Chapter 96

“Quite an interesting message. You should read it too.”

Wendigo tickled the owl’s head with his claw while recommending the message to Geron.

The owl seemed to like his touch… no, his claw, and flew to Geron with a cute sound.

Geron read the message offered by the owl and waved it with a puzzled expression.

“Did he have a disciple?”

“I don’t know either. Seeing as it says ‘to be’, maybe it’s something that happened recently.”

Wendigo shook his head as he answered.

Honestly, it wasn’t easy to believe that Gulmag would have a disciple.

Not a human or beastkin, but an ogre having a disciple…

“Surely Gulmag isn’t playing a prank because he’s bored.”

“At least to my eyes, he didn’t seem like that kind of person.”

Gulmag was honest and had a unique way of speaking, but in terms of personality, he was quite serious.

However, it didn’t seem like a fraud impersonating Gulmag’s disciple had sent it, as there was no direct benefit to the writer.

What scammer would risk facing two calamities, a spirit and an ogre, to request help for a witch?

‘… Come to think of it, there might be quite a few.’

In a world where even the self-proclaimed king of northern gods was no different from a con artist, it wouldn’t be strange for a being skilled in fraud to appear.

However, there was one strange point. For a scammer, the letter seemed too… clumsy in many aspects.

Where in the world would someone reveal their own murder and then testify that they killed bad guys?

“It seems the one who sent the message is either younger than expected or… too stupid to commit fraud.”

Wendigo tapped the armrest as he gauged which was more likely.

Logically, the probability of it being an adult was higher.

No matter how much a child was with a witch, the harsh climate of the north wasn’t easy to endure with a young body, and the likelihood of encountering raiders was high.

Of course, there was still the possibility that they came with help from adults.

Wendigo pondered for a moment and then chuckled.

He realized that the person had succeeded in achieving their first goal, if nothing else.

That is, capturing his interest.

“Still, they succeeded in piquing my interest. Geron, have someone write a reply. I should meet Gulmag, his self-proclaimed disciple, and the witch mentioned in the message together.”

“I hope it’s not some strange fellow. We’ve just started building lodgings for the witches, and I’d rather not get involved in more strange affairs.”

Geron stared at Wendigo while grumbling.

In his later years, he was experiencing all the incidents he had never experienced in his lifetime…

“Don’t worry too much. If they turn out to be strange as soon as we meet, I plan to kill them.”

Wendigo, well aware of Geron’s efforts in overseeing various matters, assured Geron.

Geron nodded while trying to hide his sour expression.

Since his lord had promised to kill them, if the other party was truly strange, they would surely die, but…

‘Seeing how you speak, it seems you’ll get involved in another strange affair.’

As they say, even a dog that’s been to a shrine for three years can recite poetry, Geron’s intuition had become quite sharp from handling the aftermath of various incidents.

Surely this time too, some strange incident would occur, and he would have to clean up after it.

“Spirit Lord. If you have no further instructions, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Go ahead.”

Geron calmly accepted his situation and left his seat. He caught a passing servant and ordered:

“Go to the shamans and request tea and herbs good for the mind and body.”

“Um… Do you have some difficult task… Hup!?”

“Oh my. Of course! I’ll go right away!”

Just as the servant was about to ask Geron with a worried expression, another servant quickly ran up and covered his mouth.

“……”

Geron nodded with a strangely bitter expression.

Sometimes, the warm consideration of subordinates could be more painful than a sharp dagger.

---

Unfortunately, Gulmag and his self-proclaimed disciple didn’t arrive overnight.

It was difficult for even the message birds to find Gulmag, as he basically lived by wandering around the forest here and there, beating up monsters.

Naturally, Wendigo spent time judging people in the palace or eating meals…

“The lodgings for the witches have already been prepared?”

Wendigo, sharing a meal with Geron and Skadi in the banquet hall, asked Skadi while putting a roasted whole chicken in his mouth.

Skadi smiled at that bountiful sight and nodded.

“Yes. Thanks to the merchants who came from outside supplying a lot of materials at cheap prices.”

“It seems they aimed to gain an advantage over other merchants by showing a good image to Skadi-nim.”

Regardless of the era, construction was a business that required considerable time, materials, and manpower.

Therefore, it was judged that it would take at least a few months for the witches’ lodgings to be prepared…

“You didn’t build the buildings shoddily, did you?”

Wendigo asked Geron, worried about poor construction.

He wondered if they had rushed to complete it ahead of schedule, considering his mood.

However, Geron shook his head.

Though he had no expertise in construction due to living as a wanderer in his youth, he wasn’t completely without an eye for it.

“Even if it can’t completely block outside wind, it seemed fine as long as they manage the fire in the hearth well. The walls were built with sturdy timber, rocks, and hard clay, so there’s no worry about collapse either.”

“Hmm… Still, it seems to have finished too quickly.”

“Um…”

“?”

As Skadi cautiously opened her mouth, Wendigo threw a few fruits into his mouth and gestured towards Skadi.

“Actually, I think it might be because more manpower was involved than the workers who were supposed to be mobilized for construction.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me… the architects forcibly conscripted farmers?”

Wendigo asked Skadi with displeasure.

If the architects had secretly conscripted people, he couldn’t let it slide easily.

Depending on how you looked at it, it was no different from disregarding Wendigo in his own land.

Skadi hurriedly waved her hands as Wendigo’s aura fluctuated fiercely.

“No! It’s not like that, people volunteered to help with the construction!”

“…?”

Wendigo expressed doubt for a moment, not understanding.

The farmers who were originally supposed to be mobilized for construction were to be paid wages considering efficiency, but why would others participate in the construction when there was nothing good for them?

Though the intention in Skadi’s words was sincere, Wendigo suspected that perhaps Skadi had been deceived too.

Wendigo turned his head to Geron. He threw a silent question asking if he knew about this fact too.

“Ahem. Honestly, it’s not that strange, is it?”

“Farmers voluntarily work without any compensation?”

“Well… it is strange in normal circumstances.”

As Wendigo wondered, Geron nodded. Honestly, it wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.

When nobles or chieftains began to conscript farmers for their own self-interest, most feared it.

Especially once a rumor spread about conscription for construction, people would panic and hide in forests and mountains.

Who would like being mobilized for hard labor without proper food or sleep, possibly dying?

However, in Wendigo’s case, the story was quite different.

“Spirit Lord’s reputation is too good, if anything. Honestly, if the Empire’s nobles heard this, it wouldn’t be strange if they said the spirit had bewitched people with suspicious magic.”

“No, that much is… I guess you’re right.”

Wendigo, who was about to refute, acquiesced when Skadi shook her head with a serious look.

It seems those who had lived considering class differences natural since childhood were quite vicious, as they say those who learn bad things tend to do them well.

“To begin with, if it were nobles, they wouldn’t have paid proper wages.”

“But isn’t efficiency good?”

“The nobles probably know that too. They just have no reason to care about it.”

Nobles might look foolish, but they weren’t actually fools. Why wouldn’t they know that ruling farmers with whips without compensation leads to poor efficiency?

They just knew but didn’t care.

After all, farmers were bound to increase in number over time.

Having lived serving those born with such a mindset as masters, Wendigo’s grace must have tasted sweeter the more people chewed on it.

“So don’t think of it too strangely. If anything, it’s strange that Spirit Lord is too kind.”

“Your nagging always pierces my heart. Still, I’m glad the architects didn’t overstep their authority.”

As Geron spoke while sipping his tea, Wendigo swallowed his sour feelings along with the soup.

What could he do when the farmers did it out of gratitude, not for a bad reason?

Wendigo emptied his food cleanly today too and said to the two:

“By the way, if the construction finished quickly, does that mean the witches have moved in too?”

“Yes. By now, Osa-ssi should be explaining simple precautions to the witches.”

Skadi answered Wendigo’s question.

While teaching the witches could be considered Skadi’s job, there was no need for her to teach everything.

Osa and other shamans were also sufficiently capable of teaching the witches about spells and mystery.

“That… witch school?”

“You can call it whatever you like. There’s no set name for it.”

“Thank you. So you’re saying the witches are taking classes at that witch school right now?”

“Yes. That’s right…”

“Then it might be good to visit as an after-meal walk.”

“Eh?”

Skadi let out a dull sound at Wendigo’s unexpected announcement of a visit.

So… you personally cut off the heads of witches you had been living face to face with, and now you’re saying you’ll meet the survivors?

“Is it not allowed?”

“Ah, well…”

Skadi hesitated and requested help from Geron with her eyes.

She thought Geron would be able to explain well to Wendigo why he shouldn’t meet the witches.

However, he kept sipping his tea as if he had expected this, refraining from speaking.

How could he dissuade him when he wanted to go to his own land?

‘I hope the witches won’t be surprised… but that’s unlikely.’

There were quite a few positive effects.

It was about time they started enjoying the peace of the forest and forgetting what they had done, so Wendigo appearing in person could implant the suggestion that he was watching them…

… Though it’s uncertain whether they would have any foolish thoughts after seeing Wendigo’s massacring appearance.

Skadi, realizing that even Geron couldn’t dissuade him, finally nodded.

“… I think the witches will like it too.”

---

The witches’ new lodgings located near Skadi’s hut.

The school situated in the center boasted quite a large scale.

Teaching witches required not only magical knowledge and mystery-filled sacrifices but also a wide space.

This reflected Skadi’s opinion strongly, and Osa didn’t deny it either.

“From now on, you will be learning from Skadi-nim, the most excellent shaman in the forest and a witch recognized by the Spirit Lord.”

On the second floor of the building, Osa was gathered with the witches, informing them about basic information about the forest and about Wendigo and Skadi.

She thought it wasn’t a good method to push knowledge from the first day for witches including young children.

Of course, while Osa had learned from Skadi, this was her first time teaching others…

Fortunately, Osa had quite a talent for teaching others.

When she tapped the necklace made of ice crystal, mystery flowed out and began to create ice symbols in the air.

A deer’s skull, a woman resembling Skadi, a kind-faced old man exuding experience, and beastkin and half-naked warriors…

“We are living by receiving the grace of the Spirit Lord. The abundance of this land, as well as peace, can be seen as maintained by his power. Those who serve him closely…”

The symbol of Wendigo was established at the top, followed by Skadi and Geron below.

As various shaped symbols flew around supporting Osa’s explanation, the witches’ eyes were captivated by their splendor.

Osa looked at that sight with satisfaction.

‘Skadi-nim trusted and entrusted this to me, I can’t show a poor performance.’

Fortunately, the spectacle of ice sculptures that took their breath away had a great effect in engraving information into the witches’ heads.

While the witches were organizing what they had learned on their parchments, a young witch raised her hand high.

“O-Osa-nim.”

“Um… Just call me teacher.”

Osa smiled and treated the young witch gently.

Being from a vagrant background herself, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for a child suffering at such a young age.

As if sensing her feelings, the young witch asked her with a bright face:

“Teacher, you said the Spirit Lord is a grateful person, right?”

“That’s right. It can be said that not only me, but the forest people and the north are indebted to him.”

“But… isn’t he a spirit? Isn’t he a scary person?”

At the young witch’s innocent question, not only the more mature children but also the adults stopped their hands, turning pale.

They looked at Osa with trembling eyes. They feared she might punish them for insulting the spirit.

However, Osa just smiled and shook her head.

“Well… there are no two people exactly the same in the world. The same goes for spirits.”

“Then… is the Spirit Lord a good spirit?”

“Yes. He just likes good people and dislikes evil ones, but he’s kinder than any other spirit in this world.”

Osa stroked the young witch’s head and satisfied the child’s curiosity.

There was not a hint of lie in her answer.

Honestly, how many beings exist who use their power for others?

‘Well… I can understand why they’re afraid though.’

Osa empathized with the witches’ fear, recalling the human-faced beast.

Moreover, these people had been enemies of him… It would be strange if they weren’t afraid.

‘Teaching spells or witch powers is something Skadi-nim would do better, maybe I should focus on diluting their fear of the Spirit Lord… Oh?’

Osa, who had resolved to dissolve the fear they harbored, hesitated at an unfamiliar sensation.

That sensation was strangely familiar yet alien, feeling as if she was seeing something she shouldn’t…

“Hiiiyaaaah!?!”

“Teacher?!”

Osa startled and quickly stepped back, and the witches were surprised in turn and followed Osa’s gaze.

At the end of it was a second-floor window…

“Oh dear, did I interrupt the class?”

There was a deer’s skull shining with an ominous aura, looking at them.

As Wendigo scratched his head and apologized, the witches screamed and ran towards Osa.