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Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We arrived at a watermill cottage by the stream. A large wheel turned slowly, powering a mill. Next to it stood a separate building clearly intended as a residence. This was the place Daon had offered us.

「So this is our home…」

「My parents used to live here. …I kept the place clean, so you should be able to move in right away. Though the villagers may still come by to use the mill.」

Peeking into the house, I saw it had been well maintained. Though no one had been living there recently, all the furniture remained. Daon’s parents were nowhere to be seen in the village… they had probably passed away. Yet Daon had continued caring for their home, cherishing it even after their deaths.

(…Is it really okay for me to live here…? This place must hold so many memories for him… What if I change too much and upset him…?)

As I turned to Daon, wondering if I’d be allowed to modify the house to suit our needs, Noel caught my gaze and seemed to understand.

「Is this house important to you? Witch-sama seems to be wondering if it’s really okay for her to use it.」

「I’ve already made peace with my parents’ passing. I was only cleaning it out of habit. A house lasts longer when people live in it. It would be better for it to be used. Please, Witch-sama, make it your own.」

That was good to hear. Then it should be fine to make adjustments to live more comfortably. Noel, overjoyed, began excitedly exploring the house. I peeked through the entrance too, and found the furnishings and tableware all in place, ready for us to live in right away.

「By the way, Witch-sama… I hear you’ve lost your voice.」

(Yup. That’s the story we’re going with.)

「Most of the villagers can’t read, but I’m literate. If you need anything, please write it, on the ground is fine for now.」

Certainly, I can’t speak. Noel hadn’t asked me to write either, so I’d just gone with it. But apparently, most people here couldn’t read. Probably why Noel hasn’t brought this up.

(I guess, witches are expected to be literate. Not writing anything would seem suspicious… But the only language I know is Japanese… I wonder if it will be okay…?)

Not writing would seem unnatural. If I at least scratched out some text, it might pass for foreign script. Maybe they’d think it was a language from another country.

And considering they all speak Japanese, maybe the written form will somehow pass too. Hoping for the best, I used a branch I’d grown to write in the dirt:

【今必要なものは特に思い当たりません】
(「There’s nothing I particularly need at the moment.」)

「…Witch-sama, I can’t read this writing.」

Apparently, Japanese characters didn’t carry over. Despite the spoken language being identical, the writing system was completely different. The letters were neat and deliberate, it shouldn’t have looked like random scribbles, but Daon stared at them with a hard-to-read expression. I braced for the worst.

「…This is the ancient script, isn’t it? I’ve seen similar symbols before. I can’t read it myself, but… could it be that Witch-sama has spent the last five hundred years away from human civilization?」

(Wait, five hundred years? Where’d that number come from?)

「Only one member of demonkind was said to survive from five hundred years ago, the sorcerer. But now, with your appearance… it means a witch survived too. One who has remained hidden from the world all this time.」

From his phrasing, I realized something: witches appear to be a subgroup within the Demonkind. Since the term 「sorcerer」 and 「witch」 are used separately, it’s likely a gender distinction, male and female magic users, perhaps.

(So people think I’m a witch, a female of Demonkind. …Wait, does that mean demonkind live for hundreds of years? That’s not human at all… And there’s still one survivor?)

Apparently, the demonkind was almost entirely wiped out five centuries ago. Noel had somehow decided I was a witch despite that, how perceptive. I’m incredibly grateful he did.

In fact, maybe the reason I’m able to pass myself off as one is because so little is known about them. With only one survivor confirmed, there likely aren’t many people who could challenge my claim.

「That sorcerer currently resides in the royal capital… He serves the king as the court magician.」

Daon glanced off into the distance, probably looking toward the capital. So that’s where the last surviving Demonkind lives.

Just imagining meeting him made my face pale.

「You’re curious about your fellow kin, aren’t you? It’s no surprise, if you’ve spent centuries apart from others of your kind.」

(No, I’m not worried because we’re the same… It’s because we’re not!!)

To a real Demonkind, spotting a fake like me might be easy. After all, I don’t actually know anything about witch behavior, I’ve just been coasting on people’s assumptions.

If the real one were to meet me, they might see right through the ruse. And if they discover I’m not a witch, but a monster—then…

(Ugh… Please, let’s never meet… Ever…)

But this village is near the monster-infested mountains. It’s probably out in the countryside. Meanwhile, the royal capital is likely in the center of the kingdom. If that sorcerer is stationed there, our paths shouldn’t cross.

「The court magician rarely leaves the palace. You likely won’t meet him.」

(Oh, really? That’s great!)

「But… if fate wills it, I’m sure you will. After all, you’re kin. One day, surely—」

(No thank you. Seriously. Please spare me…!!)

I screamed internally, loud enough to echo through my whole body. Outwardly, I was still smiling. Daon, seeing my expression, seemed to take it as a look of yearning and smiled in satisfaction.

To him, this was probably a heartwarming tale: 「Two long-lost Demonkind, each believing themselves to be the last, finally reunited after five hundred years…」

In reality, it would be more like: 「The last true Demonkind shows up hoping to find a fellow survivor, only to discover a fake monster impersonating his kin, resulting in a potentially furious revelation.」

There’s no happy ending in that.

(Please… please, let us never, ever meet…)

All I could do was pray, with all my might.