In a village's clearing where the moon hung high and everyone was sound asleep, sounds of wooden swords clashing echoed.
Two tall swordswomen, Saria and Emilia, sparred on the grassy plain, their intricate dance mirroring their years of experience. The two were always renowned in the village for their prowess and beauty, admired by the youngsters for their tales of valor in the past battles against the Witch of Pride's armies.
And two of the admirers hid in the bushes, peeking at the veterans' fight. The pink and white heads poked out from the greeneries like sore thumbs, but the adults' eyes knew where not to look, treating them as unconsented audiences.
"Hehehe...what a wonderful world..."
Mel muttered with a broad, foxy smile, her golden eyes curving like a predator to a prey, partly in amusement, partly in gratitude, as she stared at one of the swordswoman's abs poking out as she swung, the skin glimmering in the moonlight like an ethereal treasure.
"..."
Lila's eyes squinted in disgust. Her puffy cheeks and soft locks of white hair made for a cuteness unmatched by any witches, if not for the scrunched-up expression.
"Mel. We're here to ask for favours. Be polite."
The soft voice lightly scorned her childhood friend.
The two girls didn't hide here for fun. The academy's entrance exam was approaching within 1 year, and the two girls' savings could barely afford a trip to the capital, so they had to naturally ask for help from Emilia, who owned a carriage, for a free taxi trip, promising to clean her garden for a year in exchange.
Mel nudged Lila, her smirk never fading. "Oh, jealous much?"
[The Witch of Envy looked at you with further disgust. Don't enjoy it too much!]
[Favourability: 30 -> 25 ]
"Yes, I am." Lila pouted. "Happy?"
"Much, much happier."
As Lila huffed and gazed back at the swordswomen, the Witch of Lust chuckled at the sight. She may lose her 50/50 in life to be transmigrated into a gacha World with a bad ending, but this exquisite eye candy is more than worth it.
It is still only 4 years before the game's main apocalypse event, so Mel sincerely hoped the unawakened Witch of Envy remained a silly, little white bun she was.
As the one who brought her into this World, her System advised: Why be villains when you can be a girl-in-love? She would ensure her Lila remained innocent by smothering her with affection!
[You got this, Host! ]
Of course, my kidnapper. Mel smiled menacingly at the System panel, as the poor Lila shuddered at the unknown surge of bloodlust from her friend.
"Uh... are you okay, Mel?"
Observing the guilt in Lila's round blue eyes, Mel nodded frantically. "Yep, I'm fine! No worries, I'm not mad at you!"
Lila sighed in relief. "I...I didn't say anything yet..."
Mel's eyes blinked before musing on the troubled look on Lila's face.
Amused, she poked at Lila's right cheek. The skin was elastic and bouncy like a sponge.
"Then hide your emotion better next time, okay?"
Mel grinned. "It will be obvious if you fall in love with me. I don't like an awkward confession when I already know the answer."
A slight blush crept up on Lila's cheeks. "Don-don't jest...I almost thought you were fed up with me..."
Mel laughed on the inside. Being fed up with the Witch of Envy herself? Smells like a straight path to a Yandere's ending.
Witches of the Seven Sins. The final bosses of 'The Witchhunter's Howl'. Still being in the past, all Witches except her and the Witch of Pride have yet to be awakened. They were not even aware that they were the Witches.
So, as soon as Mel arrives at the village where the Witch of Envy lives fifteen years ago, she befriended Lila immediately, spending years of childhood together.
[The Witch of Envy looks at you for reassurance. Comfort her, our Trashy Hero!]
A chuckle almost escaped Mel as she headpatted Lila, the silver-haired silkiness a pure bliss for the Witch's palm.
"I'm not joking, though?" Mel glanced at Lila's deepening blush. "I would be lucky to have Lila for the rest of my life."
[Favourability: 25 -> 35]
A satisfaction welled up in Mel's heart as she felt Lila lean into the touch. Years of practising flirted with her, and Lila's whimpering tugged her heart.
"Me too...but..."
Lila's eyes darted to the swordswomen's fights once again. More elegant, more tactful, more masculine, unlike her thin, unexercised figure that could protect no one, like her sick sister.
Mel knowingly interrupted her self-depreciating thoughts. "Mhm. I agree. We're still too young."
The confused gaze turned to her, before the Witch of Lust pulled up the most intelligent look she could muster. "An older Lila would look even cuter after all."
Then her head met a hand chop and a grumbling Lila. "The same flirt won't work on me twice."
"Oh look, you are blushing again."
"I-I am not."
Mel teased. "Need a mirror? I want my Lila to remember how sweet of a tomato mush her face always wears."
The seducer nodded to herself, thoroughly enjoying the stuttering Lila she was used to all these years.
Another tease was about to flow out naturally, before her neck's sleeve was pulled up, forcing her to stand face-to-face with another familiar face.
A cold sweat dripped from her forehead. "Ah...hi, sister Saria..."
The brown-ponytailed swordswoman, who just finished her nightly spar with her old comrade, glanced at her with a 'I 'm-so-done-with-you' look.
"Teasing your friend again?"
"Yep. Like usual."
As Emilia approached, Mel glanced at the bountiful attachments on the knight's chest, then at Saria's severely lacking attachments.
Yep. Like usual. Utter tragedy.
Praying her Lila would grow up healthy, Mel asked. "Finish this early?"
Saria shrugged while letting go of her. "It was a light spar in the first place. What are you two doing here? Thought you were more the magic kind."
"Whew... Saria. You knew them?"
"Of course." The ponytail Knight poked at Mel's forehead. "I took this brat in back when she was young."
Despite you rejecting me several times. Mel complained inside, though her heart fluttered a little every time Saria would proclaim her generosity.
She used to be an orphan in the capital with no food or money to her name. But along with the System's mission to seduce all Witches at hand, she had to gamble a little.
Remembering that Saria, the NPC who had the same hometown as the Witch of Envy, and being known to have a soft spot for orphans like herself, she found and appealed to her multiple times to be taken on the journey to the village.
Even when Saria had grumbled about how she would throw her back to the orphanage multiple times, the persistence paid off, and she successfully gained the opportunity to befriend Lila early.
"Not going to lie..." Emilia had a wry smile on her face. "I was so distracted by their flirtings that I lost a few blows to you. The Saintess would have scorned me."
Mel heard a cute hiccup from Lila as a reaction. It makes sense that the Knights who survived against the Witch of Pride's wars had more keen hearing than most.
Ah. That must mean Saria also heard it.
The Witch of Lust's smirk widened when Lila's whimper grew louder. She must have realised that their conversations were also exposed from the very beginning.
As the adults' banters went on in the background, Mel's ears focused only on her dearest Lila's muffled, embarrassed whining.
Truly a chime of the century. Better than any Gacha game OST she has heard.
Mel closed her eyes in enjoyment.
----------------
After calming down, Lila and Mel finally asked Emilia for the taxi trip to the capital. And to their surprise, Emilia offered to escort them free instead, as she also had an old friend to meet in the capital.
She separated from Lila and Emilia before arriving at a cottage with Saria. The mahogany wood was polished and rich in color, as it stood silently in the moonlight.
Opening the door revealed to her the home she had lived in for the past 10 years. The reddish-brown ceiling and floors glowed with a serene glow, giving her a sense of comfort that reminded her of her parents' apartment, which she dearly missed.
"Alright, chop chop. To the bed, brat."
"Hm... how about a shower together first?"
"Not. Sleep. Now."
With a slight push-and-pull, she was ushered into her room with the door slammed in on her.
Still as much of a tsundere she always was, that Saria...
Chuckling to herself, she eyed her room, which had always had a simple layout. A bed, a bookshelf, and a desk against the wall, all made of wood to complement the house.
"Alright. System."
Leaping and smacking her cheeks against the mattress, she began planning her next move.
"When will that 'kind, totally-not-suspicious' merchant finally arrive?"
[About two days, Host! Be careful!]
"Please. I'm a Witch, too. If anything, I am the danger."
Mel smirked full of confidence, with a slight shiver. "And with that, Lila's sister will finally be healed."
Contemplating, she flipped to her back before mumbling. "Switch: Witch Form."
A small spark of energy shrouded her robes.