The Witch of Silence - 1
'Today is the day I finally have a real conversation with people!'
Carrying the same thought she always did, the girl walked with all her might. Of course, to anyone watching, it was merely a stiff, awkward gait — ordinary, if a little off-kilter.
"Oh my? Welcome, welcome~. Are you here to buy something today? Or have you come to sell?"
A matron with a plump, kindly face called out to her with a lively smile. Startled, the girl fidgeted for a moment before finally holding out the basket in her hands.
"Herbs and mushrooms again, I see? Hmm, this lot should come to two silver. Thank you for always bringing me such good things~"
At the matron's bright words, the girl's lips merely flapped open and shut.
Thank you. That was what she had to say.
"Ah. Uh. Um. I. Uhhh..."
The words refused to come, and in the end all she could manage was a stiff little bow. Then, whirling around as if fleeing, she darted out of the shop — pausing only to stare blankly at the two silver coins clutched in her hand before burying her face in them.
'Ahh. I failed again.'
Today of all days, she had wanted to greet someone properly. But she didn't know how. What was she supposed to say after "thank you"? Where did the conversation go from there? What if she said something wrong and made the other person angry? What if she brought up a boring subject and killed the mood? So many thoughts piled atop one another that not a single word could squeeze its way out.
"Waaah~! Waaah~!"
"Let's go together!"
"Try and catch me! Bleh! Dummy~!"
"You're dead!!"
Just then, a group of children came racing past her. They looked to be about her age, yet unlike her they seemed simply, effortlessly alive.
'I'm going to live my whole life like this...'
Unable to fit in with others, unable to hold a proper conversation with anyone, doomed to stay on the outside even as an adult — she would spend her entire life alone. Tears welled up. Why am I like this? She despised herself, pathetic creature that she was, for failing at even the simplest exchange with another human being. And so, sniffling, the girl turned on her heel and ran for home.
She lived in a forest a little ways off from the village, in a worn old cabin standing among the trees. Lonely and desolate it might be, but there was nothing there to fear — and yet today, even walking toward that refuge, her steps felt heavier than they ever had.
"Haa... How long am I going to stay like this...?"
She had truly believed today would be the day she managed a real conversation with the villagers. She had rehearsed it over and over just last night — and in the end, all that had left her mouth was a jumble of unintelligible sounds. Trudging along with a sullen face, the girl made herself a promise. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, for certain, she would speak to them properly.
—Thud!
"Eek, eeeekkk?!"
Perhaps because she'd been so lost in thought, she failed to notice the something lying directly in her path. She tripped, hit the ground, and slowly pushed herself up with a wince.
"What on earth... H-huh?"
She froze, wide-eyed — and small wonder, considering what she had just sprawled on top of.
"...I'm hungry..."
It was a grown man, all four limbs looking perfectly intact.
The girl offered the fallen man some of her bread. Watching him wolf down the loaves she'd bought with the money from selling her herbs and mushrooms, she found herself thinking: an adventurer?
His clothing, his impressively tall frame, the thick muscle she could make out beneath it all despite how it was hidden — every way she looked at him, he resembled the adventurers who occasionally passed through the village. People who braved dangerous places in search of treasure. But what she envied most about adventurers was that most of them could talk to anyone with ease and mingle like ordinary people. They took on requests, carried them out, completed them, and reported back — every step of which required meeting and dealing with other human beings. To the girl as she was now, people who could do all that without a second thought were nothing short of beings from a higher plane of existence.
"Pwah! That hit the spot!"
The man had devoured both loaves in the blink of an eye, then downed the water from the flask she offered in a single gulp. He certainly ate with gusto.
"You've saved my life, you know! If it weren't for you, I'd have starved to death."
"Ah. Uh. Th-th, that..."
".....?"
What should she say? That it wasn't that serious? No — wouldn't that come off as rude? Should she ask why he'd been starving out here when the village wasn't far away? But wouldn't that amount to calling him a man with no sense of direction? Then what should she say?
Dozens of candidate phrases surfaced in her head, and she could not choose a single one among them. And so, in the end, her choice was this:
".........."
Silence.
'I'm such an idiot!'
She had gone and run away again. The girl hung her head low, and the man spoke to her in a smooth, silken voice.
"Shall we start with introductions, then? I'm Lee Hyun."
"...Um, excuse me. Ah. Um."
"You seem to be thinking very hard about something. Take your time — there's no rush to answer."
His words startled her. A complete stranger had noticed. She was always overthinking, always slow to reply, and so the other person would invariably force an awkward smile and look away — which was exactly why conversations never happened for her. And yet here was someone telling her it was all right.
Having gathered her thoughts, she cautiously opened her mouth.
'I have to speak. Ask him why he was lying here like this!'
"Why. Ah. Um. Wh-why're you here!"
'Idiot!!'
She bit her tongue, and out came a garbled mess. She trembled at her own hopelessness. She couldn't even manage a single sentence — how much of a fool must he think she was? She had to try again, but she was terrified of fumbling her words a second time. What should she say? What should she do?
"I asked why you were lying around out here."
"Uh, uh, uh? Uhhhhh?"
"How did I know? It was written all over your face."
He had figured out what she was trying to ask? Could he be reading her mind? While the flustered girl fidgeted, Lee Hyun calmly cast a glance around the surroundings.
"I was searching for something, you see. And I got lost."
Searching for what? This forest grew herbs and mushrooms in abundance, but nothing in it was particularly special. Had he really been wandering these woods in search of something so mundane? If he was looking for something, she felt she could help. Gathering up the words swirling in her head, the girl tried to speak.
"Well, I do believe I've found it."
"Ah. Yes?!"
"The Church and the Information Guild couldn't find you — but I did. Your talent truly is remarkable. So then, you! Become my disciple!"
A complete stranger. Worse, a man who had been lying collapsed and lost in this very forest was abruptly ordering her to become his disciple. The girl was utterly flustered. What was she supposed to say? Who was he? What did he do? That she had remarkable talent? What talent, exactly? Dozens of questions and replies surfaced and dissolved in her head. She had to refuse. A vague offer from a man whose name she didn't even know — of course she had to refuse.
"...Yeeees..."
'Waaaah! I'm an idiot!!'
But for a girl who struggled even to address another person, refusing was no easier than speaking. When she nodded along and promptly sank into despair, the man — Lee Hyun — grinned and held out his hand.
"What I'll be teaching you is magic. You have a talent for it."
"M-m-m-m-ma... magic?"
Magic? Did he mean the mages who occasionally visited during the village festivals? The ones who conjured fire from their palms and spouted water into the air? Impossible. A talent for magic — in her, who did nothing but live out her days in this forest? No, more than that — could the man in front of her even teach magic in the first place? Judging by the sword at his waist and the build of him, he looked like nothing so much as a swordsman.
"Judging by the look on your face, you're wondering how someone who looks every inch the swordsman could possibly teach magic."
"Eeek!"
'Mind reading! He's definitely using mind reading!!'
"It's written all over your face. Well, it's a fair question... Shall I show you, just a little?"
Lee Hyun casually raised a hand. In that instant, a scarlet flame came alive and began to dance along it. The girl's eyes went wide. Such an enormous flame — even the mages who came for the village festivals had never produced anything like it!
"If you become my disciple, doing this will be nothing to you."
"R-really? Is that, um, true?"
"Of course. Your talent is so extraordinary that a trick like this barely deserves to be called magic."
"Uuuuh..."
"You'll have to work hard too, mind you. Mastering magic takes quite a bit of struggle."
"Um..."
"Hm?"
"...I, um. I can't even. T-talk to. P-people properly. W-would it. R-really be... okay?"
Could someone like her — someone who couldn't even string a sentence together — really do something so remarkable? Fear crept over the girl. Lee Hyun had called her talented, but she had no way of knowing whether that was true. What if she failed and disappointed him? What if he wrote her off as a fool? Anxiety kept nesting deeper and deeper into her heart.
And then, at the sight of her, Lee Hyun chuckled.
"They say the origins of magic were always meant to be a secret. And secrets are meant to be kept alone. When it comes to learning magic, talent matters far more than getting along with people."
"Uh... is, is that... so?"
Grinning, he lifted a finger. Perched upon its tip were a flicker of flame — and a shard of ice.
"Once you become strong, you'll have confidence in the things you do, and your fear of reaching out to others will fade away on its own. All that matters is how you choose to act. So don't you worry yourself."
"Wh... whoa..."
That part, she rather liked.
A touch of color slowly returned to the girl's face. Facing her, Lee Hyun held out his hand once more.
"Ah, come to think of it, I don't even know your name. What is it?"
"Ah... um. I'm. L-Lena."
"...Lena?"
"...Yes? Yes..."