01x01 - Luna the Black Witch

[bunniefuu]

In the depths of the black forest,

hiding away in a house made of poisonous
mushrooms, there once lived a young witch.

Although young, she had lived many times
longer than humans who appeared her age.

She had been living there alone ever since
she was about half her current height.

Recently, she'd taken an
interest in making medicine.

Working in a flow with the steam to
perform such a methodical task

seemed to put her mind at ease.

Her medicines were effective against many
ailments, and selling them in the nearby town

brought her some very welcome income.

Luna, are we heading to town?

Mm-hmm.

You can ride on me, Luna.

Maybe on the way home.

It's fine with me, though.
This isn't heavy at all.

Have a nice trip!

Once every three months, she took
the medicine she made into town.

Are you gonna buy more books with
the money from the medicine?

Yes.

You know what I think? I'd
love a nice, warm, red vest.

But I just knit you
one a little while ago.

Yeah, that old thing? It's so stiff and
scratchy, wearing it makes me wanna cry.

But people say vests made from velvet
goat wool are fluffy and soft

and they still keep you nice and warm.

Well, that's one way to
complain about Merino's wool.

Aww, that's not what I mean.
It's just personal preference.

I think my skin is more suited
to velvet wool, that's all.

So when we get to town,
can we visit the vest shop?

I'll alter Merino's vest for you
so it feels more like velvet wool.

But Luna, have you ever even felt
yarn made from velvet goats?

If you don't know what it feels
like, I kinda doubt you can copy it.

We really should visit the vest shop
so you can see what it feels like.

Wherever the witch walked or touched,

she would often leave poisonous
mushrooms in her wake.

Thus, she was known in
town as the Champignon Witch.

LUNA, THE BLACK WITCH

- I wonder if he'll let you touch a vest.

- I really doubt it.

Because mushrooms might grow on it?

Stay away from that!

Don't get close to the black
witch's poisonous mushrooms!

There are people whose skin rotted
away after just touching one!

Someone even died after
accidentally eating one.

Yuck! They're releasing a strange
gas. I bet it's poisonous!

No, those are just spores.

Hmm?

Oh! It's the vest shop!

The witch never felt very
comfortable in town.

Don't worry. I'll fix the other
vest and make it nice and soft.

I thought so! The black witch's breath
and skin stink like poison gas!

Get too close and you'll die!

It was crowded places that bothered
her more than the town itself.

Things had been like this for as
long as she could remember,

so it had never made her particularly sad.
It was just the way her body was.

MEDICINE

Hmm? Oh, look who's here.

I just ran out of your hair growth
formula, so this is perfect timing.

People say it works very well, you know.
Would you bring me a bigger batch next time?

I also need more of your
back pain medicine.

The apothecary was friendlier to the witch
than most of the townspeople,

as he both depended on the
witch's pharmaceutical skills,

Good. Here you go.

and because he had some
knowledge of black witches.

But whenever the witch visited,
he always wore his herb-infused mask.

Oh, would you take those mushrooms
that sprouted with you?

It was just the way things were.

The witch loved the bookstore.

Oh. Please come in.

Its owner was a descendant of
both the human and spirit worlds,

so he was also somewhat
understanding towards the witch.

The town was bustling today
so I figured you'd be in.

The townspeople were very suspicious
of both strangers and outsiders,

so he lived his life in human form.

Hmm? What's that for?

Oh, are you checking out my true
form again? Please don't.

I couldn't deal with you falling for me.

Spirit types kinda have
an attitude, don't they?

I am glad you came, though.

It's been quite some
time since your last visit,

so the air in town's grown stagnant.
Even just stepping outside felt depressing.

But thanks to your visit, maybe I can
finally start venturing out again.

You did absorb the poisons in town today,
didn't you? Thank you, as always.

But you know,

the way your body reacts to pollution by
growing mushrooms that filter out toxins

never ceases to amaze me.

I'm sure it's rough on you and the mushrooms
that have to carry that poison, though.

A-A bunch of mushrooms sprouted in the town
square at the crossroads and surprised me.

Oh. I think I know why.

Last week, there was a
public execution there.

The criminal's regret and the crowd's
outrage must have saturated the area.

The poisons from all of that
wickedness probably reacted to you.

The bookstore owner did
not state this outright,

but a public execution meant
it was likely part of a witch hunt.

It was also likely an acquaintance of
the witch, and likely someone innocent,

who was ex*cuted in the square.

While this was still a small country, it
was able to develop to the extent it had

thanks to the help of powerful magicians.

To maintain control over that power
across generations, the royal family

chose powerful white
witches as their queens.

As a result, those who
were loyal to the crown

were known as white witches and
white wizards, and those disloyal

became known as black witches and black
wizards. Thus began the "Black Witch Hunt."

Oh, right.

Hmm?

I got some good books in yesterday.

Oh!

I picked out a few that I thought
you might be interested in.

The world was a difficult
place for the witch,

but because she could still sell medicine

and buy her dearly beloved
books in this human world,

she had not completely given up on it yet.

Six Pigous should just about cover it.

Oh, they grew mushrooms!

Money is full of bad energy, after all.

Oh. Miss Witch, I have a favor to ask.

I picked up a very strange book. It
seems to be under a very powerful curse.

Word is that many of the people
who read it went insane and died.

I can't even pick it up.

Miss Witch, watch out!

Gulp.

It's over.

The book should be fine now.

Th-Thanks.

It tastes like that curse
k*lled around 150 people.

I don't ever want to know
what that tastes like.

You really are something, Miss Witch.

I appreciate the help.

He did appreciate her,

but as soon as she walked in, he was burning
herbal incense and wearing his crystal

as he always did.

Oh. And as thanks, you can read
this. If you like it, it's yours.

Bye.

Yeah. Come back soon.

The witch already knew that
when she left the store,

the bookseller would start vigorously wiping
down everything she had touched with lye.

Still, she was grateful that
he would wait until she left,

indeed, that he would even let her in
to begin with, so she paid it no mind.

All was well.

Finally!

Luna?

I'd been waiting for him to get
this medicine back in stock!

Now my bedridden mother
can finally get better.

I wish I could thank the person
who makes this medicine.

And selling it at a price we common
folk can afford? What a blessing.

The town was unpleasant in many ways,

but it still offered unique moments like
this that made her visits worthwhile.

Thank goodness! Surely our child
will get better with this.

I wonder who brought it to us.

This was not something she'd see if she
stayed hiding, alone, in her forest home.

It was her reward for having the courage
to venture into the outside world.

Luna, if they knew you made it, those people
probably wouldn't buy your medicine anymore.

But if that made you
happy, I'm happy, too.

It was as if all of her stress from enduring
one day in the city simply evaporated.

For the witch, these moments
were more magical than magic itself.

MEDICINE

A medicine that grows back
legs? I can't sell that here!

If I started selling a medicine that
unusual, especially if it actually worked,

I'd have the authorities breathing
down my neck in no time.

You shouldn't be making weird
medicine in the first place.

You must remember you're
still a black witch.

Let's see. One, two, three...

Hmm? Hey, what did I just tell you?

Subtlety isn't your strong suit, is it?

I know how much work you put
into that. You should be proud.

Are you looking for the
one-legged man from before?

You could ask someone, but I doubt
they'd tell you where he is.

If we find him, do you think
he'd even accept the medicine?

He might just run away like that guy.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Are you gonna look anyway? Why not
ask the bookseller or the apothecary?

I could go for a cotton
candy soda right now!

So, did you miss me?

You better believe I did.

- I missed you, too.

- The first time the witch saw people
embracing and smiling like that,

- Glad to hear it.

she did not know what to make of it.

Because when anyone touched her
poisonous body, they soon regretted it.

When someone touched her, their skin started
rotting and they stopped breathing,

so people started avoiding her completely.

The witch had never known
the warmth of another's embrace.

Hey, isn't that black witch
over there staring at us?

Of course she is. Nobody
can resist your beauty.

Oh, stop it, Henri!

She knew that this was known as "romance,"
having learned it from her books.

But do you really mean it?

I'm the only one...

A witch can do many things
that humans cannot,

but there are many common things that
humans can do and witches cannot.

Perhaps romance is one of those things.

Still, the pros and cons all balanced out
in the end, so she paid it no mind.

All was well.

A middle-aged man with one leg missing?

A lot of men ended up like
that after the last w*r.

I'll try asking around.

By the way, what's going on with her?

Well, we saw a boy and girl together
while searching and then that happened.

That sounds like bull to me.

Oh, moo!

Oh. If you're looking for popular
romance novels, they're on that shelf.

Luna! Minos!

Welcome home.

Did you get any souvenirs?

Show us the souvenirs you got!

Once we get inside.

I betcha it's just more books.

Bingo.

Aww, again?

Well, it's not her fault. Most shops
won't even serve a black witch.

Oh. I like the books with
pictures and stuff, though.

You got foam on your cheek.

Yeah, that happens a lot in town.

Does it really?

Reading gave her a way to escape
the world she was stuck in.

She could enter the world of a
book and become a someone else.

The witch loved these moments, when
she could escape from her troubles.

In the books, humans
who looked just like her

but had no magic, went on
dangerous adventures...

Oh.

or gave research presentations,
living through happiness and sadness.

Hmm.

Oh.

Ah!

You were reading way over there?

The witch used books to learn about
many different life experiences.

Though she could not do the same things
humans could, she was not at all lonely.

Luna,

weren't you going to read a romance?

Of course, love was one of
those things out of her reach.

Hey, hey, Luna. What's that story about?

Whoa!

It's so pretty.

The witch also liked to draw pictures.

Luna, what are you drawing?

Oh, I got it!

It's the boy we saw with
that girl in town today!

That's so good!

Looks just like him!

To the witch, the boy she'd seen in town

was even more beautiful than
the princes in her books' illustrations.

The witch loved beautiful things,

but was always scared that her
poison would destroy that beauty.

So if she liked something, she would sear
the image in her mind, draw it later,

and save the drawings. It was
one of her life's little pleasures.

- The witch put so much effort into
faithful reproductions,

- He's so handsome.

her skill improved by leaps and bounds.

Recently, when she put effort in,
even if she hadn't intended it,

her picture would
sometimes take on a soul.

This one was only a picture,
but it was also more.

It was the first time anyone
had smiled to her so kindly.

He's asking you to dance!

Luna!

Ah!

Come on!

The hand that emerged from the drawing
was as cold and light as paper,

but it was still the first time
the witch had held someone's hand.

Have a good time!

Her heart felt so light, it was
like she could fly to the moon.

The dance exceeded her wildest imagination.
Something that could only exist in books.

It was a dream of a dance.

Their serendipitous
stroll in the night sky

contained more romance than all
the love stories in the world.

It was more than a
story. It was a miracle.

Luna!

Luna, are you okay?

He turned back into paper.

Like the moonlight itself,

that special night shone brightly in the
witch's memory for the rest of her days.

Are we going to buy more
pencils and paper today?

I know you drew a bunch
of pictures of that boy.

But only the first one came to life. Maybe
you're starting to forget what he looks like.

If you take a good look and draw him real
nice, maybe he'll come to life again.

I hope they'll sell you
the pencils and paper.

Hey, Luna. If they let you buy
a lot, you should draw me, too!

- Just make me look good. Like with
horns three times this big.

- So everything was just an act?
I'm through with you!

Oh. It's the couple from before.

Hmph!

But they seem kinda different.
Especially the boy.

It's like the charm was sucked
out of him. He's an empty shell.

You're never gonna believe it!

Henri turned out to be a total loser!

Huh?

I don't need a guy like that.
What in the world happened to him?

Come to think of it, it started the day
we saw that creepy black witch.

Luna?

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

- Huh?

- No, look at me!

- Oh, come here!

You're so cool!

Let me see!

You're so cute!

Oh.

- I think I'm in love!

- You're so cool!

- Ah!

Hey, you there!

Hold on!

Luna, he's talking to you. And aren't
you going to get pencils and paper?

No, I'm not.

I'm never drawing again.

Come on, Henri. What's gotten into you,
going for a black witch like her?

Uh... I'm not sure. It's like I totally
forgot she was a black witch.

She just seemed like a nice,
normal, pretty girl to me.

Eww, why would you say that?

I don't know. I've never
even talked to her before.

Next time I see her, maybe
I should try talking to her again.