I was reincarnated into another world and became a witch so I want to live a slow life but the Demon King won't let me go.
[Where Humans live]
Translated by: ME
The transfer magic brought me to the very edge of where the demons live. There's no sign of life in the gray swamp, and a lukewarm air hangs heavy. This is the entrance to the place where the people Hiiragi told me about live.
I probably should have at least said goodbye to Hiiragi, but I'll probably see her again if I have the chance. Slipping my body into the gap, I felt like the air around me suddenly thinned. Is this what it means for the demon essence to be thin? I have to be careful, since I've been eating sweets and haven't had a proper meal in a long time.
After walking for a while on a dimly lit path as if shrouded in fog, I suddenly came to a bright and cool place. The area is surrounded by lush trees, and there are sounds of birds singing and signs of life.
"Ah, a forest."
That sensation even feels nostalgic. Before I was reincarnated, the places I went camping and on excursions had this kind of atmosphere. I stretched out and took a deep breath. The demon essence is definitely thin, and my body feels somewhat sluggish.
I looked around, thinking that I'll just have to get used to it. There are signs of life, but no signs of humans. In order to live, I have to interact with humans, so I can't live in a place that's too deserted. I strained my ears to try and find a village, and I heard the voices of creatures that weren't animals a few kilometers away. For now, I'll head in that direction.
But I got out of breath after walking just a few steps. I had heard that demons weaken in human areas, but not to this extent. And more than anything, it's too inconvenient to walk through the forest in this girlish form.
"Hmm... what should I do..."
After thinking for a while, I remembered something and searched my pocket. There it was, one of the magical items I had received from Tims before. It's a ring that can change your appearance, used when going out on investigations for work. You can change your appearance as long as you're wearing the ring.
"Here goes."
I put the ring on the middle finger of my left hand. The stone in the ring sparkled, and a warm light enveloped my entire body. I could tell that I had grown taller from the raised viewpoint. I don't have a mirror, so I can't confirm, but if I was around 13 or 14 years old before, I'm probably 19 or 20 now. To be honest, I wanted to become an old woman like a witch, but it's difficult to become a form that's too different from the original.
Demons are said to grow, but it's too slow. I've grown since I was born, but it's still inconvenient that I look like a child. I didn't care so much about my appearance when I was living in the demon realm, but if I'm going to interact with people, I need to be a certain age. I have no choice but to stick with this form.
Thanks to the growth, I can now move through the forest smoothly. Even though I'm weakened, I'm still a demon, so I'm sturdier than a human. I was able to get to a slightly more open area than where I was before. I guess a village is nearby.
There's a gently flowing stream, and there's also a narrow path that shows signs of human intervention. There's a fairly open area by the river, and there's a hut that's starting to decay. It doesn't look like anyone has taken care of it for a long time, so it's probably an empty house.
I looked into the river and was able to confirm my current appearance. As expected, I've grown to be around 20 years old. My appearance is less demonic; my hair is gray, and my eyes are a light amber color. I've never seen a human in this world, so I can't compare, but I probably don't have an otherworldly appearance. I was surrounded by beautiful people until recently, so I'm not confident, though.
I used magic to change my clothes into a plain robe. My stomach rumbled as my magic power decreased. I threw a cookie that I had left in my bag into my mouth and started walking. The sun is still high. I want to get to a place where there are people as soon as possible while it's still light.
Following the narrow path, I saw a small village as expected. Beyond that, I could see even larger houses and buildings. People, there are people. I felt a different kind of emotion than when I saw the demon city.
The narrow path connected to a wide road. The well-maintained road seemed to lead through the village I had just found and on to an even larger village beyond. It's probably a highway that leads to a fairly large town. There aren't many people, but there are people dressed as merchants, people dressed as if they're farming, and people taking care of horses pulling carts. Everyone seems to be busy with their own business, and they don't seem to notice Miya, who appeared slowly from the narrow path.
First, I'll show my face in the small village. It's small, but there are several stalls, and it seems to be quite lively.
"Hey there, miss, are you a traveler? I've never seen hair that color around here."
The one who spoke to me was the owner of a fruit store.
"Yes, I came from a little far away."
"Is that so? This is a small village, but it's a good place. Take your time and enjoy yourself."
"Thank you."
I don't feel any malice or hostility in the smile directed at me. The atmosphere of the whole village isn't bad either. Since I'm originally a demon, I'm sensitive to negative energy. There doesn't seem to be any of that kind of energy here, so it's a bit anticlimactic. I remember hearing that when I was working at the Demon King's Castle, there was a problem with demons becoming aggressive because of the excessive negative energy flowing in from the human world, but this doesn't seem to be that kind of place.
After walking for a while, I found a small general store. The atmosphere, which didn't seem to be doing well, reminded me of Hiiragi's store, so I was curious. I gently opened the door, and a cute bell rang.
"...Welcome!!"
A girl came tumbling out from the back of the store. She was probably around 14 or 15 years old. A petite girl with cute freckles.
"Hello."
"Are you a traveler? Welcome to Rodan's store!!"
"What do you sell here?"
"Well, we handle small tools. How about some travel supplies?!"
The items she showed me weren't bad, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were plain. The inside of the store was also somewhat dim, and the items were lightly covered in dust. It felt like things were just placed there haphazardly, and it was hard to find what I was looking for because it wasn't organized.
"...I just arrived here after traveling, so I don't need any travel supplies."
"Is that so?"
The girl visibly drooped. I panicked and looked around the store, thinking that I had to buy something for her, and I found something that looked like soap. I didn't need soap back there because I used magic to cleanse my body, but I can't waste magic power here, so I'll need it.
"Then, then what about this? It's soap, right?"
"Yes! It's soap!"
What she offered me was a lumpy, pale yellow mass that looked like a lump. It was probably oil soap made from animal fat. The unique smell hit my nose.
"Then I'll take one of these. And can I have some salt and a few pieces of cloth?"
"Yes!"
The girl gave me a beaming smile and busily gathered the items. And then I suddenly remembered. Wait, am I penniless right now?
The money I earned working at the Demon King's Castle is currency that's circulated among demons. I don't think it can be used with humans. It would be too pitiful to disappoint the girl by saying that I don't have any money here. As I was wondering what to do, I suddenly remembered the money I had received from Hiiragi.
"That'll be 5 gil in total!"
"Well, you see, I've been traveling from a pretty far away place, so I don't have the currency from around here."
"That's okay. There are money changers along the highway here. I can use it if it's a currency I know."
"Is that so?"
That's good. I handed over a dull, square coin, hoping that this money could be used.
"Th-that's...!!! This is...!!!"
The girl's eyes widened and she froze. Could it be that it can't be used? Or that it can be used, but the value is incredibly low? Oh, what should I do? As I was panicking, the girl's body began to tremble.
"Isn't this a silver coin! You can't use such a large amount of money here!!!??"
"Huh? A silver coin?"
"This is the currency of the Great Empire, and it's a silver coin, right? In terms of the currency around here, it's worth about ten million gil. If you buy something with such a large amount of money, we'll go bankrupt just by giving you change!!"
"If you take it to a money changer..."
"If you exchange such a large amount of money at a money changer in this village, they'll have to close their shop."
"I, I see."
"Anyway, you can't buy anything here with this."
"I'm sorry."
The atmosphere became gloomy between us.
"But, miss, to just casually take out such a large amount of money. What are you?"
"I'd be troubled if you asked me what I am. I came from a very far away place, so I don't know anything about this area."
"You don't know enough."
And so the girl told me various things. The girl's name is Merita, and Rodan, the name of the store, seems to be her father. He's currently out buying supplies and is absent. The store doesn't seem to be doing well as expected, and the signboard girl, Merita, is trying her best to revive it.
This is Waguna Village, located in the middle of the eastern continent. The commercial city of Gietta is a little further ahead. Waguna Village is said to be fairly lively because merchants and travelers pass through it on their way to Gietta. Gietta is a large town, but you can't enter without a pass or identification, and you have to pay taxes to enter. Therefore, there are some people who do business or stay overnight in Waguna Village, which is before it.
It seems like that kind of place would have bad security, but Gietta's guards come on patrol regularly, so the village isn't rough, and we can live peacefully. There are a few humans who can use magic, and they seem to be quite rare, either employed by the country or working for high rewards. There may be only one or two in the city of Gietta. Magic for daily life can be used by ordinary humans if they use stones called "magic stones," which contain magic power, but they're expensive, so you don't see them much in ordinary households. I see. It seems like I should avoid using magic in public.
The unit of currency is gil. Around here, you can live reasonably well with about 50 gil a day, and you need 100 gil a day to live in Gietta. What I took out was the currency of the Great Empire, which is further east, and the unit is ril. 100 gil = 1 ril, and a silver coin is 100,000 ril. I see, that's a lot of money.
"Merita, thank you for telling me all sorts of things."
"No, no. Rather, how could you travel without knowing this kind of thing??"
"Well, there are various things, various things."
I can't exactly say that I'm a demon, so I don't know anything about humans.
"But, I can't buy anything with this, can I?"
"I'm sorry. I think there are stores that will exchange it if you go to Gietta."
It's quite difficult for me, who has no means or money to enter that Gietta. As the two of us were wondering,
Grumble...
"Huh?"
"Uwaaa??"
A sound like an earthquake rumbled, and Merita's face turned bright red.
"I, I'm sorry... I haven't eaten anything since morning."
Her father is absent and there isn't much savings, so she's saving on food. How could this be? I quickly took out a bag of cookies from my bag.
"Eat this!"
"...What is this?"
"Cookies I made."
"Cookies?"
"Just try it."
I put a cookie in Merita's mouth, almost forcing it in. Merita, who had been moving her mouth with a puzzled look, soon had sparkling eyes.
"D, delicious!!"
Merita, holding her cheeks, happily munched on the cookie. How cute.
"What is this?? I've never eaten anything so delicious!"
"Is that so? I'm glad; there's still more, so eat a lot."
"Is that okay?"
"It's a thank you for telling me all sorts of things."
"Thank you very much."
Merita bowed her head like a toy many times, and then ate the cookies very happily. When there were only a few left, her hand suddenly stopped.
"Um, miss."
"What is it?"
"Can I have a little bit for my dad?"
"...!!"
Wow. Even though she must be hungry herself, she's thoughtfully saving cookies for her father. How noble.
"Okay."
"Thank you very much! I don't know if I can call it a thank you, but please take this soap and cloth."
"Oh? Is that okay?"
"It's okay. The sales were originally supposed to be for my food expenses. Since I received something so delicious, it's not enough. Please take anything else if you want. They're all just things that have been on display for a long time anyway."
I'm tempted to pat Merita's smiling head. However, I can't ignore the latter half of her statement.
"Is this store not doing so well?"
"...Actually, there's a general store with an amazing selection and beautiful clerks on the main street, so customers are flowing over there."
The quality doesn't seem to be inferior, but the store's appearance is plain and the location is bad, so they're losing out. It's easy to change the atmosphere of the store, but as far as I can tell from what I've heard, they won't win unless they have a star product.
"I see."
It's fate that I met her here. It occurs to me that it wouldn't be bad to use this store as the first step in my witch life.
"Then, what's the best-selling item in this store?"
"Well, I think it's wound medicine. If you go to a pharmacy, there's better stuff, but it's cheap and works moderately well for minor injuries and carrying around, so it's useful."
What she took out was an ointment. It has a slight herbal smell, so it must be made by mixing in herbs with disinfecting effects.
"Hmm, hmm."
"And then there's this soap. It's convenient for washing your body, hair, and clothes."
"Is this the only kind of soap you have?"
"We only have this one, but I heard that there's whiter soap if you go to the city."
Merita gave a wry smile, saying that it's too expensive to stock.
"Then, I'll take one of these wound medicines too."
"Thank you very much."
I glanced at the price tag, but it was probably around 10 gil in total. I'm not sure if it matches the price of the cookies, but I swore that I would make her earn a profit later and decided to accept Merita's kindness today.
When I left the store, the sky was faintly crimson. It must be close to sunset. Considering my wallet situation, it seems impossible to stay at an inn, and it would be conspicuous to camp out in the village. I hurried back the way I came and returned to the small stream I had found earlier.
I stood in front of the hut and checked my surroundings, but there was still no one around.
"For now, let's make this our base."
If the owner shows up and tells me to get out, I can just look for a new place. The atmosphere of the nearby village was good. I have a good idea of how to make a living. All that's left is to do it or not.
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