Chapter 74

Miriya, the cat beastkin adventurer, became a lodger at Ellie’s house, while the other adventurers ended up living at the campsite. As long as their living quarters were separate, the quarrel would settle down for the time being, but there was still the concern that they might start clashing again when they worked together on monster-slaying jobs.

(They’re all so hot-blooded… Why can’t everyone just get along…)

As a plant, I cannot understand the feelings of humans who want to fight. I do not think there is much difference between humans and beastkin. If anything, humans seem to have more mana and look a little more nutritious. …Though by that standard, demonfolk would be the most nutritious of all.

(No, no, it’s not like I think of humans as food. That was just a figure of speech…)

In any case, the differences between races amount to little more than that. Humans are humans. …At least from the perspective of someone like me, who is no longer human.

「Witch-sama, Noel, good morning!」

「Um, good morning. …Thank you for taking care of me yesterday.」

The day after the commotion, Ellie and Miriya came to visit our house together. It seemed they had walked here holding hands, and they looked as though they had become considerably closer in just one night. Though they belonged to different races, they gave off the air of sisters with a large age gap.

「Did the two of you come by yourselves?」

「Yeah! Mother said it was fine as long as I was with Miriya-chan!」

「I promised I’d guard her and make sure nothing dangerous happened. I owe them for letting me stay at their place, after all.」

I see. As a parent, it must be reassuring to have an adventurer acting as her escort. In fact, I was almost jealous enough to want her to protect me too.

I also want to live in peace while being protected by someone. …Well, I have never met anyone stronger than me, though.

Even so, I still want the sense of security that comes from being protected by someone. That is because I am a peace-loving plant.

「The knights said they want Witch-sama to come to the village square!」

(Hm? The knights are calling for me? …W-Why? Don’t tell me I overdid it yesterday and now I’m a target for extermination…!?)

Yesterday, in order to quiet down the adventurers who were shouting far too loudly at each other, I grew Silent grass and forced them to calm down. I admit that I may have gone too far just because they startled me, but that does not change what I did.

I could not think of any other reason why I would be summoned, and as I trembled, Miriya’s catlike eyes stared fixedly at me.

「The man with the eyepatch… Leonhart, I think his name was, said he really wanted Witch-sama to come and see, so she could feel at ease.」

(Leonhart-san said that…? Come to think of it, we became friends. If a friend says so, maybe it isn’t anything bad?)

Perhaps this was a summons to tell me that yesterday’s actions had been forgiven, just as I had planned when I befriended a holy knight in the hope that he would overlook my behavior. In that case, I wanted to hear what they had to say, but I was still afraid, so I placed a hand on Noel’s shoulder, intending to go with him.

「You’re worried about me, aren’t you, Witch-sama? …I’ll be all right.」

(Huh…? What are you talking about…?)

「Those people from yesterday probably won’t say anything to me anymore. Witch-sama gave them a very firm warning.」

I see. Apparently, he thought I was worried that the adventurers might make more discriminatory remarks about beastkin and verbally abuse Noel again. …The thought had not even crossed my mind, and I felt rather sorry about that.

Still, it was certainly unpleasant to listen to. Would they truly refrain from shouting like that again?

「It’s all right, Noel. The knights will take care of it!」

「The knights, huh… Come to think of it, Miriya-san, have you met Ritter-san?」

「No, I’ve only met the knight with the eyepatch so far… Is this Ritter person the one who’s in a romance that crosses racial boundaries? I’m looking forward to meeting him.」

That meant Miriya had not yet seen Purple Sprout and Ritter together. If she was going to see them, it might be today, or even now.

Looking at her eyes shining with anticipation, I gradually began to worry whether it was really all right to show her the sight of that man and plant. It might not be good for the education of someone so young.

「Then let’s get going. They said everyone was gathering in the village square.」

(Is it really all right to show her…? I’m worried…)

「…Could it be that Witch-sama is nervous?」

Just as before, Miriya had been staring fixedly at me when she said that. Had it shown on my face? Since I do not speak aloud and my expressions tend to turn out backward, there are not many people who can read my emotions, but she spoke as though she could sense that I was uneasy.

「I’m sure it’ll be all right. That man will probably do his best for Witch-sama’s sake.」

(…Oh, good. She didn’t understand.)

For the moment, I nodded in reply, relieved that she had not seen through my inner thoughts. …My mind has probably already become quite different from a human’s. Even if I can perfectly disguise my appearance, I cannot disguise what is inside.

If someone learned what was inside me, I would not be able to talk my way out of it. I had panicked slightly at the thought that there might be someone capable of reading minds, but it seemed I had been mistaken. …Still, there was a possibility that she was perceptive in a direction slightly different from Noel, so I would prefer to keep as much distance from her as possible.

And so, the four of us headed toward the village square. Even from a distance, I could see that people had gathered there, forming a circle as though they were watching something. The people themselves formed a wall, so I could not tell what was happening.

(What in the world are they do, Aaaaaahhh!?!?)

Suddenly, something fell from the sky and hit the ground with a heavy thud. It did not strike any of us, but I was so startled that I instinctively grabbed Noel by the shoulder and pulled him toward me.

When I checked what had fallen to the ground, I saw that it was a man letting out a faint groan. …Wait, this person was probably one of yesterday’s adventurers.