The farm owner fled.
Once a place that seemed like a piece of cake, now it had become a nightmarishly dangerous farm.
Having escaped from such a perilous region, the farm owner found lodging in a secure area, pondering how to resolve this predicament while feeling a sense of relief at being safe.
Perhaps it was due to this newfound comfort?
Only then did he remember the most crucial thing.
“CCTV!”
The CCTV he had installed for security.
In a country like America, where failing to protect oneself might earn you the label of a fool, it was only natural to need self-defense tools like a gun, along with surveillance footage to prove his actions were justifiable.
Of course, among the farmers he mingled with, there were foolish rednecks who insisted, “Relying on that sort of camera is enough for women and children. A real man should wield a 12-gauge shotgun to protect his territory!” and thus, they never even installed CCTV. But at least, he convinced himself, he was smarter than those idiots.
He said it time and again: he might not have studied much, but he was definitely smarter than those dull-witted rednecks!
Thus, the man slowly began to check the CCTV from his safe haven.
Well, it wasn’t difficult.
America was a nation of the internet, and you could check your CCTV feeds from the cloud anytime.
Sure, the service quality was horridly atrocious, excessively pricey, and thanks to those damn internet company employees who seemed to only care about being employed at the fringes, everything from speed to price was downright unsatisfactory—
But hey, what mattered was that you could watch the CCTV online, right?
So, the man checked the CCTV…
“Damn it! These idiots can’t do anything right! All they’re good for is wasting bread like moldy pests!”
He let out a curse.
The videos backed up in the cloud were all filled with noise.
It was as if some machine had broken down, all drowned out in static.
No, that’s right.
Machines can break down at any time.
Houses, warehouses, and people can break down, so it’s not surprising that a machine would!
But the issue was, this noise was causing him trouble.
It was noisy.
…Only at the part where the crops and rat bastards were protesting!
The other sections were clear as day.
As if nothing had even gone wrong!
In fact, it was peaceful, showing that the farm had no issues at all.
It was enough to drive him crazy.
The part where he must’ve been tormented by those crops and rodents was the only one clouded in noise.
Moreover, the rest of the footage displayed the usual serene views of his farm.
Not only did it prevent him from using the CCTV as evidence, but it felt like the universe was mocking him!
“Alright, what about the black box?”
But there was still hope.
The black box.
If it’s a camera connected to the vehicle, it might be fine.
With hope in his heart, the farm owner checked the black box.
“Fuck!”
But the black box showed the same situation.
Only the segment where the crops were protesting was cut off completely.
As if the car had gone dead and the black box stopped working.
What a perfectly inconvenient coincidence.
Really.
“Why the hell is this happening? Damn it…!”
The most evident piece of evidence was missing.
Even if he went to investigate himself, outsiders would likely act like ordinary crops and animals until he was gone. The moment he left their sight, they’d reveal their true colors and might even harm him with the spears they were wielding.
If that happened—
Yeah. It wouldn’t be easy to use as evidence.
Maybe, just like the police had assumed, they’d dismiss it as self-inflicted wounds due to some drug haze?
No, he was sure of it.
How many would truly believe that the crops attacked him brandishing aloe swords and spears?
Most would probably think just like the police who had taken him away, that he was high on some hallucinogenic drug, babbling nonsense.
Damn it.
There’s no one to trust.
Even though absurd events were unfolding, no one could talk seriously about this situation.
He was feeling so frustrated.
So wronged he thought he might go insane.
He exhaled heavily.
Having lost the hope for video evidence, he hesitated to talk about what he experienced to his family.
‘Could it be that my family….’
This thought crossed his mind.
Surely, my family would believe what I say.
But at the same time, he thought,
No matter how much family they are—there’s no way they’d seriously believe something that sounds so crazy, even to myself.
Both thoughts swirled in his head.
But soon, the man resolved to make a call.
Ring, ring.
“…Son.”
He decided to tell his smart son who studies well—no, puts in a bit of effort—about this bizarre experience.
…
…
…
“Honestly, without knowing it was coming from Dad, I’d find it hard to believe. Truly…. Yes. If someone else said it, it’d be enough to conclude they were high.”
“…Yeah, I guess so.”
“But I know. Dad’s not the type to indulge in drugs or concoct ridiculous tales for fun. No, it’s not just me; our entire family knows Dad. The Dad we know absolutely would not talk nonsense. I believe what Dad experienced really happened.”
“Oh, son…”
“And if what Dad experienced is the truth—well. I have a hunch…”
Fortunately, the farm owner’s son believed him.
Moreover, living in an information-overloaded society, he even suggested a possibility based on what he’d heard before, helping his father.
This possibility was something the farm owner hadn’t thought of.
And at the same time, it pointed toward the one most likely culprit.
“This damn witch! I even tried to approach this like a gentleman, just like the Brits, and she pulls this kind of prank?!”
The possibility suggested was that a capable person had intervened.
Specifically, those who wielded abilities that could move inanimate objects.
The idea that a ‘witch’ was behind the chaos.
“In a capitalist society, anything can happen! Just look at how that witch behaves like a kid who just became a witch! Can’t she act her age?!”
Yeah.
If it’s witchcraft, it’s possible.
Flowers suddenly going nuts and protesting.
Plants wielding aloe to threaten him.
Rats behaving as if they were playing football.
All of it!
All possible!
And now the farm owner knew.
There’s a witch who’d do something like this!
“Get those abominations off my farm right now! Before I file a complaint, immediately!”
The witch, having come to his farm, was unceremoniously chased away.
A witch who found herself running around in vain due to the rival company’s instigation.
That very witch who looked like she had a fierce temper—!
Odilia!
Odilia was the culprit!
No one else could possibly be the offender!
With conviction, the farm owner called Odilia to lodge a complaint.
Or maybe, it wasn’t so much a complaint anymore.
It was closer to a full-blown eruption of all his sorrow and fury in words.
So, letting loose a torrent of curse words, he unleashed his emotions. As soon as he heard Odilia had picked up, without even hearing her voice, he launched into a tirade—like a volcano exploding with the pent-up rage splattering everywhere.
And after letting out all that emotion—
He finally paused to catch his breath and awaited Odilia’s response.
And the response he got was….
[ Ha, I don’t know what you’re talking about… Are you crazy? ]
A voice dripping with incredulity.
*
People carry preconceptions in their minds.
And abilities are no exception.
There’s a preconception that warriors are ignorant and prefer using their bodies over their brains.
There’s a preconception that wizards focus more on reason than emotion.
There’s a preconception that shamans are mystical beings, often engaging in bizarre behaviors.
There’s a preconception that alchemists are mad scientists, creating strange golems or robots.
And—
There’s a preconception that witches are troublesome, nasty women who like to modify living beings in weird ways.
Yeah.
It’s all preconception.
The image lodged in people’s minds under this name is quite powerful.
Thus,
When seeing crops walking around,
When crops held strange signs to protest,
When they were surrounded by allege wielding jars,
When rats behaved clearly human-like,
It wouldn’t be strange for anyone to recall the presence of witches or witchcraft.
The reason the farm owner initially didn’t come to this conclusion is that events were moving too quickly for him to think clearly.
But given the circumstances, he’s surely come to the conclusion that this was clearly a witch’s intervention.
And the only witch who would hold a grudge against him would have to be Odilia.
Yes.
While it could be a minor inconvenience, it was a plan far too sloppy to remain hidden.
To anyone, it was obvious that Odilia was the culprit.
…Yes.
If that witch related to the farm was just Odilia.
It had to be so.
