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Chapter 38

Among the stalls in the market, it seemed that accessories, clothes, and fabric shops were especially popular with women. Now that people had a bit of financial leeway, perhaps they wanted to start caring more about their appearance.

(There are lots of ready-made clothes, but mostly children’s wear… maybe they’re a little expensive?)

Since many villagers couldn’t read, the price tags weren’t written in letters, but shown with little coin-colored pictures. Three copper-colored circles meant three copper coins, one big gray circle meant one large silver coin, and so on. Even for someone like me, who couldn’t read, it was easy to understand.

Fabrics could be bought for just a few copper coins, but finished clothing jumped straight into silver. If you could sew, making it yourself would be cheaper. Even young Ellie was seriously picking through cloth at a fabric stall.

「Oh, Witch-sama, Noel, hello!」

「Mm, hello. …Are you making clothes?」

「Yeah! I want to wear a cute dress and dance, with this child. Witch-sama, can I make clothes for her?」

From Ellie’s shadow popped out a mandrake wrapped in yellow cloth. The Yellow Sprout had been visiting Ellie’s home frequently, and it seemed to have decided to befriend the girl.
Maybe as part of that plan, Ellie wanted to put something on the little one other than just the full-body yellow cloth.

(But it’s dangerous if you touch it… so taking those clothes off isn’t allowed.)

I lifted the Yellow Sprout, tugged lightly at its current cloth, and shook my head. Ellie tilted hers in puzzlement, but Noel, watching carefully, thought for a moment before speaking.

「Ah, mandrakes have a trait where they absorb a bit of magic, right? So if you took those clothes off and put on different ones, it could be dangerous, that’s what you mean?」

(Exactly, Noel. I’d give you the title of Esper if I could.)

I patted his head in approval, and his tail wagged happily. Now that I thought about it, his own clothes were the plain ones I had made. This seemed like a good chance to buy him some proper human clothing.

「Then… what if I just put the new clothes on top of these?」

(That’s fine. It wouldn’t be dangerous, and it’d probably make it even cuter, more mascot-like.)

The sprouts existed largely to improve the mandrakes’ image. They did work as surveillance, but the main goal was to show the villagers that there were harmless, friendly monsters too. They had blended into the village well, and Ellie wanting to dress one up was a good sign, like putting clothes on a pet.

「Then let’s pick a fabric that’ll suit Hikari-chan’s outfit! Which one should we choose?」

The Yellow Sprout tilted its head to the side at Ellie’s words, standing before the cloths as if joining in on the color matching. …So 「Hikari」 was the name she’d given it?

「You named it Hikari?」

「Yeah! Because it’s bright yellow. …Was that bad?」

(It’s fine, I think. Looks like the Yellow Sprout doesn’t mind either… More like a nickname.)

Even the Purple Sprout had people calling it 「Murasaki-chan」 Everyone seemed to give them nicknames, so I didn’t see a problem. …Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even have a name. People just called me 「Witch」 and since that served as my name, I never felt troubled by it.

(I guess I’m just not attached to names… maybe because I’m not human.)

I tried thinking of one for myself, but this world’s human names weren’t Japanese, so nothing fitting came to mind. Pets seemed to get Japanese-like names, just like 「Hikari.」 If I gave myself a name based on my traits, I’d probably end up with something silly like 「Flower-san.」 …My naming sense was hopeless. Besides, there wasn’t really anyone for me to introduce myself to, and demons didn’t usually name themselves anyway. So there was no real need.

「Let’s become popular in the village together, Hikari-chan! Once I make your clothes, we’ll sing and dance!」

(It’s like she wants to make it an idol. Very childlike and cute. …But no singing for the sprout, that’s forbidden.)

Otherwise it’d be less a concert and more a mass-death event. Instead of excitement, the audience would collapse forever. Once again, I firmly ordered the sprout never to utter a sound, and then we went to look at the next stall, a clothing shop.

They sold all kinds of clothes, from different ages’ styles to accessories and ornaments. The variety was fun to look at. While browsing the boys’ section of children’s wear, Noel suddenly noticed and spoke in alarm.

「Witch-sama, you’re not thinking of buying me one of these expensive clothes… are you!?」

(But the ones I made for you are so plain… You should have proper human clothes. Besides, Noel, you’ve grown a little, haven’t you?)

The clothes I’d sewn for him would soon be too small. I held my hand level to his head height to show it, and he drooped.

「I was so happy with the clothes Witch-sama made me… I wanted to keep wearing them…」

That made it harder to recommend new ones. I hadn’t thought he liked those plain hemp-looking clothes that much.
But clothes were consumable. Especially for growing children, they quickly became too small. After some thought, I clapped my hands with an idea.

(I’ll make you a hat instead. That’ll last longer than clothes.)

Immediately, I used my diversification skill to produce wheat, the villagers’ main crop, and wove it. Since it was a plant I’d made, drying it was easy. Soon, I fashioned a straw hat. I cut holes for his ears, then decorated it with bright flowers so it wouldn’t be too plain.

Normally flowers would wilt, but as long as I was around, I could keep them fresh. I could even change the types. …A privilege for Noel, my attendant.

I set the hat on his head, and he touched it softly, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

「It feels like I’m matching with Witch-sama… Ehehe, thank you! Then I’ll pick clothes that go well with this hat!」

(Yes, that’s perfect.)

With a smile, Noel began choosing clothes for himself. While I watched, the shopkeeper, a female merchant, suddenly approached me with startling speed. For a second I thought I’d done something wrong, but she didn’t seem angry.

「Village Witch-sama… You are… beautiful…! Just looking at you, inspiration is overflowing!」

She pushed her face close, and I couldn’t help but scream. I froze in shock, unable to recoil, but the glint in her eyes was terrifying, like a predator eyeing its prey.

「Such a gentle, embracing smile! A perfectly sculpted figure like a work of art! And your body adorned with flowers in full bloom, ! Using living flowers in fashion, how marvelous! A style only the Flower Witch could pull off! Please, let me study you! If you do, I’ll waive the cost of the clothes!」

(Eek!! Who IS this person!? She’s terrifying!)

「Oh, what a beautiful smile! Thank you for your kind consent!」

I hadn’t consented at all, but since my fearful scream had twisted into what looked like a smile, she took it as agreement. She began circling me at different angles, observing me with a gaze that practically licked over my entire body. It was so frightening that I couldn’t stop screaming.

「I want to capture the vitality of these flowers in fabric, and make flower-decorated clothing the new trend! I must spread it!」

It seemed she wasn’t just a clothing merchant, but a designer who made and sold her own fashion. Likely with an overwhelming amount of personal passion driving her.

(She doesn’t mean harm, but still, she’s scary, scary, scary! Something to hide behind, anything…!?)

I spotted a veil among the shop’s goods, a sheer lace one that let you see through it. Desperate to cover myself even a little, I put it on. Suddenly, clap! A loud sound went off, and I shrieked again. …It was just her slapping her hands in delight.

「The mysterious smile behind a veil! It even carries an air of seduction! Gorgeous, irresistible… I must dress you not just with small accessories, but with my clothes too! Ahh, but I cannot yet create flowers as fresh and vibrant as yours…! Ah, and the boy serving Witch-sama too, I must adorn him and refine his look to shine beautifully at your side…!」

――And so it was, that I first met Query, the eccentric genius designer who would later spark a great fashion trend.