Chapter 10: I Reincarnated as a Villainess…and Ended Up Stranded (9)

Talent can be so cruel.

No matter how many days I kept conjuring flames, again and again, the result was no more than a tiny flicker—barely the size of a match head.

At this point, I began to wonder—was it not just a matter of lacking talent?

Was I perhaps training in the completely wrong direction?

Just as that doubt crossed my mind, I decided to try something different to lift my mood.

“I think I’ve been way too focused on fire magic until now.”

Well, I didn’t expect other elemental magic to be much different…

Without much hope, I gave my wand a light swing with one hand.

It was about the size of a conductor’s baton—more of a wand than a staff.

Just as if I were conducting an orchestra, I raised it toward the lake—

“…Huh?”

At the same time, a massive column of water shot up into the air.

“Why… did that work on the first try…?”

Why was it that I had only ever managed to produce pitiful sparks until now?

Looking at the enormous glob of water trembling before my eyes, the mystery that had plagued me finally began to unravel.

As with most magic, spells are generally based on and drawn from elemental forces.

Fire, water, wind, earth—familiar elements that humans are closely tied to.

Among them, the two most incompatible are undoubtedly fire and water.

Just as they cannot coexist, it’s said that if one is talented in fire magic, they’ll be hopeless with water magic—and vice versa.

In other words, the conclusion was this:

“So then… the reason my flames never got any bigger no matter how much I trained… could it be…?”

Yes.

My natural affinity wasn’t with fire magic.

It was with water magic.

“……”

I moved the wand in my hand again, and the massive droplet of water followed, swaying gracefully.

Left, right, up, down.

Circles, figure eights, even star shapes—it all came easily.

“…!”

Huff huff huff!

The magic I had yearned and struggled for had been within reach all along.

Even Kiriel and the puppies who had watched my magical training all this time seemed deeply moved, smiling brightly and congratulating me.

They even urged me to test its power by shooting a water blob at a nearby tree.

“U-Uhh… I guess…?”

Cheered on by the kids, I gave the wand a wide swing and hurled a water bomb.

With a loud crack, the small tree snapped and toppled over.

Kiriel and the doggies went wild with joy, practically throwing a festival.

And as for me, at the centre of it all?

…I felt unsatisfied.

If it had been wind magic or earth magic, that’d be one thing—but water magic?

Of all the four elemental types, why did I have to be most talented in water magic?

“…?”

Even though I had finally proven my superior magical talent, worthy of a villainess…

I myself felt completely underwhelmed, prompting Kiriel and the pups to tilt their heads in confusion.

Why such a lukewarm reaction, when I had finally achieved what I’d always wanted?

Well…

“Water magic… isn’t villainess-like at all…”

“……”

“It’s more of a kind-hearted, childhood friend type of thing you’d find supporting the protagonist…!”

Let’s not kid ourselves.

Unlike the other elements, water magic is mostly about healing, support, and defense.

Just look at fire magic—it has flashy attacks like Fireball.

Wind magic gets Wind Cutter.

But what does water have?

Water Arrow.

What a joke.

What?

Water Arrow?

You take an already weak water blob and make it thinner?

For what purpose?

You’d be better off throwing a rock.

Earth magic can do that—machine gun-style, no less.

And that’s just the default attack, too!

It’s so effective that it doesn’t even need a special name.

Sure, fire magic is the flashiest and most villainess-like element.

But if I couldn’t do fire, I would’ve preferred having an affinity for earth magic…

Or even better, ice magic—a natural upgrade from water!

…No.

No, that’s not possible.

I’m not from the northern region, so that’s a no-go.

Ice is indeed a cool and villainess-worthy element, but matching your attribute to your birthplace is one of this world’s absolute rules.

Still, I really can’t get behind healing or support-type magic like water.

I want to cast cool offensive spells like Fireball and Wind Cutter too!

But alas, fate is cruel…

No matter how much I cried and sobbed, there was nothing I could do.

When I tried other elements, the results were always something like Lighter Returns.

So in the end, I had no choice but to begrudgingly accept water magic as my main.

And today’s training couldn’t be skipped, either.

I hadn’t even practiced much, but I’d already reached the level where I could freely change the shape of my water blobs.

…And that just made it more annoying.

Sure, all I was doing was changing the shape, not increasing the power.

I tried shaping it like an arrow and shot it at a tree, but the impact was no better than my earlier water bomb.

I even tried shaping it like a sword or spear, but the result was the same.

Turns out, skills like Water Arrow are separate spells entirely.

What I was doing was just hurling a water blob in the shape of an arrow.

Not the spell itself.

Wait a sec… Then how do you actually cast Water Arrow?

Don’t tell me it can’t be self-taught?

“Whine… whimper…”

While I was deep in concentration practicing water magic,

One of the scouting puppies came limping home, wounded—likely from a monster attack.

“Hold on. I’ll heal you right away!”

I reached into my bag to grab a potion… when a thought suddenly struck me.

Pop!

The homemade healing potion opened with a crisp sound, and the liquid inside shimmered gently.

I focused the same way I had when drawing water from the lake.

Slowly, the red potion floated up into the air, following the wand’s movement.

“Ohhh, it works?”

I didn’t really expect it to, but apparently potions count as liquid and fall under water magic.

Though, maybe because it’s not pure water, it does feel a bit different to control.

“Whine…”

“…Ah. Sorry. I’ll apply it now!”

I dropped the potion directly onto the pup’s wound, where it was quickly absorbed through the skin.

While drinking is the standard method, applying it directly to the injury is slower but supposedly more effective… according to the notes I’d read.

And besides, my potions are kind of… custom, so they might behave differently anyway.

Still, as you can see—the effect was real.

The wound healed rapidly.

Sure, the pup being a monster helped, but even then, a weak potion wouldn’t show this much healing.

Huff huff huff…!

“There, there. Doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”

“Woof?”

“It’s gonna sting a bit. Just bear with it.”

As they say—good medicine tastes bitter.

My potions work great, but they sting a little at first.

The response differs per pup, but it seems proportional to the size of the wound.

Luckily, the stinging goes away quickly.

“Hey, Kiriel.”

“…?”

“Didn’t I just look super villainess-like just now?”

I asked, reflecting proudly on my recent moment of coolness.

Kiriel gave me a puzzled look.

Huh?

Was it just me?

“Look! This!”

Thinking Kiriel didn’t quite get it, I pulled out another potion to demonstrate.

Even so, Kiriel’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

…Do I really have to explain everything?

“The colour and viscosity of the potion! Doesn’t it totally look like blood magic!?”

“…?”

Exactly!

Blood magic!

It’s just water with a red tint and a bit of a metallic smell…

But for some reason, that alone classifies it as dark magic.

Witches and evil sorcerers use it—it’s totally forbidden.

I don’t know much about how it works, but that’s not the point.

The potion just looks like blood magic.

Now, if I shape this potion like a sword…

I used water magic to form the potion into a red blade, and it looked absolutely epic.

As for the skill name… yeah! I’ll call it Blood Sword!

“Whimper whine…”

“Hm? Another one got hurt?”

So many injured pups today…

I told them to be careful! Seriously, they never listen.

This one’s wound isn’t serious either, but still… it’s time for a stern warning.

I raised my wand to apply the potion.

And thus, Blood Magic Style No. 1, Blood Sword—aka the floating potion—hovered above the pup’s head like a guillotine.

“Really now. What a foolish little dog. You couldn’t even follow a single simple order…”

“Whimper…”

I added more potion to the Blood Sword, hoping it’d help him recover faster.

It grew larger and stronger.

“But don’t worry. You won’t have to carry out that mission ever again.”

This one always comes back hurt. It’d be better to keep him near me instead of sending him out with the scouts.

Slide…

With a cool, villainess-like expression, I flicked my wrist downward.

The Blood Sword dropped like a guillotine’s blade—right onto the pup’s head.

It was decapitation (healing) in a single stroke.

Maybe I dropped it from too high—he staggered a bit and collapsed.

S-Sorry…

I got too into character…

But at least the potion worked, because he soon bounced up and came running to me, panting happily.

Still… that blood magic moment? So cool, even I’m impressed.

From now on, I’ll deliver healing potions this stylish way.

***

“She’s a witch.”

“A witch, you say…?”

A small village near the Abel Forest.

The guildmaster listened gravely to the elite scouting unit’s report.

“She was executing her subordinate monsters using blood magic.”

“Blood magic? Are you certain?”

“I didn’t believe it myself at first, but…”

Blood magic.

It was something entirely different from ordinary magic—fundamentally alien.

Magic, by nature, is a blessing, a gift from the gods.

But some greedy heretics, denied divine favour, made pacts with demons to gain their powers.

Such heresy was the origin of dark magic.

Monsters in the frontier are also the spawn of dark magic—abominations that must be eradicated.

Even those without strong faith recognize them as existential threats.

“She looked like a noble girl at first—survivor of a fall, perhaps—but she commanded a pack of lycan wolves.”

“Only witches or dark mages can control monsters.”

“She even had a familiar.”

“A familiar? Are you sure!?”

Only monsters or dark magic users can command other monsters.

Given that, anyone—no matter how noble they appear—could be hiding true evil.

“This is worse than we expected.”

“Indeed. We were so focused on the lycans, and meanwhile…”

Lycan wolves alone were a serious threat.

And now a familiar?

Even if it’s a minor demon, that’s no small matter.

Lesser demons often rival mid-tier spirits in strength.

“W-Wait! Maybe she really is just a lost child who survived a crash!?”

One scared adventurer clung to hope.

“But how do you explain the lycans? The familiar? The blood magic?”

“I get it. It’s a hard truth to accept. But the odds say otherwise.”

His desperate theory was crushed under the weight of “facts.”

“We can’t waste time. We need to contact Guild Union HQ and request reinforcements!”

“You think they’ll bother with a remote place like this?”

“But surely, we can try!?”

The whole village could be wiped out at this rate.

The Guild Union had a central headquarters above all guilds—but would they send anyone to Abel Forest?

A poor, dangerous village with no profitable dungeon nearby was likely to be ignored.

Fortunately, they did have a fair number of seasoned adventurers.

“You said the witch appeared to be a young noble girl?”

“Yes. We nearly stepped in to save her. Looking back, that was a close call.”

“Yes… God must have been watching over us.”

“W-Wait! Maybe she’s not a witch but a genius druid who tamed the wolves!”

“You’re still clinging to that?”

“Witches can change their form at will—even age and size. Most choose alluring appearances to deceive men.”

“Then what, she’s trying to scam pedophilic creeps by posing as a child? That’s messed up even if she is a genius druid!”

“To lower your guard, nothing beats appearing harmless. Even our scouts nearly fell for it.”

“And stealing clothes from a dead child, wearing them like they were hers… Witches truly defy all morality.”

“They serve demons. They may look human, but they’re monsters in disguise.”

And just like that, the adventurers of the village unanimously branded Lin a witch.

She was now a confirmed threat—a target for elimination.

“Everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

“All right. Let’s go kill the witch.”

A witch-hunting party of elite adventurers set out toward the depths of Abel Forest.

After days of arduous marching, they finally arrived at the heart of the woods.

And there, at last, they—

“G-Guildmaster! That’s her familiar—over there!”

“…We found it sooner than I thought.”

—came face to face with a maid doll wielding a sword.