episode_0006

Fortunately, Rai’s words defending the village were neither lies nor exaggerations.

Eaton Village was a decaying village on the verge of disappearing… but the people living there were lively and warm-hearted, unsuited for a declining village.

“Just move that and head to the square! It’s already lunchtime!”

“Understood!”

As Rai had said, by cooperating with the village community, I was able to secure just enough food and lodging to survive.

In Eaton Village, which had shrunk to a community of only about 80 residents, everyone ate together in the central village square to use their scarce food as efficiently as possible.

A sigh escaped me.

Finishing a moderate amount of physical labor that felt invigorating, I lightly loosened my tensed shoulders and followed a middle-aged man who had already finished his work, moving towards the square.

In the village square, middle-aged women were already gathered, preparing lunch for everyone.

“This morning, I was lucky enough to hunt two birds and gather some herbs that can be used as spices.”

“Oh my! Always so grateful!!”

Here, Rai, who was young, polite, kind, and capable, was welcomed and loved by all residents.

Rai, too, did his best to repay the villagers’ love and care by solving the village’s problems or finding useful items in the forest.

The woman who received the two birds, cleanly plucked and gutted, and the herbs suitable for spices, returned to her spot with a full smile on her face, thinking it had been a long time since she cooked meat.

Rai, who had been watching the woman’s retreating back with a bright smile, spotted me returning after finishing my work and waved vigorously.

“How’s village life?”

“Everyone is really good. Thanks to them, I was able to adapt quickly.”

Rai and I exchanged friendly conversation.

Thanks to Rai’s similar age and kind, polite nature, it wasn’t difficult to become friends with him.

At my words about adapting well, he beamed a simple smile, as if he had heard wonderfully good news.

Every time I saw Rai, I felt that he was an extraordinary talent, unsuited for such an old and decaying village.

“Ah. By any chance, the young lady…?”

I carefully asked Rai about the condition of the Mage-nim, who still hadn’t regained consciousness on this, the second day.

Then, unlike yesterday, Rai merely looked at me with a meaningful smile, offering no answer.

“Surely… ‘the young lady’ isn’t referring to me, is it?”

As I slowly widened my eyes in disbelief at his ambiguous reaction, a familiar voice came from behind him, as if on cue.

Then Rai, smiling brightly like a child as if he had prepared a small surprise for me, stepped aside.

Behind Rai stood the Mage-nim, her entire right arm tightly secured with bandages to immobilize her right shoulder, which had been bitten by the wolf, staring at me with dull eyes.

“Did you forget my name too?”

“No… that…”

There was no way I would know the White Mage-nim’s real name.

Everyone always called her Mage-nim, and no one had ever dared to wonder about her real name.

“It’s Killua. Call me Killua. I’m not ‘young lady’ anymore.”

She told me her real name without hesitation.

“Then I’ll call you Killua-nim…”

“Tsk!”

The moment I naturally tried to use honorifics while calling her name, she clicked her tongue, gesturing with her eyes towards the villagers.

It seemed she wanted to prevent anything that might make her identity suspicious.

“Th-Then, Killua?”

I cautiously called her name, trying to be friendly.

Killua, who had been looking at me with a displeased expression, let out a small sigh and answered my call.

“Why?”

“Hahaha. Well, why don’t you two talk for a bit until lunch is ready?”

Rai, who had noticed that Killua and I needed to talk, waved his hand and left us alone.

As Rai left, leaving behind only the soft, subtle scent of herbs that gently enveloped my nose, Killua let out a small sigh and sat on a chair set aside.

“Is your hand okay?”

As soon as she sat down, she worried about my hand.

Startled by her single word of concern for me, I quickly hid my left hand behind my back.

“Let me see it.”

When I hid my hand, Killua sighed as if my actions were frustrating and gestured for me to show her my hand.

At Killua’s gesture, I reluctantly and slowly extended my left hand, which I had hidden behind my back, towards her.

On the back of my hand and my palm, her bite marks were clearly etched as scars that would now never disappear.

“You were really stupid. You should have just let me bite the wooden stick you were holding… Tsk…”

Killua, who had examined my hand, where her bite marks remained disfiguringly, frowned and clicked her tongue as if in regret.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any knowledge of first aid or medicine, so…”

Not being a combatant, I had no memory of ever being severely injured, and my knowledge of first aid was almost non-existent.

That’s why I had no idea that people bite down hard when experiencing extreme pain.

“You can move it without discomfort, right?”

Tracing her bite marks, Killua slowly caressed my hand and asked about my injury with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Fortunately, there are no after-effects.”

Fortunately, her teeth hadn’t penetrated deep into the muscle, leaving only distinct bite marks with no further discomfort.

As I conspicuously clenched and unclenched my left hand, Killua let out a light sigh of relief.

However, as if she still had something to scold me about, she crossed her arms tightly and continued speaking, staring at me.

“And you… you’ve neglected your magic training, haven’t you?”

“Ugh…”

At her sharp criticism, a groan inadvertently escaped my lips.

When she was bitten on the shoulder by the wolf, I vividly remembered the moment my magic bullet had conspicuously missed.

Having no excuse for this fact, I merely bowed my head without a word.

“I told you to practice so you could hit with a magic bullet at least, no matter the situation… that was a truly pathetic response with no chance of being defended.”

There was no resentment for my mistake in her voice.

There was only regret for my laziness in not consistently training as she had taught.

“I apologize.”

At her scolding, only apologies flowed from my lips.

“If you’re sorry, then from today onwards, practice shooting magic bullets at least seven times every night before bed. The advantage of the magic bullet is that it’s the simplest and can be used in any situation.”

“Seven times each?”

I couldn’t help but cock my head at her instruction, which presented the ambiguous number of exactly seven times, neither five nor ten.

Unable to comprehend why I had to train exactly seven times, no more, no less, I asked her about her intentions.

Killua, however, frowned as if it were a foolish question and answered my query.

“Looking at the magic flowing through your body and the magic of the bullet you shot at the wolf, that seems to be just the right amount.”

“You can see the magic in my body?!”

In response to my question, Killua tapped the corner of her eye with her fingertip, as if dumbfounded, and replied.

“I lost my magic, not my senses.”

“Ah…”

Quite literally, only Killua’s magic had been sealed in the pendant.

Only the overwhelming magic she possessed had disappeared. The senses, talent, and knowledge for wielding that immense power had not vanished.

“Anyway, from now on, consistently practice shooting magic bullets seven times every night. It’s not for me, but it will be a great help in your future life.”

Finishing her simple advice on magic, Killua merely pressed down on her elbow with her left hand, as if her bandaged right arm was uncomfortable.

“What are your plans going forward?”

Gazing at Killua’s shoulder, tightly bound with bandages so she couldn’t move it at all, I asked about her future actions.

It was an injury that had received first aid, but it was clearly a severe wound that would require a considerably long period of treatment and rehabilitation without excellent healing magic or expensive potions.

“First, I’ll have to focus on recovery. A few weeks? No… it seems I’ll have to rely on this village for a few months.”

Killua, who possessed all sorts of knowledge in her head, was also very well aware of her own physical condition.

Although her tough cloak had prevented a fatal injury where flesh would be torn off, her skin, underlying flesh, and muscles had been severely ripped open by the sharp teeth.

Furthermore, rolling down the slope had covered her in all sorts of contaminants like dirt and leaves.

For such a wound to heal completely and naturally without any after-effects, she would need at least three months of recuperation.

“…”

I carefully observed Killua’s complexion.

There was no hint of disappointment, despair, or sadness on her face.

Pressing down on her elbow, which was frustratingly immobilized, she calmly gazed into space with settled dark eyes, formulating her future plans in her mind.

“What about you?”

“Me… me?!”

Killua, who had been contemplating alone, suddenly turned her head towards me and asked about my plans.

Having secretly observed her complexion, I was startled when she suddenly turned her head and our eyes met, letting out only a foolish exclamation.

“You said you’d only accompany me to the village, didn’t you? I won’t hold you back anymore, so you can leave for wherever you want to go.”

“No… but…”

I couldn’t help but feel a little flustered by Killua’s words that she wouldn’t hold me back and would let me leave.

Honestly, I had no intention of leaving her side.

Saying I would leave her was merely an empty boast, uttered to stop her reckless attempts to find the fragments where her power was sealed, in defiance of the Demon King and the Empress.

“Hey! Lunch is ready, so come on over!”

While I hesitated to answer, a middle-aged woman from the square called out to us in a boisterous voice, indicating that lunch was ready.

Ultimately, we had no choice but to stop our conversation and, at the villagers’ summons, walked towards the communal dining table set up in the square for lunch.

“Welcome! What’s your name?”

“Oh… a lovely child has come!”

The women preparing meals in the square welcomed Killua with lively voices.

Met with a more favorable welcome than expected from the women, Killua, perhaps not wanting to spoil the mood, smiled brightly and even bowed deeply towards those who were greeting her so warmly.

“Oh my… how polite she is.”

At Killua’s polite demeanor, the middle-aged women preparing the meal even clapped with joy.

“Mage-nim…”

I murmured the mage’s name in a small voice, inaudible to the villagers.

She was the noble White Mage-nim who had never bowed her head to anyone.

But being wise, she accurately assessed her situation and, to avoid suspicion and conflict, unhesitatingly bowed her head even to ordinary villagers.

At her bold choice and actions, I instinctively swallowed a gasp of admiration and bowed even deeper than she did, politely greeting the villagers who welcomed us.

“Here. This is your share!”

As if pleased with our polite demeanor and actions, a man in his late 60s, who appeared to be the village chief, handed us wooden bowls filled with porridge, along with a hearty laugh.

“Thank you.”

On Killua’s behalf, as her right arm was uncomfortable, I also took her bowl of porridge.

In the watery, pale porridge made from an infusion of unknown mixed grains, only a few small pieces of meat from the birds Rai had caught and a few crushed grain lumps floated.

“Ugh…”

Killua, who had shown a bright demeanor for the villagers who welcomed her up until now, subtly furrowed her brow at the meal, which could only be described as terrible.

The village chief, too, merely offered a bitter smile, as if he had expected Killua’s reaction.

“I apologize. Our village is in such a state that this is all we have to offer.”

Until now, Eaton Village had survived by selling good quality timber from the Lime Forest and using the money to buy various food ingredients.

But after the Lime Forest was devastated, Eaton Village, unable to earn money to buy food ingredients, quickly fell into ruin.

There were traces of recent farming attempts at the edge of the village, but it seemed they couldn’t even obtain water to grow crops due to the Lime Forest’s devastation by slimes.

The majority of people, unable to endure this terrible situation, had left the village, and only those with lingering attachment and affection remained, maintaining the village at a community level.

“Shamelessly, I have one favor to ask of you.”

Killua, who had been looking around the village, turned her head at the chief’s words and gazed at him.

The chief, meeting Killua’s eyes, let out a deep sigh.

Then, as if having made a decision, he swallowed hard and cautiously opened his mouth.

“In five days, merchants will arrive. Would you be able to host them?”