Chapter 13: I Reincarnated as a Villainess…and Ended Up Stranded (12)

“Things are getting more serious by the minute….”

By the lake, at Lin’s hideout.

The homeowner, along with a party of adventurers, a pack of Lycan Wolves, and three dolls, were gathered with grave expressions.

Of course, one doll still had its eyes closed.

“First, Lycan Wolves.”

“Then a witch….”

“And now a King Troll?”

“The witch part was a misunderstanding, wasn’t it?”

So, how was it that they, who had been growling at each other with swords and staves just moments ago, were now creating such a harmonious atmosphere?

It was because Lin, whom they initially thought was a witch, was revealed by one of the dolls to be, in fact, an ordinary child.

“I am… a witch, though….”

Lin, amidst all this, still insisted she was a witch.

Everyone thought she was taking her role-playing a bit too far….

However, due to the outrageous misunderstanding that nearly led them to literally witch-hunt a young girl, they refrained from retorting out of guilt.

“Is that what you should be saying right now!?”

Except for one female mage who shouted at Lin as if scolding her.

“I understand wanting to admire something at a young age, but because of that, we almost killed you!”

“How can you still say such things!?”

“I-I’m sorry….”

“What fault could this child possibly have?”

“It’s all our fault.”

Only after a stern scolding from an adult did she seem to stop her witch play.

The surrounding Lycan Wolves, as if comforting their youngest member, enveloped and coddled Lin.

Monsters cannot be tamed.

…They shouldn’t be tamable.

Yet, for some reason, before their eyes was a girl blending in with large, dog-like creatures.

‘How on earth did that girl tame these Lycan Wolves?’

The adventurers naturally wondered.

However, their premise was flawed from the start.

What was there to hide?

Lin was actually at the very bottom of the Lycan Wolves’ hierarchy.

Taming was out of the question; she was, in fact, treated like the youngest sibling, and it only appeared that way for a very brief moment.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself properly.”

“My name is Robert, and I run the Adventurer’s Guild.”

The Guild Leader, whom Lin had treated, formally introduced himself, partly to apologize for the past misunderstanding.

At his offer of a handshake, Lin, flustered, grasped his hand with both of hers and bowed her head deeply.

While he couldn’t help but smile at Lin’s childlike behavior, he also predicted from her demeanor that, despite her attire, she wasn’t of high status.

“Ah, I am Lin Rosegarden.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

However, in just a few seconds, his prediction shattered.

It turned out the girl wasn’t just any noble; she was the precious young lady of the Rosegarden family, which boasted the greatest wealth in the empire.

Here,
why hadn’t they recognized Lin at first glance?

Firstly, they were in a state of psychological complacency due to the relief that Lin was not a witch.

Secondly, commoners in the frontier settlements, busy earning their daily bread, lived lives where it was natural to never see the faces of esteemed nobles in their entire lifetime.

Thus, hereditary traits unique to a family, like hair or eye color, were things that only fellow nobles would memorize and recognize.

For the settlers fighting daily battles in the harsh frontier, where they could die by a monster’s hand tomorrow, it was natural not to know, nor want to know.

They might just indirectly know the names of a few lords above them; it was typical to have no interest at all.

“R-R-R-Rosegarden… you say?”

“Yes.”

Lin smiled brightly at the female mage’s question, as if wondering if there was any problem.

In truth, such a Richter scale 8.0 tremor in her voice was an entirely natural reaction.

That’s right.
No matter how uninterested the settlers were in noble society, they knew who the true owners of the land they stood on were.

The true rulers of this overseas colonial continent, and in this land, effectively an emperor-like existence.

That was the Rosegarden family.

‘F-F-F-F*cked….’

The mage recalled her own outrageous behavior just moments ago, when she had chided Lin.

She felt as if she had overstepped her bounds so far that she might ascend through the clouds, past the heavens where God resides, straight into paradise.

And then, the future of her neck being struck down by the Rosegarden family’s hand, and her body being thrust through the earth to the very bottom of hell, inevitably brought cold sweat trickling down her.

“L-L-L-Lady Rosegarden…!!”

“A moment ago, this lowly self committed a grave discourtesy…!!!”

“……Yes?”

“I will spend my entire life reflecting and repenting, so please… please spare this insignificant, bug-like life…!!!!!”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this…?”

The stern disciplinarian of a few minutes ago was gone without a trace; the mage prostrated herself flat on the ground, begging for her life.

“If you command me to lick your feet, I shall lick them!”

“No, please allow me to lick them!!”

However, her pathetic and unsightly begging for life backfired.

To make matters worse, the Lycan Wolves, perceiving this as a threat, growled, baring their teeth in warning.

“Hieeek…! No, it’s no use…. Mom, Dad, I’m sorry.”

“It seems I was born destined to die as dog food…! Heuk, Mom and Dad, why did you give birth to me as mere dog food like this!!”

“Hey, I think we should stop her soon.”

“Leave her be.”

“It’s not like this is the first or second time she’s acted like this.”

“With that level of sycophancy, even if she dies, it’s a natural death.”

“Hey, you two men over there!”

“What are you doing!?”

“Can’t you quickly kneel before the young lady here and beg for forgiveness?!!”

Fortunately, just before the mage could die a “natural death,” Lin managed to restrain the Lycan Wolves.

“Th-Thank you…! Young Lady!”

“This humble self will never forget your immense grace, Young Lady!!”

“For the rest of my life, three times a day, I will bow towards the east where Rosegarden Castle lies!!!”

“…That’s unnecessary.”

“Actually, it’s rather unsettling, so please don’t.”

“Yes!! Then I won’t!!!”

“This person is really foolish.”

“Right, Master?”

The girl’s small action was enough to make the woman, who had been wailing with tears and snot, pledge lifelong loyalty.

“You are….”

“No.”

“First, I need to give you a name.”

“A name!?”

Lin, deliberately ignoring the overly zealous loyalist, spoke to the newly arrived doll.

Before asking for the other doll’s repair, she wanted to give it an easy-to-call name first.

“Yes, yes! I like getting a name!”

“So please give me a name!”

“Ummm….”

“Haa…. Master is giving me a name.”

“It truly feels like a dream.”

“Right, Sis?”

“……”

“…Huh? Sis, you still can’t talk?”

“Alright.”

“I’ve decided.”

Lin, who had been deep in thought with her chin resting on her hand, smiled as if a good name had come to mind.

“Dinavel.”

“Your name is Dinavel.”

“Dinavel! Yes.”

“I like it!”

“Dinavel likes the name Master gave me!”

“I like it very, very much!”

“Hehe, I’m glad.”

At the very enthusiastic reaction, Lin couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

Dinavel, overjoyed at having a name, flew around, doing somersaults in the air.

“………And…”

Lin then looked at the sleeping doll with a bittersweet expression.

“Exia.”

“Your name is Exia.”

Hoping that Exia would soon be able to hear her own name, Lin called out to Dinavel, who was excitedly doing somersaults.

“I heard from Kiriel.”

“Dinavel, you can wake Exia, right?”

“Probably?”

“If her core is intact, she should be able to wake up.”

Dinavel gave a fairly positive answer to her master’s question.

She examined the extent of Exia’s damage here and there, then casually placed a hand on her chest.

Pzzzzzt!!

As if performing CPR, Dinavel sent an electric shock to Exia’s core.

…

Twitch…

Then, as if a switched-off power source had turned back on.

Exia’s fingers twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hey.”

“Weakling.”

“Master was worried because of you.”

“How are you going to take responsibility, you idiot?”

With a thud, Exia was kicked in the side as soon as she woke up.

“……”

“Even if you glare like that, it’s not scary at all.”

“Why?”

“Because. You’re. Weak.”

Exia wore a deeply unpleasant expression at the sight of the annoying face that appeared as soon as she regained consciousness.

“What?”

“Are you, perhaps, still unable to speak like Kiriel unni?”

“…………”

“Yep.”

“Can’t hear a thing.”

“If you feel wronged, say it with your own mouth.”

“Ebebebebe.”

Dinavel, the only doll who could speak directly, was thoroughly exploiting her advantage.
Lin, watching that annoying display of tongue-wagging, forcibly pulled Dinavel into her arms, momentarily separating the two.

“Still, I’m glad.”

“Exia.”

“That you could wake up again.”

“…!”

Lin, who had secretly worried that Exia might not wake up, showed a relieved expression.

And Exia, belatedly realizing she had finally met her master.

Cling!

Longing appeared on her previously expressionless face, and she hugged Lin, shedding tears of reunion.

Of course, it only looked like that behaviourally.

Being a doll, no actual liquid flowed.

“Yes, yes.”

“I’m also happy to be able to meet you all like this again.”

Lin, though still a young girl, embraced the dolls with a warm smile like that of a mother.

At this high-quality play-pretend of a different dimension, all the surrounding adventurers and Lycan Wolves were deeply moved.

“But her broken body is still the same….”

“How should this be fixed….”

“It’s okay!”

“If she eats lots and lots of delicious food, she’ll heal on her own!”

Just as they replenished mana through food consumption, Lin’s dolls could similarly repair their physical bodies.

Hearing Dinavel’s words, Lin immediately seemed to understand and,

Splash!

dived into the lake.

“Huh!?”

“Wa-Wait…!”

While the startled adventurers were at a loss due to her sudden action, she quickly emerged holding a fish in each hand.

“Puha…! Here.”

“Eat this for now.”

“I’ll go catch more right away!”

The horrified adventurers hastily pulled the precious young lady out of the water and respectfully seated her back in her place.

“Please just relax here comfortably….”

“If it’s fish, we will catch them.”

“……I may not be good at other things, but I can confidently say I’m the best at catching fish here!”

“Th-That’s not the issue….”

At the same time, the Lycan Wolves, noticing the need for a lot of food.

The hunting party, and indeed all individuals except for the minimum number required for guarding, dashed out like arrows and began hunting.

“Master….”

“Dinavel…. You also think I’m the best at catching fish among us, right?”

“Right?”

Lin, who had finally sat down quietly, unable to resist the adventurers’ dissuasion, grumbled softly.

She sought Dinavel’s agreement, thinking that Dinavel, unlike Kiriel, who had shown her infinite affirmation, would understand.

“You’re wrong.”

“Master.”

“Dinavel is much better at catching fish.”

“…?”

However, the answer that came back was exceedingly cold.

“Watch closely.”

Then she lightly flew and landed in a shallow part of the lake.

She plunged her tiny hands deep into the water with a splash.

“Hmm…?”

Lin tilted her head at Dinavel’s action.

“…!”

Lin, belatedly realizing what Dinavel was about to do, hastily stood up from her seat, but…

Pzzzzzzzzzzzt─!!!

It was already too late.

A short, intense electric shock was applied to the lake.

Dinavel could originally only generate a very small amount of electricity.

Perhaps that’s why.

While it might affect a person, its power was considerably lacking for fighting sturdy monsters.

However, this was only when the target was a monster; if she discharged her maximum output with both hands, it was more than enough to electrocute a portion of the lake.

…

Bob…

Soon after,

fish, stunned by the electric shock, floated to the surface in droves,

“Ch-Chief…!”

And people also floated up.