Ch.53The Witch of Lament (1)

Hearing the administrator’s scream, I too couldn’t believe my eyes.

A sack so large it could smash through the table, bursting with gold coins.

This… just how much money is this…?

With this much money, we could replace the wooden palisade with stone walls right now.

The emperor gave such a generous gift just for taking down some Central slave trader…?

The mage snorted when she saw the administrator’s and my reaction.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“How could anyone not be surprised at this? And why are you giving us so much…?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? How could an emperor who rules dozens of kingdoms not give at least this much?”

“Well, that’s true…”

“Besides, His Majesty was extremely pleased with the merit report. Originally it was half this amount, but he added more because he was in a good mood.”

“The report?”

According to the mage, His Imperial Majesty was impressed by the elegant writing and penmanship in our merit report that Major Nerion had taken.

Come to think of it, though Major Nerion wrote it, our administrator kept reviewing it.

It was almost like Major Nerion was just transcribing what the administrator dictated.

As expected of someone who passed the Imperial Central Civil Service Exam.

“Are we done here?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve delivered the reward, so my job is finished. I’m going back now.”

“Ah, yes… Thank you.”

I felt a twinge of disappointment.

In the game, mages are just one of many common professions, but in this reality, seeing one is as rare as catching a star from the sky.

Moreover, having an imperial mage visit a rural village like this would never happen unless a demon lord or something similar appeared.

I would have liked her to stay a few days so we could get some help with various matters.

“Well then, goodbye.”

“Wait a moment!”

I stopped the mage just as she was opening a dimensional gate.

“I’m really sorry, but could you do us one favor?”

“A favor? What kind?”

“We actually need to send a city upgrade application to the royal palace, but we couldn’t because of this incident. If possible, could you stop by the palace and deliver it for us?”

“What?”

The mage looked at me with an expression of disbelief, but then seemed to change her mind and held out her hand.

“Give it to me.”

“Here it is.”

“Why is it so thick?”

The mage complained as she received the application, which was as thick as a book.

“Thank you so much. When we get upgraded to a city, we’ll erect a statue of you in the town square.”

“Haha! That’s funny.”

The mage laughed briefly, then entered the dimensional gate without even saying goodbye.

After the dimensional gate disappeared, the administrator staggered and collapsed to the floor.

Then, with trembling hands, he felt the sack.

“Is this… a dream…?”

“It’s not a dream, Administrator. But we have an immediate problem.”

“What is it…?”

“This won’t all fit in our safe. What should we do?”

“Well… Hmm… Should we hide it in Jack’s room…?”

“That might be a bit risky…”

After thinking about it, I called Liberone to tear up the floorboards of the hall and dig a hole.

Liberone is the only person in the village who is both strong and trustworthy.

We put the entire sack of gold coins in the hole, then replaced the floorboards and nailed them back down.

Let’s keep it like this for now and buy a new safe later to put it in.

The city upgrade application has been properly submitted, we’ve received an enormous amount of gold, and everything is going smoothly.

I’m sure that within this year, I’ll be able to live the safe and peaceful life I’ve been hoping for.

* * * * *

“Sigh… Where am I…?”

Alreina sighed as she looked around.

Enormous trees whose tops couldn’t be seen stood identically everywhere her eyes could reach.

Hardly any sunlight penetrated, and what little did was shredded by leaves, further disorienting her vision.

That’s why Alreina suspected this might be the same place she had passed through three times already.

Tenata Forest.

On the map, it was just roughly drawn as a large mass, and it wasn’t even mentioned in the strategy guide the uncle had given her.

When she asked people at the royal city for directions, they all jumped in alarm, saying never to go there—that anyone who enters gets lost and dies. Those warnings weren’t exaggerations.

She came here because uncle told her to find the Witch of Sighs here… but whether she could actually find her was another question.

She was hungry and her legs were starting to ache. It was natural, having been wandering for three days already.

And above all, the atmosphere of the forest was terribly unpleasant.

She had traveled to all sorts of places starting from the Starting Village, but nowhere had such an uncomfortable aura as this place.

And to top it all off, the Witch of Sighs…

But Alreina didn’t give up and continued exploring the forest.

Uncle had said that the reason she struggled against the Scarlet Dragon was because she had progressed through the adventure too quickly.

It meant that because she had followed the strategy guide in a straight line, Alreina hadn’t grown enough to properly go through the stages.

At this rate, the next challenge would definitely be impossible. She had to find the Witch of Sighs somehow.

After wandering for another half day, Alreina sat down under a tree and ate a late lunch.

Her lunch consisted only of dry bread and twisted jerky.

As she was filling her stomach and drinking from her nearly empty canteen, she suddenly heard rustling from behind.

Thinking it might be a wild animal she could use for food, Alreina quickly grabbed her bow and stood up.

“Who are you?”

“Eek?!”

Alreina, who was drawing her bowstring, jumped back in surprise.

A tall woman was looking down at her from right in front of her.

Tall with black hair tied back and reaching her waist, and blue eyes that showed no emotion.

The woman wore a pitch-black cloak, its rough fabric making her look almost like a crow.

But unlike her all-black attire, the woman’s face was exceptionally pale.

If she had been lying down with her eyes closed, she could easily have been mistaken for a corpse.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, who are you, ma’am…?”

The woman’s face quickly hardened at Alreina’s slip of the tongue.

“Ma’am?”

With a sudden flash, lightning struck down on Alreina.

“I’m sorry… I was so surprised that I misspoke…”

Alreina hurriedly bowed her head and apologized as broken branches fell around her.

Even after Alreina’s apology, the woman made no response.

It wasn’t that she wouldn’t respond—she couldn’t.

Anyone would be frozen in shock at seeing a girl who was completely unaffected after being directly hit by magic.

“Who… who are you…?”

“My name is Alreina… I came looking for the Witch of Sighs but got lost. Are you… the Witch of Sighs?”

“What…? No, first…”

The woman looked around and said.

“This doesn’t seem like an appropriate place to talk. Follow me.”

There was a cottage in the direction the woman was heading. Surely there had been nothing there until just now…

The cottage looked extremely gloomy.

The forest already didn’t let in much sunlight, and the cottage was particularly wedged between huge trees.

What’s more, the cottage was shrunken as if about to collapse, eroded by tree roots.

If someone were to glance at it without recognizing it as a cottage, they might have mistaken it for a moss-covered rock or a pile of rotting logs.

The woman walked ahead toward the cottage, stepping on fallen leaves and damp soil.

Her hands, protruding from her robe sleeves, emitted a pale light in the darkness.

Her footsteps were barely audible, making Alreina wonder if she might not be a real being but a ghost or something similar.

After hesitating briefly, Alreina decided to follow the woman.

She was the first person Alreina had met here, and judging by the magic she had just used, she was definitely a mage. She must be the Witch of Sighs.

As she followed, a subtle fragrance emanated from the witch. It was an extremely pleasant smell.

“Come in.”

Following the witch into the cottage, Alreina let out a low gasp of admiration.

Unlike its sinister exterior, the interior was surprisingly cozy.

Unlike outside, the air was dry, and the light from candles and a fireplace gently illuminated the interior.

Next to the fireplace, there was a toad-shaped statue about the size of a human head, perhaps as decoration.

Because of the flickering flames, it seemed almost alive.

On the opposite wall, shelves and a desk made of warm-colored wood were neatly arranged with unidentifiable bottles, objects, and instruments.

What caught Alreina’s attention were the incredibly thick books.

Some had gold trim around the edges, looking sturdy enough to be wielded as weapons.

The kitchen area was spotlessly clean without a trace of moisture, and a large iron cauldron, common in a mage’s laboratory, was polished to a shine as if oiled.

She had expected it to be brewing something like children’s livers or frogs’ eyes, but surprisingly, there was nothing in it.

And in the corner was a somewhat narrow and steep staircase leading to the second floor.

There was no bed to be seen anywhere, suggesting that the second floor was probably the bedroom.

The woman hung her robe on a coat rack and asked.

“So. You came all this way looking for the Witch of Sighs?”

“Yes. Are you the Witch of Sighs?”

“No. I am not the Witch of Sighs.”

The moment she heard those words, Alreina instinctively grabbed the hilt of her knife.

Seeing this, the woman snorted and smiled.

“You don’t think you could actually do anything, do you?”

“Who are you?”

“The daughter of the Witch of Sighs.”

“What…?”

“Sigh…”

Just then, the sound of someone sighing came from somewhere.

What’s that? What’s that sound?

The sound was coming from inside a door next to the stairs.

As Alreina looked at it suspiciously, the woman opened the door to show what was inside.

In a warm room with a gently burning brazier, a very, very old woman sat on a bed covered with blankets.

“Sigh… When you get old, you should just die…”

“That’s my mother. As you can see, she has dementia and spends all day sighing like that.”

That’s… the Witch of Sighs?