Chapter 23
The village chief of Sechen Village is chosen through a rotating system, with each term lasting one year.
Old Man Simon, this year's village chief, earned his living primarily as a woodcarver rather than as a village chief, and was busy carving a new piece even now.
The first visitor to call on Old Man Simon that morning was an orange-haired young lady who looked like a tourist.
The noble aura surrounding her was unmistakable, and timid Old Man Simon listened to her while shrinking back.
"Ahh... So, um, if I understand correctly... Norman is going to Minerva?"
"Yes, that's right."
The young lady, who had shown up without warning, took a document from her bag and held it out to the village chief.
The document began with the words Letter of Recommendation and stated that Norman was being recommended as a scholarship student at Minerva.
When Old Man Simon saw the signature line, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
It bore the name Monica Everette, the 〈Silent Witch〉.
She was the very hero whose wooden statues Old Man Simon was busily mass-producing at that moment.
As Old Man Simon paled, the orange-haired young lady glanced at one of the 〈Silent Witch〉 statues being offered as a stamp rally prize.
"I am acquainted with Count Lagott, the lord of this village. If you cease your business using the name of the 〈Silent Witch〉 at once, I will refrain from bringing this matter to his attention. But if you refuse to listen..."
Old Man Simon's face had gone beyond pale and turned ashen.
"You'll show me this consideration, won't you?"
The young lady smiled and pressed the point. Old Man Simon nodded obediently.
It was a shame for their carefully planned village revitalization project to come to nothing, but if the lord began applying pressure, their lives would only become even more difficult.
Old Man Simon sadly lowered his shoulders and looked at the wooden statues he had worked so hard to make.
The wooden statues of hooded witches modeled after the 〈Silent Witch〉 were prizes for the stamp rally.
He had thought they had turned out quite well, but apparently they were all going to waste.
As he gazed sadly at the wooden statues, the young lady smiled.
"By the way, those wooden statues are lovely."
"Ah, yes, but I'll have to dispose of them..."
To Old Man Simon, who wore a resentful expression as though he could not defy a noble, the young lady brushed back her beautiful curls and declared in a beautiful yet haughty voice,
"They'll make perfect souvenirs for my trip home. I'll take every last one at your asking price."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Mmm, mm-mm-mm...?"
Hubert awoke on a humble bed and was mildly surprised to find that he was not bound.
What was more, his magic-tool ring had not been taken away either.
(Pretty lax... Huh?)
As Hubert stared at the ring, he quickly realized his mistake.
Every magical formula engraved on his ring had been rewritten into a different formula.
The formulas engraved on the ring were primarily sealing formulas used on criminals. In addition, a formula had been added to prevent the ring from being removed for a set period of time.
In short, Hubert could not remove the ring for a certain period, and he could not use magic either.
Hubert looked out the window. Judging by the height of the sun, it was still morning.
(No way they made this in one night...)
As Hubert stared intently at the ring, the door opened and a large man and a small, black-haired boy entered the room. He remembered seeing both of them at the tavern, so they were probably villagers.
The bald man grinned viciously when he saw Hubert.
"Hey, kid. You really gave us what for yesterday, huh? Until you've paid for everything you broke, we're going to work you to the bone as an odd-job man around this village for a while, so you'd better be ready."
Even when confronted by the vicious giant, Hubert's attitude did not change.
Hubert sat cross-legged on the bed and cracked his neck with a sharp pop.
"If you want money for repairs, I'll give you as much as you want."
Hubert came from a wealthy family and had also made a fortune from patents on magic tools, so he was in no danger of running out of money. The cost of repairing the tavern could easily be covered with the cash he had on hand.
But the bald man shook his thick neck.
"You don't get it! Punishment for a bad kid is manual labor, that's the rule! I hear you're not only a mage, but pretty handy with your hands, too."
As he spoke, the bald man took a sheet of paper from his pocket and thrust it at Hubert.
The paper bore handwriting he recognized and read:
'To Dee-senpai,
Please work as an unpaid volunteer until the villagers forgive you.
Also, please teach Norman-kun his lessons. Thank you.'
"Who's this Norman guy?"
"I-I am."
The black-haired boy timidly raised his hand.
"I've been told I'll be allowed to attend Minerva starting next year. But... here in the village, I've only been taught reading, writing, and arithmetic..."
In such a remote village, it was only natural that his academic ability would be inferior to that of children who attended school in town.
Moreover, Minerva was one of the three most prestigious schools in the country. It was obvious that Norman would be unable to keep up with his classes if he suddenly began attending Minerva.
Apparently, Monica had decided to arrange a private tutor for Norman.
(I see... How convenient. There's a man here who ranked near the top in both practical and theoretical studies at Minerva.)
Above all, Monica was probably concerned that Norman, a boy from a rural village, would be bullied by the noble children at Minerva.
But that problem would be solved instantly if he simply said, "My private tutor is Hubert Dee." Without a doubt, no one would be willing to bully Norman.
Having thought it all through, that merciless queen intended to exploit Hubert to the fullest.
"Mmm, mm-mm-mm... Sure. Yeah, not bad at all."
Hubert cheerfully hummed as he examined the ring on his finger.
The sealing formulas engraved on the ring were a collar that the 〈Silent Witch〉 had placed on the mad dog known as Hubert Dee.
(Being left here with a collar handmade by Her Majesty... Nice, nice... That's quite the turn-on.)
It wouldn't be bad to enjoy Her Majesty's punishment until the magical seal was released.
Hubert smiled cheerfully and kissed the ring on his finger.
＊ ＊ ＊
Outside Sechen Village stood a carriage arranged by Isabelle.
Isaac loaded all the luggage into the carriage, then climbed aboard with Monica in his arms. She had been sleeping soundly on the bed at the inn.
Monica had spent the entire previous night modifying a magic tool and had fallen into a dead sleep the moment she finished it.
Her face, which had never been particularly rosy to begin with, was as pale as a corpse, and dark circles stood out beneath her eyes.
Isaac sat down on one of the carriage seats and laid Monica down with her head resting on his lap.
"You worked hard, my master."
He lightly swept his fingertips through her disheveled light-brown hair. Monica's pale eyelids trembled faintly, then slowly lifted.
Her round eyes, which looked green or brown depending on the light, gazed hazily up at Isaac.
"...Aike, good morning... Where are we...?"
"Inside a carriage. It seemed best to leave before Hubert Dee found us. We'll depart as soon as Lady Isabelle and the others return."
The capable Isabelle had taken over negotiations with the village chief in Monica's place.
Isabelle's maid, Agatha, had efficiently tended to the villagers who had collapsed in the tavern that night. They were truly dependable ladies.
After hearing Isaac's explanation, Monica lowered her brows with a dejected expression.
"I'm still a long way from being good enough. I wanted to act like a cool master, but I keep getting rescued."
As she muttered this, Monica sat up and lightly patted her cheeks with both hands.
Monica seemed to feel inadequate, but whenever Isaac saw her striving to become a "cool master," his heart filled with a ticklish mix of affection and joy.
To Monica, Isaac was an indirect culprit and the enemy who had taken her parents from her.
He knew he had no right to wish for such things, but he could not help wanting them anyway.
He wanted her to accept him, keep him by her side... and, if fortune smiled, take his hand.
"Hey, Monica. About the next winter solstice holiday..."
Before Isaac could ask whether she would come to his estate if she was willing, Monica's sleepy face softened into a lopsided smile.
"Oh, yes! This year's winter solstice holiday, I'm visiting Count Kerbeck's estate. Lady Isabelle invited me and insisted I come."
"...I see. That sounds like fun."
"Yes. The next time I'll see Aike is at the New Year's ceremony."
The group would return to the estate in Southdoll after this, but immediately afterward, Isaac would have to return to his own territory.
He had a mountain of work to finish before the winter solstice holiday.
Isaac would not see Monica for a while. As he sighed at the thought of that loneliness, Monica gave the hem of his clothes a small tug.
"Um, Aike..."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"While I was making the magic tool... last night, I kept thinking about what you said, and about why your heart was pounding."
Isaac's heart gave a loud thump.
He knew that Monica was dense about this sort of thing. Even so, he wanted her to notice, to understand.
──How deeply he yearned for Monica.
Monica clenched her fist on her lap.
Then she looked up at Isaac with a serious expression and said,
"As for the reason your heart rate increased..."
"Yes."
"You have a cold!"
"............"
"It was terribly cold last night, so there's no doubt about it. You really must dry your hair properly after it gets wet. In any case, once we get home, drink some medicinal tea and keep warm... Ouch! Aike! Ouch, that hurts! Don't pinch my cheeks...!"