The Witch Wants to Visit the Village
I woke up to the witch's sudden declaration.
"Let's go to the village."
"Out of nowhere?"
I wondered what had gotten into her. Was it because of what happened yesterday? The witch must never go down to the village. Her power is too strong, too uncontrollable.
"No way. I'll handle Lucas myself. You don't need to get involved."
"What does Lucas have to do with me?"
"Huh? Weren't you doing this because of Lucas?"
"Don't make me laugh. Who do you think you are?"
Strange. Up until yesterday, she seemed like she was looking out for me. Does she have a split personality? I was completely confused.
"You're really not doing this for me? Then why do you want to go down there?"
"Do I have any reason to explain myself to you?"
"Well, no, but..."
"Then just guide me. Before I rip all your nails out."
I had nothing to say. But it was dangerous. There was no telling what she might do.
"Then promise me one thing."
"What promise?"
"That you absolutely will not hurt anyone."
"I don't kill people indiscriminately."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What, do you think witches enjoy murdering people?"
"So you're promising, right?"
"Hmm... we'll see."
The witch said it with a pout. I'd only ever heard terrifying rumors about her, so I assumed she killed without hesitation. It seemed I'd misunderstood. That was a relief, but why did I still feel so uneasy?
I packed lightly. Before leaving, I roasted some sweet potatoes to fill our stomachs.
"Meat... I'm not a goat."
"People eat sweet potatoes too, not just goats."
The witch grumbled about the food, nibbling at the sweet potato with her front teeth. Even though her belly was full.
"Are we really walking the whole way?"
"Yeah. What else would we ride? I don't have a horse."
"Isn't Allen just a beggar? Sell some sheep and buy a horse."
"Why would I? I don't even have anywhere to ride one. Horses are a luxury."
"I need a horse."
"What does a witch need a horse for? You're faster than one anyway."
"It's annoying. Running is annoying. Walking is annoying too."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"There's a cart over there. Pull me in it."
"...Are you serious?"
"Yes!"
What a crazy woman. For a second I thought I'd misjudged her, but I was the idiot. I almost got taken advantage of again. My problem is that I trust people too easily. Being nice is a sin.
"The breeze feels so nice~!"
The witch was happily admiring the forsythia flowers like she didn't have a care in the world. Meanwhile, I was sweating buckets. She was in spring, I was in summer. Damn it.
"Yah! Faster!"
The witch stood up in the cart and smacked my butt. Slap, slap. Stop that. That's where I got caned before.
"Yah! Why isn't the horse making any sounds?"
Was she missing a few screws? Ow. You damn woman. I swung my fist and hit the center of my own ass—the most bruised part. It felt like I couldn't breathe. The pain was unbearable.
"Hee-haw~!"
I neighed like a horse while pulling the cart. This was humiliating.
"Hehe, good boy Allen. If you don't want to get hit, you have to do what I say!"
Please stop, witch. I've let you hit me plenty already. I'm exhausted.
"Allen. My heart's racing."
"Why now? What are you planning to do?"
"I'm not planning anything. I'm just excited about going to the village."
"Ah~"
I glanced back at her face while pulling the cart. She looked radiant. Was it the sunlight? She seemed genuinely thrilled.
"You talk like you've been to the village before. Or is this your first time? Is that why you're so excited?"
"..."
The witch didn't answer. What a pain. She only speaks when she feels like it.
"I want to eat that."
"Meat? Wild boar?"
"No. Something soft and sweet."
"Soft... and sweet... what could that be?"
"I've heard humans say it's similar to muk."
Something sweet that's like jelly? What could that be? I tried to think of anything that fit, but nothing came to mind.
"Hmm... I don't know. I have no idea what you're looking for."
"Why don't you know anything?"
"Sorry. I don't really like sweet things, so..."
"Hmph. Then go find out."
"Fine. I'll look for something similar once we get to the village."
"If you don't, I'll cause a scene. Just so you know."
"Understood..."
The village came into view in the distance. But the witch couldn't just walk in openly. Even though the guards were sloppy with their checks, her appearance would definitely raise suspicion. Especially since rumors had already spread because of the doctor that I was living with a witch. Walking in with a beauty like her would cause problems.
"Witch. Put this on."
I handed her a black cloth.
"What's this?"
"We can't just walk in from here. If anyone sees your face, they'll suspect you're a witch."
"Can't we just go in? Are you a coward?"
"No. People will be wary. We'll definitely get kicked out."
"Kick us out? Tell them all to come. I won't let them off easy."
"Witch. This village has rules too. I'd appreciate it if you could follow them just a little."
I spoke to her with a firm expression. Openly bringing a witch inside was basically declaring war on Lucas. Everyone already knew how powerful she was. This could easily escalate into a full-blown conflict.
"Hmph. Fine, just this once."
The witch obediently unfolded the cloth, draped it over her head, and tied the ends to cover her face.
At the entrance to the castle town, my eyes met the guard on duty.
"Hey~ Allen! Hasn't even been a week yet, has it? Why are you back so soon?"
"Hello? Haha. I couldn't buy everything I needed last time."
"I heard what happened. You got dragged off by the Lord. You okay?"
"Haha. Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. You know how tough I am."
"By the way, who's that behind you?"
"Ahaha. My newly hired housekeeper."
"Really? Then why is she wearing a cloak? Is she sick?"
"Uh, um... yeah. She has a really bad case of hives on her face, so she has no choice..."
"Oh dear. She should see a doctor right away. But you live up in the mountains—why hire a housekeeper?"
"Ahaha. You wouldn't believe it. The livestock's been doing so well that I finally got one."
"Wow. You're really good at everything, Allen. Keep it up!"
As soon as we passed, the old man plopped down on his wooden chair and started dozing off.
Whew. I knew the security was lax, but this bad? What a mess.
"Did it work?"
"Yeah. But we're still inside the village, so keep it on."
"It's stuffy. I want to take it off."
"Just hold on. Bear with it until we reach the doctor's house."
The market was as crowded as always. The witch's gaze was fixed on something at the far end of the street. What was she looking at? It was deep-fried whole chicken coated in seasoning—spicy fried chicken. She couldn't take her eyes off it.
"Witch. Do you want to eat that?"
She nodded vigorously. Very quickly.
"Should I buy you one?"
She nodded several more times.
"Alright. Let's get one."
The moment I said "let's eat," she dashed off alone. Wait for me... By the time I reached the stall, she had already devoured half of it.
"Goodness. I've never seen a young lady eat so well."
"Haha. She has quite an appetite, doesn't she?"
"Oh, it's Allen. Who is she? Your new bride?"
I looked at the witch, who was still completely focused on eating.
"No. She's my housekeeper."
"Ah, that explains why she eats so well."
The old lady at the stall immediately looked convinced.
"Ma'am, I'll take a skewer with just the meat, please."
"Sure, sure."
She handed me a thick, juicy meat skewer. I blew on it gently before taking a bite.
"Mmm... the seasoning is incredible..."
Before I knew it, the witch had finished everything and was staring at me intently. Was she going to steal mine too?
"You can have more. Ma'am, another spicy fried chicken, please."
The witch shook her head side to side.
"Huh? You don't want it?"
"Three..."
"Ah... Ma'am, please give us three."
The old lady looked surprised but delighted.
"My, your housekeeper sure eats a lot. That's good for business."
"Haha... she does eat quite well."
"She needs to eat well if she's going to do housework."
I laughed it off. If she ate any more, I'd go bankrupt. We'd already spent 110 coins just on fried chicken. My emergency funds were about to run dry. Sigh. I could always earn more money later.
Before heading to the doctor's house, I planned to stop by the wholesaler. The emergency money I'd brought clearly wasn't going to be enough, so I'd brought something else. A wild ginseng that looked at least fifty years old. I'd been saving it. It hurt to sell, but oh well. Something like this should get me a decent sum from the wholesaler. I wondered how much I'd get. With that money, I planned to buy about twenty baby goats on the way home.
"Witch, hurry up."
She wasn't following. She was distracted by something again. Where now?
The witch had stopped in front of a dress shop. A place that sold clothes made from luxurious silk. Their garments were famous enough that rumors spread to other territories. I used to get my clothes tailored here too. This shop was especially known for women's dresses. Every woman in the village dreamed of receiving one of their dresses as a wedding gift.
The witch couldn't tear her eyes away from one particular dress. It was a pale red dress with delicate pleats. The neckline was cut so low it was almost indecent.
"Let's go, witch. We need to stop by the wholesaler."
"..."
"Witch!"
"It's so pretty..."
Her mouth hung open as she stared, completely mesmerized. No. The clothes here were extremely expensive. This was one thing I couldn't allow. I tried to pull her away, but she wouldn't budge.
"It's really pretty..."
"Witch. We don't have the money. This place is crazy expensive."
"Pretty."
Her fists were clenched. This was dangerous. She was thinking about stealing it.
"W-witch. Put your fists down..."
"I want it."
"If you want that, you have to pay the price."
"Price? I don't have any money."
"Hmm..."
I had no choice. I'd have to give up on the baby goats... How much could a dress like that cost? I'd never bought one before, so I had no idea.
"Witch. If you keep your promise, I'll buy that for you on the way home."
"Really? I'll keep every promise."
"If you promise not to cause any trouble here, I'll buy it for you."
"What? Forget it. If you don't want to buy it, just say so."
"Ah... why? It's easy. Just eat delicious food, look around, and then we go home."
The witch was deep in thought. So she really had been planning to cause a scene.
"Fine. Then you'll buy me that dress."
"Got it."
I went into the shop. I didn't say much—just asked them not to sell that particular dress because I would be buying it later. When I came back out, I took the witch with me to the wholesaler.
"Is it done? Why didn't you bring the dress?"
"Once you keep your promise. We'll get it then."
"Really? Just trust me. I keep my promises well."
She thumped her chest with her fist, telling me to believe in her. The witch seemed to be in a good mood; she skipped and hopped down the street. Was it really that exciting? I guess even a witch is still a woman after all.