Chapter 55

Chapter 55

「Since Bit Village is going to be developed as a defensive base, a notice went out widely asking merchants and adventurers around here to cooperate. Were you aware of that, Witch-san?」

「We heard from Leonhart-san that people would be brought in, but not the details, right, Witch-sama?」

(Yeah, that’s right. …Adventurers, huh… they’re probably people who hunt monsters…?)

I’ve never seen adventurers and don’t know much about them, but judging from the name and from the fact that they’re being called to a place with many monsters, they’re likely a profession that makes a living by hunting monsters.

The Holy Knight Order is a public organization, like the police or a self-defense force in my original world, and adventurers would be more like a private organization, something akin to a vigilante group.

Since the knights belong to the state, they live in an orderly manner and their movements are easy to keep track of, but what about adventurers? If they’re rough people, that’s really scary. A small scream rises inside me.

「Be careful. When there’s money to be made, it’s only natural that unsavory types slip in too…」

(Hii…! So that means dangerous people might come…!?)

「…With that smile of yours, Witch-san, it looks like it’s nothing to you. Guess that means you’re also this village’s guardian goddess.」

It’s not nothing at all. If dangerous people come in and cause trouble, a benevolent witch like me can’t just ignore it. If I have to deal with more situations, the chance that my true nature will be exposed somewhere increases, and that worries me.

「They’re talking about building defensive fences and walls along the border between the village and the Demonic Wastes, so they want to gather materials for that, but… with you here, Witch-san, wouldn’t that be unnecessary?」

I see. What Ilai is saying is that I could probably prepare the materials for the defensive base myself. Normally they might build stone walls, but if it were me, I could make a much better wall.

(Toward the Demonic Wastes, I should grow highly aggressive plants… that’s what he means! And if I make most of the base and prepare the materials, there won’t be any opening for dangerous people to get involved!)

When I nodded and indicated that I’d handle that area, Ilai smiled broadly.

「Then I’ll go gather holy water. You can only get holy water at churches, after all. I might be able to get ahead of the other merchants.」

「Ah, holy water is necessary as a countermeasure against curses. Even Witch-sama probably can’t make holy water… you can’t, right?」

(Huh? What’s holy water? I don’t know…)

Is it made from a plant I haven’t absorbed, or is it not medicine at all? Among the things I can make, there is no item called 「holy water.」 When I tilt my head, Noel tilts his as well, looking puzzled.

「Witch-sama, have you perhaps never seen holy water?」

(Eh… ah, was this something I shouldn’t not know…!?)

It seems to be part of common human knowledge. I panic, but even if I panic and scream internally, all that appears on my face is a smile. I worry that I might be suspected, but help comes from an unexpected direction.

「Holy water only became widespread as something that resists curses after the dragon’s death. Fearing the resentment of a powerful calamity dragon, research into curses became active. A witch who stayed secluded in the mountains wouldn’t know about it.」

「Oh, I see. Then Witch-sama wouldn’t know…」

(So it was fine not to know… thank you, five hundred years of history…)

Apparently, there are items in this world that can counter curses. If that exists, could it also nullify the curse of my voice?

(Maybe if I drink holy water, I’ll be able to talk…? Huh, but Leonhart-san had a curse too, didn’t he. I wonder if holy water can’t do anything about that…)

That holy water might not be something all-powerful. Thanks to my mountain-seclusion setting making it natural not to know, Ilai explains holy water to me in more detail.

Holy water is sacred water that gradually accumulates when priests offer prayers at churches located in holy places. By drinking it, one can temporarily increase resistance to curses.

「Curses are a special kind of power that can’t be fully defended against no matter how high one’s magic power is. From the perspective of a demon like you, Witch-san, they’re frightening things. I’ve heard that most demonfolk who died fighting the dragon actually died from curses.」

Indeed, curses are a strange power. Resistance seems to be determined individually, with some dying from my voice and others only fainting.

Even birds with lower levels and less magic power than me sometimes only faint, while monsters stronger than me can be killed instantly if they lack resistance, as shown by the fact that I apparently killed many right after I first cried out into the world.

For humans, curse resistance apparently varies greatly by individual. You can find out by going to a church. Those with high resistance have aptitude as saints, and often belong to the church, offering prayers and working to produce holy water.

「They say repelling curses is due to the gods’ protection. By drinking holy water, you’re watched over more strongly by the gods than usual. That way, you can repel curses before you’re afflicted.」

(I see… so it’s like preventing curses. It’s not used to remove them…?)

「I think my father said holy water also works as a monster repellent…」

「That’s right. Curse-type monsters dislike it… for those kinds of monsters, just splashing holy water on them makes them disappear.」

Inside, I let out a scream. In other words, it’s probably a deadly substance that could make me disappear if I drank it. A potent poison, something I never want to encounter.

「Ah, but don’t mandragoras dislike holy water?」

「Yeah, that might be the case. I think there was research on that a long time ago… mandragoras given holy water end up with their voices dried up.」

Any sweet hope that drinking holy water might let me speak is shattered. If I drank it, I’d probably lose my voice instead.

The Little Mermaid lost her voice in order to live among humans, and in the end turned into sea foam. If a mandragora drank holy water to live among humans and lost its greatest weapon, its voice, it would likely end up disappearing in the end.

(Scary, scary… there are people in this world who do truly ruthless research…)

Holy water is a taboo for mandragoras, so I decided to stay clear of it and as well as churches, just in case.