Chapter 16
Norman, a twelve-year-old boy from Sechen Village in Lagot territory, had two important jobs.
One of them was guiding travelers who visited the village.
Sechen Village had long been known as a hot-spring resort, and nobles especially favored it in winter, when dragon attacks were less frequent, to take the waters. Guiding such noble guests was one of Norman's important duties.
The visitor to Sechen Village that day was a young lady who looked wealthy at a glance. She appeared to be in her late teens, with orange curls and a glamorous face.
She had three companions: two women who looked like maids and a man who appeared to be her guard. That guard was exceptionally handsome, with glittering golden hair and refined, sweet features.
(Wow. He looks just like a real prince.)
The orange-haired young lady was chatting cheerfully with the two maids, while the guard listened with a smile.
The carriage the young ladies had gotten out of bore no crest, so they were probably traveling incognito.
It was not unusual for nobles to come incognito to take the waters. Sometimes, nobles caught up in forbidden love even came here in secret.
(Could that young lady and her golden-haired guard perhaps be lovers...?)
Norman, who was a little more fond of fantasies than most people, began imagining the forbidden, mismatched love between a noble young lady from a prestigious family and her young guard. Then, as though summoned by his thoughts, the group in question came toward him.
"Good day. What a pleasant atmosphere this village has."
The orange-haired young lady smiled at Norman. Both her clothes and her bearing exuded refinement. She must have been the daughter of a very distinguished family.
Dealing with noble guests made Norman a little nervous, but this wasn't his first time doing so.
To carry out his important duty, Norman pasted a customer-service smile onto his face.
"Hello, travelers. Welcome to the village of hot springs and the 〈Silent Witch〉!"
＊ ＊ ＊
(M-my name... It's listed right alongside the hot springs...)
Monica's face tightened.
When she glanced at Isabelle and the others, Isabelle, Agatha, and Isaac all wore the smiles of tourists who suspected nothing. The fact that all three of their smiles were perfect made it even more frightening.
Monica hid her trembling and thought back to what had happened before they came to Sechen Village.
──Apparently, there was a fake 〈Silent Witch〉 in Sechen Village.
Once Isabelle and the others learned this, they sprang into action.
First, Isabelle ordered the young coachman—apparently named Alan, Agatha's younger twin brother—to send the other servants back to Count Kerbeck's territory ahead of them, then had him arrange a carriage without the count's crest.
Alan had looked as though he wanted to say, (Oh, not again,) but he dutifully carried out his assigned tasks. Apparently, this sort of thing happened all the time in Count Kerbeck's household.
Meanwhile, Isaac quietly packed for the trip while they waited for the carriage to be arranged, but he agonized until the very last moment over whether he should bring a hunting rifle. What on earth was he planning to hunt?
"Um... I-I think... it would be better to bring less luggage..."
When Monica timidly suggested this, Isaac put the rifle case back on the floor and smiled gently.
"That's true. If we're taking over a small village, a sword alone will be quite sufficient."
Monica thought she had heard something terribly ominous, but she pretended not to have heard it.
At least she had managed to prevent him from bringing the hunting rifle.
As Monica sighed in relief, Isabelle spoke in a forceful tone.
"Rest assured, Big Sis. Despite appearances, Agatha is skilled in an old-style spear-fighting art!"
"..."
What was that supposed to reassure her about?
When Monica looked at Agatha beseechingly, Agatha picked up the broom from Monica's house that had been propped against the wall and gave it a light swish.
The whoosh as it sliced through the air was not a sound one could produce by merely waving it around at random.
To the speechless Monica, Agatha cheerfully declared,
"Please rest assured, Monica-sama. Give me a mop, a drying pole, or anything shaped like a stick, and I can beat down most opponents."
Again, what exactly was Monica supposed to feel reassured about?
Unable to leave the three of them cheerfully radiating menace unattended, Monica obediently packed her belongings into her own travel bag.
And so, the real 〈Silent Witch〉 came to Sechen Village together with Isabelle and the others.
Sechen Village was an ordinary-looking little village. Its atmosphere resembled that of the village that had looked after Monica when she lived in a mountain hut. The only differences were the faint scent of sulfur and the hot-spring steam rising from all around the village.
At the entrance, Isabelle asked the boy who had come to greet them with the air of a thoroughly sheltered young noblewoman,
"This is my first time visiting this village, but what do you mean by calling it the village of the 〈Silent Witch〉?"
In response to Isabelle's question, the black-haired boy smiled and pulled four cards from his pocket.
"Well, you see... Ah, everyone, first, please take one of these."
Each card had six fairly large squares, with these words written along the edge:
'Collect six stamps and exchange them for a souvenir!'
As Monica stared at the card, wondering what it was supposed to mean, the door of a nearby building opened, and a man emerged.
He appeared to be in his mid-forties. He was a heavily muscled, bald man.
A blacksmith's sign hung above the building he had emerged from, so he was probably the blacksmith. The burn scars on his hands and arms were further evidence that he worked as one.
However, the man was wearing a navy-blue robe, and he held a long staff in his hand.
The large man dressed like a wizard emerged from the blacksmith's shop and addressed Isabelle and the others in a resonant voice.
"Why, I am none other than the 〈Silent Witch〉, one of the Seven Sages of the Kingdom of Ridill!!"
It took Monica quite some time to process what he had said.
Monica wasn't the only one left speechless. Isabelle, Agatha, and even Isaac stared in stunned silence at the bald man's claim to be the 〈Silent Witch〉.
He cleared his throat, then gave Monica and the others a bold, ominous grin—a smile so fierce it seemed he might devour them alive at any moment.
"Now then, let me demonstrate my silent-casting magic for you, travelers!"
With that, the bald 〈Silent Witch〉 raised the staff in his hand high above his head and shouted,
"Kyeeeeeeeeh!! Behold! My ultimate technique! Secret Technique—Silent-Casting Magic!!"
What, exactly, was silent-casting supposed to mean? Monica wondered.
She was probably not the only one thinking that.
The man made the veins on his bald head bulge, then brought the staff down with an ear-splitting battle cry.
"Haaahhhhhhh!!"
At the same time as his shout, a tiny flame sprang to life at the tip of the staff.
For an instant, Monica thought there might be some kind of gimmick in the staff, but she was wrong. It was not a magical tool; it was genuine magic. Someone was probably hiding nearby and casting it.
The bald 〈Silent Witch〉 turned back to the speechless Monica and the others, then pulled something from inside his robe.
"Welcome to Sechen Village. Now, young lady, let me give you a stamp."
The bald 〈Silent Witch〉 pressed the stamp he had taken out onto Monica's card. The stamp read 'The First Witch.'
(...The First Witch?)
Monica looked up at the bald man's rugged face and timidly asked,
"U-um... what is this?"
"Meet the six 〈Silent Witches〉 in this village and collect their stamps, and you can exchange them for a souvenir. Do your best to collect them all."
The bald 〈Silent Witch〉 laughed heartily and patted Monica on the shoulder. Then he stamped Isabelle and the others' cards as well before returning to the blacksmith's shop.
Monica clutched her stamp card and looked up at Isaac.
"W-were there six of me...?"
"Monica, calm down. It seems this is some kind of village revitalization effort."
"V-village revitalization...?"
As Monica blinked repeatedly, the door of a shop bearing a sign that read 'The Rooster Inn' opened, and a girl of about ten burst out.
The girl wore a navy-blue robe much like the bald man's and clutched a cute staff carved from a tree branch.
"Hello, travelers! I'm the Second 〈Silent Witch〉. Once you collect six stamps, you can exchange them for a souvenir at our shop. Oh, here is your stamp!"
"..."
Monica held out her card as instructed and received the second stamp.