The Witch of Robbery
The name of the village where I lived was South Clamp Wood. It meant a village nestled in the forest south of the Clamp Barony, and it was a comfortably small settlement of a few hundred people. What was the defining trait of such a tiny village? Rumors spread incredibly fast.
“It’s the witch.”
“It’s a monster.”
I nodded at the nickname that had evolved from “goddess who guides adventurers” to “monster.” Since it had already gone from goddess to monster, the next step was obviously demon lord. The Demon Lord of Magic. Just hearing it made my heart tremble. I really hoped they would call me that.
“These little shits.”
Someone was scolding the children. It was the blond leader of the alley gang. His name was Je… Je…. What was his name again? Oh, right. It was Jerry.
Jerry had snapped at his friends, “Who likes being called a shorty?” But that was a poor comparison. After all, the kids were small compared to him, but he was actually taller than average. So they probably wouldn’t have cared much even if they heard it. Come to think of it, I didn’t feel anything when people called me a monster or a witch either. So he had actually made the perfect analogy. As expected of Jerry.
I stepped into the bakery. The owner, who had been organizing the shelves, flinched when he saw me. Even though I was wearing a robe. Anyone who has tried wearing one knows it isn’t some kind of full-face mask; it couldn’t completely hide my face. No matter how deeply I pulled it down, part of my face was inevitably visible, so people always flinched whenever they looked at me. If they had seen me for a long time, they would have gotten used to it and wouldn’t react like that. But it had only been a week since I ended up like this. A week was far too short a time to adjust.
“The usual, please.”
“…Understood.”
After buying the bread, I left the shop while swinging my lantern. I walked down the street. The clear sky, the clear air, and the clear streets combined into a perfect trio. The weather made me want to lie down on a hill and take a nap, but unfortunately, someone was waiting for me. Until I fed Kelton his fill, I couldn’t go anywhere. So maybe I should prepare a meal for Kelton and then go on an outing together? That sounded good. Lately Kelton’s mood had been quite poor, so he needed a walk. I headed toward home.
“Hey!”
I stopped at the voice calling from behind. When I turned around, a blond boy—no, a young man now closer to adulthood—came into view. Jingle. Swinging my lantern, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Sir Jerry. What brings you here?”
“…My name isn’t Jerry.”
I had messed up. It wasn’t Jerry; it was a different name. His name was… Right. That was it.
“Sir Jed. What is your business?”
“My name is Jess.”
Oh, it was Jess. Still, it was pretty close. I memorized it.
“Sir Jess. What is your business?”
“Well… Don’t pay any attention to what the kids are saying. I’ll make sure they never do it again.”
“It’s fine.”
Calling someone by a nickname wasn’t a capital offense, so oppressing them too harshly seemed pitiful. I whispered calmly.
“The children probably don’t mean any harm. Please don’t scold them too much. Our kids are just a bit thoughtless, but they’re kind and pure-hearted.”
“Why are you the one saying that?”
Jess looked slightly dumbfounded. Victory. So did that make me the new leader of the village’s alley gang? Bring everyone under you up to me.
“Is that all?”
I needed to hurry and prepare Kelton’s meal, so if his business was finished, I wanted to leave. At my words, Jess fidgeted and twisted his body before answering as if he had made up his mind.
“I’ve seen you passing by quite a few times, but we’ve never even introduced ourselves, have we? I came because I wanted to get to know you starting now.”
“I see.”
“As I said, my name is Jess. And you’re Ruina, right?”
“Yes, I’m Ruina.”
I extended the hand that wasn’t holding the lantern toward Jess. He reached out as well. Then he saw the burn scars covering my hand and flinched ever so slightly. Suddenly, a fun thought occurred to me.
“In the end, Sir Jess is the same as everyone else. My appearance must be horrifying. You’re definitely thinking ‘witch’ and ‘monster’ inside. Giving someone hope and then snatching it away. It’s the greatest gift a human can give, isn’t it?”
“No, that’s not— I’m not—”
“I’m joking.”
I grasped Jess’s hand and shook it up and down.
“Let’s get along from now on.”
“……”
Leaving behind the completely dazed Jess, I returned home. The moment I arrived, I began preparing dinner while humming a tune.
“Hmm hmm.”
“……”
“Hmm hmm hmm.”
“……”
“Hmm hmm… Sir Kelton. Please come to your senses. How long are you going to stay like that?”
“Haa.”
Kelton let out a deep sigh. After nearly a week, he finally put his pipe in his mouth and spoke in a low voice.
“What master wouldn’t feel heartbroken when his one and only disciple burns her face and body to a crisp?”
“But I reached the third circle, didn’t I?”
“That’s exactly the problem. I don’t understand how your level rises in such an insane way.”
Kelton exhaled a long plume of smoke. He stared blankly at the smoke drifting toward the ceiling before muttering quietly.
“What’s the point of rising in level if you burn your whole body?”
“Isn’t it a cheap price? I’m not disabled, and it’s just the surface that got a little charred. For reaching the third circle, it feels like a very profitable deal to me.”
“Haa.”
Kelton sighed again. Truthfully, I understood what he was trying to say. I glanced at the mirror. Inside it stood a typical full-body burn survivor—severe burns at that. Anyone with this kind of appearance would find life difficult, and it was especially hard for women. That was why Kelton kept sighing in pity. But that was only by ordinary people’s standards.
From my perspective, a life where I couldn’t learn magic was far more painful. Besides, I wasn’t even a real woman; there was a man inside. There was no way I would obsess over something as trivial as a pretty face. I could give up something like this as many times as needed. For the sake of magic, I could offer anything.
“At this rate, you’ll end up going before me.”
“I can’t die. It would be unfair to die without using all the magic in the world.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Tap. Kelton knocked out his pipe to extinguish it. Somehow he knew the meal was ready. I placed a bowl of vegetable stew and bread in front of him. Then I scooped up my own portion of vegetable stew and ate it. The subtle sweetness of the vegetables gently warmed my body. That exquisite balance. It was perfectly suited to revitalizing a person’s energy.
“It’s delicious.”
“It’s good for your health too.”
After finishing the meal, I washed the dishes and approached Kelton.
“Since you’ve eaten, would you like to go on an outing?”
“Not today, I’m afraid.”
“Why not?”
“I promised the village chief I’d do him a favor.”
“Again? You’ve been doing that a lot lately. You never used to, so is there some reason?”
“You come along too.”
Without any further explanation, Kelton took me to the nearby forest. I had explained it several times, but there weren’t any notable monsters in the village forest. At most, there were small groups of goblins, and even the village watch could handle those. Yet the chief kept asking Kelton to clean them out. The intention was probably to prepare for any unforeseen accidents, but that part didn’t make much sense. In Happy Mid-land, would they really hire a fourth-circle mage just because they were worried about a few casualties? There was no way.
“Sir Kelton. Be honest with me. You asked the chief for something in return, didn’t you? You agreed to clean out the goblins in exchange for him granting that request, right?”
“There are goblins up ahead.”
When I turned to look where Kelton pointed, several goblins appeared. Five of them. It would have been a difficult number in the past, but not anymore. I opened my lantern.
Whoosh.
A flame gathered inside the lantern. After reaching the first circle, I had become able to distribute mana evenly into my spells. The efficiency had improved. After the second circle, the actions I had repeated countless times began to affect my magic. Since I used magic inside the lantern every day, mana consumption decreased for that specific action. And when I finally reached the long-awaited third circle, I gained the ability to set restrictions.
‘Magic must only be activated inside the lantern.’ Like that.
The arrow of fire, formed through repetition and oath, split the air and divided into five branches. Five red lines pierced through the goblins’ heads.
Thud.
All the goblins whose brains had melted collapsed to the ground. It was a clean battle. I closed the lantern with a click and smiled as I met Kelton’s eyes.
“What do you think? Doesn’t the power seem unbelievable for third-circle magic?”
“It’s excellent.”
“It’s a power worth the price I paid, right?”
“There are still more goblin groups left, so we should move quickly.”
I could clearly feel him deliberately avoiding the topic, but I didn’t point it out and simply moved my legs. Everyone had subjects they wanted to avoid.
That aside.
“With this method, pure elemental magic might be fine, but applying it to other types of magic seems annoying. What should I do about that?”
“You’re the one who set the rule that magic must only be activated inside the lantern.”
“It wasn’t exactly me setting it; it was forced on me. If I had known magic would develop this way, I would have carried something more convenient like gloves instead of a lantern.”
But if I had done that, maybe I wouldn’t have risen in circles. It was a difficult question. The lantern was annoying, but it had its own advantages, which made it even more so.
Kyaaak!
While burning the goblins that crawled out and charged at us again, I spoke to Kelton.
“After this, are we going straight home?”
“Yes. Let’s go on that outing too.”
“As expected of you, Sir Kelton.”
Staying inside on a day like this was practically a crime. Going on an outing was the right choice.
“Hmm hmm.”
“Humming while burning monsters is likely to cause misunderstandings. Be careful.”
“Understood.”
Looking at the clouds, tomorrow’s weather would be nice too. Should I grill some meat outside tomorrow? Yeah. Let’s keep doing this. Continue. Just like now.
Two more years passed after I reached the third circle. I had finally turned seventeen. Since I left home at ten, it had been a full seven years since I became a mage’s disciple. Those seven years for me could be summed up in one phrase: preparation period. A time to prepare for the start of my life. Seventeen was exactly the age that could be called the starting point of one’s life.
“Cough, cough.”
And for someone else, those seven years might have held the opposite meaning. I looked down at Kelton lying in bed. Seven years. It was more than enough time for one person to prepare for the end.