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Chapter 36

Noel returned with tea for Nikolaus. He served cookies made with berries and walnuts, along with a small jar of fairy candy jam on the side.

Nikolaus drank his tea straight and spread jam on the cookies, he might actually have a sweet tooth. Meanwhile, I asked Noel for a refill to calm my nerves and stirred in a generous amount of jam.

「I’ll go back to my room so I don’t get in the way of your conversation. Call me if you need anything.」

「Ah, yes. It’s not really the kind of conversation kids should hear.」

(Ugh, Noel… if anything, I wish you’d stay here with me…)

I wanted to keep Noel around for emotional support, but if Nikolaus said the conversation wasn’t suitable for children, then I couldn’t exactly object. I patted his head and praised his hospitality, and watched his cheerfully wagging tail until it disappeared behind his bedroom door. …For some reason, Nikolaus had been staring at me intently the whole time, and it was making me uneasy. I wasn’t doing anything weird, though.

「You really don’t talk at all, do you? …If it’s inconvenient, use this. I can read ancient script, so at least answer me with this.」

As he spoke, Nikolaus took out a board that looked like glass, along with a pen. Curious, I watched as he held the pen with a bored expression and slid it across the surface. Wherever the pen moved, purple lines appeared on the board.

Then, he laid the pen flat and swiped it across the board, erasing the lines. Apparently, you write with the pen held upright, and erase by laying it flat.

(Oh, is this one of those magic drawing boards?)

It resembled those magnetic sketch boards you can draw on over and over, often sold as children’s toys. They use magnetism to make lines and are easy to erase.

Now that he’d handed it to me, I tried drawing a line. For some reason, the line came out green.

「Huh… so that’s the color of your magic power.」

Apparently, the pen absorbs the user’s magic to produce a color. You can’t draw in full color, but it’s easy to tell who wrote what, so that’s kind of useful. I wasn’t great at drawing, so I doodled a simple flower doodle anyone could manage. It also reinforced my 「plant witch」 aesthetic.

…Still, the fact he went out of his way to bring this probably meant he wanted to interrogate me. Terrifying. I’d better be careful not to write anything unnecessary.

「…The changes in the Demon Wastes are ongoing. If something starts coming out of there…」

Nikolaus trailed off mid-sentence, his tone unusually serious. There’s literally a monster from the Demon Wastes sitting right in front of him, but I wondered what he’d do if he found that out. I waited for him to continue.

「…Well, I’m sure you could handle it on your own. But I’m a royal court mage tasked with national defense, so don’t try to deal with it alone.」

(…Uhh…?)

「What I mean is, don’t hog all the credit. Make sure you call me, too. The knights… might serve as a delay at best, but I’m stronger than them.」

I see. Nikolaus is considered a major military asset for humans. Since someone like me, a monster, is mistaken for a witch, it shows just how powerful demons must be individually. …Still scary. If my identity gets exposed, I probably won’t be able to run away.

(Hmm? …Am I being counted as part of their forces too?)

If they think I’m the witch who survived fighting a dragon, then it’s not strange that the lord or even the country sees me as an asset against monsters.

If I fight alongside humans against monsters, they might see me as an ally, and even if my true identity is exposed one day, they might not see me as an enemy that must be destroyed. …That would be a good outcome.

(I don’t really mind hunting monsters anyway… the ones that attack are food, after all…)

Aside from fellow Mandragora, I see other monsters as enemies, or ingredients. I feel no camaraderie with other species. If something threatens the peaceful life I have with humans, I’ll fight back. I’ll probably scream in terror while doing it, but I don’t think I’d lose.

「You can keep that board. Use it freely. Even if other humans can’t read ancient script, drawings can still get the message across.」

That’s true. It might help me give more precise instructions to Noel. Nikolaus is a scary person, but the sketch board is handy, so if he’s giving it to me, I’ll be grateful.

I wrote 「Thank you」 and held it up for Nikolaus to see. He snorted softly and looked away.

「…Your magic potion was surprisingly effective. With just one vial, I could transport twenty people back and forth. In an emergency, if you were in charge of potion production, we could move large groups quickly… How many could you make in a day?」

Nikolaus can use teleportation magic to transport people and things over long distances. But it consumes a huge amount of magic, so without potions, mass transport is impossible.

However, magic recovery potions don’t last long. You can’t just stockpile them, and when made by humans, they require a lot of work, harvesting fresh Mandragora, finely grating it, and,

(Ack! No! Don’t think about that in detail…!)

, Anyway, it takes time and isn’t suited to mass production. Normally, brewing requires skill and knowledge. My internal synthesis is only possible thanks to my Diversification and Potion Brewing skills.

What I can make, and how much, directly affects what I can contribute. He’s probably trying to assess that in preparation for an emergency.

I wrote:

「About 100, give or take.」

「…Huh? What are you, a monster?」

(Eep…!? A-and I even gave a modest number…!)

I meant to give an amount I could make casually while still having enough for myself in case I had to flee or fight. But I got labeled a 「monster」 anyway. Maybe I unknowingly gave a number beyond human capability? Worried he might see through me, I froze, but Nikolaus looked more exasperated than serious. …Still, his words are terrifying. …Well, I don’t have a heart, but they’re emotionally damaging. I guess it’s heart-wounding in a metaphorical sense.

「…Looks like it’s best to leave potion stuff to you. That way, I can focus on magic.」

According to Leonhart, Nikolaus is a mage capable of using all types of magic. Unlike previous demons who specialized in one branch, he’s able to do everything by himself.

Other races can use magic too, but their inherent magic capacity is lower, so there’s a huge performance gap. As a 「jack-of-all-trades」 mage, Nikolaus is meant to handle a wide range of situations, probably the kingdom’s official stance.

(So… he used to make potions himself, but now I’ll support that role, freeing him up to expand his magic arsenal?)

If they see me as a support asset, that’s actually a good thing. If I go to the front lines and fight monsters, there’s a high chance someone will figure out my true nature. But if I just quietly brew potions and prove I’m useful, I can avoid combat. And I won’t have to face monsters directly, which is great. Win-win.

「That Demon Wastes area is changing rapidly. The chances of a disaster are significant, so if you notice anything strange, just… tell a knight or something.」

‘Understood.’

「…Hmph. Well then, I’m busy, so I’ll be going.」

Finally, he was leaving. I got up and followed Nikolaus as he walked toward the exit.

(If he’s so busy, he doesn’t need to visit so often… Am I really still that suspicious to him…?)

If he’s still trying to uncover my identity, who knows what tricks he might pull. Just seeing him off at the front door didn’t feel safe enough, so I followed him all the way to the teleportation magic circle to make sure he actually left.

「…You really didn’t need to follow me this far. Honestly.」

(Well I’m nervous, okay…!)

Unless I saw him leave with my own eyes, I wouldn’t be able to relax. He disguised himself as Leonhart earlier, who knows what else he might do when no one’s looking? I had to see it through to the end.

「…See you, Flower Witch.」

…As the magic circle began to glow, I thought I heard Nikolaus quietly murmur that on his way out. Maybe I misheard.