Chapter 2 (1/2)

Translator: Kenar, Editor: Sage Yomeiri

Chapter 2 - Shatia the Villager

Shatia has a childhood friend, a girl named Moffy who is the same age as her. She was a girl with big round eyes and chestnut-colored hair tied in twin tails. She is always sticking to Shatia. There were only a few children in the village because the village was small in the first place. That was why most of the children considered friends of the same age precious. That is the case if we are talking about normal children. However Shatia treated Moffy simply as an annoying person with lower intellect because residing inside her body was the soul of a former witch whose age exceed a thousand years.

”Hey, Shatia. Play! play!”

”…Moffy. I'm reading a book right now. Please spare me from your meddling.”

At noon of a certain day. Shatia was reading a book handed by the tutor at the side of a tree. Although she was able to cram about magic for the most part, she had no grasp of the daily life of an ordinary human. Therefore she asked her tutor to lend her a book describing the the daily life living in the royal capital. Shatia, as a study enthusiast as she is, read book on the plains. Meanwhile Moffy, a child who likes playing outside, asked Shatia to play with her and was consequently disturb Shatia's reading time.

”Because! because Shatia is only reading.” (Editor, I sincerely don't know how to write how a kid talk)(Sage: Think Navi)

”This is pretty valuable study material to me… hah, all right, all right. I understand. Let's go play something.”

Shatia decided to play with Moffy because she felt that Moffy would only become more annoying if she was to ignore her any longer. She spent time in the village pretending to be a normal village girl as much as possible so that her ident.i.ty as a former witch wouldn't be found out. Unfortunately that was all in Shatia's mind. There was no problem in her daily life, however she showed no effort in hiding her magic capabilities. As a result, she even surprised the former royal court magician with her resourcefulness and furthermore with her spirit of inquiry. The Shatia who has become a celebrity in a sense was seen dragged by Moffy to play house in the village because she couldn't beat Moffy's pure-heartedness.

”Hey! Why is Shatia always reading hard books?”

”Oh, this book? This book is about the royal capital. Anyway, it is my principle to thoroughly study things that interest me.”

”Then! Do Shatia wanna go to the royal capital?”

Moffy asked so as if she was suddenly interested with what Shatia was doing in the middle of the game. Shatia answered Moffy while her hand was holding the wooden cup for playing house and found herself thinking about it once again.

”Well then, do I really want to go to the royal capital?” said Shatia in her mind. She was certainly interested in the magic of humans. But she was simply interested in it and she still didn't know if she really wanted to go there.

”Well, who knows? Whichever it is, what I'm interested in right now is magic. Therefore the royal capital itself isn't that important to me.”

There were many ways in learning the magic without having to go to the royal capital. Shatia was satisfied with the current situation because she thought that the amount of magic she could learn in this village was enough. In addition to that, there was no reason for her dear mother to allow her to go out of the village.

”I'm! Glad~”

”Hm, may I ask your reason for being relieved?”

”If Shatia goes away, I will have no friend to play with! That's why I'm glad~”

Moffy showed a relieved gesture when she said that. It seemed to Shatia that thinking about her childhood friend leaving worried her. Shatia could only answer vaguely to Moffy's question. Then they continue playing house for a while until Moffy suggested to walk around for a bit to maybe take a breather. Shatia agreed to that easily because she thought that moving the body was also an important basic training to magic.

”Hey, Moffy. It is said that that forest is off limits, you know.”

After walking for a while, the two little girls reached what's called the end of the village. There was a forest barricaded with fences. It was a forbidden forest even the adults of the village rarely tried to enter. It was said that a monster would come out.

Monsters were evil creatures who has mana unlike your usual animal. That was why only people who are confident in their skill could enter the forest.

”It's! Okay! Even uncle Rov who have nothing to do but drinking entered this forest the other day! It's a bit dark but it will be fine!”

”…Is that so. Oh well. I won't stop us then.”

Shatia thought that the reason Rov entered the forest was to hide the fact that he was drinking from his wife but she couldn't care less, and not to mention that Moffy wouldn't stop trying to enter the forest. Actually Shatia herself has entered the forest several times to investigate the ecology in the forest. Well, she couldn't hold her curiosity anymore. Shatia was also confident that her magic could take care of monsters if they came out. Without hesitation, the two little girls stepped into the forest and walked into its depths. From Moffy's happy expression, it seemed to her that she thought of herself as something like explorer.

”Wow! This is amazing! There! There is a bird that I've never seen before, Shatia!”

”I know that you are happy and all but beware that that is a flame bird monster. And as expected of a flame monster, it will spit out flame, you see. Be careful.”

Moffy thoughtlessly pointed at the bird because it was her first time seeing the bird. That bird was clearly a monster though. Shatia was troubled at how Moffy was a little bit too optimistic although she thought that that was a good point to have too. But Shatia found a similarity between herself and Moffy, which was they were a kid br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity. Maybe I will take her going around the forest until she is satisfied, Shatia thought so. Shatia decided to do just that.

Suddenly, Shatia stopped in her tracks. There was an unfamiliar footprint on the ground. It was completely not belong to that of monster but it belong to a human wearing shoes.

”Hmm… Did a human pa.s.s by this place too? If that's the case, is it possible that it is those rumored adventurer bunch? It is hard to think that the humans from the village will walk through this area recklessly.”

Shatia t.i.tled her head as if in ponder while touching the footprint. Among the villagers who could enter the forest were at best only the village's head and Shatia's private magic tutor. However the village's head stopped entering the forest as of late and her tutor didn't want to enter the forest. Which means, these footprint belongs to an outsider. And there was a time when humans called adventurer came to Shatia's house when she was a witch. Every one of them belong to an organization called guild. They worked by receiving people's requests. There were paths for travelers though it was unthinkable for them to enter a forest where monster would come out. Can I take it that adventurer are that strong?, Shatia thought so.