Chapter 81

The thieves were safely captured, and Nikolaus took them somewhere using teleportation magic. Even if they had not been growing in a field, stealing vegetables was still unacceptable. …Well, mandragoras were not vegetables, though.

The knights, who had only just returned from outside, also withdrew after dealing with the aftermath, and for the moment, peace could be said to have returned. Since it was already getting dark, we were passing through the square on our way home when Irai called out to us.

「Witch-san, I heard what happened. A merchant’s reputation is everything, and yet there were some real scoundrels among us…」

(News travels fast… He already knows.)

「So there really are people that awful… I was surprised.」

Noel had even had insults hurled at him, so rather than surprised, he might have been hurt. I gently stroked his head. I put all my feelings of 「That must have been scary, I understand how you feel」 into it. …If they are that harsh about race, then they must be even harsher about species.

「But not all merchants are like that, so please don’t think less of us.」

(Well… Irai-san is different from people like that.)

He loves business, he is somehow rather suspicious, and he has even casually handed me a mirror that reveals someone’s true identity before, but I have never felt that he was a bad person.

He has his own convictions, his own sense of reason and justice. Because those do not stray from the proper path, the people around him trust him, and that is probably how he became the kind of merchant who can even deal with nobles.

「By the way, Witch-san, the village boys were saying… one of the mandragoras had some kind of unusual weapon…」

(He means the grass gun? …D-don’t tell me he thinks I’m some dangerous person who makes weapons…!?)

Irai was looking at me with a somewhat uneasy expression, which made me anxious instead. It was nothing unusual, just a reproduction and application of part of a plant. It did not use gunpowder or anything else, and could hardly even be called a weapon.

Rather than a weapon, I thought it was closer to one of those colored balls you see in convenience stores and other shops, meant to be thrown at fleeing criminals.

(It’s not dangerous at all! Look, this is just a reproduction and application of part of a plant…)

I actually made one right in front of him to show him. You load a projectile with a net into the end of a tube, then force the air inside the tube out to fire it. That was all there was to its simple mechanism. In other words, it was basically an air gun. There was nothing dangerous about it.

I handed it to Irai so he could inspect it properly, and he let out an impressed, 「Oooh…」

「Hehe… Much obliged. You can never have too many ways to protect yourself, you know. Sorry, feels like I was begging you for it.」

「That was your plan from the start…」

(Oh, so that’s what he meant…)

Apparently Irai had wanted this gun. That made sense. He was a merchant who traveled by carriage, and if he journeyed around carrying goods, there must be dangers along the way.

Traveling long distances while carrying valuables… I would never want to do something that terrifying. I am the kind of person who wants to shut myself away inside a home layered with as many defensive measures as possible. …Wait, that sounds kind of like the current situation in Bit Village.

「So even Noel-bocchan saw right through me. This thing… it’s the kind of weapon that really shows your personality, Witch-san.」

(Eh… W-what kind of personality…? I-is something about my inner self showing through…!?)

My personality, or rather my true nature, is nothing but cowardice. Afraid of monsters, afraid of having my identity exposed, afraid of people, afraid of Nikolaus, always ready to run, easily discouraged, a coward through and through. Even though I am a plant, I do not possess the toughness of a weed. It would be extremely troublesome if that sort of personality had somehow manifested itself in this grass gun.

As I screamed internally while continuing to smile, Irai smiled pleasantly back at me. …The smiles of people whose thoughts I cannot read are terrifying, because all I can do is imagine what they might actually be feeling.

「Well, y’know… when you’re trying to drive off someone attacking you, weapons inevitably end up getting stronger and stronger. I’m desperate to protect myself too, but if possible, I’d rather do it without hurting anyone. It’s not like I want to hurt people.」

「That’s… true.」

「But this weapon doesn’t hurt people at all. Even so, it’s extremely good at restraining them. It doesn’t need magical power, it’s light, and even a child can carry it. Even someone weak can use it easily, and yet nobody gets hurt. …It really is just like you, Witch-san. A kind weapon.」

「That’s true…! Even the mandragoras can use it, after all!」

I had deliberately avoided giving it any lethal capability so no one would think I was dangerous, while also making it usable by the mandragoras, my familiars, so in a sense this was only natural. But apparently, from a human perspective, that was how the weapon appeared. I see. It probably was excellent as a self-defense tool.

(Oh, so he hasn’t seen through my personality… Then I’ll give Irai-san a few of them. And some ammunition too… It would be helpful if he keeps coming to the village, after all. I want him to bring new plants too…)

The merchants he had chosen had not caused any problems, and the market was an event the villagers looked forward to as well. As a good Witch, I ought to act with the happiness of the villagers in mind.

If they think their daily lives go well thanks to the Witch, then I can become not a disaster-class monster mandragora, but a useful plant mandragora. Eventually, surely even the description in my status will acknowledge that. …Probably.

I packed several grass guns and their special net rounds into a basket and handed them to Irai. He accepted it reverently with both hands, raising it above his head, and repeatedly thanked me.

「Really, thank you very much. I’d gladly pay whatever reward you ask, but Witch-san… you’re not all that interested in money, are you?」

「Witch-sama isn’t interested in money or treasure.」

(Yeah, because I can’t eat them. As long as I look human enough, I don’t need any extra decoration.)

「Of course, I know that. I’ll be delivering purification flowers to the neighboring country soon, and they’ve got plenty of plants over there you don’t see around here, so I’ll stock up on lots of them. That country stretches along the coast, so trade is thriving too. I should be able to get my hands on all sorts of things. Look forward to it.」

At the words 「coastal town」 I nodded vigorously. I definitely wanted him to bring back seaweed. If he did, the aquatic plants of mine that kept spreading along the river would eventually be able to extend into the sea as well.

(The more things I can do, the better, so I want to branch out as much as possible!)