Chapter 3: Common Sense
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: Common Sense
I stepped into the room, escaping the house-sized wolf, my mind racing.
‘A wolf… that talks?’
In the 21st century, where philosophy had killed God and science had burned away superstition, such a thing was impossible. Weren’t witches just a derogatory term for women who knew a little about herbalism?
The thought that this might not be Earth swirled in my head.
Knock, knock—.
Just then, I heard a knock. Considering this was a witch's cabin, I wouldn't have expected a knock, yet she was being exceedingly considerate.
“…Come in.”
Only after I gave permission did she open the door and enter, her hood pulled down low just like before.
Having seen her bare face earlier, I felt a pang of disappointment. Her face was beautiful beyond comparison, even to the beauties from Earth enhanced by all sorts of makeup and Photoshop.
Holding a plate full of stew, she gave an awkward smile and set it down on the table.
“…You can eat.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The fact that she was the owner of this cabin—the witch the villagers feared. And the fact that I couldn't escape as long as a house-sized wolf was outside.
For those two reasons, I obeyed her. Anyone watching might ask if I had no pride, but if I had any, I would have died talking back to the villagers long ago.
I sat at the table and started stirring the stew she'd brought with a spoon. It was a habit I'd picked up from my life in the village—searching for even a single solid morsel…
But this time, there was no need. The stew she brought was so full of ingredients that every dip of the spoon came up with all sorts of vegetables and meat.
“…I’ll dig in.”
How long had it been since I'd had such a feast? Filled with anticipation, I slowly began to eat the stew.
The stew and its ingredients touched my tongue and teeth, slowly melting in my mouth. The next moment, I was like a man possessed, lifting the plate and scraping the bottom clean.
The witch standing beside me watched me intently, as if curious about the taste, but I had no time to pay her any mind. The stew was just that damn good.
‘Fucking delicious…’
Last night, the village chief's family had fed me meat soup and even fruit. For someone who'd been eating nothing but slop for a month, even that had been a feast.
But the moment I took a bite of this stew, all such thoughts vanished. What I ate yesterday was garbage. Garbage with a bit of salt sprinkled on a lump of fat.
“Is it good?”
“Yes! It's fuc— I mean, it's incredibly delicious!”
“Want more?”
“May I?”
In that moment, the word 'refuse' was erased from my vocabulary. I held out my clean plate, and she went to the kitchen, returning with it filled to the brim with stew.
The moment she handed it to me, I buried my face in it and started licking the bowl. After about the third refill, my stomach reached its limit.
“I… I can eat more…”
“It's okay. You don't have to finish it.”
She said, pushing the plate with a little stew left to the side and gazing at me.
I felt as if her eyes, hidden beneath the hood, were scanning me. Only then did I remember that the person before me was a witch.
“You, what's your name?”
“Y-Yohan. Kim Yohan.”
“Kim Yohan… What an unusual name.”
“And you are… Ah, you are the witch, right?”
At my question, she shrugged slightly, as if to say, ‘You didn't even know that?’ True, only a witch would live in a place with a beast like that.
The witch crossed one leg and said to me.
“That's right. I'm a witch. A very terrifying archwitch.”
“I see…”
“…Aren't you surprised?”
“Ah, is this the part where I'm supposed to be surprised?”
She called herself a terrifying archwitch, but—honestly, it didn't feel real. Based on her appearance, she was just a white-haired beauty, not a witch. And it wasn't like she'd done anything to harm me…
As I stared, wondering why she was called a witch, she let out a soft chuckle and continued her introduction.
“The witch, Evangeline. Call me Eva.”
“Yes, Lady Eva.”
“Good, you know your place very well.”
“…My place?”
The witch who had introduced herself as Evangeline tilted her head and pulled a letter from her robes.
It was the letter I had brought on an errand for the village chief. She opened it and began to read a part of it aloud.
“To the Witch—Please feel free to use the one who carries this letter as you see fit.”
“…What? What does that mean?”
“Want to read it?”
She said, handing the letter to me. I took it and frowned at the scrawled handwriting, but I could just barely decipher it.
Indeed, just as she'd said, it was written that my person was being offered to the witch. The hand holding the letter began to tremble.
‘…So this really is a human trafficking den.’
I thought of the stew I had just eaten. Was that my last meal? The final food before they harvested my organs and killed me?
But without showing any of my inner turmoil, I carefully folded the letter and handed it back to her.
“…It's real.”
“Hmm- Yes. So? What will you do?”
“Huh?”
“To be honest, I don't really need a slave. An assistant, maybe. You can go back if you want.”
Eva said this, leaving the choice entirely up to me. Hearing her words, I let out a groan, pretending to think it over.
If I took her at her word and went back, what would happen? First, I'd have to get past that wolf at the door. That monster who, for some reason, could talk despite being a beast.
Even if I was lucky enough to get past it, this mountain was teeming with wild animals. Not just the wolf I'd met, but bears and wild boars, too.
‘Getting out of here alive would be a miracle.’
And even if by some miracle I made it back to the village, would the chief and the villagers welcome me? The best-case scenario was returning to my old life as a slave.
Whether I became the witch's slave or had my organs harvested, this cabin with its delicious food and warm room was a hundred, a thousand times better.
“I am at your service, Lady Witch!”
“I told you to call me Eva, didn't I?”
“Lady Eva!”
I quickly dropped to my knees and submitted to her.
Evangeline took a light, deep breath and knocked on the door.
A moment later, a voice came from inside.
—Come in.
Despite it being her own house, Evangeline waited for permission before slowly opening the door. Yohan greeted her with a dazed expression.
‘Ngh…’
She could feel his gaze stabbing at her face. The memory of showing her face earlier came back to her, and feelings of shame and fear began to bubble up.
She was afraid that everything she had thought was wrong, that he might actually despise her.
No matter how used she was to being treated like a monster, it was still something she dreaded. Disgust was an emotion one could never get used to.
Fortunately, his gaze quickly shifted from her face to the plate in her hands. It was a special stew she had made with all sorts of ingredients while he was unconscious.
“…You can eat.”
Only after placing the plate on the table did she realize how sharp her tone had been.
Contrary to her worries, Yohan immediately sat at the table and began to devour the stew with a spoon.
The stew that had filled the plate disappeared in an instant. Watching him eat so ravenously, she couldn't help but smile.
“Want more?”
“Yes! Please!”
Hearing his energetic voice, she immediately headed for the kitchen. She scooped a generous portion of stew from the pot and brought it to him.
Had he still been hungry despite just finishing a bowl? He buried his face in the plate and began to inhale the stew.
After a few more refills, Yohan finally put down his spoon.
Before Yohan could say he wanted more, she quickly pushed the bowl aside and sat down across from him.
“You, what's your name?”
“Yohan, it's Kim Yohan.”
“An unusual name.”
Having learned his name, Evangeline etched it into a corner of her mind and repeated it over and over.
Yohan, Yohan— As she was memorizing his name, Yohan asked her a question.
“Um… You are the witch, right?”
It was a question that made her want to laugh. Did he not even know who he was sitting in front of?
A playful urge rose within her, and she smiled broadly as she whispered to him.
“That's right, I'm a witch. A perilous archwitch.”
“Ah… I see.”
“…You're not surprised?”
“Huh? Is this the part where I'm supposed to be surprised?”
To her astonishment, Yohan showed no particular reaction to the fact that she was a witch. It was as if he didn't even know what a witch was.
Just as I thought— Evangeline was certain he was the person she had been waiting for. No one from this world could hear the word 'witch' and react like that.
Evangeline then realized she still hadn't told him her name.
“The witch, Evangeline. Call me Eva.”
“Yes, Lady Eva.”
In truth, 'Eva' was a nickname she only allowed those precious to her to use. A name she had never permitted anyone to call her until now. Hearing it from a man, she felt a rush of emotion and huffed softly.
“Good, you know your place very well.”
“My place…?”
When he tilted his head, looking confused, Evangeline took out the letter. The one from the village chief that had been in his possession.
It was written there.
「We offer this man as a slave. Please, our village…」
It was basically a request to defeat a monster that had appeared in the village in exchange for Yohan as a slave. When she told him this, Yohan looked at her as if he'd never heard of it.
“Here, want to read it?”
Evangeline said, holding out the letter. Only after she did so did she remember that commoners usually couldn't read, but to her surprise, Yohan began to read it.
While she was marveling at this unexpected side of him, Yohan finished reading and handed the letter back.
“It really says that.”
“Right?”
Yohan's expression soured. Despite her long life, Evangeline had never learned why men acted the way they did, and she began to grow anxious.
And then, she made the worst possible mistake.
“I don't need a slave right now. I can send you back to the village if you want.”
Crazy bitch. Crazy, insane bitch. What did I just say? Why would I throw away an opportunity like this? What if he refuses?
She broke out in a cold sweat as she looked at Yohan. Please, please stay here. Please, break my curse.
As if her prayers had been answered, Yohan slowly rose and prostrated himself on the floor.
“I am at your service, Lady Witch.”
“…I told you to call me Eva.”
“Lady Eva.”
It worked.
Evangeline thought, looking down at the prostrated Yohan. Believing that this man would grant her deepest wish.
“Oh, right, Lady Eva. There's something I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?”
“The wolf outside… how can it talk?”
“Him? He's a spirit animal. It's common sense for spirit animals to talk, isn't it?”
“…Common sense, you say?”
I realized I had fallen into an isekai where all common sense was dead.