Ch. 28 The Two Witches (8)
by Afuhfuihgs
Announcement
Another thank you goes to James Baily for the donation!!! I wish I could repay you in some ways but I’m already at my limit with the current schedule… Please forgive this ungrateful translator~
Witch – Chapter 28 – The Two Witches (8)
After using teleportation to escape the dungeon, we arrived at the entrance of the dungeon located halfway up the mountain.
“Josie, Leo, do you see it? That’s Venetia.”
“Wow…”
The distant view of the city of Venetia was more prosperous and vibrant than when I had helped the Laplace family rebuild it. The procession of merchants entering Venetia and the adventurer parties heading out of the city gave a small glimpse of the city’s bustling atmosphere.
Leo, having lived in the royal palace, didn’t seem particularly impressed by the cityscape. However, Josie, who was seeing the city for the first time, was completely captivated by the sight of Venetia, continuously exclaiming in awe.
The farmland, still not fully harvested, created waves of golden yellow as they swayed in the wind.
Since the festival wouldn’t start until after the harvest, if we had moved as slowly as Josie and Leo had suggested, we would have arrived after the harvest festival had already passed.
“The trolls won’t chase us, right?”
“Don’t worry. The female is pregnant, so they’re more likely to return to their nest to rest rather than chase us.”
I reassured Josie by patting her head, easing her concerns.
If there was anything to worry about, it wasn’t the troll but the adventurer who had been knocked out by Josie’s strike.
Our purpose in coming to Venetia was for travel and training, not to pick fights. Still, I didn’t blame Josie. You reap what you sow… In the end, it was my fault for not telling Josie the truth. If Josie ever finds someone she truly likes, I’ll tell her the truth then. Until then, the men who end up knocked out by her hand… well, that’s their problem.
For now, all that was left was to persuade the adventurer who was pretending to be unconscious, keeping an eye on the situation.
If we didn’t clear up the misunderstanding, it would undoubtedly cause trouble. I briefly considered just killing him, but it felt wrong to do so in front of Josie. Besides, judging by his skills in dealing with the troll, if we handled this well, he might even become a decent mentor for Leo.
“If you don’t wake up soon, we’ll just leave you here. One sleepyhead is enough.”
As if he had never been unconscious, his eyes snapped open, and he was on his feet, gripping his greatsword in the blink of an eye.
It wasn’t unreasonable for him to be wary, given that he had attacked us when we tried to help.
“Who are you people? What was that attack earlier? And why were you in the dungeon? You’ll need to explain everything. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise?”
“I’ll have to use force until you feel like talking.”
The adventurer’s eyes turned fierce. He took a stance, ready to pounce at any moment. Despite being outnumbered three to one, he seemed confident he could win. The way he effortlessly wielded that greatsword, despite his small frame, was impressive. He wasn’t an ordinary human.
A hero, perhaps?
He might have been a hero from the tales that predated the Aria Chronicles. Or maybe, like Leo, he had received help from someone to gain above-average strength. Or perhaps… he had something to do with a friend living in Venetia.
As Leo drew his sword to protect Josie, I raised my hand to stop him and walked toward the adventurer.
I didn’t forget to wink at them, signaling to leave this to me.
“We have no intention of shedding blood with you. We were exploring the dungeon at the request of the Marquis of Laplace.”
“The Marquis…? You’re not impersonating him, are you? He’s already entrusted the dungeon exploration to the adventurer’s guild.”
The Marquis of Laplace I knew would have died of old age by now, so his son must have inherited the title. Thinking back to when I saw him as a baby, he must be over sixty now, a grandfather. For an adventurer to accuse us of impersonating nobility… it seemed the Marquis of Laplace still held considerable trust.
“Will this prove we’re genuine? It seems you don’t trust me.”
I took out the Laplace family crest from my inventory and showed it to him.
The unique crest featured three gears rotating within a large star.
Each gear symbolized the past, present, and future, though that level of detail was perhaps too deep for casual conversation. Still, it was unmistakably the Laplace crest.
“That crest is indeed the Marquis of Laplace’s… but that still doesn’t explain why you attacked me.”
He still seemed suspicious.
If I explained the real reason here, Josie might realize the sex education I gave her was a lie.
“I’m a mage. And that girl is my apprentice. The reason we attacked you… can I borrow your ear for a moment? I promise I won’t do anything suspicious, so could you lower your sword? If you sense anything strange, you can attack me anytime.”
I raised both hands to show I had no intention of attacking and approached the adventurer, whispering so Leo and Josie couldn’t hear.
“The truth is, if a female mage holds your hand for even three seconds, you’ll get her pregnant. That’s why I don’t allow anyone but my husband to hold my hand. You wouldn’t want to suddenly become a father, would you?”
“W-what… I have someone I like too! I don’t want to suddenly become a father! And I’m not falling for such a lie!”
The adventurer’s face turned red at the mention of pregnancy. He seemed around Josie’s age, so perhaps he wasn’t used to adult conversations. He stepped back and glared at me.
“You think it’s a lie? Then why don’t you try holding my hand?”
I waved my hand playfully, offering it to him.
Mages are rare. There’s no way for him to know if I’m telling the truth or not.
Mages won’t reveal themselves to the world until the demon king’s invasion begins in 200 years.
An ordinary adventurer wouldn’t know whether a mage’s physiology was different from normal humans or not.
“Even if you do get me pregnant, I won’t blame you. Want to interlock fingers?”
Gulp—
As I spread my fingers to make it easier to interlock, the sound of him swallowing was unusually loud.
I almost laughed at his reaction, just like when I had given Josie her ridiculous sex education.
“What? Don’t men like this kind of thing? Making babies?~”
“I believe you! I’ll believe you! So please, take that perverted hand away!”
Perverted hand? Where else would you find such a slender, pretty hand?
Unable to hold back any longer, he covered his face with both hands and slumped over. I patted his back, and he flinched.
“You believe me, right? We’re just here to explore the dungeon at the request of the Marquis of Laplace.”
“I believe you. I’ll believe you…”
“Then you should apologize properly to her. Say, ‘I’m sorry for grabbing your hand without permission.’”
After confirming his nod, I walked back to the waiting two and gave them a victory sign.
If he had actually held my hand, I would have pretended to be pregnant by infusing mana into my clothes.
“Lady Estelle, what on earth just happened?”
“It’s a woman’s secret. Curious?”
I brushed off Leo’s question with a hum, singing a little tune.
Even if he had heard the conversation, it wouldn’t have been helpful.
The adventurer, now composed, slung his greatsword over his back and approached us.
“I’m sorry for grabbing your hand earlier. I almost committed a great disrespect to the mage. Can you forgive me?”
He bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle, apologizing. Josie, flustered, looked back and forth between me and the adventurer.
Why was she so nervous? She just needed to accept the apology, like with Leo.
“I’m the one who should apologize for suddenly using magic on you! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I pride myself on being the toughest in Venetia, so I’m not particularly hurt. My name is Nicks, and I work as an adventurer in Venetia. If it’s alright, may I ask for the mage’s name?”
“I’m Josie.”
I glanced at Leo, who seemed displeased, frowning.
“Ah, I hope I didn’t interfere with the Marquis’s request by stepping in.”
“Someone did interrupt us, but we’ve finished our investigation, so don’t worry.”
Nicks, the adventurer who introduced himself, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Then, are you heading to Venetia now? As part of my apology, I’ll escort you safely to Venetia. Please let me!”
He bowed deeply again, causing Josie and Leo to look at me.
They were waiting for me to decide.
Originally, I planned to part ways and teleport there, but… listening to Nicks’ adventures while traveling slowly didn’t seem like a bad idea. Entertainment was scarce in this era, so it might be a good experience for Josie and Leo.
“If you tell us your adventures on the way to Venetia, I might forgive your earlier rudeness.”
“If the tales of my adventures can earn your forgiveness, then that’s fine! Let’s get going then! The sun will set soon.”
Nicks urged us to hurry, taking the lead.
Judging by his personality, the journey to Venetia wouldn’t be boring.
Josie’s eyes sparkled at the mention of adventures, while Leo, who was frowning, seemed less enthusiastic. I patted their backs as we headed toward Venetia.
Translator Note
I wasn’t sure how to translate 마법사, as it can be translated to mage, wizard, sorcerer, sorceress, etc. So I just went with ‘mage’… I may change it in the future once there’s more context being given though.
Totally not my fault for not reading ahead of the translation~
Lucent
0 Comments