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Chapter 37

「Witch-san, the sales of Fairy Candy Jam are doing real well. …And, y’see, some caravans have taken an interest in Bit Village. Since we’ve got the chance, I was thinking of gathering those folks here and opening a joint market.」

It happened one peaceful day after Nicolaus had left. Eli came by, reporting that all the Fairy Candy had sold out. He had come both to discuss dividing the profits and to request we continue with its production and sale, and that’s when he brought this up.

Fairy Candy itself grows easily from the petals of Purity Blossoms, so there’s no problem harvesting it. Even after supplying the wheat fields, the villagers’ staple food, there was still a surplus, and people were even talking about expanding the fields. So I agreed to keep making the jam.

「One…? Market…?」

「Yeah, just a little market. Not only me, but all kinds of merchants will be bringing all sorts of goods. Folks’ll be able to enjoy shopping more than ever before. And now that the sales of Fairy Candy have warmed everyone’s pockets, once you’ve got money saved up, you’re gonna want something to spend it on, right?」

It seemed Noel had never seen a 「market」 before. Out here in this frontier, the only merchant who ever visited was Eli, so he probably couldn’t picture what it looked like when several shops lined up side by side.

(Shopping, huh… I should probably learn what kind of things exist in this world. It’d help me study humans too, so I’m actually looking forward to it.)

Bit Village really was out in the sticks. There’s nothing like internet delivery in modern Japan, and logistics are limited. I’d never seen anything like the art-supplies Nicolaus had brought before, and surely the cities must be far more developed, with many convenient tools.
Maybe I could catch a glimpse of some of that civilization. Thanks to the 「five-hundred years of mountain seclusion」 setting, nobody finds it odd that I don’t know things, but if I want to keep pretending to be human, I need to learn more about them.

「By the way, Witch-san, you wouldn’t happen to have any other things that might make good products…?」

(Ah, in that case… the Lily-of-the-Valley music box is finally complete. Let’s show him.)

I beckoned Eli inside the house. He usually never came past the entryway, always finishing conversations outside the door, so he hadn’t heard the music that now played within these fully soundproofed walls.

The melody, originally intended to be 「Jingle Bells」 but somehow ending up as a different tune, echoed through the room. Noel loved this piece, calling it a 「sacred song」 and always had it playing as background music.

「…Well, I’ll be…」

「When Witch-sama taught this flower a melody, it learned to keep playing it like this.」

Eli was completely transfixed by the potted lily-of-the-valley. Slowly, with a very serious expression, he turned back toward me.

「…Witch-san. …No, you ain’t no witch…」

(Hy, !? Wait, don’t tell me he’s figured it out, !?)

「You must be a goddess…!」

――I nearly had a heart attack. I only thought I was creating something humans would like, but for a moment I thought I’d given myself away by doing something no human could. Turns out that wasn’t the case.
Come to think of it, when I saved Ellie, they also called me 「goddess」 Maybe it’s something from this world’s religion or folklore, I don’t know the details, but perhaps it’s a common idea.

「Well, Witch-sama really is beautiful, like a goddess…」

「Since you’ve only ever brought blessings to my business, Witch-san, I say you really are a goddess! So, does this mean you’ll be selling these lilies-of-the-valley as well?」

「Ah, but it seems even for Witch-sama, making them isn’t easy. You can’t produce too many, right?」

「That don’t matter. If they’re rare, that just means they’ll sell for a higher price…」

Before I could explain, Noel, who had seen the whole development process, had already done so in my place. Indeed, teaching rhythm to a lily-of-the-valley takes considerable effort, and making new songs is difficult. …It’d be faster to have a new lily mimic one that already knows the performance, but standing out too much isn’t good either, so best to keep it at 「they’re hard to make.」

Eli, probably doing the math in his head, promised to sell these musical lilies and left in high spirits. He must have judged them extremely valuable.

(Since I still don’t really understand money, I’ll definitely have to look into it once the market opens…)

About half a month later, Eli returned, bringing other merchants with him.

Since it’s dangerous outside the village, several caravans gathered at the central square, setting up simple shops using wagons and cloths. Remembering flea markets I’d seen in my previous life, Noel and I also joined in to enjoy shopping.

「Witch-sama… um, this allowance is too much. So many coins… These are all from the plants Witch-sama created, you know?」

(But you made the jam, Noel. Buy whatever you like.)

We split the reward Eli gave us, after setting aside living expenses, half and half between Noel and me. I had no idea what value copper and silver coins held; we’d have to actually shop to find out.

Together with Noel, tail wagging happily, I went around the bustling market stalls one by one. From food to clothes, fabrics, ornaments, and decorations, the variety was astonishing.

「Oh. …That goddess statue kind of looks like Witch-sama.」

What caught Noel’s eye was a carved wooden statue of a goddess. Wearing a crown of plants, adorned with flowers on her clothes, the beautiful goddess did indeed resemble me.

Whether out of craftsmanship or devotion, the artisan had carved it with meticulous detail, capturing the texture of cloth and the soft curves of the female form. For something only hand-sized, it was impressive artistry. …Even though it looked soft, it was hard wood, which perhaps made it resemble me all the more.

「We don’t have a goddess statue at home, so can I buy it?」

(Ah, maybe it’s something necessary for worship? Sure, buy what you like.)

It was probably akin to a cross, a household altar, or a kamidana. Since I knew nothing of this world’s religion, I couldn’t tell what was necessary, so Noel could decide freely.

With a happy smile, Noel purchased the wooden statue for a large silver coin. …I still didn’t know how valuable that was.

「Witch-sama… You’re not actually a goddess, right?」

Absolutely not. I shook my head at Noel, who was comparing me to the carved goddess. I was just a mandrake. To mistake a mandrake for a goddess was a fall from the moon to the mud. Goddess? No way. At best, I’d be something like a 「root deity」 …Which sounded far too much like being the overlord of root-type monsters, unpleasant indeed.

「…Right. Of course not. I’m glad to hear that.」

(Huh…?)

Noel then explained: this goddess was said to be one form the gods took when descending to save humanity. A most beautiful woman, emerging from the forest, clad in nature itself, never speaking human words.
After saving people from a great disaster, she would return to the divine world and vanish.

「I was relieved, knowing Witch-sama wouldn’t disappear. …Because I want to serve you forever.」

(Noel really is still a dreamy child… An adult wouldn’t mistake stories for reality, or worry over them like this.)