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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter - 6: Not everything that looks like a goose is a goose
Priscilla stirred the empty bowl, which had contained plenty of herbal porridge with her spoon.
“Anna, has your appetite come back a little?”
“Yes!”
It felt awkward.
As if a spike had been driven into her liver, her whole body seemed to convulse.
Unable to endure the discomfort, she just stared down at the empty bowl.
A loving gaze, filled with affection was directed at her ‘precious daughter.’
The warmth contained in that gaze was unbearably ticklish.
She awkwardly averted her eyes and looked out the window for some fresh air.
The sunlight filtering through scattered dust motes only made the tickling sensation worse.
‘…Was I always this clumsy? I'm not even a teenage girl and yet I find this gaze ‘overwhelming’? Good heavens, if the other witches found out, they’d laugh at me.’
Reflecting on her own pitiful, she laughed at her situation.
She was the Great Witch who had proudly completed a grand spell that defied even the gods and granted eternal life.
In reality that very spell was a flawed monstrosity that caused side effects.
And now she couldn’t even properly imitate a young girl, only scheming to escape from that gaze.
It hadn’t been like this before.
The spell and the imitation must have been perfect.
At this rate, wasn’t she just another Struldbrug? An ugly and horrible old man from an old tale who doesn't die but keeps growing old.
She felt how little her cursed state differed from that old man’s fate.
It was ridiculous and yet somehow funny.
-“Stop. Self-loathing isn’t good.”
The culprit who had caused her predicament shook his head with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
-“Change isn’t a flaw. It’s the process of adapting to life. You’ve adapted to being a witch and now you’re adapting to living as this girl. Step by step. You’ve already changed just by saying a single word.”
A gentle comfort filled with kindness aimed at her, so different from the harsh scolding before.
Words meant only to encourage.
Permission to be a coward if she had to be.
At that moment, Priscilla truly felt miserable.
She had planned to just laugh it off, to mock her predicament mercilessly.
That damned Gigachad had comforted her instead.
He’d exposed her deep desire to be comforted.
Now, Priscilla had truly become a genuine madwoman, comforted by the hallucination of her own creation.
“Bullshit.”
“Anna, what did you say?”
That reality irritated the Great Witch Priscilla’s pride.
Her pride was in tatters.
Priscilla gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and snapped her head up with a loud voice.
"Thank you for the meal, Mom! I’ll clean up the dishes!"
Look! She’s not miserable!
She doesn’t need the comfort of hallucinations!
She wanted to show what it means to act like a great witch!
“No, dear. You’re still recovering so don’t need to push yourself.”
“I’m really fine! Fit as a fiddle!”
“Heh, is that so? Well then, I’ll leave it to my daughter this time.”
“Yes!”
Priscilla sprang up and confidently carried the dishes toward the kitchen.
Gigachad let out a breath, half in awe.
-“Turns out there’s been a fucking lion standing in front of me all along.”
“To realize that only now? Truly a dumb hallucination.”
She had no intention of playing along with that hallucination... but she had even less intention of losing to a hallucination she created herself.
She would fully and truly act like a witch, playing the part of a family member.
She would cling desperately to this body, researching how to fix the side effects.
She was simply going back to the beginning.
Back to the distant past, when she first became a witch and sought immortality.
She had already walked that path once and walking it a second time would be many times easier.
-“Good job. A great goal worthy of a witch.”
"I'm done."
-“But anyone can talk. Are you ready for the hard work?”
“Hah.”
Priscilla glared sharply at Gigachad.
A poisonous gleam flickered in her eyes.
“I really hate you.”
-“I’m proud of you, Prippy.”
-(“You’re my pride, Prippy.”)
.
.
.
Witches are not close to people.
The reason they live alone in cabins deep in the woods isn’t just because it’s convenient for gathering herbs.
Priscilla had seen dozens of heroes come to kill her because she was a witch.
She had seen hundreds of peasants who feared her.
Thirteen mages who despised her for killing people, for treating life lightly, for being a foolish woman who learned curses.
A witch cannot live with people.
But now, she had to play the part of an ordinary girl living among people.
“Oh! Anna! I heard you’re better. Want some salted jerky?”
“Thank you, sir!”
So even smiling foolishly at the kindness of the village elders was just acting.
“Anna noona! Catch me!”
“Ryud! If you run like that and fall, you’ll get hurt!”
Playing along with the mischievous local kids was also just acting, too.
“Our Nabi is missing! Anna, have you seen a cat with yellow fur and black stripes?”
“I think I saw it near the community hall! I’ll find it for you!”
Finding the cat belonging to Mrs. Meiril who sometimes brought bread as a gift was also acting!
“Anna?! Are you okay? You’re covered in scratches!”
“Haha… Nabi was a bit feisty.”
…No, witches are naturally close to cats.
She was just worried about the cat.
“Be more careful next time… Nabi is our precious family member but you’re just as precious. Your mother only has you.”
“…Yes! Hehe.”
…Right. It’s all acting.
People’s kindness is always directed toward the girl named ‘Anna,’ not the witch called Priscilla.
So her responses to that kindness could only be acting as well.
-“You’re the best actress. Have confidence, Prippy.”
“Gigachad, you have a talent for stating the obvious in the dumbest way.”
And that obvious fact somehow felt irritating.
It was because of that macho man.
That’s what Priscilla told herself.
“…cough. Anna’s home. What happened to your skin? You’re all scraped up."
“That’s because I was playing with the cat and fell a bit.”
“Oh dear… cough, you should be more careful.”
“Mom, are you okay? You keep coughing…”
“I’m fine. Just… cough, I have a bit of a cold. It’s nothing to worry about.”
.
.
.
The next morning, Priscilla set off early with a basket toward the forest.
The foundation of witchcraft lay in herbal alchemy using a witch’s cauldron.
Various herbs were needed to stabilize the soul as well.
“No decent herbs in sight.”
She found five herbs for stopping bleeding, three roots for energy and vitality, one rare spirit herb and ten that could boost blood when boiled into tea.
They were all common herbs easily found anywhere.
She hadn’t expected great results right away but this was woefully insufficient for her research.
-“Every great journey starts with a rusty, chipped dagger. Start with small steps for yourself.”
“I know that much.”
Ignoring Gigachad’s advice, Priscilla continued searching the forest.
Between the bushes, she found a few small berries that could make medicine helpful for colds.
At that moment, the image of her coughing ‘mother’ flashed through her mind.
“….”
After a glance to check if Gigachad was watching, Priscilla quietly slipped a few berries into her basket.
Of course, there was no way Gigachad wouldn’t notice.
-"Good job."
"Shut up. I’m doing this for myself. What if some spit got into the food Mom made?"
-"Whatever the reason, you thought of someone else’s trouble and wanted to help. That’s your choice, not anyone else’s."
"……."
Gigachad smiled widely enough to show his teeth as he looked at Priscilla.
Priscilla’s cheek twitched softly.
======================
Watching Priscilla blush with embarrassment, Kanaria marveled.
"Impressive. I didn’t think it was possible to distort a person’s mind so subtly."
"If you say it like that, it sounds like I’m controlling people’s minds."
"Isn’t that true?"
"I’m just guiding the situation."
These past few days, I’ve been skillfully twisting Priscilla’s surroundings.
I made the cat run away by making Mrs. Meiril mistakenly think she had locked it up, and led Ryud to find Priscilla by creating illusions of a butterfly and a dragonfly.
That way, Priscilla could meet as many people as possible and leave them with a good impression.
"I was especially impressed by how you projected the image of ‘Mother’ into the witch’s mind. Your Grace, you truly have no heart."
"Your tone’s getting pretty rude."
"I suppose that’s proof I’m becoming a Fucking Lion."
"Is that so? Then this gold coin’s useless to a Fucking Lion. Guess I’ll give it to the neighborhood mutt instead."
"Whimper whimper. Pant pant."
"Snrk."
Ah, I laughed.
What an unexpected trick.
I was a little surprised at how much she sounded like a mutt whining.
"Here you go. Gold coin."
"Thank you."
Kanaria put the coin in his pocket and tilted his head.
"If you can manipulate thoughts like this, why not use a more direct method?"
"It’s not that simple. I projected the image of the coughing mother, but putting the berries in the basket was still Priscilla’s choice."
In that sense, Priscilla placing the berries in the basket was a good sign.
It meant a bond had formed between Priscilla and her family.
In other words.
Priscilla valued her mother at least a little.
"The more she treasures her mother, the stronger her reaction will be when that mother is put in danger. There’s no motivation more powerful than the fear of losing someone you love."
"A hostage situation. I like it."
"Kanaria, you have a terrible personality."
"What the mutt needs is loyalty, not manners. I’ll trust and follow only Your Grace."
"That’s quite bold of you."
"There’s no reason to be anything but bold when saving the world."
I hope that spirit never changes.
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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