Until a Witch Dies – Meg Raspberry’s One Year Left to Live

“Oh my, Meg-chan, what brings you here at this hour?”

When Flare Grandma opened the door, she blinked in surprise at the sight of me and the large pack strapped to my back. I flashed her a wide grin.

“Ahaha, I had a fight with my master and, well… I ran away from home.”

I tried to laugh it off, but this cold was no joke. It wasn’t midwinter yet, but late autumn nights could be brutally chilly. My teeth chattered, and Flare Grandma let out a concerned “Oh dear.”

“It’s cold outside. Come in, quickly.”

“Feii~! Sorry for barging in~.”

Running out of the house on a whim had been a mistake. A reckless one, even by my standards. But regrets were pointless now.

Still, time flows ceaselessly like an eternal traveler, and the years that pass are but fellow wayfarers in the grand journey of life! (Or something like that…?)

“Phew, it’s freezing tonight.”

I held out my hands toward the crackling fireplace. Most modern houses used water-based heating systems, but old homes like this still had traditional fireplaces. Flare Grandma had lived here for decades, so of course, her old heating system was still in use.

My own house also had a fireplace, and honestly, I preferred it this way. It felt more comforting.

Beside me, my two familiars sat, their large eyes reflecting the flickering flames. Despite everything, they had followed me here. At moments like this, I was reminded of their loyalty.

“A fight with Faust-sama, huh? That’s quite the incident—it’s been years since something like that happened. What was it about?”

“Oh, you know, just something really dumb. I tried to turn my master’s familiar into a yakiniku feast, and she got mad at me. So I started explaining about the concept of the Hungry Ghost Realm in Buddhism. Then she went on about how differing values between religions lead to war, and I had no choice but to counter with the truth that all beings are fundamentally one, that all things belong to the universe, and—well, it just spiraled from there.”

Flare Grandma murmured, “I don’t really understand, but it sounds complicated.”

Honestly, even I wasn’t sure what I had been talking about.

But for some reason, Flare Grandma looked amused.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Oh, it just reminded me of the fights I used to have with my husband.”

“You? Fighting? That’s hard to believe.”

“Oh, I fought with him plenty. When you live with someone for a long time, arguments are inevitable. But that’s how you come to understand each other—little by little, step by step.”

She smiled softly and gazed at a framed photograph on the shelf. It was a picture of her late husband and her son’s family, who now lived far away.

For many years now, Flare Grandma had lived alone.

What did it feel like, spending one’s later years alone in a house this big?

“Hey, Flare Grandma.”

She turned to me gently.

“Can I stay here for a while? I don’t really want to face Master right now.”

“I don’t mind, but won’t Faust-sama worry about you?”

“Nah, she’s got clairvoyance. She probably knows exactly where I am and when I’ll come back. Besides, I just wanted to talk with you for a while.”

“I see… then, stay as long as you like.”

She smiled warmly, her eyes narrowing in kindness.

That smile alone made coming here worth it.

“Have you had dinner? You must be hungry.”

“Ah, no, I’m—”

At that moment, a deep, growling sound echoed through the room.

For a split second, I thought a wild beast had entered, but no—it was just my stomach.

Oh, right. I had barely eaten dinner and ended up throwing most of it away.

Even the stomach of a lady isn’t immune to the sounds of hunger.

“Hehehe, wait right here. I’ve got some delicious stew.”

“Flare Grandma’s stew…”

As I sat there, waiting, a rich, mouthwatering aroma filled the room. Soon enough, she placed a bowl of stew on the table in front of me.

It was beef stew made with red wine, and the scent alone made my stomach grumble even louder.

I sat down, enchanted, and took my first bite.

The heat of it took my breath away, but the deep, savory flavor spread across my tongue.

“In this house, whenever we had a fight, we always had this stew.”

Her eyes seemed to be gazing at a distant place, somewhere far beyond this room.

Perhaps, she was looking back on memories of the past.

“When it gets cold, people’s hearts can grow cold, too. So when you fight, and your heart feels frozen, you should eat something warm. That warmth melts away the tension, and before you know it, the conversation flows again. Just like that, misunderstandings disappear.”

“Melting away tension, huh…”

Being with Flare Grandma had a way of easing my heart.

Maybe it was because she herself was so warm. Without even realizing it, her kindness melted away the ice within me.

I wished she could always stay here, just like this.

As I ate the warm stew, I felt that wish settle deep in my heart.