Chapter 47

When I walked home through the pouring rain, I found Noel waiting for me at the entrance with a towel. Even though I’d been using a leaf as an umbrella, the splashing water had still gotten my feet and body wet.

My body is a plant, unlike humans who are warm-blooded animals, so I don’t feel anything like 「getting chilly」 just from being wet. But Noel got flustered with worry and quickly handed me the towel.

「Witch-sama, you’ll catch a cold! Please warm up right away…!」

Inside the house, the fireplace was lit, and a faintly sweet scent drifted through the air. He guided me to the chair prepared in front of the fireplace, and as soon as I sat down, Noel brought me a warm yellow soup.

It was made from a plant similar to corn that we’d gotten not long ago, basically, it was corn soup. The way it had been carefully strained so not even a single piece of solid remained was Noel’s thoughtfulness, knowing that I only drink liquids.

「Witch-sama, your clothes…」

(Ah, it’s fine. This is part of my body, in the worst case, I can just unravel it and make it again.)

「So you don’t need to change, then. Please take your time and warm up. I’ll be going back to chores, so call me if you need anything.」

He handed me a light blanket and then began doing housework. Even if the heavy rain meant outside work was impossible, there was still plenty he could do at home, like making jam to sell to Eli.

With the gentle melody from the lily of the valley, the sound of Noel working on jam, and the crackling of the fireplace as background music, I closed my eyes comfortably while basking in the light from the lamps Nikolaus had sent. It would feel wonderful to simply rest like this, but I had things to do, so I couldn’t just sleep.

(I need to sync my consciousness with the green sprout and check on Nikolaus and the knights.)

If I synchronize with a child sprout, I can learn everything it has experienced so far, and I can also see what it’s currently seeing. There’s probably nothing more convenient than this kind of mobile surveillance camera.

Of course, I’m not abusing it. I only do this to protect myself. I’m not invading anyone’s privacy or trying to expose secrets or anything malicious, so it shouldn’t be a problem. …Probably. I think.

When I synchronized my consciousness and switched to the sprout’s perspective, Nikolaus and the knights were gathered around a large map spread across a table, seemingly in the middle of a strategy meeting.

「…So, up to the area where the witch has made the Purifying Flowers bloom, the danger is still relatively low. This is the boundary.」

「When there are a lot of Purifying Flowers, poisonous monsters and undead don’t really come near… The fact that so few monsters stray toward the village is also thanks to the witch.」

From this sprout’s memories, it seemed they had been talking about things like this even before I synced in, and there didn’t seem to be any accusations against me, so for now I could feel relieved.

The green sprout was inside a basket filled with Purifying Flower petals placed on top of the table, positioned in front of Leonhart, so I could also see the map. Not that I understand much even when I look at it, but still.

(So because I asked him to take care of it, he’s been treating the sprout with such extreme care…? I kind of feel bad, Leonhart.)

From the flower basket clearly provided with the sprout’s comfort in mind, I looked around. Leonhart was staring seriously down at the map, not distracted by the sprout at all, and the others were just the same.

The purple sprout was sitting quietly at the edge of the table so as not to disturb the meeting, but… I couldn’t help but be bothered by that sight. …Are the knights not bothered because they’re already used to it?

「The corrupted land’s ecosystem is made up of poisonous monsters and undead-type monsters, and the ones crossing this boundary now are only those that couldn’t keep up with that environment, so we still haven’t confirmed anything too powerful yet. …But we can’t say the same for the future. We’ve already confirmed some unpleasantly evolved Underworld Frogs, and Leonhart was injured as well.」

「Right. I think soon enough, monsters that create control-based ecosystems will start appearing… but we still have time. Before then, we want to strengthen our defenses, and increasing the number of stationed holy knights is what the higher-ups decided.」

「You mean increasing numbers in this village…? But then those won’t be troops we can readily move in emergencies, will they?」

「If we have the witch’s cooperation, it’s possible. The mana recovery potions she makes are on a completely different level. We’re planning to have her support us from the rear… She made full recovery potions for the entire population of Bit Village in just one day, didn’t she? If she makes medicine, casualties will be significantly reduced.」

The ones mainly discussing things were Captain Ritter, Leonhart, and Nikolaus. Apparently, Nikolaus’s job this time was to reconcile the reality on the ground with the opinions of the upper ranks of the country.

For me, it’s just making medicine, so it’s not particularly difficult. But the humans actually have to expect real battles with monsters, which sounds really hard.

「…Isn’t this too much of a burden for the witch? Even for Nikolaus, the same demonkind, this would be harsh…」

「Just so you know, the difference in mana between her and me is like an adult and a child. And the witch already agreed to cooperate. …Besides, if she doesn’t play a big role in the rear, then we’d have to ask her to come to the front lines, you know?」

「…That is…」

At times, arguments clashed and the air became tense, and although internally I was screaming from the pressure, the sprout’s body also had a lid over its voice, so nothing escaped outside.

They continued discussing coordination between the knights, possible scenarios and countermeasures, and all sorts of other things, and before I knew it about an hour had passed and they went into a break. …It really does require concentration, so I suppose it takes time.

Once break time began, everyone relaxed and spent it freely, rehydrating, snacking, gathering to chat in small groups. As expected, Ritter started talking to the purple sprout, while Nikolaus came toward me, the green sprout.

But before Nikolaus could get close, Leonhart stepped in front of the sprout to block him, hiding me from sight, so all I could see was his back.

「What? You’re in the way.」

「No. I simply thought nothing must be allowed to happen to something that belongs to the witch.」

「I’m only going to observe it. I wouldn’t tamper with someone else’s research subject.」

Judging from their tones, the atmosphere felt kind of dangerous and scary. Maybe because the sprout’s body is smaller than mine, it tends to tremble easily, and I shook slightly in tiny jitters.

「Hey now, don’t drag that tense meeting mood into break time, Leonhart. You too, Court Mage. We’re all comrades sharing the same fate here, aren’t we?」

It was Ritter who cheerfully stepped in to mediate after sensing the atmosphere, and although I could see him from behind Leonhart, his posture was… bizarre. He had the purple sprout on his shoulder, then tilted his head so the little sprout could rest on top of his tilted head, basically a strange kind of 「lap pillow」 pose, and I was overwhelmed by the complicated emotions that gave me.

「…This is getting ridiculous.」

「…Ritter… You should perhaps care more about how you look in public.」

Still, both of the men who had seemed hostile earlier let out small sighs, the tension draining from them, so I guess the effect was dramatic.

「…Are you always like that with it?」

Nikolaus’s interest seemed to shift from me, the green sprout, to Ritter and the purple sprout. I couldn’t blame him. Even someone five hundred years old had probably never seen something as unusual as a cross-species couple before.

「Yes, we are. We get along very well… Ah, but I’m careful not to touch it directly since I’d get drained.」

「I see. …Then I’ll first teach you how not to get drained.」

(Eh? There’s a way to do that?)

A way to nullify a mandrake’s absorption attack. If there was such a thing, I was very interested, so I leaned in, intently paying attention to what Nikolaus was about to say.