingers and signaled, and the carbuncle jumped off my shoulder and a white owl, which had been flying in the sky, swooped down.

The two messengers surround the magic circle in an equilateral triangle position―――facing me.

This way, the magic power is evenly distributed through us.

When I put my hand on the magic circle, the area became dim and the letters on the circle glowed.

It was a magical reaction.

I start chanting the twelve verses to the circle.

「Souls of gentle, hardworking spirits, circling in eternal sleep, circling.」

As I chant the incantation, the leaves of the trees gather in the wind as if surrounding a magic circle.

It is as if they are dancing.

「Eternal thanks for eternal labor are gratefully offered.」

Then the watch was enveloped in a faint glow, and a ball of light-like object emerged from within.

It was like a small sun, shining beautifully and purely.

「I return it to its rightful place with my gratitude.」

The ball of light then began to soar high into the sky.

Leaves soared up and enveloped the area around it.

Finne exclaimed in admiration at the fantastic sight,「Wow…」

「Hopefully, it will travel through reason again and return to Me, I pray.」

The light expands greatly.

It’s the finale.

「Circling.」

At that moment, the light exploded loudly without making a sound, diffusing its light in all directions.

The diffused light spread to the ground, to the trees, and then to the heavens, before silently disappearing.

The dimly lit area becomes bright again.

The sounds and murmurs quietly return.

「I-Is it over?」

「Yeah.」

「What happened?」

「The spirit that was inside the clock was returned to nature. Spirits returned to nature in this way will come around again, become new spirits, dwell in things, and return.」

I smiled as I said this.

「I hope that my best friend, Finne, can be with her beloved grandfather again, even if it is in a different form.」

「Meg…」

「The dead don’t come back to life, and things that have ended their lifespan won’t work anymore. But they can come around and meet again in another form. I am sure that the watch will come back to you again someday.」

Finne’s lips trembled quietly.

「Yes. Thank you…!」

Silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

The tears flowed and filled the bottle.