Witch Taming System-Chapter 16: The Erudition Society [1]

The Erudition Society.

A gathering of witches who had achieved feats that ordinary witches could never hope to accomplish in their long lifetime.

Their meetings were irregular. Unlike academies or councils that followed strict schedules, the Erudition Society gathered only when there was a reason to gather.

Sometimes a member would request an assembly to present a new discovery. Other times, the meeting would occur because a problem had emerged that only minds of their caliber could address.

When such a call was issued, the others would appear.

Not all of them, of course.

Some members ignored meetings entirely if the topic failed to interest them. Others would arrive late, listen for a few minutes, then leave the moment their curiosity was satisfied.

Even so, whenever the Society did gather, the atmosphere was unlike any other assembly in the magical world.

And it had to be said. There were no formal hierarchies. Each members were regarded as equals, bound only by the shared recognition that every witch present possessed a mind capable of reshaping the foundations of magic itself.

And today, one such meeting had been called.

"I wasn’t even planning to attend," one of the witches remarked. "But if Cyrene is the one calling for it... then this should be interesting."

Cyrene.

The Grand Witch.

A being who had lived for more than six hundred years and stood at the pinnacle of witchcraft. Since the age of the Origin Witch, no one had risen higher than her.

In any case, not all witches were stationed in Riviere. In fact, many of them were scattered across the world.

The Eruditions were no exception.

Even Cyrene herself was not currently in Riviere.

Because of this, the Society relied on a specialized spell whenever meetings were held. Through linked holographic magic, each member could project their image into a shared space and speak as if they were physically present.

It was the closest thing witches had to a long-distance assembly.

Of course, those who were already stationed in Riviere did not need to rely on projection.

Instead, they gathered in person at a place known as the Library of Babel. There, they could join the meeting directly while the projected figures of distant members appeared among them.

That way, not every participant needed to maintain their own holographic link.

As the witches continued their conversations and the holographic links gradually connected, the chamber remained lively with overlapping voices.

Then another link was activated. The moment it appeared, the room fell silent.

The image of a beautiful woman emerged slowly from the light. Her platinum blonde hair flowed past her shoulders with strands of pink running through it.

No one needed to ask who it was.

——Greetings, everyone.

It was Cyrene.

——Wow~ There are quite a lot of you today. I’m pretty special, huh?

Several witches frowned.

Cyrene’s personality was well known among the Eruditions. She had a reputation for being a narcissist who never missed an opportunity to praise not only her own power but also her beauty.

Of course, among the Eruditions themselves, that kind of attitude hardly impressed anyone. Many of them had lived just as long, if not longer. Compared to their own ages, Cyrene was little more than another ancient hag.

——Anyway, I’ll keep this quick.

Cyrene paused for a moment, tilting her head slightly as if reconsidering.

——Actually... no. It’s bad news.

Her expression turned into something more playful.

——Let’s address something else first. I want to be the last one. Uhm.. you there. Let’s start with you.

"E-Eh? Me?" the witch said, pointing at herself in confusion. "I don’t really have anything to report..."

Cyrene’s projection tilted its head.

——Really? Then what exactly have you been doing all this time? Are all Eruditions bums these days?

Before the witch could respond, another voice resounded.

"If I may," another Erudition chimed in. "Annie here has been quite busy. She recently opened her own pleasure house."

Several witches turned their heads.

"This greedy witch has been luring men all the way from the Gugalanna Kingdom. Now she thinks she’s something special just because a bunch of low-quality men are lining up to sleep with her."

"H-Hey!" Annie snapped, her face flushing. "Shut up, Clementine!"

——Hmm? Care to elaborate?

——Please don’t.

Another voice suddenly cut through the conversation.

——If this is what the meeting is going to be about, then I’m leaving. I’m busy, Cyrene.

The voice belonged to another Erudition.

——Ehh... Don’t go, Dianne! You’ll definitely want to hear what I have to say!

——This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?

Dianne’s tone was completely unimpressed.

Cyrene’s habit of saving the most interesting topic for last was well known. By dangling curiosity in front of everyone, she practically forced the others to stay.

Many witches had already fallen for that trick before.

Dianne, however, was not one of them.

——It doesn’t matter. I’ll just ask someone later.

——Dianne!

But it was already too late. Dianne’s holographic projection disappeared from the chamber in an instant.

For a second, the room fell quiet.

Then another Erudition spoke.

"I think I have something. Would you care to explain yourself, Angelica?"

At once, all eyes turned to the stunning woman who had remained silent up until now.

Angelica.

Her crimson eyes widened for a moment before she casually pointed at herself.

"Me?" she said. "About what?"

The witch who had spoken crossed her arms.

"Rumors have been circulating," she said. "They say you’ve been hoarding government property."

Then her gaze shifted.

"And you."

She looked toward Faust, who had also remained quiet until now.

"There are also rumors that you stole that research asset from Angelica."

Her eyes narrowed.

"So what exactly is happening between the two of you?"

Above the gathering, Cyrene’s holographic figure leaned forward with obvious interest.

——Oooh~ Interesting~

Faust let out a sigh.

She had originally planned to speak with Angelica privately after the meeting was over. She had not expected the matter between them to be dragged into the open like this.

"It’s—"

But before she could even begin explaining, Angelica spoke first.

"It’s true," Angelica said with a shrug. "I went past the agreed deadline for transferring the research asset. Faust noticed and took it from me. So now the custody is entirely hers."

A few witches exchanged glances.

Above them, Cyrene tilted her head.

——And why exactly did you do that?

Angelica waved her hand dismissively.

"I suppose I didn’t notice the calendar," she replied. "Besides, none of you would even know about it if I hadn’t registered the subject in the first place, right?"

She smiled.

"I could have kept it hidden. So really, you should all be thanking me."

As irritating as the remark sounded, it was technically true.

Many witches chose to keep their biological experiments secret. But the rules were different when living subjects were involved.

Human test subjects had to be properly licensed and registered.

If a witch were caught hiding such a subject without documentation, the punishment was severe. At best, they would be exiled from Riviere. At worst, they would be erased entirely from the magical world.

Cyrene turned to Faust.

——Then what about Faust?

For a moment, Faust remained silent.

"...."

Angelica had just... covered for her for reasons she could not begin to understand.

She had known Angelica for a long time, yet even now she could not truly grasp how that woman’s mind worked.

"...I only acted according to regulation," Faust said. "I saw the need to interfere, and the opportunity that came with it."

Several witches nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, the situation was simple. Once Angelica had failed to transfer the research asset within the agreed time, the claim had effectively opened.

Faust had merely taken the opportunity before anyone else could.

In a sense, it was no different from a race.

Faust had simply reached the finish line first and secured the property rights before the others even realized the opportunity existed.

——Hmm... But you two still broke regulations. Especially you, Faust.

——I agree.

There was one rule that witches, regardless of rank, generally respected. Even Eruditions were not exempt from it.

Never interfere with another witch’s research.

That boundary existed for a reason. Research disputes among witches rarely ended peacefully.

And Faust had clearly crossed that line.

Technically, she had done so while exploiting a legal loophole. Angelica had missed the official transfer deadline, which allowed Faust to claim the research asset through regulation.

Even so, the spirit of the rule had still been violated.

She might have won the race for ownership.

But now that the matter had been dragged into the open like this, it was less a victory and more a case of unfortunate timing.

In other words, Faust had simply been unlucky.

Had the matter not been brought up during an Erudition meeting, it likely would have remained a minor dispute between two witches.

But now that it had been dragged into the open, the entire Society was suddenly involved.

Cyrene clasped her hands together with obvious amusement.

——So then... what should we do with these rule breakers, girls?

"Kill them!"

"Banish them!"

"Sell them to me! I’ll make good use of them!"

"Expose Angelica for having fake boobs!"

"Hey! These are real!"

Cyrene could only sigh.

——...You girls never change.