Chapter 69

The merchants’ wagons, along with a group of adventurers, arrived at the village.

Each of them carried weapons, their bodies well-trained and their expressions brimming with confidence. Some bore old scars in visible places, which only made them look even more intimidating.

Of course, I nearly let out a scream just from seeing them, but when those adventurers looked at me, they froze for a moment with slackened expressions, then quietly looked away. It didn’t seem like they were wary of me at all, nor did they suspect in the slightest that I might be a monster to be hunted. …For now, that was a relief.

「This village isn’t very large, and if we set up temporary lodgings inside, it could lead to conflicts between the villagers and the adventurers. So we’re planning to have them stay stationed outside the village…」

As I watched the steady stream of wagons and people entering, the village chief, Daon, came over to greet me and began explaining.

It was true that the village wasn’t very big. Only a handful of adventurers had arrived so far, but more were bound to come. If that many people were added to a village of about fifty residents, disputes would be inevitable.

The village already had ten knights and the court mage Nikolaus stationed there, and more knights were said to be on the way. It wasn’t hard to imagine things exceeding capacity. …Though as long as I was here, problems like food shortages wouldn’t arise.

「We’re thinking of setting up a campsite between the village entrance and the defensive outpost. Adventurers can each build their own bases as they see fit, and as long as they’re inside Witch-sama’s bramble barrier, even outside the village, they won’t have to worry about monsters.」

(So that means… near my house… right…!? Eek…!)

The brambles I had created didn’t just surround the village, they also extended outward, enclosing a wide area that included the vicinity of my home. There was some distance between the village entrance and my house, and if one left the main path, there was a grove full of chestnut and persimmon trees. The location Daon had in mind was probably somewhere around there.

「Witch-sama, thank you for welcoming this with such a smile.」

The smile was only because I’d nearly screamed from being scared of the fierce-looking adventurers, it was absolutely not a sign that I was happily accepting this. But for humans, a smile generally means 「approval」.

When you’re yelling and your face stiffens, it inevitably turns into something that looks like a smile. Maybe that’s why humans never realize that I’m actually uncomfortable. Unless they could read minds, but if they could, that would lead me straight to a subjugation route. …In that case, maybe it’s better that they don’t understand.

「As for the location… the area where the court mage set up the teleportation circle would be suitable.」

(Around there, huh… well, that might be fine… Hey, can I make the campsite myself?)

Nikolaus’ teleportation circle was set roughly halfway between the village and my house. But I didn’t want them getting any closer to my home than necessary, so I wanted to clear out part of the grove and establish their campsite myself. Thinking that, I pointed at myself.

「It seems Witch-sama would like to help create the campsite. …If the forest were to be opened up and had grassland created, no one can be as considerate of nature as Witch-sama.」

「I see… then we shall leave it to you. I’ll inform the adventurers as well. …Truly, Witch-sama, we are always in your debt. I hardly know how to repay you.」

(You don’t need to repay me. I just want to live here as a human. …And the encroaching demon territory is a problem for me too… So it’s only natural I’d help with measures against it.)

Smiling far more gently than when we first met, so much so that it was hard to believe he’d once had such a sharp gaze, Daon looked at me with trust in his eyes. I smiled back and shook my head.

Being able to live here was reward enough for me. This place had finally become somewhere comfortable for me to stay, so the encroaching demon territory was something I needed to eliminate as well.

I had no reason to refuse helping the humans who were facing the same problem, and letting them do the fighting. …Though I did still think the adventurers looked a bit scary.

At that moment, Noel suddenly looked off toward another direction, so I followed his gaze. A lone woman stood slightly apart from the group of merchants and adventurers.

(Ah, a beastkin. A cat beastkin… maybe? So women can be adventurers too.)

It was only natural for Noel to be curious. For me as well, this was the first beastkin I’d seen besides him. But the moment our eyes met, her ears and tail puffed up, and she looked like she might hiss 「Fshaa!」 in warning. That startled me enough to let out a small scream. …Please don’t make such a scary face all of a sudden.

(Why is she so wary of me…? Could it be that her beastkin instincts are telling her I’m a monster…!? B-but Noel hasn’t noticed my true identity at all, right…!?)

「…That person… might have something to do with Daon.」

(…Huh? Daon?)

「She’s been staring at him the whole time. I felt a bit of hostility… but it didn’t quite seem like that either…?」

Noel tilted his head in confusion, while I shrank back in fear at the mysterious hostility. Maybe she held a grudge against Daon, and that hostility extended toward me for speaking with him so casually.

He didn’t seem like the type to be hated, but sometimes even goodwill can earn resentment. There might have been some misunderstanding or crossed wires, I couldn’t tell.

(Well… I hope whatever it is gets resolved… Until then, I’ll just stay away.)

I had no desire to get caught up in something troublesome. I was just a mandragora who loved peace and quiet, who only wanted to live calmly.

For the sake of that peace, I decided to go ahead and quickly prepare their campsite. …Though I felt a gaze piercing into my back, I really hoped it was just my imagination.