3 bar menu

Chapter 12.5 – Daon

Daon had become the chief of Bit Village five years ago. He had once been a Holy Knight, slaying monsters in the name of the kingdom, but retired at the age of thirty-five and returned to his hometown. There, his parents, who wished to spend their remaining years in peace, handed the role of village chief over to him. The villagers, too, raised no objections. After all, Daon, who had served the kingdom as a knight, was more than capable of protecting them.

Bit Village was located near a mountain range, a place known as the Dragon’s Rest. Over the last five hundred years, the miasma in that region had gradually thinned, and now a 「Demon Domain」 was beginning to form.

(It’s dangerous, and I’ve told them to leave the village, but… no one wants to abandon their home. Honestly, everyone’s so stubborn, it’s troubling.)

No one could predict what sort of monsters would emerge from the Demon Domain. If it ended up being a cluster of sedentary plant-type monsters forming their own ecosystem, it might not be too bad. But if man-eating orc hordes or aggressive carnivores started descending the mountains, Bit Village would be in serious danger.

Still, Daon had returned for this very reason, to protect his home and its people when the time came. That was why the villagers had accepted him as their leader.

「Uncle Daon, something’s… wrong…」

「Elie!? Are you alright!?」

Elie, the young girl who lived next door, had always been fond of Daon. That day, too, she had been at his home, snacking on sweets and sipping tea. But then she suddenly turned pale and vomited.

Children falling ill wasn’t unheard of. But that day, it wasn’t just Elie. Other villagers began collapsing too, unable to eat, unable to drink, vomiting everything. Within three days, nearly the entire village was bedridden, unable to move.

(What is this illness…? The speed it’s spreading is unnatural. Could it be the work of a monster?)

Perhaps a venomous monster had infiltrated the area, poisoning the villagers in secret. But by the time Daon reached that conclusion, he too had succumbed to the same symptoms.

He tried drinking water from the village jar, only to vomit it up again. Yet, without fluids, he would shrivel and die.

He had prepared himself to fight monsters, trained his body daily so as not to lose his edge even with age, but never imagined it would end like this…

(…Someone’s… opening the door…?)

He heard footsteps entering from the front. Light clacking echoed on the floor, and suddenly, the scent of flowers filled the air.

Whoever it was, it wasn’t a villager. From his bed, Daon gripped a dagger and kept a wary eye on the figure approaching.

It was a woman, strikingly beautiful. Like a masterpiece sculpted by a famed artist, her beauty seemed almost unreal. She was adorned in flowers, and the fragrance clearly emanated from them.

—Who the hell are you? How’d you get in here?

He wanted to say that, but his parched throat refused to cooperate.

The front door had been locked. Yet she entered as though nothing were amiss. She didn’t seem like an ordinary person. Her unnatural beauty only deepened his unease.

He glared at her with all the killing intent of a former Holy Knight, but she didn’t even flinch. Her smile only deepened. For her to remain so calm in the face of such bloodlust… who in the world was she?

(…Damn it… I wouldn’t stand a chance against her…)

He tried to strengthen his grip on the dagger, but his body had no strength left. Though his skin was too dry to sweat, inside he was drenched in cold fear.

But instead of attacking him, the woman simply turned her back and walked away. Just as he felt confused by her sudden departure, he heard the door open again. This time, she returned hand in hand with two children, one of whom he recognized.

「Elie…?」

The last time he saw her, she had been on the verge of death, vomiting and suffering. But now, here she was, completely healthy, as if nothing had happened. And in her hands, she held a fruit resembling Ghostlight Grass.

Apparently, it was a medicine prepared by this woman, the Witch. If Elie had recovered so completely, it must have been effective.

(…I’m going to die anyway, so I might as well…)

He took the fruit, bit into it, and swallowed the liquid inside. The taste, he remembered it. It was the same as that of a true elixir, the highest-grade recovery potion.

To give such a rare and valuable potion to complete strangers without hesitation, could such a person truly exist? And for that person to appear in a village ravaged by disease… What a miracle.

「We’re going to help the others now, Uncle!」

「…Alright. Go on, then.」

If she was going to save the villagers, then so be it. Even if she had ulterior motives, the villagers’ lives came first. Daon looked at the witch and gave a firm nod, silently asking her to do it.

She smiled gently and left the house.

And that day, thanks to the full recovery potions provided by the witch, every last villager was saved.

…It felt like a dream. Too surreal to be real.

(…Just who is this witch? What is she after?)

The last known survivor of the Demonkind was a man, not a witch, but a sorcerer. He served as the royal court magician in the capital. As a former Holy Knight, Daon had seen him with his own eyes. This woman was clearly someone else.

(It’s said all the Demonkind perished save one, but could there be another survivor…? One who’s remained hidden for five hundred years?)

This witch had saved more than fifty villagers using elixirs. Her benevolence was extraordinary, almost suspiciously so.

(…Perhaps I should test her. Just in case she has hidden intentions.)

It was only natural for a village chief to be cautious. Still—

She responded to the villagers’ gratitude with only a gentle smile. Letting the children take her hands and tug her along, playing happily, never looking irritated, just kind, just serene.

(…If I had any artistic talent, I’d want to capture this scene…)

The woman who saved the village with miraculous medicine asked for nothing in return and now smiled and played with the children she saved. The villagers watched her with warm, grateful eyes. The scene was more radiant than the midday sun.

Children are often most attuned to ill intent. Elie, for example, had once fled from would-be kidnappers with smiling faces and sought Daon’s help. Despite his intimidating appearance, she trusted Daon deeply. That was why he believed in her instincts.

Would a girl like that so openly adore someone harboring sinister motives?

(…I don’t want to suspect her… But if I end up being wrong, I hope I can at least make amends, do something of real worth for her.)