The Witch of Silence - 3
The one small mercy was that the girl was actually smart. She'd mastered reading and writing in less than a week.
"Eh, ehehehe."
Of course, that meant the housework fell entirely to me in the meantime.
Her focus was so absolute that once she locked in, the rest of the world simply ceased to exist for her.
Which was how the teacher ended up waiting on the student, hand and foot.
"All good?"
"Ah. Um. S-sorry. That must have been h-hard on you."
"Not really."
The forest was full of things to eat, and I still had a good chunk of the money So Jung-yang had given me when I left the Eastern Merchant Guild.
Looking after one girl was hardly a hardship at that point.
"While I was at it, I built us a new cabin, too."
"W-waaah."
Right next to the crumbling ruin Lena had been living in, I'd put up a wooden cabin that was, at the very least, livable.
And "livable" was being generous with myself — compared to the haunted wreck Lena had called home, the place might as well have been a palace.
"Y-you. All this time. You were building this?"
"Your focus really is something else. I was making plenty of noise out here and you never even noticed."
"He, hehehe. A c-compliment. I got a compliment..."
While Lena beamed with a face flushed pink, I led her toward the new cabin.
"Waaah...!!"
Touring the cabin with pure glee — two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, even a privy and a bathroom — Lena's eyes went wide and sparkling when she spotted the small room.
"A b-bed!!"
"That's your room."
"My r-room...?!"
Imagine being this thrilled over something so humble.
Lena looked back and forth between the spartan room — just a bed and a desk — and me, then abruptly flopped down flat on the spot.
What is this kid doing?
"What are you doing?"
"A p-pose of. Of surrender..."
What pose?
"I'll do. Do anything you. You ask of meee!"
How on earth did a child end up in such a posture.
Looking down at Lena as she panted like a puppy with its belly up, I held out a hand and spoke gently.
"Just study hard."
That was all I wanted from her, anyway.
For nearly a week, Lena had done nothing but study her letters, barely eating or bathing.
Which meant the already filthy girl had gotten even filthier.
When I told her to at least wash up, she tried to head outside.
I told her to just use the bathroom, but she threw a fit, insisting that someone as filthy as her had no right to use such a clean one.
Winter was nearly over, but the weather was still cold.
What was she planning to do if she caught a chill, unable as she was to properly use mana yet?
So I dragged the whimpering Lena off toward the village.
There was a public bathhouse there, as I recalled.
"B-but. Um. Uh. Ah. I could wash in. In the stream..."
"Didn't you say you'd do anything I asked?"
"Still, I, uh. Mmm. Ah! Yes! I! B-baths! I've n-never. Never been to one..."
Come to think of it, would a girl who scraped through each day for her next meal ever have set foot in a bathhouse?
But this was experience, too.
She just needed to try everything once.
"Eeeek..."
"Didn't you say you'd do anything?"
"B-but..."
Was it because of what she'd said herself?
Lena quietly shut her mouth. By the time I led her into the village, the merchants I'd met over the past few days greeted me with smiles.
"Hey! Lee Hyun! Out and about again today?"
"Mister Lee Hyun!! What fun thing are you going to show us today?"
"Aigoo! Young Lee Hyun! Try a bite of this before you go!"
Warm folks, truly.
For country people, they didn't shun outsiders at all.
As I returned their greetings and jokes on my way to the public bathhouse, the back of my neck started prickling, and I turned around.
Lena, walking beside me, was staring at everything with shining eyes.
"...What?"
"Ama. Amazing! That's. That's amazing! I spent a whole. A whole two years coming to this village, but I could never even. Um. P-properly greet anyone..."
"Well... I'm the type who likes people and likes a good drink. Talking with folks is supposed to be pleasant, isn't it?"
"Gyaah... it's blinding..."
While Lena squinted and fidgeted, not knowing what to do with herself, we arrived at the bathhouse in the middle of the village.
A middle-aged woman was just heading inside.
The vegetable merchant — we'd traded a few words last time, hit it off, and she'd thrown in a little extra for me ever since.
"Sister Luceia!"
"Oh my?! Who's this?! It's my little brother Lee Hyun, isn't it? Ohohoho~! Here for a bath? I closed up shop early today to come bathe with my little girl, too~!"
"Mister Lee Hyun~!"
Luceia's daughter, Lorian, ran at me with a sunny grin.
I scooped up the adorable girl, gave her a few airplane rides, then set her down and pushed Lena — who had somehow already hidden herself behind my back — out in front.
"Eeek!"
"Oh! It's the quiet big sister!"
At Lorian's cry, Sister Luceia tilted her head.
"The quiet big sister?"
"Yeah! Whenever she comes to the village, she keeps her head down and dodges everyone, so that's what my friends call her!"
What on earth has this kid been doing with herself?
Perhaps unable to withstand Lorian's overwhelming brightness, Lena seemed to be shrinking smaller and smaller by the second.
"I believe it's this one's first time at the public bathhouse. Would you look after her for me?"
"Oh my! Is that so? Then I'll just have to teach her everything from A to Z! But who is she? Your sister?"
"My apprentice."
"Ah! Um. H-hello. There."
After stammering out a greeting in a voice barely above a whisper, Lena scurried right back behind me.
When I caught her and pushed her forward again, Sister Luceia took hold of her.
"Eeek! M-Master! Master!"
"Then I'll leave the apprentice in your care... When should I come back?"
"A couple of hours should do it?"
"Mm! Then let's meet when the village bell rings twice!"
Laughing heartily, she walked in, one thick hand gripping Lena and the other holding Lorian. A short while later, a shrill scream echoed from within — "It ticklessss!!" — but...
Eh, she'll be fine.
"Might as well wash up myself."
.
.
.
By the time I'd soaked in the hot spring water, scrubbed down, and come out, about an hour had passed.
I spent the remaining hour with an old man who'd been playing chess against himself, joining him for a game or two.
"Check!!"
"Oh-ho! What a move! But I never saw this coming!"
"Ohh! You'll bring out the knight there?! If you take the knight, then my bishop!"
"Um. Excuse. Me."
"Ah! Hold on, I almost had that piece... Hm? Oh, you're out?"
Turning, I found Lena standing there.
She looked completely different from before.
Her matted silver hair, now properly washed and dried, swayed and shimmered in the sunlight. Her snow-white skin was flawless, without a single blemish to be found.
Her slightly gaunt frame would suit her well, I supposed, if you chose to call it slender.
Compared to how she'd looked walking in, the difference was night and day — and yet Lena stood there with her head buried low.
"Well, look at that. A bath did you some good."
"Uuuuh... it huuurts..."
"The amount of grime that came off you!"
"So much gunk came off her! I scrubbed her too!!"
"Hiiiik! Shh! Shh!"
At the shouts of Sister Luceia and Lorian, Lena went white as a sheet and tried desperately to shush them.
But what would a middle-aged woman with no filter, much less a little girl in a world of her own, know of a young lady's delicate sensibilities?
And so, having thoroughly reported just how much filth had come off Lena, the two of them gazed at the now scrubbed-clean girl as if admiring a finished work of art.
"Shouldn't we be charging double for that bath?"
"Hahaha. Good work in there. Care for a glass of juice? And Lorian, you'll have milk, won't you?"
"Yeah!"
"Then let's treat ourselves~?"
I bought milk and juice from the stall out front of the bathhouse.
After handing glasses to Sister Luceia and Lorian, I held out the last bottle to Lena, who looked ready to die of embarrassment.
"Eh...?"
"Drink. A bottle of milk after a bath — that's the rule."
Would've been nice if they had banana milk, but no such luck around here.
Taking the milk in both hands, Lena fidgeted for a moment before taking a sip.
Her throat must have been quite dry from the bath.
Her eyes sparkling, she downed the whole thing in one go, then — white milk foam still smeared across her pink lips — bowed politely toward Luceia and her daughter as they walked away.
"Th-thank you very much...!"
"Bye~! Big sister~! See you next time~"
"Ohohoho~! Let's bathe together again~"
Only after they were out of sight did Lena slump down onto a bench, utterly spent.
Watching her, I bought a glass of juice for the old man I'd been playing chess with, brought it over, and took a seat beside Lena.
"You look much better after a wash."
"Heh. Yes. Yes sir."
Sip. After taking another swig of her milk, Lena began staring at me intently.
Something on her mind?
"U-um. M-Master."
"What?"
"Ah. Um. Th-that is. Master... how. How do you. Um. Make friends with people. So easily?"
How do I make friends easily, huh.
I just... do. Is there some secret to it?
Glancing at Lena, who looked at me with unmistakable envy, I set the milk bottle in my hand down beside me.
"Probably because I don't worry about what other people think."
"Huh?"
"Because I have power. Because I'm confident I can control any situation. That's why I can approach people without hesitation — and that's why I have no qualms about getting close to them."
"O-oooooh... th-that's. That's kind of cool."
"You just overthink things, is all."
I patted the head of Lena, who was practically radiating envy at me.
Her hair was surprisingly soft now that it was clean.
"There's nothing wrong with finding it hard to get close to people. If you hate that about yourself, change it. And to change it, you build your strength."
"...C-can I? Could I really. Ever... be like that?"
"You can."
I looked Lena dead in the eyes.
When she met my gaze for a moment and tried to sneakily turn her head away, I caught her cheek and turned her back to face me.
Her blue eyes were trembling.
"I promise you will."
Because I was going to make it so.