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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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After all the commotion, Master began chatting while wrapping my bandages.
“So… you got hurt hunting monsters?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why would you… I told you I’m doing the housework because I want to. There’s no need for you to do anything more…”
Master paused while wrapping the bandages and looked up at me. Her anguished eyes seemed to beg me not to hurt myself any further.
However, I met her gaze without wavering from my resolve. Though I didn’t speak, she seemed to read my thoughts. Letting out a light sigh, Master carefully spoke:
“…Well, fine. Just as I took your work because I wanted to─ if you want to take my work─ I won’t complain about that.”
“Then─”
“But! No getting hurt like today. If you get injured like this again, hunting is forbidden from that day! I’ll ban you from going out too!”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
Haha, I laughed it off and glanced behind me. Marguerite, who had been attacked by Master’s magic earlier, was sulking in a corner.
When I approached her, Marguerite wouldn’t even look at me, as if telling me to get lost. I crouched in front of her and pulled at her wrist.
“…What?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Marguerite.”
“Forget it, what did you do?”
“I should have stopped Master earlier… and even if not that, you getting attacked was my fault. I’m the one who suggested keeping it from Master…”
Marguerite glared at me fiercely, as if asking how I could act that way knowing this would happen. I awkwardly smiled and weathered her piercing gaze.
Glancing behind me, I realized Master had left to put away the medicine and bandages in storage.
Realizing this, I carefully whispered in Marguerite’s ear:
“Miss Marguerite, shall we… go on a date?”
“…What?”
Marguerite looked up at me with surprise, as if wondering what nonsense I was talking about. I just smiled brightly back at her.
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─Hiss-.
The snake flicked its tongue as it looked at its dead child’s corpse. Its child with particularly attractive shining scales had lost its life, leaving behind just a few bone fragments.
The ones who killed the snake’s child were a human and wolf. The human carried a witch’s scent, and the wolf bore the scent of the forest’s master.
Both were beings far too powerful for the snake to handle. Mighty beings who would just take its life if it dared attack them for killing its child.
In the beast world, when faced with such helpless situations, they quickly give up, considering it bad luck.
This wilderness was too harsh to hold grudges. Thus the snake too would have forgotten its child and moved on to find a new mate.
That would have been normal.
“How sad, truly sad.”
The woman stroked its scales as if reading the snake’s heart. Though the snake would bite any visible creature, for some reason it felt no such urge toward the woman before it.
Rather, it sensed something akin to its own coldness. The snake nuzzled its head against the woman’s body that had skin as cold as its own.
“What could compare to the sorrow of losing a child… I shall take revenge in your stead.”
The woman said this while flashing her sharp fangs in a grin.
“In exchange, offer your blood. The currency of your soul.”
The snake understood in its soul what the woman meant.
It willingly offered its neck.
Sharp fangs pierced through the snake’s flesh.
The blood merchant sealed a contract with the snake.
A contract to avenge its child.
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Bustling.
That single word could describe the city.
People were full of energy, their faces always blooming with smiles. No criminals were visible, and the smiling citizens acted as if firmly believing their futures would shine brightly.
‘Primitive humans.’
They could act this way all thanks to witches. More precisely, thanks to witch hunting that captured and hunted those witches.
If crops failed, bringing famine? It was because of witches, so kill the witches. If plague spread killing people? It was because of witches, so kill the witches.
They one-sidedly blamed all sins and grievances on witches, then acted as if everything was neatly resolved by killing those witches.
Nothing actually got resolved. Whether witches died or not, famine remained famine, and plagues still didn’t disappear.
They were just averting their eyes.
‘So this is why they talk about keeping the masses ignorant.’
Understanding why modern politicians wanted to make the public so stupid, I slowly walked through the city.
Did these people know? That I was walking through the city with a witch.
“Where shall we- go next?”
“Well, wherever Miss Marguerite wants?”
“Hmm. Since the apprentice seduced me, shouldn’t the apprentice escort me?”
She said this while lifting her chin, as if wanting to see where I would lead her. I couldn’t help but laugh at her attitude trying to maintain the upper hand.
Truthfully, I didn’t really know what was in this city. I didn’t know what witches liked either. But it didn’t matter.
“Then shall we head to the blacksmith first?”
“Why the blacksmith…?”
“Actually I came to buy weapons. The date is just a bonus.”
“…Heh, so that’s what this was?”
Belatedly realizing my true intentions, Marguerite’s expression hardened with disappointment. I felt bad for her, but I couldn’t exactly walk all the way to this distant city.
Taking the frowning Marguerite to the blacksmith, I procured equipment. Got new armor and bought additional iron nets.
“Ten gold total.”
“That’s expensive.”
“Then leave.”
“How about eight gold?”
The blacksmith silently nodded accepting the deal. Seeing this, it seemed I could have haggled more… but not knowing proper prices and not wanting to waste time arguing in a place like this, I gathered the equipment and promptly left the smithy.
After leaving, I handed the equipment to Marguerite asking her to hold onto it. Though she was sulking, she didn’t refuse such requests.
Looking at the armor and chains, she put the equipment into her subspace while asking me:
“…What are these for? Why do you need these?”
“There’s a monster I need to catch.”
“Do you need armor? Strong monsters just smash through armor anyway?”
“That’s no reason to go around naked.”
Other fantasy characters neglect armor claiming they’ll die in one hit anyway. Arguing that with magic attacks, both sides die in one hit anyway…
To me it seemed quite stupid. Whether you died in one hit or not, you should wear armor. That would at least raise the threshold for dying in one hit somewhat.
After buying equipment, we really did enjoy the date. Though Marguerite had been quite sulky when heading to the blacksmith, as time passed she began to lose her anger.
“Heeh, apprentice. You like these things?”
“No man would dislike them.”
“Really? Is that so…”
Marguerite let out an interested hum looking at the long dress before her.
A revealing dress that clashed completely with this somewhat conservative era – half-exposing the upper chest and cleavage with stocking-like fabric, openly displaying the sides of the breasts, waist, and thighs.
She pointed out some matching underwear and ordered me to carry them and follow her.
“I’m going to try them on, wait a bit!”
“…Try them on? But how?”
“I’ll manage!”
Marguerite said this while taking the clothes into the changing room. I stood guard in front of the room as she had asked.
A lone man carrying a dress, then standing blankly in front of the changing room─ thinking something might be wrong, an employee quickly approached.
“Is there a problem…”
“Nothing special. Just trying on some clothes.”
“What? But this is a women’s clothing store…?”
“I know.”
The employee looked at me like I was crazy.
I tilted my head looking back at them in confusion. The employee insisted that anything tried on must be purchased, then sighed and went back inside.
Even for a medieval fantasy, demanding immediate purchase of tried-on clothes seemed excessive.
“Apprentice? Are you there?”
“Ah, yes.”
Just then, Marguerite’s voice came from inside. Though she had confidently taken the clothes in, her curse preventing her from touching non-magical objects had quickly become a problem.
“…Could you come in? Um, help me a bit.”
“─Understood.”
I immediately entered the changing room. There I met eyes with Marguerite, who had the dress and underwear merely draped over her naked body.
Though she walked around naked freely in the cabin, she seemed embarrassed to show such an appearance outside, scratching her blushing cheeks.
“Um… I tried using magic to put them on, but it’s not working… could you, help me dress?”
“How?”
“F-first the underwear…”
She said this while carefully extending her hands to hide her nipples and private parts from view. Though she tried to keep her precious areas covered, I snatched away her clothes.
“How long would it take to dress you that way? Turn around. I’ll help you put them on.”
“Ah, aah? U-um…”
Marguerite turned as told, carefully extending her arms forward to make it easier to put on the underwear. I moved close behind her and slowly began helping her dress.
…She smelled the same as Master.
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