Chapter 1

The Encounter with the Witch

“New record! Congratulations on unlocking the hidden ending!”

With a cheerful digital chime, the words “The Hero’s Betrayal” appeared across the screen.
As the ending movie rolled, the credits began scrolling past.

“Haaah… That took way longer than I expected…”

In front of the computer, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and stretched his back.
No wonder he felt so exhausted — the clock on his desk read 5 a.m.

He’d stayed up all night the very day he’d bought the game, sacrificing sleep just to finish it.
And yet, right now, the satisfaction he felt was more than worth it.

“Phew… I’m wiped out!”

Leaning back in his chair, he brushed aside his long bangs and stared up at the ceiling.
His face looked almost identical to the character he’d created in-game —
medium-length black hair, about 175 centimeters tall.

This was Amaya Rein (雨夜澪音), a high school second-year student from the seaside city of Fūkaijō in Japan.
He attended nearby Fūkai High School, living a perfectly ordinary life.

To describe his life didn’t require any fancy words:

“Grades: Average.”
“Not especially social.”

Ask for any remarkable qualities, and even he’d admit with a sigh, “Probably none.”

“…School again today, huh? Ugh, such a pain…”

It was a Tuesday at the end of March — one month since the new school term began.
But the word motivation had long since vanished from his dictionary.
What had started as a tidy daily routine had turned into a nocturnal spiral.
If his childhood friend didn’t occasionally come by to clean his room,
he’d already have become a full-blown shut-in.

“Well, I’m still on track to graduate, and I could get into college if I try.
So it’s fine, right?”

He told himself that countless times.

“…Young man… child of the future…”

“Huh?”

A faint voice suddenly echoed out of nowhere.
It was a woman’s voice — distant, like someone calling from the depths of a dream.
Somehow, he knew instinctively that ignoring it might cause something irreversible to happen.
But Rein didn’t panic; he’d hallucinated from exhaustion before.

“Guess I really have been gaming too much lately…”

He let out a tired laugh, raised his arms in a stretch, and yawned.
His body was clearly protesting — once, he’d even collapsed for a week after an all-nighter.
He removed his earphones, stood up, and flopped onto his bed.
Two hours until school. A nap couldn’t hurt.

And then—

“Huh? What the…?”

In sixteen years of life, he’d had his share of odd experiences,
but never anything like this.

Suddenly, the existence of his body began to thin out.
He felt his consciousness being pulled upward, higher and higher.

“Wha—? Out-of-body experience?!”

“Follow my voice, quickly.”

“Wha—?”

It was that same voice again —
only this time, it was clear, echoing directly inside his head.

Man, I’m so sleepy…

Before he could make sense of anything, overwhelming drowsiness consumed him.
His eyelids drifted shut.

“Magic… isn’t it wonderful?”

The sudden, cryptic voice made no sense.
He didn’t even know who had spoken.
Only one word kept spinning in his mind — “magic.”

In a dimly lit room, the boy opened his eyes.
A woman placed a freshly lit candle on a round table,
its flickering light barely revealing their faces.

Rubbing his eyes, Rein realized he was sitting on a wooden chair.

“…This doesn’t look like my room.”

The woman smiled at his confusion and took a small sip from her wine glass.
Her graceful, almost noble demeanor carried an air of sophistication.

She was young — strikingly beautiful.
Scarlet hair cascaded down her back,
and her bewitching crimson eyes locked onto his.
She wore a black cloak over an old-fashioned rose-colored dress,
and atop her head sat a wide-brimmed black hat.

She looked exactly like a witch.

“Well then… shall we begin?”

With a snap of her fingers, the dim room was illuminated.
Music began to play from a gramophone in the corner.
Wood-paneled walls, framed paintings, plants along a counter —
the place looked like a late-80s Western-style bar.

“Whoa! What is this place?!”

“Relax, young man. I just want to talk.”

The woman wiped her lips, stood gracefully, and declared with fiery passion:

“At last we meet! My name is Adel Scarlet — a pleasure!”

“O-Oh… okay…”

Her theatrical introduction left Rein speechless —
the overly dramatic line and oddly androgynous tone only added to the confusion.

“So, young man — your name?”

“Uh, Amaya Rein… Wait, hang on! Before we go on — where am I?”

“Hmm… technically, you’re inside your own dream.”

“A… dream?”

Adel caught the suspicion in his narrowed eyes.

“Cautious one, aren’t you?”

Watching him fidget, she mused aloud.
If she wanted this conversation to go smoothly, she’d have to ease his nerves first.

“Alright, let’s slow down a bit. Hīshiki Escarlata — Creation Clair!”

With a gesture, a glass filled with faintly purple liquid appeared on the table.
It smelled lightly of violets and alcohol.

“Alcohol — it helps loosen people up. Makes it easier to talk.
I based this cocktail on the trends from your world. Go on, have some!”

Being invited for a drink by a beautiful woman was a first for him.
Flustered, cheeks red, he tried his best not to meet her eyes.

“You’re avoiding my gaze.”

“C-Can you blame me?! Look at you!”

“Oh? Have I bewitched you already? I don’t mind, you know.”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

“How adorable. Youth really is a wonderful thing.”

With a mischievous grin, she slid the glass toward him.

“Come on, don’t be shy — it’s on the house.”

“I—I’m underage, though!”

“So?”

“So— it’s illegal to drink underage!”

“Oh, boo! I went through all that trouble making it! Fine, fine.
What do you want to drink then?”

“Anything that’s not alcohol.”

Adel waved her hand, and in an instant the glass transformed into a teacup.
A soft white light flickered as steam rose from the freshly brewed tea.
Its rich aroma immediately soothed Rein’s nerves.

He took a sip — the balance of bitterness and sweetness was perfect.

“This is amazing!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim, looking up at the red-haired beauty.

“So, Adel-san… how did you just do that?”

“Do what?”

“Turn the drink into tea like that! You were so fast —
was that some kind of trick? Magic trick? Illusion?”

“Hmm… neither, actually.
We call that power ‘magic.’”

“…What?”

Rein froze.
It was the second time he’d heard that word.
In his world, magic only existed in games and fiction.

“So you mean… an unexplained supernatural phenomenon?”

“Is that how you define it now?”

“Adel-san, please. You don’t expect me to buy that, right?
Everyone knows there’s no such thing as real magic.”

“What if I told you it does exist?”

Normally he would have laughed it off —
but the seriousness in her eyes made it impossible to dismiss.

“Wait… no way…”

His inner otaku brain jumped to the most terrifying conclusion —
the one fantasy scenario everyone secretly dreams of: being summoned to another world.

Except Rein wanted nothing to do with it.

“Crap, crap, crap! I’m not ready for this!”

He slammed the table and leapt up, panic flooding through him.

“This is an isekai summoning, isn’t it?! Can I cancel it?!
I don’t wanna go to another world!”

“No, that’s not it.”

“O-Oh… good…”

If it wasn’t that, he could breathe again.
But as soon as he sat down, another dreadful thought hit him.

“Wait… what if this isn’t summoning… but reincarnation?!
Like I died from gaming too much?! Are you— are you the Grim Reaper?!
Nooo! I refuse this ending!!”

“Calm down. I told you already — this is a dream.”

“Oh, right… you did say that.
So that means my consciousness is here, but my body’s still back in the real world?”

“The principles are more complex, but that’s close enough. See?”

He cleared his throat, trying to regain focus.

“So, Adel-san, what do you want from me?”

“I saw a future where Bersou and Sylphas —
the worlds of magicians and non-mages — are both destroyed.
And the key to preventing that future… is you.”

Before he could even process the weight of that statement, his head tilted in confusion.

‘Bersou.’
‘Sylphas.’
‘Non-mages.’

Three unknown terms. His expression darkened.

“Ber… Ber-go-ku?”

“Be-ru-sō.”

“Uh… what is that?”

“Ah, right… you don’t know anything yet. Haah…”

“Mind explaining from the start, please?”

The rhythm of the conversation stumbled.
Adel sighed and gave in — she had no choice but to educate him first.

“Do you know what a witch hunt is?”

“Sure. The mass witch executions about five hundred years ago.”

“In truth, those so-called witches were magicians.
We once lived peacefully with the non-mages — people who couldn’t use magic.
But over time, they began to fear our power.
That fear and jealousy grew… until it exploded into mass slaughter.”

“Wait, hold on! That doesn’t make sense!
How could non-mages possibly win against mages?
Why didn’t you just fight back with— ow!”

Annoyed, Adel bonked him on the head and raised a finger.

“We couldn’t! There were rules.
Rule number one: a magician must never use magic to harm a non-mage.
It’s both a moral law and a form of discipline.”

The more heated she became, the straighter she stood,
hands on her hips, glaring down at him.

“Got it, got it! No more hitting!”

“…We lost many of our own. To stop extinction,
the five strongest families joined forces and cast a powerful spell —
one that split the world in two.
Your world, Sylphas, and my parallel world, Bersou.
Oh, and by the way — I’m the head of the Scarlet family!”

“Not sure if I should be impressed or terrified…”

His worldview had been upended.
The pressure of it all nearly crushed him —
but somehow, the logic behind it still made sense.
If he’d been in their place, he’d have done the same.

He slowly nodded, collecting his thoughts.

“I get it. So after the witch hunts, the two worlds separated —
no longer interfering with each other. That’s why history in Sylphas followed its normal course.”

“You catch on fast.”

“But… what does any of that have to do with me?
You said I’m the ‘key to the future’ — what does that mean?”

At that, Adel fell silent.
Her confident tone faded; her eyes drifted downward, heavy with sorrow.
When she finally spoke again, her voice trembled.

“…Because you are the last surviving member of the Scarlet family —
the only Scarlet left in this world.”