The Witch Wants to Go to the Village - Part 2
"Thank you."
I stepped out of the wholesaler after handing over the wild ginseng. I'd managed to squeeze out a quick thousand silver coins. That ginseng was easily worth three thousand. If it sold well, five thousand wasn't out of the question. The dress I'd spotted earlier in the dressing room cost fifteen hundred. It was enough to buy the witch some clothes and still get a kid goat on top of it.
"Witch, let's go."
The witch was standing right beside the shop door.
"Did you get a lot?"
"Of course I did!"
"So you're rich now, Allen?"
"Yeah. For the moment. Once I buy that dress I'll be back to being broke, though."
"Then buy me that before you turn into a beggar."
What she pointed at was the bakery across the street. Even from over here the savory aroma of fresh bread filled the air.
"Aren't you full? You just ate four whole fried chickens."
"That was dessert."
"Then this?"
"This is the main course."
"Isn't something backwards here?"
"Hurry up and buy it for meeee!!"
The witch's shout was so loud that every single villager passing by turned to stare. Mortifying.
"Shh. Quiet down. Everyone's looking."
"I don't care, just buy it for meeee."
"O-okay, okay. I'll buy it, so please be quiet."
I clamped my hand over the witch's mouth. Only after I promised did she finally stop. This must be exactly what raising a child feels like. I was already exhausted.
We stepped into the bakery. It worked out for the best anyway. I happen to love the bread from this place. It had been a long time since I'd had any, and I'd been craving it.
I chose a peanut cream bun packed with rich, savory peanut cream. Beneath the fluffy, cloud-like layers of dough, the cream and crunchy peanut bits filled my entire mouth.
Mmm~ So good. I want another one.
After a brief internal debate, I grabbed a second bun.
"I've picked mine..."
The witch had practically emptied the entire shop. Both her arms were loaded with bread.
"Put those back. You can't possibly eat all of that."
"I can eat it all."
"Sigh... Why are you like this?"
The bakery owner watched with a stunned expression. This had to be a first for him. That stubborn witch. She clearly wasn't going to listen no matter what I said.
"How much?"
"Buying this much calls for a discount. Just four hundred silver."
"Four hundred?"
"Yes. It should be around five hundred normally, so I'm cutting a full hundred off for you."
God, this is so fucking annoying. If I bought all this I'd only have six hundred silver left. This was blood money. How many goats was that worth? The little parasite. All she did was suck my wallet dry.
"...Fine. Here."
And so I left the bakery with both hands full of bread. Carrying it was my job, of course. I paid, and now I was being treated like a pack mule.
"I'm so happy!"
The witch couldn't carry anything herself, so she simply reached into the basket and ate the bread one by one. How cheeky. Cream was already smeared all over the corner of her mouth again.
"I'll specially give you a bite."
The witch pushed a piece of bread into my pouting mouth. I bit down. I had no idea what kind it was, but it was ridiculously delicious. Sweet as heaven.
"When are you going to find that thing?" the witch asked.
"What's left?"
"I told you already. That dark, sweet one."
"Ah... Let's visit the doctor first, then we'll look."
"Why!"
"I need to put this luggage down somewhere."
The witch looked me up and down as I stood there loaded with bags, then walked off without another word. Hmph. So she did have a conscience after all. At least this time she didn't throw a fit.
We reached the doctor's house and I finally let out a breath of relief. It was a grand mansion. The doctor was quite wealthy by local standards. This was the house I'd once lived in. Now it belonged to him. The home Lucas had taken from me. It had been put up for quick sale when money was needed, and the doctor had bought it.
I rang the bell past the iron gate. The butler appeared before long.
"You've arrived?"
"Yes. Is he inside?"
"He is. Please come in."
I entered with the witch. She glanced around the garden and immediately said, "This place is nice. Let's live here."
"You want to live here?"
"Yeah. It's pretty."
She seemed to have taken a real liking to it. It had been a long time since I'd visited. If not for the witch, I never would have come back. It had been well over five years.
We climbed to the second floor. The room my mother used to occupy. I stopped in front of it, then approached. Creak. I turned the knob and opened the door.
"Huh?"
My eyes widened.
"It's exactly the same?"
The doctor emerged from another room. "When I bought it from Lucas, it was already like this. There are plenty of rooms anyway, so I left it untouched."
"Still..."
"I thought you'd like it. I meant to show you later when the chance came, but here we are."
The room still held my mother's belongings. Yet I couldn't bring myself to step inside. I only looked in from the doorway.
"Oh? That hat is pretty."
The witch dashed into the room. I missed grabbing her. My hand hung awkwardly in the air. The doctor watched her back for a moment, then asked me, "Who is she?"
"Uh... I think you might have seen her before?"
"Did you ever introduce someone to me?"
"It's the witch."
"Eek!"
The doctor fell backward in shock. At that exact moment the cloth the witch had wrapped around herself slipped off.
"Does it suit me?"
She turned around wearing a black fedora pulled low. Black looked surprisingly good on her. It gave her an air of elegance.
"Yeah. It really suits you."
"H-how is the witch here..." The doctor looked up at me, at a loss for words. I didn't have much to say either.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you."
"Ahem..."
He looked like he had a mountain of things to say, but the witch's presence made him hold his tongue.
"My dreams have been restless lately..."
"She's a good kid. Violent, yes, but she promised me she wouldn't cause any trouble."
"You think a promise is enough...?"
"Yes. If you don't believe me, what else can I do? It's not like I can just die..."
The doctor glared at me. He clearly wanted to live a little longer. His expression was full of resentment. Sorry about this.
The witch seemed to really like the hat and came out still wearing it. I didn't stop her. It was supposedly one of my mother's keepsakes, but I had no memories of her. Truthfully, I could barely even picture her face.
"Let's head up," the doctor said, adjusting his slipping glasses as he led the way.
In the doctor's room, various ornaments and artworks filled the space. We sat on a long sofa. Across the long table were two more long sofas and a shorter one in the middle. The furniture looked expensive. He must have spent quite a fortune on it.
"It's changed a lot, hasn't it?"
"It really has. So different from before."
"A lot of time has passed. But... why did you bring the witch?"
"Ah... She kept begging to visit the village, so I didn't have much choice..."
The witch was happily munching on the bread we'd bought, showing zero interest in our conversation. Munch, munch. She looked like a hamster.
"Be careful not to get discovered. The villagers will be terrified."
"I know. How do I look right now? Do I seem like a witch?"
"Hmm... If you changed your clothes, probably not. You could pass for a noble family's young lady."
"Do you have any suitable clothes?"
"Why would I have women's clothes?"
Right. There was no reason for the doctor to own women's clothing. If he did... that might make him a pervert.
"I have clothes."
"Where?"
"In that room from earlier. I'll change into them soon."
"What kind of clothes?"
"Just wait."
When I asked, the witch suddenly stood and left the room. We stared blankly at the door. She was gone in the blink of an eye.
"As expected of a witch."
"Yeah. She's fast."
Only after she left did the doctor speak freely. "What were you thinking, bringing her here? Can she really be trusted?"
"I don't know. I didn't think about it at all."
"You're not trying to make me take responsibility for what happened back then, are you?"
"No. I have no lingering attachment. You know I don't belong with the lord."
"Yes, I know. If that's the case, that's fine. I understand Lucas wronged you, but for the village's sake, you know he needs to remain in that position, right?"
"I know. Don't worry. Is Lucas doing all right?"
"Yes. You know how he acts spitefully toward you but is actually quite timid. It's his subordinates who are the real problem."
"What about them?"
"They're acting high and mighty, picking on people and causing trouble wherever they go."
"Isn't anyone stopping them? What is Lucas doing about it?"
"The lord? He just shrugs it off because they're his own men."
"The residents must be suffering."
"They are. There are a lot of complaints. Still, this territory is one of the better ones. The others... ugh. I can't even talk about them."
It had been a long time since I'd spoken openly with the doctor about the inner workings of the castle. I'd always pretended not to know. After all, it no longer had anything to do with me. The doctor was the only person I could discuss these things with. He'd been our family butler when I was young, so he knew all the dirty details.
"Ta-da...!"
Just as the mood was growing heavy, the witch returned after changing. She wore a black dress. Even though it must have been quite old, it suited her perfectly. It was probably one of the dresses fitted for her back at the village dressing room. A black fedora, black dress, and even black shoes. Her presence was overwhelming.
"How do I look?"
"Uh... uh... it's insane."
"What? Are you insulting me?"
"No... When something is unbelievably pretty, we say it's insane."
"Insane? Got it. New word learned."
Going around with the witch was dangerous for an entirely different reason now. If we stepped outside like this, every man in town would swarm us. Even if you searched the entire market with your eyes wide open, you'd never find anyone with beauty like hers. The doctor had already lost his mind. He dropped to one knee in a posture normally reserved for greeting a master.
"Lady Witch, please visit whenever you desire."
What was he doing? Had he already fallen under her spell? It reminded me of when he used to serve as our butler.
"What are you, you wrinkly old fart?"
The witch's signature contemptuous expression appeared. That disdainful glare.
"Fine! I shall grant you the honor of providing me with bread and meat!"
"Th-thank you, Lady Witch!"
"Hahaha. My mood is absolutely fantastic today!"
Sigh... That arrogant look on her face. I let it slide only because she was pretty.