Chapter 41

Under the bright late-summer sky, I sat outside with Noel, waiting to catch the bird that had been raiding the fields.

We set up chairs in the garden, watching over the crops while bathing in sunlight. Noel wore the hat I had made for him, but since he was human, too much sun wasn’t good. So I wove together plants into something like a picnic parasol, making shade for him so he could rest without overdoing it.

「Witch-sama, don’t you need shade too…?」

(No, the sunlight feels good…)

「I see… plants need sunlight. So this must be part of your magical training as well.」

Noel accepted his own explanation, so I simply continued sunbathing. Since we were waiting for the bird, I had removed my veil, which only obstructed vision. My root-face didn’t need sunlight anyway, only the flowers and hair above needed it. Honestly, it felt better with the veil on.

(Feels like power is surging through me… like I could do anything right now.)

Unlike normal plants, I was a monster. Photosynthesis created magical power for me. The more sunlight I absorbed, the more mana-filled mandragora I became. Even my root-skin seemed shinier.

「Witch-sama, Noel, hello!」

「…Ellie? Hello.」

「Hikari-chan had work, so I came to play instead. Here, this is for you!」

Hikari, that was the name Ellie gave to a yellow sprout. She had followed it on its patrol outside the village and ended up here.

Whenever Ellie visited, she always brought eggs. Today was no exception. Noel gratefully accepted them, his tail twitching uncontrollably with anticipation.

「What are you two doing?」

「Catching the bird that’s been troubling the fields.」

「Oh, then I’ll help! Yesterday it took the fairy candy fruit from my house…」

So the village was suffering too. As a good Witch, I couldn’t ignore this. For the villagers’ sake, I had to catch the bird.

Surely this wasn’t just an animal, but a monster. It had appeared suddenly, where none had been before, likely coming from the demon lands.

(I can’t let people suffer, or they’ll think I side with monsters. …Even if I am a monster mandragora myself.)

So Ellie joined us. But her attention quickly shifted to the plants. She was charmed by the little flowers of the three-leaf plants, and when Noel explained the legend of the lucky four-leaf, she began searching.

「Really… such a child.」

「You’re a child too, Noel. We’re the same age.」

「…I mean responsibility, not age.」

Their childish banter reached my ears. Soon, Ellie whispered something to Noel, and he grew restless, eyes darting toward her as she picked flowers. Then, instead of watching the sky, his gaze roamed the ground, he had started searching for four-leaf clovers as well.

(The ones growing now are all normal three-leaf, so there shouldn’t be many fours. But looking for them is good play for kids.)

While the two of them played, I basked in the sun, dozing slightly. To avoid falling asleep outright, I stood. …Though truthfully, I could probably sleep standing if I wanted.

「Witch-sama, here, for you!」

(Wha— !?)

Her sudden voice startled me awake. Ellie stood at my feet, smiling, holding out a crown of flowers.

My eyes weren’t real eyeballs but mandragora fruits. I didn’t need eyelids to sleep; I only moved them occasionally, as decoration. Which meant… I had been asleep with my eyes open. Luckily, no one noticed.

(She said 「for you,」 so it’s a gift… maybe they made it together. Thank you.)

The crown had one four-leaf among the flowers. Likely the one Noel had searched so hard for. I placed it upon my head. With all the blossoms already arranged there, it blended right in.

「The veil is lovely, but Witch-sama looks best in flowers!」

Noel wagged his tail happily, Ellie beamed with pride. Children love giving the things they make to adults. Smiling as I accepted it was what a good adult should do, it left a good impression.

(…Hm? Something just flashed?)

A strange glint caught my eye. I looked up. A black shadow blocked the sun, glittering. …A bird, carrying something shiny.

「Ah! That bird…!」

(So that’s the culprit. …A little high, but I can reach.)

It circled high, out of human reach. But I was a mandragora. It was not beyond my vines.

I raised my hand, and vines shot forth. The bird flinched, wings beating as it tried to turn midair. In that instant, I spread the vines like a net, laced with paralytic toxin, and caught it. No matter how clever, once touched by poison it could not escape.

「As expected of Witch-sama…!」

(Don’t touch it, you two,might get, poisoned.)

The bird fell to the ground, tangled. Noel started forward, but I held him back with an arm. If the children touched it, they’d be paralyzed and collapse.

「…Understood. So it’s dangerous. Ellie, don’t touch the bird, alright? It might be dangerous.」

「Okay, I won’t!」

It wasn’t the bird that was dangerous, it was my toxin. But as long as they stayed away, it was fine. I withered the vines, leaving the stunned bird lying still, and picked it up.

(Ah… I’ve seen this before. The one I absorbed first.)

It was the same kind that had dropped from the sky when I first realized I’d become a mandragora. Likely from the demon lands. It had only fainted back then from my scream, so it must have some resistance to curses. But it clearly lacked resistance to poison, it trembled helplessly in my hand, eyes pleading.

(It was pretty tasty… maybe I’ll eat it. But Noel deserves some bird meat too.)

As I thought it, the bird shivered, and let out a pitiful cry:

「Help…!」

(It talked!?)

My face twisted into a smile, reflexively. Which meant: with the bird trembling in my grasp, begging for mercy, I looked like a gleeful villain.

Good thing Noel and Ellie were behind me. Only the bird, shaking in my hand, saw that smile.