After finishing breakfast, I stretched my hands out with a moan. I haven't showered for a whole day and my whole body was sending its signal to my brain regarding how awful I felt for not feeling the usual spsh of water at this time of the m. Roy looked at me as he fidgeted his fingers with an unsure gesture. He closed his eyes for a sed before opening his mouth.
“So um, are you gonna leave the vilge now, Miss Mashiro? My grandpa said sorry that he couldn’t bid a farewell. A fisherman must work before the sun rises, or so he said.” Roy asked.
“Do you wao leave, Roy?” I asked, while exaggerating my hands rubbing my eyes pretending to cry with a pyful expression.
Seeing this, Roy was flustered but he quickly tried to cover it up with a cough. He avoided my gaze as his eyes were occasionally staring at my tail and fox ears.
“Please stop teasing me, Miss Mashiro!” He yelled with a cute pout.
I smiled a little bit as I asked, “Hey, Roy. Is there any job here in this vilge I do? Any odd line of work is fine. Ideally, I want to start w and stay in an inn.”
‘But why? Miss Masihro is a noble dy. Miss is rid probably lives in a mansion somewhere. Surely Miss Mashiro doesn’t o–” Just before Roy tinued, his eyes were stu the dress I was wearing. As if some kind of gear turned inside his tiny child brain, he looked down with a sorrowful shame. “Sorry, I shouldn’t say any of that when I don’t even know Miss Mashiro’s situation.”
Seeing his face darkened, I couldn’t help but rush towards him and hugged him. Although I was just a normal college girl, the bed I was used to sleeping in was much more luxurious pared to the bed here. There was no distra, no smartphone I could grab and surf whenever I wao. Even though it’s only been a day, I wao go bae already.
Roy let go of my hug and coughed as he went ba track. “I think you’re referring to the adventure guild, however, this vilge is small and doesn’t need any kind of odd job like that. We don’t have to worry about monsters or raiders because of the prote of a witch living alone on the hill not far from here, but…”
Just before Roy could tinue, a loud noise of someone barging the door could be heard from the front door of the house followed by a lively voice of a little girl. It’s a voice I’ve reized, the vilge girl that worried about Roy yesterday.
“Good m, Roy! Let’s py!” said the little girl with a glowing pure and eic voice.
As soon as she said that, I bowed to her. “Dear little dy, I’m sorry to be a failure to society, please five me,” I said sincerely, and readied to sprint away from the house.
However, just before I could even take my sed step, Roy and the vilge girl immediately grabbed the colr of my dress with a synized movement. They were surprised by my behavior and stared at my eyes for answers, but I simply avoided their gaze.
“Sorry, it was a reflex. Your soul is too pure for me. I ’t be nowhere near you,” I said while reminisg on how I spent my time. College, gacha, repeat. For someone like me, engulfed iive energy with no use to society, I couldn’t bear to look at the innoce of the little girl. It reminded me too much of how I used to be so pure and before I realized, dark thoughts started to pour into my mind.
Without any real purpose, I walked into the er of the living room and sat down. I could hear a worried versatioween Roy and the vilge girl. They were talking for a while but I igheir voices and was in my own bubble world. After a while, I looked up to see them walking slowly towards me.
“Um… Miss Mashiro, I heard that you need a job and a pce. Why don't we talk to the witch of the hill? She might be able to help you!” said the girl, with aic suggestion.
Hearing this, Roy reacted with a surprise to the girl on his left, “Eh? Wouldn’t that cause a problem, Elise? The witch warned us to not go near her house again uhere's an emergency…”
“This is an emergency! Mom said we need an adult to sult with problems like this, and the witch is the oldest one here, therefore she’s the best sultant!” said the girl cheerfully. I couldn’t fault her logic at all, so I simply muttered, “I see…” with a quiet nod.
The girl took my hand and started takiside of the house with a smile. Roy looked hesitant at first, but still followed us after he closed the front door. We walked in the middle of the vilge, meeting a few vilgers who gave us a warm greeting. I caught a glimpse of them preparing to work as they carry various tools such as shovels, hoes or milk .
I felt a little bit unfortable at some of the vilgers' gaze as I could feel them staring at my tail and fox ears, but I put on my poker fad greeted them back.
We left the vilge as the green sery of a meadow weled us alongside the breezy wind. It had been around twenty minutes since we started walking, and I could already see a lone house oop of the hill from a distance. I felt that it wouldn't take us long to reach the pce.
We had a little versation as we walked. However, for most of the time we spent simply listening to the birds chirping and admiring sery in silence. While we were walking, a blue blob jumped up and down in front of our path. I looked at the eyes of the girl holding my hand with a sense of worry.
“Um.. Elise, right? Why are you looking at that thing the same way as how I roll my gacha…?” I asked.
Elise looked at me with a smile a go of my hand. She immediately ran off to grab a stick lying around somewhere and started beating the crap out of the blob. With a petitive spirit, Roy also took part and grabbed some rock to throw at another blob ing from the distance.
As I watched them mercilessly beating those little blobs in silewo ice arrow projectiles flew from out of nowhere as they pierced the blue creatures and turhem into ice before breaking apart into little pieces.
“Stop it, you two! Don’t you feel bad bullying such weak creatures?” A charming voice from a distant pce.
I looked towards in front of me to see an adorable girl, who looked no older than my age wearing a witch hat with a charmi lovable bck robe. Her red hair peeked out of her witch hat, and her red eyes plimented her hair color.
“Eh… but you were also killing the slime, Miss Catherine…” Elise pined with a disappointed voice.
The witch ignored Elise’s pint as she walked towards the pce where the blue blob shattered into pieces. The witch bent down to pick up two pieall crystal and stored it into her pouch she was carrying alongside with her.
“Free exp is free exp! Anyway, I warned you two to not e here. So, what makes you two e back?” The witch asked.
Immediately, Roy and Elise turheir bodies and poiowards me at the same time. “Her,” they both answered in a synizing voice. Perhaps since I was further back while those two were beating up the slime, the witch hadn’t noticed me.
The witch’s red eyes were wide open as there was an audible gasp ing from her mouth. However, her expression calmed down rather instantly and she bent to match the children’s height.
“I see. Listen, go home or py somewhere else, okay? If not, I’ll turn you two into mushrooms. So, hush hush.” The witch said with a pyful voice as she spread her arms out, pretending to scare off the children.
With a chuckle and ugh, the children replied, “Aaah, scary!” as they ran off into the vilge with a smile.
After the childre my vision, the witch grabbed her staff she was holding and led me in front of the house. There was a rather big terrace alongside some chairs and a circur table. The house itself is a colorful yet simple two story building with a garden besides it, I could see pnts like watermelon and cabbage on it
“Sit down, I’ll make some tea.” The witch said as she waved her staff around. A teacup set flew from inside her house into the table oerrace.
Following her dire, I sat down on the wooden chair awkwardly as I moved my tail around. The witch also sat down at the opposite side as she put dowaff and started to pour tea on a cup.
“Well then, what does a rich dy like you need from me?” The witch asked with a smile as she slid a cup of tea in front of me.