《Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom》


 CH 1.1

    Looking back, my life, which I thought was mundane and boring, was probably rather a happy one.


    I was born into a peaceful country with well-developed social security, science, and medical care, and was raised in a family that wasn¡¯t exactly well off but far from poverty, enjoying a peaceful life showered with love and a degree of education that was at least equal to or better than the average people of my age group. I led a peaceful, golden teenage life.


    I didn¡¯t have a shred of doubt that my life was the norm, and I¡ª¡ªthe previous me¡ª¡ªspent the majority of my youth playing video games at home if not reading books. Under the influence of the Eighth-Grade Syndrome, I started learning ancient martial arts when I debuted in junior high school, but it mostly fell apart by the time I took the high school entrance exam.


    For my high school debut, I joined the light music club with the aim of getting a girlfriend, but I couldn¡¯t play the guitar as good as I hoped, so I was assigned the drum out of elimination process¡ª¡ªthough I still had a lot of fun with buddies and we even performed live at the school festival¡ª¡ªbut in the end, I had no prospect of getting a girlfriend, and every once in a while my martial arts mentor forcefully brought me with her to practice aka her beating me up to a pulp. Such was my high school life.


    And then¡­¡­.and then¡­¡­.


    ?????


    I suffocated, I felt like my chest caved in as though I was dragged into the depths of the ocean, and when my lungs reflexively drew in a deep breath, the force of the air choked me, drawing out some incessant, wheezing coughs. My face was riddled with tears and snot, and my body convulsed as I curled up on the hard bed.


    ¡°¡­¡­Hmph. You¡¯re back alive? Talk about one blessed girl.¡±


    A piece of cloth was thrown haphazardly over my face, the voice sounded to belong to an unfriendly old woman.


    ¡°You look terrible. Wipe your face.¡± Her treatment was rough, but I understood she was well-meaning, so I wiped my face with the cloth she gave me even in the middle of my coughs.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªTh-, thank you very much.¡± I still didn¡¯t have the strength to open my eyes, but I felt relieved to know that there was someone by my side, and the rough but considerate attitude of the old woman, despite her being somewhat unfriendly, made me to curtly bow my head to her while I was still laying down.


    But then, for some reason, I could feel that the old woman¡¯s body stiffened as if she had swallowed a stick the length of her height. After a few seconds, I could feel that her demeanor softened a little.


    ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s a surprise. I¡¯d heard that the Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom was an unruly conceited fool, but you still could thank someone properly, huh. Usually it¡¯s good rumors that tell bullcrap and bad rumors that tell the truth, so I admit I had my prejudices. ¡ª¡ªBy golly, I must be getting senile.¡±


    I felt the old woman shrugging her shoulders as she pronounced words of self-mockery. Meanwhile, I was holding back a bout of coughing that had subsided considerably. As I regulated my breathing¡ª¡ªunconsciously practicing the breathing technique of the ancient martial arts I learned during my junior high and above¡ª¡ªin silence, I held my confused head, musing about the meaning of the words I had just heard.


    ¡°The Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Empire¡­¡­who is that? Me? Eh, but, I¡¯m just a normal high school boy¡­..and my name is¡­¡­eh? Syltianna¡­¡­? The fifth daughter of the Frontier Count of Aulanthia of the Livitium Empire¡­¡­huh? Why??¡±


    I had two distinct memories, one of me being an ordinary high school boy born and raised in the country of Japan on Earth, and the other of me being the fifth daughter of a high-ranking noble family in the Livitium Imperial Kingdom who was located in the northern part of the continent.


    The two conflicting memories weren¡¯t as much as clashing with each other as one was as legit as the other, and the realization that both memories were correct just fell into my heart, and it felt just right. It would be more accurate to say that they merged in that instant.


    As I became more composed and my breathing became much easier, I struggled with my oddly heavy body to raise my upper body¡ª¡ªwhich seemed to be covered by a thin blanket that soon fell to my knees¡ª¡ªbefore I wiped my face again and, fearfully, opened my eyelids.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªwhat in the heavens¡­¡­?¡± What first came into my vision was the ugly looking frilly pink dress, and the bulging mass of flesh that it wrapped¡ª¡ªwhich turned out to be my belly after a moment of sinking-in and actually touching it.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Then my gaze fell to my hands. They were like the hands of a baby; wristless, flabby, ham-fisted, and crammed full with extra fat. They were a far cry from the reasonably well-trained arms I used to have on Earth.


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± The question came from the person I shared the room with, whose presence completely slipped my mind, hence why I turned my head to her in shock.


    I had expected it to an extent, but the one sitting in a crude chair by the bed was a very magician-looking woman, complete with the trademark black hooded robe and the long, knotty staff.


    I couldn¡¯t estimate her age. Her back was straight and she had a dignified air to her, she even had the vestiges of a beauty left from her younger days, and despite her magnificent white hair (or perhaps I should say silvery white hair), there was some mysterious impression on her that made her look like she was over 50, or even 100 years old.


    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m sorry if it sounds rude, but do you have a mirror or something similar?¡±


    For the time being, I wanted to see how my current face looked, so I pleaded to the old woman¡ª¡ªwho was, by all accounts, probably a witch. She raised an eyebrow, looking like she wanted to say something, but she kept it to herself and walked to the chest (a rectangular box with a lid) at the corner of the room¡ª¡ªwhich, to be honest, as small as a shed, but it really felt like a personal living space with the bare necessities in place¡ª¡ªopened it, then produced a hand mirror from inside.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    I gratefully borrowed the mirror she handed me¡ª¡ªwhich was a little old, but still quite an exquisite mirror with little to no haze, no worse than the ones used by the nobility¡ª¡ªand was surprised with what it showed.


    In the oval mirror, a white pig looked into me with dumbfounded marvel.


    ¡°¡­¡­Oh dear.¡± Even I myself didn¡¯t know why I kept on staring at it, but the same time I spoke those words, the pig inside the mirror moved her lips in sync.

 CH 1.2

    My flabby flab made me look a little older, but my skin still had the firmness of a child. If I remembered it correctly, Lystianna¡¯s aka my birthday was next month, which meant I would be 11 years old. The year after next, I would be 13, an adult. Which meant, I was supposed to be on an itinerary to start living in Cilento Imperial Capital in preparation for my societal debut¡­¡­these related memories came back to me like dominoes falling.


    Then why am I here¡­¡­?


    She must have guessed what I was thinking from the suspicious look I gave as I looked away from the mirror and looked around; the old woman explained the situation to me, seeming to find it a pain in the back.


    ¡°We¡¯re just outside of Tenebrae Nemus, a dark forest said to be the Stronghold of Demon Beasts, located in the center of the continent, and just on the edge of the imperial territory bordering the empire. This is my hermitage, roughly 50 kilomertes1 away from the road that connects your father¡¯s frontier territory with the Imperial Capital.¡±


    ¡°As for the situation, when my familiar went out to pick medicinal herbs, she found a nobleman¡¯s carriage upturned in the woods. It had a family crest painted on it, which I guessed belonged to the Aulanthia Frontier Count of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom. So, I had to check it out.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, it stank of trouble, so I really wanted to leave the carriage wreck behind me, but I also didn¡¯t want to be suspected for something I had no part of just because it¡¯s near my place. My friend just happened to be visiting too, so we reluctantly went to check on you, only to find you lying there dead.¡±


    She spoke of my death so off-handedly, an ¡®eh?¡¯ escaped my mouth before I knew it.


    ¡°My friend¡¯s assessment was that your heart probably stopped by the shock of your carriage rolling over. She said your heart just gave up due to your unhealthy lifestyle¡­¡­.her words.¡±


    Even if the direct cause was an accident, it was too pathetic to say that I died at the tender age of 10 because of arteriosclerosis, a disease mainly for adults¡­¡­this was disturbing. At the same time, I asked a question that suddenly bothered me.


    ¡°Excuse me, you said I died¡ª¡ªif so, was it you who treated and cured me?¡±


    ¡°Nah, my specialty is conjuring magic. I could heal some slight injury and illness, but resurrecting a dead person isn¡¯t a feat¡ª¡ªwell, either way, it¡¯s just impossible for me. But, for better or for worse, resurrection happens to be my friend¡¯s thing, so¡­¡­ To be fair, she¡¯s a much bigger freak than I am, so she maybe did it for the heck of it, but it¡¯s her who practiced the resurrection art on you. That being said, it was pretty much a half-half bet with how long you¡¯ve been dead, but as you can see, you¡¯re down here instead of playing a harp up there in the heavens.¡±


    She casually threw those words as though to congratulate me.


    ¡°If so, erm¡­¡­this person who practiced the resurrection art on me, where are they¡­¡­?¡± Rather than the caution and surprise of learning that the old woman really was a witch, since I already expected it, I was more concerned about the other practitioner who healed me¡ª¡ªsince I figured that perhaps the person who revived me could give me an explanation to the confusion of the two memories¡ª¡ªso I asked hastily.


    But, ¡°she¡¯s gone home using teleportation magic. She¡¯s quite the busy thing. Who knows how many years later she¡¯ll come visiting again.¡± Replied the old woman spitefully.


    ¡°¡­¡­I see. That¡¯s a shame.¡±


    I sighed in disappointment and bitterly looked in the mirror again. The white pig in the mirror also looked disappointed and pouting.


    Upon a closer look, the long, straight, blonde hair had a reddish tint to it, which gave my hair an overall pink impression, so the dress was perhaps an attempt to match with it, though it was clearly way overdone. While my skin, despite being blemished with rashes and pimples perhaps due to my bad nutrition intake, had a white and clear tone with delicate textures, which was why I looked like a white pig with all the fat. My original features, such as the jade-colored eyes, the bridge of my nose, and the cherry-red lips, weren¡¯t that ugly, but they were all ruined by the bulky and unhealthy obese fat mass.


    The Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, huh¡­¡­


    A befitting derogatory title for an ugly woman ridiculed by the rumors for not looking like her mother who was once touted as the Cattleya of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom. The fact that even this witch, a recluse secluded in her hermitage in the dark forest of Tenebrae Nemus, knew about me must mean my ill-reputation was well known far and wide.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡­¡­As far as I could tell, in my own standards, my features themselves didn¡¯t actually look that bad. But, well, the standard of beauty always differed for each country and age, so I must look horrendous to others.


    ¡°Thank you very much. I apologize for the trouble I¡¯ve caused you. And again, you have my deepest gratitude for helping me.¡± Dejected, I bowed my head as best as my body allowed on the bed¡ª¡ªI couldn¡¯t even bow properly with all the fats in the way¡ª¡ªand handed back the hand mirror.


    The old woman was glum¡ª¡ªshe already was from the start, to be honest¡ª¡ªand accepted the mirror, sniffed, then uttered a few words; ¡°It¡¯s Regina.¡±


    ¡°¡­?¡±


    She ignored my confused look, walked back to the chest with a gait that spoke vigor to her steps, and then added again as her back faced me, ¡°My name.¡±


    Aah¡­¡­I bowed my head again when her words became clear, ¡°My apologies, lady Regina.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. You treated me like a savior but wouldn¡¯t even ask my name, you¡¯re as rude as ragweeds come.¡± She sniffed loudly and cut me off harshly. I could only bow my head in silence with how correct her words were. And yet, in a sense, the name Queen Regina oddly fit her.


    I knew it wasn¡¯t the time for this, but the funny wordplay of the Ragweed Princess visiting the hermitage of the Witch Queen made me chuckle a little.


    Which made me realize, this might be the first time I smiled ever since my memory of the previous world fused with the memory of my current self.

 CH 2.1

    ¡°¡ª¡ªSo, what are you going to do next?¡±


    Regina put away the mirror and sat down on the chair again. Not that it bothered me, but what was the point of having a staff with her legs and feet still that strong? Although, I was afraid to vocalize it since she looked like she¡¯d answer that she simply had it as a blunt weapon.


    On the other hand, when I was asked out of the blue, I could only crane my neck in confusion, unable to grasp what she meant.


    I might be a ragweed, but I was still the daughter of a Frontier Count who was comparable in authority to a Duke in the Imperial Kingdom. Whether this was an accident or otherwise, the fact that I went missing meant a search party would naturally be organized. It was only natural for me to join up with them and return to either my estate or head for Cilento Imperial Capital as planned, right?


    At my words, Regina¡¯s already dour face became even more frowned and her mouth curved as though she was about to vomit, ¡°Will it even be that simple?¡±


    ¡°Why¡­¡­not?¡±


    With the eyes of a tutor facing a less-competent student, and her fingers knocking down one by one reminiscent of the claws of a bird of prey, Regina glared down at me, ¡°First of all, you¡¯re in a neighboring country, across the border. Your search party may be private troops or even regular foot soldiers, but they still bear the flag of your country. There¡¯s no checkpoint nearby, but it¡¯s highly unlikely they would set foot in another country without permission.¡±


    She then knocked down her second finger. ¡°Second of all, we¡¯re in the Tenebrae Nemus. It¡¯s not that there aren¡¯t any small towns nearby that cater to adventurers and explorers, but I don¡¯t think any honest and respectable bunch would dare treading here.¡±


    ¡°That may be so, but then wouldn¡¯t I be able to cross the border myself or take the road to go to a town close to the Imperial Kingdom?¡±


    Regina glared at the entirety of me, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, and with a disgusted look on her face, she laid down her third finger. ¡°The biggest question is why you were dying in a place like this. Don¡¯t you think it is strange, that the daughter of a great imperial noble is all alone in the depths of Tenebrae Nemus, far off any human roads? Did bandits attack you? Or did some Demon Beasts dragged you all the way here? There was no one else in the carriage besides you, no sign of a struggle or any drops of blood either. It seems to me that your entire traveling party conspired to have you killed.¡±


    She then added another question, whether or not I remember anything that happened at all.


    ¡°¡­¡­!!¡±


    I could only shake my head aghast.


    I wasn¡¯t aghast because what Regina said was outlandish¡ª¡ªfar from it, it was logical and it made everything click¡ª¡ªI was aghast because I realized of how ignorant and stupid I had been for not knowing anything about anyone around me, be it their relationships or what they carried inside their hearts.


    I was soon to be 11 year old. 11 year old was the age of someone in the 5th or the 6th grade in my previous(?) life. Precocious little girls could be much more thoughtful than adults, and while I was a boy, I remembered I had quite a few problems with friendships and parent-child relationships¡­¡­and yet, just how uninterested and unsympathetic Syltianna aka me in this life was to the others?!


    And what I found most frightening was that I wasn¡¯t even aware I was belittling others. People tend to be ignorant of air, plants, and flowers in the background. And I used to think of the people around me as part of the background. This was a sin. Ignorance and apathy were an undeniable sin. How sinful I was!!


    Regina frowned, snorted at me as I turned pale and stunned. ¡°Well, that reminds me, you¡¯re some sheltered young lady. You¡¯re much better than the rumor made you out, so I kinda forgot about it. I can¡¯t blame you if you don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­What should I do from now on?¡±


    As the words slipped out of my words, Regina looked blatantly irritated.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°That¡¯s what I asked. Well, I saved your life, and I¡¯m not a devil to just leave you be after that, but I still can¡¯t afford earning bread for some good-for-nothing.¡±


    That might sound heartless, but this was not Japan. The both of us lived in a world where we had to make do with limited resources. There was no benefit for her in helping a complete stranger who suddenly fell into her life.


    No, originally, she should have sent me back to the frontier and I would reimburse her for it, but if her earlier guess was correct, it was highly likely that the entire family of the Frontier Count, and even perhaps someone higher than that, were planning to erase my existence. If I were so foolishly shown up in the county, it was obvious I¡¯d be silenced then and there.


    Regina not wanting to have more burden was reasonable. On the contrary, she didn¡¯t drive me away and even took care of me, despite her harsh words. It would be selfish of me to ask more than I already received.


    I folded the blanket that was tangled around my feet, brought my feet down the bed, then bowed. I then removed the necklace¡ª¡ªa memento of my mother¡¯s that I had always worn, but apparently fell into my dress¡ª¡ªand placed it on top of the blanket. I didn¡¯t have any cash on me, so this was the only thing I could give her now, at least as a token of apology.


    ¡°I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused. I don¡¯t know how the outcome will be, but I will return to my parents¡¯ house and see what is happening myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say they¡¯ll bust you as soon as you show your face.¡±


    ¡°Then so be it. That only means I¡¯ve committed enough sins to incite them to do it. I will obey and accept my fate.¡±


    If I was to be punished for my sins of ignorance and apathy, then I would accept it with open arms.


    ¡°That¡¯s some good resolution you got. The world is littered with scums who take lives for no reason, just because they think someone is a hindrance or inconveniencing them. A kid like you doesn¡¯t need to talk about craps like fate!¡±


    Regina, after spitting out bitterly, stood up vigorously, walked with her strong legs to the wardrobe beside the bed, took out an unadorned dress from it, and threw it over my head as though to tell me to put it on.


    ¡°Change out from that loud, ugly dress. This may be a bit too big for you, but considering your width, it should fit you in. I¡¯ll fix the extra length later, but for now, change to that.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡­?¡±


    When I was puzzled, unable to follow what she was saying, Regina directed a sharp gaze at me. ¡°Before, you did something interesting when you regulated your breath.¡±


    ¡°Interesting?¡±


    ¡°Your breathing technique. I do something similar when I practice sorcery, but it¡¯s a different kind of technique.¡±


    Now that she mentioned it, I recalled I did. It was rhythm breathing and inner-qi breathing technique.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t for sorcery, that was martial arts breathing¡­¡­¡±


    Upon hearing my answer, a look of interest lit up inside Regina¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I thought it was self-taught, but you have a good foundation for it to be something you made up yourself. You don¡¯t seem to realize it, but you have a talent for sorcery.¡±


    ¡°Huh, sorcery?¡±


    To be honest, the word sorcery didn¡¯t really strike me home. Sorceries and so on and forth had always been a complete fairy tale in my previous life, and even in this life, there was no chance for the average noblewoman to come into contact with magic unless you were a healing art practitioner, an imperial sorcerer, an adventurer, or having other professions that was directly tied to it. It just took much less time and effort to hire someone to teach you magic than trying to learn it yourself.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get tired of going to town for groceries, you see. I¡¯ll have you stay with me for a while as my apprentice, and you can figure out what to do with yourself in the meantime.¡±


    Regina spoke rapidly and without a pause, but after a second of processing her unexpected kindness, I stood up to my feet and kowtowed again.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your repeated kindness. I will gratefully take up on your words.¡±

 CH 2.2

    In fact, according to my experience, it felt as if I had suddenly wandered into a different world that I knew absolutely nothing of. From what I thought¡­¡­perhaps this Syltianna character had a weak ego, and was so inexperienced in life that most of her consciousness was overwritten by the memory of her previous life.


    Well, the tone and the mannerisms of a lady ingrained in my body seemed to have surfaced half spontaneously, but all the emotions and thoughts were based on my previous life, and to be honest, I wasn¡¯t equipped with the common sense and frame of mind of the people of this world, so Regina¡¯s offer was most reassuring.


    ¡°Then refer to me as Mentor from now on, and I will call you Jill.¡±


    ¡°Understood, mentor.¡±


    That made her, as far as I could recall, the second person I called as my Mentor. But then, I suddenly saw the similar eccentric and self-centered personalities between the two of them, which made me let out a wry smile.


    As if seeing through my inner thoughts, Regina shot me a piercing glare. I hurriedly took off the dress I was wearing¡ª¡ªI honestly didn¡¯t know how this dress worked at all, so I just turned it inside out from underneath and slipped my head out¡ª¡ªand when I saw my stomach sticking out in three tiers up to my chest, I felt helpless since I didn¡¯t even know where the breasts ended and the flabs began.


    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll give you plenty of training to wring out all those fats so that your hideous body will be toned up in no time.¡±


    For some reason, Regina gleefully licked her lips when she said so. Err, you know¡­¡­I welcome it if you want to reduce my weight, but can you not see me like you¡¯re a butcher about to slaughter a pig?


    ?????


    The capital city of the feudal domain of the Aulanthia frontier county, the Cultura city.


    The county was originally a small to medium sized country bordering on the Graviall Empire, a great power in the east. It flourished as a transportation hub connecting the eastern, northern, and the central parts of the continent. It also served as a stronghold that had always been under tension as a military demarcation line that could transform into the frontline of a war should the crisis arise. Or, to be more precise, it used to, as the use of past tense should be more pronounced when describing it as such.


    The Divine-Demon Crusade, also known as the Finis Jihad, marked the end of the age of the warring state, bringing the continential countries into a unification under the flag of the Cardinal Rose Superempire which nominally eliminated the barriers between nations, consequently reducing the county¡¯s significance as a bulwark against the empire¡­¡­. And yet, till this day, it served as a relay point and buffer zone between the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, a newly emerging nation covering the continent¡¯s northern regions, and the long-established Graviall Empire.


    For that reason, the old town, surrounded by a bulky fortress, had become a relic of the past, and the new city, more liberated and serviceable, was taking shape outside the walls and growing by the day. In a corner near the heart of the new city, there was a magnificent mansion¡ª¡ªthough calling it a palace should be more apt with its structure and appearance¡ª¡ªstood on a vast expanse of ground.


    It was the villa of Count Aulanthia who governed the region¡ª¡ªthat being said, it wasn¡¯t his personal residence, as that would be the castle of the old town, but due to the matter of convenience, the villa was used only for audiences with emissaries from the motherland and for official events. As for living space and space for holding private events, it was practically the principal residence.


    Tonight as well, the Countess of Aulanthia hosted a salon, inviting domestic aristocrats, prominent cultural figures, scholars, and theater artists to recite poems, accompanied by the sounds of music performed by musicians.


    The light rustling of garments against the marble floor, the laughter of the whispering ladies, the dazzling candelabras illuminating every corner of the great hall.


    The hostess of the salon, Frontier Countess Simonetta of Aulanthia, curtly bowed, composedly ignored the gazes of the invited guests and their knights that fell on her, and took the seat. She adopted a business smile as she took the jewelry brought by a seemingly inconspicuous, ordinary looking merchant.


    ¡°I believe the matter at hand has been successfully carried out, yes?¡±


    Simonetta was 41 years old. Her high, slightly pointed nose, and protruding cheekbones suggested a strong temper, but it was only fair to say that she was a beauty of her own standard. As the legal wife of a Frontier Count 8 years older than her for 25 years, she was a woman of character who ran the estate on behalf of her husband who spent more than half of the year in Cilento Imperial Capital.


    To be fair, she was from Inyria Marquisate State, which was deeply influenced by the empire¡¯s culture even within the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, and there was a part inside her that looked down on the newly emerging imperial kingdom for the lack of history and traditions. Therefore, she had remained secluded in Cultura, where the influence of the Graviall Empire was stronger.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    When asked, the man nodded with a smile that seemed very harmless. ¡°Why, of course. The adventurers hired to escort her colluded with a band of thieves from the neighboring country to kidnap and ransom a princess of a great noble family. However, at the crucial moment, they split up and almost fought each other. The runaway carriage overturned within the Tenebrae Nemus, and the poor young lady died there¡­¡­that¡¯s the story.¡±


    ¡°Both the adventurers we hired¡ª¡ªwell, we only hired notorious rascals to begin with¡ª¡ªand the band of thieves that set up their territory in the area have been dealt with on the scene, so you wouldn¡¯t hear a peep from them. We also bribed the nearby guards.¡±


    And then, as if he had just remembered it, the merchant clapped his hands together and took out a ring case from his pocket and opened it so that the madam could see its contents.


    Inside was a ring with a familiar family crest.


    ¡°¡­¡­Indeed, that belongs to that thing. Are you sure it has breathed its last?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We confirmed that her heart has stopped. We left her remains in the Tenebrae Nemus. Unless she was revived by the legendary saint who¡¯s said to be able to bring the dead back to life, she won¡¯t resurrect.¡±


    Simonetta lightly scuffed at the man¡¯s shrug of the shoulders, the corners of her mouth rose in satisfaction, before she gestured to him to put away the ring.


    ¡°You may get rid of that on your own account,¡± she spoke as she took some of the jewelry the man brought at random, and she indicated her chamberlains to pass the man the leather bag¡ª¡ªthe gold coins and precious metals that were his reward¡ª¡ªthat had been prepared in advance.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªThank you for your continued patron.¡± With a fawning attitude, the man received the leather bag then put it away together with his luggage before he tried to leave this place quickly.


    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± Simonetta asked, suddenly remembering something. ¡°I believe that thing¡¯s mother once wore a necklace my husband gave her, have you known what happened to it?¡±


    ¡°A necklace¡­¡­I didn¡¯t see any necklace. It must have fallen off somewhere on impact, or it¡¯s probably in the stomach of a demon beast along with her corpse right now.¡±


    Even the madam treated it as an afterthought. She narrowed her eyes at his answer, not seeming to care much. ¡°I see. Either way, it must be all ugly and rotting by now, becoming fertilizer for the forest. A befitting end for a ragweed.¡±


    She gulped red wine brought by her lady attendant, smiling in a good humor.


    By the time she put the glass back, the man was already gone, replacing him were the guests who had been waiting for the madam to be free so they could come and greet her, one by one.


    Simonetta stood up, adorned a welcoming smile, and played the affable host role perfectly. Her mind no longer filled with the thoughts of the suspicious man or that despicable concubine¡¯s daughter.

 CH 3.1

    ?????


    Well, it has been about 10 days since then.


    My daily routine as a witch¡¯s apprentice continued. First thing I did in the morning when I woke up was tie up my long hair with a handkerchief and go out through the back, wooden door, carrying a wooden bucket with handles with both hands. I went to the well behind the hermitage, fetched water, transferred it to the wooden bucket, filled it two-thirds full, then lifted it up¡ª¡ªI tried to carry it full on my first day, but the weight of the water made me tip over the bucket, and I only managed to carry it when it reduced by half. Regina was very critical for my poor tact, but it was the best I could do with the arm strength of an obese girl who had never worked out once in her life.


    I slumped again at the time, realizing that all the hard work I had put in for so many years in my previous life had all gone down the drain, but I told myself that I was still a kid, which meant I had a lot of room to grow, but then¡­¡­right then; ¡°¡ª¡ªUgh. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m a girl now.¡± I slumped yet again as I remembered that crucial thing that I had just forgotten.


    As it was proven from the Olympic 100-meter run times, no matter how hard they worked out, women¡¯s bodies were at most limited to 90% to men¡¯s in terms of physical strength.


    That being said, as a former noble¡¯s daughter turned witch¡¯s apprentice, I felt like training my body wasn¡¯t exactly what I should focus on. Well, according Regina, ¡°Ultimately, a magician will be tasked with physical trials. It¡¯s not something you can do if you¡¯re this plump.¡± So, it wasn¡¯t exactly wrong to train my body if I considered it as my future investment. Perchance.


    So, once I had managed to carry about two-thirds of the water in the bucket at a time, I put the bucket on the ground and peeked in to see my face reflected in the water surface.


    I guess there wouldn¡¯t be much visible change in just 10 days, but I felt like my cheeks had become somewhat more shapely. The waist of my skirt was also getting roomier by the day, and I had to adjust it with the apron strings. At this rate, we might need to fix the measurements for each part of my garment after a month.


    However, I was still flabby and obese and still looked like a pig. I sighed and walked away, lifting the wooden bucket with both hands again.


    Well then, after making several trips back and forth between the well and the kitchen of the hermitage, filling the water jar with water for daily use, I went outside again in my comfortable clothes, took off my apron, and began to do some light warm-up exercises.


    On a corner of the forest where the morning haze was thick. I could see the smoke from the fireplace that I lit rising from the chimney on the roof of the sturdy one-story building.


    Twisting my body around, I saw a wooden fence¡ª¡ªthat being said, it was only as tall as my chest, so it almost looked like nothing more than a reassurement, while in actuality it was imbued with the smell that demon beasts hated, and it was also applied warding magic to ward off demon beasts, which meant mindless demon beasts couldn¡¯t enter the vicinity of the hermitage¡ª¡ªand while I couldn¡¯t see them as they were deep in the forest, I could hear the sounds of the critters so loudly it was annoying, hell knows if they were birds or demon beasts.


    Nevertheless, I began my daily training routine. I took in the cold air, which was incomparably colder than in modern Japan.


    First was the kata for unarmed martial arts. The ancient martial arts that I learned consisted of trading attacks with basic weaponries as well as hand-to-hand combat techniques in case weapons weren¡¯t available. In standing techniques, the basic idea was to strike short and close, using only palms and elbows for striking instead of fists. The main point was on overpowering the opponent by using unique footwork and a series of strikes to keep the opponent glued to you.


    When I started this 10 days ago, I couldn¡¯t keep my breath and I wrung out all of my stamina at this stage¡ª¡ªand my muscles were sore for a couple days after that¡ª¡ªwhich frustrated me to no end. And to be fair, I could do 10 sets of 50 kata back to back without a hitch in my heyday, but now I guess just one set was my limit.


    Next, I held up a wooden sword, which really was just a fallen branch I shaved away, and repeated the horizontal and vertical kata each. The sword was designed to draw blood, so many of the techniques were designed for opponents with spears and projectiles. Occasionally, I threw pebbles at the target. Originally, I should have used shurikens or throwing daggers for this, but as I couldn¡¯t prepare them, I made-do with pebbles.


    I must have been doing this for nearly an hour. I had no idea when she woke up, but I saw Regina standing there in her usual robe, looking dumbfounded.


    ¡°You sure are a hard worker, doing this every single morning. To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect a pampered young lady would get up every morning before sunrise to fetch water and even practice on her own.¡± She seemed impressed, but the moment she vocalized those words, it sounded more like she stumbled upon an unexpected mishap.


    Incidentally, in my previous life, my mentor had told me that the best time to practice martial arts was between 4 and 5 in the morning, so I had the habit of getting up at that time every day. Getting up early wasn¡¯t particularly difficult for me. Well, if anything, I couldn¡¯t understand how Syltianna could just loaf all day and had to be woken up by her nanny or attendant¡ª¡ªand she even slept again after that¡ª¡ªjust to get an extra 30 minutes to an hour of sleep in the morning for no reason.


    ¡°Well, a hardworking commoner is a bit better than a lazy commoner. A hardworking and competent person is just that rare, while a hardworking incompetent person is just the worst.¡±


    ¡°Huh, well¡­you¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    Should I be happy that I was treated as a commoner from now on?


    ¡°If you¡¯re done, then help me fix breakfast! Come on.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªY-, yes, Mentor!¡±


    I hastily put on the apron I had removed and hurried back inside the hermitage.


    ?????


    After a breakfast of soup with unidentified wild veggies and mushrooms plus biscuits (there were 3 meals basically, but the menu was mostly the same, with the only changes being rye bread, oatmeal, or fruits for the biscuits), I went into the forest with Regina to forage medicinal herbs and other plants for the whole morning.


    Incidentally, eating nothing but those frugal meals was rough for the first three days, but after a week, I got used to it. I still got hungry, but I told myself to live with hunger.


    Be that as it may, it was still the Tenebrae Nemus. It was said that there was always a demon beast a stone¡¯s throw away from you in here. Or rather, there were hardly any animals that were just normal animals, as this was a grove full of demon beasts (which brings the question, is Regina the witch also some kind of demon beast? I feel like she¡¯ll just hit me with her cane if I asked her the question).


    ¡°Speaking of which, I know it¡¯s a bit late, but what¡¯s the difference between an animal and a demon beast?¡±


    Regina, who was leading the way empty-handed except for her cane, tediously answered me, who was equipped with a basket on my back and a sickle. ¡°In a broader sense, demon beast is the general term used to refer to all animals that possess magical power. In the narrower sense, it¡¯s used to categorize animals who have a magic stone, the source of their magic power, in their body.¡±


    Hmm. If the focal point was the ability to use magic, then just a strange looking creature¡ª¡ªlike that horned rabbit lurking in the grass, who was looking at me with bloodshot eyes, and that green small person with fangs who had been following us around for a while now¡ª¡ªfell to the category of animals too?


    With her back facing me, Regina, who had apparently anticipated my next question, quickly added, ¡°Just so you know, ¡®Magic¡¯ isn¡¯t always about something that is tangible, like shooting fire or manipulating the wind. On the contrary, that kind of magic is the minority. Mindless beasts generally unconsciously use body enhancing magic¡ª¡ªfor example, extraordinary physical strength, horns that other animals don¡¯t have, or fertile like crazy, it¡¯s easy to tell them apart since they¡¯re all specialized in one thing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Errm. If so, then, by any chance, the animals that have been targeting us in the surroundings, they are¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, demon beasts.¡±


    The instant Regina off-handedly affirmed my suspicion, the demon beasts all around us all turned frenzy with rage, to which I held up my scythe to see if they would attack me at last. But at that moment, a black silhouette ran like a gale between the trees and, pon! And belatedly, all the demon beasts it touched exploded.


    ¡°Uwaa~~~h¡­¡­¡± The sight of splattering blood, flesh, and guts made me recoi, had it been the original Syltianna, she would have swooned at the horrific sight. I had memories from my previous life where I was up close and personal with open fractures or people vomiting blood after training and things like that, so I somehow managed to keep my wit around¡ª¡ªand the one responsible for creating this scene in an instant approached us without any sound of footsteps.

 CH 3.2

    ¡°Good work, Maya. Anything wrong with the forest?¡±


    Seeming like she was familiar with Regina¡¯s brusque attitude, the silhouette¡ª¡ªa jet black cat that looked about 4 to 5 mertes long, from the top of her head to the tip of her tail, and 1.5 mertes tall¡ª¡ªlowered a one-eyed, eagle-sized demon bird in her mouth to the undergrowth and mewed.


    In terms of size, she was comparable to a large tiger, but in style and silhouette of a cat by any measure. The only difference was the two, long tentacles that grew from her shoulders, and the way she purred was quite charming. According to Regina, she was a demon beast called a Caru.


    When I first saw her, I stiffened on the spot, and when she drew closer to me with her tentacles all wriggling and licked me with her coarse tongue, I was prepared to die all over again. But, fortunately, whether she took a liking to me or she compromised with me in the sense that I was an accessory to Regina, we seemed to have an amicable relationship for the moment.


    ¡°And you, Jill. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s your morning practice, but you have very good eyesight and instincts.¡±


    ¡°Much obliged.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that as a compliment. It¡¯s the opposite! You¡¯re too dependent on your physical senses, you obstruct yourself from feeling magic power. The bird Maya caught is a Nightingale. It was targeting you from overhead, hiding its presence, and did you even notice it? You would, if you sensed its magic power. Are you even in on this?¡±


    Regina turned her head to me, her face wrinkled like a raisin as she spat those words to my face.


    She lifted me up then pushed me down the abyss¡ª¡ªshe didn¡¯t mean to be malicious, but it was drilled into my bones in the first 10 days that this was the way Regina usually was¡ª¡ªand her words made me hang my head and bite my lip.


    ¡°You need to feel the magic power in you first. The world is brimming with magic power, but as it is, it¡¯s no different than air. Rouse the magic power in your body and work it on.¡±


    Even when she told me to do that, frankly speaking, it was basically the same as being told to move an arm that didn¡¯t exist, and it vexed me. Without saying anything else, Regina quickly turned on her heel and zipped deeper into the forest.


    I rushed to follow. Maya, who had taken a bite out of the nightingale that she had caught, was positioned at the end of the line and was protecting me¡ª¡ªI supposed, but I felt like she rushed me, so I opted for a half-run.


    ?????


    ¡°That one with red stem and black leaves is maura grass. It can reduce fever if you dry it and drink its broth. The white one next to it is egilio grass, an ingredient for poultice. Don¡¯t reap the whole of it. Leave the roots in so it can start propagating.¡±


    As she was sitting on a fallen tree nearby, all Regina did was give me instructions as she pointed her staff at things, while I had to run around in the little clearing in the woods around a watering hole like some spineless mouse.


    I picked up the medicinal herbs and wildflowers she pointed to and placed them in baskets on my back. If I picked something wrong or handled it poorly, she would reprimand me with the fierceness of a wildfire, so I had no choice but to take it very seriously. Fortunately though, it was all just an ad hoc reprimand, and not something that involved physical punishment that would have lasting effects, such as skipping meals or leaving a child outdoors overnight.


    ¡°Also, those mushrooms growing at the roots of the birch over there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, this one mentor?¡± There were brown mushrooms growing there as she had said¡ª¡ªthey looked plain and looked like mushrooms the size of an adult¡¯s thumb that you would normally find in supermarkets¡ª¡ªI pinched one of the rows of them and pointed. ¡°Are they edible?¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can eat it.¡± Regina nodded peculiarly, then broke into a wide grin before she let out a suggestive chuckle. ¡°You can put any mushroom in your mouth, once. That one, though, you won¡¯t get a second.¡±


    That meant it was poisonous enough to kill me in a single bite.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªd¡¯eEh?!¡± I hurriedly threw it away, washed the hand that pinched it with water, then wiped it with my apron.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Ugh. I forgot she was literally a witch secluded in the forest of darkness. Of course she¡¯d have some 10 or 20 shady ploys¡­¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s with that look? I¡¯m telling you, poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin. One measured dose of that mushroom can be a medicine for heart disease.¡±


    She looked at me sharply as if she could see right through what I think, so I hurriedly searched the pockets of my apron and found nothing, so I untied the handkerchief that had kept my hair together (one of the few personal items I had from the start) then spread it out to put some of these poisonous mushrooms on it before tying it up and put it away in the basket.


    By then, I felt Regina¡¯s face twisted as if she wanted to say something to me, but when I turned to her, she looked at me as if she was seeing something boring and blatantly threw her face away from me.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find a cluster of verdi flowers beyond that small hill. The bulbs have hemostatic properties and are delicious steamed as is. Go ahead and pick them, but make sure you leave one for every two flowers you pick!¡±


    She was still loudly telling me what to do, not seeming to be any different from before. As I headed there, I couldn¡¯t help but let the question slip out of my mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can find such a hidden cluster of flowers. Familiarity, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°How many times do I have to tell you the same thing again and again, you ragweed? You sense the magic power! Medicinal herbs contain more magic power than other weeds. Don¡¯t look with your eyes and think with your head, just feel it!¡±


    Regina spat it out with a bitter look on her face.


    (¡°Don¡¯t think, feel¡± my arse. This isn¡¯t some kung fu movie, it can¡¯t be that easy.)


    With a sense of disappointment, I start digging up the roots of the flowers with the sickle. Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t that easy to reach the deep bulb.


    (Magic power¡­¡­huh.) I tried to sense it every morning whenever I worked out and when I had free time, and I just couldn¡¯t.


    (It would be much easier if it had a beginner-friendly manual to follow the steps in, like, say, plug the key in, turn the engine on, shift the gears, and whatnot.)


    Then, I suddenly realized something. Or perhaps, my mindset shifted gears.


    (That¡¯s right. Regina said that I ¡°have the talent,¡± which means the key is already plugged in. Next I just need to figure out how to get the engine running, and where to get the fuel¡­¡­ah, so that¡¯s what she means by harnessing the magic power that fills the air around me. So human magic is like an external combustion engine with external fuel. In comparison, demon beasts have magic stones that are their internal fuel¡ª¡ªor perhaps, condensers?)


    Somehow, magic was taking shape in my mind. As I put strength into my hand digging the bulb, I pushed the idea further.


    (Which means, human¡¯s sorcery is basically a kind of igniter that uses what little bit of magic power inside the body to excite the external magic power¡ª¡ªor is it more accurate to say that the body is a dynamo, the kind that sets the whole place on fire at once? In other words, the magic power within the body is an impurity once mixed with the atmosphere.)


    Until then, I had thought of magic power as some cool, mystical force, but once I clearly defined it as ¡®impurity,¡¯ I consciously decided to try the breathing technique.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªhm?¡± Regina, who looked bored supervising me, raised her eyebrows, while Maya, who was lying at her feet, raised her face startled.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    While I kept them in the corner of my vision, I focused most of my awareness inside my body. Using abdominal breathing technique and its unique rhythm, I brought air into my dantian. I repeated the process, sensing the dregs building up in my dantian¡ª¡ªuntil, somehow, I could feel a thin smoke-like residue.


    (This must be the fuel. Then, if I spark it and spill it all out¡ª¡ª)


    Right in that instant, as Regina stood up with her eyes bloodshot, and Maya instantly plopped herself over my body, the watering hole in front of me was all vanished by a tremendous pillar of fire.


    The grades of Demon Beasts:


    S (calamity grade) > A (large-scale battlefield grade) > B (huge mobilized forces grade) > C (pretty strong grade) > D (a bit handful grade) > E (normal grade) > F (piece of cake grade)

 CH 4.1

    I spread the mana sensory net and assessed the situation around me.


    There was an S-rank magic reaction in the tree 100 merte behind me. I knew this mana wavelength belonged to Maya the familiar, though I wasn¡¯t sure if she came here because Regina asked her to or she followed me on her own. I had a feeling it was the latter. Seven merte in front of me, there was a reaction of an F-ranked demon beast¡ªwhich I assumed to come from a horned rabbit since it was all alone. Slightly further away, I sensed five E-ranked demon beasts. They were at first sneaking towards the horned rabbit, but suddenly changed course and came to me, encircling.


    It was probably a small group of goblins. They probably changed plans right at that moment since they found an opponent who was more fleshy and easier to hunt than a horned rabbit.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly impossible, since categorically I was currently a female, so while indeed other humans wouldn¡¯t even dare to look at this ragweed of a face, the goblins were known to be in heat all year round. By that, I meant the possibility of a mutually unfortunate incident to happen, like say, them attacking me for the purpose of reproduction like crazy. I had my first menstruation the other day too, as if it had been waiting for my eleventh birthday.


    If anything, I probably looked more like food.


    As I bent down to pick up a few pebbles near my feet, two goblins came running out of the bushes in front of me, vocalizing strange noises. Almost at the same time, one goblin appeared on my flanks each. The last one must have intended to go around to the rear. It was still out of sight since it circled from a distance away, but I could tell by my mana detection that it had been slaughtered by Maya who reverse sneaked up on them, so that was one less goblin to worry about.


    Which meant, there were only four left.


    I threw the pebbles at the two in front of me. I would have liked to flick the pebbles like finger bullets, but with my current hand size and finger strength, I couldn¡¯t expect the finger bullets to have enough firepower to be useful in a real battle, so I had no choice.


    One was hit between its eyes and the other was hit a bit under the eye, the latter reflexively guarded its face and turned its head. I actually aimed for the eyes for both, but since my left hand didn¡¯t have the dexterity of my dominant hand, my aim seemed to miss a bit.


    Nevertheless, I had succeeded in temporarily crippling their fighting potential, so I immediately twisted my body and pointed the wand¡ªsimply put, a white wooden stick with a pea-sized magic stone embedded in it, ¡°for children¡¯s practice,¡± according to my mentor¡ªtowards the goblin on my right hand side.


    ¡¸¡°Fangs of ice, be the blade that pierces.¡±¡¹A moment later, three rows of sharp icicles the size of an adult¡¯s index finger appeared, centered on the tip of the magic wand, and at the same time, they shot out at high speed, leaving no sound.


    Incidentally, there were no particular rules about the chant itself. ¡°Well, in magicking school they¡¯d teach you to dramatize the chant ¡®blah blah blah kowtow to my power, O eternal wisdom whatnot¡¯ like you¡¯re reading some classics. But such a rule is a load of bull. It¡¯s best to chant the way you¡¯re most comfortable with. In fact, most of the common magicians are self-taught, and a lot of magician back in the age of Finis Jihad were killing mountains of monsters without chanting.¡± Spoke Regina, citing some dubious legend while she oh so refreshingly and irresponsibly abandoned her duty to guide me with the words; ¡°Think it up yourself.¡±


    Hence why I was learning the basics and testing their applications through daily experiments and real-life battles.


    ¡°GuGYAa~~~!!¡± The goblin held its punctured stomach, letting out a death cry. Killing a humanoid opponent didn¡¯t feel good, even if it was a demon beast, but I told myself to attack before my mind could think.


    The third blade of ice should have pierced his abdomen, but it missed the vital spot, and thus wasn¡¯t fatal. Was I lacking power, or were there other variables that I needed to consider¡­either way, I had to improve further.


    Before I had time to be overcome with emotion, the goblin on my left arm side swung its club at me. I quickly intercepted it with my magic wand, and thus we entered in a locked stance. However, what I was facing was essentially a wild beast. I was almost pushed over by the difference in arm strength.


    ¡°Why, you!¡± As it pushed further, I attempted to parry it away along with my scream. But before I could strike it in the neck, the first two got back up, one coming at me with bare hands the other holding a sharp stone.


    ¡¸¡±O flames, dance!¡±¡¹


    Seeing as this had become a three-on-one (which wasn¡¯t true, in retrospect, since I had Maya the Caru escorting me, and she could have lent me a hand when push came to shove. I was in such a panic I had forgotten she was there), I quickly cast the most compatible and the first magic I had learned¡ª¡¾Flame¡¿.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°Ack¡­uh oh!¡±


    The moment I came to myself, a bursting pillar of fire turned the goblins into charcoal, and the spell instantly caught the forest in fire.


    ?????


    ¡°You¡ªUTTER FOOL!! How many times do I have to tell you to hold yourself back?!!¡±


    Regina was always grumpy all the time, but now, more than ever, she was so enraged she waved around her cane.


    After having reenacted the exact same magic outburst that I did a month ago, I had no choice but to kowtow and endure her wide knowledge of profanity that she unleashed on me like a machine gun.


    Incidentally, the fire was somehow extinguished before it became serious, thanks to the ¡¾Water Ball¡¿ spell that I desperately cast with all of my mana, Maya also put an effort to put out the fire using her tentacles and body, and above all else, the vegetation of the Tenebrae Nemus was extremely tough and fire-resistant, so the fire was extinguished pretty early.


    However, since it happened pretty close to the hermitage, it naturally became known to Regina, who pretty much jumped up on me and immediately showered me with expletives.


    Like a loan shark who had been overcharged for years, she kept on cursing at me until she wired her mouth shut, either she ran out of vocabulary or breath. When I took a breath of relief, thinking that she had finally had enough, Regina once again opened her mouth, making me straighten my back as I kowtow on the ground. Speaking of which, thanks to my daily practice and eating habits over the past month or so, I had lost a lot of flab around my stomach, so kowtowing had become a much easier task to do¡ªnot that I was happy by that fact, though.


    ¡°How long are you going to be on all four like a miserable toad?! Get your fat a?s?s? up!!¡±


    ¡°Yes, mentor.¡±


    Almost as a conditioned reflex, I stood erect on the spot. For some reason, Regina¡¯s eyes sharpened as she assessed me from the tip of my head to my toes, as if she was staring at me with a price tag.


    ¡°¡­Erm, mentor? Is there something on my face?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. The mud and soot on your ugly face makes it look even worse.¡±


    Hurriedly, I created a small sized ¡¾Water Ball¡¿ on my palm and splashed it on my face. I untied the worn-out personal handkerchief that kept my hair tidy¡ªwith me no longer a member of high society, having a long hair was nothing but a nuisance, but there was the superstition that said that a woman¡¯s spiritual power resided in her hair and womb, so I was stubbornly disallowed to cut my hair¡ªand used it to wipe my face and put it into the pocket of my apron.


    Regina, who was for some reason watching the scene with abhorrence, quickly turned on her heel and walked back the way she came.


    ¡°We¡¯re going back. What are you dallying for?!¡±


    I hurriedly ran after her. Huh? We¡¯re going back home? But I haven¡¯t collected medicinal herbs and wildflowers for today, you know¡­?


    ?????


    After walking along an animal trail for over an hour from Regina¡¯s hermitage, the view suddenly opened up, and a panorama of endless prairie unveiled before me.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Whooaaaa!¡±


    I let out an exclamation of admiration in front of a horizon I had only seen in pictures in my previous life, let alone in this life when I was nothing but a caged bird.


    ¡°Close your jaw, you look like a fool! Hurry it up and walk!¡±


    Regina the self-conceited heartless machine straddled Maya and urged me onward, seeing me like I was baggage. I came back to myself and tilted my head to look in the direction Regina was pointing.


    ¡°Is that the town adventurers visit that you¡¯ve told me about before?¡±


    As if she had just smelled something foul, Regina frowned, her nose scrunched, and she spat out the words bitterly. ¡°You mean Crepuscule Urbs? Don¡¯t joke with me! Who¡¯d want to go to that cesspool? Stay clear from that place if you hold your life dear.¡±

 CH 4.2

    With how open Regina¡¯s disgust of that place was, it instead made me full of curiosity to see what it held. ¡°Curiosity kills the cat. I dare you to tell me you want to go there; I¡¯ll leave you to die,¡± Regina immediately warned me, and seeing even Maya the Caru nodded her head as if agreeing to her master, an unfathomable sense of fear began to grow in me.


    With no other choice, I replied thusly. ¡°I-, I understand. I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re heading for the pioneer village that¡¯s just up ahead,¡± Regina added, indicating with the end of her cane. All I could see was an endless field of grass, however. ¡°It¡¯s a small village, it hasn¡¯t been there longer than 15 years, but it has everything you need. Take this opportunity to remember the way, Jill, since it will be you who frequents the town to buy things.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to head out for shopping anytime, but how many kilomertes away is it?¡±


    I had heard that the distance to the horizon was about four kilomertes for an adult, but I couldn¡¯t spot a single village, or even fields, even if I stood on the tip of my toes. Seeing me asking the question nervously, Regina grinned and answered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact distance, but I could reach there on Maya¡¯s back in 30 minutes.¡±


    Maya lifted her nose proudly. However, hearing that, my eyes went dark. 30 minutes¡­ It took Maya, an S-rank demon beast, thirty whole minutes¡­?!!


    I knew it was vain to ask, but just in case, I raised my question. ¡°Erm, I understand that you will be riding Maya, but in this case, what about me¡­?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got those nice, supple legs! Work them on!¡±


    ¡­yup. Exactly the answer I had expected.


    Then, with my exhaustion at an all-time high, we walked for more than four hours without a single break, almost at a snail¡¯s pace, and somehow managed to reach our destined pioneer village.


    ?????


    Surprisingly, what was grown in the village wasn¡¯t wheat, but rather upland rice. Apparently, the staple food in this village was rice (although of the long-grain variety close to the original strain) instead of wheat. As a former Japanese, I felt comforted by the scenery, which I could say was my ancestor¡¯s landscape.


    ¡°Jill! Put up your hood before you enter the village. Magicians are subject to suspicion already, we don¡¯t need your face to attract more attention (after all, having a white skin with no blemish, pinkish blonde hair, and jade green eyes is as conspicuous as it can be).¡±


    Rebuked in a strong tone of voice, I slipped on the black robe that matched Regina¡¯s that she gave me on our way out and pulled the hood over my head to cover my profile.


    (She¡¯s right. An ugly ragweed like me would only be a nuisance and ruin everyone¡¯s mood if I go out in public¡­)


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s good enough.¡±


    After Regina, on top of Maya, nodded in approvement, I followed her towards the entrance of the village. There were two men who looked to be in their 20s and looked like farmers standing in front of the log-paneled gate, chatting away in their spare time. They stopped chattering when they noticed our arrival, seemingly wary of us for a moment, but when they saw Maya and Regina riding her, they promptly relaxed their shoulders.


    ¡°Heya there, miss Witch of the Forest. Are you here to go shopping today?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Also, my apprentice will be taking that role from now on, so I thought I¡¯d stop by and say hello.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know you had an apprentice, old lady. Quite the small boyo too. What¡¯s your name, kid?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I-, I¡¯m Jill.¡¯


    ¡°Oops, so you¡¯re a small missy! Makes sense, since you¡¯re the witch¡¯s apprentice. My bad!¡±


    ¡°Right, miss Witch. The barriers on the outskirts of the village collapsed in the rain the other day, so the village chief is wondering if you could take a look at them.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Maybe I¡¯ll stop by on my way back.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    How should I say this¡­ A witch living in a forest infested by demon beasts, an S-rank demon beast as her familiar, and her apprentice who was hiding her face the whole time. With the uniform black-theme between the three of us, this group would normally be very suspicious, and yet what¡¯s with this welcoming atmosphere the gatekeepers gave us? Shouldn¡¯t they at least have me pull down my hood so they could see my bare face? Instead, they simply let me into the village after we finished the conversation. Is this okay? Is this really okay?


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Now then, while indeed we said shopping, it was still a small village. All it had was a row of stores consisting of the general store, a tinker, and a pharmacy. Regina first stopped by the pharmacy and sold off the medicinal herbs and day-old decoctions we had brought¡ªalmost at the price she demanded¡ªand then we went around to several houses of people she seemed to know to buy grains and vegetables. Everytime, I was forced to socialize with those people.


    Finally, we stopped at the general store and purchased some small items (such as sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, soap, etc) and put them in the bag I was carrying¡ªa magical tool that could hold anything of a certain weight and size and still retained its original look and weight, basically Doraemon¡¯s dimensional pocket. When I was putting them in, Regina looked at me with a frown, as if she had noticed my presence once again.


    ¡°Jill, haven¡¯t you grown a little bigger in the last month?¡±


    ¡°Have¡­ I?¡± To be honest, all I was watching for was my weight, so I didn¡¯t pay much attention to my height or pretty much anything else.


    ¡°Now, now, children her age grow up quickly. Since you¡¯re here, why don¡¯t you fix this to her size, if you don¡¯t mind second-hand clothes that is.¡± As the grocery store proprietress suggested, she pulled out some women¡¯s clothes (obviously, I guess) from the store¡¯s back and pushed them against me through my robe to check my size.


    I looked at Regina for an answer, but surprisingly, she indirectly agreed to the store proprietress¡¯ suggestion, but not without a snide remark. ¡°By golly, you¡¯re just one unnecessary expense after another.¡±


    ¡°Then, how about this one?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a tad too big for her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll grow into it pretty soon. Sweetie, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m 10¡ªno, I turned 11 last week.¡±


    ¡°Oh my! So this is a birthday present then?!¡±


    When the proprietress looked at her with a gleam in her eyes, Regina waved her hand with a disgusted look.


    ¡°Nope, just a coincidence. Right, you had that rag you stockpiled just in case but ended up not selling, didn¡¯t you? Do you still have it?¡±


    ¡°Aah, the ribbon? I do, why?¡±


    ¡°Can I look at it again?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing. Just wait a second.¡±


    The proprietress retreated to the back once again¡ªperhaps taking some time to look for the item, or perhaps taking time to clean the item that had been collecting dust in the storage¡ªand came back with an emerald colored ribbon in her hand. Regina took one look at the ribbon, then glanced at me, and then spoke in a casual tone.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take that too.¡±


    Her casual tone made the proprietress¡¯ eyes wide open. ¡°¡­One of these amounts to half of your grocery for today, you know? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. She¡¯s going to run an errand for me from now on. This is just an investment, so she won¡¯t think she can rip me off.¡±


    The proprietress shrugged her shoulders at Regina¡¯s remark and was about to lump the ribbon together with the rest of the grocery, when Regina yanked it from the side and carelessly tossed it in my direction. I quickly grabbed it in the air.


    ¡°Stop using that dirt smeared handkerchief. You¡¯re shaming me, your mentor.¡±


    Which meant this was a gift for me. It took me a few seconds to understand the meaning of the words she said.


    An emerald ribbon¡­the same color as my eyes. As I was staring at it dumbfounded, the proprietress turned a huge smile at me. ¡°Isn¡¯t that wonderful, sweetie. It¡¯s a birthday present.¡±


    ¡°Ahh! ¡­Thank you very much, mentor.¡± I bowed my head, holding the ribbon with both hands, expressing my heartfelt gratitude.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    How should I say this¡­ as Princess Syltianna, I had the memory of receiving mountains of gifts every year, and yet I had no ¡®happy¡¯ emotion associated with those gifts. I don¡¯t know if Syltianna never had that emotion to begin with, or if that association was lost when the two personalities were merged, but I do know that this is the first time ever I (Jill) have received a gift from someone.


    I was so happy I almost felt tears spilling out, and yet Regina only remained silent and looked outside the store, not losing her devil-may-care face. However, Maya, who was stationed outside the store, was wagging her tail in a good mood and squinting her eyes.


    Incidentally, it was only a bit later that I learned that familiars and their masters shared a certain amount of emotional subtleties.

 CH 5.1

    Hard footsteps were traversing the cobblestone floor, strenuously going back and forth.


    ¡°Aah, this is a disaster! My sweet Syltianna¡­ She should have had her grand 11th birthday party in the Imperial Capital by now!!¡±


    The mournful cry, one that seemed to bear all the tragedies of this world, echoed through the picturesque great hall of the Cultura Castle in Aulanthia county.


    The owner of the castle¡ªa Frontier Count, a great nobleman with authority comparable to a duke even within the imperial kingdom, and a lord of an autonomous domain half-independent from the state, whose status as a lord was absolute¡ªCorrad Simon Aulanthia was much more of a thin man with a somewhat soft and unreliable profile, far from the stern persona one might imagine from his ostentatious title. He looked more like a good and honest person¡ªan aristocrat who wore goodwill and discipline instead of dignity and grace for his cloak.


    He was 49 years old. His six sons, ranging in age from 23 to 14, had all reached adulthood, so it wasn¡¯t surprising for him to just retire and pass the reigns to his successor, and yet, for whatever reason¡­more precisely, because he was pressured to sit in his chair by those around him, he was somehow still working as the head of the household.


    And this whatever reason, should it be put on a list, would appear as such:


    The question of who should be given the reins of the household was a very heady one. The logical choice would be Simonetta¡¯s child as she was his legal wife. However, not only that would lower his family¡¯s status, the kid¡¯s position as the third son and belonging to the empire¡¯s faction meant he had a weak domestic and territorial support base.


    Eloise¡¯s child was strongly favored within the imperial family due to his imperial bloodline, but on the other hand, he would be highly unpopular within the county, as the whole territory strongly inclined towards autonomy. Not to mention, it might worsen the relations with the neighboring empire.


    Being the eldest and of aristocratic lineage from an extended household, Patsy¡¯s son was well received by the lords and old vassals, but that alone didn¡¯t give him enough backing to ignore the legal wife and the imperial family.


    Bottom line, all three stood on fair grounds, and no matter who succeeded, dissatisfaction could not be evaded. Damned if do, damned if don¡¯t. Even a feudal lord could offend his people and light the fire of riot if he continued to rule with an iron grip. In the end, everybody, within and without, was watching out for everybody, steering clear from problems to maintain the status quo. A truly pathetic situation it was.


    That was why, using the excuse that he was still sound in body and mind, Corrad was postponing the nomination of a successor. He ruled as a lower-middle class whose reign wasn¡¯t exactly bad but neither was it good¡ªwhich, to be honest, should make him quite a great monarch in such a peaceful era¡ªand yet, he was now looking as if he had aged ten years in one fell swoop, his cheeks and eye sockets slumped and hollowed, as if his hard work of the past few days had taken its toll on him.


    Normally, at this time of the year, he should be performing his official duties in Cilento Imperial Capital (mainly because he was so fed up with the power struggle in his domain that he refrained from returning), however, a week ago, he received a report that Syltianna, his fifth daughter, had disappeared en route to the capital.


    Corrad the Frontier Count was distraught to the point of madness when he learned that his doted daughter had gone missing for a month by then, but he somehow managed to control himself and hurriedly completed his official duties¡ªthat alone took him six whole days¡ªutilizing the ¡¾Shift Portal¡¿ that was located a day away from the Imperial Capital (it was set up at a distance so that nobody could directly come into the Imperial Capital) and teleported away to Cultura Castle just then, leaving everything behind in the capital.


    What awaited him was the despairing additional report that Syltianna¡¯s entourage had been wiped out and the corpses of the bandits, who were apparently the offenders of this case, were scattered around the scene.


    Simonetta, the legal-wife, who had been watching her husband in a half-soulless state with a daunted look in her eyes, gently approached him, acting the part of a ¡®virtuous wife worried about her husband,¡¯ as she was aware that a third party was in the scene.


    ¡°Darling, worrying too much is bad for your health. This was a most unfortunate accident, indeed, but as far as I can tell, the guards and attendants weren¡¯t at fault. It was a disaster that we could do nothing about. As someone who has the power, shouldn¡¯t we take the initiative to improve the roads and take safety measures so that such a tragedy will never happen again?¡±


    ¡°¡­but, even so, Syltianna¡¯s body hasn¡¯t been found yet, right? ¡­If so¡­then¡­¡± The frontier count held his forehead with one hand, his mouth moaning almost in a sob.


    ¡°In regards to that, we have new reports coming in from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±


    ¡°What¡ª?!¡±


    After being prompted by the grand chamberlain, as if they had practiced it beforehand¡ªwhich, probably, they really did¡ªthe most senior of the several men kneeling in the center of the hall, a bespectacled man in a tuxedo who seemed to be an accomplished, ambitious man, stepped forward, bowed, and opened his mouth.


    ¡°My deepest honor to meet you in person, your lordship. My name is Egmond Bayer, the newly appointed guild chief. I was dispatched from my home country in place of the former chief of the Cultura Adventurer¡¯s Guild, who had been removed in light of the recent scandal. ¡ªAnd, while I couldn¡¯t begin to imagine how much loss you¡¯ve suffered, I am here today because we have learned some new revelations about the misfortune that has befallen your daughter.¡±


    After eloquently introducing himself and curtly bowed, several men behind him¡ªadventurers one must assume, judging by the variety of their weapons, equipment, and ages. The youngest, even looked like a child just coming of age¡ªcarried up something from the corner of the hall.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°¡ª?¡± The frontier count squinted warily. At first glance, it appeared to be just a thick board¡ªa door of some kind, perhaps, given that it had hinges and a handle. However, it was somewhat small to be the door of a house¡­ Just as he pondered so, he noticed the crest on its surface, and a shock passed through his entire body as if he had been hit by lightning. ¡°Is that¡ª?!!¡±


    ¡°Yes. These men have found part of the carriage that lady Syltianna rode in,¡± Egmond answered with a humble, downcast look.


    ¡°¡­!¡±

 CH 5.2

    On behalf of her speechless husband, Simonetta urged him to continue on.


    ¡°Yes. They are C to F rank adventurers who recently registered with our guild. They were working in Tenebrae Nemus when they discovered an aristocratic carriage bearing this insignia. Our guild sent someone to the area as soon as possible upon the report, and sure enough, we found the carriage in the location reported.¡±


    ¡°So, what about my princess¡­what about Syltianna?¡± The words ¡®found in Tenebrae Nemus,¡¯ an area most hostile to man, made the frontier count gasp, as if he knew the answer half-expecting.


    The one who likewise knew the answer, Simonetta, continued to chuckle inward as she waited for the words to be pronounced. After hesitating with a somber expression, Egmond opened his mouth heavily.


    ¡°We found her. She was badly injured and is now bedridden. Fortunately, she is in stable condition.¡±


    ¡°Oooh!! Is that¡­ true?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, IMPOSSIBLE!!!¡±


    Paled, Simonetta¡¯s exclamation echoed throughout the hall as if to swathe frontier count¡¯s joyful expression.


    Being directed stunned and daunt gazes by the people around her, Simonetta quickly came to her senses and hurriedly corrected her manners. ¡°Forgive me, I was rude,¡± she apologized to her husband, then glared at Egmond¡¯s intelligent face with a fire in her eyes. There was no such thing in the original scenario.


    ¡°Was it true what you said? To be honest, I find it hard to believe. She went missing all alone in Tenebrae Nemus for a month, and she came up safe? Is this really Princess Syltianna herself?¡±


    To which, Egmond responded with a composed look. ¡°I am sure you are right to be skeptical, but I heard that an adventurer that happened to pass by right after the incident had rescued her. And I wouldn¡¯t use the word safe, either, as I was about to say that the princess was attacked by a demon beast in the forest and suffered deep wounds all over her body. We did our best to treat her, but the wound was so deep that, to be honest, I am sure that even her birth mother wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize her. Not to mention, she appeared to have lost all her memories, possibly by the mental shock she went through, so we didn¡¯t really have any substantial proof that she is the princess until now.¡±


    Simonetta bit her teeth as she stared into the face of the man who was so brazenly stating he had no proof. ¡°So, you don¡¯t have any hard evidence to back her identity?¡±


    ¡°Far from it. We have the proof with us.¡±


    Simonetta¡¯s eyes widened to their limits when she saw that Egmond so brazenly produced out of his pocket.


    ¡°This is the ring that has the Aulanthia household¡¯s crest that Princess Sylthianna always wore on her finger.¡±


    As if to show it off, he opened a painfully familiar ring case and held it up so the frontier count and his legal wife could see its content.


    ¡°Ooh! This is indeed Syltianna¡¯s! Thank you¡­ Thank you for saving my princess! You have my gratitude!¡± Frontier Count Corrad, in tears, got down from his elevated seat and personally received the ring in its case.


    Simonetta, however, didn¡¯t move a step from her spot. She glared at Egmond even if it was the last thing she¡¯d do before she died.


    (Curse you! You prepared an impostor to create your own power base in Cultura!!)


    For that moment, Simonetta¡¯s glare intertwined with Egmond¡¯s mocking gaze, as if to spit on her face. He had expected this to be an easy task when he heard the proposal the first time, but¡­this was a piece of cake.1


    Unable to stand it any longer, Simonetta, in a fit of rage, left the hall without saying a single word.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done an excellent job, all of you! Thanks to you, I didn¡¯t lose my precious jewel¡­a few injuries and wounds would not be a problem. I will do my utmost to help the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the future, so don¡¯t hesitate to ask should you need anything!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    The guild members, including Egmond, bowed their heads in unison at the words of the frontier count, the man was moved to tears.


    ¡°On behalf of all of us, I would like to thank you for your kind words. We in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will do our utmost to ensure that we do not betray your lordship¡¯s trust in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± Perhaps because he was deeply moved, he personally took the hands of the adventurers and shook them to express his gratitude.


    Jesse Arland, the last person the frontier count shook hands with, was the youngest of the group, a rookie adventurer boy at the age of 14, and he was almost completely blanked out throughout the whole process. What he did remember, was the frontier count¡¯s jade green eyes and gentle smile, and when she recalled back the eyes of the bandage-covered girl he had only met once in the guild¡¯s healing ward, he thought to himself.


    (¡­the same jade green, but they¡¯re a bit different)


    ?????


    In his private room, completely shut with an armored door, relying on nothing but a dim light, the frontier count Corrad sighed, still seated at his office desk.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve thrown a rock on their three-way power play¡­ how will they play it out?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this? That guild chief is an ambitious man. I gave him the ring as you asked, but now he even prepared an impostor, fully intending to run the whole town for himself.¡± Spoke the voice from the darkness.


    ¡°That¡¯s part of the fun. Everything started because that animal had been on the loose for too long. I¡¯ll let her have fun cleaning up her own mess. Well, if they¡¯re starting to become a nuisance, we¡¯ll just get rid of both.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look too disturbed about it.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. The compromise wasn¡¯t too bad. That animal ran out of luck, that¡¯s all. She seems to make light of the suspicion that would come at her if the people knew that both the mother and the daughter died a similar death. In the end, she¡¯s just another ignorant, idiot noblewoman¡­nothing like the intelligent and beautiful Clara.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it be a problem if you¡¯re dropping out of the power struggle right now?¡±


    ¡°The time is not right. The empire is in a mess over their own throne succession. We don¡¯t want their conflict to spread to us. If I purged that animal¡¯s pro-empire faction at this time, the fire would surely come down on us too.¡±


    ¡°Which means our status is bulwark for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s see them struggle in vain.¡±


    ¡°Good grief. In the end, you used your own daughter as a pawn for this.¡±


    ¡°Obviously, as is normal for aristocrats. Well, to be honest, I always wanted her to spread her wings, seeing how constrained her mother had been under mine, but¡­ In actuality, did my daughter¡­¡± The frontier count cut off his own question, and wordlessly shook his head, ¡°¡­Syltianna is alive. Now that there is evidence of it, I shouldn¡¯t be the one to deny it.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After confirming that there was no reply from the voice in the darkness, the frontier count closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

 CH 6.1

    I wondered, was the season heading toward summer?


    I waded through the dazzling green meadows¡ªI didn¡¯t know if it was a human, an animal, or a demon beast that made it, but what I traversed was a beaten dirt path¡ªwith my trusty magical staff in one hand, heading for the pioneer village at almost a jogging pace.


    Maya, a huge black cat¡ªa Caru that was Regina¡¯s familiar¡ªwho was walking a little ahead, twisted her head a little to look at me, before she turned herself around to come back to where I was. Once she walked parallel to me, she tapped on my shoulder with one of her tentacles and then pointed to her own back.


    Must have been a gesture to invite me to ride her.


    Understanding what she meant, I stopped on my track and caught my breath. ¡°Haa haa haa¡­Thank you, Maya. But, Mentor forbade me to ride on you¡­ haa haa, having you carrying the groceries home, is enough.¡±


    I had to decline her offer out of sheer determination to push through the whole trip and, most importantly, my fear of Regina¡¯s anger in case she found out. When I did, Maya started circling around me, looking troubled. I¡¯d guess that she was torn between following her master¡¯s orders and helping me out.


    The contrast between the kindness she showed me and the fearsome nickname her species had, which was ¡®The Black Destroyer,¡¯ invited a huge smile from me as I continued on my trip.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry it up, Maya. At this pace, we should reach the village before noon!¡±


    As I urged her onward, reluctantly, Maya went ahead of me to clear the grass ahead with her feet so that the path would be easier for me to run. What a truly meticulous and thoughtful familiar, so much different than her master.


    ?????


    Now that I had learned to control my magic and exercise it, my daily routine had changed considerably.


    I still got up in the morning to fetch water and do my daily kata practice, although I was using the ribbon Regina gave me instead of my old handkerchief to tie my hair up so it didn¡¯t get in the way. And then, after cleaning the dishes, now I had an additional task of checking the barriers around the hermitage. If they seemed weak, I would reinforce them by pouring mana into them.


    And then, I equipped myself with a basket and a sickle and went to pick medicinal herbs in Tenebrae Nemus by myself¡ªwith Maya if and when she felt like it¡ªbut I never got too far from the hermitage (Regina had repeatedly cautioned me). However, the types of medicinal herbs, their efficacy, and the places where they grew might change depending on the season and the weather. In such cases, Regina would accompany me, though with a heavy heart, and provide me with a brief explanation on site.


    However, she would only give me the explanation once, and if I asked her to explain for a second time, she¡¯d tell me to look and learn by myself. In addition, sometimes she¡¯d give me unreasonable orders such as looking for herbs I had only seen once a month or two before. If I made a mistake or forgot something, she would obviously berate me like wildfire, so I was always on edge.


    In any case, in order to memorize every single herbs I had obtained, I painstakingly commit their characteristics into my memory, touched them up and down, smelled them, verified every their minute mana wavelengths, and wrote them down with charcoal on a board I made from a wood bark myself.


    Regina had repeatedly told me that ¡°medicinal herbs contain more mana than other weeds¡± and that ¡°you should be able to tell them apart with mana detection.¡± However, when I actually probed with mana detection, while I indeed could see that the areas where medicinal herbs were growing reacted differently, the individual differences were very vague¡­ To put it in another way, it was like being presented with an array of colors and told ¡°pick the same shade of orange as this one,¡± so being put into practice in the field was simply confusing. Experience was key, and it wasn¡¯t something I could acquire overnight.


    Well, I had a general idea of how they looked, so I just needed to bring myself to where the herbs were¡­ that was how I usually dealt with Regina¡¯s requests. Even though we used the same mana detection, I kept drawing blanks whilst her accuracy was 100/100¡ªthat said, if I took extra time, she would treat me to a delightful scolding as well, so I had to keep running around the forest at full speed.


    Even so, medicinal herbs that could be distinguished by the shape of their leaves or the color of their stems were still better. Mushrooms that couldn¡¯t be easily distinguished by their appearance and smell, or magical herbs with underground stems, these two were a real handful. Mushrooms had lots and lots of different species that shared similar features, and as for magical herbs, they needed an extra effort and time to dig before I could even begin to learn their differences.


    Case in point, a ¡®mandrake¡¯ was a famous medicinal herb famously catered for witches and magicians, but this forest was also a home to a wild plant called ¡®mandread¡¯ that was very similar to it (it had no medicinal properties whatsoever, but was edible). The only difference between them was that, when a mandrake was pulled, it would shriek ¡°GYAAA¡ª!¡± to your ear, while a mandread would scream ¡°Eeek¡ª!¡± pathetically. Which meant, you could only tell which one was which after you pulled it out.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    For that reason, I was working everyday to increase the range and accuracy of my mana sensing. By the way, the maximum radius of my detection was about 20 mertes, and that distance was quickly halved when I tried to process more detailed information. I heard that if people whose magic attribute had the ¡®Wind¡¯ affinity could detect as far as kilomertes in range, but, unfortunately, my attributes were ¡®Fire,¡¯ ¡®Water,¡¯ ¡®Light,¡¯ and ¡®Sky,¡¯ so I had to give up on hoping reaching that far as it depended on my innate qualities.


    ¡°Well, with those attributes, you could be a healing art practitioner.¡±


    Spoke Regina after identifying my attributes, but unlike Fire and Water, preparing a test bed for the healing arts couldn¡¯t be done so simply, so we shelved the subject for now and leaned more onto learning the basics of each attribute.


    So, I spent my mornings in the forest foraging and doing independent training in magic arts and martial arts, and my afternoons were spent helping Regina silently roast medicinal herbs, crushing frogs and insects and such, and mixing them in beakers¡­ Basically practicing the witch¡¯s laboratory for all intents and purposes.


    Near evening I would go to the bathroom and fill the plentiful tub with water by way of magic. Regina turned out to be quite the cleanliness freak and even had her own private bathroom and bathtub. However, preparing for a bath in a world with no gas or running water was a challenge, she had only bathed about once every few days up until a convenient natural water and heat source (aka an apprentice who could use both Water and Fire) swung into her hermitage.

 CH 6.2

    ¡°I use everything I can get my hands on, be it boogers or ragweed!¡±


    And with that, she started to bathe every single day, while I was in charge of being her burner, adjusting the flame to control the temperature of her water. Regina, who was always wearing her bad mood and grumpiness like it was her clothes, was in a good mood exclusively at such times. ¡°I don¡¯t need charcoal, firewood, or even kindlings. At the very least, you have one good use!¡± And then she hummed away¡­


    Is being her water heater my whole raison d¡¯¨ºtre or what?


    Well, either way, thanks to this daily routine, the accuracy and power of both my Water and Fire improved so much that I began to believe that she deliberately tasked me with this role as a mentor wanting to develop the talents of her apprentice¡­ right? I didn¡¯t become good at it as a complete byproduct of your pursuit of luxury, right? Though, it¡¯s hard to say that I am happy with it¡­


    I was allowed to use the hot water after her, so in terms of hygiene, it wasn¡¯t so different from when I was in Japan. Funnily enough, I was much cleaner in the hermitage than when I was an aristocrat. I kept the leftover water and used it for washing clothes about once every three days. Incidentally, water made by magic arts was not suitable for drinking because, chemically, it was close to distilled water.


    After the bath, I helped prepare dinner. The menu wasn¡¯t particularly variable, but it did change depending on the wild vegetables and plants I foraged in the morning, so on days I mistakenly uprooted mandrakes instead of mandreads or something like that, she would give me an earful then punished me by having me stir the soup, which was really shaving away on my mental health as the ingredients were screaming all over the boiling pot.


    Naturally, the dining scene on such days was terrible.


    ¡°¡­¡± Regina wordlessly mulled over her soup, veins popping out on her forehead.


    ¡°¡­¡± While I washed down the mandrake soup¡ªwhich was surprisingly tasty, like a combination of taro and turnip¡ªdown my throat shamefully. I couldn¡¯t savor well since I was dripping with cold sweat. Rather than this kind of tense, stomach-churning dinner, I¡¯d rather have her berate me.


    In the evening, Regina gave me classroom lectures on magic theories, history, literature, sociology, and more. On top of being highly knowledgeable, she possessed a critical mind¡ªand, as most expected, her method of teaching was spartan¡ªergo, I could barely keep up with her even with the leverages of having the knowledge of my previous life and the brain of an 11-year-old, said to be the most absorptive throughout life, unless I did daily reviews and pre-class preps.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even recite the founding principles of your own country, you damned ragweed?!¡±


    ¡°Emigdio, not Emidio! Emidio is the adopted son of the grandfather of the cousin of the wife of your uncle! You don¡¯t even know such a simple family tree by heart!¡±


    The test at the end of each class was followed by angry shouts night after night.


    ¡°You can¡¯t think straight for the life of you, Jill.¡± That was her general comment about the state of my brain.


    ¡°Uuu¡­ My deepest apology, Mentor¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re somewhat better than those half-wits from Imperial Capital¡¯s theological school or those muscle-for-brain from the military academy.¡±


    So, true to her words, Regina was squeezing me up, physically and mentally, day after day.


    ?????


    ¡°¡­Well, I¡¯m happy that my limbs have slimmed down and all those flabs are diminishing.¡± I was practically an off-season sumo champion four months ago, but nowadays I am more on the chubby side. Fortunately, thanks to hitting a growth spurt, the flaccid belly skin had tightened enough for me to pinch it to actually check it.


    However, there were still some parts of my body that refused to lose their flab, especially around my chest and waist, which remained large nevertheless. My chest even flopped up and down every time I ran, irking me further. If anything, they got even fatter instead, making me wonder how in the world they could gain fat with my diet.


    As I was musing about my future diet plans with Maya running next to me, the view suddenly opened up and we came to a road that had been cleared by human hands. On both sides of the road were endless fields planted with upland rice, corn, and other crops.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°¡ªPhew. We made it here at least. Thank you, Maya. Let¡¯s take our time from here.¡±


    When Maya replied lightly, we slowly made our way along the road to the pioneering village. Not including the first time Regina brought me here, this was the fifth time I had been here, so I had been here about once every half a month.


    The first two, or three times, I was so exhausted I didn¡¯t have any time to look around, but thanks to my daily training and the stamina I had gained gradually, I still had enough juice in me to take a few side trips.


    ¡°¡­they¡¯re not as well nourished as I thought.¡±


    I went to a nearby field and looked at the crops. Compared to the rice paddy I went to on a study field and the vegetable garden my mother had planted, an elaborate gardener that she was, the carrots, corn, and upland rice here looked much more meager and seedy-looking.


    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because the soil is more sandy than clay-like. The good drainage system also becomes faulty. If they could at least improve the crop varieties and make compost from humus and chicken manure for the soil, it would make a huge difference¡­¡±


    I bent down and lightly dug into the soil and found almost no earthworms. At least if there were earthworms, they would improve the moisture retention and aeration of the field, and their feces would play a huge role in revitalizing the plants¡­ I thought, as I dug deeper and found burnt soil.


    ¡°Slash-and-burn farming, is it? No wonder there are no nutrients in the ground.¡±


    Was this world not very developed when it came to agriculture, or if this area was just isolated and left behind in terms of technology, I wondered as I stood up and rubbed my hands together to brush off the dirt.


    At first, I thought it would be a good idea to teach them at least about humus, but then again I wasn¡¯t sure they would listen to a kid and an outsider.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maya. I got distracted. ¡ªAh, please don¡¯t tell your master about this, okay?¡±


    I asked her mischievously, and Maya wagged her tail as if to affirm it. After which, she grabbed the hood of my robe with her tentacles and pulled it over my head.


    ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re right, we¡¯re at a settlement already. You never know where you¡¯ll be seen.¡±


    I pulled my hood up to hide my ugly, ragweed face and set out on foot, with my mana detection cranked up to 11 so that I could make sure nobody saw me.


    Summary of Author¡¯s Note :


    Regina is asking MC university-level questions mainly because MC keeps keeping up with her even though she keeps raising the bar higher and higher.


    No one can actually continuously use Fire and Water in the bathtub. They have no one to set the standard, so neither know MC is doing something absurd.


    Also, MC is oblivious of her own secondary sexual characteristics.

 CH 7.1

    At the front gate made of logs, Andy and Chad, members of the pioneer village¡¯s watchmen and already familiar faces to me, were standing and chatting in their spare time as usual.


    I was told that watchmen took turns acting as gatekeepers, but for some reason, I was most likely to see this duo whenever I visited. Two young, able-bodied men, dilly-dallying in the middle of the day, right in the farming season¡­ Well, perhaps I¡¯d take it too far if I put it as such, but seeing the fact that they were just standing around and chatting away at the gate oh so leisurely, maybe they weren¡¯t being counted as a working hand to begin with¡­? Such mischievous thoughts passed through my mind.


    ¡°Heya, Jill! It¡¯s been two weeks. What, you¡¯ve grown taller again?¡±


    ¡°The Witch¡¯s black cat is with you, eh? Must¡¯ve been hard traveling such a long way every time.¡±


    The two noticed us, stopped their banter, and spoke to us in a friendly manner.


    With my hood still on, I bowed and returned their greetings. ¡°Good day to you, Mister Andy, Mister Chad. Thank you for your continued service.¡±


    Andy was the lanky, tall, pastoral, rustic type, while Chad, on the other hand, was the stocky, stout, and outspoken type. In fact, their personalities were reflected in their appearances. They were both single, the third and fourth sons of farmers respectively, and considering there was barely any bachelorette in the village, they often said that their only pastime was going to a bar or a general store in a nearby town and having a drink while wooing the hostesses.


    ¡­Well, I didn¡¯t really care what they complained about, but because they kept on telling me personal information that I didn¡¯t ask for (and had no interest in) every time I visited the village, either because they had nothing else to do or simply were too talkative, I somehow had become much more in touch with their situation than I was with Regina¡¯s. Her personal life and past were still largely a mystery to me.


    Following tradition, I was once again forced to listen to all sorts of ramblings halfway through the day¡ªstumped at what to do inwardly¡ªbefore at last one of them closed it with their usual lamentation of, ¡°Man, I wanna get married!¡°


    Just when I was relieved and dropped my guard, thinking I was finally free,


    ¡°¡­Well, you¡¯ll reach that age in a couple of years, Jill, so you better be careful choosing a partner. Especially since you¡¯ll be in a world of trouble when that time comes.¡± Chad spoke to me keenly sympathetic, and I just happened to feel his gaze fall on my still flabby chest area when he did. I was so dismayed I reflexively stiffened, clutching my chest under my robe.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Andy uncharacteristically chastised him with a strong tone.


    ¡°¡ªAck. I didn¡¯t mean to say that to scare you. My bad!¡±


    Seeing Chad bowing his head a bit panicky, ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind¡­ Mentor will be furious if I¡¯m late, so I should hurry.¡± I answered quickly and left the place as if to escape.


    ¡°¡ªBy the Lord, know some sense.¡±


    ¡°But hey¡­ Aren¡¯t you curious? She¡¯s already like that at that age, you know?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t justify it, man¡­¡±


    Hearing them squabbling behind me, I pulled my hood further and closed the front of my robe tighter so that as little of my face and body would be exposed as possible.


    ¡°¡­My face shouldn¡¯t be visible, but I guess I still stand out either way.¡± It seemed I had grown defenseless around them after talking to them a number of times.


    Even if I lost a little weight, ragweed such as I couldn¡¯t possibly bloom into a cattleya much like my mother was. I must always watch over my standing and be on alert¡­ Thus, with a renewed will, I first proceeded into the village to purchase the sundries and groceries as Regina specified.


    As though concerned about me, Maya lightly rubbed her neck around my waist.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Maya. I¡¯m not so weak as to be hurt by what others say to me now.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    I knew I was only putting a brave front, but I put my best smile and patted Maya¡¯s neck. She responded with a single ¡°Nyaa¡± as if to cheer me up.


    ?????


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Whetstone and a bag of chickpeas¡ªI think that¡¯s all I need, right?¡± After visiting familiar homes and stores and purchasing every last item on my list, I checked with Maya, who was carrying my bag lightly with her tentacles.


    As if to say ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Maya nodded with a meek face.


    ¡°¡ªI see. My errands are done surprisingly quickly, that¡¯s good.¡±


    The sun was still just a little off its zenith. We were told to be back by evening, but we would still have a lot of light left even if we go back home now.


    ¡°¡­that said, I don¡¯t know where to go to play, I don¡¯t even have pocket money.¡± Not to mention, I already had my lunch; the biscuit I brought with me.


    By the way, the currency in this world was all coins, basically copper coins, half-silver coins, silver coins, half-gold coins, and gold coins (well, those coins have a lot mixed in them). The prices here were different from those on Earth, so it was difficult to say what the conversion rate was, but one time I did hear that it took 3 to 5 silver coins to stay overnight at an inn in a town, so one silver coin was about 1,000 yen, I¡¯d guess?


    15 copper coins = 1 half-silver coin. 2 half-silver coins = 1 silver coin. 15 silver coins = 1 half-gold coin. 2 half gold coins = 1 gold coin.


    Also, since the currency standard was as such, the general public mainly conducted business transactions in copper and silver coins, while gold coins would be something they don¡¯t see in their whole lives¡­especially in the countryside, or so I heard. Well, to be honest, I had never seen a real gold coin either, both in my previous and current life, considering that Syltianna never did any shopping on her own.


    I shrugged, beckoning Maya to go back to the forest, but for some reason she stood as if rooted to the ground, staring at a point. At the end of her gaze was the village chief¡¯s house, the largest building in the village¡ªwhich was no wonder since it also served as the village meeting place.


    ¡°Ah. You¡¯re right, we need to greet the chief too, don¡¯t we? I¡¯m sorry Maya, you need to trouble me again.¡±


    Maya wagged her tail as if to say ¡°don¡¯t mind it¡± before she began to lead me to the big building.


    ?????


    ¡°So, 30 of the demon beast warding barriers¡ªThe large ones are for the fields, right? And then 10 warding bells for personal use. Also, medicine for food poisoning?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. The number of the sick always increases during summer somehow,¡± the good-natured chief sighed, a melancholy look on his face.


    ¡°Foodstuffs tend to spoil easily in summer, so you should be very careful. Don¡¯t eat leftovers if you can, always sterilize cooking utensils with boiling water, and don¡¯t forget to wash your hands, especially if you¡¯re the cook. It should improve your situation a lot.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but impart my advice.


    ¡°Hoh. Is that the wisdom of the Sage of the Forest too?¡± The village chief opened his eyes wide and looked me squarely, even past the hood. By the way, the Sage of the Forest is the title this village gave to Regina (although she¡¯s better known by the title the Witch of the Forest).


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°¡­Well, you can say that, yes.¡± I lied. Please, don¡¯t let Regina know of this, ever!


    ¡°I see. That is good advice. I will tell everyone in the village as soon as possible and make it known.¡± When the village chief nodded vigorously, I scrunch my face under the privacy of my hood. No, I said nothing wrong. Yup, nothing wrong¡­ but still! What kind of hell awaits me if it ever reaches Regina¡¯s ears?!


    ¡°Come to think of it, would you happen to have other plans for the rest of the day, Miss Jill?¡±


    ¡°No, I have my business attended for the day.¡±


    ¡°Hoh. If so, why don¡¯t you take a look around the village for a bit? Not that there is anything worth noting, however.¡±


    Now he mentioned, I had never walked around the village except for shopping.


    ¡°Fortunately, Eren, my daughter, is around your age. I will have her guide you around.¡±


    Taking my thoughtful silence as an okay, the chief quickly proceeded. Not long after I waited, a petite girl with chestnut-colored hair cut just below her chin arrived at the door. The village chief said she was the same age as me, but she looked a bit younger.


    ¡°Eren, this is Miss Jill, the disciple of the Sage of the Forest. She is eleven years old like you, so I think you will be good friends. I would like you to take Miss Jill with you and show her around the village.¡±


    Eren¡¯s face lit up, followed by a bashful smile.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Lady Jill. My name is Eren.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, I¡¯m Jill. ¡ªAah, you don¡¯t need to add any honorifics. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could talk to me normally.¡±


    ¡°R-, right¡­ Yeah! You¡¯re right, we¡¯re friends after all!¡±


    Oh? Did I just make a new friend already?

 CH 7.2

    ¡°That¡¯s old man Rock¡¯s smithy. Things explode there sometimes, so kids can¡¯t go nearby. Also, from that border over there and on, it¡¯s Mister Dan¡¯s ranch. He keeps aries in his ranch, but sometimes the carnivorous meranaries are mixed in, so you should stay away from them too. Oh, and the stream there sometimes sweeps you into the den of mermen who¡¯d eat the pearl in your butt, so¡­¡±1


    Eren happily took me by the hand and led me around the village. She told me that there were no girls of her age in the village and that she had always wanted a best friend she could talk comfortably with.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so happy to be your best friend, Jill!¡±


    She claimed. No, I wasn¡¯t complaining, but this just set a new record for the time from first meeting to becoming best friends, including even in my previous life. Also, was it just my unfounded fear that living a daily life in this village seemed to have a death-defying effect on people? By the way, Maya was waiting at the village chief¡¯s house. Eren was a little scared of the caru, so she stayed behind out of consideration.


    I asked her about village life and agriculture¡ªshe didn¡¯t seem to have the concept of fertilizer, after all¡ªand then I explained all the problems and what to improve (though Eren didn¡¯t seem to get it), and told her a remix of the fairy tales I had heard from the other world. When I started talking about tales, Eren then told me the adventures of Joey Arland the Brave2, the adventurer who protected the princess. The both of us chatted with each other, losing track of time.


    ¡°Hey, Jill, why do you keep your hood up all the time anyway?¡±


    After a break in the conversation, Eren asked me curiously. To be honest, I had expected this question would come up sooner. Was the question brewing in her mind the whole time, or she was simply uninterested¡­ Either way, Eren was quite a broad-minded girl.


    For now, I gave her the excuse I had thought of in advance. ¡°It¡¯s the custom of the witches. You¡¯re not supposed to show your face to people without permission until you become a full-fledged witch.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ that sounds like a pain,¡± commented Eren, believing me that easily.


    By then, my mana detention caught several people hiding among the houses, spying on us.


    (It¡¯s not the reaction of an adult. Children? Well, maybe ¡®witches¡¯ are a rare sight¡­)


    However, to be honest, having some curious people snooping on me wasn¡¯t very pleasant. I tried to casually leave for another spot before Eren noticed, but,


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that the Witch of the Dark Forest?¡±


    A group of children¡ªall boys, it seemed¡ªemerged from between the buildings and surrounded us.


    ¡°What¡¯s your deal?! What do you want, Bruno?!¡± Eren scowled at the kids with a resentful look on her face, before she turned her gaze to the oldest boy of the group. He looked like a little rascal¡ªobviously a snotty brat¡ªand was about the same age as us.


    Unlike the other kids who cowered before Eren right away, the kid called Bruno put on a bold front and spoke with a high-handed tone.


    ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s got nothing to do with you. My deal is with that witch!¡±


    ¡°It has everything to do with me! Jill is my best friend!¡±


    Bruno looked somewhat daunted when he heard Eren¡¯s statement, but he chose to ignore her and pressed onto me.


    ¡°Oi, you. Is it true that you¡¯re the witch¡¯s discipline?! Why are you hiding your face? If there¡¯s nothing to hide then show me!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    He reached out his hand to forcefully pull off my hood. Talk about a straight ball. I understand his wariness towards strangers, but it would be better for him to learn a little more discretion and manners. This was not the tone and behavior you should wear when facing someone you just met.


    These selfish and ignorant kids were much like the original me, which was pretty irksome. I knew better not to take it out on others, but I decided to chastise them so they learn some lessons.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not!¡± I refused decidedly, stopped Eren from going in the fray, pulled Bruno¡¯s hand, locked it in a joint, then threw him off over my shoulder.


    ¡°Uwaah¡ª?!!¡±


    Bruno hit the ground hard with his back. My timing was too perfect, I ended up giving an amateur a full-on shoulder throw, holding nothing back. I panicked, but it had been done.


    The other kids were startled by the sight and the sound of the impact, and they screamed and skedaddled away, scattering like baby spiders. Perhaps they thought I used magic.


    ¡°Are you alright? Do you have a hard time breathing?¡±


    He probably didn¡¯t even know how to break his fall. Just when I was running up to Bruno, groaning and holding his back he was, ¡°why you!¡± The kid threw his hand at me, teary-eyed, grabbed my hood, and pulled it away with his own weight.


    ¡°¡±¡±AH!!¡±¡±¡±


    Eren, Bruno, and I gasped at the same time.


    When I looked at the fright in their eyes¡ªwell, of course, they¡¯d seen my face¡ªI hurriedly retrieved my hood, fixed my hair, and put the hood back on. ¡°Please, don¡¯t tell anyone!¡±


    And, saying nothing further, I scuttled away from the place.


    The stunned stares from the two bore into my back, and honestly, they hurt.


    ?????


    ¡°W-, wait, Jill, wait!¡±


    ¡°Eren¡­?¡±


    I was on my way back to the chief¡¯s house to pick up Maya with a heavy heart when Eren caught up with me.


    I was prepared for her to criticize this ugly ragweed mug of mine that I hid, but then she said ¡°don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut. I¡¯ll even beat Bruno if he dares to say even a word!¡± And then she strongly clasped my hands in hers.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯re best friends. ¡ªBesides, it¡¯s definitely better if we keep the secret between the two of us!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    For some reason, she had her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling¡ªlike the eyes of a dreamy little girl when she was listening to a fairy tale about a princess¡ªas she looked into my face and nodded.


    ¡°¡­would you still be my friend from now on?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re best of friends already!¡±


    Eren assured, without a shred of hesitation. I was so moved that I hugged her on the spot, and we pledged our unchanging friendship to each other then.


    And thus, on this day, I gained a best friend for life


    ¡­Well, thanks to that little drama, I got home very late and Regina was furious at me and she had me explain everything that happened throughout the day. Nevertheless, it was still the most unforgettable day in my life.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Jill misunderstood why they were stunned at her face.


    Also, there are no particular, especially no plot-relevant reasons for the names of the characters.


    Jill, who was fighting demon beasts by the hordes in the forest, expanded her mana detection and found out she couldn¡¯t find the signal of one of her acquaintances. ¡°Chad¡¯s wavelength¡­ is gone¡­?¡±


    And then, after witnessing both of her parents being devoured alive in front of her, Eren, with eyes full of tears and resentment, shouted ¡°I will wipe out every last one of you!¡±


    No such things will happen (maybe).


    Translator¡¯s Note:


    In case you didn¡¯t catch it, one is a reference to Bleach (chapter 108 in manga/episode 38 in anime) and the other is to Attack on Titan (chapter 2 in manga/episode 2 in anime).

 CH 8.1

    It had been raining since this morning. Obviously, I couldn¡¯t go picking medicinal herbs in the forest in weather like this. So, automatically, I was confined to the hermitage for the day, facing Regina


    ¡°¡­Mentor, I¡¯ve finished plucking 100 sets of bat¡¯s eyeballs and tongues.¡±


    ¡°¡­hm.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Gods, the pressure. No, I didn¡¯t really dislike Regina¡ªI mean, as a freeloader turned no-good disciple, I simply didn¡¯t know how to interact with her.


    On the other hand, while Regina was always swearing and yelling at me, that didn¡¯t mean she hated me¡­I think. She made sure I was within her sight when I was doing chores, and she had Maya the familiar escort me when I was going out. Seeing that she was unfriendly towards everyone without exception, it shouldn¡¯t be a stretch that she was actually expressing her affection, if nothing else, so¡­


    ¡°Honestly, you useless ragweed!¡±


    Well, it was not the most comfortable having to be stuck with Regina and her ceaseless curses. Considering that the only time of the day I could mentally stretch my wings was when I picked medicinal herbs in the morning, this rain was an unwelcome guest.


    That being said, a more unwelcome guest did come that day¡­


    ?????


    ¡°¡­¡± The thick rain clouds had completely covered the sky, blocking out the sun¡¯s rays and showing no signs of letting up any time soon.


    I looked up at the sky grudgingly. In the meantime, using a water-repellent spell to avoid the rain, I went around the hermitage to do the daily check-up on the barriers as well as the small experimental vegetable garden I had built above with Regina¡¯s permission. By the way, what I planted were corn and pumpkins.


    ¡°I knew it, the ones with the humus are growing a bit faster. As for the ones that are supplied with mana¡­ there is still no clear difference, I see.¡±


    I wanted to give them fermented fertilizer if possible, so I went with what knowledge I had from my previous life and dug a hole in the ground, put food scraps and chaff in it, put a lid on it, and kept it there for several days¡ªand lo and behold! Silky smooth fermented fertilizer was¡­not this thing was, as it was nothing more than a heap of rotten food wastes¡ªso I buried it back and returned it to mother nature. I couldn¡¯t seem to get the results I wanted with just half-a?s?s?e?d? knowledge. What a headache.


    Right then, it occurred to me. Seeing that medicinal herbs and magical plants contained a lot of mana, perhaps if I feed my seeds mana, it would promote their growth. Based on that, I had been giving them mana on a regular basis, but there had been no noticeable change so far, perhaps because it had only been a few days since I started.


    Once I was done checking all that needed to be checked, I looked up at the white smoke rising from the chimney and disappearing into the rainy forest. Under the eaves, I lightly brushed the water droplets from my robe and long hair (which I didn¡¯t tie, since it was getting wavy from the high humidity) before I returned inside.


    ¡°I am back.¡±


    When I opened the door, the smell of dust and mold peculiar to old houses, the smell of old books, medicinal herbs, poisonous herbs, the sweet and sickening smell of burnt carrion, the fragrance of various types of woods, and the pungent odor of unknown chemicals¡ªa combination of all these smells surged into my nose.


    The smell peculiar to a witch¡¯s dwelling was quite unpleasant when I wasn¡¯t used to it, but now I had completely adapted to it and it didn¡¯t bother me anymore. I closed the door and headed for the living room with familiar steps.


    In the living room, a pot filled with mysterious soup was sitting atop a flaming fireplace, while next to it there was Regina, reading a book with a black clover, sitting in an armchair to watch the pot. A huge wooden ladle as tall as an adult man was stirring the contents of the pot endlessly all by itself. You¡¯d thought that an invisible person was handling the ladle, but it was actually Regina¡¯s conjuring magic doing the work.


    And said Regine passed her gaze at me as I entered before she lazily returned to her book, looking bored.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°Looking after your potato farm in this rain? Good work.¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re pumpkin and corn.¡±


    ¡°Same thing. You even gave them mana. Screw up once and they may evolve into pumpkin demon beasts, who knows. Well, why don¡¯t you use them as your familiar when that happens? Pretty fitting for a ragweed.¡±


    She chuckled at that, and in my mind, I pictured a pumpkin demon beast with the face of a halloween pumpkin with arms and legs growing out of it, following me as I walked along with a pitter-patter. It had been a little over a week since I got back from the pioneer village with my seedlings. I had been giving them mana as an experiment since then. Am I not supposed to do that¡­?


    ¡°¡­erm, could it really happen?¡±


    ¡°¡ªHmph. You need to magically attune your seedling first or else it¡¯s impossible. Even so, we¡¯re well within Tenebrae Nemus, no one can tell what could happen.¡± Regina answered in amused affirmation. No¡­well, I¡¯d prefer if you deny it, though¡­


    ¡°Though, if it mutates it will most certainly be a demon beast¡­ Well, you¡¯ll be the one responsible for that, Jill!¡±


    Next, a vivid picture of myself desperately fighting against pumpkin and corn magical beasts came to me. A cold sweat ran down my back. I immediately decided to abandon the experiment of growing plants with mana right then and there.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stop feeding them mana then. ¡ªIf I had a familiar, I don¡¯t want one of grains or crops, I¡¯d rather have one that is like Maya.¡±


    ¡°No chance. Familiars won¡¯t serve anyone weaker than them. You¡¯ve got a better chance fighting daikon and pumpkins,¡± she spoke, casually throwing me down the dumps.


    ¡°¡­umm, then, how did you get an S-rank demon beast as your familiar, Mentor?¡± It should be impossible for a human¡¯s mana to surpass that of an S-rank demon beast.


    ¡°My good virtue, obviously.¡± And came a very not convincing answer. Am I supposed to laugh here?


    ¡°¡ªCome to think of it, I don¡¯t see Maya. Is she out running an errand?¡± I noticed I didn¡¯t see the Caru in her spot at Regina¡¯s feet, so I absently looked around the room.


    ¡°She¡¯s out feeding in the forest. Her favorite food comes out in heaps in weather like this. Well, she¡¯ll be back soon enough.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I was curious about this favorite food Regina mentioned, but to maintain a frank and good relationship with Maya, I felt it would be better not to ask.


    ¡°Either way, from the looks of it, it will keep raining for 2 to 3 days straight. We¡¯ll go collect mushrooms and mosses when it stops. You, Jill, will stir that pot of amrita for three days and three nights straight until then, and I will not see even a drop spill!¡±


    Pointing to the pot where the ladle was stirring, Regina looked like the owner of a tonkotsu ramen shop who was proud of her exquisite pork stock as she assigned me yet another impossible task.


    ¡°¡­Mr. Ladle seems to be doing a great job at that, is he not enough?¡± I knew full well it was futile resistance, but I just had to ask.


    ¡°You ******* ragweed! Do you think you can control heat with a ladle?! The whole batch will go bad if it boils over! Don¡¯t ever let it out of your sight!!¡±


    Sure enough, Regina scowled in disapproval and raised her voice like a broken bell. In a world without Child Welfare Law and Labor Standards Act, what the mentor said was law. To take up the role of the stirring ladle, I took off my robe as it was in the way and replaced it with an apron, and rolled my sleeves.


    Well, let¡¯s get started then¡ªbut then, unexpectedly, I heard Maya¡¯s grumpy bellowing growl amongst the sound of the rain, and with it, ¡°UHYAAAAAAHH!! HEELLPP~~!!¡± the throaty scream of a man.

 CH 8.2

    ¡°Huh¡ª?¡± I have been here for over four months. For the first time ever, I heard a voice that wasn¡¯t Regina¡¯s, so I rushed to the window, opened the poorly framed window, leaned halfway out, and cast a glance in the direction of the voice.


    ¡°SOMEBODY~~!! STOP THIS CAAT¡ª!! IT¡¯S GOING TO EAT MEE~~~!!!!¡± A dark-haired man dressed like a peddler was caught by Maya.


    I turned to Regina for help, bewildered by Maya¡¯s merciless attitude, considering that the caru normally wouldn¡¯t be so unquestioning.


    The moment she heard the man¡¯s voice, Regina looked like a penniless widow who had been caught by a debt collector, with a huge frown on her already dour face.


    ¡°¡­Maya! Don¡¯t eat that thing! You¡¯ll upset your stomach!¡±


    She got up from her chair cumbersomely, walked to the window with long strides, then shouted at Maya.


    Hearing her voice, Maya vexedly stopped her hands (tentacles) from twisting around the man, but still kept her eyes on him without letting him go from her restraints. Seeing Maya¡¯s attitude, I came forward to Regina with a question.


    ¡°¡­umm, could it be, that is the food you said to be Maya¡¯s favorite?¡±


    ¡°Like hell! I meant vermin and pests that go out in the rain!!¡±


    When she shot me glares sharper than daggers, I reflexively stood straight like a pole just entered my mouth, and when I followed the direction of Regina¡¯s gaze next¡ªa pot that had completely slipped out of my mind was boiling and spilling out colorful bubbles¡ªI could feel my spine freeze over.


    ?????


    ¡°What a rain, huh?¡±


    The man wiped the drops of water from his body with a towel he had brought with him, before he dragged a chair from the corner of the room, sat on it, and set aside his luggage¡ªa knapsack made of canvas with a karakusa pattern¡ªacting as if he was at his own home.


    ¡°No one said you can sit.¡±


    When Regina clicked her tongue, the man bowed his head ¡°sorry for the trouble~,¡± without a hint of remorse. He looked¡­ around the age of 20, but he had an ageless air about him, like an old cat somewhat.


    He claimed to be no more than just a peddler, but it was suspicious that he would visit a witch¡¯s hermitage in Tenebrae Nemus where even adventurers would avoid. Maya also stayed vigilant, leaning close to Regina¡¯s feet with her claws outstretched, ready to pounce at any moment.


    ¡°A paltry peddler such as I has to find a way to make a living, even if that means going to this hut in the middle of nowhere, you see.¡± He laughed merrily, but not a single word he said sounded legitimate.


    Seeing I was tense, clasping my staff close to my shoulder¡ªI already had my hood on and hid my face before the man entered¡ªRegina lightly sighed, and reluctantly¡­or rather, in a tone that suggested she didn¡¯t want to approve it herself, she shucked her chin to the self-proclaimed peddler and talked.


    ¡°As you can see, he¡¯s shady, he lies more often than he breathes, he¡¯s worse than a swindler, and he is untrustworthy to no end, but, tentatively, and very unfortunately, he¡¯s somewhat of an acquaintance of mine.¡±


    ¡°¡­you sure ridicule me a lot.¡± The peddler, for his part, didn¡¯t seem to take any offense from it and only laughed lightheartedly. As expected of Regina¡¯s acquaintance, his nerves must be stronger than steel.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    I took Regina¡¯s words to heart and lowered my staff for the time being.


    Perhaps sensing the atmosphere relaxed slightly, the man said in a casual tone. ¡°That said, I¡¯m so cold right now. A cup of hot tea must be delicious on a day like this.¡± He was quite blunt in his demands.


    Since he was a guest, I thought I should brew some herbal tea, but, ¡°Don¡¯t waste tea for him, Jill!¡± Regina sensed my intention and stopped me.


    ¡°You¡¯re uninvited. Drink rainwater if you want!¡± She hurled with a voice hoarser than the thunderclap.


    ¡°Well, I drank enough rainwater when I was mauled by your cat, you see.¡±


    ¡°You want to drink more, then?¡± Maya raised her head slowly at Regina¡¯s words.


    ¡°¡ªOn second thought, my stomach is already full from the rainwater. I¡¯ll decline the tea.¡±


    ¡°Which means you¡¯ve no business here. Get the hell out.¡±


    He raised one of his feet away from Maya, waving his hands in panic, and then Regina sullenly pointed to the exit.


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯ve come a long way, at least take a look at my merchandise.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. I bet it¡¯s the same phony junk as ever. You¡¯ve ruined my amrita just by coming here!¡±


    In contrast to Regina¡¯s unwelcome attitude, the peddler rubbed his hands further¡ªwhich only made him look fishier¡ªand smiled amiably before he bent down and opened the mouth of his knapsack.


    ¡°I knew you would say that, so I brought you a genuine, up-to-date product today. Come, try it first.¡±


    ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve long gone past my worldly desires, and I can manage my own needs already. Stop wasting¡ª¡±


    ¡°Newest and fresh from the imperial capital, these cosmetics are right off the shelf. This one will make your skin look 10 years younger, it¡¯s a pretty rare and most recent product that¡¯s out of stock even in the imperial capital.¡±


    With eloquence, jars of cosmetics were laid out on the floor one after another.


    ¡°¡­¡± When she compared the products and their logo, Regina fell silent without blinking, and then stared into the narrow eyes of the peddler. The man puffed his chest with confidence.


    ¡°Pfft¡ª¡±


    After a pause of a few seconds, there was a sound of air leaking from her pouting lips, followed by an eerie laughter. ¡°Fu fu fu fu fu fu.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha ha.¡± Following her, the peddler also laughed unnaturally.


    After a brief exchange of laughter, Regina suddenly turned serious and, in a voice that almost sounded sweet, whispered. ¡°¡­let us talk about their details and test their effects.¡±


    Ah, Regina is a woman too, huh.


    ¡°Very well. Leave it to me. ¡ªOops, I almost forgot. The young lady over there is Jill, correct? I passed by a pioneer village on my way here, and I was entrusted with a letter from the daughter of the village chief there, addressed to Jill.¡±


    ¡°From Eren?!¡± I was surprised.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Yes, that was her name.¡± With that, he produced a letter wrapped in oil paper from his chest and handed it to me.


    He even went out of his way to wrap it in oil paper to keep it from getting wet in the rain. He might look and sound shady, but perhaps he wasn¡¯t that bad a person¡­or so I thought, but then, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t let him fool you. He¡¯s a scoundrel through and through!¡± Regina, as though reading my mind, quickly warned me.


    ¡°No, no, I won¡¯t do anything bad to a child, you know.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. ¡ªWhatever. Jill, I have to deal with this fool for a while, you go to the compounding room and read your letter there.¡±


    Taking Regina¡¯s suggestion to the word, I left the drawing room and headed to the compounding room in the back with bouncy steps.


    The rain still showed no sign of letting up, but my heart was warm as if there was a sun in it.

 CH 9.1

    I practically dashed into the brewing room at the back of the hermitage.


    ¡°¡¸Let light illuminate this hand of mine.¡¹¡±


    I didn¡¯t even bother to close the door. I made the tip of my staff glow with light¡ªI heard that a skilled magician could just make a mass of light floating above their head that they could move freely, but I hadn¡¯t reached that level just yet¡ªand I propped my staff on the brewing table.


    The dim light brought out the messiness in the usually closed room in graphic detail. The master of the room claimed that it was closed to maintain the environment so the chemicals and whatnot wouldn¡¯t be ruined, but I had a feeling that she was simply careless!


    Be it on the shelves or even the floors, the room was littered with pots filled with various mystery drugs, alchemical tools, eyeballs in beakers, mummified demon beasts, and so much more junk I couldn¡¯t name heaping up that I barely had any space to step. If I looked up at the cobweb-covered ceiling, I could see medicinal, magical, and poisonous herbs hung between the beams with straw ropes like bamboo blinds. There was even a large jar filled with a toxic-colored liquid that was emitting some kind of smoke that coiled around like a snake in the air amongst them.


    Any normal person would¡¯ve been uncomfortable stepping inside this room, but I had spent a few hours every day in this place, so it didn¡¯t really strike me as any more intimidating than usual. Although, admittedly, I was as anxious as the first time I stepped inside this room when I sat down on a rugged chair that was basically a treated log.


    I placed the letter that Eren had entrusted to the peddler man on the brewing table, unwrapped the oiled paper, and took it out. Incidentally, paper was actually quite a spread-out commodity in this world, but it was still an expensive article. For that reason, her letter was actually written on the back of a B5-size piece of paper that appeared to be an advertisement for something¡ªperhaps it was a flier that the peddler was handing out. There was some sensational logo along with the words ¡®Recreation for the Gentlemen. 2 hours = 8 silver coins¡¯ and ¡®Bunnyland¡¯ on the front of it. There was a lot that I wanted to comment about, but I willfully ignored anything I saw.


    ¡®Dear and Beloved Jill.¡¯


    Whilst her handwriting wasn¡¯t neat quite yet, I could see Eren¡¯s personality oozing from her effort to make words written as prettily as she could. I only read the first line so far and yet a smile had appeared on my lips.


    ¡®Dear and Beloved Jill.


    How are you? I¡¯m doing as well as ever, but I miss you. I¡¯m hoping every day that I can meet you again. The village is peaceful too, just some occasional stray goblins or slimes mauling people.


    My second older brother (did I mention to you that I have two older brothers before?) will be coming of age this year. He¡¯s going to be 13 years old. There¡¯s going to be a coming of age festival in the village to celebrate in 3 weeks. I¡¯ll be happy if you could come too, Jill.


    I also want to make a rubrum flos with you, Jill. Ah, rubrum flos means a flower crown made of red flowers that a girl makes to give to the boy she loves on the night of the coming of age festival, and the boy then puts it on the girl¡¯s head. It¡¯s a tradition around here. I don¡¯t have someone I love or anything (although you would definitely be my true love if you were a boy, Jill), but I make and distribute them to the snotty brats every year. I¡¯d love it if we could make them together.


    Oh, right! Bruno has been sticking to me after that day. I thought he was trying to get one back for what you did to him, so I grabbed him and questioned him, but he actually apologized! Surprising, right?


    He said what he did was wrong, but I scolded him and told him that it¡¯s to you that he needs to apologize. Because of that, he now wants to see you and say he¡¯s sorry the next time you¡¯re here. If you¡¯re okay with it, Jill, I can let him meet you so he can apologize in person. What do you think?


    If you ask me though, I think the apology is just an excuse. He has another goal in mind. Personally, I think he¡¯s a poor match for you, Jill. You should just give him a good beating.


    I¡¯ll be waiting to see you again soon.


    Eren.¡¯


    ?????


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°¡ªSo, what kind of trouble brings you all the way to this old woman¡¯s hut in the middle of nowhere, ?Black??¡± Regina took the cosmetics prepared by the man who claimed to be a peddler and asked him a question with bigoted look and tone of voice as she looked what was inside the bottle.


    ¡°Nay, nay. Does it not occur to you that perhaps I just want to renew old acquaintanceships, ?White?? After all, we haven¡¯t heard a peep from you for long, and everyone is worried.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. The lot of you know that I¡¯d be staying here in seclusion. Not to mention, putting aside ?Red?, ?Green?, or ?Purple?, you saying the word ¡®worry¡¯ sounds worse than eating a nest of centipedes, ?Black?!¡±


    The young man Regina addressed as ?Black? only shrugged his shoulders in fake disappointment. ¡°It is unfortunate that there is a gap in our mutual trust.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I guess too, while at it, huh? You keep insisting that these cosmetics are ¡®the latest from the imperial capital.¡¯ Which means you¡¯re here to bother me regarding a mess that¡¯s currently happening in the imperial capital.¡± Regina scoffed as she threw aside the cosmetics in her hand carelessly.


    The man caught it mid-air perfectly before he cocked his head, his tone still conceited. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re so quick on the uptake for someone in seclusion. Have you been contacted by Central by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. I caught wind that the emperor ate two helpings of some mysterious clams that even his vessels didn¡¯t dare to touch, allegedly even shouting it was ¡®so delicious¡¯ before he became bedridden from food poisoning¡ªthat idiot. I¡¯d say his parents didn¡¯t raise him right.¡¯


    ¡°The emperor of today is a gormandizer. And because of that, the factions are divided over his successor. ¡­after all, none of the emperor¡¯s children inherited the traits of the ?White?.¡±


    Upon ?Black?¡¯s meaningful gaze, Regina grabbed a tuft of her long hair before quickly releasing it. Her hair was almost completely gray, but it still retained a slight trace of the silvery white shine of yesteryear, the silver color characteristic and unique to her family line.


    ¡°What a load of bull. White and brown hens lay the same kind of eggs both. Who cares what¡¯s the color of their hair, any fool who wants to sit on the throne should just go and sit there.¡±


    While Regina spat out in disgust, the young man with dead eyes appraised under his unfazed smile. ¡°Please don¡¯t forget that a lot of humans who see that way are seen as a bother.¡±


    ¡°So what, I¡¯m just an old bag in the sticks. Even a drunkard in a bar yelling crap is still a better person than I am!¡±


    When the old woman barked haughtily¡ªand she must have genuinely seen herself as that low of a person¡ª?Black? scratched his cheek lightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. It¡¯s only obvious that people of the future would lean back to their history¡ªto the living legend and the founder of their kingdom in times of crisis. Going back to the root is pretty important, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Living legend my a?s?s?. What¡¯s good about a legend with one foot in the coffin already? I don¡¯t want to be the straw for them to grab if they won¡¯t even bother trying to swim. I will not take any part in their mess!¡±


    ?Black? stared at her sharply, before he began to tidy up the cosmetics Regina had messed up, showing the tiniest hint of being troubled on his face.


    ¡°¡­?White?, you, of all people, should know how dirty people with power can be.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. I have nothing else to lose now. Both my husband and my children are already deep in their graves.¡±


    ¡°Even if that means your cute little apprentice will be involved in it?¡±


    As if being poked in the sore spot, Regina fell silent and tried to laugh it off¡­before she realized she failed at it and lashed out her rage. Maya bared her fangs as she did.


    ¡°YOU DARE TO LAY A FINGER ON HER¡­!!¡±


    ¡°Nay, nay. I won¡¯t mess with her anymore. I just want to advise you not to make a mistake in dealing with them in the future.¡±


    It caught Regina¡¯s attention that ?Black? said the word ¡®anymore¡¯, but she sensed Jill coming out from the brewing room and heading toward her, so she kept her mouth shut, unable to squeeze an answer from him. She then grimaced when she realized that ?Black? had rearranged the bottles of cosmetics precisely the same way as they were before Jill left the living room, indicating that he had sensed her much earlier than Regina had.


    ¡°You¡¯re as nasty and shrewd as ever!¡±

 CH 9.2

    When I was back to the living room, I was met with the same sight that I left; the peddler still trying to sell his goods to Regina, whose pout on her face only deepened.


    ¡°That¡¯s too low, you can¡¯t even buy wholesale with that price. People will buy it even with three times that price anywhere else!¡±


    ¡°Then go elsewhere. You must be crazy to go deep into a forest to sell cosmetics.¡±


    ¡°I brought it here because I¡¯ve known you for years. Please take that into account and buy it at this price¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it into account and buy it with a friend discount then.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡±


    Although, as I expected, Regina would just one-sidedly dictate her own price.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± I vocalized coyly, and Regina turned to me with a troublesome look on her face. The peddler looked overtly relieved at that.


    ¡°What is it, Jill? Is there bad news in that letter or what?¡± Regina slumped her shoulders with a scowl, as if she had just received a death notice of her own family.


    This might be a bit too far-fetched, but for some reason, her question almost sounded like she was deeply worried about me. Feeling a little out of place, I tilted my head inwardly and told her what was inside Eren¡¯s letter¡ªmainly her invitation to the coming of age ceremony.


    ¡°¡­Hmph. In short, you want to take a day off since you want to go to the festival. ¡ªYou, a blockhead who can¡¯t even stir a pot.¡± Regina confirmed it, her face expressionless.


    Yeah, I could tell from a mile away, she¡¯d say no to this. I¡¯m sorry Eren¡ª Right when I was halfway through giving up, Regina said, ¡°Feel free to go. I¡¯ll have you stir three pots of amrita until then. You can go to your festival or go berserk in the forest all you want once you¡¯re done.¡± In some quirk of fate, her permission was easily granted.


    ¡°¡ª!! Th-, thank you so much, Mentor!¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Don¡¯t get too jittery and slip up, you hear me?!¡±


    ¡°How dreamy, the festival of confession for boys and girls. Although, if I asked Milady to come with, she would probably prepare a flaming tire for me to wear around my neck¡­¡± The peddler who blended into the background, somehow managed to say something so bleak with such a happy-go-lucky tone as he produced a square wooden box from his baggage. ¡°And for you, young missy, this mister has a present.¡±


    When the lid was opened and the contents were presented to me, I found eggs of various colors wrapped in sawdust. They were about one size larger than a goose egg, and colored with polka dots, stripes, star marks, and such jolly colors as though they were easter eggs.


    ¡°The ancient Pet Eggs! If you apply mana to this egg and hatch it, you can get a Pet that¡¯s much more powerful and obedient than any of today¡¯s demon beasts. They are the culmination of a mythical secret art lost in the modern age. Purchase an item today and I¡¯ll give one of these as a special gift!¡±


    Both those eggs and his advertisement were nothing short of shady. Even those colored chicks the night stalls sold were much more credible.


    ¡°What, just one? Damned stingy.¡± Swearing, Regina snatched up lipstick from the row of cosmetics.


    ¡°And yet you picked the cheapest one. ¡­Pot and kettle, I say.¡± Mumbling, the man offered the box to me again after he received the payment from Regina. ¡°Now, young missy. Help yourself with one.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­? Umm¡­?¡± Is it really okay for me to choose it myself? I turned to Regina for an answer, but she was already back to her favorite chair by the fireplace, her back telling me she didn¡¯t want to be bothered.


    I judged it to be a silent affirmation from her part¡ªor perhaps it was more likely that this whole Ancient Lost Art thing was bogus and she left it to me since it was too ridiculous for her¡ªso I took the man¡¯s word for it and decided to choose one for myself.


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s see.¡± Well, this whole talk about Pet thingamajig, I¡¯d say perhaps there was a 49% chance of it being genuine¡­genuinely a scam, I meant, like the other 50% of it. That being said, I still reached my hand for the eggs to take a closer look at them¡ªbut, the moment I did, a powerful wave of mana pushed my palm back. My hand stopped midair.


    ¡°?! Is this perhaps a real thing?!¡±


    ¡°But of course. Not once have I ever lied in my whole life, and I take pride in that fact.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Now THAT has to be a lie.


    I renewed my will and picked up the eggs one by one, carefully checking their mana and taking time comparing the seven of them. ¡°I would say, this one¡­¡± I chose the egg with blue jagged lines on a rather simple white background, simply because the mana wavelength this egg emitted was closest to mine, and that just felt right.


    ¡°¡ªHoh. A sirius, I see. You¡¯ve chosen well.¡±


    Always with me¡­wait, isn¡¯t that too big a responsibility?! I have to always keep this egg sticking with me 24/7?! What is this, the Turtle Hermit Training Arc?!


    Ignoring my stunned reaction, the peddler quickly packed up his belongings and began preparing to leave.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come again when I¡¯m around.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare show your ugly mug near me again!!¡±


    Regina yelled at him, and yet the peddler didn¡¯t seem at all perturbed. He bowed, all smilingly, and was about to leave when he suddenly turned around and pointed at my chest.


    ¡°Young missy, I advise you to cover it up. Something bad will happen if an evil person sees that necklace.¡± Oh, I didn¡¯t notice it was outside this whole time. The necklace was my only possession now, and it was the memento of my mother too.


    After being warned with quite a serious tone by him, I quickly grabbed it and hid it away. In the meanwhile, the peddler swiftly turned his heel around and left the living room.


    I soon came to myself and rushed to see him off, but I noticed that I didn¡¯t hear the front door ever being opened. Even after I stepped into the hallway, his figure had disappeared as if he were a ghost. I peeked outside and found that it was still raining cats and dogs, and not a single sight of a person anywhere.


    It was as though I just had a hazy daydream, but there was the Pet Egg in my hand that was clearly tangible.


    ¡°What are you dawdling about?! Get started on the amrita!!¡±


    ¡°Y-, yes!¡±


    Regina¡¯s guttural order came from the living room so I hurriedly closed the front door. In that instant, the egg in my hand shuddered as if it was afraid.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    I adopted the Eight Immortals as my setting for the names of the group that supports the world, both in name and reality.


    By the way, both ?White? and ?Yellow? are hereditary titles, and the current ?Yellow? is actually the third generation while ?White? is still being held by the first generation. The others, aka ?Red?, ?Silver?, ?Green?, ?Black?, ?Purple?, and their leader ?Crimson?, are immortal beings.


    ?White? actually only turned to witchcraft in her olden years.


    The immortals (omitting ?White? and ?Yellow?) only need to expose a Pet Egg to their mana for a few seconds for it to hatch, but it would take a few days to a month for magicians of the current time to hatch a single egg.


    Translator¡¯s Rant Note:


    This author went to the stars and beyond to make up a very, very deliberate setting, but decided to use google translate to name everything in latin and/or maybe french, and/or maybe german too. So, yeah.

 CH 10.1

    ¡°¡ªhwuaah.¡± With my hand over my mouth, trying to stifle a yawn, I walked down the creaking stairs to my garden in the early morning mist.


    The heavy rain that had been pouring down for a long time began to lighten yesterday morning, and by the afternoon, the sun came out of its hiding. Regina, Maya, and I went out into the forest for the first time in a while to check the perimeter, pick mushrooms that had just grown, and forage medicinal herbs that were running low. We only came back in the evening, and even then, we had to get straight to refine and compound our freshly foraged ingredients until way past midnight. Thanks to that, I was completely sleep-deprived.


    ¡°I need to get my sleep in the morning, but you, Jill, don¡¯t you dare skip your chores!¡±


    Regina, as expected, couldn¡¯t overcome her advanced age, and brazenly went to bed to have her luxurious sleep. So now, still early in the morning, while rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes, I looked forward to the busy day of washing our accumulated laundry, cleaning the hermitage, and of course, picking medicinal herbs.


    ¡°Still, it sure is a delight to have the sun out~!!¡±


    I took a deep breath and stretched out in the clearing next to the hermitage, an activity I had been missing for some time. The cool air with plenty of moisture filled my chest cavity.


    Perhaps because of how wet the air around me and the entire forest was, for someone who had the water attribute, I felt that the range of my magical senses had expanded with great clarity. For the heck of it, I tuned my mana detection to the water attribute channel and gave it some attention, and then¡ª


    ¡°Kyah?! Whoa, huh?!¡±


    Right at that moment, an unbelievably huge amount of information came rushing in all at once, so much so that my head was about to explode. Without knowing it, I was already slumped to the muddy ground.


    How could I say it¡­usually, the range for my mana detection spell (or aptly put, my mana zone) only reached as far as 20 to 25 mertes, and of course, I couldn¡¯t detect anything deeper in the ground, but other than detection, I could also recognize and manipulate mana within that almost-sphere range. Obviously, I didn¡¯t always grasp every single object and event within this range. I arbitrarily selected only certain mana waves (let¡¯s call it ¡®ripple¡¯ for simplicity¡¯s sake) and excluded others to some extent. In short, it was pretty much the same as concentrating on the sound coming from a speaker while shutting down any other noises.


    However, when I tentatively tried to receive the ripple of the objects by using ¡®water¡¯ as my vehicle, what I had was not the usual even and spherical area I could sense with my mana zone. Instead, it was an area of perception that was almost horizontal, expanding from every body of water no matter how small¡ªeven at the size of a single drop¡ªlike it was an all-encompassing net, reaching as far as 300 mertes and more.


    ¡°Uuuuugh¡­ my head¡­¡±


    Having been subjected to a completely different mana zone and a vast amount of information than usual¡ªmuch like suddenly having a whole orchestra playing loudly inside my own ears¡ªI immediately combated it by unleashing the mana I had accumulated in my dantian this whole time all at once, blocking myself out.


    To put it in similar analogies, it was similar to setting off firecrackers to combat the flooding noises.


    That somehow allowed me to regain my stance, and I narrowed the range of my mana detection¡ªor lowering the volume, in this analogy¡ªand reduced the size of my mana zone to a reasonable level. Once I came back to sense, I stood to my feet.


    ¡°Uuh~~ My butt feels cold¡­.¡±


    Feeling pitiful of myself, I wiped off the mud and dirt from my rear, but then ¡°You damned ragweed, why would you explode your mana so early in the morning like some imbecile?!!!¡± With a yell that shook the entire hermitage, a broomstick conjured by Regina flew out and smacked my poor bottom as hard as it could.


    ?????


    ¡°Haa¡­ That was terrible.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Furious that her restful sleep was disturbed by my mana outburst, Regina ended up punishing me by increasing the number of amrita batches I need to make by one before the festival. Regina¡¯s familiar, Maya, comforted me by patting me on the head with one of her tentacles.


    ¡°Thank you, Maya. Well then, I better get to work before she scolds me more!¡±


    Switching my mind, I tied my hair up as usual and did my preparatory exercises¡ªI always did my martial arts warm-ups, but since men and women had different skeleton structures and muscle make-ups, I pitched in some ballet exercises lately to prevent this ragweed self from getting any much more of an outlier with strange muscle growths during my growing age¡ªstill in my plain one-piece dress, I did my bare hand and kata exercises, and when I was done, I put on an apron and was ready to go.


    ¡­was what I would say, but lately, I had one extra task; carrying an old, unadorned rucksack on my back everywhere I go.


    Needless to say, the content of the rucksack was the egg of the ancient pet Sirius, given to me by the peddler. Was it legit or was it bogus, I had no idea¡ªwell, even if it turned out to be the common emu when it hatched, what would I lose?¡ªbut I was told that I, its master, must constantly bathe it with mana to hatch it, so I carried it in a rucksack to keep it always on my person.


    Obviously, I couldn¡¯t always hold it in my hand or put it in the pocket of my apron as it would hinder my work¡ªin fact, it was Regina who couldn¡¯t bear to see me working so awkwardly on my first day with the egg, so she gave me an old rucksack. I decided to put it to good use, and with it, I had been spending my daily life with the egg always on my back, with rags and hay laid inside as cushioning material.


    ¡°¡­I feel like it¡¯s getting heavier again.¡± I frowned at the hefty weight and looked in my rucksack to see that it was even bigger than when I first received it. Before it was just a size bigger than a goose egg, now it is close to the size of an ostrich egg.


    ¡°¡ªIt might get even bigger than an ostrich egg, huh.¡±


    What do I do if it gets bigger than the rucksack¡­ I worried, as I carried it along. Then, as per my daily chores, I finished fetching water, washing clothes, and cleaning¡ªI simply heated last night¡¯s soup for breakfast in between¡ªand without a moment¡¯s rest, I prepared to go into the forest to gather medicinal herbs. I knew it was a bit late to ask but was I really taken up to be the witch¡¯s apprentice? Or was I simply a housemaid laboring for free?


    By the way, I didn¡¯t give mana to the egg particularly intentionally. According to Regina, I had a greater amount and density of mana emitted from my body at all times compared to an ordinary magician, so there was no problem as long as I kept the egg close.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t that I had a lot of mana, but more that, by rule of thumb, common magicians never really understood the concept of accumulating and condensing one¡¯s mana in their dantian¡ªand even if they did, they were pretty negligent at it¡ªdespite having their own established magic theories and arts, thus the difference.

 CH 10.2

    For me, however, because I had learned tempo breathing and organized thoughts in my previous life, I could converge the limited amount of mana I took in from the outside and store it in my body to some extent at all times, only using it in small portions as needed anytime. For better visualization, I basically solidified mana that was in the form of gas, made it compact in my body, and vaporized them back into gas again when I needed it. A common magician would first gather the mana they needed from the atmosphere before they could use it to perform magic. I personally thought that it was a pretty inefficient method since there was the necessity to charge their mana every time (well, I guess they did use magic stones as catalysts to help them do that).


    ¡ªAnd then, when I brought it up to my mentor, for some reason she sighed deeply before lambasting me pretty intently.


    ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t say a single thing about that to any other witch or magician! People that are involved in the magicky business are all bigoted mudsticks. If something that shook the very foundation of their magic for centuries were known, either they would have a stroke, be outraged, or abduct you to figure out every ins and outs of it¡­ Well, nothing good will come out of it.¡±


    Following Regina¡¯s advice, whose brows wrinkled deep in displeasure, I decided to keep this matter a secret for me to explore on my own. After all, I had a good example of a bigoted mudstick right in front of me.


    So, with my staff (child-use) for easier magic in one hand and a basket of medicinal and poisonous herbs in the other, I set off for the path leading into the forest.


    ¡°¡ªWhat¡¯s the matter, Maya?¡±


    For some reason, Maya, who came along the way, stopped and looked up at the sky through the treetops. Her face, with her ears perked up, was clearly on alert for something.


    Inadvertently, I too stopped on track and looked up at the sky, with my hand trying to shade my eyes. The morning air was crystal clear after the rain, and the sky was just an endless blue.


    Nevertheless, Maya¡ªa beast high on the food chain in the forest of monsters, with her species considered a disaster for mankind¡ªdidn¡¯t let her vigilance down. Her air of tension brought me to place the basket in my hand on the ground and prepared my staff as I kneaded the mana in my body, just in case.


    At first, I wondered about what to do with the egg on my back, but I felt sorry to leave it behind, so I decided to have it with me.


    And then¡ª


    Maya, who had been staring at a point in the sky above, let out a sharp roar¡ªright then, the treetops all shook at once, despite there being no wind. The sun faded and I was enveloped in pitch black shadow.


    And, along with the sound of flapping wings breaking the wind, a giant bird? A bat? A pterosaur? No, something that was more appropriate for this world. A Dragon, with its forelimbs replaced by wings¡ªa wyvern, a fantasy classic¡ªwas circling above my head.


    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s a real dragon. So pretty¡­!¡±


    I had expected a dragon to be a somber shade of green or dark brown, but this wyvern¡¯s entire body was pure white like snow.


    Upon a closer look, I noticed that there was a sturdy-looking saddle and several throwing spears securely fastened to its back, and there were two figures, one big and one small, on the saddle.


    One sat in front, holding the reins with an air of familiarity. His outfit was a combination between a riding outfit and a military outfit, easy to move but equipped with the buckle to strap a sword at his waist¡ªa man past the young adult age but not quite middle-aged¡ªhe was obviously a knight.


    The other was a boy not much older than me, wearing a similar outfit but simpler and less ornate, without the buckle or the sword. This one had a shaky, insecure cling on the saddle.


    They circled us¡ªor rather, the hermitage¡ªseveral times, gradually descending in altitude.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    The knight-like man, holding the reins, seemed to notice me looking up at them with my eyes stunned and mouth agape. He gave me a charming smile and a light wave of his hand before he spoke something to the boy behind me¡ªI assumed telling him of my presence. The boy then did as told and looked down as well, blinked lightly with a look of surprise when he saw me, and then¡­softly, gently, offered his smile.


    Wha-wha-what¡¯s with that princely and/or angelic smile?!


    They both had pale blonde hair, blue eyes, and above all, similar good looks (by my standard, not this world¡¯s), so they might be father and son, but that innocent smile from such a naive-looking boy had much more destructive power!!


    Only when I held my reddened cheeks did I realize it; Unlike most of the time I was going out, I wasn¡¯t wearing my robe or hood in exchange for ease of movement.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª!?!?!?!!!¡± The blood that had risen to my cheeks, suddenly dropped below freezing, turning my pale skin even paler.


    Hastily and in panic, I hid my face with my sleeves, but both of them were no longer looking at me by then. I peeked, and I saw them pointing around the hut and towards the meadow outside the forest.


    ¡°There¡¯s no room to land around here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s land on that meadow there.¡±


    Or so I assumed what they talked about, judging from their gestures.


    The wyvern once again soared high into the sky, and shortly after, the sound of wind ruffling the trees completely ceased, with the last beat of its wings cracked loudly.


    I tried to find the direction they vanished to by deliberately extending my mana zone in the water attribute in a long, thin line instead of in all directions. And then, as expected, I felt the mana wavelength of a demon beast in the A or B class building up in the area outside the forest near the hermitage. It was no doubt the wyvern I had seen earlier.


    The humans then got out of the saddle and were coming towards us with measured steps.


    It seemed that we had our second guests, following the peddler from the other day.


    ¡°¡ªHaah. It can¡¯t be helped. Let us tell Mentor about this.¡± Seeing that she would be roused from her sleep for the second time this morning, I couldn¡¯t imagine what hell she would rise.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I was seen without my hood¡­I¡¯m such an idiot¡­¡±


    With my stomach churning with worry, I headed back the way we had come, Maya next to me. Was it just my imagination or not, I had no idea, but the egg on my back felt strangely heavier.


    ¡­Well, this turned out to be my encounter with Luke, better known as His Highness Lucas the Imperial Prince of Groviall Empire, but I had no way of knowing that at the time.


    In terms of the size of their mana, Wyverns are equal to B-class demon beasts, but seeing how difficult it is to defeat them once they¡¯re in the air and spit fire from afar, they are classified as A-class demon beasts.


    Jill¡¯s ability is the systemization through ancient martial arts breathing techniques, meditation, and modern knowledge, but her high potential specs as a magician (common magicians only have one or two attributes available to them, but she has four attributes + healing ability) help a lot.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    She inherited her talent from her mother who was the Shrine Maiden of the Saintess¡¯ Faith.


    Incidentally, her mother, Clara aka the Cattleya of Livitium Imperial Kingdom had healing ability + light + dark + air attributes.


    Her beauty, purity, and lucidity made her regarded as the reincarnation of the saintess (lol) or the second coming of the saintess by the believers, and she was the object of admiration not only in the imperial kingdom but also throughout the continent.


    By the way, a certain ?Crimson? one commented, ¡°She¡¯s an artificial thing pretending to be natural.¡± Clara has been sanctified after her death, but she actually garnered quite a lot of prejudice and dislike by some members of her own sex due to her saintly personality when she was alive.

 CH 11.1

    Along the pathway, dazzlingly green and moist from the rain and morning dew, three people and one beast (plus one still in its egg) were slowly trodding into the depths of the forest.


    The one leading the group was Maya, a huge black cat that was about four to five mertes long ¡ªRegina¡¯s familiar, a caru that was high on the food chain here in the Tenebrae Nemus (according to Regina, there were still Ancient Dragons further up, there was even the Forest King that might or might not exist¡­)¡ª. Followed by a barrel completely covered with a black robe ¡ªcarrying a rucksack with a pet egg under the robe¡ª and holding a staff in one hand, AKA me. A bit later behind was the pretty boy, he was holding nothing, and then the dragon knight who was holding a basket made of rattan standing on the back, guarding us from the rear.


    Thanks to Maya¡¯s glare as she led us, the demon beasts that had been lurking around here ¡ªwith here being the borders of the forest, comparatively safer as anyone with enough experience, equipment, and the number could come and about¡ª such as goblins and orcs and anything in-between would flee in panic, losing heart to ambush us.


    Because I was told to lead our guests with Maya and thus walked right behind her, I could see most of what was going on in the bushes and behind the rocks with my mana detection, but the boy behind me ¡ªhe was about as tall as I was. I could tell he was practicing some kind of martial arts from how he carried his steps, but he was definitely an amateur in terms of magic¡ª seem to have no idea what was going on in our surroundings, and kept stopping nervously whenever he heard the occasional rustle.


    ¡°¡ªFufu.¡±


    On the other hand, the knight-like man strolled lightly as if he was on a picnic, complete with the rattan basket in his hand, despite us being in the Tenebrae Nemus. He seemed to be as aware of his surroundings as I was, and would keep looking at the forest and me alternatively, finding something amusing.


    Was he a¡­magician? For that part, his mana wavelength was pretty lacking, not much different from that of an ordinary person. That said, it wasn¡¯t an excuse to let my guard down. My senior who trained in the same ancient martial art dojo as I looked nothing short of easygoing happy-go-lucky people ¡ªfatty old men and even bald-headed old pops¡ª they showed not a single hint of ki or fighting spirit usually, and yet they were strong like demons.


    Regina ordered me to guide those two into the hermitage in case they were unfamiliar with the forest, with the same breath that she used to unleash all the rage in the world for waking her up twice, but¡­I had a feeling they would do just fine even if I weren¡¯t here.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Father? What has made you laugh?¡±


    ¡°No, I just found something so unusual it¡¯s amusing, you see.¡±


    In response to the boy¡¯s question, who looked back at him with a questioning look, the father ¡ªthey were father and son, after all¡ª replied vaguely as he casually turned his gaze towards the demon beast hiding in the treetops and us.


    ?????


    ¡°It has been a long time Great¡­Grandmother. I am happy to see that you are in good health.¡±


    While the knight bowed to her with the utmost elegance, Regina, still sitting in her easy chair in front of the fireplace, returned it with the biggest yawn I had ever seen.


    ¡°Hmph. Happy my foot. I don¡¯t have enough sleep, no thanks to you. For crying out loud¡­ Look at you crashing into my place unannounced, Jean and Mabel must¡¯ve failed to raise their children!¡±


    Her usually grumpy face became even more dreary because she was woken up from her sleep. The man only laughed off her blatant attitude and swearing that Regina didn¡¯t even bother to butter, taking it head-on as if he was accustomed to it. The boy, though, having only been staring around at the room and at us with interest, shrank back at her yell.


    (Aah, my condolences¡­)


    As I stood in the corner of the room with Maya, watching the situation unfold, I imagined the internal shock and confusion of the boy who seemed to have zero immunity to this kind of insult. I closed my eyes deep under my hood, empathizing with his feeling of being victimized.


    ¡°Haha. My deepest apologies for that. My parents have always had a laissez-faire attitude. Even now they have quickly given up the reigns of the family and are living a comfortable life away from the imperial capital. Good god¡­ They shoved all the troubles onto me, and yet they keep urging me to bring their grandson to play with ¡ªregardless of my busy schedule. Whoever did influence them to be like this, I wonder.¡±


    ¡°Is that a snide on me?!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°Ahahaha, of course not! Not at all. How could I dare to be so disrespectful to the great Founder¡­ My oh my, I apologize again if I have offended you. ¡ªDo forgive me.¡±


    He bowed his head, all courteously, but I couldn¡¯t tell how honest he was. Somehow, the phrase ¡®sly dogs outfoxing each other¡¯ came to mind.


    With that being said¡­ I glanced at the parent-son pair, who were obviously of a high-ranking knight or aristocratic household, and then I looked at Regina ¡ªand found some slight resemblances. I sighed lightly under my hood.


    Putting aside Regina¡¯s rough and abusive attitude, taking account of her personal belongings, casual mannerisms, and high education that was clearly only available for people of the upper class¡­ I had my ideas, but it seemed that she was indeed someone who hailed from an aristocratic household or something similar.


    ¡°So what business does the busy Dragon Knight have in this hut deep in the Tenebrae Nemus?!¡±


    ¡°Not exactly a business, per se. Recently, Fubuki has become an adult dragon ¡ªso as we were on a long ride on her, I decided to stop by and visit you as we passed by, great-grandmother. Also¡ª¡± The man held out the rattan basket he was carrying to Regina, ¡°I brought you the pie that my wife made and some southern fruits.¡±


    ¡°¡ªhmph.¡± With a disgruntled look, Regina took the basket. Seeing that she didn¡¯t complain out loud, though, she must¡¯ve been quite happy to receive it.


    ¡°Right. Should I introduce my son? This is my oldest, Lucas, who will be eleven this year.¡± The man then pointed to the boy, the latter standing still and tense like a pole.


    ¡°Hmph. Just a brat wet behind the ears. Bring one that has more meat. This one doesn¡¯t look appetizing at all.¡± Baring her teeth and gums, Regina let out a chuckle. Considering the place, the way she looked, and the fact that her joke almost didn¡¯t sound like a joke at all, it must be frightening.* (Though I would¡¯ve been eaten deliciously on my first day here if it weren¡¯t a joke.)*


    ¡°Come on, Luke. Say hello to your great-great-grandmother.¡± Although he looked hesitant for a moment¡­the boy, Luke (Lucas), stepped forward with unfaltering steps.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you, Great great grandmother. I¡¯m¡ªMy name is Lucas Leonhardt, son of Eilmer, grandson of Gianluca¡ª¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Old people like me have a hard time remembering things if you keep blabbing like that. You¡¯re Jean¡¯s great-grandson, Lucas. That¡¯s all I need to know.¡±


    Tiresomely waving one hand, Regina interrupted Luke¡¯s greeting and turned a frown in my direction. ¡°Don¡¯t stand there like a scarecrow, Jill! Get your a?s?s? in the kitchen and get that aromatic tea ready!¡±


    ¡°¡ªY-yes. Right away.¡± She didn¡¯t hold back to yell at me with enough volume to make me straighten my back and leap to the kitchen.


    I had an impression that the knight ¡ªMr. Eilmer seemed impressed when he saw my footwork.


    ?????


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the wait.¡± When I returned to the living room after brewing a pot of tea for the group (obviously, myself omitted), I found the three of them seated around a round table that seemingly came out of nowhere.


    I put down the teapot and a small jar of candied fruit on the table and quickly headed to leave the room, but Mr. Eilmer called for me right away. ¡°Forgive me if I may ask, but was it you who looked up at us, young miss?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes. That would be me.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Well, hiding my face now would be a bit too late, but they were quite high up before, so I was clutching onto the faint hope that their memory of it would be overwritten if I hid my face like this.


    ¡°If it is good with you, may I see your face again?¡± No, no, no. It¡¯s not good, that¡¯s why I¡¯m hiding it. Please read the mood, mister father.


    I glanced at Luke and found that he, too, was also looking at me expectantly. Just how strange their tastes could be, this father-son pair?! If nothing else, that¡¯s proof that they¡¯re Regina¡¯s blood!


    ¡°¡­The face of the likes of me will only sully your eyes.¡± So, I just told them the truth, bowed, and turned to leave.


    ¡°¡°¡ªHa!¡±¡± In that instant, the father and son looked at each other and laughed.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    What¡¯s with their rude attitude? They probably never thought they would be rejected. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re bad people, but they seem to be insensitive¡­and the disgustingly easygoing type that people of high status tend to be.

 CH 11.2

    ¡°Just show them if they want to see it. Mr. Dragon Knight here is a wind user anyway. He can manipulate the wind to lift your hood or peek up your skirt if he wants to.¡±


    The moment I heard the words Regina spat out, I instinctively closed my legs and held the skirt of my dress over the robe.


    ¡°Wh¡­wha¡­?!¡± I lost speech. To be honest, a skirt was nothing more than a single layer of clothes, so I shouldn¡¯t care if my panties showed up because I moved around ¡ªwas what I had in my logical mind, but the moment I heard my skirt was going to be peeked up, my blood felt cold and I got goosebumps.


    ¡°No need to be so alarmed.¡± After giving Regina a light rebuking glance ¡ªshe looked uncaring as she gulped her tea¡ª Mr. Eilmer gave me a gentle smile. ¡°A Dragon Knight¡¯s wind arts are only for fighting. I use it to protect my eyes from the force of the wind and my body from its coldness when I¡¯m flying high in the sky. I swear that I would never do such a disrespectful thing to a lady, in the name of my honor, my father¡¯s, and His Majesty the God-Emperor above.¡±


    *Even so, the mouth can say anything, you know¡­ *


    I looked at Regina for help, but she was indifferent and busy throwing candied berries into her mouth.


    ¡°¡­but, sure enough, it is certainly bad manners to force yourself on a lady who doesn¡¯t want to.¡±


    Mr. Eilmer seemed to retract his previous request with a slight shrug for a moment, before he turned to his son, Luke.


    ¡°Luke, why don¡¯t you and¡ª ¡°Her name¡¯s Jill, my apprentice.¡± ¡ªLady Jill have a match? If you win, Lady Jill will show you her face. But, if you lose¡­ Right, you do whatever she asks of you.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good! Jill, I¡¯ll have you collect 30 mandrakes by tomorrow if you lose!¡±


    ¡°¡±EH¡­?!!¡±¡±


    The deal was done even without our, the children¡¯s, will. Those no-good adults!


    ?????


    ¡°Are we really doing this?¡±


    Holding my wooden sword ¡ªor more like an appropriately shaped club carved out of a branch. I quickly made an extra one for the boy to use, so that we¡¯d stand on equal ground¡ª I asked Mr. Eilmer again, the man taking up the mantle as referee. Incidentally, Regina brought her rocking chair under the eaves of her hut (well, more like she used conjuring magic to move herself, still sitting in her chair) and was in full spectator mode, complete with a freshly brewed cup of aromatic tea in her hand. At her feet, Maya was basking under the sun.


    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t hold yourself back. I¡¯ll take full responsibility.¡±


    Mr. Eilmer winked meaningfully. He was clearly convinced I would come out victorious. He even said ¡°I knew it¡± when I was asked the format of the match and chose to duel by sword. That somehow made me feel uncomfortable as if I was playing a card game with my hand already seen through since the start.


    (Well, it¡¯s a relief that it¡¯s the game master who knows my deck, while my opponent is none the wiser.)


    Luke boy was standing in front of me with his wooden sword slumped in his hand, clearly unwilling to cross swords with a girl his age, the sword being wooden regardless.


    ¡°The match ends if either of you manages to land a hit on the body once¡­ Are you both in agreement with this rule?¡±


    ¡°¡±Yes.¡±¡±


    We both nodded and were about to ready our swords when Luke saw the bulge on my back and tilted his head. ¡°Excuse me, but are you going to keep your luggage about?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I cannot part with it for long.¡±


    ¡°It seems to me it will hinder your movement, though¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an inconvenience indeed, but, well, it won¡¯t pose a problem.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Me being stubborn to fight him with a handicap seemed to have brushed his pride wrong, as Luke raised his eyebrows slightly and gave up questioning further. Without saying a word more, from about two to three mertes ahead, he held his wooden sword up.


    I held my sword in one hand and lowered my hips ¡ªsimilar to a fencing stance¡ª while Luke held his sword in both hands. I had my right hand held forward and my back straight. The left heel of my back foot was slightly lifted while the tip of my sword was aiming at his throat.


    The boy Luke smiled wryly at my posture, as if watching an amateur playing make-believe, while Mr. Eilmer and Regina both had their eyes slightly more open.


    ¡°¡ªStart!¡± As Mr. Eilmer came to his senses and gave the cue, Luke leaped straight into me. His movement was quite fast indeed, but it was clear that he had taken it easy on me.


    I could counter and land three easy hits from this, but for now, I only stopped his blow, and ¡ªwith a snicker loud enough that Luke opened his eyes wide¡ª I returned his strike while he was trying to restore his posture.


    ¡°UWA¡ª¡ªH!?¡± My sword passed through where his head had been, missing only because he retreated fast enough.


    ¡°Huh.¡± That was a bit impressive. While indeed he was still rough around the edges, his reflexes and bounce on his feet ¡ª¡ªespecially his speed when he was moving back and forth¡ª¡ª were extraordinary.


    ¡°Shall we get a little more serious?¡±


    It seemed like he didn¡¯t even have the leeway to answer me. There was none of the underestimations on Luke¡¯s face as he held up the wooden sword, his eyes were frighteningly focused. He was quite quick on the uptake.


    ¡°Let us start, then.¡± Without waiting for a reply, I kicked the ground with my left foot and struck Luke squarely in the face.


    ?????


    ¡°Good lord, that was a fine match!¡±


    ¡°Hah, you sure took your time fighting a mere bean sprout!¡±


    Mr. Eilmer clapped his hands in good humor, while Regina, looking sour as always, held the empty fruit jar upside-down and licked the sugar on her fingers.


    While my opponent, the boy named Luke, was kneeling on the ground, leaning against his wooden sword to catch his breath.


    In the end, we exchanged blows 20 times before finally, someone got one hit in. While indeed he had been reduced to focus on the defense for most of the fight, Luke¡¯s persistence and determination to persevere to the very end were admirable.


    ¡°¡­Haa, haa. It¡¯s my loss, today. As promised, please feel free to ask me anything that I can do for you.¡±


    With his eyes moist, Luke looked up at me¡ªwhen such a cute, angelic boy caked in sweat and face red-hot telling me ¡°I¡¯ll do anything for you,¡± it felt almost too immoral.


    ¡°Promise, is it¡­¡± Since it was the no-good adults who made the promise in the first place, I never had anything in mind. ¡°Right. ¡ªWell then, please become my friend.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    I mouthed the first idea that popped up in my mind. Luke looked stunned and blinked repeatedly.


    ¡°I only have one friend that is around my age, so I want you to become my friend too, if that is okay with you, Mr. Luke.¡± Right then, I consciously pulled down my hood. It was bad manners to make friends with your face covered. If Luke rejected me for how I looked, then I couldn¡¯t blame him. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    Sure enough, Luke immediately stiffened when he saw my bare face at close range. Then, all of a sudden, he shook his head up and down repeatedly like a broken toy. ¡°I WILL! Friend¡­ We¡¯ll be friends first! Yes, let us start with friendship!!¡± He spoke, readily consenting(?) to be my friend.


    ¡°Thank goodness! You are my male friend number 1, then. You may call me Jill, Mr. Luke.¡±


    ¡°Y-, you can call me just Luke too, Jill!¡±


    I extended my right hand, and Luke clasped it with both of his hands, excited.


    ¡°Today I lost, but I¡¯ll definitely be much stronger than you, Jill! I promise!¡±


    Oh, was that a challenge? ¡°If so, then I shall be even stronger. I won¡¯t lose.¡±


    Mr. Eilmer was smiling ear to ear as he stared at us before he turned to Regina who couldn¡¯t wait to get back inside any longer.


    ¡°Good lord in the heavens, what a wondrous young lady. I¡¯d like to take her home with us if I could. What do you say? Might as well give her to Luke, for a future prospect.¡±


    Err, forgive me, but did I just hear about casual human trafficking?


    ¡°Hmph. Does she look like a kitten to you? I still have a lot to teach my idiot disciple, no can do!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    Mr. Eilmer actually looked disappointed when he passed his eyes on my and Regina¡¯s faces. After which, he turned to Luke ¡ªwho wore a similar expression as his father¡ª and spoke to him in an encouraging, inciting tone.


    ¡°You heard her, Luke. Be a man and use your own strength. Got that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father!!¡±


    Luke replied high-spiritedly. His face looked radiant and manly ¡ªand he seemed to grow mature for a moment¡ª he looked my way, then nodded strongly.


    I couldn¡¯t understand what the hell was that supposed to be, but I smiled back at him, for courtesy¡¯s sake.


    ¡°Well then, we will be leaving, Great Grandmother. ¡­If there is any inconvenience at all, please feel free to let me know.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Your presence is what¡¯s inconvenient!¡±


    Mr. Eilmer only shrugged at it. ¡°We will be back should we have the chance. ¡­Ah, please don¡¯t bother yourself with seeing us off.¡± With that, Mr. Eilmer turned on his heel.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come again, Jill. And, umm, I¡¯ll write to you too!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Luke. Please address it to the western frontier village¡¯s head. I will pick it up there.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Say no to content thief!)


    After saying their goodbyes, the father-son pair headed back to the forest path, with Maya tailing them just in case.


    ¡°¡­Good lord. Everyone¡¯s so buzzy, I can¡¯t catch my sleep. Jill, don¡¯t forget your afternoon chores!¡± With another deep sigh, Regina went back inside the hermitage. From the looks of it, she would go back to dreamland.


    In conclusion, I had a hectic morning after the rain let up today, but I also made a new friend.


    All in all, wyverns are not very fuel efficient. They need to eat at least a whole horse for two days of movement, so they aren¡¯t as suited for long-distance travel as you might think.


    With breaks in between, it takes at least 10 to almost 20 days to get to the Tenebrae Nemus from the Imperial Capital, so Eilmer was lying when he said he just happened to pass by, but they¡¯re both too stubborn to acknowledge that, so that¡¯s that.

 CH 12.1

    As I drew water from the well and filled the bucket until it was full ¡ªI had gotten so used to this work I no longer spilled it even when carrying a full bucket of water¡ª I thoughtlessly peeked inside the bucket and found myself awestruck.


    What peeked back was a slender girl with long, cherry-blonde hair and clear white skin.


    Her eyes, a tad too large for her small face, were jade green, with her eyelashes curled and her mouth small and lips pink. Coupled with the thin eyebrows and straight nose, mirrored what looked like a strong will deep inside her. And yet, with the corner of her eyes a bit mellow and soft, she gave an overall impression of a fickle, sweet little candy.


    She stared back at me for a while before disappearing to the edge of the bucket with a look of disbelief. What remained on the reflection on the surface of the water was the expanding blue sky with occasional clouds.


    ¡°That would definitely belong to the cute category back on Earth¡ª¡±


    While I could no longer see the girl on the bucket, I touched my face with both hands, feeling every single piece on there, and then I stood up and looked down at my limbs behind the one piece and apron.


    It must have been the physical labor, diet, and daily practice over the past six months or so, my arms and legs became so much more slender, and my height had grown tremendously. I was probably past 150 centimertes. I couldn¡¯t tell how much I weighed since there was no conventional scale around here, but if I put my hands around my stomach¡­ it was roughly 50 centimertes, I¡¯d guess?


    Which made me wonder, what was the average size of the people here? I recalled, from my previous life as a healthy high school boy, the data of the gravure idols in the magazine I was reading¡­ were usually around 170 cm tall with a waist around 58cm in diameter, so that was the frame reference of what skinny was, generally speaking.


    If so, from a ratio standpoint, my stomach was still slacking. I had to do better!


    With a renewed fighting spirit, I clasped my hands and looked up at the sky.


    In fact, when I looked at them again in the reflection on the water¡¯s surface, I was still plump in various places. I touched my limbs and they were so soft it made me wonder ¡°Do these even have bones and joints?¡± They were just that full of fat.


    All in all, I was still soft all the same. Chubby.


    ¡°¡­That being said, I do feel somewhat improved, however¡ª¡± I thought to myself as I lifted the wooden bucket full of water. If anything, I would feel underwhelmed if I couldn¡¯t feel any improvement.


    Then, as though agreeing with me, the egg on my back shook.


    ¡°Eek¡ªthat was close.¡±


    I put the nearly spilled bucket on the ground again, and with some difficulty, I lowered my bulging backpack to check what was happening.


    ¡°Come to think of it, it will be two weeks in a couple of days. I guess it is hitting its growth limit, then¡­¡± As I lightly caressed the egg, slightly warmer than my own body it was, I twisted my head, trying to remember the words of that fishy peddler. ¡°After that¡­ I just need to name this little one once it is born to make it my familiar, but is it a boy or a girl?¡±


    I had been so occupied with my daily chores, I hadn¡¯t had time to think about names. I suppose now was as good as any time to start.


    ¡°If it was a girl, then perhaps Charlene*¡­ I suppose that would be too self-deprecating, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±1


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    I muttered the pet name of the M14 rifle of Pv. Pyle as I smacked the top of the egg¡ªat that moment, a single crack appeared on the surface of the hard shell like a lightning bolt.


    ¡°¡­¡­ ¡ªKYAAAHHH?!!¡±


    WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?! With all the hopelessness of making an irreversible mistake, my mind went all white.


    ?????


    ¡°M-, MENTOR¡ª!!¡±


    When I rushed into the brewing room in the back, I saw the black-robed witch bending over the hearth in the dim light of the corner lamp, throwing several kinds of mysterious powders into the fire and chanting incantations. This very picture of Evil Witch aka my mentor, Regina, then looked up begrudgingly.


    The glare from the flames, changing color every so often, gave her wrinkled profile an even more fearsome color.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got the nerves to slack off your chores, you damn ragweed?!! Just when the hearth is getting hot, what do you want?!¡±


    With that much anger in her gaze, I would have folded and done a tactical retreat any other day, but I was desperate today.


    ¡°E-, e-, egg, brok-, buh- ¡­¡­!!¡± And yet, the panic made me unable to form my words correctly.


    ¡°What is it¡­? Your sloppy face looks even worse when it¡¯s such a wreck.¡±


    With a puzzled look on her face, Regina turned to the thing I was holding dear with my life¡ªthe pet egg that was getting more cracks on my way here.


    With a smug look, Regina nodded.


    ¡°You finally decided to eat it, eh? So, what¡¯s for breakfast today? Fried egg or omelet?¡± She asked with a straight face, and I shook my head as hard as I could. ¡°¡­Right. We haven¡¯t had scrambled eggs for a while.¡± Regina smacked her lips that curved in a twisted smile, so I reflexively held the eggs tighter to protect it from her, and yet the sound of doom worsened along with the spread of the cracks.


    ¡°AAAAAHHHHH¡ª?!!¡±


    Looking unamused at me about to break down to tears for a few seconds, Regina then, tremendously mirthless and finding it troublesome, added, practically spitting her words out.


    ¡°Notice it already, will you? You didn¡¯t break it, it¡¯s hatching.¡±


    ¡°H-, hatching¡­ isn¡¯t that too fast?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exposed to your stupidly large amount of mana every day, so of course its growth is faster. Just give it a bit more heat and mana, don¡¯t overtax it, and it¡¯ll pop right out.¡±


    Following Regina¡¯s curt instruction, carefully I walked back to the living room with the cracked egg in my arms, where the fireplace was lit.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    I added some more firewood to up the heat, sat down in front of the fireplace, and made sure I didn¡¯t push onto the egg as I put my hands on it, letting mana into it little by little. In response, the cracks in the egg spread wider and wider, and the baby in it became even more active.


    ¡°You can do it, just a bit more! ¡­Hii hii fuuh! Hii hii fuuh!¡± I regulated the mana input with rhythmic movement.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re not giving birth to it, why the hell are you getting so worked up?¡±


    Regina, with Maya coming along, shrugged her shoulders in disbelief, but this little one had been with me for 10 days, I cherished it the whole time, it was practically my own child.


    Ignoring any external opinion, I injected my mana into the egg as I continued the lamaze breathing for 20 minutes before the cracks spread all over the entire egg, after which the whole egg popped abruptly.


    ¡°Myu!¡± A yellowish-furred, wool-ball-like baby pet peeked out.


    ¡°It¡¯s born!¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡±


    Fluffy fur, short limbs, spongy tail, a pair of wings on the back, and a pair of big, round eyes that caught my reflection, and then ¡°Myu, myu!¡± it jumped into my lap with a cheerful bounce.


    The concept this time is ¡°Yeah, no way your waistline is only 58 cm. The perverts don¡¯t know better.¡± At last, I was able to include a misconception that high school boys often have into a chapter. It¡¯s actually hard to tell unless you directly see it and touch it, you know.


    On a side note, Syltianna is physically still a kid, so her body is soft all around and yet to fully mature. Her facial features are almost identical to her mother¡¯s, but Clara¡¯s eyes were icy blue in color and a bit more upward at the edges (even then, Clara still gave an overall soft and mellow impression), so Syltianna took after her father in eye color and shape. Also, she is going to outgrow her mother in the breast department (which means she got the good genes).

 CH 12.2

    The Sirius cub ¡ªwell, it was a puppy with wings on its back, so I suppose there was no mistaking it¡ª nuzzled me on the cheek with spoiled affection, and I couldn¡¯t help but hug it tight.


    ¡°So¡­ SO CYUUTE!! Too cute! Why are you so cute?!¡±


    There was me, absolutely demolished by the charm of this little one who kept licking my cheeks while whining. There was Regina, sitting back in her easy chair, looking daunted. Then Maya, sniffing the broken-off egg shells, then sniffed at the Sirius pup with a curious look on her face. And then the pup, annoyed by Maya, delivered a puppy punch to her face.


    The whole situation was a bit of chaos for a while, but then Regina, the only one who was calm, tossed a question offhandedly.


    ¡°¡ªSo, have you decided on a name for it? Decide on one already and connect your mana pass with it.¡±*


    ¡°¡­¡± That comment brought me back to my senses. Name, name¡­ Well, I said Charlene jokingly, but there should be a fitting name like it¡­ Actually, is this child a boy? ¡ªAh, it¡¯s a girl.


    Then it occurred to me that I hadn¡¯t asked the landlady aka my mentor about keeping it. ¡°¡ªUmm, am I even allowed to keep this pup here?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Getting two or three pets won¡¯t make much of a difference now.¡±


    She, at the very least, gave me her approval, although looking all bitter. Also, did you just count me, your disciple, as a pet?


    ¡°As the fourth member of the family, I will name this pup ¡®Vier¡¯.¡± The moment I said that, something that I couldn¡¯t see clicked, and with it, this Sirius cub¡ªVier and I, connected.


    ¡°¡ª?!¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Your master-servant contract is done, then.¡±


    Even if she said that, I couldn¡¯t see anything different¡­ Actually, hold on to that thought! I could feel some warm waves from Vier in my arms. Was this¡ªVier¡¯s emotion? It conveyed to me some ticklish feelings as Vier was being pampered in my arms. That emotion being¡ª


    ¡°Hungry~¡±


    ¡°¡ª!!! Meal! I need to make a meal for Vier! Wh-, what should I feed her?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a demon beast, just feed it some goblin.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t feed that to a newborn baby! Oh?! Right, milk. Milk¡­ Aah, there¡¯s no milk here! Oh, there¡¯s a ranch in the village! Maybe I can ask for some milk there. I¡¯ll be going!¡±


    ¡°Hah? What about your chores?¡±


    Regina¡¯s mood immediately worsened, but I was not about to give in.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back!¡± Without even waiting for a reply, I dashed out of the hermitage. Maya then came running after me, bringing me my robe.


    Come to think of it, I was so rushed I forgot to put it on. ¡°Thank you, Maya! Sorry for the trouble!¡±


    I thanked her, put on my robe, and was just about to dash onward, when the Caru stepped in front of me, blocking my way. Without even a warning, she caught the two of us with her tentacles, put us on her back, and started galloping toward the village at the speed of a gale.


    We would reach the village in no time at this speed.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°You¡¯re taking us! Thank you so much!!¡± Maya responded with a single vocal sound before she sped up the pace even more.


    ¡°Myu!¡± Vier, in my embrace, also yelped happily.


    Thus, having gained a new family member, with me enveloped in the warmth of the two, we ran as one.


    ?????


    On this day, in the lord¡¯s villa ¡ªwith the primary castle being reduced to a mere on-paper location due to the deterioration of transportation path and facilities, the villa was upgraded and became the main residence¡ª in Cultura, Aulanthia Frontier County of the Imperial Kingdom, the ¡°family¡± was reunited for the first time in a long while.


    However, what was taking place was much drearier to be called a Family Reunion, as it resembled more like a slice of a theatrical play, or perhaps a string-puppet performance¡­ With the backdrop stage set for nothing more than mere luxury, with no hint of raw human emotion nor a room for peace and tranquility.


    This was a ceremony. A ritual to mimic an emotional reunion of a daughter who escaped death and her supposed family.


    Egmond, the head of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of Cultura, was prostrating and paying obeisance as he was secretly assessing the people in the room ¡ªThe lord of the villa Frontier Count Corrad, his legal wife, his two concubines, and their children who were present here today due to their opened schedule¡ª and kept his judgment to himself.


    Be it Corrad himself who exaggeratedly cried over his daughter¡¯s survival and winced upon seeing her ¡ªbody riddled with injuries and limp on one leg, making her bound to the wheelchair (she was actually capable of standing up with crutches, but she would favor her good leg too much it made her unable to walk right)¡ª or the princess¡¯ half-brothers and half-sisters who were too pained to look at her, or the chamberlains who verbally offered words of encouragements, or even the attendants, guards, and many others who looked to be of heavy hearts, they were all thinly veiled performances.


    It was only the legal wife, Simenotta, who stared daggers at Princess Syltianna ¡ªwho was some random girl that Egmond prepared¡ª with eyes full of obvious suspicion and occasionally threw challenging glares at Egmond, who looked human and vivid.


    (It seems like no one else notices that the princess is a sham. That¡¯s one win in my book.)


    For that purpose alone, Egmond went to the trouble of buying a slave girl with features similar to the princess (green eyes, reddish-blond hair, and white skin), fattening her over the course of three months (and even applied magic on her, so she was likely to continue to suffer from a never-ending hunger), changing her face shape, and even giving her nasty scars that made anyone have a hard time giving her a second look, just in case.


    Egmond couldn¡¯t help but laugh inwardly at the fact that even her own father and siblings could be so easily fooled. (In the end, she¡¯s so estranged from her immediate family they can¡¯t even see the differences. ¡­Au contraire, only the legal wife who loathes the princess so much she wants her dead, sees through the fake princess in a single glance.)


    This was a comedy. Had this been any other place, Egmond would have been laughing to tears with a standing ovation.


    It seemed that the comedy had finally reached its peak, as Corrad, who had been staging grief, came over and took his daughter¡¯s hand with a resolute look, lovingly kissed her cheek, and spoke with a smile.


    ¡°My poor Syltianna. Rest assured my dear, no matter your shape, I will always make you happy. ¡ªWhy, indeed! I¡¯ll find you a husband. I shall stop at nothing for your happiness¡­ Come to think of it, His Imperial Highness Eilmer, the son of His Imperial Majesty Gianluca, has a son that is the same age as yours. He has the family background and age that is worthy of you. I shall make an effort to that end!¡±


    The very air of the room froze.


    ¡°Y-, your excellency¡­ Isn¡¯t that too far?¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Corrad turned to the person who opposed the idea, raising his voice in displeasure.


    ¡°Is there anything wrong, hm?! This land has always been an independent country, and I am still nominally a sovereign of the Imperial Kingdom¡ªno, the God-Emperor of the Super empire! While His Highness Eilmer may be of imperial blood, he is still only a duke, so our standings are equal. First of all, what father wouldn¡¯t wish the utmost happiness for his dear daughter?!¡±


    Those who had been expressing sympathy for princess Syltianna¡¯s misfortune earlier could do nothing but clam up and look at each other, completely baffled¡­ Perhaps they finally realized the circumstances, perhaps they didn¡¯t. Ultimately, they all looked at the ugly figure of Syltianna ¡ªsitting in her wheelchair, her vacant eyes fixated on the air¡ª and frowned all at once.


    ¡ªThat would be far too insulting for the other party.


    While every single person was desperately swallowing the words, Corrad alone was in good humor and he immediately ordered the chief chamberlain to begin making arrangements.


    (Well, well, well¡­ They dance when you least expect it, these clowns) The unexpected turn of events made Egmond chuckle, as he quickly began to rework the script in his mind.


    Vier is German for number 4, thus the name! Also, if you want to feed a puppy (wolf cub?) you need to mix the milk with egg yolk or sesame oil or something, because cow milk alone isn¡¯t nutritious enough. Well, Vier is a magical pet, so she¡¯s built differently.

 CH 13.1

    ?O du mein Gott, sagte es, wie kann ich in meinen schmutzigen Kleidern hingehen?¡°


    ?B?umlein r¨¹ttel und sch¨¹ttel dich,


    wirf sch?ne Kleider herab f¨¹r mich!¡°


    ¡ª Grimms M?rchen ?Aschenputtel¡° (1812) ¡ª


    ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± she said, ¡°how could I go in these dirty clothes?¡±


    Shake yourself, shake yourself, little tree.


    Throw some nice clothing down to me!


    ¡ª Grimm¡¯s Fairy Tales ¡°Cinderella¡± 1st edition (1812) ¡ª1


    ?????


    As we approached the pioneering village, the atmosphere became more bustling with vigor, with signs of murmurs becoming much more prominent. ¡­Or rather, even without the use of mana detection, it was obvious that excitement was in the air.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s the staple of the story that a horde of goblins or demon beasts or something come attacking during festive and off-guard moments like this, generally speaking.¡±


    I knew it was out of line for someone like me to be concerned, but anxiety still got the better of me and I made a quick round around the village, expanding my Mana Zone to see if there was anything suspicious¡ª so far, the barriers seemed to be working fine. While at it, I looked around the embedded barrier stakes, correcting any that was loose, and carved a simple barrier of my own in the gaps of the barriers.


    From what I could tell, there seemed to be no imminent threat for the time being.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the wait, Vier. Now, we don¡¯t want to make Eren wait, so let us hurry.¡±


    ¡°Myuu, myuu!¡±


    The Sirius cub that was lying down nearby¡ªmy familiar Vier, happily wagged her tail and small wings as she snuggled up to my feet.


    I immediately picked her up with both hands, and my mouth naturally curled up into a smile. ¡°Have you grown bigger in the past week? I suppose it is time to switch from baby food to solid food.¡± Although she didn¡¯t look much different, she was twice as heavy as she was a week ago.


    I had been feeding her hexacow and aries milk mixed with egg yolks or vegetable oil, sometimes I gave her softened cookies (homemade flour mixed with nutrients like chico nuts and more), but perhaps it was time to start feeding her some protein such as chicken meat.


    I made that judgment, as I watched Vier happily eating the cookie I produced from my pocket. ¡­Well, I had a feeling that Regina was feeding raw meat to her behind me. Sometimes I found my room smelled raw and fishy when I left her there for a while, so perhaps I had been too late¡­


    Lately, Vier had found her favorite spot in my embrace, that being her head poking out of my shoulder as she was whining ¡°myu, myu¡± in a good mood. Being careful not to let Vier fall, I put on my hood and started walking again toward the main gate.


    Incidentally, Maya, Regina¡¯s familiar, only saw me off to the forest exit and went straight back to the forest. Perhaps she was concerned that her presence might cause an unnecessary commotion on the day of the festival, what with people all over the village gathering, so she refrained from going.


    What a refined familiar. Regina told me that familiars resembled their master, so I suppose Maya¡¯s consideration over such a trivial thing had been a reflection of Regina¡¯s bad habit¡­ I sighed at that and looked at my own familiar, who was snuggly on my shoulder and dutifully eating the cookie she had been given.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°¡­¡± A thought passed my mind, and I, wordlessly, gently lowered her to the ground.


    ¡°Myu?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s important to be on your own feet. Let¡¯s walk, Vier. Sloth is a sin!¡±


    ¡°Myuu, myuu!¡±


    Was she thinking this was a new game? I resumed my walk, and Vier followed me, her steps bouncing like a ball of fur.


    ?????


    Now then, today was the long-awaited day of the festival.


    Technically speaking, it was the day of coming-of-age ceremony for boys and girls of the village who had turned 13 years old. However, according to Mister Dan the rancher (I visited him two or three times to get milk for Vier), what actually would happen was that the new adults would gather at the village hall, listen to the village chief and other important people¡¯s speeches, enter their names in the adult register (like a family register, apparently), perform customary rituals, and then the whole village would gather together for a feast.


    In the olden days where people were more religious, you had to go to a temple where a priest or a priestess would baptize you, but seeing that all three major religions of this continent¡ªthe Deva Kureha Faith, the Saintess¡¯ Church, and the Divine Beast Religion¡ªweren¡¯t enforcing their doctrines as hard, people in remote villages like this one celebrate according to indigenous customs.


    In the case of this village, according to the village custom, each person would eat a mochi made from grains harvested in the village (not really Japanese-style rice mochi, but more like a steamed bun made of rice flour kneaded with hot water) and finish it with a sip of homemade alcohol¡ªa truly pastoral event, from what I heard.


    Afterward, the ladies of the village would prepare a buffet-style feast, and adults and children alike were invited to join in the festivities.


    By the way, 13 being the age allowed to drink alcohol might sound a bit too early, but when I thought about it, the minimum drinking age was around 14 to 15 in some European countries, so there should be no problem as long as they didn¡¯t push themselves too hard. But then, Mister Dan said that ¡°most of the time, the brats would get carried away and drink until they¡¯re blue and collapse,¡± so perhaps demanding moderation or limits to kids who only learned the taste of alcohol was simply impossible, regardless of which world you were in.


    When the sun had set and the excitement was at its peak, a traditional event was held, where a woman of age gave rubrum flos, a crown of red flowers, to the man she loved, and the man would place the crown on the head of the woman if he accepted her. It was a local custom.


    Generally speaking, anyone could give the crown to anyone else as long as they were both single, but, well, for any unlucky man, the woman would give him a white flower crown (in which case, the man wouldn¡¯t put the crown on her) as a token to say ¡°let¡¯s remain friends,¡± aka a remedy of sorts.


    Therefore, the entire village was already in a festive mood, even though it was still mid-morning.


    ¡°Good morning, Mister Andy, Mister Chad. It must be hard to be a guard even on a day like this.¡±


    Should I have expected it¡­ Standing in front of the gate were two familiar faces. They were dressed more neatly for the occasion, but for some reason, their faces weren¡¯t as jovial.


    ¡°¡ªHeya there, Jill. Are you here for the festival? Have fun, then¡­ As for us who lost the lottery, we have to stand on duty.¡±


    ¡°Hello, you two look healthy, Jill, pup. Well, we¡¯re on duty only until evening, so we¡¯ll be joining later. Hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡­Aah, well, I kind of understood the situation. They had drawn the short end of sticks. By the way, I had introduced Vier to the two of them way back when I first went to Mister Dan¡¯s ranch to get milk.

 CH 13.2

    ¡°Of course. If anything, an outsider such as I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re practically one of the village kids, Jill.¡±


    ¡°What he said. Kids like you shouldn¡¯t worry about us adults. Eat a feast, kick a riot, and have some fun.¡±


    Some words of excuse escaped my lips, but then both Andy and Chad opened their arms, all smiles welcoming me into their village.


    ¡°Now, pick it up.¡±


    ¡°But no alcohol for you! You¡¯re too young for that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. I will head back before it gets dark, but I heard the ceremony gets merrier after that. I wish you two good luck with the rubrum flos.¡±


    Immediately, their smiles froze over. Oh dear? Did I just short-circuit their brains?


    ¡°Aah¡­¡­. Right. It¡¯d be great if we get any at all this year¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it¡­ I won¡¯t even ask for the red ones, at least give us a white one¡­¡±


    Sorrow was already nestled on their backs as they looked at each other and gave empty smiles. In this case, poorly trying to console them will only backfire¡­right?


    ¡°¡ªI, uh, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±


    I quickly scooped up Vier, who was gazing at the two unlucky bachelors in innocent puzzlement and left the place after leaving a word of greeting.


    At the very least, I¡¯ll pray to the God Emperor in Heaven to mercifully watch over them so that they won¡¯t sleep in cold, sad nights for the rest of their lives.1


    ¡°Jill! You came!¡±


    With a cheerful voice, a petite girl with chestnut-colored hair cut just below her chin came running out from the main gate¡¯s guardroom¡ªa shack that served as an office. She was wearing a polka-dot one-piece dress that was prepared for today.


    ¡°Eren! Long time no see. Are you well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m swell! Jill, are you getting thinner?¡±


    ¡°Ehh, really?! Yay!¡±


    As we were chatting amicably, Vier shifted uneasily in my arms and gazed at Eren with interest.


    ¡°¡ªMyu?¡±


    ¡°Eeeehh, so cute!! So this is Vier? Nice to meet you, I am Eren, Jill¡¯s bestie.¡±


    As Eren was speaking in baby language for some reason, she brought her index finger to the tip of Vier¡¯s nose and began twirling around it. ¡°Myuu.¡± Vier squealed a cry of interest and stretched out her paws, flapping and waving her short legs to catch that finger.


    As expected of a predator¡ªa demon beast, to be exact¡ªher instincts just couldn¡¯t leave something moving in front of her. But then, something about what Eren said bothered me as well.


    ¡°How did you know about her, Eren? Ah, did Andy or Chad tell you about it?¡± To be honest, I had wanted to surprise her with the Sirius pup, so it was a bit of a letdown that she had known about her beforehand.


    ¡°Auntie Emily next door told me about it. She was told by Miss Isabelle who lives across the street, while Miss Isabelle was told by the general store owner, and the owner lady said that auntie Janet from the ranch told her, so I guess the whole village already knew?¡±


    Eren simply revealed the truth with a poker face as she was playing around with Vier. It had only been a week since this pup was born, and the whole village already knew about her¡­ Auntie Network, how fearsome!


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    By the way, Mrs. Janet was the wife of Mr. Dan the rancher, and she and Mr. Dan were like parental figures who would never miss a chance to spoil Vier with melted smiles on their faces. ¡­Considering she¡¯s a wolf pup demon beast, is that even the correct attitude for people who run a ranch?


    ¡°Oh right, I forgot something important. Jill, come with me to the general store!¡±


    Eren, who had been playing with Vier to her heart¡¯s content, came to her senses, grabbed my hand, and started walking briskly towards the heart of the village¡ªwell, even if I called it the heart, there were only the general store, the tinkerer, and the apothecary there.


    ¡°Are we buying something?¡±


    ¡°Nope, the owner said she prepared something for you.¡±


    ¡°¡ª?¡±


    What could it be? Some kind of order for Regina? With a question mark still floating above my head, Eren practically dragged me away to the general store.


    ?????


    As I was cornered, what my mouth could say was a question coming out in the form of a muffled scream. ¡°Wh-, what is this?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a dress, what else?¡± The general store owner held a white dress ¡ªits skirt part embroidered with green grass patterns¡ª against my chest, checking its size before she declared what she saw. ¡°Yup. Thank goodness, I don¡¯t need to do any last-minute resizing.¡±


    ¡°I understand it is a dress. I just don¡¯t understand what is happening!¡±


    As soon as I reached the general store, its owner abducted me and brought me into a room in the back and fetched me this simple but expensive-looking dress as she said ¡°take off your clothes and put that on.¡± Everything¡¯s happening too suddenly, I can¡¯t keep up! (By the way, Eren and Vier were playing on the storefront, watching out for customers.)


    ¡°Oh dear, Mrs. Witch didn¡¯t tell you? A couple of weeks ago, she came here and tossed me her secondhand dress, and then left with the pay and the order to fit it to your size for the festival.¡±


    The owner looked puzzled as she offered her explanation, and I could only exclaim ¡°Wha¡­?!¡±


    She keeps threatening me that I can¡¯t go to the festival unless I finish four batches of amrita before today, and yet she went and prepared a dress for me behind my back¡­?! That¡¯s a hit below the belt, it¡¯s unfair!


    ¡°Ah! Shoot¡ªI was supposed to keep it a secret¡­ Oh goodness. I¡¯m such a clumsy little ditz.¡±


    She put on a sorry face, but something told me that she did it very, very intentionally.


    ¡°Well, water under the bridge. Just don¡¯t tell Mrs. Witch, kay? ¡ªEither way, come on, change your clothes!¡± She then once again pushed the dress on me while her other hand was on the binding of my robe, practically urging me to undress.


    ¡°W-, wait a second! Erm¡­ It¡¯s the regulation that half-baked witches are forbidden from exposing their faces.¡±


    When I offered the same excuse I gave to Eren, the owner stared at me with a dubious expression before she said ¡°¡ªaah¡± and nodded in understanding. Thank goodness! I still could tolerate a one-piece attire for working, but putting on a dress is a door I¡¯d rather not open.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Now you said it, I remember that Mrs. Witch also prepared a veil to cover your face. It slipped my mind¡­¡±


    She then produced a veil not so different from a wedding veil, one that hid up to the shoulders. Noo! The bridge is burned!


    ¡°After you¡¯re dressed, you still need to get your hair done too.¡± The owner then took out a comb and gave me a smile, her eyes much like the eyes of a bird of prey.


    ¡°Ah ha ha¡­¡± Clutching on the bright white dress, I could only let out a bitter laugh at the impending inescapable horror.

 CH 14.1

    Even as I tried to resist, the general store owner was a battle-hardened kid handler, what with her raising four unruly children herself. It shocked me to my core how easily she nullified all of my techniques and stripped me naked.


    ¡°HIIEEEEKKK!!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, what lovely skin you have~ What product do you use? Oh, you don¡¯t? Wow!¡±


    She made me wear embroidered knickers.


    ¡°KYAAAAAHHH!!¡±


    ¡°Yup, good butt you have there. You¡¯ll have an easy time giving birth.¡±


    She forcibly put panniers on me to make the dress expand more.


    ¡°NNYYOOOOO?!!¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness, I still have my old panniers.¡±


    She fitted a three-tiered flurry petticoat under my skirt.


    ¡°BYYUUUUU!!!¡±


    ¡°Wow, you have high hips. How enviable.¡±


    She draped a sky-blue one-piece dress over my head.


    And, as though she had been waiting for it, she put me in a dress decorated with snow-white laces and ribbons.


    ¡°HWEEEEEHHH!!??¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, there¡¯s room on your waist. Well, I guess we¡¯ll tighten the ribbon there.¡±


    She took off the ribbon on my hair, applied some kind of perfumed oil, and combed my hair through.


    ¡°HOGEEEEHH!?!?!¡±


    ¡°Your hair is so smooth and tangle-free. Make sure to take care of it!¡±


    And finally, she put on a thin layer of makeup on me.


    ¡°NDDOOOOH?!?!?!¡±


    ¡°I think you don¡¯t need the makeup itself, but girls have manners, you see~ ¡­That said, you sure have a wide variation of screams.¡±


    And thus, three hours passed¡­ Just, why would girls take so much time and effort just to get ready? I don¡¯t understand. I had completely transformed into a different person altogether, and the one who stared back at me from the other side of the mirror had her face as pale as a ghost and her eyes just as dead.


    ¡°Cheer up! You¡¯re ruining all the glow-up if you look that grim.¡±


    ¡°¡­well, my face has been dull since birth, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess we do need to put on the veil then, as wasteful as it is. By the lord, covering your face with something like this is plain weird. Well, my own sons also liked to say nonsense like ¡°ooh the darkness within me¡± or ¡°the seal in my left hand is throbbing¡± when they were your age, so I guess it¡¯s just a phase.¡±


    Huh? Did my backstory just get the chuunibyou treatment¡­?


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re all fixed. I¡¯ll keep your clothes here, so go have your fill!¡± And finally, she handed me a see-through veil and a pair of boots decorated with flowers before she haphazardly threw me out from the back room.


    ¡°¡­W-, will this actually hide my face?¡± It¡¯s pretty transparent, you know¡­


    I put the veil as close to my face as possible, hoping that would obscure my face more, and sneaked back towards the store with a hunched back. In my mind, I saw myself as a certain covert operative soldier who fell to the allure of cardboard boxes to infiltrate enemy territory. Well, truthfully speaking, I too would love to hide in a cardboard box if cardboard boxes existed in this world.


    After all, unlike my usual drab, this fluffy, frilly dress made me painfully aware of my gender. Syltianna¡¯s basic thoughts were that of a girl, so I usually wasn¡¯t very conscious of what I wore, but since my values as a boy were carried over and overwrote hers, I got really embarrassed as if I was crossdressing.


    No¡­ well¡­ I guess I really was a girl, so perhaps calling it a crossdress wasn¡¯t exactly correct, but, even then, I was the notorious Ragweed Princess of Livitium Imperial Kingdom. Me putting on a dress and going into public was practically a new dark history in the making.


    ¡°B-, but, then again, the store owner didn¡¯t give me a bad impression back when she dressed me up, did she? By chance, have I perhaps graduated from being a ragweed¡­?¡±


    Come to think of it, back then, Syltianna was nicknamed Ragweed because people liked to associate her with her mother Clara who was titled the Cattleya of Livitium Imperial Kingdom¡ªso perhaps there was a mix of envy and misdirected fury for my titling (well, apparently I was 3 years old when she died, so even Syltianna didn¡¯t have clear memories of her). So far fetched from her brilliant and graceful mother, a girl as ugly as used rags. That was why I was Ragweed, because I was a weed, so far from beautiful flowers¡­ Huh?1


    ¡°¡ªaren¡¯t the premises already broken, then? I¡¯m no longer the dolt I had been before since I got the smarts I brought from my previous life, and while I¡¯m still chubby, I¡¯m not so flabby like a wet rag that my own figure is hard to look at¡­ So, there¡¯s really no reason for me to be so harsh on myself?¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    Perhaps I should raise my self-esteem a bit. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m so outstandingly beautiful that everyone I meet falls for me, but I¡¯m not so ugly that people would throw their face away at my mere sight either. In fact, the store owner lady stayed in the same room as me for three hours straight, and she was just fine.


    ¡°Yup, let¡¯s have some confidence after all. All my daily efforts paid off and now I¡¯m as average looking as the next person, that¡¯s all!¡±


    With that in mind, I straightened my back and brazenly walked into the general store¡¯s storefront where Eren and Vier should be.


    ¡°Eren¡ªoh?¡± There was no one there. Seeing that Vier wasn¡¯t here either¡­ it didn¡¯t seem like she was in the restroom. Are they tired of waiting and gone to play?


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Well, I could try locating them with mana detection, but¡­ Yeah, it¡¯s no good. There were too many people, it was hard to single out Eren and Vier with how many pings I received back.


    Well, this is a pickle. As I stood there in the middle of the road, looking troubled, suddenly a boy¡¯s startled voice ¡°¡ªAh!!¡± came from the other side of the road. The voice turned out to belong to the boy who pulled my veil away the other day, this time with younger children in tow.


    While indeed I had my face hidden, my veil was semi-transparent and my waist-length cherry blonde hair was down my back, so it seemed he could recognize me at a glance (well, he did unfortunately see my bare face the last time we met). Although, he was less recognizing and more frozen rigid like a frog meeting a snake.


    (¡­I knew it, this veil really doesn¡¯t do its job, does it?)


    Not to mention, his overtly erratic reaction was enough to make me once again question if there really was a problem with my face.


    On the other hand, the little kids the boy (forgot his name) was ferrying around didn¡¯t seem to know me as the witch¡¯s apprentice, their gazes were colored with curiosity and interest as they whispered to each other.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A princess¡­?¡± ¡°Wow, a princess~¡± ¡°She a guest?¡± ¡°Woow~¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hear them that well, but they didn¡¯t give the same bad vibes as the last batch of kids who saw me. If anything, it was as if they just saw a rare animal. As I was starting to get uncomfortable, the boy¡¯s brain finally rebooted, before he intently marched at me¡ªface beet red as if he was furious.


    ¡°Oi, you!¡±


    ¡°Jill.¡±


    ¡°¡ªHuh?¡±


    ¡°My name. It¡¯s not ¡®You¡¯.¡±


    ¡°O-, oh. Jill¡­ Jill, huh.¡±


    ¡°So, what do you want? Erm¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Bruno.¡±


    Bruno, for some reason, introduced himself heartily, half-proud, half-relieved.


    ¡°Ah, I am Ian!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Carter!¡± ¡°Kenta here!¡± ¡°Will!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Charlie!¡±


    ¡°Oi you skanks, I¡¯m talking here. Tone it down!¡±


    When the little boys eagerly leaned forward and introduced themselves, Bruno held them back with his hand. That sight of them made a chuckle escape my mouth.


    ¡°Ah! She laughed!¡±


    ¡°Princess, you here for the festival?¡±


    ¡°Are you friends with Bruno?¡±


    Their innocence washed away the ill feelings that had nestled in my heart. That being said, even though I dressed the same way as before, one-piece attire with a veil, I was a ¡®Witch¡¯ if I wore black but a ¡®Princess¡¯ if I wore white, huh? How very childlike.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Just shut up, you kids! Also, this guy¡­er, Jill is not a princess.¡±


    ¡°Eeh, she¡¯s a princess!¡±


    ¡°Right!!¡±


    ¡°Aah, you¡¯re all so noisy. Oi, Jill! Eren¡¯s calling you to the field in the east.¡±


    So he informed me crudely, but¡ªobviously, I could only twist my neck in confusion.


    ¡°Where is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s uhh¡­ Dangit, this stinks. Come!¡±


    Bruno, scratching his mussed brown hair, walked away without waiting for my reply. I hesitated for a moment, but the kids surrounded me, so I followed his lead.


    In the draft, I planned to have the general store lady, the silver-haired receptionist, and the flower goddess run into each other so that Jill would go ¡°Wow, they¡¯re all so pretty. I can never be like them. After all, I¡¯m so¡­¡± but I scrapped that.


    Author¡¯s previous works. Ragweed Extended Universe? insert wojak here

 CH 14.2

    In a grassy open space, around eight little girls ¡ªI spied that mostly they were the age of 5 to 8 years old, while the older ones were babysitting the babies and the toddlers¡ª were gathering, with Eren amongst them. They had been diligently gathering flowers, but when Eren looked up to see me, her eyes widened, her cheeks rose, and she put her hands over her mouth, perhaps not to slip out whatever was trying to escape, before she softly let out a gasp.


    ¡°¡­Jill, you¡¯re so pretty.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Eren. I suppose fine feathers do make fine birds.¡±


    I thought Eren would be more excited, but she was surprisingly silent.


    (Well, I guess this is what it comes to be¡­) Seeing Eren was holding her chest and her eyes moist, wondering perhaps she was sick, my overzealousness was beginning to calm down.


    ¡°Oh, a princess~¡± ¡°So pretty~¡± ¡°Did she come from a castle?¡± ¡°The dress is so cute¡± ¡°She¡¯s like from the books.¡± ¡°Are those pearls real?¡±


    The little girls, on the other hand, were looking at my dress with rapt attention. Well, young as they were, they were still girls after all, so I suppose they would be interested in the details of my dress and the pearl ornaments.


    ¡°Hello. If I may ask, what are you doing?¡± Well, with the red and white flowers in their hands, I could easily guess.


    ¡°We¡¯re making rubrum flos. ¡ªAh, forgive me, Jill. I found these girls on their way here, and I couldn¡¯t let them all alone in the grassy field. I did tell the store owner, but you seemed too engrossed, Jill, so¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. By the way, where is Vier?¡±


    I didn¡¯t even have to search for her, Vier jumped out from the circle of girls with a cheerful yelp, her head, her neck, and even her wings and tail were decorated with colorful flowers.


    ¡°Oh, someone is popular. You look cute, Vier.¡± I hugged her tight and rubbed her cheeks with mine¡­ Aah, this is so soothing. It¡¯s nourishment for an exhausted heart.


    Bruno, who followed after me, pointed at Vier with his eyes wide open. ¡°Wh-, what¡¯s with that dog?! It has wings, is it a demon beast?!¡±


    ¡°What, Bruno? You¡¯re here?¡± Eren then threw him a cold look, and their exchange of verbal abuse continued for a while.


    When they saw their elders get into a quarrel, both the boys who followed after Bruno and the girls whom Eren was watching over didn¡¯t seem particularly upset¡ª on the contrary, they watched over them as if they knew it was going to happen. Looking at the younger kids¡¯ reaction, I judged that, perhaps, these two had been at it just like this every year.


    After they exhausted their vocabularies and their breaths, they were reduced to simply glaring at each other before Eren noticed me at the corner of her eye, and shoved me to the now frowning Bruno.


    ¡°Oh right, you said you wanted to apologize to Jill. Well, have you?!¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­!¡±


    With how Bruno stuck to his words, Eren must¡¯ve gotten her answer, and she wouldn¡¯t let that go.


    ¡°¡ªwhat, you haven¡¯t? You¡¯re all talk. That¡¯s not manly, you know. You actually don¡¯t feel sorry, do you?¡±


    ¡°Th-, that ain¡¯t it. It¡¯s just, the timing¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah! Fine, I¡¯ll watch over you, you can apologize to her now. Come on.¡±


    Eren¡¯s tone was full of spite, as though to say ¡°you don¡¯t have the guts to do that, anyway,¡± while the children all around us were watching curiously. After looking around and finding that he had no escape, Bruno looked straight at me, looking cornered.


    ¡°Well, if you really hate the idea, then you don¡¯t need to¡­ I mean, I understand that boys have pride, and I don¡¯t mind it either. I understand even if you don¡¯t say it out loud.¡± A word of encouragement escaped my lips before I realized it.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    ¡°¡­Aah, Jill, if you¡¯re showing him you¡¯re the bigger person now, Bruno will actually be put in a tight spot, so you better stop there.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    It was right then when Bruno, blood rushed to his head, took a big breath in with eyes steady¡ª before he shouted. ¡°Jill! A-, about yesterday¡­ F-, f-, for-, forget what happened, and fight me again!!¡±


    ¡°Why would you do that¡ª!!¡±


    Enraged, Eren hit Bruno unreservedly.


    ¡°Ow! Why did you hit me, you punk?!¡±


    ¡°Better a punk than a dimwit like you!¡±


    As another argument was about to break out again, I interrupted in ¡°okay, that¡¯s enough,¡± pushed Eren away, then faced Bruno.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind another fight, but I can¡¯t fight in these clothes. Why don¡¯t we push it for a later date, and today we agree on a truce?¡±


    ¡°F-, fine. I can get behind that. I won¡¯t lose next time.¡±


    I held back a smile that was about to creep up when Bruno¡¯s bluff reminded me of Luke¡¯s the other day, and I held out my right hand to him.


    ¡°So, for the truce, let¡¯s shake it.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    Bruno stared at my hand with a puzzled look, but he hurriedly brushed his right palm against his pants before he gingerly took mine.


    ¡°Now we made up.¡±


    After shaking it 2, or 3 times, Bruno somehow looked dazed. That was when Eren came to him with a smug face and whispered to him.


    ¡°¡­good for you, huh?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡±


    And once again he yelled with his face as red as lobster. Seeing that his face got redder and redder every time I saw him, I began to worry if he developed high blood pressure at such a young age.


    ?????


    After that, Eren taught me how to weave flower crowns, and I started with the white flower that resembled white clover. For some reason though, both boys and girls wanted to have the ones I made, so I asked Eren to help me out and we mass-produced enough of them for everyone.


    The boys seemed to have nothing to do while the girls were weaving, so I taught them simple games such as hopscotch, cops and robbers, shadow catching, and such, and those games gained popularity (apparently, the only game they knew around here was tag) with the boys and the girls, the whole field was filled with cheers of the kids.


    Bruno, by the way, was in charge of watching over the little children. For some reason though, he¡¯d occasionally give us glances while we were weaving flower crowns, and he looked quite expectantly.


    And just like that, by near evening, I finished weaving flower crowns for everyone, and somehow also received a pile of flower crowns in return from the girls.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Here, Bruno. We made rubrum flos, especially for you. A white one, of course. You better be thankful.¡±


    ¡°H-, hmm. B-, by the way, umm¡­ the red ones, who are you giving them to?¡±


    Bruno, wearing two white flower crowns, was looking at the red ones that both Eren and I were holding.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving them to dad and my brothers.¡±


    ¡°As for me, I¡¯ll give them to Regina and Maya.¡±


    Well, they were supposed to be exchanged between men and women, but we decided to give these flowers to them as a token of our appreciation. Not that I¡¯m sure a certain someone will be happy to receive it.


    ¡°H-, heeh.¡± Looking somewhat relieved, Bruno turned away.


    ¡°¡ªWell, I better get back then.¡± The sun was already getting very low in the sky, and it was time for me to say goodbye to everyone.


    ¡°¡±¡±Eehh~~, you¡¯re going home?!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s too bad, but you can¡¯t stay too late, after all.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll come back again later, so let¡¯s chat a lot then.¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the promise you made. If you win, I¡¯ll show you this really cool hidden spot I found!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see that.¡±


    Waving at the kids who were reluctantly holding me back, Vier and I headed back to the general store to change clothes.


    ¡°The magical time is over. I have to go back to being the ragweed witch.¡±


    ¡°Myuu-myuu!¡±


    Vier, adorned with flowers, followed behind me, wagging her tail in agreement.


    ¡°Also, I need to thank my mentor once I¡¯m back.¡± Well, she¡¯d probably just act senile and said she doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about.


    I could even imagine her snorting in displeasure as she accepted my rubrum flos, with a sour look on her face.


    ¡°Fufufufu,¡± My lips curved into a smile on their own.


    I could hear the cheers and music of the villagers from a distance. Their cheerful atmosphere carried me along on my merry way home.

 CH 15.1

    As I watered the corn, which had borne crops far exceeding my height, and the large pumpkins, which had vines covering the entire garden and bore fruit everywhere, I squinted with satisfaction at my vegetable garden¡¯s growth.


    ¡°I knew it, the mixture of fermented fertilizer and chicken manure really made a difference. For my first year growing them, I suppose they¡¯re not half bad.¡±


    Using a mixture of fermented fertilizer, which I had successfully developed with much effort, and chicken manure from Dan¡¯s farm (though I am not sure if I can call the two-merte-tall, fanged, devil-bird-like thing a ¡°chicken¡± or not), I grew corn and pumpkins. The growth rate and the thickness of the stems and vines have been very good, and they seem much more robust than the ones growing in the village field.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to try hybridization at some point in the future. I think paddy rice is much better than upland rice for this, but I don¡¯t know that much about it, and even if I did, there are still flood control issues that need to be addressed. That¡¯s a lot to ask for from a remote village, let alone a single individual.¡±


    The breeding process alone would probably take years, so it wasn¡¯t something that I could do in a single night. Even so, I heard we had a particularly cold year every few years or so, so at least I¡¯d like to try to save some cold-hardy seeds and cross-breed them.


    Incidentally, in such a bad harvest year, the government distributed food that had been stockpiled in advance and also provided assistance in case of emergency¡ªto be frank, I had this prejudice that nobles and such liked to oppress people in this world, but it seemed at least this country (Groviall Empire) was a much fairer society than I thought¡ªthus, so far there was no case of anyone dying of starvation or sold into slavery (purely in the western pioneer village, though).


    And so, having finished all my morning¡¯s chores, questioning whether or not it was time to harvest, I stowed away the watering can and other things in the storage shed, changed from my apron into my usual black robe, and looked around the shed.


    ¡°¡ªNow then. Well, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been to the pioneer village to do some shopping. I wonder where Maya and Vier went.¡±


    At first, Maya was unable to get the distance right, and she made Vier wary with her giant stature, but recently the both of them had become very comfortable with each other and often found themselves both gone together.


    During such times, I would ask Vier where she was and then ¡°We¡¯re playing~~ We ate something delish! It was BIG!!¡± an answer like that would come in the form of feelings.


    Maybe Maya was in the woods to patrol the area and teach her how to catch prey while at it. Recently, Vier has been eating out(?) more and more. By the way, if I asked what she was eating, she¡¯d answer with ¡°Bugs¡ª!!¡± and a visual of a dung beetle as big as a car was attached(?) to her reply, so I purposely avoided asking that¡­ Maya, I¡¯ll trust you won¡¯t feed her anything bad, okay?


    However, today I had told them ahead of time that we were going out, so I was expecting Maya to be stationed nearby by the time I was done. Putting aside Vier, this was unusual for the straight-laced Maya.


    ¡°Maya? Vier? Where are you?¡±


    As I readied my staff in hand, ready for anything that might jump out, I called out to the two in the woods. Right then, Maya¡¯s howl responded from quite afar, and not long after, a black silhouette¡ªRegina¡¯s familiar, the huge cat-like caru¡ªbelonging to Maya stepped out of the thickets almost with no sound whatsoever.


    On her back was a golden-furred demon beast the size of an Akita dog¡ªmy Sirius familiar¡ªVier. She flapped her wings and jumped into my chest.


    ¡°We¡¯re ba~ck!¡±


    Such emotions flowed from Vier as she entered my hug. ¡°Welcome back, Vier. Where have you gone?¡±


    ¡°Hmn~~~ walkies?¡±


    ¡°Walkies, is it? Was there anything out of the place?¡± I addressed that question to Maya, but she just looked back at me in silence. Was that supposed to mean that there was nothing worthy of note, or was that a gesture that implied she had something she couldn¡¯t say to me¡­ Either way, at this point, I could only conclude that there was no problem.


    ¡°Well then, Maya. Vier and I are going to the village, so please take care of Regina. We will return shortly, though¡­¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)


    When I told her that, Maya, looking apologetic, rubbed her neck against my body ¡ªprobably marking me with her scent for safety¡ª before she let out a single roar that filled the forest, sending off intimidation to the surroundings.


    With this, at least our departure will be safe. Small to medium-sized demon beasts, ghosts, spirits, and whatnot would stay away from the area for a while.


    ¡°Thank you, Maya. We¡¯ll be off then.¡± Vier hopped off from my arms and led the way, her steps bouncy and leisurely. As I walked along, I looked behind and saw Maya sitting in front of the hut, watching over us.


    Is there something that¡¯s bugging her, I wonder? Lately, Maya seemed to be cautious of something. She lingered around the hermitage and wouldn¡¯t go far from there.


    Even so, she still looked at me with that worried look on her face, so I lifted my staff in my right hand and showed it to Maya before we were out of her sight.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right. I¡¯ve learned the art for ¡ºClose¡»*, and training my body with all the walking is an everyday thing already.¡±


    ¡ºClose¡» was a magic art of the Sky attribute, which was basically the substitute for the magic item bag that Regina used to bring whenever she went out for groceries, but this one was in the form of magic art. The idea was to make a ¡®hole¡¯ in the space using magic (which was apparently invisible to anyone other than the practitioner) which I could simply throw things into. I just had to think of the item that I wanted to draw to take it out, and the item would be spat out just like that. At the moment, the size limit was indefinite, but the total weight limit was about 100 kilogura. Well, I heard the capacity would increase the more I am using it, but for now, that was enough for groceries.


    Speaking of which, from my experience, 1 kilogura is equal to 1 kilogram, and is equal to 1000 gura. As for dimension, 1 merte is practically 1 meter, which is 100 centimerte, and 1000 merte makes up to 1 kilomerte.


    Thanks to my recent familiarity with the path and my daily training, it took me less than three hours to reach the village now. I should be able to return around 3 in the afternoon if there were no problems.


    And with that, Vier and I headed towards the pioneer village in an easygoing mood.


    ¡°Doryaaah!!¡± Bruno lunged, full of vigor. His wooden sword was gripped with one hand at the end of its handle for further reach. He took advantage of the difference in our body builds and thrust from a long distance. It was a good, vigorous attack, but his movements were a bit too linear and crude.


    ¡°Bu¡­hak!¡± Just before his sword reached me, I bent down and dived under Bruno¡¯s outstretched arm. With the same momentum as I slid into his arm¡¯s reach, my wooden sword struck him in the flank with an audible whack.


    ¡°Ack¡­kgh¡­!!¡± Bruno frowned and held his side. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t let go of his sword. He kept himself low and as if to take one back, he whipped the tip of his sword up, aiming at my torso this time. I thought of parrying it aside, but the unexpected amount of strength his muscles provided prevented me from perfectly parrying it, forcing me to take a step back.


    ¡°Seryaah!!¡± Bruno must have seen this as an opportunity, he pressed on with his entire being and delivered a spirited blow.


    ¡°Kghh¡ª!¡± As if succumbing to his pressure, I took another half-step back, pulling back my left foot to meet his wooden sword.


    Two wooden swords locked to each other, and we automatically fell into fierce sword crosses¡ªan apparent deadlock at first glance¡ªbut in a simple contest of strength, I couldn¡¯t compete against Bruno. Bruno must¡¯ve known that too. His face spoke of how confident he was with his victory, which unfortunately was suddenly planted to the ground.

 CH 15.2

    ¡°WhaAA?!¡± Unable to grasp what had just happened, Bruno was understandably confused. After all, my sword was practically made a beeline to his head, and even then I had held myself back quite considerably.


    What was there to hide? The trick was on the feet. As Bruno kept pressing forward, I swept his advancing foot with my own.


    ¡°OWwwwchh¡ª!!¡± Of course, this time Bruno couldn¡¯t tough it up. He let go of his wooden sword and rolled around on the grassy field, holding his head. Eren, who had been watching this practice with bated breath, cheered and hugged me.


    ¡°Yaay! As expected of Jill! Another win without getting a single hit! ¡ªWell, not like I¡¯ll ever forgive you if you dare to even leave a scratch on Jill. Still¡­ You really are incompetent Bruno, always getting socked like that, every time.¡±


    At Eren¡¯s generously sarcastic words, Bruno finally rose to his feet and protested, tears in his eyes.


    ¡°Zip it¡ª! It¡¯s cheating to use your feet, fight fair and square!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that. My swordsmanship is designed for actual combat, so I use whatever is available and whatever ingenuity I can muster.¡±


    ¡°You heard her! You said you wanted to be an adventurer, didn¡¯t you? Did you think monsters and beasts will let you say ¡®hey, I didn¡¯t practice for this!¡¯ or what?¡±


    Bruno was chagrined at Eren¡¯s sound argument and fell silent. That being said, it had been three months since we started this practice¡ªor Duel, as Bruno insisted. As a man, it must¡¯ve sucked to keep losing to a girl every time.


    Not to mention, while it was true that technically I won every time, it was also the fact that the gap between our strengths was gradually closing.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that you still charge recklessly, you¡¯ve improved a lot compared to when we started. Keep it up and it might not be long until you can get a hit in.¡±


    The difference in our sheer muscle strength had grown to the point where I couldn¡¯t completely brush aside his strikes as well as I did in the first practices. Even subtracting the difference between men and women in terms of growth¡ªwhich was a bit of a frustrating factor for me¡ªI¡¯d say he had come a long way. At the moment, I dominated him with my skills and experience, but considering the rate of growth between us, he might be a real threat in the future. ¡­Not that I intended to lose either.


    ¡°I-, I see. Just wait, then, I¡¯ll definitely catch up to you!¡±


    Bruno, who apparently managed to recover a semblance of his appearance at my words, got up from his spot with his regained usual energy.


    ¡°That¡¯s all we¡¯ve ever heard from you. You promised you¡¯d show Jill ¡®this cool place I found¡¯ if she defeated you, but you never showed us anything.¡±


    ¡°That duel isn¡¯t valid! She always uses those weird little tricks!¡±


    ¡°Howling losers are miserable. You actually just don¡¯t want to admit it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it! But that¡¯s a secret place for us guys, I can¡¯t disclose it to girls so easily.¡±


    Eren¡¯s poking fun at Bruno was met with a pissed-off rebuttal. Hmm~ A secret base for guys only, what a thrilling set of words. Too bad I¡¯m a girl now.


    Vier, who had been watching over us whilst sitting like the good girl she was, came up to my feet, flapping her wings.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait, Vier. Come, we should continue our shopping.¡±


    As I recall, it was pure luck that I met Bruno just as I passed through the village gate. As usual, he challenged me to a duel, and from there till Eren heard what happened and flew in, around an hour passed. I wouldn¡¯t say that I was wasting time, but since I had promised Maya that we would be back soon, I had to hurry and finish the shopping.


    After bending down to finger-comb her scruff, I got up to go around the village in my usual order. But then, Eren noticed me getting up and stopped her usual bickering. She turned her somewhat flustered face to me.


    ¡°Ah, hang on, Jill. There are letters addressed to you and the Sage, so father said you should drop by our house today!¡±


    ¡°Letters? For me too??¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    What could they be? Putting Regina¡¯s letters aside, who¡¯d send letters to me from the imperial¡­AH!


    As I was about to rack my brain, the words ¡°I¡¯ll write you a letter¡± from Luke (Lucas), the angelic boy with a pretty face that I had only met a few months before, popped up in my brain.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t tell me, is it perhaps Luke¡¯s?!¡±


    ¡°Luke¡­who? That sounds like a boy¡¯s name.¡±


    Eren, who naturally didn¡¯t know Luke, asked with a subtle¡­mixture of curiosity and anxiety. For some reason, Bruno also perked up his ears.


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    Well, if this wasn¡¯t a pickle. The matters with Luke were basically Regina¡¯s private matters, and I couldn¡¯t possibly disclose it so casually. ¡°Erm, Luke is a friend of mine who¡¯s the same age as us, and he¡¯s the son of a knight from the imperial capital. ¡­he has blond hair, blue eyes, and is princely, I guess?¡±


    It came out sounding vague, so I had no choice but to end my description of him a bit jokingly.


    ¡°Prince¡­!!¡± But then, for some reason, Eren¡¯s eyes widened open as she was so shocked she fell on the spot, while Bruno turned his grim-looking face around and fell silent.


    ¡°Wh-, what¡¯s the matter, you two?¡±


    I asked, but they both remained silent.


    In the end, they stayed wordless all the way until I finished my shopping and received the letters from the village chief¡ªand sure enough, they were letters from Mister Eilmer and his son, Luke.


    ¡°Here they are. These three are for the Sage¡­and this one is yours, Miss Jill.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, chief.¡±


    Having received a letter from a friend from afar, I couldn¡¯t contain my smile. Eren peeked at my face from under my hood, and with a brooding look, she insistently asked.


    ¡°Hey, Jill, you¡¯re not going anywhere, right? You¡¯ll be here, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡ª? I¡¯m not going anywhere. I have nowhere to go, in the first place. I¡¯ll stay here until Regina chases me away, that is.¡±


    A look of relief immediately spread across Eren¡¯s face.


    ¡°Oi, Jill. Next time you come over, I¡¯ll show you this place with a lot of treasures, just you. So, well¡­ Don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    And Bruno, who for some reason had been following us all along, said something like that with a serious expression on his face.


    ¡°Treasures? Sounds stupid.¡±


    Eren, who had rebooted a few moments earlier, poked fun at Bruno, but then, ¡°I¡¯m not lying!¡± Bruno pulled out a drawstring bag hanging around his neck from under his shirt. From it, he pulled out a crumpled old map and unfolded it.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°We found this in the ruins of an old abandoned house. You see the square marking and arrows here? This is the treasure chest, I tell you that much!¡±


    ¡°Haah. You sure you just didn¡¯t make that up? First of all, this map is so old, the old town and streets are different from what they are today, you can¡¯t even tell where it is.¡±


    ¡°I know where it can be! See this rock here, and that¡¯s the wasteland in the south, right? It¡¯s way closer than you think!¡±


    In contrast to Bruno¡¯s heated explanation, Eren looked at the ¡®treasure map¡¯ with a frosty gaze. Well, it does look like something a passing traveler simply jotted down.


    ¡°But, who¡¯s to say that there is nothing there? It might be a good idea to go there and take a look.¡± Chuckling, I added a few words of my own. Boys always yearn for adventure, after all.


    ¡°Hear that?! Jill knows it. Unlike some boy-girl!¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a boy-girl?!¡±


    Hey, there¡¯s a boy-girl too here~


    ¡°Hah. Go and look in the mirror!¡±


    ¡°Say what you want, piggy boy! I pray the sage will curse you to become a rag next!¡±


    Hey, there¡¯s a ragweed too here~


    As I looked at Eren and Bruno, back at their usual bickering as if their dejection a moment ago was a lie, I looked up to the heavens and thought ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯m going to be late getting home again.¡±


    As if to console me, Vier jumped onto my chest and affectionately licked my cheeks.

 CH 16.1

    Rufous dry wasteland and rocky hills with no grass or trees as far as the eye could see.


    While gazing at the monotonous scenery consisting of only three basic colors ¡ªthe blue of the sky, the white of the clouds, and the red of the earth¡ª four mounted figures were silently advancing along a narrow path that wound between cliffs.


    ¡°¡­¡± It had been a full day of traveling on desolate mountain roads that never changed. Rocking on the backs of emus; myself, Chad, Ellen, Andy, and Bruno, the five of us traveling together, were physically and mentally exhausted.


    The only ones in good spirits were probably Regina, who was leading the rest of us on Maya¡¯s back, and Vier, who was pacing back and forth at the feet of the emu I rode.


    By the way, emus were huge birds, more than 3 mertes tall from the ground to the top of their head, which could be mounted to carry humans and cargo. Compared to other pack animals (horses, land dragons, wildashers, etc.), they matured faster, were relatively inexpensive, and could tolerate a poor diet, which was why emus were a rather common option in remote areas.


    Well, in return, they had the disadvantages of not being able to carry heavy loads, short-lived, temperamental, and bird-brained¡­which means everything has its merits and demerits, and no pack animal is absolutely superior to the others.


    So, the emus normally would panic and go berserk on the spot because an amateur like me was holding the reins and they were near high-ranking carnivorous demon beasts like Maya and Vier. However, because they were all under Regina¡¯s domination magic, the emus were obediently and willingly walking in a single file¡ªfollowing Regina¡¯s instructions.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of seeing the same scenery forever. Why did the people in the past build a gate in a place like this anyway?¡± Bruno, riding together with Andy¡¯s emu, whined in a bored tone.


    ¡°I heard this place used to be a lush, natural treasure trove, you see.¡± Andy, astride the saddle and holding the reins with a practiced hand, looked back to the younger boy and chuckled. When he did, Bruno gave the dead earth another look-see, and when he spotted not a single sign of life, he showed a semi-doubt look. ¡°Well, I heard that from my dad, so it¡¯s not like I saw it myself.¡±


    ¡°If anything, don¡¯t you go complaining now after you begged to join in even though no one asked.¡± Eren, who was riding alongside Chad, looked at him with a troubled look on her face.


    ¡°Yeah, like you¡¯re any better!¡±


    ¡°I am here in my father¡¯s place, officially, as the representative of the village chief. As for you, know your place.¡±


    Eren returned with a smug on her face, beaming with pride.


    ¡°¡­kids sure have a lot of energy.¡± Chad sighed in exhaustion. Like his peer Andy, he was accompanying Regina this time as a helper and guardian of the children, but unlike Andy, he didn¡¯t seem to be very skilled at steering the reins and was quite nervous.


    ¡°We should see it soon.¡± Regina, who was walking ahead with Maya, raised her usual grumpy voice and pointed to the end of the road with the top of her long cane. The thing she pointed at looked like a collapsed rock, but it was the ruins of a city.


    ¡°Finally¡­¡±


    Chad¡¯s relief was shared by all, but then Regina looked back with a knife-edge squint and snorted.


    ¡°Hmph. The work starts here. I¡¯ll say it again, I expect the same work result for all of you, kids or adults. If any of you dare to skip out on work and laze around, I¡¯ll turn you into a pig or a dog and throw you out!¡±


    After delivering her intimidation straight, with no sign of a smirk, everyone present straightened their backs and nodded furiously. Especially Bruno, who had experienced being turned into a pig before due to his excessive mischief, already looked pale and desperate.


    We, a group of slaves, then silently made our way to our destination, led by our grumpy mistress.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Now then, the reason why we left the forest and came to this wasteland went back to the arrival of letters to Regina from a relative she had in the imperial capital¡ªthe dragon knight and father of Luke, Mister Eilmer.


    The letters she received were all in the name of Mister Eilmer¡¯s personal letters, but in reality, they were divided into ¡®update on Mr. Eilmer and family,¡¯ ¡®the recent happenings of the Imperial Capital,¡¯ and ¡®a request to Regina.¡¯ The more she progressed with the letters, the worse Regina¡¯s mood became.


    Incidentally, when she was reading the ¡®update on Mr. Eilmer and family¡¯ letter, she asked me something in a voice tone full of discomfort and disbelief. ¡°Jill. Do you have a sister or a relative close in age who has the same¡­ whose name is Syltianna?¡±


    That question made me twist my neck in confusion.


    ¡°Hum¡­ by sister, you mean Syltianna¡¯s sisters? Well, while our mothers are different, I have six sisters, and since I¡¯m the fifth daughter, I have four older sisters and one little sister. The closest ones in age are probably my older sister who is just a year or two older than me or my little sister who¡¯s three to four years younger¡­ Also, I don¡¯t know any of my relatives.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. They got the wrong person, then. It says here Luke¡¯s been offered a marriage proposal with Syltianna, the daughter of Frontier Count Aulanthia of Livitium Imperial Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Luke got a marriage proposal?! With the daughter of Count Aulanthia, and that name¡­¡±


    Should I be more surprised with such a sudden offer, should I be surprised about this strange coincidence? However, the offer to marry ¡®Syltianna¡¯ is probably a mistake. After all, Syltianna has long died.


    ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true or not, but this surely means Luke won¡¯t be marrying the ragweed princess. Good for him, eh?¡±


    Perhaps it was one of my half-sisters. I tried to remember who it could be, but I couldn¡¯t recall any of my siblings, because the only interaction we ever had was when I passed them in the hallway and they gave me the look as if they were looking at a filth.


    ¡°Whoever it might be, I know that they have at least decent appearances, unlike me. As I recall, my sisters were collectively referred to as the Lovely Flowers of Aulanthia (excluding the ragweed).¡±


    ¡°Hmph. How ridiculous. Beauty can only be forged from character, experience, and months and years of hard work. A single layer of skin can¡¯t decide the outlook value of a person!¡±


    Regina¡¯s point was clear and straightforward. Personally, I think it was a fair and just argument, but as someone whose value actually was decided by my appearance, and humanity and personality were denied simply because I was ugly, I found it hard to agree. ¡­This is complicated.


    ¡°Is that¡­how it is?¡±


    ¡°It is. Even ragweeds can bloom flowers, you can eat their young leaves, and you can use them as a medicinal herb. You¡¯ll look even more stupid if you group them up with random weeds and throw them away!¡¯


    Regina spat out those words and, as if to visualize her sentence, tossed the letter on the table before she reached for the second letter.


    ¡°¡­¡± Not that I dare to suspect, but is she, by any chance, trying to cheer me up? If she is, she sure sounds more like she has a strong opinion on ragweeds¡­


    After skimming through the second letter, Regina wrinkled her brow, tossed it on the table as if she was disgusted by it, and mumbled away with hatred.


    ¡°¡­for crying out loud, an adult should¡¯ve known better than to come crying to a retired old fool for every little thing. He¡¯s been spoiled a little too much.¡±


    That didn¡¯t sound like something I should say anything about, so I stayed silent when Regina reached out for the third letter¡­and as she read on, Regina¡¯s face became more and more grim ¡ªher expression was so fierce, I¡¯d bet even ogres would run with their tail between their feet¡ª and when she did, Maya quietly retreated with her footsteps stealthily, while Vier and I, after exchanging a glance, also fled out of the room fearfully.


    The moment I soundlessly closed the door and reached the hallway¡ª


    ¡°SON OF A B?I?T?C?H?¡ª!! HE THINKS I¡¯M HIS GOFER OR WHAT??!!!!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    A furious roar of rage thundered, threatening to topple the now-leaning hermitage with a single shout. Vier and I both face-planted due to the sheer impact on our backs.


    By the way, ragweed being a medicinal herb is a superstition. The scientific name of ragweeds is Ambrosia artemisiifolia, with Ambrosia being the food and drink of gods. Since ancient times, Ambrosia has been considered an ingredient of the elixir of immortality.


    Also, Syltianna¡¯s half-sister princesses all have generally regular appearances, it¡¯s their upbringing that gives them the atmosphere of beauty.

 CH 16.2

    Following the letter that had angered Regina, we had come all the way to this now-abandoned former trading post.


    ¡°That being said, why did the empire leave such a valuable magical device like the gate¡ªthe teleporter, was it? Unattended and unrepaired like this?¡±


    When we looked at the city that had been destroyed almost beyond recognition ¡ªa graveyard of rubbles that was big enough to fill an entire town¡ª a question was raised by someone among us. Regina, climbing down from Maya¡¯s back ¡ªor more like, reverently escorted by Maya¡¯s tentacles¡ª released a sneer.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one to fix it, obviously. I¡¯d give up too if it turns out to be completely broken. In which case, only a Maker Master from the Superempire could fix it.¡±


    ¡°If so, shouldn¡¯t they just ask the Superempire instead of you, Mentor?¡±


    Ack, that came out wrong¡ª When I looked at the blood vessel audibly snapped at Regina¡¯s temple, I realized I had stepped on a landmine, and shuddered in fear. Sensing the trouble, the others ¡ªAndy and Chad got off their emus and kept their distance by pretending to be busied by their luggage, while Bruno immediately took a 180-degree turn¡ª vacating the area. Eren, alone, remained for me and grabbed my hand¡­ Although she was trembling so inhumanely hard it became contagious, making me all that much anxious too, so I¡¯d really appreciate it if she would let go of my hand.


    Eventually, a terrifying, vindictive laugh, almost haunting to listen to, escaped from Regina¡¯s tight-knit mouth. ¡°Fu fu fu fu¡­ Ain¡¯t that just right, my dear disciple? It¡¯s not like you can simply tell the Superempire to fix the gate they provided that was leveled by the Dragon King¡¯s fury because some no-brained idiot made a miscalculation, eh? After all, everyone agreed to just pretend that nothing happened, nada. And then what, of all people, that bark-faced rascal of a knight asked me, ME, to clean up this mess all over again!!!¡±


    Regina¡¯s body was shaking with anger, but the fact that she went as far as going here meant that, at the end of the day, she was willing to do what was asked of her. ¡°¡­aah, but, if we can get it working, we can use it, right?¡¯


    ¡°Hah. Only if it can work, that is. All I can do is power it up and adjust it around, so if it¡¯s broken down, I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s a?s?s?. That ungrateful imbecile can walk all the way from the imperial capital on her own legs!¡±


    This time, she directed her anger at her disciple ¡ªwhich made her my senior sister in magical arts¡ª who took residence in the imperial capital.


    As for the repair of the teleporter ¡ªa magical device that connected the Imperial Capital and this land in an instant¡ª, the topic had actually come over to her as a confidential matter, but, being really strict at herself and others, Regina flatly refused any external help and, in her words, ¡°we¡¯ll figure out the damn thing ourselves!¡±


    Apparently, however, there had been an agenda to appoint a feudal lord for the long-since lordless territory, and as a preliminary step, a bureaucrat agent (something like a deputy official) had been nominated to administer the affairs of the region and was to move in, or that was what was written in the letter.


    The one who was nominated was an imperial court magician, baroness Cristiane Rita Brandm¨¹ller. She was Regina¡¯s personal disciple and, by extension, her relationship with me was a brother-sister (or sister-sister?) student of the same master.


    This relationship led Regina to do the heavy lifting that she requested of her, albeit reluctantly. ¡°¡­I still owe her for chasing her away in the middle of her apprenticeship.¡± Regina¡¯s heartfelt displeasure as she made that remark was burned into my memory.


    And so, in preparation for the trip, Regina and I visited the western pioneer village together, and when the people heard that a new bureaucrat agent was coming, they thought that this was a good chance to earn some favor¡­ So the village chief decided to send a helping hand, and because of that, frankly quite expectedly, Andy and Chad were chosen to help.


    For some reason, Eren suggested herself, and when she did, Bruno also enthusiastically came forward ¡ªapparently, it was because the place we were going to was close to the mark on his Treasure Map (which, when Regina gave it a look, she said ¡°that¡¯s just some old guide to the teleporter. A cheap thing,¡± and broke Bruno¡¯s heart). Because of their enthusiasm, and Andy¡¯s and Chad¡¯s verbal persuasion, the four of them joined us in our excursion in the end.


    ¡°We¡¯ll begin by searching where the damn teleporter is. Oi, Jill! What¡¯s the range of your mana detection now?¡±


    ¡°Around 50 merte above-ground, and 15 merte below ground.¡± With a very bad premonition coming off Regina¡¯s abrupt question, I truthfully broached the limits of my current capabilities. Granted, the scope and accuracy had more than doubled compared to three months ago.


    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯ll do. Make sure you find it within the hour. Or else¡­¡± Regina snorted, then glanced at the sun that was beginning to veer to the west by now. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll be staying here tonight.¡±


    We exchanged glances before each of us looked around at the mountains of rubble that surrounded us. Dry wind passed over the vast ruins which were nothing but gray rubble and reddish-brown sand, making a sound, not unlike a human scream.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°Rest assured. There¡¯s no strong magic beast around here.¡±


    Regina shrugged as she made that statement, and Eren then fearfully raised her hand at her. ¡°Umm¡­ This whole area was wiped out by the wrath of the Lord of the Forest, right? There¡¯s no ghost of the people who used to live here or anything¡­right?¡±


    Regina smirked wickedly, showing her gums. ¡°Don¡¯t worry your little head. It¡¯s been 30 years, no ghost has enough willpower to linger that long. ¡­well, there may be some specter borne out of deep-rooted atrocity, but eh, they¡¯re just shadows of dead people anyway. Don¡¯t mind them, lil miss.¡±


    Well, I mind them! Now I¡¯m scared out of my skin!


    Immediately then, everyone barring Regina got on the same page. Andy and Chad both grabbed my shoulders, lips smiling but their eyes were scarily serious.


    ¡°We believe in you.¡±


    ¡°You can do it, Jill.¡±


    What an outlandish amount of trust.


    ¡°¡­understood. I¡¯ll search to the best of my abilities.¡±


    Right away, I expanded my mana detection to the maximum and looked for the teleporter. A magic device of its scale should be releasing a great deal of mana waves even if it¡¯s currently not functioning and buried under the ground.


    For now, thinking that I should begin the search from the town center, I brought my feet there.


    If you consider this as a town that was developed surrounding the teleporter, then the town center had to be the primary location to look at. And, more importantly, I deemed that dealing with specters amongst the rubble in the area sounded a much better idea than being under the pressure of my mentor, Andy, and Chad on my back.

 CH 17.1

    ¡°How did it come to this¡­¡± While I knew it was too late, I was still tormented by regret all the same.


    I was planning to search for the teleporter starting from the center of the town, and if I couldn¡¯t find it there, I would gradually expand my range in a spiral shape 50 mertes outward, which was the bare limit of my mana detection, until I fully covered the whole ruined town. I just didn¡¯t expect the extras would be with me¡ª needless to say, the extras were Eren and Bruno.


    As Vier and I walked off, the two of them came following us. ¡°You don¡¯t know what¡¯s lurking out there. It¡¯s not safe to go alone! I¡¯m coming with you,¡± said one. ¡°You might need muscle work, so I¡¯ll be coming too,¡± said the other. Both of them tugged at the sleeves of my robe and wouldn¡¯t listen otherwise. After trying to argue with them for a while, Regina, sullen-faced and closing her ears with both hands, scolded, ¡°Stop yapping, just bring them with you!¡± With that, the two were allowed to accompany me.


    And because of that¡ª


    ¡°S-, something¡¯s moving there, Jill! Is-, is that a ghost?!¡±


    ¡°Where?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just fog.¡±


    ¡°I-, I heard something! Are the ghosts whispering?!¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just dry leaves rubbing.¡±


    ¡°Eek! J-, Jill, I saw a specter there!!¡¯


    ¡°That one, huh?! Hyaah!¡±


    Every time something moved or looked out of place, Eren would tug on my sleeve and yell, trying to get my attention, and when she did, Bruno would swing his dulled training sword at whatever it was, trying to recklessly fight the illusion¡­ This routine had become a headache, it was exhausting and a waste of time.


    (Finding the teleporter in an hour seems impossible now¡­)


    I felt like more than 30 minutes had passed already. So, I was walking with these bundles of nerves who got worked up over nothing and went nowhere, still hadn¡¯t reached the town center. I could feel a soft sigh escaping me.


    (We didn¡¯t come here to sightsee and picnic, but then again, they are still 11 years old after all¡­)


    I mean, in Japan, they would be at the age of 5th graders in elementary school. Because I had been playing with them for some time, I had come under the impression that we were all the same age, but I, for one, had the knowledge and decision-making skills equivalent to a high school student ¡ªor, at least, that¡¯s what I thought, but with how vague my memory of my previous world was, it was very possible that I was actually some senile old gramps who was lost in memory lane reminiscing about my glorious high school days and died a peaceful death due to my advanced age, there was no telling really¡ª so I understood my assignment well and acted on it. However, for the two of them, they were not yet old enough to act with a clear awareness of the difference between work and play.


    (There¡¯s no blaming them, I suppose. My accuracy is still off, but doing this here should be fine. ¡­Come to think of it, now seems to be the perfect opportunity to test on this art.)


    With time running short, I was forced to adopt a last resort.


    I stopped in my tracks and stuck the tip of my staff into the ground, and then I called out to Eren, Bruno, and my Sirius familiar who was trying her best to be of help by sniffing around the debris like a disaster rescue dog¡ªa truly helpful and bestest girl she was¡ªVier.


    ¡°I am about to use an art called Force Sonar with my full power, so please stay still where you are.¡±


    The two plus one stopped, replying to me uniquely.


    After making sure there was nothing moving around me, I began to knead the mass of mana I had stored in my dantian. ¡°Hyaaaahh!¡± By performing a breathing technique where I momentarily exhaled all of the breath I had using my abdomen¡ªsome school named this technique ¡®Explosive Breath¡¯, some named it ¡®Thunder Voice¡¯, some other called it ¡®Use-Your-Damn-Guts¡¯¡ª I released a wave of mana in the form of vibration around my staff onto the ground.


    This art that I named Force Sonar was basically an imitation of the regular mana detection art, Search. However, what made it different was, while Search picked up the vibrations emitted by substances and organisms like a signal, or a passive sonar so to speak, Force Sonar emitted its own vibration and determined the distance to the object from the reflected vibrations, or an active sonar.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    While it was good and all when I suddenly came up with it while picking medicinal and poisonous herbs every morning, but as I actually used it, I realized the many drawbacks it had ¡ªThe range of detection was proportional to the amount of mana used to activate it. Also, if my target¡¯s mana wavelength was small, it couldn¡¯t bounce back the vibration I emitted. Also, also, I was basically setting off fireworks to inform every demon beast in the area that I was here. And so on and so forth¡ª which made this art something that was completely useless to help me pick medicinal herbs. Because of that, I had shelved the idea halfway through developing it, but now I thought that this was the perfect chance to test the art, and thus I basically performed it the first time without ever properly practicing it.


    ¡°¡­Is it¡­this one? I can detect a pretty strong mana vibration 80 mertes to the southwest, and 5 mertes underground. ¡­it¡¯s pretty massive.¡±


    I received various mana reactions big and small, but it was the only one that was emitting such an overwhelmingly powerful vibration.


    ¡°You found it, Jill?!¡±


    I chuckled at the beaming Eren. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and see?¡±


    Nearly an hour later¡ª


    In front of the excavated transporter, Eren, Bruno, Andy, Chad, Vier, and I were slumped down in utter exhaustion, using the piles of rubble as chairs and backrests.


    Well, in terms of removing the most debris, the contributing powerhouses were mainly the four~five mertes long caru, Maya, with her herculean strength in her tentacles, and the tireless simple golem Regina created on the spot¡­


    However, obviously, the detailed work had to be done by human labor, so Regina assigned work equally to everyone, regardless of age or sex (including herself), as she had declared. As a result, by the end, everyone was so exhausted none of us could even speak, and just limped along.


    ¡°By the lords, why would you youngsters be so out of shape?!¡± Reprimanded Regina as she gave us a glance.


    She was engaged in the same amount of physical labor as us, and yet Regina showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever. She kicked aside the debris in her way and headed towards the teleporter to examine it with Maya in tow, her strides steady and wide.


    ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡­(what a monster).¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±


    I knew it, she¡¯s not a human. All five of us were horrified by how much of a witch Regina was.


    Bending down to the base of the 5 mertes long and 4 mertes wide gate, which was made neither out of stone nor metal, Regina pressed her cane towards it and mumbled some incantation. From the looks of it, it didn¡¯t appear to be particularly broken or damaged.


    As we watched with fascination, more or less recovering from our fatigue, we soon heard a buzzing noise like insect wings, and soon the entire transporter began to glow with a blue-white phosphorescence.


    ¡°Hmph. Up and running, eh? Talk about a robust thing.¡± Regina¡¯s lips curved as if to blame the gate for needing her to activate it personally.


    Meanwhile, the five of us exchanged glances and wordless smiles, relieved to know that our hard work had apparently paid off.


    ¡°¡­but, lord, the settings are all over the place. It needs to be initialized and tuned on the other side before it can see any use.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, the other side?¡±


    ¡°The other end of the gate, obviously.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Regina pointed to the inside of the teleporter, which glowed with light.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ dangerous?¡± This device had been left unattended for three decades, it¡¯s hard to imagine what kind of malfunctions it had in store.

 CH 17.2

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Beats me. Can¡¯t tell unless I actually use it. Well, it looks like it¡¯s running if you ask me. I should be back by morning, but in case I don¡¯t return, Jill, you go back to the village and make a detailed report, and the rest, Jean¡¯s grandson¡ªThat Eilmer lad will take care of it.¡±


    The words that Regina uttered so lightly as she shrugged her shoulders made me pale. Finally, it hit me that this task was deadly and, if something went wrong, this might be the last time I would ever see Regina.


    ¡°¡ª?!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with that face? You think something¡¯s gonna happen to me? Hah, too bad for you, everyone I¡¯ve ever known has always been wondering how this old bag o¡¯ bones isn¡¯t in the graves just yet, little they know I¡¯ll live hard and die peacefully in my sleep once I¡¯m done. Ain¡¯t no way I¡¯m dying in a place like this!¡±


    Regina let out a hearty laugh at the end of her statement. She and Maya walked forward, their gaits carefree as if they were on a picnic, leaving us in a daze as their figure fizzled and disappeared into the teleporter.


    Perhaps it was because the light from the teleporter vanished along with them, our surroundings suddenly became dim and chilly again. Chad shivered, looked up at the dusk-tinted sky with a puzzled look on his face, then mumbled.


    ¡°She said she¡¯d be back by morning, which means we¡¯ll still spend the night here in these ruins all the same.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that sure sounds like it. We can¡¯t leave the teleporter alone, too. For starters, let¡¯s get our emus where we tied them. Next, we need to get a place to set up camp¡ªcan I leave that to you, Jill? And the extra two.¡±


    Just as begrudgingly, Andy acknowledged Chad¡¯s statement and the two of them went back to the outskirts of the town to retrieve the emus we had left behind.


    ¡°For good measure, Vier and I are going to go around the area and put up a simple evil-warding barrier. Can I ask you two to clear up some debris and build a fire pit out of it?¡±


    ¡°Not that we can¡¯t, but what do we do about firewood?¡±


    ¡°I have some firewood with me.¡±


    Dead branches and fallen wood that I picked up in the forest as firewood and put away in the Close (Storage) magical art were taken out on the spot and laid out in front of me.


    ¡°And then, some water, some seasoning, and horned rabbit meat¡­¡±


    Water in a leather bag, a burlap sack full of rock salt, three skinned and gutted rabbits and various cooking utensils. Finally, I took out about a dozen stakes to use for the barrier. Eren and Bruno¡¯s eyes lit up when they saw them.


    ¡°Whoa, magic sure is convenient. Wish I could do the same.¡±


    ¡°You moron, like hell you can do it. Also, what¡¯s amazing isn¡¯t the magic, but Jill who prepared all of them beforehand!¡±


    Eren was haughty as if it was her own deeds that she was boasting about, before she yelped ¡°Eeek!!¡± out of the blue.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Eren?¡±


    ¡°Ah, erm, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I felt like I saw some kind of blue flame in the rubble there.¡±


    As Eren answered, sounding uncomfortable, Bruno sneered at her mockingly. ¡°What, seeing things again? I¡¯d bet it¡¯s just some bird or something.¡±


    Fed up with the usual bickering that ensued, I decided to take the stakes and circle the area.


    ¡°12 stakes positioned clockwise should be enough¡ªVier, let¡¯s go.¡±


    But then, even though I already called her, Vier didn¡¯t follow me but instead was growling and staring at a spot with her tail and back fur bristling. It was the spot where Eren had said she saw the blue flame.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°What is it, Vier? What¡¯s over there?¡±


    As though to answer me, Vier barked sharply¡ªthe moment she did, in the twilight of the dusk, several masses of blue flames emerged from the rubbles, appearing as fire lit to bait fishes at night, surrounding us.


    ¡°¡°WHA¡­?!¡±¡±


    I ran back to Eren and Bruno who exclaimed in fear and confusion. I quickly drove the evil-warding stakes into the ground around us, then readied my staff as I knead the mana in my body.


    (This is bad. I¡¯ve used all I could before, so now I don¡¯t have much mana that I can use)


    ¡°Jill, wh-, what are they¡­?¡±


    Eren lightly clung to my robe, so I answered her question as straightforwardly as I could.


    ¡°Will ¡®o wisp, also known as the souls of the dead. I¡¯ve never seen them before either.¡±


    ¡°Wh-, why are they coming to us?!¡±


    Bruno, just as frightened but holding onto his sword desperately, shrieked.


    This is just my assumption, but with the two biggest threats, Maja and Regina, gone, and the two adults away, they judged that there are only us children¡ªand they saw us as an easy pick, so these dead souls took it as an opportunity to attack¡­no, even then, there¡¯s too many of them for that.


    Even Regina already said, ¡°It¡¯s been 30 years, no ghost has enough willpower to linger that long,¡± and yet it almost appears like every single ghost in the area is clustering here¡­ah!!


    ¡°¡­it could be that it¡¯s my fault.¡±


    The Force Sonar that I used to look for this teleporter, was the kind of art where I basically screamed at a mountain to hear the echoes. It was basically as telling any being who possessed mana where to find you, which meant I had given these deceased souls a guide to gather here¡­


    Eren and Bruno glanced at me with puzzled looks as I held my head with both hands.


    ?????


    The huge ring-shaped stone circle, 7 to 8 mertes high and 30 to 40 mertes in diameter, was made of a mysterious phosphorescent substance, neither obsidian nor metal, that was quarried instead of constructed.


    As Regina looked at the vast space¡ªwhich was terrifyingly enough inside a gargantuan structure instead of in the great outside¡ªformed by the seamless white ceilings and the pure white tranquil space where not a speck of dust had fallen, she snorted all annoyed-like.


    ¡°Hmph. I knew it, it got factory reset. The Superempire¡¯s mainland¡­been a real while since I was last here.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    As she shook her head to express her exasperation, Maya, who was waiting at her feet, jerked her head to look behind her¡ªand at that moment, the caru leaped back and landed after half-turning mid air, curling her tail and rubbing her whole body against the ground, turning her head in said direction in a posture of reverence.


    Seeing her familiar, feared as a catastrophe-class demon beast, showing a posture of complete surrender, Regina furrowed her brow in a grimace and looked behind her.


    ¡°¡ªI came since I sensed the eastern teleporter was activated after years of disuse, and who do I see¡­It¡¯s you.¡±


    Right that moment, with a voice as soothing as a silver bell, and three pairs of pure white wings fluttered on her back, as well as beauty that transcended the very concept of beauty¡ªneat and dainty, graceful and elegant¡ªas if she was borne out of The Golden Rule, the beautiful silver-haired Seraphim, descended onto the air from a void right before the eyes of Regina and Maya.


    Her age¡­was indescribable. Innocent much like a young girl, and yet mature and prudent much like a lady at the same time, or perhaps those human qualities were simply below her¡ªas it was simply impossible to apply humane standards to a being known as the Messengers of the Heaven.


    ¡°Long time no see, White. You too, Maya, you look well.¡±


    Bathing in the gaze of Regina and Maya, the silver-haired fierce Seraphim pinched the hem of her long skirt, smiling softly and bowing gracefully, at the same time as she landed on her toes on the floor.


    For the part, there is actually a negotiation going down in the Superempire, but since it¡¯s a story that doesn¡¯t involve Jill, I¡¯ll cut off Regina¡¯s scene here. Next, we¡¯ll have Jill and friends fighting.


    Thank Hiyuki for that! I haven¡¯t read the entirety of Vampire Princess, and that sounded like a scene full of references to Vampire Princess. I¡¯d continue reading Vampire Princess if I weren¡¯t so busy already.

 CH 18.1

    The light of the blue flames all around us danced.


    From the crumbled-down roofs, the tips of decaying street lights, the cracked cobblestone curbs¡ªall those lights, seemingly innumerable, making no sound, emitting no heat, swaying and shimmering, and before I knew it, they changed places, dancing back and forth, back and forth, as if beckoning.


    It could even be described as a lustrous sight.


    ¡°How pretty¡­¡±


    Eren muttered, her expression was enraptured, soul-stolen. Perhaps this sight was something that girls would fancy, but, considering the place, it screamed danger to my ear.


    ¡°Death can sometimes appear sweet and gentle, so much so that the weak-minded and the hopeless will be enticed to take his hand.¡± Regina¡¯s words, which she spat out in a hateful tone, suddenly popped up in my mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stare too much at the Will ¡®O the Wisp, or else your mind will get trapped! Make sure not to step away from the barrier!!¡±


    Being warned, Eren and Bruno both regained their color with expressions as if they had just awakened from a dream. The both of them checked where their feet were in relation to the warding stakes.


    The Will ¡®O Wisp that had been hovering around us for a while seemed to be annoyed that we were not falling for their illusions, as one of them suddenly swelled up and took on a single form.


    ¡°Dragon!!¡±


    A throaty scream escaped Bruno.


    It was a four-legged dragon ¡ªthough because it was formed out of blue flames, perhaps calling it a salamander fit it better¡ª with wings outstretched as though it was about to let out a roar, eyes fiery as it stared at us.


    ¡°¡°Hieek¡­?!¡±¡±


    As though trying to seize Eren and Bruno, the salamander flew from its spot and came at us with its jaws wide open.


    ¡°WOOF!!¡±


    As if to protect the two who tried to get away quickly only to stumble into each other ¡ªwhich, thanks to that, kept them away from stepping outside the barrier. In a way, it was good they got scared at that¡ª Vier the Sirius confronted the salamander head-on, and the salamander shattered into pieces in the face of my barrier the moment my familiar barked. Its few remaining sparks were also blocked by the barrier and disappeared.


    ¡°A dog¡¯s bark wards off evil.¡±


    The knowledge of magic that Regina had taught me blinked in my mind again. Well, Vier is a Sirius to be precise, but in terms of spirituality, a Sirius is a sacred beast that is of a much higher rank compared to lowly evil spirits. While she¡¯s still far from being a full-fledged beast, her howl still could overwhelm her opponent.


    ¡°Hm, it¡¯s more like an illusion, I see. It¡¯s all right, so long as you¡¯re within the barrier and Vier and I are with you, they won¡¯t have much power.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    After listening to my words, Eren and Bruno, who were entangled with each other, stood up from their fall still embracing one another. As their heads cooled down¡ª


    ¡°Where are you touching me, you groping jerk?!¡±


    ¡°Where would I even touch you, you walking skeleton?!¡±


    They turned away from each other, cheeks beet red. Well, just the usual then.


    On the other hand, the Will ¡®O the Wisp outside the wards disguised themselves as spirits of the dead, ghosts, or monsters, pretending to attack us in order to scare us off and get us out of the barrier. However, conversely speaking, that meant they didn¡¯t have the power to get past the barrier. Knowing that, the three of us could calmly deal with the illusions they conjured.


    Eventually, the Will ¡®O the Wisp realized that their threats were ineffective, and thus changed their approach. After a moment of inactivity, I heard the sound of wind splitting before I saw a fist-sized stone flying at us.


    ¡°Oh no, watch out!¡±


    The stone flew past the barrier ¡ªthough with reduced power¡ª and landed near us, which we quickly avoided. If it had hit us, we would have been injured. Following it, broken chairs, picture frames, rusty grass sickles, and many other things that were in the area came flying at random.


    This must be the so-called Poltergeist phenomenon. Apparently realizing the futility of bluffing from beyond the barrier made them decide to resort to violence.


    ¡°Be careful of the projectiles. If you get hit in a bad spot, it¡¯ll be dangerous.¡±


    Well, true enough, the souls of the dead themselves couldn¡¯t cross the boundary. However, an object thrown with momentum was a different thing, as it still had inertia after going past the barrier, and that could harm us. ¡­Although, they didn¡¯t seem to have enough power to throw bigger objects. However, it was still shocking to see debris and broken household goods flying at you one after another, not to mention, if a rusted blade or a piece of stone grazed a blood vessel, it could still be fatal.


    Carefully keeping the soaring objects in my view, I stepped in lightly.


    ¡°¡­well, they¡¯re not a threat as long as they don¡¯t hit.¡±


    Their aim was pretty obvious, and since the projectiles only flew in a straight line, losing them was a cinch.


    ¡°Ha-ha, even this crappy meatshield is enough to stop peashooters like you all!!¡±


    ¡°You little-, you!! Don¡¯t use me as your damn shield!¡±


    Bruno was hitting back the projectiles that flew in his direction with his practice sword, while Eren already found her place hiding behind his back. They¡¯d be just fine.


    Soon after, the number of projectiles gradually decreased. Bruno, his sword ready, also raised his eyebrows in suspicion.


    ¡°What, are they running out of things to throw?¡±


    ¡°No, they are simply running out of power. Moving things up and around like that requires a lot of mana, you see?¡±


    Basically put, unlike the living who could always absorb the mana from outside their body and convert it into their own mana inside their body, the mana of the dead was finite. Should they use too much, they would disappear (which is also why they suck up the life energy of the living, so that they wouldn¡¯t disappear).


    ¡°¡­which means, those dead souls are running out of juice, Jill?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that they still have some energy left and are looking for an opening, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯re pretty worn out.¡±


    While they knew it wasn¡¯t guaranteed, Eren and Bruno were relieved they had a glimmer of hope and thus regained their vigor.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Also, since it¡¯s getting dark already, can you two start preparing the fire pit? You see, souls of the dead and evil spirits and the like, they don¡¯t fancy lights so much.


    On the tip of my staff, I lit up a light made out of magic to help them with their work. The moment I did so¡ª


    The Will ¡®O the Wisps that was bathed by the [Light] instantly snuffed out like a blown candle as they raised a sorrowful shriek.


    ¡°¡°¡°EEH??¡±¡±¡±


    All three of us were so dumbfounded we made the same idiotic noise together.


    ¡°Look how easily they vanished!¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re amazing, Jill!¡±


    ¡°¡­had I known, I would¡¯ve done this from the beginning.¡±


    In contrast to their jubilant faces, I sighed, feeling overwhelmed.


    Right when our minds were occupied with what just had happened, Vier barked furiously at the rubble-filled street leading to the outskirts of town.


    ¡°Heey, are you all alright?¡±


    ¡°Did something out of place happen?¡±


    As if on cue, Andy and Chad returned with the emus.


    ¡°Uh, what are you doing?¡±


    Seeing the three of us all tensed up, holding dearly onto our staff and sword and meatshield, Chad asked, dumbfounded.


    ¡°What happened? You even left the camping site undone.¡±


    Andy looked puzzled as he noticed the firewood, the food, and the warding stakes stuck in the ground littering all over the place.


    ¡°We were attacked by the souls of the dead. Were the two of you all right out there?¡±


    ¡°Souls of the dead¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing really happened on our end¡­ But, souls of the dead? I¡¯m not buying it. You¡¯re all just loitering around, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Andy and Chad looked around the now empty surroundings, all signs of suspicious activity had disappeared before they looked at each other with their faces full of doubt.


    ¡°We were fighting for our life here!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right! It would¡¯ve been dangerous if Jill wasn¡¯t here!¡±


    Annoyed by the attitude of the skeptical adults, the two youngsters crowded them and protested furiously, as if to contend with them. When I looked at Andy and Chad getting annoyed as they tried to hush down Bruno and Eren, I chuckled and was about to turn on my heel to put away the scattered belongings¡ªwhen I saw Vier was still snarling in their direction, I practically leaped and turned around.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (You can support us by leaving words of appreciation on our site!)


    (It¡¯s already so dark out, how come they don¡¯t bring a lantern?!)


    That was when I noticed it. Even though they were illuminated by the Light I lit, neither Andy nor Chad cast a shadow on the ground, and the emus they brought, their eyes were plastic and inorganic.


    ¡°¡ªEREN, BRUNO!! Get away from them! Get back inside the barrier!!¡±


    Hearing my impassioned yell, the two of them turned around, exclaiming, ¡°Eh?¡±


    Right at that moment, Andy and Chad¡¯s faces froze like cast metal¡ªthey turned to me and grinned, their expression identical, their timing indistinguishable.


    ¡°UWAAH?!!¡±


    ¡°EEK?! NOOO!!!¡±


    Right then, white hands emerged from the ground and grabbed Eren and Bruno by the ankles. Upon closer look, I could see white, boney hands growing out of the ground, surrounding the wards, twitching and wriggling eerily like dead grass in the wind.

 CH 18.2

    ¡°¡­This is nasty alright¡­¡±


    Sure, this might be a world of magic, demons, and fairies, but physiologically repulsive sights like these are way outside my comfort zone.


    I would guess that both Eren and Bruno weren¡¯t very comfortable with this either, their faces were pale with a sickly white as they desperately tried to escape, but with 20 or so arms entangling their ankles, their child-like strength couldn¡¯t facilitate their escape.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move¡­ magician. Move and these children will have their life energy sucked dry.¡± Andy and Chad ¡ªno, something that mimicked their appearances¡ª opened their mouths at the same time, with the exact same tone and timing.


    ¡°A woman¡¯s¡­?¡± The threat in that unfamiliar voice made me raise an eyebrow.


    Perhaps in response to my muttering, Andy and Chad¡¯s appearance twisted, churned, and when they turned into pitch-blackness for a moment, a bright white mask ¡ªmuch like a death mask¡ª emerged from it, with shaggy black hair spreading out of it before an old, black, heavy-looking dress appeared from the neck down. The dress had embroidery that, upon closer inspection, seemed to resemble roses.


    ¡°This one¡¯s name is Huberta. Known for her peerless beauty and magical prowess, the renowned Rose Princess is no one else but I!!¡± The self-proclaimed Rose Princess arrogantly identified herself.


    ¡­Err, well, looking at her exasperating costume, self-proclaimed notoriety, and chuunibyou-like title, she honestly seems like the kind of eccentric I¡¯d rather avoid if I could, but the strength of her ghostly aura was not to be stifled with, not since I could even feel it behind my barrier. She¡¯s practically a different entity from the evil spirits from before. Which means¡­


    ¡°A Specter, is it¡­¡± And quite a naughty one in nature at that.


    ¡°You assumed well. This one had been sealed here for long, recriminations of men and women who were jealous of this mistress¡¯ beauty. Despite all, the seal was eventually loosened, and upon waiting for the opportunity to go above ground, half a day ago, a powerful wave of mana filled me, letting me lose my restraints! Be that as it may, this one is worn out from the lengthy sealing and thus decides to grace you the honor to be my nourishment. Ho ho ho! Rejoice, you shall become part of this beautiful mistress!¡±


    I bit my lips hard under the hood when I heard her disclosure. A powerful wave of mana? Half a day ago? That¡¯s definitely the Sonar Force I used!


    Which means, I¡¯m the cause of all of this.


    Look at me, hastily using Sonar Force, thinking that everything was fine, only to summon evil spirits and unseal a specter. If I had examined the reactions I got from underground in more detail I could have noticed that something was sealed there, and yet I was so preoccupied with looking for the teleporter that I overlooked it. Worse yet, I underestimated the evil spirits, letting my guard down, and even letting Eren and Bruno cross the barrier, because of that, they were taken hostage.


    All because of my self-conceit and negligence. I got so used to magical arts that I decided that this place was safe enough for me to be careless¡­ because of that, I had put my two friends, Eren and Bruno, in danger. It¡¯s all because of me.


    Right beside Huberta, the specter who spoke so fluently and eloquently, Bruno, still her prisoner, shouted as if he was in control. ¡°Ugh, shut up! I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re princess Rose or princess hubris or what have you, just let us go already!!¡±


    The jovial laughter that was present in Huberta¡¯s body language suddenly stopped, as she looked at each of our faces through her mask in a somewhat astonished manner. ¡°You don¡¯t know? This one is Huberta, the Rose Princess, and none other! Naturally, you must have heard of me, the famous, the beautiful, the Rose Princess of history.¡±


    ¡°Hell if I know!¡± Bruno shouted again. The specter ignored him, as her gaze turned to Eren and I.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I was somewhat at a loss for words to reply, so the same time I reflexively looked at Eren, I dug into my memories for the names of past prominent people and ladies with common names that Regina had taught me about, and yet I hadn¡¯t heard one of Huberta. Eren, too, was desperately trying to recall anything, but she didn¡¯t seem to be able to get one as well.


    ¡°¡­uh, sorry, I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°¡­forgive me, I¡¯m not aware of any of such names.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    When I had no choice but to confess, Huberta¡¯s temples began to twitch wildly under her mask ¡ªnot that I could see it, but I just knew¡ª and her shoulders shook.


    ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ you don¡¯t know me? Are you saying¡­ that you, children that you may be, do not know the name of the Rose Princess, the radiant beauty, the well-known Huberta¡­?!!¡±


    Huberta lamented and grieved pretentiously. How do I say it, even past her being a specter and what not, this is hardly the kind of person I¡¯d like to get to know.


    ¡°Your ignorance is unforgivable! You, who does not know the beauty of this mistress, are unforgivable!!¡±


    ¡°Hah! You keep yapping that you¡¯re a beauty again and again, I¡¯d bet you¡¯re ugly as a pig, that¡¯s why you hide behind that mask!¡±


    As Huberta grew silent in anger due to the children¡¯s obnoxious words, her phantasmal body shook, before two of her hands unexpectedly reached out and grabbed Eren and Bruno by the nape.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kya¡ª¡±


    Almost instantly, their faces turned ghastly white and they collapsed.


    ¡°Eren! Bruno!¡±


    ¡°Hah, they still have some of their life energy left. This mistress very much wanted to suck them dry, but it was hardly enough. Thus, much like those men outside the town, I have kept their lives intact so they can be harvested time and time again.¡±


    Huberta¡¯s hateful remark left me both relieved and despairing.


    (I see, so both Andy and Chad had become her feed. Thankfully, it sounds like they¡¯re both still alive.)


    I knew that she might have already made contact with them, seeing that she first appeared disguised as those two ¡ªand the emus we brought with us had become her underling, too¡ª this ensured that I would face her alone.


    ¡°Such boorish men, such an unrefined, uneducated lass, they should have never touched the lips of this mistress, alas¡­ There aren¡¯t many options at hand. I¡¯ll live with it.¡±


    Her unreasonable self-centeredness tipped my boiling point over, and before I knew it, I was already grumbling out.


    ¡°You know what, all I hear from you is your face this your face that, but the value of a person isn¡¯t determined by their face alone. My mentor once said ¡®Beauty can only be forged from character, experience, and months and years of hard work. A single layer of skin can¡¯t decide the outlook value of a person!¡¯.¡±


    ¡°How moronic, that is nothing but empty talk! A woman¡¯s value is determined wholly by her face! In fact, just take a look at the world. Beauties, regardless of their gender, are favored and gain, while the ugly ones¡­ always scorned, ridiculed, and treated as losers!¡±


    As Huberta expressed her hatred with a shaken voice, a feeling of deja vu washed me. Isn¡¯t this the very same thought that I had when Regina said to me the words I said to Huberta? Is her obsession with beauty and ugliness a mirror reflection of my own?


    The moment those questions were raised in my head, I realized where Huberta was coming from¡ª why she was so concerned with beauty, and why she spoke for the sorrows of the ugly.


    ¡°I see¡­so that¡¯s how it is, Huberta. Eren and Bruno were right on the mark, weren¡¯t they? That is the reason why you hide your face behind a mask¡­¡±


    ¡°NO!! This one is beautiful! My beauty is too divine, it will be a waste to show it to snobs like you, it¡¯s all¡±


    There was desperation. Her attempt to deny was both comical and relatedly sad.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Huberta, I don¡¯t think appearances are everything.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m just like you. I was shunned, I was ridiculed, and I was even assassinated by my own family, all because I am ugly.¡±


    ¡°¡ªLies! Don¡¯t lie before me!¡±


    ¡°¡­how I wish it had been a lie. The Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, that¡¯s what they call me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Huberta¡¯s emotions, the waves of malice that she had been emitting so fiercely, eased up.


    ¡°To be honest, I feel frustrated about my appearance, and I find myself grieving the fact that I was born with such an ugly appearance. However, even though I¡¯ve lost my birthright, my wealth, there are people who call me their friends regardless of how I look.¡±


    Catching my gaze, Huberta glanced at the two kids who lay unconscious at her feet.


    ¡°My mentor, a difficult person that she was, told me that even ragweed can bloom flowers. Regardless of how we look, we still can grasp what is truly precious to us.¡±


    ¡°Precious¡­¡±


    To embolden Huberta, I took off the hood I was wearing and revealed my (albeit somewhat improved) ugly bare face.


    ¡°¡­!!!¡±


    Immediately, Huberta gasped and turned away.


    Seeing her losing words and shaking her body, my point must have crossed over¡­ I thought, almost relieved I had succeeded in persuading her, when¡ª


    ¡°¡­you¡­¡± A faint mumble escaped Huberta¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°You¡­?¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE THE LAST PERSON I¡¯LL FORGIVE¡ª!! I¡¯LL SMASH THAT FACE AND KILL YOU¡ª!!!¡±


    She let out a resentful shrill so hard her entire body shook, her eyes bloodshot and vindictiveness erupted from her spectral body


    ¡°EEEHHHHHH?!!! WHY¡ª?!?!¡±


    I was confused by the unexpected reaction when repulsive-looking evil spirits were spawned from the ground and came rushing toward me in droves.


    In short, Jill¡¯s totally at fault.

 CH 19.1

    An unpleasant smell of dust and burnt objects filled the surroundings.


    The evil-warding barrier stakes were rapidly losing their effectiveness due to the incoming evil spirits (phantoms) and the load of the powerful evil wave Huberta the specter emitted.


    ¡°Wait, Huberta! There¡¯s no need to fight, we can talk it out. You seem to misunderstand something, but I assure you that we¡¯re bearers of the same injury both!¡±


    Waving my staff that had ¡®Light¡¯ active at its tip like it was a spear to receive the approaching evil spirits, I chanted: ¡°Seeds of flame, fly and burst¡ª Napalm!¡± to shoot a fire-based magic art into the more dense area as I frantically called out to Huberta who was instructing all the phantoms from behind them with her tremendous malice.


    ¡°I HATE YOU SO MUCH EITHER YOU DIE OR I WILL!!¡±


    However, she cut it down dry. I was already her sworn nemesis before I knew it. Huberta, insistent on not lending me an ear, shot an arrow filled with red mythical power from her fingertip.


    Vier and I hastily evaded it, but I felt cold air slowly permeate my body from the spot where the arrow lightly grazed me.


    ¡°But why?! You almost understood it too, that your looks aren¡¯t what is most precious! What made you change your mind¡­¡±


    ¡°YOU CUR¡­!! How many times more do you want to mock me?! Die! Die! You must die! I abhor your very existence!!¡±


    I judged her to be someone reasonable and sympathetic, thus I tried to persist in persuading her so that we could avoid the conflict, and yet, for some reason, the more words I said, the more obstinate Huberta became.


    ¡°No way¡­ What made you so belligerent?!¡±


    Right then and there, the stakes finally burst into flames and the evil-warding barrier was undone.


    ¡°O Fire, dance!¡ª Flame!¡±


    As I grew confused as to why our conversation just wouldn¡¯t mesh, I cast my most familiar Flame to keep the evil spirits at back¡ª but, the Flame that normally would swell up almost like a fire tornado was only at the level of a mind-numbing campfire.


    (¡­this isn¡¯t good. I used Sonar Force with all of my mana this evening, so I have almost no surplus of mana in my body.)


    In my case, I usually keep a reservoir of mana in my dantian and use it in small portions as needed through mana manipulation by applying ancient martial arts breathing techniques and meditation (the ignition is only for internal mana; to cause a magical phenomenon, naturally existing ambient mana is needed), but at the present time, I had no surplus mana in my body, so I had to take in mana from the outside and release it again every time¡ªwell, that¡¯s the common practice, though¡ªsince that means I have to keep revolving the mana, the output isn¡¯t as powerful and it¡¯s not as fast in terms of rapid fire.


    ¡°Go, phantoms! Suck out her life energy dry! Destroy her face beyond recognition so I will never ever see it again¡ª!!¡±


    Huberta¡¯s hysterical cry made me think of a certain possibility¡­which was nigh improbable, but the possibility came to mind, so I asked.


    ¡°Erm, Huberta. Purely for academic purposes, I¡¯m going to ask you something¡­ So, umm, by any chance, is my face¡­ pretty, or something?¡±


    Instantly, Huberta¡¯s mask cracked with a loud snap.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°¡­¡± Hmm~~ Did I phrase my question wrong? I mean, I understand it¡¯s a rather hurtful act to ask such a question abashedly and right in front of her face, but, fundamentally, trying to understand the standard of beauty and ugliness is just that difficult, right?


    Naturally, some aspects of common sense could be used as a benchmark to some extent, but there are many aspects that can¡¯t be accepted, depending on the ethnicity, culture, or time period. For example, in a well-off country, obesity is a symbol of lack of self-control, but in poorer countries where food rarely comes by, being fat could become a status symbol. Since the values and positions that form the basis for judgment are different, there really isn¡¯t a global standard when it comes to beauty¡­on the contrary, I think it¡¯s only natural for 10 different people with 10 different values of aesthetic, and that there will be discrepancies between them.


    Which is why, coming from someone with the perspective of a high school boy in my previous life, my face could be summed as ¡°pretty cute I guess?¡± But, whether that was what the people here think or not¡­it was blurry at best.


    In fact, I¡¯ve had a teacher who derailed the history class to prattle about how in the Edo period, beautiful oval-shaped and modern-looking thin faces were considered vulgar amongst the workers¡­so it was only natural for me to guess that our senses of value were just completely different¡­right?


    Well, regardless of how people see me, I am Jill the Witch¡¯s Apprentice. By now, I don¡¯t really fuss over my own appearance, but since Regina whom I live together with keeps calling me ¡°dumb face,¡± it just doesn¡¯t click with me¡ªI couldn¡¯t think of my own face as something worthy of recognition, but seeing how over Huberta was reacting¡­I¡¯m beginning to feel like I made a fundamental mistake.


    ¡°¡­uhh, I¡¯m not being overly self-conscious or anything, just asking for a general opinion¡­?¡±


    At such a question, Huberta, her body shaking hard with her head hanging down, vigorously raised her upper body as she stomped on the ground as if to shake the earth and let out a scream.


    ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself, you ugly wench! You abominable, unsightly s?l?u?t?! The disrespect you show to this noble and exalted Rose Princess, Huberta, is unforgivable! Very well, I will tell you straight! I¡¯ve never seen a girl as hideous, vicious, and nauseating to look at such as you!! I¡¯ll do you a favor and wipe you from the face of this world!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Yeah, it hurts to hear someone say it so frankly to my face


    ¡°Don¡¯t bully master!¡± But, at that moment, my Sirius familiar Vier raised an angry howl and leaped at Huberta with her wings spread.


    Some phantoms tried to take advantage of it and rushed at her, but¡ª Whoa! She extinguished them with a mere touch! That must be the power of a Sirius. But, no matter how prestigious a divine beast she was, Vier was still a pup. No matter how high her potential, she was yet to be ready to manifest it.


    ¡°You damn mutt¡ª!!¡± Countless red arrows shot out of Huberta¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Kyan!¡± Vier, shot through by several of those arrows, was blown away mid-air, bleeding red blood.


    ¡°¡ªVIEERRR!!!¡±


    I rushed over to Vier, her little body bouncing on the ground, limp and unconscious. Blood was still flowing from her torso and left leg. I held Vier in my arms, trying to give her first aid, my robe and clothes stained notwithstanding.


    ¡°Vier! Stay with me, VIER!!¡± I called out to her, holding her close, but she didn¡¯t seem to respond. Her little body gets colder and colder¡­


    ¡°Hah. I¡¯ll suck you and your pet¡¯s energy and send you two to the other world together.¡±


    I could feel Huberta closing in behind me, her laughter snarky, but I was more concerned with trying to hold onto this little piece of life that was about to spill out of my hands.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    (God! Anyone! Please, help this little pup! I¡¯ll do anything, just save her life!)


    I poured all my energy, all my mana, my life force, into the circuit we shared that was steadily thinning¡ªall the way until I felt like I¡¯d emptied almost everything of me, before something deep in my heart unlocked with a click, as if a door that had been closed for so long, was now opening, revealing a dazzling light.


    ¡°Hey s?h?i?t?f?a?c?e?!¡±


    ¡°Get away from Jill!¡±


    As the crowd of phantoms was about to attack me and Vier in my arms, right at the nick of time, they rustled and moved away from me. I looked and saw Eren and Bruno stood with me behind them, as though to protect me, seemingly having regained their consciousness before I knew it.


    The both of them were still pale from having had their life energy sucked out of them, but even so, their determination to not back down was written on their faces. Nevertheless, determination alone shouldn¡¯t have deterred the phantoms to back down.


    ¡°Hmph, ashwood and salt?¡±


    Upon closer look at the objects they were holding in their fading consciousness, they appeared to be an ash tree branch I brought for firewood and a lump of rock salt for seasoning. The ashwood holds the power of the natural world, and salt purifies impurity¡­both of which dispel evil. Perhaps they grabbed them by accident, but it was certain that those objects drove weak phantoms away.


    ¡°And yet, they are far too weak for this Huberta the Rose Princess. All three of you will be consumed together for sure.¡± With a leisurely gait, Huberta glided over the rock salt sprinkled on the ground. Eren and Bruno, however, refused to retreat from their spot even after her declaration. ¡°Hah. You even trick children like these for your own benefit, truly a hateful wench till the end.¡±


    Huberta and Jill had their conversation spiraling out of control. Unless there¡¯s a third party, they would never be on the same page.

 CH 19.2

    That was when the door inside me completely opened, and when it did, I somehow released the power that overflowed from it towards Vier, gently enveloping her in it, as though I had always known how to do it since the beginning.


    ¡°I am the cure to your ails¡ª Heal!¡±


    Enveloped in the light, Vier¡¯s wounds instantly closed, while her ragged breathing slowly returned to a steady, stable pace.


    ¡°Healing Art?!! ¡ªYou cur, you¡¯re a shrine maiden?! Or a priestess?!!¡±


    Bathed in the glow of the healing light, Huberta staggered back, her entire body covered in scorch marks as if she was a kindle exposed to fire sparks. Even her tone of voice had none of the leisure that she had earlier.


    ¡°Dangerous, you¡¯re far too dangerous! I must destroy you here at all costs! Elsewise you¡¯ll become the greatest obstacle to this Rose Princess¡¯ second coming!!¡±


    With her eyes fierce like a wounded beast¡¯s, Huberta stared straight at me. I, on the other hand, was so drained from the repercussions of performing a healing art for the first time ever that I couldn¡¯t take a step away.


    ¡°Eren, Bruno¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t move, so please¡­take Vier away and go.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me! As if I¡¯d leave you behind!¡±


    ¡°What he said! I¡¯d rather die than cast you aside to flee, Jill!¡±


    My feeble proposal was shot down by the two. I appreciate the sentiment, I almost find myself crying even, but the situation was as close to hopeless as it got.


    ¡°Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! How very laudable! Fret not, the three of you will become energy to this Rose Princess together! ¡ªPhantoms, circle them.¡±


    Huberta, regaining her composure after realizing that I had no energy left, sent out instructions to the surrounding phantoms.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?! Do you not hear the command of this Rose Princess Huberta?!¡±


    As she was rebuking the phantoms that refused to move, as though to stand in their response, a heavy rusty voice came coupled with approaching heavy footsteps.


    ¡°¡­a lowly ghost dares to claim the name of the Princess of the Roses, what absurdity. That name befits only for my beloved Princess.¡±


    With them, came tremendous mana and intimidation that felt tangible even from a distance. In comparison, the mana of Huberta the specter was like a grain of sand in front of a mountain. As both the living and the dead were shivering under its sheer pressure, forgetting how to move or even breathe, the heavy metallic sound made its appearance, accompanied by freezing cold air blowing from the depths of hell.


    ¡°¡­knight?¡± Bruno¡¯s impression upon seeing the appearance of the figure was, in a sense, not mistaken. He was a knight with a towering body over two meters tall, wearing thick black super-heavy armor that covered his entire body, carrying a huge matted battle axe that was seemingly capable of bisecting even a subdragon in a single blow. However, his bare face, which was peeking out from the helmet with no mask, was of a skeleton with eyes lit by a pale, shining glow of the will-o-the-wisp¡ª in other words, it was an undead.


    ¡°A¡­a Death Knight?! Why¡¯s someone like you in a place like this¡­?!¡±


    Apparently, he was not someone Huberta called upon, as the specter was clearly dismayed by his appearance.


    The Death Knight then turned his gaze to Huberta and her army of phantoms. And just like that¡ª ¡°EEEEKKKK!!!¡± The phantoms were all obliterated while Huberta had her dress all ripped, becoming quite unsightly.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°You cur! CUR!! What do you think you¡¯ve done to this beautiful mistress, Rose Princess Huberta?!!¡±


    Huberta raised an enraged yell, releasing all of her mana, and was about to attack him when the knight swung his huge battle axe at the specter.


    ¡°Gah!! ¡ªNo way¡­ this one can¡¯t possibly¡­¡± That one blow bisected Huberta in half.


    ¡°This mistress only¡­ only wanted to start over¡­with her dearest one¡­¡± Right before she vanished into thin air just like burnt-out ashes, Huberta let out a grievous cry and, for some reason, fragments of her emotions ¡ªwas it passion, attachment, or regret, it was something that bound her to these lands¡ª entered my chest.


    ¡ªHe left me behind.


    ¡ªHe left me because I have grown old and ugly.


    ¡ªIf I regain my youth and beauty, he will surely come back to me.


    ¡ªWhy must they trap me here?!


    ¡ªI am not cursed, this is but a magic art to regain my lost beauty.


    ¡ªI want to see him. At the very least, I want to see him one last time.


    (I see¡­so that¡¯s how it is, Huberta. You¡¯ve been bearing these thoughts for so long, they tortured you to the point of madness.)


    A woeful sigh escaped me. I have yet to love someone so passionately, but will I someday understand an emotion like this, I wonder?


    ¡°What a lowlife, ignorant of even the manner to greet a knight. When I saw the gate restored and the nostalgic light of healing, I roused from my long slumber to bring my feet to this place once again, only to see a lowlife impersonating my dear Princess.¡±


    The Death Knight, on the other hand, only cast an unimpressed gaze that he soon turned to me. Instantly, Eren and Bruno, who had no resistance to his deathly gaze, fell into a stupor on the spot.


    ¡°Eren, Bruno! Are you okay?!¡± I rushed to check their breaths and pulses and learned that they fortunately had only fainted.


    ¡°Dear me, I thought I had suppressed the ghast well enough¡­I must have made a mistake, as it has been long since I¡¯ve been on the ground. My apologies. ¡ªNow then, maiden clad in black, may I assume that the light had come from you?¡±


    The Death Knight, contrary to his appearance, spoke in an intelligent and gentlemanly manner, thus I nodded to his question. ¡°Yes. However, what I learn is the art of witchcraft, and it was the first time ever I used a healing art. ¡­Ah, my name is Jill. This one is Vier.¡±


    When the Death Knight¡¯s eyes fell on Vier who was sleeping in my arms, I almost saw their bluish flame narrow slightly.


    ¡°My¡­ Is that not a Pet?! I never thought the overworld still has Pets around!¡±


    ¡°Sh-, she is a Pet. I received her from a peddler that my mentor is acquainted with.¡±


    ¡°Hoh. That sounds interesting. Oh, before we proceed, it would be unbecoming of me not to tell you my name when you¡¯ve already told me yours. This one is Bartholomew, a palace knight of the glorious Crimson Empire, its prestige eternal throughout all of heaven and earth. My beautiful princess had entrusted me to guard the gate that was built here, and I was carrying out my glorious mission when one day the city was destroyed by a natural disaster of unknown cause. Although I managed to protect the gate, I had been in a slumber since. If it is possible, young maiden, it is fate that brought our meeting here, and thus I would like to ask you what has happened since I went asleep.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I still have friends on the outskirts of the town whose life energies were sucked out by the specter from earlier, so¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand. I will bring them to you. In the meantime, I suggest you build a fire and take care of your friends here.¡±


    After saying so, the Death Knight who named himself Bartholomew walked in the direction I had indicated, his gait was as if he wasn¡¯t wearing heavy armor. After that, with Bartholomew¡¯s help, I gathered the four people and one Sirius around the fire and covered them with the blankets I had brought, leaving them to rest. Meanwhile, the Death Knight and I talked about many things.


    ?????


    The next morning, led by Regina who stepped out of the teleporter some time after I fell asleep, our group returned to the way we came.


    Every last of us were looking a little pale, most likely from the commotion from last night (thankfully we were young enough to recover enough energy after a night¡¯s sleep) and the one-hour berate from Regina regarding our careless behavior, and above all¡­


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Good lords, you always, always find a way to bring extra baggage home.¡±


    Regina¡¯s spiteful gaze was directed at me and the huge armor that was running parallel to my emu. Bartholomew chuckled as he was running at a speed I didn¡¯t think was at all possible for someone donning such super-heavy armor.


    ¡°Ha Ha Ha. Don¡¯t pick on your apprentice too much, lady Witch. It was my sole decision to haunt Lady Jill.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been away for 35 years at least. Don¡¯t you need to return to your nation?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already mentioned last night that it is my duty to guard the gate of transition. If so, it is only logical that I should be present when the gate is moved.¡±


    His unwavering words were met with a look of bitterness and silence from Regina. In the end, it was decided that the teleporter needed to be brought back to the Superempire for overhaul and a new teleporter would be installed in the suburbs of the western frontier village. And since she was the one who made the decision, Regina couldn¡¯t rebuke Bartholomew too hard.


    ¡°By the lords, you and your loudmouth!¡± Turning away, Regina spat out.


    ¡°Hey, hey, uncle knight! You think you can teach me the sword?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you want to be a swordsman, boy? Very well, very well! A man learning the sword is a must! I shall see myself instructing you personally.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    Bruno was the only one in high spirits, whilst the rest of us were dismayed at the sight of a Death Knight standing next to us in broad daylight.


    All of us sighed in unison, imagining the commotion that would ensue when this thing was brought back to the village.

 CH 20.1

    A year in this world is 366 days, with 13 months a year and 7 days a week.


    Each of the 13 months have a name, with them being Month of Guardian (January), Month of Fallen Angel (February), Month of White Monkey (March), Month of Giant God (April), Month of Quiet Angel (May), Month of Demon Lord (June), Month of Lion (July), Month of Spider (August), Month of Demon Beast (September), Month of God-Fish (October), Month of Death God (November), Month of Dead Souls (December), and Month of Smithing (Undecimber).


    As for the days, they are Moon Eye day (Monday), Wing Tiger day (Tuesday), Qilin day (Wednesday), Dream Eater day (Thursday), Celestial Maiden day (Friday), Mirror day (Saturday), and Prayer day (Sunday), with Prayer day which was Sunday being the day off of the week (actually, what is a day-off? Is it tasty?)


    Speaking of which, today marked the second Prayer day of the month of Death God, which meant it was the second week¡¯s Sunday of November. It had been eight months since Syltianna died and Jill was reborn.


    During this, summer had passed and autumn harvest had been completed in the western pioneer village, marking an end to the busy weeks the village was undergoing. The harvest this year was not particularly abundant, but it didn¡¯t fall under the yearly average either. Village chief Aroldo, Eren¡¯s father, sounded quite relieved and commented, ¡°We can get through winter with this.¡±


    ¡­One incident that I remember happened during the transition from summer to fall, in which a chalk Greece temple-like structure ¡ªI couldn¡¯t tell if it was Ionic, Doric, or Corinthian¡ª was suddenly erected overnight on a meadow about an hour east of the village without anyone noticing. The villagers were quite astonished by it.


    Needless to say, this was the newly constructed transporter straight to the imperial capital and its accompanying facilities. We had only seen the transporter under the rubbles before, so this was the first time for us to see it in proper working order.


    However, the exterior only serves as a protective shell for the main structure, not much else¡­ Thus confidently explained a very stubborn-looking old dwarf-like craftsman that had a ¡°supervisor¡± armband on his arm to the onlookers from the village, with him were young dwarves and brawny men who seemed to be his subordinates.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright this time! After all, it¡¯s no one else but I, the most skilled chief engineer of the Superempire, the Great Inaba, who made this masterpiece of a building! Come dragon¡¯s breath or a giant¡¯s blow, no matter! It is protected superbly!¡±


    As the boss dwarf boasted, Bartholomew the Death Knight ¡ªwho, for various reasons, had taken the liberty of following me even though his original mission was to guard the teleporter¡ª eyed the outer structure with the eyes of a challenger, the battle-ax in his hand looking like it could even cut an elephant in half.


    ¡°Hoh. If so, I sure wish to put it to test myself.¡±


    And then he actually put a crack in the wall, earning a huge eyeful from the boss dwarf¡­ But, well, at least it looked like a good sideshow for the onlookers.


    By the way, everyone was creeped out by Bartholomew at first, but Bruno had been sticking with him the entire time. He would come to the entrance of Tenebrae Nemus day after day and yell: ¡°Instructor Skeleton! Train me with the sword again!¡±


    Everyone would often see them in nearby fields, engaging in sword fights together ¡ªhe eventually dragged Eren and me to exterminate herds of goblins and orcs, saying ¡°gotta test my skill!¡±¡ª making everyone in the village think that Bartholomew was harmless¡­beneficial, even, enough for them to just accept him as their own and start calling him ¡°Instructor Skeleton¡± as well.


    Consequently, the teleporter was reconstructed at an unexpectedly early date, remarkably shortening the distance between the Conwallis Imperial Capital and an area as remote as this. However, while it was directly connected to the teleporter of the imperial capital, that didn¡¯t mean one could go directly into the imperial capital using this teleporter. For safety measures, mainly military-related ones, the access to the teleporter was located a day¡¯s distance away from the walls of the imperial capital (this was also according to the ¡°supervisor¡±).


    The next day, officials, engineers, architects, and many others from the imperial capital began to visit the area. After some discussions with the chiefs and mayors of neighboring towns and villages, the central town that was originally built as a post-station town for the villages in the region would be given the name Consul where a pavilion would be built there to welcome the Governor who would administer the affairs of this frontier zone.


    Fortunately, the villages had all finished their harvest season, and there was plenty of manpower to go around, so the construction of the pavilion began with a rush. We would be ready to welcome the Governor by the time spring comes.


    One day¡­ As the autumn season was deepening and the cold of winter was beginning to set in, my mentor received some guests.


    ?????


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    With the tea brewed and ready, I knocked on the door while holding the tray and entered the living room together with Vier, my familiar.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    When we entered the living room, three people sitting across the red-hot fireplace turned their gazes to face us.


    One was, needless to say, Regina with her everlasting sour face as she was sitting in her easy chair, while the other two, our guests, were a man and a woman who were sitting on the sofa.


    ¡°I brought the tea.¡±


    As I wondered where in the world she pulled out the furniture from, I set out the black tea and the complimentary cookies (that I made myself) on the suite table that I would dare to vow didn¡¯t exist this morning.


    As I did, I glanced over to steal a profile of the guests from the corner of my hood.


    One was a familiar face. He was the dragon knight and Regina¡¯s great-grandson, the good-looking man in his prime who seemed to be a prominent noble from the Empire¡ªMr. Eilmer. He must¡¯ve noticed my gaze since he smiled and winked at me. Sharp as ever, I see.


    While the other one was someone I never met before. Dressed in a simple, easy-to-move dress, she was a lady that couldn¡¯t be older than 40 years old, perhaps in her later 30s. She had a well-defined face, but her height, slanted eyes, red hair tied up in a bun, and straight posture gave her the impression of a ¡°Strict Academy Dean¡± rather than a noblewoman.


    From under my hood, I tracked where her appraising ¡ªalmost wary¡ª gaze was directed and I was sure it fell to my golden-furred Sirius familiar who had gained the habit of jumping onto my back to make herself bigger. For a moment, her eyes widened.


    Yeah, that¡¯s the normal reaction alright. It¡¯s Mr. Eilmer who¡¯s weird for not reacting much in the first meeting.


    ¡°¡ªI will take my leave, then.¡±


    Well, yours truly is merely a server today, so I¡¯ll do what I need to do and leave the room quickly. However, after I bowed and was about to leave the living room with the tray in my arms, Regina called out to me.


    ¡°Stop there, Jill. I need to introduce you. Well, you already knew that overgrown manchild, but that redhead over there is my disciple, Christy, who¡¯s assigned to be the Governor.¡±


    We got 20 new terms to remember right out of the gate, that might have or might have not appeared in Vampire Princess before. I¡¯m not a fan of changing the names of the months and days, since it¡¯s easy to intimidate readers that way. I¡¯ll keep track of them and provide the modern equivalent if they appear in the future.


    I don¡¯t even know if they are plot relevant to Vampire Princess. Fallen Angel could very well be a nod to a character with the name Lucifer if there was one. White Monkey could be Hanuman. God-Fish literally reads Kanna. One of these days I¡¯ll be reading Vampire Princess for a better context¡­ one of these days.

 CH 20.2

    As Regina pointed to the lady guest with her chin, Mr. Eilmer, who sat on the same sofa, shrugged his shoulders and said ¡°good grief.¡±


    So she is my senior pupil that I¡¯ve been hearing about. As the future Governor, I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be in contact with her a lot in the future, so a good first impression is a must.


    I set the tray down on a nearby long oblong chest and hesitated for a moment before then putting my hand on my hood ¡ªnotably, Regina didn¡¯t stop me there, as she was busy sipping tea¡ª so I casually dropped the hood and turned to Mrs. Christy.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to finally meet you, elder sister Christy. I am Jill, a disciple of the witch Regina. A novice that I may be, it is a great honor for me to meet you, my own senior disciple in the art of witchcraft. I look forward to acquainting myself with you in the future.¡± Trying not to show my uglies, I picked up my robe along with the skirt under it and performed a curtsy (that greeting where you pull one leg back and bend the front leg).


    When I did, Mrs. Christy stared at me fixedly as if I was some kind of skin-changing monster.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    For some reason, we ended up staring at each other in silence.


    ¡°Oh lord, how magnificent! That¡¯s lady Jill for you, a proper lady through and through!¡±


    The one to break the silence was Mr. Eilmer with a loud voice and a clap, and that seemed to bring Mrs. Christy back to her senses. With a light cough, she got up from the sofa and gave an impeccable response to my greeting.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your kind greetings. My name is Christiane Rita Brandm¨¹ller, a professor at the Imperial Academy of Magic and a baronet by His Majesty the Emperor. I have come on this occasion to ask for the assistance of my mentor Regina in the affairs of the Old Domiziano Fief as I will be assuming the position of Governor starting next year. We are students of the same mentor, which makes us sisters if nothing else. I, too, look forward to acquainting myself with you.¡±


    With a thin smile and a slightly husky but clear voice ¡ªwhich instantly turned her unfriendly aura on its head¡ª she offered me an atmosphere of intimacy. The very next second, however, she turned perfectly expressionless as her neck craned like an old hinge that hadn¡¯t been oiled, glaring at our mentor with frigid eyes.


    ¡°¡­ finally resorted to kidnapping, huh Mentor? Truly befitting for your moniker as the Witch of Tenebrae Nemus.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, you brainless disciple?!¡±


    Regina frowned and slammed her cup down on the saucer in disapproval.


    ¡°I mean her, obviously! It¡¯s simply impossible that such an overqualified disciple was raised by you of all people! Where did you kidnap her from?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make scandalous nonsense! Look at you getting ecstatic for being called ¡®elder sister¡¯ at your age, you old virgin!!¡±


    Regina¡¯s comment invited a magnificent blue streak to appear on Ms. Christy¡¯s forehead. That was when Mr. Eilmer looked up to the heavens, saying ¡°oh lord,¡± then evacuated his cup of tea and its saucer.


    The next moment, a storm of invectives between the mentor and her disciple began. As the tribulation was running rampage, Mr. Eilmer, who had surreptitiously gotten up from his seat, came up next to me and greeted me with a friendly smile, leaning his back against the wall.


    ¡°Hello, it¡¯s been a long time, lady Jill. You¡¯re looking more and more lovely in the little time I¡¯ve been away. Is this one your familiar?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She is Vier, a Sirius. Vier, say hello.¡±


    Urged, Vier barked to greet Mr. Eilmer, and he greeted back with a ¡°nice to meet you.¡± He looked at me meaningfully while sipping the tea I brought.


    ¡°Would you also introduce me to the other personage you have with you?¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°¡­hou.¡± Immediately, a rusty voice came from under my feet¡ª specifically, from the shadow I cast from the lantern on the corner. It was Bartholomew the Death Knight, the self-proclaimed guardian spirit who possessed me to kill time (aka nuisance).


    ¡°To think you could see through my mysterious profundity¡­ I shall judge you as a respectable warrior. I am Bartholomew, a knight of the Crimson Empire, eternal its name be as the heavens and earth, its magical light reaches all that there is. As of now, I am a warrior entrusted with the protection of lady Jill. If possible, I would wish to stand proud as I name myself, but¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to scratch the floor, so would you please not?¡±


    I oh so gently warned this irresolute bone heap that Bartholomew was.


    ¡°¡­as such, my hands are tied.¡±


    ¡°I see. I am Eilmer, a Dragon Knight of the Graviol Empire. It is an honor to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Once the introductions were over, Mr. Eilmer looked at me again with amusement.


    ¡°Dear lord, I am always surprised whenever I meet you, Lady Jill. How truly regrettable. Had it not been for the engagement with Princess Syltianna, even if I had to force it, I would have given you to Luke.¡±


    ¡°HAah?!¡±


    That unexpected name drop made me squeeze out an exclamation that surprised even myself. Regina and Ms. Christy also stopped arguing, looking at us to see what happened.


    ¡°Syltianna¡­? Umm, isn¡¯t that Luke¡¯s prospective match that you mentioned in your letter to Mentor?¡±


    I thought he was making a mistake and meant my half-sister from another mother. After all, Syltianna¡¯s very body was right here and she was supposed to be dead to the world.


    ¡°Yes. The fifth daughter of the Count of Auranthia of the neighboring Livitium Imperial Kingdom, and the only daughter of the most renowned beauty Cattleya of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, the shrine maiden of the Saintess¡¯ Church, Princess Clara¡ª¡± Mr. Eilmer practically sang the words he uttered, before he paused and gave a complicated smile. ¡°¡ªit is the worldwide notorious Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom herself.¡±


    As I was dumbfounded by that statement, I found myself and Regina shared the same look, and she drearily shook her head left and right.


    ¡°The Frontier Count has offered us to meet before the winter arrives. We are planning to welcome the rag¡­no, Princess Syltianna in the capital using our teleporter. I came today for the meeting, but also because I thought I could get more detailed information about the princess, of whom I have heard so many rumors, considering the relatively close proximity this place is to the county.¡±


    ¡°Well, rumors are often gross overdramatization of the truth. However, even if you take it with the benefit of doubt, the rumors about the Ragweed Princess that you hear in the Imperial Capital are plainly terrible.¡±


    After moistening her throat from all the cursing and yelling, Ms. Christy raised her eyebrows and added a few words.


    ¡°¡­err, by the way, just out of curiosity, what kind of rumors are they?¡±


    Upon my inquiry, she made a look as though she was reproaching something unscrupulous, before reluctantly answering my question.


    ¡°Hmm, from what I heard, the moment she was born, the midwife and all the attendants fainted due to her sheer ugliness. Also, when she sees her own face reflected in a soup, that soup rots immediately, or something.¡±


    ¡°I heard that she is so rotund she cannot move by herself and always has to be carried by her lady attendant. I also heard that the sweat and grease that falls from her every time she walks leaves marks on the ground so thick, you would think it was a slug that just passed by or something along the line.¡±


    Mr. Eilmer too, half-giving up, started to tell me the rumors of the Ragweed Princess.


    And once the tap was open, it poured out¡­ like how she was stuck in a bathtub and was only freed after the tub was broken, or how a commissioned painter fled the country and went missing when asked to paint a portrait of her, and so on and so forth. No, I know that neither of them has any ill intention to me, and I understand more than enough to know that they are simply speaking out the hearsays that abound in the street, but¡­


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Vier looked up at me and rubbed the tip of her nose in concern.


    And so, once the tea had completely cooled down, Mr. Eilmer, who seemed to have exhausted all the stories he had heard, suddenly regained his senses and offered me a question. ¡°In reality, how much of it is the truth, about Ragweed Princess¡­no, Princess Syltianna?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Just¡­ How should I answer that question?1


    Notice the change from Mrs. to Ms. ? Yeah that¡¯s intentional.

 CH 21.1

    I found myself on both knees and palms on the floor. This was the legendary orz posture.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, lady Jill?¡±


    Mr. Eilmer was understandably shocked, and Ms. Christy, sitting down and putting down her cup, gave me a look of concern. While Regina¡­ was obliterating the cookies with a malicious look on her face as if she was ready to burst into laughter. Yeah, I can tell that someone is enjoying this.


    ¡°¡­no, forgive me. I¡¯ve gotten¡­ a little dizzy from all the, umm¡­ the rich imaginations of these rumors.¡±


    If those rumors were to be taken at face value, Princess Syltianna (aka me) must be an eldritch creation that had to be purged by fire at the first sight.


    When I offered them an excuse I said randomly, I saw Mr. Eilmer and Ms. Christy nodding their heads at the same time, looking like they understood painfully well what I was talking about. ¡­I know I¡¯m the one who said it, but when they agreed to that so readily like that, it makes some unreasonable anger that bubbles up in me.


    When I glanced, I saw that Regina finally couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore and turned her back on me before she went ¡°Hi hi hi hi, hi hi hi¡­¡­!¡± and hysterically laughed until it came out wordless, even her shoulders shaking from it.


    ¡°¡ªI¡¯m sorry. Indeed, this isn¡¯t a topic to be had with a young lady.¡± Said Mr. Eilmer, he bowed his head with a pensive expression.


    I turned to him and smiled and¡­ ¡°So what, are the rumors so bad they¡¯re age restricted?! Are they riddled with depictions or descriptions of grotesque or what?!¡± was the remark that almost jumped out of my mouth had I not kept it down and shook my head stiffly.


    ¡°Mentor, are you having some kind of seizure?¡± Asked Ms. Christy as Regina was clutching her stomach and banging on the armrest of her easy chair, looking sideways at me with a sickening¡ª and slightly grossed-out look. In response to this question, Maya, Regina¡¯s familiar, shook her head at Regina¡¯s feet in place of her master, as if to say not to worry.


    ¡°Well¡­ that is enough reason. These rumors are all ridiculous at most, but as a father, I have to tread carefully as it is my son¡¯s future that is at stake.¡±


    ¡°¡­I understand your worry. ¡ªUmm, this is just what I heard from a passing rumor, but didn¡¯t the Ragweed Princess die a few months ago?¡±


    ¡°¡ªHou? You sure know your news. I thought it was hushed up within the Imperial Kingdom, however. If I may ask, where did you get that news?¡±


    For a split second, a frigid tone was mixed within Mr. Eilmer¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Hmph, ridiculous. There¡¯s no such thing as a tightly guarded secret in this world. Perfect secrecy? That¡¯s the stuff from fantasy.¡± Regina, who seemed to have finally overcome her fits of laughter, butted in curtly.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Mr. Eilmer stared at Regina and me as if trying to gauge out something¡­ before he sighed, then shrugged with his usual carefree manner.


    ¡°¡ªIndeed. Confidentiality is but a ¡®wishful thinking¡¯ thing.¡± He then looked around at the people in the living room and lowered his voice before he continued. ¡°What I am about to tell you is confidential¡­ It has been investigated by the empire¡¯s intelligence bureaucrat, and, well, there are those who would be disadvantaged if word got out, so I would like to ask you to keep it to yourselves. ¡ªCan I trust you for that?¡±


    ¡°¡­A safer option is for you to shut up.¡±


    Regina frowned, and while I was of the same opinion, with the nature of the topic, I couldn¡¯t think of myself as an unconcerned party. With a serious look, I nodded to Mr. Eilmer¡¯s question, and so did Ms. Christy in the corner of my eye. While reluctant, Regina spoke ¡°suit yourself¡± and ultimately agreed, and Bartholomew also replied from under my feet with ¡°Hah! No knight opens his mouth in vain!¡±


    (Says you who keeps opening his big mouth for no good reason¡­)


    Right when I wanted to comment on my not-at-all taciturn self-appointed guardian spirit, I saw Mr. Eilmer nod his head and open his mouth to start speaking, so, for better or worse, I kept the comment to myself.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ?????


    I poured everyone two refills of tea halfway through the story, and by the time my familiar Vier began to doze off in front of the fireplace, the ¡°Ragweed Princess¡¯ Abduction, Disappearance, and Eventual Rescue Drama¡± scandal from the neighboring Livitium Imperial Kingdom that Mr. Eilmer¡¯s telling about finally came to a climax.


    ¡°¡­and the rescued Princess Syltianna was finally tearfully reunited with her family.¡±


    ¡°Hah. I¡¯ve heard this story before,¡± interjected Regina, dubiously.


    ¡°Yeah, well. In fact, adventurers who were involved in the rescue scene happened to drift into the Imperial City area, and we were able to obtain information from them¡­ albeit by somewhat forceful means.¡±


    While he talked about it a bit off-handedly, the scheming and plotting behind the scenes that led up to that point was probably not something that could be easily described in a few words. And much like Ms. Christy, who frowned uncomfortably, my heart ached when I thought of the adventurer who was made to speak ¡°by somewhat forceful means¡± merely because of their accidental involvement in the incident.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, lady Jill? Does something concern you?¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s nothing, I was merely wondering about the fate of the adventurers who just happened to be in the scene, if they were safe or not.¡±


    If I think about it, they are, in a way, benefactors of ¡°Princess Syltianna.¡± For a split second, Mr. Eilmer made a face as though he was hit off guard when he heard that question¡­ before he lowered his defenses completely and offered me a soft smile.


    Hmmm~~~ A good-looking face will look good no matter what, but when he¡¯s being cool like that, it almost feels like a crime.


    I kinda wish I could be someone as cool as him when I¡¯m all grown up, but, well¡­¡­


    ¡°Please rest assured. The practitioner of the art already confirmed that these adventurers weren¡¯t aware of their intoxication, since being drunk was all that happened to them.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty crafty in its own right, Your High¡­ Sir Eilmer.¡±


    When Ms. Christy, who was anguished just like me and represented our protests both with a few words, Mr. Eilmer looked like he had been had and shrugged his shoulders without elaborating further.


    ¡­I mean, I understand. I know that this world isn¡¯t all clean and pretty. But, I¡¯d rather not have someone I know to be so involved in the dirty part of the world. I guess it¡¯s just my childish selfishness to wish that this is a¡­ kinder place.


    Knowing this, I thanked Regina for her clumsy kindness in keeping silent, Ms. Christy for saying her opinion on my behalf, and Mr. Eilmer for his sincerity in speaking seriously and not speaking down on me even though I was still a kid.


    ¡°¡­so this rumored ¡®Princess Slytianna¡¯ and that wee boy of yours, Luke or something his name was, a proposal for a marriage between them came up. What do you think about it?¡± Despite it being a family matter, Regina looked Mr. Eilmer in the eye and asked, in a dismissive tone, as if she were asking about tomorrow¡¯s weather.


    ¡°Well. As his father, I would rather Luke marry the person he chooses, but¡­¡± For some reason, he directed a meaningful smile at me.


    Huh. I tilted my head.


    ¡°¡­as the current head of our family, this is hardly an arrangement that can be missed.¡± Mr. Eilmer declared matter-of-factly.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°¡°¡°¡­¡­¡±¡±¡±


    While looking at me, Regina and Ms. Christy kept an awkward silence, while Mr. Eilmer made a self-deprecating look.


    Notice the change from Mrs. to Ms. ? Yeah that¡¯s intentional.

 CH 21.2

    ¡°As you may know, the battle of the heir has been heating up in my family¡¯s main household. Since no clear successor has been nominated, four to five people of the eldest sons in my wife¡¯s lineage, including myself, are considered to be the actual heirs to the family. Like it or not, a family quarrel will be taking place soon.¡±


    ¡°Which means you will want the support for it, is it?¡±


    When Ms. Christy spoke unfiltered, seemingly to have understood the bone of the matter, Mr. Eilmer smiled ambiguously, neither affirming nor denying it.


    ¡°Hah, if that¡¯s all, then he¡¯ll just gather all the influential people in his own damn country under him. Since he bothers to establish relations with someone from the neighboring country, a Frontier Count at that, he¡¯s got another objective in mind.¡±


    When Regina spat her words reproachfully, Mr. Eilmer only chuckled.


    ¡°Nothing escapes you, great founder. Indeed, my purpose is not to win the succession dispute. I am never interested in the seat of power. All I want is to return to my comfortable, easy-going life¡­ After all, in exchange for having no land or tax collection rights, I receive a nominal title that allows me monthly living expenses from the state. Unfortunately, that won¡¯t be from now. So what I am aiming for right now is to lose on favorable terms.¡±


    ¡°And the marriage between Luke and Ragweed Princess is a necessary condition for it, huh?¡±


    Mr. Eilmer hesitated slightly before nodding to my question.


    ¡°It¡¯s not an absolutely necessary condition, but it is the best option that I have right now. My objective is to legally withdraw from my position within the Imperial Capital and become the lord of this land, seeing that it is absent of any lord, and devote myself to its development. The preliminary step to that is negotiating behind the scene with the Aulanthia for free trade with no tariffs.¡±


    ¡°After all, what is a woman but an excuse or a tool for negotiation?¡±


    In a highly critical tone, Ms. Christy glared at Mr. Eilmer.


    ?????


    ¡°¡¸O Light, Shine upon My Arm¡¹¡±


    I folded my robe and placed it under my pillow, relying on the illumination from the Light on the tip of my staff.


    The discussion in the living room continued over dinner, with the three adults still engaged in a ¡°lively¡± debate. With that being said, Regina was basically being completely indifferent, while Ms. Christy was mainly snapping at Mr. Eilmer.


    As the night was getting late, I was sent back to my room where I lay on my bed and thought about all kinds of things.


    What concerned me the most was this ¡°Syltianna¡± who was currently in Cultura, Aulanthia. Just, who could she possibly be?


    The most likely explanation was that she was a fake who was prepared for the bounty. That, or a substitute the Aulanthia House prepared to conceal the fact that the daughter of a powerful noble family had gone missing. Well, it could also be a simple case of mistaken identity.


    Either way, since the real Syltianna is right here, things might turn ugly in the future¡­which brought up another question into existence. I¡¯m not sure if I, the person right here right now, truly am ¡°Syltianna¡±.


    Syltianna died once, and what resided inside her body was replaced with me upon her revival. Now, even her outer appearance had considerably changed. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the true Syltianna, the real Syltianna, no longer existed? I don¡¯t think I have any right to act as if I am the true Syltianna and butt into the family business anymore.


    So, what do I do then? Is there anything that I want to do or dream of doing in the future?


    I asked myself those questions and recalled the same question that had been asked to me before¡ªon the day Regina picked me up. ¡°I suppose, all in all, I haven¡¯t made any significant progress since 8 months ago.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    And then there¡¯s the talk of betrothal that is being pushed forward without Luke¡¯s clear consent¡­


    Suddenly it occurred to me to take out the letter Luke sent me (we had actually exchanged letters twice, but I took out the first one he sent me), and, lying on my bed under the illumination of my Light, I went over the text again.


    ¡°Dear Jill, how are you?¡± His meticulous nature was conveyed through his writing.


    ¡°I do not know when this letter will reach you, but I am writing this as soon as I return to the Imperial Capital after losing to you that day.


    Have there been any changes since then? Father told me later that the Tenebrae Nemus is a dangerous place, and it would have been dangerous for us to wade through that day had it not been for you and great-great-grandmother¡¯s familiar.


    I worry about my lack of maturity for being so ignorant, and I am also worried about you and my great-great-grandmother who are living in such a place. I wish I could provide you with a place to live closer to us if possible, but I think it is not going to happen. The truth is, that day my father visited my great-great-grandmother to discuss her moving in with us, yet she refused him outright. He griped about it after returning home.


    If so, then we might as well move so that we live closer to Tenebrae Nemus, but as long as we bear the title of the Dragon Knights, our family cannot leave the imperial capital. The wyverns we Dragon Knights mount, including Fubuki, are not our personal property. They are nominally property of the state, and since we are entrusted to raise them, we basically cannot leave the imperial capital except for work. Therefore, we had to use an excuse of familiarizing Fubuki with a sustained flight mission the last time we visited you.


    My father is proud of his duties as a Dragon Knight, and becoming a respectable Dragon Knight like him is also my dream, so unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I will ever leave the imperial capital.


    Come to think of it, I had heard that my father put my frightened mother on the back of a wyvern to calm her down, and he proposed to her right away up there. I find myself yearning to do the same thing. I hope someday I can marry the person of my dreams on a wyvern just like that¡­ Aah, I do need to be a Dragon Knight before that, however.


    If it is not too much trouble, I will write to you again. Take care.


    P.S. One day, I will definitely visit you on a wyvern where I hold the reins myself.


    The boy who cheerfully promised to fight me again as we parted ways¡­this letter contained his dream for the future¡ªto become a splendid Dragon Knight like Mr. Eilmer. However, the way things are standing today, it is hard for me to see his dream will ever come true.


    ¡°¡­I wish there was some kind of magic that would make everything work itself out perfectly.¡±


    I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me, wishing for the moon.

 CH 22.1

    When I woke up in the morning, Mr. Eilmer was already gone, while Ms. Christy would stay for a couple of days to renew her old relationship with her mentor Regina¡ª if shouting ¡°Old Maid!¡± ¡°Handful Fossil!¡± to each other could be said as such.


    I was interested in how the argument last night ended, but at least a peaceful daily routine had returned to Regina¡¯s hermitage. On this particular day, however, Regina was unusually up and sitting in her easy chair in front of the fireplace earlier than I was awake.


    ¡°¡ªhmph. Making your usual stupid face, eh?¡±


    Looking at my startled face as I froze in the doorway, Regina, whose mouth was curled up in a scornful smile, expressed her bitter impression first thing in the morning.


    ¡°G-, good morning. That¡¯s rare, Mentor. Is there anything that you need?¡±


    It must be about last night¡¯s¡ª Naturally, I guessed that she must be up to talk about the supposedly rescued Syltianna, so I held my anxiety-riddled chest and tried to make out the color of Regina¡¯s face.


    If Mr. Eilmer¡¯s story was true, ¡°Syltianna¡± was currently sheltered in Aulanthia territory, and at the insistence of her father, the Frontier County (to be fair, I don¡¯t really see him as an immediate family because my memory of him is a little fuzzy. He isn¡¯t in the territory much, to begin with) talks of her engagement came forward. This could mean that Syltianna¡¯s safety and future were both assured.


    If so, I could just crash in and declare ¡°I am the real Syltianna,¡± and if they recognized me, things would fall in place neatly¡ª as the proverb goes, we bury the hatchet that has my blood on it. Well, there is a possibility that I¡¯d be treated as a fake and executed, but so long I could tell Mr. Eilmer about my situation in advance and ask him to be my insurance policy, there would be no problem on that front.


    So, if Regina thought that I, the freeloader in her residence, was an obstacle to her, then wasn¡¯t it very likely that she would ask me to leave her alone in the near future? It was haunting me as I was trying to sleep last night, but I didn¡¯t expect that mentor would just wait for me in the morning without time to sort out my feelings¡­


    ¡°Old coots like me have it hard when it¡¯s this cold. Good heavens¡­ I might as well take a trip to southern countries before the first snowfall.¡±


    ¡°A trip, is it?¡±


    I craned my head. I had thought she had gotten up so early in the morning to discuss my future prospects, but the conversation started from an unexpected angle.


    ¡°Damn right. It snows a lot around here, so rather than stay cooped all winter long in this dreary, depressing place, going to the warm southern beach and stretching my wings is a million times better.¡±


    As if in agreement with Regina¡¯s words, Maya the caru who was at her feet yawned.


    ¡°The beach¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, the beach¡ª Hm? I thought you grew up inland, Jill? You¡¯ve seen a beach before?¡±


    ¡°Eh?! Ermm¡­ I have not (in this world).¡±


    ¡°Hm. You sure look nostalgic when you heard it for the part. ¡ªso, what do you want to do?¡±


    My heart leaped a little at her casual question. Her question refers more to what I will do from now on, will I stay or will I leave, right?


    I took a deep breath and voiced the answer that I had been thinking about since last night. ¡°¡­would it be a nuisance if I¡¯m with you?¡±


    ¡°It would, alright!¡± She immediately decided to throw me to the wolves.


    I bit my lip and turned, ¡°But,¡± came Regina¡¯s guttural voice. ¡°I can use you to carry my luggage and as my first-aid kit. Well, follow me on your own if you want, just make sure you don¡¯t get lost in the way.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    She was being roundabout and riddled with sarcasm as usual, but¡­ she was saying I could stay here from now too, right?


    ¡°¡ªTha, thank you very much, mentor! I will be more diligent from nyow ohn!¡±


    Ah, I got over excited and bit my tongue.


    ¡°Hah, that much is obvious.¡±


    When Regina grunted as she was watching the fireplace, I bowed to her once again.


    ¡°¡­what a strange taste to have, for crying out loud.¡±


    A chuckle escaped me when she added a few snide comments. She¡¯s right, what a strange taste to have, really. Look at me, willingly becoming the disciple of such a bigoted witch and choosing to live in Tenebrae Nemus. With that being said¡­


    ¡°Well, I am not suitable to live among the aristocrats and be brought up like a princess, it seems. A ragweed fits better staying low, spreading her roots in the ground, and staying away from the limelight. It¡¯s easier this way.¡±


    When Regina turned her head to me, the face she made as she looked at me from the top of my head to the tip of my toe was one of utter bafflement. She used one of her hands to squeeze her temples, while her other hand was held out to me.


    ¡°¡­Jill. You have a necklace, don¡¯t you? Let me see that.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    Being told such, I went back to my room, brought back my mother¡¯s necklace, and handed it to Regina.


    ¡°Hmph. Thumb-sized mana pyroxene decorated with diamond1 and black pearls, and to top it off, it has orichalcum for the base and chains¡­ you can buy a dozen state-of-the-art magic sailboats with one of these. ¡ªEh, whatever. It¡¯s good enough as a catalyst.¡±


    After carefully checking the necklace I handed and snorted, Regina turned to me and continued talking with a very troublesome tone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping this one for a while. I¡¯ll apply a Blinding magic art on it.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ah, okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Now get back to work! We got one more useless mouth to feed!¡±


    Shooed away by Regina, I returned to my usual routine, not quite sure I understood what she was getting at.


    ?????


    ¡°¡¸I am the cure to your ailment¡¹¡± I directed the swooning golden light from my hand to a broken tree branch. ¡°¡¸Heal¡¹¡±


    Immediately, a languid weariness came over my whole body, and at the same time, young leaves sprouted from the broken section. I observed it closely, expecting a new branch to grow, but there seemed to be no further change.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Hmmm~~ I didn¡¯t expect Healing Arts would be this inconvenient to use.¡±


    Overhearing my muttering from a distance away, Bartholomew approached me, his head tilted.


    ¡°Is that so? It appears to me it is working well enough.¡±


    ¡°There is some effect at work for both fauna and flora,¡± I checked the fresh new leaves, smiling defeatedly. ¡°However, the effect is minimal. Not to mention, it automatically consumes either my magic or my life force at a certain amount, so I have no control over it. It vexes me.¡±


    We were in an open space about 15 minutes away from the hermitage. After collecting the usual medicinal herbs, fruits, and poisonous herbs, I was practicing my magic and healing arts in my free time.


    ¡°Hm? I thought all magic art was like so?¡±


    Well, I guess that¡¯s the general perception of magic. You cast a spell and release magic as a result you get. Just like if you type in a number and press enter, the answer will appear on the monitor.


    But, personally, I wanted to dissect the method of how the calculation worked to reach said answer and, if possible, modify the program to make it easier for me to use. In fact, I had already applied and modified other magic arts to an extent.


    For example, the Napalm magic art that I used against the Phantoms in the ruins. It was not just Fire magic; it was a compound magic of Fire + Water. It didn¡¯t burn oxygen, it burned hydrogen gas. As a result, it had enough heat to carbonize and vaporize a human being with a single hit.2

 CH 22.2

    So, after learning the Healing Art, I tried using it several times by trial and error, but it seemed that although it was called an art, it was almost uncontrollable, close to an ESP in the sense that it was a technique I couldn¡¯t analyze that could only turn on or off with no in-between.


    Currently, all I could use was Heal to treat injuries and Cure to remedy a physical condition. However, Heal could only treat minor physical trauma, it couldn¡¯t treat major injuries ¡ªlike missing limbs or major organ damage¡ª nor could it recover lost stamina or replace the loss of blood. The same could be said for Cure; it could handle a simple cold or hangover, but it was powerless against lethal poisons or deadly sick patients.


    The problem was that I had no control over the resulting effect whatsoever.


    For example, trying to make a fine adjustment or application such as ¡®heal a 10 centimerte wound, leave 2 centimerte of it unhealed¡¯ or ¡®regenerate this leg by using three times the amount of mana¡¯ would be impossible. The moment I chanted ¡°Heal,¡± the procedure left my control, treated the wound on its own, and consumed my mana and stamina in its wake. It even arbitrarily determined the amount it consumed, and if I didn¡¯t have the necessary mana and stamina for it to activate, it wouldn¡¯t be activated.


    ¡°Hmm~. Perhaps there is a limit to what someone can do by themselves in terms of the Healing Art.¡±


    I lamented, and Bartholomew agreed.


    ¡°Indeed. Self-improvement is important, but having a superior teacher to guide you is the golden path towards a better learning experience. A great teacher is a towering mountain; much like how you can never wrap your hands around a mountain, a single student can never monopolize a teacher. And much like how you must look up to see the peak, you must respect your teacher reverently. In that line of thought, my mentor, the esteemed Knight Commander of¡ª¡±


    As I was ignoring this heap of bones¡¯ long-winded ramblings, I felt the presence of a person entering my Mana Search territory. Her stay in the last couple of days had made me quite accustomed to her signature¡ªit was that of Ms. Christy.


    Just for caution, I once again scrutinized the surroundings to make sure that there was no particular danger in the area before I turned my face to the 2 mertes tall Death Knight ¡ªwho, after asking Regina, seemed to be equal to military-class catastrophic monsters¡ª who was just standing around next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.


    ¡°Well, Ms. Christy is heading over, so could you hide?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why it is a problem for me to be here, though?¡±


    You¡¯re the big problem. Someone could die from shock if they encounter you in Tenebrae Nemus of all places, especially if that someone was well-versed in the magicky business.


    ¡°I will introduce you to her later, so for now, I¡¯m asking you to stay out of her sight.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­very well, I shan¡¯t deny that this appearance of mine might startle a lady.¡±


    With words that sounded self-aware and surprisingly thoughtful, Bartholomew disappeared soundlessly into my shadow.


    ¡°Vier.¡±


    When I called her, my familiar Vier who was snacking on a demon beast ¡ªI would swear that the giant spider legs in her mouth were nothing but a figment of my imagination, yup¡ª barked in response and came running to my feet.


    I was scruffing her fluffy neck when I heard footsteps behind me trampling through the undergrowth and fallen leaves and promptly stopped at the entrance of the clearing.


    ¡°¡ªAh, Ms. Christy. It is rare to see you coming this way, is there something I can help with?¡±


    When I spoke to her in a tone that suggested I had just noticed her arrival, she turned a slightly surprised look at me before she carefully extended her Mana Search to the entire clearing.


    ¡°Uh, no, I was on my stroll when I sensed an¡­ enormous signature of mana, so I came here to see. ¡­was there anything out of place?¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Well, that¡¯s a witch for you. She must¡¯ve sensed Bartholomew¡¯s mana and came to check if something was wrong. Now, what¡¯s my next step? I feel like this is a good chance for me to introduce the two.


    ¡°Well, it was mostly a hunch. If nothing happened, then so be it.¡±


    While I was pondering what to do, Ms. Christy reached her own conclusion. While they were different in nature, this egocentric mindset¡ªor rather, marching on one¡¯s own drum attitude told me that she really was Regina¡¯s disciple.


    Well, I¡¯m not like them, of course.


    ¡°Are you foraging herbs, Jill? It must¡¯ve been hard, learning under that bigot of a mentor.¡±


    She sympathized with me deeply. As for me, I couldn¡¯t exactly confirm or deny it, so I only brushed it off with a laugh. ¡°Ahahaha.¡±


    ¡°It must be hard for you too, Ms. Christy, seeing all the work you have ahead. ¡ªSpeaking of which, how did the discussion with Mr. Eilmer conclude that night?¡± Since it popped up in my mind, I used that topic to divert the conversation.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ Let¡¯s say we had different views. His High¡­ Sir Eilmer had thought of this very carefully. While indeed we know each other, an outsider like me cannot intrude upon his family matters.¡±


    With a somewhat agitated attitude, Ms. Christy looked at the sky beyond the forest ¡ªprobably in the direction of the imperial capital¡ª and sighed.


    ¡°Have you two known each other for long?¡±


    I agreed with her so zealously that Ms. Christy stared at my face for a while¡­ before she made a look of enlightenment for some reason and directed a warm, meaningful gaze at me.


    ¡°I see now. I understand, I will oppose it to the best I can. Let¡¯s do this, for Luke.¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is for Luke.¡±


    We nodded to each other and shook hands. Right this moment, an alliance formed.


    ¡°Well, that aside, I am planning to visit the nearby pioneer village and I want to ask you to guide me, Jill. I already have our mentor¡¯s permission for it.¡±


    ¡°I see. I will make some preparations then, I will guide you to the outside of the forest later.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please. There are just so many demon beasts in this forest. I have to thank Maya for picking us up the other day. ¡ª¡ªCome to think of it, there aren¡¯t many demon beasts around here. Is it due to your Sirius?¡±


    Even as she spoke, Ms. Christy looked like she couldn¡¯t believe that the young Sirius, Vier, managed to claim the whole clearing for herself.


    ¡°Aah, umm, well¡­ Vier does have a hand in it, but, probably, it is mostly due to the other one I¡¯m keeping around¡­¡±


    ¡°The other one? You have two familiars?¡±


    ¡°Er, no, not exactly a familiar, more like a guardian spirit, or a demon beast in his own right¡­¡±


    As Ms. Christy looked more and more puzzled, I sighed and decisively came out of it.


    ¡°I feel like you will understand it better if I show you, but¡­ Well, his appearance might put you off, but if you could, please don¡¯t make a big ruckus out of it.¡±


    ¡°Hm. So it is the kind of demon beast that works under you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can say that.¡±


    ¡°How intriguing. Could you show it to me?¡±


    ¡°¡­I understand. Bartholomew.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°OU!!¡±


    Right at that moment, a skeleton wrapped in thick, black, super-heavy armor, wielding a giant halbert, with eyes lit by a pair of pale will-o¡¯-the-wisps ¡ªthe Death Knight Bartholomew¡ª leaped out from my shadow and landed right in the face of Ms. Christy before he started his usual speech.


    ¡°It is I, Bartholomew, the Palace Knight of the glorious Imperial Crimson, its prestige eternal throughout all of heaven and earth, who has come to this land by order of my beloved and beautiful princess!!¡±


    ¡­all I can say is Ms. Christy¡¯s shriek was surprisingly kind of adorable.

 CH 23.1

    After sorting the herbs I foraged this morning and carrying them to the compounding room, we had a slightly early lunch. The lunch consisted of sloppily made Corn Soup and Pan Fried Butter Pumpkin, both of which used homegrown ingredients from my experimental garden that I harvested this fall. I wouldn¡¯t exactly say they reach my standards¡­ emphasis on wouldn¡¯t, and I.


    ¡°Why is the corn so sweet?! The grains are so tender and full! And the pumpkin, it¡¯s so sweet! Even the skin is melting in my mouth!¡±


    The moment she took a sip, Ms. Christy¡¯s eyes opened wide in bewilderment before she showered me in strides of compliments. Being praised so openly like this made the process of making the fertilizer from scratch worth all the hard work.


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    On the other hand, Regina only snorted. Not a hint of a smile was seen on her as she picked the tender parts of the pumpkins on the pan, piled them on her small plate, and popped one of them into her mouth. No comment coming from her either.


    ¡°Aah, Mentor! You¡¯re hogging them. You took seven, seven! While I¡¯ve only had four!¡±


    ¡°Did I? You didn¡¯t look like you¡¯re eating them much, so I thought to help you with them.¡±


    Regina, with her trademarked cruel smirk, covered her small plate with both hands to prevent her pumpkins from being taken. From all the things she said, not one of them was a complaint¡­ It led me to believe that perhaps she took a liking to this vegetable dish.


    ¡°I¡¯m the type to save delicious treats for last so I can savor them later!¡±


    ¡°Ka ka ka. That¡¯s why all of your precious things slipped you by. You know, like your marriageable age.¡±


    ¡°M-, my marriage is not part of the conversation! If anything, it was all because you went missing in the first place, Mentor.¡±


    I don¡¯t understand, why are they making a fuss over a slice or two of pumpkin? I went to the kitchen to fetch more.


    In the end, the two witches showed how gluttonous they could be and were finally sated after a large pot of soup, two whole pumpkins, and four cobs of boiled corn in their stomachs, and this was supposed to be a light lunch.


    As for me, I only had a bowl of soup and a slice of pumpkin. I¡¯d rather not relapse after the diet, mind you.


    ?????


    ¡°Welcome to the western pioneer village, Madam Governor. I am Aroldo Baresi, the village chief. This is my wife, Karina Baresi.¡±


    Eren¡¯s parents rushed out to the door and greeted Ms. Christy with a bow.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you, Chief Aroldo. I¡¯m Cristiane Rita Brandm¨¹ller, currently a teacher at the Imperial Academy of Magic. Although I have been conferred a baronetcy by His Majesty the Emperor, I am still unworthy of the title, as I¡¯m yet to become the governor. For this reason, I¡¯ve come here today as a private civilian, detached from my official duties, to confirm the area with my own eyes. I would be grateful for your cooperation.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I see. Uh¡­ I understand, Lady Brandm¨¹ller.¡±


    Being barraged by eloquent words, Chief Aroldo could only nod his head, shrinking in embarrassment. Well, an Independent and Literary Woman like Ms. Christy must¡¯ve been a little bit too much for a simple, backwater village chief. He looked quite overwhelmed.


    (She¡¯s actually quite the immature grown-up who got into a squabble with her mentor over pumpkin slices under all that elegance though.)


    Watching that exchange from a step away, I chuckled under my hood and rubbed the backs of Maya and Vier with my hands each.


    Obviously, I can¡¯t have Ms. Christy walk on her own two feet from the forest to the pioneer village ¡ªShe was riding Fubuki the Wyvern with Mr. Eilmer the Dragon Knight when she first came here¡ª so the solution was to have Ms. Christy ride Maya while I would ride Vier as we traveled. Meanwhile, the one to guard the hermitage was Bartholomew, who took the role gladly (Regina hated it though, screaming ¡°You¡¯re annoying!¡±).


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°First, I want to confirm the variation and the condition of the crops in this village. Can you tell me about them?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. We grow mainly grains¡­ rice, wheat, corn, as well as pumpkins, beans, tubers, and various other vegetables that are relatively easy to grow. As for harvest, we had a poor harvest 5 years ago due to cold weather, but since then things have been going well.¡±


    ¡°Hm. What do you do if there¡¯s crop failure?¡±


    ¡°Then we let the fields rest and wait for them to recover naturally, that¡¯s basically all we can do. Well, cultivating new fields is difficult, and the village can¡¯t survive if we keep increasing the amount of idled plot, so we¡¯re using every trick in the book to stay afloat.¡±


    ¡°I see. Securing idled plots in case of emergency seems to be imperative from now on. We need some kind of leverage, perhaps we can consider tax exemptions for a certain period of time, or import and distribute provisions according to the situation in each town or village.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?! I can¡¯t tell you how much that would help us¡­ Thank you!¡±


    Despite her matter-of-fact, intelligent tone, what Ms. Christy said was positive, putting herself on the side of the villagers. Chief Aroldo¡¯s once taut shoulders even relaxed as relief spread through his face.


    ¡°Oh, forgive me. This is hardly the place to talk. Please, come inside.¡±


    Led by the chief, Ms. Christy and I were about to follow him inside when someone called my name, ¡°Jill!¡± Hearing the familiar voice, I looked over and saw Eren coming at us with her two brothers, they¡¯re all bringing baskets full of grains and vegetables.


    ¡°Kids. Why are you bringing these things to Lady Baroness?¡±


    Chief Aroldo looked bewildered, reprimanding his children, when his wife gently tugged at his sleeve.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who told them to, dear. I¡¯m sure the lady will understand it better if she sees our crops herself.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thank you for your consideration, Mrs. Baresi.¡±


    The Chief looked unconvinced, but Ms. Christy interrupted and thanked his wife before he could complain, leaving him chewing his words back.


    ¡°Let me see them.¡±


    Ms. Christy stepped forward. She was tall and had a good body carriage, and her every movement was precise and sharp like a knife even in her rest posture ¡ªA captivating woman even if you ask me. Because of that, the two boys were a little bit intimidated by her. Eren, though, after glancing a disappointed look at her brothers, stepped forward and lowered the basket she was carrying.


    ¡°Here you go, Lady Baroness.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. And you are?¡±


    ¡°Eren.¡±


    When I answered that for her, Ms. Christy glanced back at me and asked ¡°Are you friends?¡± To which Eren and I nodded at the same time.


    ¡°We are.¡±


    ¡°Best of friends!¡±


    Eren¡¯s enthusiastic answer invited Ms. Christy¡¯s gaze back at her, and a happy squint from the witch.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see.¡±


    After which, Ms. Christy bent down and began to inspect the produce in the basket with her hand.


    The witch was examining the crops with some interest at first before her expression started to darken ¡ªlike she was colored by bafflement and doubt¡ª which consequently raised the tension within the group, as the rest of us waited with bated breath.

 CH 23.2

    ¡°¡­Is this the normal yield for corn? Not that it¡¯s particularly bad or anything.¡±


    Ms. Christy looked confused as she measured the thickness and the weight of the corn in her hand, and when she peeled the skin and sullenly checked the cob, she looked at Eren for confirmation.


    ¡°Y-, yes. That is our average, if not slightly better.¡±


    Seeing Eren nodding nervously under her pressure as if trying to gauge her, Ms. Christy looked at my face with an¡­ inexplicable expression.


    ¡°Jill. The corn you boiled for us this morning looked very different from this one. Was that from a different species?¡± She then offered me a corn that was twice as thinner than the one I had grown, with the kernels scarcely in places, and it looked much tougher than the ones I had grown. Right then, a pumpkin fell to the ground, making a dry hard sound like it was a rock.


    ¡°No, I used the same seedlings. However, I treated the soil differently, with the application of fertilization and such, so perhaps that¡¯s what made the difference¡­¡±


    My answer was met with the look of ¡°the hell are you talking about?¡± from the professional farmers around me. Ms. Christy and Eren, however, responded with their eyes lit up. Although, compared to Eren who purely admired what I said, Ms. Christy looked at me like a researcher looking at an interesting guinea pig.


    ¡°Jill¡­ what kind of magic did you use?¡±


    ?????


    Afterward, I was interviewed by the village leaders about my tried-and-true soil improvement methods ¡ªhumus and fermented compost, and the need for chicken manure and fertilizer.


    Personally, since this was all knowledge based on the memory of my ¡®previous life,¡¯ and I thought that making a leap in the culture of a civilization so casually could be a bad idea, I wanted to bid my time and approach carefully. However, Ms. Christy, in a very accustomed, sharp-tongued tone, as if she was a chess player approaching a chess puzzle, started to pick apart every little thing that I had in my argument and even argued back with logical structures so solid I couldn¡¯t say anything back ¡ªand now I felt very sorry for the students of the school she was teaching in. Hence, we were to discuss the problems of the current agriculture practices and the improvements to be made.


    ¡°As I mentioned before, plants are living beings too, and thus they need to be fed enough lest they will grow thin. I understand that creating new idle lands annually and waiting for the soil to naturally replenish the lost nutrients is our current practice, but is this not too roundabout and a waste of land? A solution to this problem is to fertilize the farmland, which will not only make better use of the land but also double the yield.¡±


    Once I was done, the looks they exchanged with each other were incredulous¡­ if not straight-up dubious. Well, that¡¯d be the normal reaction. It¡¯s Eren who¡¯s a little too frank for grinning so widely and nodding her head without questioning anything I said.


    ¡°And the corn and pumpkins we¡¯ve had this morning are the results of that, yes?¡± Ms. Christy was more curious than skeptical since she had tasted the yield firsthand. She retreated to her thoughts for a while, before she directed a knife-sharp glance at Chief Aroldo. ¡°Village Chief Aroldo. I cannot make this a formal request, not until I assume my position next year, but I would like to ask you to use an idle plot to cultivate crops using this ¡®fertilizer¡¯ technology and call it a trial basis. Would that be okay with you? Of course, the necessary expenses will be coming from myself.¡±


    ¡°That can be done, but¡­¡± The village chief glanced at my face.


    ¡°Of course, Jill, my sister-disciple, will cooperate fully.¡± She emphasized the ¡®sister-disciple.¡¯ I have no right to refuse it, it seems.


    ¡°Yes, my dear elder sister Christy. I will do as you say.¡±


    Hearing my not-at-all heartfelt consent, Ms. Christy nodded in self-satisfaction. ¡°With this project and how nearby the teleporter is, I will need to maintain close contact between my workplace, the mansion that will be built in the town of Consul, and this village. ¡ªRight. Perhaps hiring someone from this village at my mansion might be a good idea if there is a good candidate for it.¡±


    Ms. Christy concluded with a topic that could be used for small talk as she looked around the assembled group. In response, the villagers had their tensions relaxed, judging that the meeting was about to end¡­ except Eren who leaned forward and looked excited.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°Um, Lady Baroness! Does that mean I can be a Lady Attend¡­ err, to be a live-in domestic service?! Ah, I can read and write!¡±


    ¡°Eeeh, what¡¯s wrong, Eren?!¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, Eren?! Even if we¡¯re not well-off, we¡¯re not that desperate to send you off to do domestic service!¡±


    Ignoring my and her father¡¯s astonishment, Eren approached Ms. Christy. The baroness furrowed her brow for a slight moment before quickly regaining her composure. She looked at Eren¡¯s serious face with amusement, and even flashed that dark grin very reminiscent of a certain other witch, even if both of them would rather die than accept how similar they were.


    ¡°How intriguing. I cannot make you a lady attendant out of the gate, but you can start by being a tweeny. If I see potential in you, I will discuss it with my steward and make you a lady attendant. Well, if I find you slacking, then I¡¯ll kick you out right away.¡±


    ¡°I understand! I will work with all my heart and soul!¡±


    Ignoring the dumbfounded faces around her, Eren took a deep bow and treated it as if everything had been set in stone.


    ¡°Well, the construction of the mansion in Consul won¡¯t officially start until next spring. If you haven¡¯t changed your mind by then, pack your things and come to me. Oh, right, I¡¯ll also write your introduction letter.¡±


    While Ms. Christy¡¯s shoulders were shaking from entertainment, Eren answered with a clear and spirited ¡°Yes!¡± before she ran up to me with a smile of a thousand suns.


    ¡°Did you hear that, Jill!? I¡¯m going to work under the baroness starting next year! This is a step towards my dream to be a lady attendant!¡±


    The girl then grabbed both of my hands and shook them up and down with buzzing vigor.


    ¡°This is the first time I heard this. You want to be a lady attendant, Eren?¡±


    ¡°I do! I will surely become a splendid lady attendant. Just wait for me, Jill!¡±


    Wait for what? Before I could ask her that, though, Eren¡¯s family came over and they started a family meeting, so I left with the question still hanging.


    Incidentally, from the words that happened to enter my ears, Chief Aroldo seemed to be very opposed to the idea of selling off his daughter, but his wife was surprisingly enthusiastic and supportive. Well, given her vigor and personality, Eren¡¯s future career path had almost been decided at this rate.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± As for me, I can¡¯t help but feel a little bit envious and saddened that my best friend had chosen a path for herself, independent, and separated from me¡­


    ¡°Now then, it¡¯s time we head back. Oh lord. We yielded a lot today.¡±


    The only one in a good mood, Ms. Christy, then urged me and Maya to leave our seats.


    ¡°¡­yes.¡±


    With a sigh, I left the metaphorical nest of bees that was the village chief¡¯s family matters and headed to the Tenebrae Nemus where Regina and Bartholomew were waiting for us.


    Tweeny is a maid that works in both the living quarter and the kitchen.


    Speaking of agriculture, you can¡¯t just put fertilizer in the soil and be done, you need to manage the crops appropriately. Also, it takes a lot of time and effort to fully restore the nutrients in the soil, an example of which is to plant different types of crops each year, a crop rotation, but for now I resort to touch on the simple basics.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Taxes? In my power fantasy gender bender Japanese webnovel?

 CH 24.1

    One day in the first week of the month of dead souls (December), when the mornings and evenings had become much colder. I spent the morning, hammer in hand, on the half-tilted roof of the hermitage doing carpentry work.


    ¡°Stop half-a?s?s?i?n?g it. Hold the plank down firmly and swing the nail in, or else you won¡¯t reinforce the roofs properly. You can¡¯t even do proper work, you damn ragweed?¡±


    While Regina was leisurely complaining from the safety of the ground, dubbing it as ¡°supervising me,¡± I protested back, tears swelling in my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared! The roof is slanted weird for me to stand properly, and it could fall through at any moment if I put my weight on any weird spot!¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re reinforcing them! Your head is what¡¯s slanted! And don¡¯t you dare to step on the roofs, not with your weight!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that heavy anymore! I¡¯ve been keeping my waist at 50 centimertes!¡±


    ¡°Hah! All I can see from the bottom is your big a?s?s?. Have you measured the size of your buttocks?¡±


    ¡°Uuh¡­!¡±


    ¡°Not even Maya would be able to catch an a?s?s? that big if you fall from above. Ah, scary, scary. Make sure you don¡¯t fall!¡±


    The Caru ¡ªRegina¡¯s familiar, Maya¡ª who was wordlessly holding up the plank for reinforcement with two of her tentacles, looked at her master next to her, then looked at my face with a troubled expression before she cried once.


    Was it ¡°don¡¯t worry about it¡± or was it ¡°I¡¯ll catch you if you fall,¡± I couldn¡¯t really tell¡­


    That was when Vier, holding a plank with her mouth, flew up to me, flapping her wings.


    ¡°Huu¡­Thank you, Vier.¡±


    I received the plank from Vier who was hovering close at hand. My task today was to nail the two planks together (using very old and rusty nails), to make an X at the window and other damaged areas of the roof, and to reinforce them from above as a temporary measure.


    ¡°We need to fix the place up before winter comes,¡± spoke Regina out of the blue at breakfast. Hence why I was outside in my usual attire ¡ªa one-piece dress underneath an apron, even though I really could wear my robe in such cold season¡ª and was given a hammer and a box of old nails, before I found myself on the roof, exposed to the elements.


    It¡¯s only natural that I would complain, isn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Make sure you patch them! I don¡¯t want to return from my trip to see the cabin crushed by snow.¡±


    As I was assaulted by Regina¡¯s complaints, I began to think that might as well let the snow crush it so that it wouldn¡¯t become future problems¡­ such dark thoughts.


    ¡°Does the snow really fall that much around here? ¡ªOr rather, you are going somewhere, Mentor?¡±


    ¡°Is your head nothing but a rack for hats or what?! Do you have knot holes for ears?! I already told you we¡¯re going to the tropics for the winter!¡±


    I almost slipped off the roof when she yelled. Wait, that wasn¡¯t merely an excuse to mend the situation, she actually meant it?!


    ¡°Well, you won¡¯t be coming though. You can go and spend the whole winter in the snow-buried cabin, I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    When Regina smiled wickedly as such, I immediately shook my head.


    ¡°Of course I will be coming with you, mentor! Spare me the snow and cold!¡±


    ¡°Then work you god damn a?s?s?!¡±


    ¡°Y-, yes!¡±


    Whoa! Once I¡¯m done with this, we will have a vacation in the tropics!


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    When I thought about that, my arm suddenly became lighter as I swung the hammer. And just like that, despite Regina¡¯s reckless instructions and the difficulty I faced with how brittle the old nails were, I spent the full day repairing the hermitage.


    ?????


    While indeed we would be going on a trip, it wasn¡¯t like we could make the decision in a snap and leave at the drop of a hat.


    If we were to be away from home for an extended period of time, we must take account of the elixirs and other such items that could deteriorate over time, so for the time being, we decided to store all such items in the large oblong chest and put it under the magic art of Preservation.


    A few days passed dizzyingly fast as we sorted and organized the items. It felt like end-of-year cleanup.


    ¡°Mentor, what about this apple?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an anesthetic. A single bite and you¡¯re knocked out cold.¡±


    ¡°¡­you¡¯re sure it¡¯s just anesthetic?¡±


    I unearthed many more questionable articles like this one¡­


    By the way, since Bartholomew¡¯s original mission was to guard the teleporter ¡ªalthough, I had a feeling he was haunting me to procrastinate¡ª he obviously could not leave the area for a long time, so we would part for a while.


    ¡°Finally~~! Now that is a weight off my mind¡ª!!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t forget the bright expression Regina showed when she heard of it. That was the first time I ever saw her smiling so content. Regina usually would hide everything behind her harsh remarks and cruel words, but this time she truly laid out her bare feelings¡­ Well, not that I didn¡¯t share the sentiment, but it was very on-brand for her to spit it out in Bartholomew¡¯s face.


    And yet, Bartholomew was Bartholomew.


    ¡°Umu, umu. You know well, Lady Witch. As the ancient saying goes, ¡®Friendships between wise men are plain hence rock solid, friendships between small men are sweet hence adrift.¡¯


    ¡°In other words, the friendship of small folks may be heavy and sweet as wine at first glance, but it does not last long. On the other hand, the friendship of wise folks may appear platonic and weightless, but much like water, it¡¯s a friendship that never changes! Be that as it may, I, Bartholomew the Knight, shall speak of my concern for my friends through actions. Lady Witch, leave the rest to me! I shall protect this hut to the best of my ability! Even if it means slaughtering all the invading enemies!¡±


    He somehow managed to misinterpret what Regina said, instantly putting Regina back in her grim mood.


    After which, I took Vier and Bartholomew to the western pioneer village to say goodbye to everyone that had helped me. After greeting Andy and Chad at the gate, we first went to Eren¡¯s¡­ the village chief¡¯s house.


    ¡°¡­I see. So the sage of the forest will be away during winter. That does worry me, but that can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Mr. Aroldo, the village chief and Eren¡¯s father, sighed lightly as he said this. I would guess the reason why he was a little less energetic than the last time I saw him was due to Eren¡¯s apprenticeship as a tweeny. After all, he was losing the vote, being pushed into agreeing by hin wife and daughter.


    ¡°Just for precaution, in case you need some extra stakes, warding bells, and various medicines in our absence, I have some of them with me.¡±


    ¡°Please bring it to the shed then. While you¡¯re here, would you also take a look at the condition of the fermented fertilizer? I have been stirring it every day as you said, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m doing it correctly.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    We walked to the shed where I laid out the goods I had brought with me using the Close Magic Art, and we checked on the fermented fertilizer. While I was giving the man some points of advice, Eren and Bruno came together.

 CH 24.2

    ¡°Jill! I heard you¡¯re going on a trip during winter, is that true?¡±


    ¡°It is. I am planning to accompany my Mentor to the south, but we should return by the time spring starts, so I think I will be back before you leave for Lady Christy¡¯s mansion, Eren¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Eren¡¯s expression darkened the more she listened to my words for some reason.


    ¡°¡­You see, I¡¯m also leaving the village this month to go to Consul town.¡±


    ¡°?! What do you mean? I thought the mansion wasn¡¯t even built yet?¡±


    I could feel the blood drain from my face. In response to my panicked question, Eren dropped her gaze and muttered.


    ¡°My mother asked my uncle, a merchant in the town of Consul, to help me to learn the bare minimum of etiquette and common sense if I¡¯m going to work in a nobleman¡¯s mansion, so I will be working there until the baroness is ready¡­ So, if we¡¯re saying goodbyes today, we won¡¯t see each other for a long time.¡±


    That came so abruptly that I couldn¡¯t say anything. Bruno then turned around and spat out words bitterly.


    ¡°What the hell? You two are going to go away just like that¡­? Who¡¯s going to look after the little brats?! Who¡¯s going to be my opponent?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡­¡­¡±¡±


    As we all looked down, away from each other, unable to form words, a hulking frame of a body that had no sensibility whatsoever broke the silence.


    ¡°Worry not, disciple of mine! This one shall thoroughly teach you the essence of martial arts in the meantime. They do say that ¡®leave the nest for three days and boys will be men.¡¯ This is a unique opportunity for you to show them the unabashed result of your training as a man!!¡±


    ¡°¡­Uhh, so you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m going to be really strong, Jill and Eren can¡¯t look away from me, is that it, Instructor Skeleton?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, disciple! This be a harsh training, follow me!¡±


    ¡°O-, ou!¡±


    Ignoring these boys who got worked up for some nonsense, I looked into Eren¡¯s moist eyes and asked again.


    ¡°Are you sure about this? You¡¯re not going to change your mind?


    After hesitating for a moment, Eren shook her head.


    ¡°Yes. I already decided, after all¡­ And you helped me make up my mind. Thank you, Jill.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Did I do something? Seeing my puzzled face, Eren just smiled.


    ¡°Say, even if we¡¯re separated, we¡¯re still best friends, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course! The ¡®bestest¡¯ of friends!!¡±


    Right when I replied with her usual remark, Eren finally couldn¡¯t hold the dam back and started to bawl. She clung to me, and I accepted her with tears streaming down my cheeks.


    As we embraced and cried together, I had a dim sense that a period of my life was facing its end. I had always thought that I was born in this world as Syltianna and awakened the memories of my previous life when I died, meaning the life I was living before that was not my own, so to speak¡­ In a way, I saw myself as having the consciousness of an adult. And yet, only now did I realize that I was living my childhood, and right when it was coming to an end.


    It was late autumn, I was 11 years old. We were still children. And yet we had to accept the undeniable truth, that we must part and seek our own journeys.


    ?????


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°¡­dog with wings¡­?¡±


    When his ¡°beloved daughter¡± spoke those words, Frontier Count Aulanthia lifted his gaze from the report he was reading and broke into a smile.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Syltianna? Did something catch your interest?¡±


    Following her gaze, the Frontier Count looked out the window of the swaying carriage and saw a slender figure, apparently that of a female wearing a black robe and hood, standing at the fork in the road, looking out at their convoy.


    ¡°Did she do something funny¡­?¡±


    ¡°¡­No, it, already, flew¡­¡±


    The girl spoke haltingly as if she were squeezing out words with effort before she turned her gaze back to the flowing landscape with an unfocused look in her eyes.


    ¡°Hm. Is it now? Perhaps you¡¯re tired from the journey. I hear there is a pioneer village up ahead, maybe we can take a rest there. What do you say, Syltianna?¡±


    ¡°¡­Is th, there, tasty food?¡±


    With those words, she pulled out a bag of greasy snacks from a bag close at hand and munched them into her mouth, not caring if they stained her pink, frilly, lace-laden, princess-sleeved dress.


    Munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch.


    Munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch.


    The more she ate, the more her stomach bloated.


    The Frontier Count looked amused at that sight before he tilted his head to the side as if troubled.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s probably no good food in a pioneer village. It will take a little longer, but it is better if we go to the city near the Imperial Capital which is on the other side of the teleporter. How does that sound?¡±


    Being asked by the father, with her mouth filled with food, the girl addressed as Syltianna nodded.


    ¡°Right. His Highness Lucas is probably waiting for us as well. It would be better for us to make haste. ¡ªLet us go straight to the teleporter as planned. Hey!¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡±


    The chamberlain who had been waiting in the car quickly bowed and gave instructions to the coachman.


    ¡°At this pace, we will meet His Imperial Highness Prince Eilmer and His Highness Lucas the day after tomorrow. Look forward to it, Syltianna.¡±


    The Frontier Count didn¡¯t know whether his voice reached the girl or not, as the girl only wordlessly reached for the next pastry.


    The count absentmindedly looked outside, right when they reached the fork in the road ¡ªand his eyes caught a glimpse of the woman that was there.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°¡ª!!! CLARA?!!!¡±


    Right that moment, the bloodshot Frontier Count stood up on the spot like a wounded jack-in-the-box¡­ before he returned to his seat with a huff after calming down.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Your Excellency?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was just seeing things.¡±


    The Frontier Count replied to the chamberlain¡¯s question, sighed, and chuckled inside.


    (Something is wrong with me. How could I even mistake a simple village girl for Clara, of all people¡­)


    The moment the coach passed by, he caught a glimpse of the face behind the hood, and it was the face of his deceased concubine¡­ the face of the only woman he had ever loved in his life. He lost his mind for a second, but only for a second. That woman had long died a few years ago.


    (I must have gone senile. To think I would see illusions at such an important time¡­)


    The count looked back to Syltianna, seemingly indifferent, and was showing a voracious appetite even with the commotion. After confirming that she showed no response¡­ he suddenly became curious and lightly lifted his hips in search of the woman he saw earlier.


    But, through the glass of the car window, he couldn¡¯t tell if the woman had already left or not.


    ?????


    ¡°Was that the coach of some nobleman? There was no crest or flags on it, but they could have been traveling incognito.¡±


    I looked back at the parade of carriages that had just passed by and shrugged. I did feel a gaze on me, but I quickly hid my face so I wouldn¡¯t seem suspicious.


    ¡°Vier!¡±


    In response to my call, Vier, who had been hiding in the meadow, flew over and nipped at my feet. I figured there would be a commotion if Sirius was spotted standing by the side of the road, after all.


    ¡°Let us go home, then. We still have a lot of work to do to get ready for the trip.¡±


    With a woof from Vier, we started walking in the opposite direction of the coach we had just passed.


    We will conclude this arc here, and move on to the next arc.

 CH 25.1

    When I awakened, I couldn¡¯t find Regina even though she should be sleeping in the same inn as me. Neither her Caru familiar Maya nor her belongings were in the room either.


    ¡°¡­It doesn¡¯t look like robbery, abduction, or any such things. Her bedsheet and blanket are tidied up neatly, too.¡±1


    The bed next to mine was made so tidily, it made me even more puzzled. She must have disappeared of her own accord, else there would be no reason for Maya not to stay.


    With that being said, it is a mystery how she could tidy up her things, make her bed, and leave just like that without me waking up the whole time¡­ In fact, seeing the position of the sun outside the window, it is pretty clear that I have overslept.


    How very odd. I know I always wake up before sunrise no matter how tired I was the day before, and yet on this particular day, I failed to wake up on time, and just slept through it all like a baby¡­


    I thought for a while, and I realized that I had drank the apple juice Regina had prepared for me before going to bed.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally in the Imperial Capital. We¡¯re just one leg away from the teleporter, and beyond that, our nostalgic Tenebrae Nemus! Our dear missed home! I know it¡¯s a little early, but let¡¯s have a toast!¡±


    Celebrated Regina, cheerfully smiling. In retrospect, it was painfully obviously fishy.


    ¡°¡­she drugged me, I see. What was she thinking, that mentor of mine?¡±


    I know I could blame it on me for being incautious, even so, what kind of mentor would deceive their own¡ª once my thought reached there, my mind recalled the many, many times my mentor deceived me in the past.


    One example of this, she tricked me into believing that we were going on a vacation in a tropical country, only for me to be chased by worms that could easily gulp down a single horse in the middle of a desert.


    She also made me spend the night with Vier huddled together in the sub-zero desert¡ª which, fun fact, desert is a place where the temperature changes extremely from day to night. Especially at dawn, frost even formed from my breath! All in search of a certain cacti flower that only bloomed at dawn. (Also fun fact, I hallucinated so hard I thought an orchestra of angels was welcoming me to heaven!)


    One time she told me to run an errand to a village where beastfolks lived, and I trusted the map she gave me and followed it to reach the area, which, guess what? Turned out to be the holy ground of the beastfolk, and I was almost executed for sacrilege. (Although, the misunderstandings were cleared as soon as they saw a divine beast, which was my Sirius Pet.)


    That was also how I got stranded in the tribe of beastfolk, given a two-week intensive (and by intensive, I mean devilishly rigorous) course on the Healing Art by their priestesses.


    So much for a vacation! In the end, I was only doing what I had always been doing¡­ except everything was in hard mode!! I wanted to scream throughout the four months of hell, before we finally returned to Conwallis, the capital of the Graviol Empire, by sailing on a large ship called the Magic Sailing Ship.


    From there, we stayed in an inn that allowed familiars, which apparently belonged to someone Regina knew, but after a night of rest, she disappeared. What was her deal? She was just up and left under the cover of the night.


    That was when I noticed a folded piece of paper and an envelope tucked under the pillow of the bed Regina was sleeping.


    ¡°Dear Jill,¡± When I unfolded the paper, I saw the familiar streamlined letters of Regina dancing on it.


    ¡°By the time you read this letter, I will already be far away from these lands. There are still many things left to teach you, but due to unavoidable circumstances¡­well, to be frank, I just decided to flee until the heat cools off since it looked like I¡¯d be thrown into some bothersome mess if I stayed.


    It may be months or years before I return, so make sure you clean up the hermitage every once in a while.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Christy, your sister apprentice, will be in charge of your training while I¡¯m gone. However, since I haven¡¯t discussed this with her yet, she will have to agree after the fact. I did write a letter of introduction, so she should be able to handle it if you hand the letter to her. If she refuses, do whatever you see fit.¡±


    Reading the content of such an utterly self-serving note left my entire body feeling weak.


    ¡°P.S. You didn¡¯t need it throughout our journey since you had mine, but it would be inconvenient if you didn¡¯t have an ID from now on. I had an acquaintance of mine make one for you with a name I made up on the spot. Make use of it.¡±


    ¡°¡ªSo. Is it this one?¡±


    Underneath the envelope addressed to Ms. Christy, I found a metal plate the size of a driver¡¯s license ¡ªIt was a scarlet metal with an exquisite rose and ivy relief around the edge upon closer look. When I took it, another, smaller note was tucked beneath it.


    ¡°P.P.S. The inn hasn¡¯t been paid. You go and pay for it.¡±


    I plopped on the bed.


    By the way, the name she assigned me, Julia Fortuna Gravis, was something that could be shortened to Jill, and the name Gravis was Regina¡¯s family name.


    ?????


    Now then, Regina being selfish and absurd was nothing new, but the immediate problem I had to face was the cost of lodging. As I recall, this room was supposedly a room exclusive for magicians, and since it had a spacious layout that could accommodate Maya and Vier, two large demon beasts, the cost should be quite high. However, I¡¯m carrying very little cash on hand.


    During the trip, it was Regina who handled all spending, and since there were no inns where we could stay with our familiars, we got by staying out in the fields or at rest stops along the roads, and we had no problem getting food from the great outside or bartering in remote villages, so I hadn¡¯t had a chance to handle money.


    ¡°What a pickle¡­¡±


    By the way, regarding IDs. Dark Teal ones are for ordinary citizens, Chestnut ones are for knights and similar standings, Silver ones are for higher ranking nobles, Golden ones are for royalties, Orichalcum ones are for imperial families2 , and Scarlet ones are for Superempire¡¯s Immediate Retainers.


    And also, Gravis is the singular form of Graviol, so Regina Gravis translates to Graviol Empire¡¯s Queen Regnant. Fortuna Gravis means The Destined Child of Graviol Empire.


    ¡­yeah, this is officially outside my expertise. You know what? Sue me.

 CH 25.2

    However, while indeed I had no cash, I did have a lot of materials, such as magic stones from the demon beasts, medicinal herbs, and pyroxenes, all of which I kept in my Close Magic Art ¡ªNo thanks to Regina who declared that I would only be allowed on the trip if I was put to work as the baggage handler. So, it was not as though I was completely empty-handed, but unlike rural areas, I¡¯m not very sure bartering is a viable trade option here in the Imperial Capital.


    ¡°Well, I suppose we can try to negotiate.¡±


    I let out a sigh and changed gears. I took off the dress that I used as my nightgown and changed back into a black dress and wide-brimmed hat of the same color with a one-pointed rose corsage on it.


    Regina prepared this outfit for me before the trip started to spare the trouble of mending the outfit on the road, which proved to be useful as I had grown in height by more than 10 centimertes, along with my breasts and hips which were growing by the day.


    Apparently, this outfit was already cast with magic even when it was nothing but raw material, and it automatically transformed itself according to changes in one¡¯s body shape. It even repaired itself naturally upon small tearings¡­


    ¡°This must be exceedingly expensive. (Like maybe 100 gold coins worth)¡±


    ¡°Someone I know gifted it to me, but I don¡¯t need it. The b?a?s?t?a?r?d? said it¡¯s not something worthy of note. (Well, at most it¡¯s just around 5000 to 6000 gold coins worth)¡±


    That was the conversation that happened when I asked. Because of that, I no longer hesitate to don it everywhere I go, and it came in very handy during the trip. After combing my hair and putting on my getup, I put on a pair of knee-high black boots (also part of the magic equipment set), and with that, I was done. With a black robe on top, I was ready to go.


    ¡°Let¡¯s depart, Vier.¡±


    When I called out to her, Vier ¡ªmy Sirius familiar who had grown to the size of an ox¡ª who was sleeping on the side of my bed sat up and stared at my chest.


    ¡°Forgot something~¡±


    I received a telepathic message, and with a start, I hurriedly took out my mother¡¯s memento necklace that I had stored away and put it on. The necklace was enchanted with Regina¡¯s perception-blocking Art so that even if someone saw me, they would see me as a ¡®very ordinary person.¡¯


    Since it wasn¡¯t an illusion, neither did it transfigure my face, it supposedly wouldn¡¯t work on people who already knew me, highly skilled magicians, or people who paid close attention to me, but so far I hadn¡¯t attracted attention or caused problems when I walked around outside even with my bare face.


    Normally, putting the necklace on was part of my morning routine, but I guess I was still quite upset by Regina¡¯s disappearance.


    ¡°¡­however, I¡¯m surprised I¡¯m not as shocked as I would. I suppose it¡¯s because she is always like that.¡±


    Simultaneously, I took out my prized Staff and held it in my hand. It was made of white silver metal, with an angel sculpture of the same material at the top of the handle, and was given to me by Regina at the start of our trip.


    Finally, I was fully equipped, and left the room for the counter that doubled as the inn¡¯s cafeteria, taking Vier with me.


    ?????


    Now then, about the negotiation with the inn owner¡ª


    ¡°¡­I must pay in cash, after all. Well, the offer to reduce the cost from 25 silver coins to 22 silver coins per night is generous, however.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Half an hour later, I was stumbling along the unfamiliar main streets of the imperial capital with slumped shoulders. In the end, or should I say as expected, the barter was refused, but the fact that I was a disciple abandoned by her mentor generated an unexpected sympathy, so with the reputation of ¡°Lady Regina and her precious disciple,¡± I was allowed to withhold the payment for a day.


    And so, I was suggested to bring my goods to the commercial guilds and sell them there ¡ªapparently, it¡¯s very likely that I¡¯d be shooed away if I went straight to stores, as most would treat women and children like so, making the guild a much better alternative despite the small deduction fee.


    So, relying on the directions given by the innkeeper, Vier and I were walking along the well-maintained cobblestone streets towards the guild.


    The passers-by were startled when they glanced at Vier, but the moment they saw the red collar on her, which was proof of a Familiar (given upon registration when entering the city walls), they shrugged it off and walked along. I would expect no less from the Imperial Capital.


    In fact, in addition to the usual humans, there were also beastfolks, elves, dwarves, and the odd fishmen walking past here and there.


    Looking around the city, many of the buildings were elegant brick structures of three or more stories. On top of that, the water and sewage systems seemed to be in place, with parks and fountains that could be seen here and there. This was by far the largest and most civilized city I had seen so far.


    Nevertheless, it was clear that the atmosphere of the city and its people was somewhat heavy and grim due to the misfortune that had befallen the entire nation ¡ªthe passing of His Imperial Majesty that succumbed a week ago to the illness that he fought for a long time¡ª represented by the mourning flags fluttering in front of the eaves of the houses.


    Come to think of it, Regina made a face as if a nest of bitter bugs just passed her throat when she heard of the news in the inn¡¯s diner during dinner yesterday¡­ Well, thinking about it now would do nothing for me, anyway.


    ¡°We need to settle the bill and go see Ms. Christy¡­ I hope she hasn¡¯t transferred yet and is still in town.¡±


    Worst case scenario, I must walk back to Tenebrae Nemus on my own, I thought to myself as we walked. As though to cheer me up, Vier barked.


    ¡°Master, Vier will be your ride until the forest!¡±


    ¡°Fufufu. Of course. Thank you, Vier. Let us return to the forest as soon as possible.¡±


    Vier bobbed her head up and down.


    ¡°¡­for crying out loud. Must she cause trouble even in her absence? I¡¯ll give a piece of my mind once she¡¯s back.¡±


    As I imagined Regina¡¯s sour face in my mind, saying my complaints about her, I looked up at the sky. Not a single cloud in the sky, clear and blue in every direction. Spring was upon us.


    ¡°Another great day outside.¡±


    Soon I saw a large building ahead of me. When I recognized the sword and shield, and the sign that read Guild, I quickened my pace.

 CH 26.1

    Demon beasts exist in this world, and while it¡¯s not all of them, they¡¯re carnivores who would attack humans. There are many conflicting theories as to why they would do so, but the current mainstream theory is that since humans have a small amount of mana in their bodies, they make a more efficient source of supply for mana compared to animals.


    One theory said that it is a system of adjustment set up by God to prevent the overabundance and growth of humans, another said that it is simply because humans are the most abundant¡­ Like so, many such theories are up in the air¡ª Well, whatever the reason, the fact is, demon beasts are a threat to humans.


    In order to reduce the damage caused by demon beasts, vigilante groups were organized in various regions, and these groups eventually became a solidarity group, operating as a single organization, adopting the name Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The Guild provides its members various types of work according to the adventurer¡¯s rank (S, A, down to F rank), from demon beast hunting, escorting, and gathering, as well as providing consultation, payment, and other services.


    I also heard that the guild is not simply a profit-based organization, as it¡¯s also involved in every aspect of its members from protection, training, and even punishment. Now then, the reason why I brought it up at all is¡­


    ¡°We are not a commercial guild, so we generally don¡¯t do trade with non-adventurers.¡±


    ¡°My apologies. I came to the wrong place, it seems.¡±


    Indeed, ¡®guilds¡¯ could refer to the Commercial Guild, the Artisan Guild, and the Adventurer Guild, of which I came to the last. In other words, I was out of place.


    The lady at the reception desk ¡ªa small, slightly childish, but earnest-looking girl of about 18-20 years old with chestnut-colored hair, who was sitting in the center of the lobby amongst several other reception desks¡ª gave me a sympathetic look before she presented me with a single application form.


    ¡°If you want, why don¡¯t you register with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild right now? You can make the trade as you register.¡±


    I looked at the application she gave me and pondered for a moment. An adventurer, huh¡­


    Bruno, a boy my age in the pioneer village, seemed to admire being an adventurer, but to be honest, my image of the line of work wasn¡¯t the very best. While, indeed, the occupation was called an adventurer, in the end, it was muscle work that was unaffiliated with the military, which meant it was closer to gangsters and grunts who joined a violent organization to make a day¡¯s work or get rich quick.


    Right¡­ to put it in perspective, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is much like the den for society¡¯s dropouts who are either hillbillies or outlaws who like to put both feet on scratched tables with a beer in one hand, cig in their lips, and meat held by the bone on the other hand and constantly shout vulgar languages¡­


    Perhaps seeing through my frown, the reception lady smiled and added.


    ¡°The general opinion of an adventurer might be somewhat seedy and suspicious, but it is a profession that has been duly registered by the government and, aside from minor offenses, malicious criminals and such are barred from registering. There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    Hearing this, I took another look around the spacious and brightly lit, window-lined first floor of the guild. Incidentally, my familiar Vier was sitting quietly in the plaza by the side of the building, where cavalry and other animals waited.


    Men and women in navy blue uniforms, which were apparently tailor-made, line up at the counter and work briskly. The stone floor was neatly cleaned, and the chairs and furnishings, though not exactly exquisite, were in good taste. On the wall was a wooden board the size of a school blackboard with the words ¡®Urgent Requests¡¯ written on it, on it were pinned notes of what seemed to be the content of the requests. Some people ¡ªseemingly young adventurers either in leather armor or easy-to-move clothes with swords and such with them¡ª were looking into the board, musing with difficult expressions on their faces.


    It¡¯s not like the dubious, degenerate pub with half-naked men from the post-apocalyptic world grumbling over their booze as their rugged, eye-patch-wearing guild master glaring at them daggers like what I had initially imagined it to be, but more like the front desk of a bank or a government office.


    When I looked back at the receptionist lady, she smiled at me with a look that said ¡°See, it¡¯s all right, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Yeah, perhaps it is a good idea to simply register, as that means I can make the trade without hassle¡­ or, so I was almost instigated. Just then, adventurers who seemed to have just finished their work came into the guild, walking in groups as their dirty feet mud the floor.


    ¡°¡ªso I told that greenhorn right on his baby-a?s?s? face.¡± A man built like a bear with a face just as hairy spoke in a voice that sounded like a cracked bell. ¡°Why the hell you got spooked by a mere orc, twat? If that thing scares you, just go back to your mama¡¯s hug and suck on her teats!¡± The big man then laughed, not minding his volume, as though he just made the joke of the century.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°So, what¡¯d the guy do?¡±


    Prompted by the man who seemed to be his crony, the big man broke into a wide grin and continued.


    ¡°He got so pissed off he swung his sword like a madman and rushed into them orcs! Came out more beaten than a wet rag, that useless twat!¡±


    Right then, the group burst into wild laughter and walked toward the payment counter in the back of the room.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The receptionist lady and I remained silent as we looked at each other awkwardly.


    ¡°¡­err, well, Mr. Zahir is also a respectable person, in his own way.¡±


    She added, perhaps trying to mediate it.


    ¡°So, you registering to the guild is¡­ not going to happen, is it?¡±


    We will conclude this arc here, and move on to the next arc.

 CH 26.2

    The lady gave me a troubled puppy look, but I returned the written application to her.


    ¡°No, there is actually a different issue. It is written here that only adults (13 years old and above) can register, and I haven¡¯t met that qualification yet. Is there perhaps a special exception?¡±


    ¡°EH¡­?!¡±


    With a hysterical exclaim, the lady gazed at me from head to toe ¡ªwith particular emphasis on my breasts and hips¡ª warranting me to readjust the front of my robe.


    ¡°¡­umm, forgive me for asking, but how old are you?¡±


    She asked, eyes wide. I answered honestly.


    ¡°I just turned twelve last month.¡±


    ¡°Wuh¡­?!¡±


    The moment she heard my answer, the lady made a face as if it was the end of the world, with her hands on her own chest. Speaking of, her chest was¡­ well, it was at a size commensurate with her slender appearance.


    ¡°Y-, you¡¯re right, being a pre-adult¡­ haahaa, means¡­ haahaa, you¡¯re not qualified yet¡­ haah.¡± Even with both elbows propping her on the counter and breathing hard on her shoulders, she answered with the expected professionalism.


    ¡°A-, are you okay¡­?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, it¡¯s nothing. Nothing!¡±


    For some reason, I felt like she was not saying that to me, but maybe it¡¯s just me? By the way, I¡¯m only 160 centimerte tall. Still in the middle of growing.


    ¡°I do, however, have an ID, if you need to see it.¡± I reached into my pocket and pulled out the scarlet-colored ID that Regina had left me with.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Ah, you¡¯re Julia. Right, you are 12 years old.¡±


    The voice came from behind me, sounding halfway between a boy and a young adult. I jerked in surprise, turned around, and saw a kind-looking boy of about 15 years old in leather armor behind me.


    ¡°¡­¡± Truth to be told, it was largely due to my negligence that I only learned that he had come so close to me. There were simply too many mixed wavelengths here in the big city, it threw my Search magic art into confusion. Perhaps it would¡¯ve been better to be more alert with presences rather than poorly relying on mana for every little thing.


    ¡°Oy, Jesse. It¡¯s rude to peek at a girl¡¯s ID without permission. Restrain yourself.¡± A large female warrior standing behind the boy, dressed sensuously, mainly only covering her chest and waist ¡ªseeing that she had lop ears hanging from her head, maybe she¡¯s of the rabbit tribe? ¡ªrebuked the boy.


    ¡°Good grief. How lecherous are you? You¡¯re already surrounded by two beauties, you know that?¡± Another girl, intelligent-looking, with cat ears this one, gave the boy a cold stare.


    ¡°Th-, that¡¯s not it! I just wanted to help the kid since she seems troubled¡ª¡± The boy explained in a panic.


    I reflexively hid the ID in my pocket again.


    ¡°Aah, it¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t be alerted. Jesse¡¯s an idiot, but he¡¯s not a bad guy.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    The cat beastfolk girl, seemingly around 16 to 17 years old, interceded. Her hands gestured for an apology.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You guys just had to poke fun at me!¡±


    ¡°Hmm. So, what¡¯s your plan, mister-kind-to-girls Jesse?¡±


    Ignoring the boy¡¯s anguish, the warrior girl spoke with the bearing of an adult ¡ªthough, she herself is at most 18 to 19 years old.


    ¡°Eei! Anyway, since the girl can¡¯t register, we¡¯ll do the liquidation for her, sounds like an easy enough solu¡ª¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, proxy liquidation and or transactions are prohibited under Article 18, Section 3 of the regulations concerning trades.¡±


    Before the boy could finish, the receptionist coldly cut him off.


    ¡°Eh¡­?! EEH?!! But, some people are already doing that!¡±


    As if to accost the bewildered boy, the lady explained slowly.


    ¡°I am aware that such instances are happening. However, they are bad practices, a matter of concern that we of the Adventurer Guild have long addressed to rectify. Therefore, while I might overlook such a practice should it happen behind my back as I could not be involved in it, I will be left with no choice but to firmly dismiss any instance of proxy transaction happening so blatantly and openly right in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Eeeh¡ª! Aren¡¯t you a bit too obstinate, Caldina?¡±


    ¡°Say what you want, it¡¯s a no.¡±


    The boy (Jesse?) pursed his lips, complaining, while the lady (Caldina?) was unyielding.


    ¡°¡­good grief, that heedless idiot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He should have asked the little miss first before deciding what to do.¡±


    The two girls who seemed to be his associate looked away from the argument at the counter and sighed. Their gazes then turned to me.


    ¡°Miss¡ªShould I call you Julia? I am Laika, a member of Jesse¡¯s party.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Eleanor. Nice to meet you.¡±


    The tall female warrior and the bob-cut girl greeted me casually.


    ¡°Yes, Julia is my name, it is a pleasure to meet you too. However, please do call me Jill.¡±


    Laika nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that then, Jill. I heard you want to liquify your materials? It seems to me you aren¡¯t familiar with the city. Do you want us to guide you to the Commercial Guild, then?¡±


    Seeing that I was puzzled by the unexpected kind offer, Ms. Caldina, who had concluded her argument, gave them the stamp of approval. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. While one of them is a helpless pushover, they are trustworthy.¡±


    ¡°You heard her.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Seeing that Laika smiled bitterly at that, putting her heart on her sleeve, I decided I should trust them too and bowed my head.


    ¡°¡ªIf so, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble, but please do help me.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to us! Come on, Jesse. We¡¯re going. You are not going to grumble there forever!¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on! I was the first to call out to her, don¡¯t treat me like luggage.¡±


    Following the three friendly-looking people ahead of me, I walked outside the Adventurer Guild¡­ but before I stepped out, I slightly bowed to Ms. Caldina at the counter.


    And right then¡ª


    ¡°¡­that ID, it can¡¯t be¡­yeah, no way it¡¯s a Scarlet ID, I must¡¯ve seen wrong¡­¡±


    I almost heard Ms. Caldina muttering something, but it must be the wind.


    Many of you were expecting a big fuss to happen when she pulled out her ID in the guild, but I decided that this chapter should focus on introducing the Guild and Adventurers. By the way, the ranks of the demon beasts are S > A > B > C > D > E > F, but for the rule of thumb, three to five adventurers of the same rank are roughly equal in strength.

 CH 27.1

    A swarm of irregularly shaped frogs as tall as a medium-sized dog ¡ªSlime Toads (they look like green slimes with toad limbs)¡ª leaped around at a surprising speed, running away from us for cover between mossy rocks.


    ¡°Laika, you go to the right and herd them, Eleanor, you keep them in check here with your bow. I¡¯ll go from the left side!¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure my arrows work on them, they don¡¯t look affected.¡±


    There were around a dozen Slime Toads. They usually hid in watering holes or humid forests, but in early spring they would come down to human settlements to breed and attack livestock and humans, making them an annual extermination target.


    They weren¡¯t that much different than normal slimes, what with having a blue nucleus inside their green jelly-like body. However, for the lack of eyes, nose, and mouth, they had short forelegs and long folded hindlegs. Much like an ordinary slime, simply destroying their nucleus would cease their biological activities. However, their unusually high-speed made them a difficult target to hit and, if one was careless enough, they could serve a nasty counterattack. They¡¯re an annoying pest.


    ¡°Tsk! This is bad, the herd is coming apart. Eleanor, can¡¯t you fence them in somehow?!¡±


    ¡°No way! My arrows are basically useless in front of them, they just pass through!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Right when Jesse gnashed his teeth in frustration, ¡°Borf!¡± With a rustle, the treetops in front of him swayed, and with the sound of rustling leaves, the beautiful golden-furred Sirius, Vier, leaped down, herding the Slime Toads together with lightning speed movement.


    ¡°Alright! Nice. ¡ªThey¡¯re coming your way, Jill. You ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, anytime. Also, please steer away from the area of effect!¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    The next thing I knew, these Slime Toads began to pour out through the bushes like ping-pong balls and into the little clearing in front of me.


    ¡°?Breath of Ice and Snow, lead these ones into their eternal slumber.?¡± I prepared my spell¡­ Well, to be fair, I could perform a Magic Art of this level without preparing it firsthand, but I¡¯d rather not appear too out of the ordinary, so this time I tried to imitate what a Witch/Magic Practitioner would do. ¡°?Ice Circle.?¡±


    The moment the spell was chanted, the temperature within an approximate 10 merte radius dropped well under freezing temperature.


    ¡°Uwoh, s-, so cold!¡±


    ¡°Well, this is intense.¡±


    ¡°B-, but look, those sticky frogs are all rock solid.¡±


    As Eleanor pointed out, the Slime Toad herd that was driven into the area of effect of my Art was collectively frozen and unable to move.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. Damn, we caught the whole herd with one throw!¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it. Just having a magician in our party makes so much difference already.¡±


    ¡°Jill, forget saying that this will be the only time, let¡¯s party up with us again!¡±


    Being showered by their praises made me bashful, I was already fiddling with my hair before I knew it.


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy I could be of assistance. I really can¡¯t thank you enough for all the help you¡¯ve given me.¡±


    ¡°This is more than assisting, Jill. Yesterday the three of us could only defeat seven after struggling the whole day, but today we got¡­ fourteen?! That¡¯s double already!¡±


    ¡°No need to be so dutiful with us, Jill. ¡­Oops, we gotta pull their nuclei before they melt, otherwise, we won¡¯t have proof of extermination. Let¡¯s work the hands before the mouth.¡±


    Prompted by the chuckling Laika, we all began to dismantle the frozen Slime Toads, myself and Vier joining in.


    ?????


    After paying for the inn in the morning and having lunch with the three adventurers who guided us, Vier and I and the adventurer party were now in the marshes adjacent to the Imperial Capital, on a mission to defeat demon beasts.


    As for how it led to this¡­


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    After the incident in the Adventurer Guild, Jesse, Laika, and Eleanor guided me to the Commercial Guild which was about two blocks away, where I was able to sell my magic stones and medicinal herbs (they allowed free trade without the need to apply as a member), and obtained 10 half-gold coins, 20 silver coins, and some half-silver and some copper coins in return.


    With that, we went back to the inn ¡ªtheir inn apparently was in the same general area, so they accompanied me there as well¡ª and I paid off the accommodation fee. It was lunchtime by then, so the three adventurers led us to an open-air stall that they knew as ¡°cheap, tasty, and hearty¡± where we ate a kebab-like dish made of meat and vegetables grilled on a skewer.


    The meat and vegetables were then served between thin slices of bread, and while the choice of spices they used was a bit peculiar, the meal itself was tasty. And, it being an outdoor stall, I was able to carve some meat for Vier.


    ¡°Is that enough for you, Jill?¡±


    Eleanor tilted her head as she chewed on her kebab (I don¡¯t know what this dish is called, so I call it kebab in my mind) that had three times the amount of meat as mine. Inside, I was begrudgingly gazing at that calorie-fest protein bundle of hers, but outside I replied as I brought my mostly veggie kebab to my mouth.


    ¡°Yes. I am a small eater by nature, so don¡¯t mind me. I am enjoying them. But¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    When I looked at their faces, a sigh escaped my lips.


    ¡°¡ªYou have been nothing but a help to me the whole day, so I at least wanted to reimburse the trouble I caused.¡±


    When I first tried to pay for all of them, they softly refused. In the end, I had to compromise by buying them the drinks only. I suppose it¡¯s my Japanese nature that made me do this.


    ¡°A kid like you shouldn¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    ¡°The drink is tasty, you know?¡±


    Laika laughed bitterly, while Jesse smiled carefreely.


    We casually chatted about the city and the recent talk of the town as we ate, but Jesse was quite eagerly observing my outfit and Vier who was stuffing her cheek with meat beside me.


    ¡°Say, Jill, can I ask you something? Are you maybe a magician?¡±


    ¡°I am. While I am still a novice, I¡¯m a practitioner of the magic art of fire and water ¡ª a witch.¡±


    For now, I¡¯d just nod along, calling myself a Witch. I was actually capable of commanding two more attributes, them being Void and Light, but if there was one thing that I learned in my trip with Regina, it was that it was a rarity that someone my age was capable of practicing Magic Arts, no less wielding multiple attributes easily at that ¡ª in fact, it already stepped into the realm of anomaly. If I told them I could use Healing Art on top of that, I¡¯d just be advertising how absurd I was.


    ¡°Huh. That¡¯s huge for someone so young.¡±


    Even with so much I hid, that still made Laika wide-eyed. Eleanor also nodded, voicing her agreement.


    ¡°It would be great if we had a magician in our party to broaden our strategy.¡±


    Concluded Laika, inviting a sigh from the three of them.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    ¡°Aah, sorry. We¡¯re talking to ourselves. The demon beasts we are commissioned to defeat are hella weak, but they¡¯re tricky to deal with.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all mainly physical damage dealers, like his sword or my bow, so it takes us a lot of time.¡±


    When I heard Jesse and Eleanor lament, I came forward with a question, accompanied by a decision.


    ¡°¡­and you just need a magician to defeat them?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. ¡ªEh?!¡±


    Their gazes met mine.


    ¡°It seems like I can repay the favor, after all.¡±


    My lips twisted into a smile, while Jesse and the two looked at each other in confusion.

 CH 27.2

    So, after persuading them who were reluctant to bring an amateur little girl into danger (me bringing Vier somehow convinced them), I participated in their subjugation under the guise of helping them out. It was a relief to know that I was more useful than I had expected.


    ¡°Oh man, it¡¯s a real shame that you can¡¯t register in the guild, Jill! We would welcome you into our party right away if you could!¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Magicians are rare enough already, especially one as experienced in real battle as you, any adventurer group would fight over you.¡±


    ¡°Say, once you¡¯re 13 and register as an adventurer, why don¡¯t you come and join our party?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! What he said! You are most welcome!¡±


    Being recruited even before the time like this made a wry smile escape me.


    ¡°I appreciate the offer, but I still don¡¯t even know who I am¡­err, who I want to be, so I can¡¯t make any promises about what I will do in the future. Of course, considering my experience with you today, I will also see the option of becoming an adventurer.¡±


    Jesse and Eleanor were visibly disappointed by my answer. Laika, however, nodded emphatically and encouraged.


    ¡°Yup. That sounds good to me. Go and experience a lot, then find what you really want to be. You¡¯re at that age, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yes. For now, however, let me do my best to assist you with this job.¡±


    Hearing my answer, Laika made a wide grin. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Now, let¡¯s move on to the next herd. The more we defeat, the more we get paid.¡± With a swing of her beloved mace, she turned her feet again towards the marshes.


    ¡°She¡¯s right. At this rate, we might even defeat 40 of them by the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°Since each one defeated is seven silver coins, so¡­uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°280 silver coins, or a bit over 9 gold coins.¡± Seeing that Jesse was struggling to count by his fingers, I gave him the answer I reached by mental arithmetic. Incidentally, one silver coin translated to around 1,000 yen. So, while it was a four-person work, if I consider that the daily payment was about 280,000 yen, it was still a profitable line of work. I¡¯m still not sold, however, as there is a high risk of serious injury and even death depending on the situation.


    ¡°Whoa! So much?!¡± Honestly excited at the prospect, Jesse and Eleanor followed Laika into the marshes. As planned, they would once again herd Slime Toads to this clearing.


    ¡°Go and help them, Vier.¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    Vier wagged her tail and disappeared into the trees.


    And then¡ª


    Ultimately, it took us until nearly evening to kill 44 Slime Toads.


    ?????


    After bringing Slime Toads¡¯ nuclei to the Adventurer Guild and redeeming them on the spot, Jesse offered me a small division of the coins they earned. ¡°Here, it¡¯s your share, Jill.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t accept this money. I was only taking the liberty of helping you as a token of gratitude for your hospitality.¡±


    I was adamantly refusing it, but Laika already took my hand and forced the leather bag of coins into it.


    ¡°No. We¡¯ve received your sentiment in spades already. ¡­But, it is too much, and we achieved six times what we got yesterday. That¡¯s why, well, just consider this as a reward from a professional adventurer, as well as a companion who fought together.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right. We wouldn¡¯t have made such a killing without you, Jill! Really, I hope you can join us since we don¡¯t need Jesse anyway!¡±


    ¡°What the hell?!¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    The three of them were honest with their words, leaving me hesitating for a moment¡­ before I held the leather bag carefully to my chest. ¡°¡­Thank you very much. This is the first time I¡¯m being paid for my work and not for assisting my mentor. I won¡¯t forget this day and all of you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve had fun too!¡±


    ¡°Come to us if you need anything. We¡¯re staying at Akashia Pavilion on the south street.¡±


    ¡°Yup. You¡¯re basically one of us already. Come anytime.¡±


    That was how I parted with the three good people, shaking their hands for the last time. They continued to wave at me until I turned down the street, so I bowed to them before Vier and I followed the direction they gave me towards Ms. Christy¡¯s residence that Regina wrote in her letter. As I was looking out over the bustling streets of the Imperial Capital, crowded with people shopping in the evening, I took my time to my destination slowly.


    For some reason, even this strange and foreign city that I woke up to this morning¡­ felt a little bit more familiar to me.


    ?????


    Conwallis, the imperial capital of the Graviol Empire, was roughly divided into three urban areas. The Old Town, centered on the Graviol Palace, where the nobility lived. The New Town, where the wealthy and middle-class citizens lived. And the Neo-Urban, the ever-expanding part of the city where ordinary citizens live. Strictly speaking, there are also the slums on the outskirts of the city, where exiles and the unregistered poor lived, but the state doesn¡¯t recognize its existence officially, so it was being treated as nonexistent.


    In a corner of the bar of the Akashia Pavilion, a tavern-c?u?m?-inn that was established in the Neo-Urban area not far from the slums, three young adventurers occupying a table to themselves merrily clinked their mugs of ale, despite it was still early in the evening.


    ¡°To our earning of the day!¡±


    ¡°To our biggest killing in two months!¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°CHEERS¡ª!!¡±¡±¡±


    Spewing random, somewhat transitory nonsense, the three of them chugged their drinks.


    ¡°Still, we sure made a killing today. That was ten days of hard work, in half a day!¡±


    ¡°Would be great if it¡¯s like this every day.¡±


    ¡°Might as well go to Jill and ask her to help us tomorrow too.¡±


    Eleanor made the suggestion, her tone sounded like she was almost not joking, as she cut up the sauteed white fish.


    ¡°Nope, no can do. We were spoiled by her goodwill today, but if we force her to do something for us, we¡¯re just imposing ourselves on her. Being reliant is different from being spoiled.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right. It was our own problem, we should have looked for the solution ourselves. Forcing her to join us is not good.¡±


    Rebuked by Laika and Jesse, Eleanor pressed her forehead and groaned. ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re right. Sorry. We earned so much today, it got to my head.¡±


    After nodding to see her teammate was remorseful, Laika took a swig of the ale and wiped her mouth vigorously, then sighed. ¡°Yeah, so much magic and skill at that age¡­ moreover, that outstanding looks she got, anyone would want her for themselves.¡±


    Laika then ordered a refill from the waiter.


    ¡°Looks¡­? Well, I mean, I guess she¡¯s on the cuter side?¡± Leaning towards her jug, Eleanor eventually craned her neck.


    ¡°¡­You guess? To be honest, I¡¯ve never seen anyone as beautiful looking as that one.¡± Laika looked doubtful, and one of her eyebrows rose.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°Hm, well, everyone¡¯s got their own sense of beauty, methinks. Right, Jesse? What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she just normally cute?¡±


    ¡°Right? Just normal, right?¡±


    Knowing that Jesse agreed with her, Eleanor nodded broadly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Laika genuinely questioned if her teammates had their eyes rotten, but she decided to stir up her refilled ale instead.


    Soon, the topic of conversation turned to ¡°Man, I still want a magician in the party,¡± and as they all dived deeper into their mugs, the question was long forgotten by Laika.


    Thanks to her experience, good observation, and latent magician blood, Laika was able to see through the cognitive inhibition spell (also partly because she already spotted Jill as a noblewoman by her mannerisms, speech, and behavior).


    I don¡¯t know why Laika¡¯s adventuring experience is treated as some kind of convenient deus ex machina.

 CH 28.1

    The address that Regina wrote down was located a little bit south of the Imperial Capital¡¯s center¡ª it was located in the middle of the New Town where the wealthy and middle-class citizens mainly lived. It was a three-story, elegant brick building structured like apartments in modern Japan, with similar buildings lining the street.


    I thought she would live in the center of the city ¡ª the Old Town, aka the aristocratic district, or maybe in some luxurious mansion with a sprawling garden, seeing that she had been bestowed the title of a Baron¡­ It was all just speculation, however, since it turned out it was almost the same as any other middle-class mansion.


    Well, from what I glimpsed during her stay with us in Regina¡¯s hermitage for about a week, I would say that such a utilitarian residence suited her unadorned personality just well enough.


    Speaking of which, apparently Ms. Christy came from a family of local landowners, not an aristocrat. The house of a local landowner was slightly different than an aristocrat¡¯s house or that of a knight¡¯s lineage, in that it was a title of a person influential in the local area ¡ªsuch as a wealthy farmer or a wealthy merchant that had occupied the land since their ancestors¡ª given in private recognition by the feudal lord. Basically, an honorary position, making them halfway normal citizens and halfway retainers.


    Provided that their position was being the feudal lord¡¯s subordinate, their names would not appear in the Directory of Noble Houses, but in the eyes of the general population, they stood a rank above normal citizens.


    Anyway, given Ms. Christy¡¯s wealthy familial background, she was admitted to a middle-class academy in the Imperial Capital at the age of 12 with excellent grades and was later found with a talent for Magic Arts. She then knocked on Regina¡¯s door ¡ªor half-forcibly tossed into Regina¡¯s doorsteps, apparently¡ª who opened some kind of small, private school for Magic Art at the time, and became her apprentice since. While the other apprentices failed one after another (I can basically see this happening right in front of my eyes), Ms. Christy managed to stay under Regina¡¯s tutelage for 4 long years. Things were finally looking up¡­ when, out of nowhere, Regina abandoned her school and disappeared completely (and it was only much, much later that she learned that Regina was living in seclusion in a hermitage in Tenebrae Nemus).


    And that part of the story is, how do I put it¡­ it¡¯s very much relatable.


    Being practically banished from Regina¡¯s school, Ms. Christy somehow managed to re-enroll in the Imperial Academy of Magic through the help of her former senior apprentices, and with her extraordinary efforts and talents, she graduated first in her class after six years of enrollment.


    After that, while working as a court magician, she worked as a tutor for noble families, royal families, and even the imperial family, and later became a professor at the Imperial Academy of Magic, and in recognition of her achievements, the Emperor endowed her the surname Brandm¨¹ller and the title of a Baron¡­ thus was the story of success of Christiane Rita Brandm¨¹ller, the model lady of character. She was my sister apprentice.


    ¡­anyway, all of that was politely explained to me by the 50-something man with stern but refined features and gray hair, and majestic mustache who had guided me into the room after I knocked on the door uninvited. Apparently, he was Royce Bard, the steward of the mansion.


    By the way, it was obvious enough from his body gestures and attention to detail that the man was no amateur. He must be either a former military man or a martial arts expert of some kind. To be honest, I had no confidence I could win against him with bare hands.


    And now, I wondered if our conversation had fallen on a deaf ear. Across the parlor table, Ms. Christy, without touching the aromatic tea that her housemaid had brought for her, was staring into Regina¡¯s letter that I had brought with a single-minded focus.


    I delivered the letter with the seal unbroken, meaning I had no idea what was written in it, but it became obvious to me that, whatever it was, it could not have been something that was very good for the heart.


    Even the usually wise Ms. Christy had become a kaleidoscope of emotions the further she read the letter¡­ the changes of expression she went through were quite dramatic.


    From bewilderment, to shock, to sheer stupor, to astonishment, confusion, and then agony.


    Finally, with indignant rage, she slammed the letter down the table.


    ¡°That senile Mentor. How¡­ how egotistical can she be?!¡±


    Even after she screamed, Ms. Christy¡¯s shoulders still trembled with all the anger. She had to take deep, heavy breaths before she could calm her agitated temper.


    ¡°¡­¡± While I knew this was not a fault of mine, being the bearer of the bad news, this whole thing made me somewhat uncomfortable. I corrected my sitting posture before I mechanically poured myself a cup of tea and took a sip, not that there was any meaning to the gesture.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    ¡°I understand the gist of it. ¡ªJill!¡±


    Ms. Christy suddenly directed her eyes to me, warranting me to reflexively place my cup on the saucer and straighten my back. ¡°Y-, yes!¡±


    ¡°Mentor¡¯s letter provided me with your situation. ¡­why, it even included various things that simply make no sense and truths I would rather stay ignorant of.¡± I had a feeling she was subtly emphasizing the ¡®make no sense¡¯ and ¡®stay ignorant of,¡¯ though¡­


    That was when Ms. Christy, hands massaging her brow, sent me a rather bitter¡­ or perhaps, sympathetic gaze, and let out a long, heavy sigh. ¡°Haah¡­¡±


    Well, I was at a loss for what to do either. I could only tilt my head, puzzled.


    ¡°To be honest, with the death of His Imperial Majesty, having the grand f¡­err, having Mentor on the move is a source of concern.¡± Ms. Christy then sighed again. ¡°¡­but who would¡¯ve thought she would toss such a hassle my way and disappear again.¡±


    By hassle, did she mean me?


    ¡°¡­¡± My face was hung low, awkwardness washing over me when Ms. Christy softened her tone lightly.


    ¡°Aah, I am not reproaching you or anything. I¡¯m just angry at our mentor¡¯s selfishness¡­ to think she would put my sister apprentice through the same fate as me, I can¡¯t even express how stunned I am. In any case, I am now the one responsible for your protection.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Miss Christy. I¡¯ve brought you much inconvenience.¡±


    I stood up and bowed after she gave me her reassurance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. As I have said before, you and I are both sister apprentices who drew the short end of the stick. It is the duty of the senior to protect her junior. Don¡¯t humble yourself.¡± She then gestured to me to sit back down.


    I bowed once again and sat down. ¡°By the way,¡± Ms. Christy continued, ¡°she said here you received an ID from her, can you show it to me?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Here it is.¡±


    As instructed, I took out the scarlet metal plate that I had tucked away in my pocket and put it on the table. Ms. Cristy¡¯s face immediately tightened at the sight, and I noticed a slight gasp from Mr. Royce who had been standing in silence.

 CH 28.2

    ¡°A Hihiirokane ID¡­ so it¡¯s authorized by The God Emperor directly?! And the surname is Gravis?! What kind of, why did she¡­¡­?!!¡± Grunting, Ms. Christy grasped her forehead tight, looked up at the ceiling, pondered a bit, before she straightened up her body and reached for my ID, speaking in a decisive tone. ¡°I will be the one keeping this ID secure. Just in case you haven¡¯t shown it to anyone, have you?¡±


    Since she asked, I honestly told her about the incident at the Adventurer Guild.


    ¡°¡­I see. If that¡¯s all that happened, then I don¡¯t think anyone has noticed it yet. Royce, for caution¡¯s sake, go and confirm it first thing tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    Mr. Royce nodded reverently.


    ¡°Jill. I am sorry about this, but you must conceal the name Julia Fortuna Gravis for the time being at my discretion. I would assume that this is what Mentor had in mind.¡±


    ¡°¡ªI understand.¡±


    That was how I said goodbye to the pseudonym I had used for only half a day.


    ¡°Instead, you will henceforth use the name Julia Fortuna Brandm¨¹ller.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ HAAH?!¡±


    Ignoring me, Ms. Christy spouted forth a torrent of speech.


    ¡°You are the daughter of a distant relative, and due to your talent for Magic Art, I decided to adopt you into the Baron house of Brandm¨¹ller. That¡¯s a common enough practice amongst magician houses, so no one would find it too strange. Am I understood, Jill?¡±


    Okay about what? Things were being decided left and right so fast, I had no time to process it¡­ For now, I¡¯d just vocalize the first question that popped into my mind.


    ¡°¡­Does that mean, starting now, I will address you as Mother?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Ms. Christy stopped moving altogether at my question, her face scrunched as if she just swallowed a nest of bitter bugs. After a full 20 breaths passed, her brain finally rebooted, and she leaned forward to me with a smile decorating her face ¡ªthough eyes so serious, it¡¯s deadly scary¡ª and spoke in a tone of voice that neither denied nor agreed to my question.


    ¡°Given that our relationship as sister disciples does not change, please be nice to your elder sister from now on. Am I understood, Jill?¡±


    ¡°Aah, yes. I understand very much, my dear sister.¡±


    Baroness Christiane, 45 years old, single. She was at a troublesome age, one way or another.


    ¡°Royce will attend to your appearance and such starting tomorrow, but for tonight, make use of the guest room.¡±


    ¡°Would it be all right if Vier came with me?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t separate a familiar from her master. You have my permission.¡±


    Relief came over me when Ms. Christy magnanimously gave her okay, but then, she made a face as if she just recalled something, then asked me for a favor.


    ¡°In return¡­ well, not exactly, but would you be willing to work with a client tomorrow in my place?¡±


    Her sudden request confused me.


    ¡°Me, as your substitute, Ms¡­ err, sister?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It really should have been me, but the death of His Imperial Majesty brought endless work to every single noble in the capital. I, too, must make my appearance in various places since early morning. Therefore, as the adopted daughter of the Brandm¨¹ller family, to have you serve as the representative of the household would be incredibly helpful.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    I understood the logic, but being tasked to be the representative of the household 5 minutes after being adopted into the household felt a little bit too unreasonable.


    ¡°I see. However, I don¡¯t know the first thing about the Brandm¨¹ller household, since I¡¯m just a bumpkin fresh out of the hermitage. I¡¯m not confident I can play the part of a noble daughter with the rusty mannerism of one.¡±


    When she heard me trying to decline, Ms. Christy for some reason gave me a meaningful look¡­ then snickered.


    ¡°This is an upstarting household with me as the first-generation¡¯s head. You don¡¯t need to worry too much. Well, if you are still worried regardless, then you can ask Royce or someone else available later for a brief overview of our family. ¡­well, at most you¡¯d only learn one or two extra things from what you already heard.¡±


    Seemed like she did hear the conversation Mr. Royce and I had had earlier.


    ¡°Besides, considering the person who will be coming tomorrow, it is much easier to have you deal with our guest.¡±


    ¡°Is it¡­ someone I know?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It is Sir Eilmer¡¯s son, Sir Lucas.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect to hear his name now, just the mention of it brought back Luke¡¯s pretty face in my mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s Luke?! I see, of course, I don¡¯t know anyone else in the city, after all.¡± Strictly speaking, I did know Sir Eilmer the Dragon Knight, but since he was also a member of the noble class much like Ms. Christy, he should also be busy. ¡°Speaking of, you did mention that you were Luke¡¯s home tutor, sister.¡±


    When I brought up the chat that we had in Tenebrae Nemus, perhaps reminiscing her time there, Ms. Christy began to slip away from talking formally and started to ramble.


    ¡°Yeah. And because of that, he¡¯d often come to whine¡­ err, to ask for advice.¡±


    So they had a personal relationship built upon trust. How wonderful.


    ¡°Oh? If so, wouldn¡¯t it be tasteless if I showed up instead? After all, he is coming to ask for your advice, elder sister.¡±


    ¡°Well, pretty much. Although, I feel like it¡¯s good for him to get a different point of view or idea and consult with different people every once in a while. After all, I can tell that he¡¯s coming to consult about¡ª¡±


    She cast a meaningful gaze toward me for a moment. ¡°?¡±


    ¡°It will be about his marriage with the Ragweed¡­ I mean, with Princess Syltianna, after all.¡±


    ¡°¡ª!?!¡±


    My breath was caught.


    ¡°The engagement between Sir Lucas and Princess Syltianna was supposed to happen this spring. However, due to the passing of His Imperial Highness, they were forced to postpone it. ¡­no, on the contrary, it became a good excuse for the postponement. You see, Sir Eilmer has been secretly asking me to persuade Sir Lucas to agree, but I told you before, I¡¯m not exactly inclined to. Especially now that I know better.¡±


    Aah, we did talk about it before, didn¡¯t we?


    ¡°That is why, Jill, I want you to have a talk with Sir Lucas. I¡¯m just hoping to see some progress, you know?¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Wait, wait, you want me to listen to the woes about the marriage between Luke and Syltianna?! What is that, torture?!


    ¡°Uhmm¡­ the long trip has taken a lot from me, not to mention the physical and mental stress from the disappearance of our mentor. If you would give me a couple of days to rest, that would be great.¡±


    Ignoring my blatant aversion, Ms. Christy¡¯s smile deepened. Then, as if to punctuate each word, she added. ¡°You will do it, won¡¯t you? You are partly responsible, after all.¡±


    Ah, the cat is out of the bag, huh? It would only be prudent to assume that Regina¡¯s letter spilled absolutely everything.


    ¡°Well, I look forward to being family with you starting tomorrow, Jill.¡±


    ¡°¡­I understand, my dear elder sister.¡±


    Without any other choice left, I agreed with the task, shoulders dropped.


    Still¡­ I was supposed to be living the life of a Witch with my mentor in some dark woods somewhere to get away from all the troubles of living the life of an aristocrat, and yet I was as good as being a Baroness now. Where did it go wrong¡­?


    I give up translating the Author¡¯s note. Here¡¯s a summary.


    In Europe (England), the middle class is clearly defined, with a minimum of three people working for them (a cook, a kitchen maid, and a cleaner maid).


    Number of servants can range from dozens to nearly 100 in upper class families


    Ms. Christy has a total of 50-60 servants, but only keeps about 10 in her temporary residence in the imperial capital.


    A long ramble and a correction of timeline regarding Christiane¡¯s age.


    Was that information correct? I don¡¯t know how to fact-check it, so I don¡¯t know.

 CH 29.1

    In the drawing room where I talked with Ms. Christy yesterday.


    The room was not exactly expansive nor was it splendorous, but a calming color decorated the furniture uniformly, and it was clean without a single speck of dust. Unlike yesterday, however, the one who sat on the master sofa and welcomed the guest was me.


    By the way, I was still wearing my usual black dress. I didn¡¯t really have any other proper clothes to change into, and obviously enough, you can¡¯t get a new dress tailored in a single night. This dress is formal enough to not make the occasion uncomfortable.


    And, quite opposite from yesterday, the one who sat on the guest sofa across the spotless table was a boy of the same age with pale golden hair, Luke (Lucas).


    It¡¯s been about 10 months since I last saw him. Back then, he was quite androgynous and cute, but now he¡¯s grown a bit taller and wider, he looked quite surprisingly more masculine. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean he suddenly had square shoulders and all that¡­ His face still retained that sweet and gentle vibe, but, how should I say this? He has that growth boys naturally have.


    And then, there¡¯s that innocent smile he had for me. At first, I thought he was simply happy he could meet a friend after almost a year of not seeing each other, but¡­ even after the light chit-chat we¡¯ve had, that enchanting smile of his was still there.


    Grin grin grin grin grin


    grin grin grin grin grin


    Confronted with such a cloudless smile, confusion brewed in my chest.


    (¡­huh? I thought you came here to ask for advice about that marriage proposal that distresses you so much?)


    For that part, that bright smile that kept on shining sure looked like he had no problems whatsoever, though? I tilted my head, confused. Is he finally escaping reality? Or has he come full circle and accepted reality instead?


    Whatever was happening inside that head of his concerned me, but of course I could just give the straight ball and ask: ¡°I thought you were here to talk about the ragweed princess?¡± In the end, all we¡¯ve had is a casual chit-chat, though strictly speaking it is more that Luke was making small talk and I replied to him.


    ¡°So, how has your life been this past year, Jill?¡±


    ¡°I have been training and studying in Tenebrae Nemus whilst my mentor is scolding me every day, as always.¡±


    ¡°Heeh. For me, I already asked my father to start training me to become a full-fledged Dragon Knight.¡±


    Luke puffed out his chest proudly before he casually asked me something while blushing for some reason.


    ¡°B-, by the way, do you remember the first letter I sent¡­ to you?¡±


    ¡°I do. You talked about how you wanted to be a proper Dragon Knight like your father. Of course, I remember it.¡±


    ¡°Aah¡­ yeah, that too, but¡­ um, the last part.¡±


    I don¡¯t understand why he starts slurring words, but I still nodded, then recited the aforementioned letter.


    ¡°¡®One day, I will come back for you on a wyvern of my own,¡¯1 is it? How could I forget that? I dearly await for that time to come. That is why, hang in there, and give it your best. You have my full support.¡±


    In short, the feeling of a boy who can¡¯t wait to get his license and show off his ride. I understand that.


    ¡°So you will wait for me, Jill?! You will wait until then?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. I look forward to it.¡±


    I noticed that the family steward, Royce, along with the maids who are waiting in the room, gave us this strange warm, raw gaze, as if they were watching something heartwarming.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Huh. I put my fingers on my chin, craning my neck in wonder if I said something strange when Luke suddenly dropped a bombshell.


    ¡°I understand, Jill! I won¡¯t falter anymore. I will firmly refuse to be engaged to Princess Syltianna, daughter of Frontier Count Aulanthia of the Imperial Kingdom!¡±


    ¡°H¡­huh¡­.?!!¡±


    Wait, wait! We only had some light chat, didn¡¯t we?! How did the talk leap that far ahead?!! Seeing me wide-eyed, my face rapt, Luke gave me a reassuring smile and nodded.


    ¡°Rest assured. I know I will be going against my father¡¯s wishes. I also know that there are a lot of things that rest on the success of this engagement, things I still don¡¯t understand. However, I do not want to marry a woman I don¡¯t love and fool my own heart. The Great Founder¡­ great-great-grandmother said that nobles and royalty marry for the sake of the people, not for the interest of a single person. However, how can a man who fails to make a single woman happy be expected to bring happiness to his people? A forced marriage is not only unfortunate for both parties, but it is also disrespectful for your partner.¡±


    Luke then became the picture of determination¡­


    Wait, wait, you, wait! Think logically. You¡¯re a preteen who¡¯s still dependent on your parents, and a nobleman at that!! First of all, let¡¯s discuss it with your family before you decide on anything, okay? Why, of all things, are you making such a life-turning, critical decision so casually in front of me right now??!


    ¡°Truth be told, it¡¯s been tearing me apart. But, I was surprised I would meet you today, Jill. I even heard instructor Christy adopted you. She¡¯s ill-natured, really. If only she told me about it earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have been so distressed for so long.¡±


    Yes, well, I won¡¯t object to your claim that Ms. Christy is ill-natured. But, my adoption is hardly her fault. I mean, I got adopted literally yesterday evening.


    Incidentally, when Luke was first guided into this room by the steward, Mr. Royce, he looked like a spinach leaf wilted from salt, but boy is he not springing up full of vitality as if he was a different person right now.


    Well, what do I do? Somehow, we¡¯re no longer on the same page starting somewhere in our past conversation, but I have a feeling that Luke suddenly decided to floor the pedal and go all the way to rebel against his family because of me.


    Would it be safer if I lightly rebuke him here? I mean, it is going to suck to be held accountable when things are already too late.


    Then again, something is warning me acutely that if I push the wrong buttons right now, I might just dig a much, much deeper grave for myself.


    (Hmm~m. Well, Luke does make a solid point, but now I see him like that, he might be someone much more troublesome than I thought. Come to think of it, he is of Regina¡¯s blood¡­)


    While I was brooding with what words I should choose, Luke took the initiative to broach the topic.


    ¡°By the way, you knew Princess Syltianna, Jill?¡±


    ¡°Well, I do, and I don¡¯t, in a manner of speaking¡­ surprisingly, one cannot see when it¡¯s right under one¡¯s nose.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah, please don¡¯t mind me. I was speaking of the old version, not the new version that you¡¯re engaged with, Luke.¡±


    ¡° ? ¡ªI don¡¯t understand, but you see, I have actually had the opportunity to meet with her three times since last year.¡±


    Hoho. You sure meet each other quite often. Well, how do I put it¡­ considering the vast distance between the Aulanthia Frontier Count territory and the Imperial Capital, I can see that my father ¡ª the Frontier Count, and Mr. Eilmer are both quite serious with the engagement.


    ¡­is what I would have thought at first. Apparently, the Frontier Count side indeed had to go through a long-distance trip to visit Luke¡¯s family ¡ªand that is even with them using the teleporter that connected Tenebrae Nemus with the imperial capital¡ª but that was only for their first trip. They used a Shift Portal for their second and third trip, making their visit that much easier.


    By the way, the Teleporter was different from a Shift Portal. The Teleporter refers to installed, interlinked gates connecting two specific points in space, making a shortcut ¡ª much like a bridge that connects two cliffs. While indeed the gates are anchored in place, people and goods can be teleported away freely. In comparison, the Shift Portal is a terminal that lets specific people teleport to any registered place they want ¡ª much like a facsimile machine.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    At first glance, it may seem that the Shift Portal is more convenient, but it can only send a person to the location they have registered themselves beforehand, and it is restricted to individual teleportation at most, and no heavy luggage can be brought with them.


    In the end, it¡¯s not a matter of which one is the superior option, but rather each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.


    ¡°In short, Princess Syltianna has been using this Shift Portal technology to come to see you, Luke? She must love you very much.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wonder about that¡­¡±

 CH 29.2

    I dabbed on some sarcastic remarks, but Luke only raised his eyebrows with a doubtful look on his face.


    ¡°How do I say it¡­ It almost feels like she doesn¡¯t look at me whenever we meet, and even if I try to talk to her, her responses are always faint¡­ No, she seems hardly interested in anything outside her own little world.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it simply because she is nervous?¡±


    ¡°Hm~~m, she doesn¡¯t look nervous at all, you see? And she doesn¡¯t look like she is having a presence of mind either, it¡¯s just hard to put my finger on it¡­ Calling her an introvert isn¡¯t quite right either.¡±


    Seeing Luke was having a hard time, I decided I should ask him about how they met instead. Well, it is a matter concerning ¡®Syltianna¡¯ after all, I¡¯m interested to know more.


    The first time they met was at the banquet to welcome Frontier Count Aulanthia. Luke greeted the princess, to which she only replied with a ¡°huh.¡± That, of course, made her father, their chamberlain, and their whole entourage panic, and they immediately smoothed it over with ¡°She must be nervous meeting sir Luke,¡± or ¡°It has to be the exhaustion from the long trip,¡± etc. Luke bought those excuses at first, but Syltianna¡¯s attitude didn¡¯t change even at the party that followed.


    Whenever Luke complimented her on her dress or accessories for diplomacy¡¯s sake, she would simply respond with a curt ¡°I see,¡± or ¡°Thank you,¡± before her attendants interjected themselves into the conversation and in turn complimented him back with heavily honeyed words. The star of the party, instead, was just being lost in her own little world.


    At first Luke thought Syltianna hated him, but upon further observation, he learned that Syltianna acted that way regardless of who she was dealing with. She would respond minimally if someone talked to her, but she was never the one to bring up a topic¡­ Luke concluded that Syltianna wasn¡¯t pretending, this was just who she was.


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t want to believe it, but perhaps there is some truth to the rumors about her.¡±


    Dim-witted, dullard, stupid, foolish ¡ª I had no idea which rumors had reached his ears, but when I saw the look on Luke¡¯s face as he shrugged his shoulders, I could feel an ache in my heart.


    Those slurs really should have been addressed to me. And yet, here I am with another name and another face, smearing my sins on a stranger who assumed the name I left behind. I¡¯m the worst.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Jill? You look pale.¡±


    Luke¡¯s attentiveness sure can be troublesome at times like this.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I just hate myself for gossiping about Syltianna like this¡­ forgive me. I know I was the one who brought up the topic, and yet¡­¡±


    Hearing my excuse, Luke¡¯s eyes opened wide with a start.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ right. How rude I have been. I am talking about the rumors of my potential partner behind her back, and I am even griping about it to a girl I¡¯m close with. As a gentleman, I can¡¯t stoop any lower.¡±


    Oh wait, I am a girl, aren¡¯t I? It¡¯s been a while since I was conscious of it, but listening to Luke made me realize it once again. Basically, I was being that woman who, getting asked by a guy how to turn down a girl¡¯s confession, badmouths that girl to feel good about herself.


    ¡­yeah, looking at it objectively, it does make one¡¯s blood raise.


    ¡°Yeah, I need to meet her in person again and express my honest feelings so that we can settle it properly.¡±


    Well, I support you if you want to tell her that, but aren¡¯t there a lot more issues that you need to address before that? Persuading Mr. Eilmer, maybe, or perhaps the domestic turmoil you¡¯ll cause¡­ Before I could make the comment, however, Mr. Royce the steward, who had been standing still behind me the whole time, gently looked at me.


    ¡°Young Lady. Boys have times when they would sprint ahead toward an uncertain future in the passion of youth. Even I used to be like that myself¡­¡± he added, a nostalgic and somewhat regretful look reflected in his eyes.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    I sighed before I moistened my mouth with the tea and changed the subject.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Luke. You haven¡¯t met my familiar Vier. Should I introduce you to her?¡±


    ¡°Aah, I heard of her from my father. She¡¯s a Sirius, he said! By all means, please let me say hello.¡±


    Seeing Luke¡¯s eyes lit up, a smile crept on my cheeks before I knew it.


    ¡°Then, she should be in my bedroom¡­ Although truth to be told, I only finished settling down and was freshly guided through the mansion by Mr. Royce myself, but let me show you my room.¡± I stood up, about to lead Luke around, but I noticed his cheeks flushed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, bedroom¡­ is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s on the third floor.¡±


    By the way, it was a corner room located on the third floor of the building with only one small window. It would be hard to escape from there should anything happen, but it¡¯s not like anything would happen anyway.


    ?????


    Within the walls of Graviol Palace, there exists a facility called the ¡°Unopened Gate¡± or ¡°Corridor of the Supreme Heaven.¡± It was a place that was always kept hidden and locked, not even the emperor was allowed to use it. After the death of Emperor Gianluca about a week ago, this place was opened for the first time in a long time, and it saw a visitor.


    White. Other than its sheer magnificence, that was the only word he could describe it as. That was the impression Eilmer had when he stepped into this place for the first time.


    The pillars and walls were all made of marble. The arched ceiling was decorated with intricate golden ornaments, and even though the room has been closed for so many years, there was not a speck of dust or dirt. What was there was a red carpet that was pushing back the soles of his feet with elasticity, as if the whole thing was woven by hand.


    The members of the imperial family were all speechless in front of such a gorgeous space as if they were in a palace of toys, but there was one exception ¡ªan elderly woman who was considered a legend, hailed as both the founding empress and the mother of the nation¡ª it was Oliana, an empress from two generations past, still wearing her white vestments and crown, who looked down the corridor, murmured ¡°you have arrived already, I see,¡± then silently kneeled on the marble floor.


    The people around her hurriedly followed after her example, similarly dropping to their knees. Oliana alone, who was positioned at the forefront of the group, lightly lifted her head and watched ¡ª as the Unopened Gate slowly opened.


    When she saw the head of the group of beings emerging from beyond, the previous empress, Oliana Eineas Mirn Graviol, the only one whose status allowed her to raise a voice, called out with a hint of nostalgia.


    ¡°I am truly honored that you have come to attend the funeral of my grandson, Your Majesty the God Emperor.¡±


    In response to her greetings, a voice as clear as a silver bell with a soft yet impenetrable elegance passed through the quiet corridor, a hint of smile accompanying it.


    ¡°Long time no see¡­ At times like this, should I say I offer my condolences?¡±


    Everyone who heard that clear voice was left astonished, their widely opened eyes still staring at the ground.


    ¡ªis the owner of such a clear, young voice, Her Majesty the God Emperor?


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Eilmer found himself struggling to keep his eyes down instead of laying them on the godly being.


    It was said that only a handful of emperors and gods had seen her bare face in the past few years (and anyone who dared to do so without permit would be dealt with), the one who ruled the entire continent single-handedly, Her Majesty the God Emperor of the Cardinal Rose Superempire.


    She was described as an immortal and eternal princess, thus Eilmer vaguely imagined her to be in her twenties, and yet she sounded almost like she was in her early teens¡­ not so different from his own son, Luke!!


    The word Princess then suddenly reminded him of a certain girl that was connected through various interlinked events.


    Princess Syltianna, daughter of Frontier Count Aulanthia, with whom Eilmer was currently negotiating an engagement for his son, was not what showed up in his mind. In fact, it was the little girl the Grand Empress Oliana, who had named herself Regina and was happily chatting with the God Emperor, to whom she had taught magic.


    The fact that the Grand Founder was here meant that the girl must be somewhere in the imperial city as well. If so, then perhaps the thread of fate had connected her with his son¡­ that might be a treat.


    In the secrecy of his own thoughts, Eilmer chuckled.

 CH 30.1

    The central avenue of the imperial capital was cluttered with stores and outdoor vendors, bustling with activity. This was the so-called Open-Air Market.


    Well, they were outdoors and not in a proper establishment, but these vendors were not the shady kind you¡¯d see on the back streets. They were all legitimate shops that had received official business licenses from the Commercial Guild. ¡­Although, that made me want to see those shady shops, but of course that was out of the question, so I scratched that out from our trip today.


    The vendors, which really were just tables covered with cloth, sold various things. Some sold alcohol, some meat or vegetable, some were putting on daily necessities for the locals, some others souvenirs for travelers, there were weapons, armor, and even large beasts of burden¡­ There was a great variety of things, so much so that you¡¯d think that there was nothing the market didn¡¯t sell.


    And they didn¡¯t just sell goods, they bought things as well. Evidently, one vendor had a man with a thick accent inviting people to look at the bulletin board with the purchase price of demon beast materials written roughly in chalk next to him.


    In between those vendors, there were street performers performing their tricks and receiving alms, little children selling flowers and matches in their baskets1 , there was even an oddly familiar peddler doing a paper play. The place was a dizzying flurry of activity.


    It had only been 10 days since the passing of the emperor, and yet the marketplace was filled with the excitement and revelry of a festival, but, well, even if a political figure died, the people still needed to tend to their daily lives, and of course the wherewithal to support their daily lives as well. So, on the contrary, the fact that the people were able to go about their usual lives was a testament to the city¡¯s stability and abundance of logistics.


    As if to reflect this, the customers who shop, haggle, or simply just chill out at the stores were not limited to housewives or maids, but also adventurers and travelers looking for bargains, wandering fairies, and many others. People of various nationalities and races.


    ¡°WHOAAAH!¡± The chaotic excitement of the place warranted an exclamation of admiration to escape from my and Luke¡¯s mouths.


    ¡°I did hear about it, but this is simply amazing. I didn¡¯t expect the market would be this¡­lively.¡±


    ¡°¡­indeed, it is an amazing sight. It¡¯s like a comiket venue.¡±


    And here we have two country bumpkins being dumbfounded by the big city, expressing our awe ¡ª although, strictly speaking, Luke was born and raised locally, but it was apparently his first time here.


    Monika, my lady attendant who was standing one step away from us (Royce suddenly introduced her to me, she is a cool-type cute girl), gave us a faint smile.


    Now then¡­


    ¡°Dragon Fang Dagger?! Really?!¡±


    ¡°You idiot. They¡¯re just a sham, I¡¯d bet they recycled some old land drake bone to make those daggers. More importantly, that fur-sleeved dress is cute, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Hah, that? That looks hard to move in and easy to get spoiled if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Haah, it¡¯s my fault for hoping you understood fashion¡­¡±


    Two figures frolicked before the vendors, exchanging such conversation, and they were¡­ not me and Luke, but rather Jesse and Eleanor the adventurers.


    Obviously, it was not safe to have just a single maid as a guide for the underaged scion of a nobleman and a high-class young lady(?), so Royce hastily arranged adventurers to guard us. Who turned up were the trio I met yesterday ¡ª though it was probably because they and I knew each other, hence why Royce chose them. I don¡¯t know what kind of strings he pulled to be able to summon them in just a single day, but he¡¯s quite a capable man. That much I know.


    ¡°And to think Jill is a noblewoman, huh.¡±


    Whilst I was lost in my rejoicing for unexpectedly meeting their party again, with them supposedly accompanying us as our escorts¡­ I realized that, with how things were, it felt like we were the ones who accompanied their outings.


    ¡°Sorry about them, they¡¯re such childish brats.¡± The only one who stood in her station beside us, with her beloved club slung over her shoulder, was Laika as she chuckled and lowered her head to me and Luke.


    ¡°Aah, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m also caught up in the atmosphere that I lost the appetite to shop, so seeing them like that is fun, it¡¯s like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s shopping.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    Luke covered for them with a smile, and Laika gave him an approving look from the side.


    ¡°Oh, Luke. You brought money for shopping?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I try to always carry some cash with me whenever I go out.¡±


    Luke tapped his chest lightly.


    ¡°Better be careful there, young mister. The folks here dot the i¡¯s and cross the t¡¯s¡­ you don¡¯t want them spotting your treasures and crossing you for them. I¡¯ll keep my wits about, of course, but you better be on your toes as well.¡±


    After lamenting about it deeply, Laika put on a huge grin that filled her big face then whispered something in Luke¡¯s ear.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to better protect young lady Jill, young mister. Keep an eye on her, or else some bad guy might kidnap and sell her.¡±


    I¡¯m sure Laika meant that for Luke¡¯s ear only, but her normal voice was loud enough, even whispering I could hear what she was saying clearly. I wonder why she did that. Do I really look that dull?


    ¡°I-, I understand. ¡ªHere, Jill. Grab my hand so we don¡¯t get separated.¡± Luke nodded with a serious expression on his face, took my hand so that we didn¡¯t get lost in the crowd, and began his heroic escort.


    I mean, I really appreciate it that you¡¯re concerned about me, but¡­ Laika, why did you just wink at me all meaningfully like that?


    Well, that was how we spent the time until it was almost time for lunch. Monika suggested going back to the mansion or arranging a restaurant, but I took it to myself to ask Jesse and his party to bring us to a certain stall.


    ¡°Oh, young miss. You¡¯re here again?¡± The owner of the stall casually called out to us.


    It was a street stall facing a park, a short distance away from the open-air market, where the adventurers and I had our kebab-like dish yesterday.


    ¡°Yes. It was quite delicious, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve had me hooked.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. You make me want to give extra.¡±


    I disregarded Monika and Luke who looked surprised with how casual the stall owner and I were, and ordered the same meatless veggie kebab I had yesterday, and two portions of meaty kebab for my companions.


    ¡°Here you go. Eat it while it¡¯s hot,¡± I shoved the kebabs into their hands, ignoring how dumbfounded they looked, and dug into mine. ¡°Mm, yum!¡±


    ¡°Ooh, delicious!¡±


    ¡°Being able to eat meat for two days in a row: happiness. And it¡¯s job expenses, to boot!¡±


    ¡°Now, now. I get your feeling, but know some restraint.¡±


    Jesse and his party, forming a triangle around us, brought their lunches to their mouths, alert with the surroundings still.


    ¡°Damn right, it is. Here, the drinks are on the house.¡± The owner gave us enough citrus drinks for all of us ¡ªMonika and I hurriedly helped her¡ª and we accepted it and distributed the drinks.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    ¡°¡­thank you very much.¡± Luke received the glass, somewhat out of it.


    ¡°¡­Umm, is this really okay?¡± Monika looked at the kebab and the glass of citrus water she had received, looking ashamed.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ for us to dine here? Not to mention, I¡¯m sitting at the same table.¡±


    ¡°? Do you not like it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, I do think it is delicious, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I see no problem then. A meal is delicious when it is eaten together. Moreover¡­¡±


    ¡°Moreover?¡±


    ¡°¡­truth to be told, the food in the mansion isn¡¯t that good.¡±


    Upon hearing my confession, Monika looked stunned for a moment, before her cool persona collapsed, and her shoulders started to tremble.


    ¡°You¡­you¡¯re right¡­ku ku ku ku¡­ Indeed, that Roland¡­chief Roland¡­can¡¯t cook good food for the life of him¡­¡±


    ¡°Right? It¡¯s not about having thin or thick seasoning, it was simply made sloppily. If possible, I would rather do the cooking myself.¡±


    ¡°You cook, young lady?!¡±


    ¡°Eh, is it that weird? During my stay with my mentor, Luke¡¯s great great grandmother, it was always me who handled the knife and tended the fire. She never said she hated my cooking.¡±


    I took a sip of the citrus water after telling her my personal story and Monika¡¯s face lit up.


    ¡°You too, young lady?! I also always helped my grandmother and cooked for her when we lived together!¡±


    ¡°Heeh, I guess we¡¯re the same then. I¡¯m happy to know we hit well. Here¡¯s for a good relationship.¡±

 CH 30.2

    I held out my hand to her, but Monika only looked at it, mumbling ¡°No, well¡­¡± and her eyes began to swim.


    ¡°¡­hm?¡±


    I tilted my head. Monika smiled awkwardly as if steeling herself for what was to come ¡ªof course, not in a negative meaning, but more like preparing to burst through the obstacles ahead¡ª and reached out for my hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to serve you, young lady.¡± Well, I guess that¡¯s what our relationship is. I lamented as we shook hands.


    ¡°Aah, it is really delicious. This is the first time I¡¯ve had this dish, and I didn¡¯t expect it would be this good¡­¡± On the other hand, Luke, who had been watching us from the sidelines with a smile on his face, popped the kebab into his mouth and immediately praised it.


    ¡°Hu-hum. There is a reason why I fancy it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can see why. By the way, for our afternoon plans, would it be possible to visit a place where we can browse and explore for a while?¡± With a hearty appetite that belied his appearance, Luke quickly devoured his kebab and apologetically made a request.


    ¡°Hm~m, I guess we can go out.¡±


    Jesse suggested, and Eleanor agreed. ¡°Right. But things are a bit more expensive out there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡±


    Whilst chewing the kebab in my mouth (chewing the food a lot makes it easier for you to feel full even with little food), I wondered to myself if Luke had something he wanted to buy. Then again, unlike me, Luke is a proper noble, through and through, so he wouldn¡¯t need to go to the market even if he wanted something. Which meant he really only wanted to window shop.


    ?????


    After taking a break and finishing our meal, we went off the main roads and into the branching back alleys. This was what they meant by out.


    A quick glance around told me that the goods being sold here were, amongst other things, agriculture products farmers brought in, homemade jams, and sometimes baked treats. There were also peddlers dressed in exotic costumes who seemed to have come from outside the city, as well as wanderer fairies who built caravans and traveled around ¡ªsuch as cat-s¨¬th the cat fairies and dwarves.


    This was generally a place where unique, irregular merchants would open their stores.


    Still holding hands with Luke, whose eyes were sparkling, I was walking along, window shopping, when somehow my eyes fell on the woodcarvings and ornaments laid out on one of the carpet vendors.


    ¡°How is it, missy? All the rings and necklaces have genuine gemstones!¡±


    The ring offered was adorned with a stone called the ¡°Water Fairy¡¯s Tear¡±. It was, indeed, a genuine water mana pyroxene, but it wasn¡¯t that rare. In fact, a kid could find a rough one if they searched the riverbank for half a day.


    Nevertheless, it could provide some use for recharging my mana to some extent, and as a user of water-based magic art, perhaps I could expect it to amplify my arts to some slight degree.


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation!)


    (Perhaps I can reuse the base ring and swap the pyroxene with a purer one that I have on hand¡­)


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Jill?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. I just happened to look for a plain-looking ring like this one.¡±


    I was comparing it with other rings on the wooden stand when Luke picked it up and asked the shopkeeper.


    ¡°How much for the ring?¡±


    ¡°Oh, quite the good eye you have there, boyfriend. Normally I¡¯d charge you two gold coins for that, but for you, I¡¯ll give it for one and a half.¡±


    From behind, Eleanor and Monika said: ¡°Eh, that¡¯s too expensive.¡± ¡°That should cost around 1 gold coin,¡± and commented on its appropriate price respectively, making the shopkeeper¡¯s face aghast, but Luke dismissed them and pulled out a gold and a half-gold coins from his pocket and handed them over.


    ¡°Thanks for the purchase! Good for you, missy. Your boyfriend is so generous.¡±


    With a complacent smile, the shopkeeper clutched on his earnings, before he turned a polite smile my way.


    He seemed to have misunderstood something. I wanted to correct it, but before I could, Luke presented me with the ring that he had just bought first. ¡°It might not be worth the value, but will you take it for me?¡±


    ¡°Is it okay for me to receive it?¡±


    Hmm, I guess I made it too obvious that I was desiring it. I did a bad thing, didn¡¯t I? I can¡¯t help but ask again.


    ¡°Yes. It is to commemorate today.¡±


    Well, if he said that, then it is plain rude to refuse. ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ve never worn a ring before, and it is a present from you, Luke. I will cherish it.¡±


    Luke stiffened up after hearing my answer and took my left hand trying to put the ring on my ring finger. Hey, mister, that¡¯s the wrong place to put a ring.


    Well, I didn¡¯t need to point it out, as the ring was too big to properly sit there. I pulled it out and put it on my middle finger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lose spirit, sir Lucas. You can make up for it during the real thing.¡± For some reason, Luke got depressed, and Monika tried her best to cheer him up. These two tend to get into a world I don¡¯t understand.


    At any rate, I resumed the walk to look for something to give him in return, when I noticed a strange crowd of people ahead of us.


    Screams, groans, and the sound of something being banged onto something could be heard around one corner of the street.


    ¡°That sounds like trouble. It¡¯s probably safer to steer away.¡±


    (This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)


    (If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen without consent. Please support us by visiting our site.)


    Leika, who was obviously not interested in getting into trouble, stopped Luke and I from approaching.


    But then, the sound of something being kicked loudly echoed, accompanied by a huge collective gasp from the onlookers. From the gap between them, I could see something rag-like being thrown to the hard floor.


    Wait, no. I looked closer and it was not a rag, it was a young girl of at most 8 years old. She was skinny, barefooted, and her neck was adjourned with a ring made of leather ¡ªI detected faint traces of mana, so it must be a Magic item. A rugged steel chain extended from the magic item, the end of which was held in the hand of a rather ill-dressed, bulking man.


    ¡°Get on your feet, you useless wretch!¡±


    Perhaps the girl was riddled with some kind of illness, or maybe the guy simply didn¡¯t want to touch the rash that covered her skin? Either way, he was pulling on the chain to make the girl stand, but she seemed too weak to move properly, and only faintly moved her limbs.


    Upon closer look, I can see some fox-like ears and a skinny tail peeking out from her golden hair. Was she perhaps a fox beastfolk?


    The onlookers ¡ªsome of whom were even in the uniform of a knight lineage¡ª did not stop it from happening, but kept on watching with clear contempt in their eyes, it was as if they were looking at a pebble on the side of a rock.


    ¡°How awful. How could they do that to such a young girl¡­¡± Luke gasped, his hand on mine trembling from righteous indignation.


    ¡°¡­she must be a slave. But, abandoning her just like that is pretty cruel on its own.¡± Laika squeezed the words out, her eyes muted and brooding at the sight.


    ¡°Slave¡­?¡±


    The word felt disconnected to me, it felt no more real than dragons and fairies were, and I couldn¡¯t help but to look at the faces of the people around me¡ªLuke, Jesse, Monika, they all looked mortified.


    In my previous life, I had only heard of the concept of slaves in stories, and even in this life, there was no such thing as slaves around me ¡ª at least not in Tenebrae Nemus nor in the village.