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Chapter 11

(I want to be able to produce potions from my vines. If I could do that… I think I’d be able to do a lot more.)

Up until now, I could only release potions from my root, which was inconvenient. But if I could do it through the more flexible vines, it would really open up my options.

Since I’ve wished for it, the change should have already taken effect, now I should be able to produce potions through my vines too. I made a potion as a test and tried storing it inside a fruit I grew from a vine.

(…Yup, success! And it doesn’t even look weird, right?)

It looked like a translucent husk cherry, specifically, a plant called 「Ghostlight Grass」 These tend to grow in places haunted by ghost-like monsters. …Or maybe it’s the other way around. The plant often grows around graves, so it just feels like ghosts gather there.

The inside of the fruit has a lot of space, making it perfect for holding the potion. Just as I hoped, I had a potion-filled fruit ready to go. It looked like Ghostlight Grass, but instead of its usual purplish hue, it glowed a gentle yellow.

「Goddess-sama… What’s that?」

「She’s not a goddess, she’s Witch-sama. …Though it does look like Ghostlight Grass. But it’s so pretty. What are you going to do with it?」

The girl, now recovered enough to stand on her own, stared curiously at the fruit. It was something entirely new, and even Noel couldn’t explain it.

(…Might be faster to just try it on another patient. Maybe there’s someone in this house?)

The door to the house next to where the girl had collapsed was unlocked, and it opened easily when I pushed it. The air inside was oddly warm.

Before I could step in, the girl ran ahead of me. …It must be her house. Following after her, I found a woman lying unconscious in the back room.

「Mom, I couldn’t bring back any water… but I found someone amazing! Witch-sama, can you help my mom… the same way you helped me…?」

(If she’s not dead, it should work… Let’s try it.)

The woman, like the girl, was suffering from dehydration. I lifted her body and broke off one of the potion fruits, poked a small hole in its tip, and held it to her lips. Slowly, the potion trickled into her mouth. Her throat moved, she swallowed it.

I leaned her against the bed and backed away. If my face were to accidentally touch her, it’d be a disaster. The girl sat beside her mother and watched anxiously.

「…Huh… why am I…」

「Mom!」

「Elie…? Oh, Elie, did you come to heaven too?」

「No, Mom, it’s not that! Witch-sama saved us!」

The mother followed her daughter’s pointing finger and looked at me. From a child’s perspective, I might be a good person who saved her, but how would an adult see it? I held my breath and waited for her reaction.

After staring blankly for a few seconds, the woman suddenly bowed her head.

「Thank you so much, Witch-sama… I don’t even know how to begin repaying you… Um, but, about that reward…」

She trailed off into mumbles. But I didn’t have time to sit and explain things slowly. She was still weak, and the other villagers must be in just as bad a state.

(I’ll save the explanations for after the healing. I need to help as many people as I can… If people start saying a witch cursed the village, that’d be bad too.)

I turned away from the mother and daughter and stepped outside. Only Noel followed after me.

「You’re going to help the other villagers too, right, Witch-sama?」

(Oh, Noel, you really do understand me well.)

「You’re kind, Witch-sama. I figured from the start you’d do something like this. …Please help everyone.」

Noel’s eyes shimmered faintly with tears. Unsure how to respond, I just reached out and patted his head. He’d lost his family, after all. Seeing a mother and child like that must’ve stirred something in him.

(Once everyone’s healed, maybe someone will take Noel in…)

He missed having a family. If he found a new one, maybe that emptiness would ease. And if I could connect with whoever accepted him through Noel, it would help me blend into the village naturally. It sounded like a perfect plan.

「Witch-sama! I want to help too! Mom said I should!」

Just as I was thinking about how to go around the village, Elie came dashing out of the house. She’d changed out of her dirty clothes and looked totally energetic.

「…Witch-sama, I’ll be more helpful!」

(Huh? Are we at the 「wants to help」 age already?)

Alright, then. Let’s let them help. I created more potion fruits from my vine-gloves and handed one to each of them. They saw how I used it earlier, so they should know what to do.

「I just give it like you did with my mom, right?」

「What else would you do with it? Alright, Witch-sama! Leave it to us!」

「Hey, wait! Some houses are hard to find! Let me show you!」

The two of them ran off before I could stop them. I couldn’t call out anyway, so I just stood there. …They only had one fruit each, so they’d be back soon.

I decided to stay in this area. I knocked on the next house.

(…If they’re dead inside, that’d be a problem… Gotta check.)

I sent a threadlike vine through a crack in the door and unlocked it from the inside. The hearth was still lit, and someone lay on the bed. …So the lights I’d seen last night were probably from houses like this—where no one could move.

「…Ugh… wh-who… is… it…」

(Oh, conscious? So some still have that much strength.)

As I approached, the man in bed groaned and glared weakly at me. His voice had no strength. He was clearly still sick.

(Giving a potion to someone unconscious is easy, but if they’re awake, forcing it on them would be suspicious… Should I just knock him out?)

I started to concoct a sleeping agent inside my body, soaking a hair-thin vine tip with it, planning to dab it near his nose discreetly, but then he glared at me so sharply it felt like a dagger.

(Ugh, scary! That stare could kill…!)

Even in his condition, his eyes were terrifying. I gave up on drugging him and stepped outside to think of another way. …Okay, maybe I ran away a little.

「There you are, Witch-sama!」

「Sorry, Witch-sama. One of the houses was locked and we didn’t know what to do, so we came back…」

(Perfect timing, both of you! Please explain that I’m not suspicious…!)

I smiled and took their hands, leading them into the house. Holding hands with kids should make me seem less shady, and these two could vouch for me.

As I hoped, the man only looked slightly surprised when I brought the children in. He stopped glaring altogether.

「Uncle Daon! If you drink this, you’ll get better!」

「Elie…?」

「Witch-sama came to help us!」

Even though he still looked wary, he took the potion Elie handed him, maybe he was desperate. And the effect was instant. His eyes widened.

「…What a miracle…」

「We’re gonna go help more people now!」

「…Alright. You do that.」

Daon looked at me and gave a nod. It seemed he’d accepted me.

Like that, with the kids by my side, I went around the village and managed to administer potions to the conscious villagers without issue. I picked the locks where needed, but luckily didn’t find any bodies. I think I saved everyone.

「Witch-sama really is amazing… Everyone’s better now.」

「Of course she is. She’s Witch-sama.」

With the two kids flanking me, I must’ve looked like a kind, beloved witch—not a suspicious child-snatcher.

Surely this was the correct first step to becoming known as a benevolent Witch-sama.