Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six** of the seventh volume of the *Witch Hat Atelier* manga series.

## Summary

In a flashback, two young witches, Qifrey and Olruggio, hide in a cave, trying to shelter themselves from the rain. Qifrey admists that he hates water, as both its excess and its absence can be dangerous. Olruggio tells him that fire acts in the same way, as it can harm and kill but it also provides light and warmth. He tells Qifrey that he should know more about what scares him in order to overcome his fear. The young Qifrey wonders if there will ever be a day when he’ll be able to sleep at ease and unafraid, as he sees Coco calling out to him in a blizzard.

In the present, Qifrey wakes up from his dream in the Great Hall’s medical spire. He finds a cold compress in his bed. Olruggio tells him that Coco made it for him. Qifrey worriedly asks about Coco and the other girls, and Olrugio tells him that the girls are in the other room sleeping. Qifrey seems relieved, as by the look on Olruggio’s face he had thought something bad had happened. The watchful eye wonders if the girls’ well-being is what Qifrey is actually worried about, or if instead he merely sees Coco as a clue to get to the Brimcaps.

Coco asks Beldaruit why he wants to keep her away from Qifrey. He tells her that her master’s involvement with the brimcaps makes him think that he may bring Coco closer to them instead of protecting her from them. Coco replies it’s not her master’s fault that the Brimmed Cap Group attacked them: it’s her they’re after. Beldaruit considers that that is even more reason why she should stay under his protection. He adds that, even if Qifrey holds a personal grudge against the Brimmed Cap Group, the use of a student to achieve their master’s end is inexcusable. At this point, Coco asks what grudge is Beldaruit talking about. The Wise of Teachings agrees to tell her about her master’s past, since he speaks so little of himself.

In another flashback, in the dark forest of thristas, the knights moralis look for the Brimmed Cap Group. It’s plain they were there, but they are unable to find them. Beldaruit is also there, helping them search by using a spell to clear away the rain around them. He finds a few drops of fresh blood nearby. The nights moralis put the blood in a guidance orb and use it to locate its origin. The orb leads them to a large tree, pointing at its roots. Beldaruit uses a spell to lift the earth and finds a casket beneath the tree. He doesn’t smell a decayed corpse inside, and wonders if it’s trapped. As the casket is opened by the knights moralis, a young boy is revealed to be inside, barely conscious. Beldaruit asks him if he’s alright and if he can tell them what happened to him. The boy merely says “The witch took it”. His right eye is missing.

Back in the present, Beldaruit tells Coco that that boy they found in the forest was Qifrey. His memory had ben wiped to ensure he couldn’t provide any clues about the Brimmed Cap Group’s whereabouts or intentions, and he had been left for dead in that casket. Luckily, there was no magical ink on his body, so Beldaruit was able to convince the knights moralis to let him take the boy under his wing as an apprentice. However, that didn’t stop Qifrey from trying to uncover what happened in his past, so he would often sneak at night to scour the world for clues on the brimcaps. Ultimately, he went to the Tower of Tomes, where his search abruptly ended. Coco wonders why did Qifrey stop searching for answers, and Beldaruit responds that he provably realized he would need to use forbidden magic in order to recover his memories and his eye. Relying on such dark arts would once again cost him everything he had worked for, and he ended on position similar to the one that Coco is in now.

This revelation terrifies Coco, who asks Beldaruit what should she do if there was someone she wanted to help. If none of her spells were able to save that person, and if the Tower of Tomes had no answers either, should she just give up? The Wise of Teachings tells her that since the first moment she picked up a pen, she should have realised that magic isn’t meant to provide any wish her heart desires, since that which cures an affliction may just as easily bestow it.

At the medical spire, Olruggio reveals he tried fixing Qifrey’s glasses, since they got smashed in Romonon. He knew about the opacating spell etched into the right lens to hide his missing eye, but he also discovered that there was another spell, etched with transparent ink in the left lens, meant to block harsh light. Olruggio asks Qifrey if he’s losing his remaining vision and that’s the reason why he’s so determined to find the brimcaps, even if that means using Coco to get to them. Before Qifrey can defend himself, an illusory Beldaruit apparates in the room asking Qifrey and Olruggio to come with him. Coco ventured out on her own and Beldaruit lost track of her. Qifrey is determined to go after his student, but Olruggio tells him that if she used the windowway she could be anywhere. Qifrey replies there’s only one place she’d try to go to. While this conversation is taking place, Coco arrives at the Tower of Tomes.

## Characters by Appearance

* Qifrey
* Olruggio
* Coco
* Beldaruit
* Unknown Knights Moralis (Flashback)