Chapter 33
‘Today, I’ll have a proper conversation with people for sure!’
With that thought in mind, the girl walked with all her might.
Of course, it looked like an ordinary, slightly awkward, stiff gait to others.
“Oh my? Come on in~. What did you come to buy today? Or did you come to sell something?”
A plump, good-natured lady greeted her with a lively smile.
Startled by that, the girl hesitated momentarily before finally holding out the basket in her hand.
“You’ve brought medicinal herbs and mushrooms again today? Hmm. This much will be 2 silver. Thank you for always bringing such good things~.”
At the lady’s bright words, the girl just pursed her lips.
She should say thank you.
“Ah. Uh. That. I. Uhhh…”
Unable to get the words out, she could only bow deeply.
Fleeing the store, the girl stared blankly at the two silver coins in her hand, then buried her face in her hands.
‘Ah. I failed again.’
She wanted to greet properly this time.
But she didn’t know how.
How should she continue the conversation after saying thank you?
What if the other person gets angry because she says the wrong thing?
What if she brings up a boring topic and makes things awkward?
With various thoughts overlapping, she couldn’t say a word.
“Wheee~. Wheee~!”
“Let’s go together!”
“Catch me if you can! Bleh! Dummy~!”
“You’re dead!!”
Then, she saw children brushing past her.
They seemed to be around the same age as the girl, but unlike her, they just looked lively.
‘I’ll live like this my whole life…’
Unable to get along with others like that, unable to have a proper conversation with anyone, unable to fit in even as an adult, she’ll have to live alone her whole life.
Tears welled up.
Why am I like this?
She felt pathetic for not even being able to have a proper conversation with others.
The girl eventually turned around and started running home, sobbing.
The girl lived in a forest a little away from the village.
An old cabin in the forest.
Although lonely and desolate, her steps toward that place where nothing was to fear were heavier than ever.
“Sigh… How long do I have to be like this…?”
She thought she would definitely be able to talk properly with the villagers today.
She simulated it so much yesterday, but in the end, all that came out of her mouth were incomprehensible words.
With a gloomy face, the girl walked heavily, thinking.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, she will definitely try to talk properly.
-Thud!
“Kya, kyaaaah?!”
Was it because she was walking while deep in thought? She didn’t notice something in front of her feet.
The girl, who ended up tripping and falling to the ground, slowly got up, wincing in pain.
“What on earth… Oh, huh?”
She was startled.
Because the one she had trampled on was.
“…Hungry…”
A seemingly able-bodied adult man.
The girl gave bread to the collapsed man.
Watching the man ravenously eat the bread she bought with the money earned from selling medicinal herbs and mushrooms, the girl thought.
‘Is he an adventurer?’
His attire and tall stature.
The thick muscles that could be inferred from the fit of his clothes, although obscured.
In many ways, he looked like the adventurers she occasionally saw in the village. People who explore dangerous places and find treasures.
But what the girl envied most was that most adventurers were good at talking to others and got along with them normally.
Accepting quests, completing quests, reporting completed quests.
They were all things that involved meeting people.
People who could do such things without a problem.
To the current girl, adventurers who could do such things so naturally were none other than heavenly beings.
“Phew! That was delicious!”
The man devoured two pieces of bread instantly like a crab in its shell and even gulped down the water from the water bottle the girl offered in one go.
He ate in such a hearty way too.
“You’re my lifesaver! Thanks to you, I won’t starve to death.”
“Ah. Uh. That, that, that…”
“…..?”
What should she say?
That it’s not a big deal?
But wouldn’t that be too cocky?
Should she ask why he was starving here when the village wasn’t that far?
But then she might make him out to be directionally challenged.
Then what should she say?
She didn’t know which of the dozens of words that came to mind to choose.
So, in the end, she chose one thing.
“……….”
Silence.
‘I’m so stupid!’
She ran away again.
The girl hung her head, and the man spoke to her in a soft voice.
“Let’s start with self-introductions first? I’m Lee Hyun.”
“….That, um. Ah. Uh.”
“You seem to be deep in thought. Take your time and answer. It’s okay.”
His words startled the girl. A stranger noticed her state.
She was always the type to answer late because she had a lot on her mind.
That’s why the other person always smiled awkwardly and turned their head away.
That’s why conversations didn’t work out, but to meet someone who said this.
Organizing her thoughts, she cautiously tried to open her mouth.
‘I have to say it. Why were you here like this!’
“Why. Ah. Uh. Here!”
‘Stupid!!’
Biting her tongue, a strange sound came out.
She trembled at her own patheticness.
She can’t even speak properly. How stupid will that person think I am?
I have to say it again, but I’m afraid I’ll bite my tongue again.
What should I say?
What should I do?
“Why was I like this here?”
“Huh, huh, huh? Uh uh uh?”
“How did I know? It was written all over your face?”
Did he notice what I was trying to say?
Could he be using mind-reading?
While the startled girl stammered, Lee Hyun calmly looked around.
“I was looking for something and got lost.
What was he looking for?
This forest is good for medicinal herbs and mushrooms, but there’s nothing particularly special.
Was he wandering around this forest just to find such things?
If he’s looking for something, I could help.
The girl tried to collect the words swirling in her head and say them.
“But I think I found it.”
“Ah. Yes?!”
“You, who even the church and information guild couldn’t find. Your talent is indeed amazing. That’s why you! Become my disciple!”
A man she was meeting for the first time.
Moreover, a man who was collapsed after getting lost in this forest suddenly told her to become his disciple.
The girl was flustered.
What should she say?
Who are you?
What do you do?
My talent is amazing?
What talent is amazing?
Dozens of other questions and lines came to mind and disappeared.
She had to refuse.
She had to refuse an unknown person’s unknown offer.
“…Yeeees…”
‘Waaah! I’m so stupid!!’
However, refusing was not easy either for the girl who struggled to talk to the other person.
The girl, who ended up nodding, despaired, and the man, Lee Hyun, grinned and held out his hand.
“What I will teach is magic. You have a talent for magic.”
“Ma, ma, ma, ma, mamamama, magic?”
Magic.
Could he be talking about the mages who sometimes come to the village festivals?
The ones who create fire and spout water from their hands?
That’s ridiculous.
She, who just lived in the forest, having a talent for magic.
No, more than that, could the person in front of her even teach magic?
No matter how you look at it, with the sword at his waist and his muscles, he only looks like a swordsman.
“I can only see you as a swordsman, so you’re wondering if I can teach magic.”
“Eek!”
‘I knew it! He’s definitely using mind-reading!!’
“It’s written on your face. Well. Since it’s a natural question… Should I show you a bit?”
Lee Hyun lightly raised his hand. At that moment, a bright red flame danced around his hand.
The girl was startled by the sight. To create such a huge fire. Even the magicians attending the festivals couldn’t make a fire like that!
“If you become my disciple, you’ll be able to do this effortlessly too.”
“Re, really. Is, is that true?”
“Of course. Because your talent is so incredible that this is nothing.”
“Uhhhh…”
“Of course, you’ll have to work hard too. Mastering magic is quite a difficult thing to do.”
“That…”
“Hmm?”
“…I, I can’t. Even. Talk. Pro, properly with people. Wi, will it be… okay?”
Can someone like her, who can’t even speak properly, do such amazing things?
The girl became afraid.
Lee Hyun said her talent was amazing, but she didn’t know about that.
What if she can’t do it properly and disappoints him?
What if she gets treated like a fool?
The feeling of unease kept dwelling in her heart.
And, to her, Lee Hyun grinned.
“The origin of magic was originally said to be a secret. Secrets are meant to be kept to oneself. To learn magic, talent is more important than interacting with others.”
“Oh… Is, is that… so?”
Grinning, he raised his finger.
On his fingertip were flames and ice.
“If you become strong, you’ll gain confidence in your actions and lose your fear of interacting with others. The important thing is what you want to do. Don’t worry too much.”
“O. Okay…”
She liked the sound of that.
The girl’s face gradually brightened.
Facing her, Lee Hyun held out his hand again.
“Ah. Come to think of it, I don’t know your name either. What’s your name?”
“Ah… I. Uh. Le, Lena.”
“…Lena?”
“…Yes? Yes…”
“Lena, the Great Silent Witch?”
Translator’s Corner
Please don’t just follow ppl. They ain’t Lee Hyun… most of the time…
-Ruminas
