3. Witch Legends
It seems that the visitor this time is a decent human being.
She didn’t do anything suspicious even when I invited her in, so that’s good enough to be almost certain. My precautions were in vain. If she was the unusually rare female bandit, she would have been put into the human culture tank by now. It was a complicated feeling for me because I was so excited that the materials had arrived just when I wanted them.
If this person who calls herself Celia is a good person, I think it would be bad for her to see what is going on upstairs, because she might treat me as an evil person. You can’t see what’s going on upstairs from here on the ground floor, but there are spells that allow for clairvoyance and remote viewing. To be fair, this log house made of wood from the forest diminishes the effectiveness of such spells, no one but me can break through it. Another precaution will be necessary from now on. There is no point in worrying unnecessarily.
If they were to lose their temper and attack me, I would be happy to use them as material, but I’m not so desperate that I have to resort to such carnivorous, plant-like methods of procurement… It wouldn’t be right to subject her to the same fate as the bandits, especially since she’s probably a good person. Even I have that much decency.
More importantly. She knows about me and came to visit me, she is not a lost person. How did she know or find me, who lives secluded with almost no contact with the outside world? Why did she decide to rely on me in the first place? I had many questions, but the first thing that I naturally had to check was, after all, the way my name was mentioned.
What is this Primordial Witch? When I asked this question, Celia gave me a puzzled look.
“Excuse me, Miss… Primordial Witch. Isn’t that what you called yourself?”
“Nope. As far as I can remember, I have never introduced myself to anyone in the first place.”
Suppose my memory serves me right. Now that the matters of my previous life have completely come to feel like someone else’s business, although there’s still something a bit suspicious about it… I certainly remember the relatively few interactions I had with people from outside. It should be. Yup.
“Among the various witch legends that exist on the continent, the Primordial Witch is the oldest as well as the most enigmatic, and as the ‘Progenitor of Magic’. That is our common understanding.”
Celia explains as she does so, with her eyes flickering with confusion. Witch Legends. What’s that? I don’t know about that one either. And to think that I am being treated as if I were the head of those groups is a bit of a shock to my ears.
As for the bandits that I have chased away without killing them, I have taken appropriate measures for them as well. So as not to invite unnecessary trouble. I’m sure some still remember me at least vaguely, but… Is it because I took care not to let them become a cripple… Still, It’s hard to imagine that my existence could have spread this far based on such vague hearsay. But since a nickname has been created, I can only assume that this is the result of someone deliberately spreading it… But who?
My question, which made me tilt my head in confusion, was immediately resolved.
“Sage Ardella. She is the greatest supporter of the existence of the Primordial Witch, and the one who popularized the name. I, too, came to this place on the advice of the sage.”
“That girl is… I understand.”
Ardella. That name immediately rang a bell. It would indeed be a problem if I forgot this.
Celia looks like she wants to ask what kind of relationship I have with Ardella. It’s not particularly something to hide, so I guess it’s okay to tell her.
“You could say that she was my first disciple. looking back, she was also my best disciple. I haven’t seen her for a long time, but I see she is still doing well.”
She was so cheeky back then. There was no sense of respect for me at all. But I think she was faithful to my teachings. It has probably been more than a hundred years since that fellow left the nest, so I’m a little curious to see how much she has grown.
“The First Disciple…”
Celia, who was repeating my words, seemed clearly surprised.
“That Ardella, she didn’t say anything, did she?”
“No, I should have asked that myself. However, since your existence has never been confirmed, I’m kind of half in doubt… But it is certain that Sage Ardella is one of the most famous magicians.”
As her master, I could understand why the rumors about the primordial witch have some credibility. If it were just Ardella, that would be one thing, but there are also other people who claim to have encountered me appearing here and there… This would certainly explain why it’s spreading.
And there is another thing that made sense to me. No, perhaps I should still call it a suspicion. If it was Ardella who gave advice to the troubled Celia.
“I want to hear a bit more in detail. Does Celia expect me to uncover the king’s secret? And what’s behind the reason for enacting good governance.”
“No…To tell the truth, I have some idea of what caused it.”
Oh, I am impressed. You have already figured it out to that degree? Well, I suppose that if this were not the case, she would not have come all the way to this backwoods area by herself, no matter how much advice she got from a famous person.
“What is the reason then, Celia?”
“It was caused by a single magician. Someone who serves in the same court as I do… He is a man who joined the royal court at the same period as me.”
“Did the king employ two magicians?”
“No, there’s more. But now he is the only one left. All the other members, including myself, have been dismissed from our positions. To put it bluntly, everyone was fired. They didn’t even let me speak, it was almost one-sided.”
According to her, due to extreme levels of oppression, civic sentiment was on the verge of exploding. Particularly recently, the voices of opposition against the royalty and nobility had begun to stand out more. As soon as the King learned about this danger, he decided to increase the number of guards at the castle. Celia was one of the members── Hmm.
“Hohou. Isn’t it quite clever to deploy multiple magicians instead of soldiers?”
I said that while recalling the lousy fight the bandits put up, but I doubt it. I wonder if it would be different if they were well-trained soldiers. But in any case, I think the decision to increase the number of court magicians, who had only been one until then, is not such a bad idea.
“Having suffered from poverty since childhood, I have always wished to change the state of this country. Being able to enter the royal court was indeed a godsend for me. However, shortly after we were employed, the king presented us with a notice of dismissal… Except for one person.”
“That’s the man we’ve been talking about. The one that Celia believes to be the cause of why the king’s change.”
Yes, Celia solemnly affirms. Though it is a matter of speculation, she seems to believe that it is almost certain that he is the mastermind.
“He was soon permitted to enter the royal family’s private chambers. Obviously, this would not have been possible under normal circumstances, no matter how much he served at the court. At the same time, the senior magician stopped appearing in public due to his age and went into semi-retirement, and since then he has effectively become the king’s advisor. Immediately after that, I was expelled from the royal castle along with the other magicians, so I don’t know anything more about it than that…”
Yep. That seems suspicious. We don’t know what has become the royal castle now, but regardless, that man’s success story is just too much.
That person, like Celia, entered the royal castle with a motive of his own. And now he is in the process of achieving his goal. So, it is reasonable to see it that way. At least objectively.
“His name is Morow. He had no last name, just Morow.”
“Morow…”
It doesn’t sound familiar to me. Was it different then? No, but I should think that there is some kind of connection.
“I understand. I’ve asked all the questions I wanted to ask, so I will answer briefly as well.”
“Y-Yes.”
Celia adjusts her posture, but her demeanor has been consistently stiff from the beginning. From others’ perspective, I’m a much younger girl. Being able to be so earnest and serious toward me, her cleverness and seriousness started to seem a little bit strange.
“I shall do you this favor. Let’s uncover the king’s secret, or rather, the secret of that man Morow.”
“！…Is that true!”
“Aah, yes it’s true. Let’s see… there it is. Here.”
I have various things in my Eidos, whether I use them on a regular basis or not, but I tend to shove them in somewhat haphazardly. Since it can be immediately connected as storage space, I don’t need a bag. However, the drawback is that it gets messy.
When I threw out a totem I luckily found from there, Celia nervously caught it. She visibly broke into a cold sweat as she almost dropped it, but since it was made of wood and lightweight, there wouldn’t be any real issue even if she dropped it.
When I told her this, she responded with a small smile and said, “Thanks for your concern,” but somehow her face seemed to be twitching.
“Um, what’s this?”
“A landmark (spot). With that, we can meet right away. Always keep it with you… that’s why, you can leave now.”
“Huh? Um, err── ”
“Ah, it’s okay, you don’t have to walk through the forest anymore. I’ll send you outside.”
“No, um──”
“Well then, let’s meet again in about three or four days.”
I teleport Celia, who seemed about to say something. The trees in this forest grew from the magic I poured into them. Therefore, each one can serve the same role as a marker (totem). After a quick check through the trees on the outer edge of the forest. Yup, I can see that Celia is right there. I was able to send her exactly where she came from.
She checked the area with a frantic look, then, after a moment of resignation, she walked toward the direction where she thought her country might be located. Be careful on the road.
“Well, then…”
Let’s prepare for a trip after such a long time… I wonder when was the last time I went somewhere other than seeking the Ideal Realm (Eidos)?
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