111 – Not a Witch, a Madwoman #2
I am Hanamjin, a man who charges forward even when running away!
Because of that, I don’t particularly like to dwell on old stories.
We leave the past buried and charge straight ahead into the future, right!
However, when I arrived at “Eden Farm,” without realizing it, I found myself nostalgic, as if kidnapped by old memories.
In the post-apocalyptic era, it was natural to be wary of outsiders.
One day, with my limping leg, I set out on a long journey to procure food and went to a place called “Hearth Village.”
It was a community that venerated an eternally burning hearth placed in the center of the village.
That hearth was some kind of sacred artifact imbued with a concept.
Anyway, it was an unusually cold winter.
Thinking to warm up my body, I entered the village, only to find that clusters of people were warily watching me.
“– We don’t have anything for you to eat, so just leave quickly.”
“– If you cause any trouble, you’ll get shot! This is a real g*n!”
That’s what it means to be an outsider.
Something to be on guard against.
And people with something like the “Eternal Hearth” to protect would especially shun outsiders.
But?
The world I’m living in now hasn’t collapsed yet.
After all, I stopped the zombie outbreak, averting the apocalypse!
“Who are you?”
“This is a place where outsiders can’t just come in.”
But for some reason, the way the women were looking at me reminded me so much of that old “Hearth Village” that I inadvertently sank into reminiscing about the past.
The overt display of suspicion towards visitors.
Does this “Eden Farm” have something it needs to protect?
Or are they up to something suspicious?
“Who are you?”
A woman who looked fairly mature asked again.
She looked to be in her mid-thirties?
She was wearing clingy clothes that you’d commonly see on mothers in new towns, unlike the other women who had dirt on their hands; this woman appeared refined.
She probably was the leader of the group.
A class representative, so to speak.
I decided to make up something plausible for now.
“I heard there’s a religious facility here, so I came to seek some consultation.”
“…”
“…”
At my words, the women’s gazes grew suspicious.
Their wariness seemed to increase.
Soon, the woman who appeared to be the group leader let out a long “Hmm-” and began to speak in a rather skilled manner.
“You’re someone interested in joining, aren’t you? But unfortunately, due to our rules, we only recruit women here. As we live communally, we try to prevent any unpleasant incidents as much as possible. Is there perhaps a female with you…?”
Is she asking if I’m a woman?
Even though I was wearing my father’s sunglasses and a hat pulled low to conceal my identity, I was unmistakably a man.
Starting from my physique, it was obviously different, wasn’t it?
But?
There could be such a woman.
There are women who sh**t lasers from their eyes and those crazy-cookie-like women who act like wild raccoons. In a world where even a handsome woman like me can exist, there’s no law against it.
This woman seems more open-minded than I thought.
So, what was my response?
“I’m a man, a real man.”
“Ahh… Then unfortunately, you’ll have to leave.”
“Tsk, what a shame.”
And so, I turned around.
It was a result I had anticipated.
The “Witch’s Sect” is a group mainly consisting of women, after all.
That’s why they’re called the Witch’s Sect (魔女敎).
The reason they consist of women is simple.
Because the “Witch’s Herb” they cultivate, specifically the “bl**d Rose,” only affects women.
Why it only affects women, I don’t know.
There must be a valid reason.
Anyway, the reconnaissance for now is sufficient.
This “Eden Farm” is definitely the base of the “Witch’s Sect.”
Then there should be an entrance to the Great Labyrinth here, too.
“Young women in a bustling rural area.”
Just as I was about to turn away, the nymphs who had disappeared somewhere reappeared.
Baonoi was holding a very bright red rose.
Precisely, it was a rosebud.
“This red thing is definitely a ‘bl**d Rose’… This Baonoi stole one from that peculiar field… It’s a very wicked crop…”
The “Witch’s Herb” blossoms into a flower when it reaches a certain stage of growth, with a rose red as bl**d, which is why it’s called the bl**d Rose.
They say that during the flowering process, it consumes such massive amounts of earth’s energy that the land where bl**d Roses bloom eventually becomes barren wasteland.
“This is the flower of that wicked witch… It should be pulled out whenever it’s seen… The foolish choices of the Fairy Royal Family have reached even this land of outsiders…”
“Don’t insult the Fairy King…”
The nymphs started bickering again.
Judging from their brief conversation, Baonoi seemed to dislike the Fairy King, while Inonoi appeared to be a supporter.
Even fairies get into ideological fights, huh.
“But what does ‘the foolish choices of the Fairy Royal Family’ refer to?”
“Hoo, do outsiders not know this? If you buy more chocolates, I might just tell you…”
Tsk, Baonoi.
As befits a nymph with strong survival instincts, she’s perfectly adapted to the 21st century’s capitalist world.
I went to the nearby convenience store and bought some chocolates and drinks.
The nymphs loved the “Zero Cola Fresh.”
“This tastes exactly like the commemorative nectar brewed for the princess’s tenth birthday… So precious that even this Inonoi barely got a few sips…”
“Very delicious…”
Originally, “Zero Cola Fresh” was a drink that adjusted the beverages of the fairy world to fit the 21st century. It seems to perfectly suit the fairies’ palates.
In a better mood, Baonoi explained.
“The foolish choices of the Fairy Royal Family refer to greed… The first Fairy King who established the Fairy Kingdom made a dubious deal with a terrifying witch…”
Baonoi described that long ago, the first fairy king founded the Fairy Kingdom and, seeking infinite glory and prosperity, made an ominous contract with a “witch.”
Since it happened so long ago, no one knows the details of the contract. However, the fairy king must have promised something to the witch in exchange for “prosperity.”
Exchanges usually involve exchanging similar items.
What great value did the Fairy Kingdom trade for ‘infinite prosperity’?
“At first, this bl**d Rose didn’t bloom in the fairy world… It’s a flower created by the ‘Witch’… Its abundant growth in lands polluted by black rain certainly suggests it’s an evil flower…”
The fairy world faced its downfall due to four calamities.
Baonoi seems to believe that this end was brought about by the “Witch.”
The foolish choices of the Fairy King might as well have destroyed the world.
At least, Baonoi appears to think so.
On the other hand, Inonoi thought differently.
“It’s not like that… This Inonoi does not think that way… All the Fairy Kings cherished nymphs as warm-hearted people…”
“Are you still supporting the royal family after things have come to this? That’s why the discussions don’t go through with royalist nymphs…”
“This Inonoi also doesn’t want to talk to Baonoi, who insults the Fairy Kings…”
“If I had known this, Baonoi would rather never have met Inonoi again…”
These two, apparently friends, don’t seem to get along.
I gave Baonoi a light prod on the side and asked softly,
“What’s the use of fighting like this with a friend you haven’t seen in ages? You did say you wanted to see Inonoi.”
“Even so, Inonoi regarded becoming the errand runner for the fairy princess more important than Baonoi… This naughty nymph abandoned her own friend first…”
People have their own circumstances, after all.
I shouldn’t get involved.
What’s important is that the “Witch’s Herb” consumes quite a lot of the earth’s energy.
In the post-apocalyptic world, these “Witch’s Herbs” grew all over. Thanks to them, food crops and flowers were almost impossible to see.
The prime offender who ruined my “gardener’s dream!”
The women of “Eden Farm” can’t claim to have no part in the spread of this flower in the world.
So, I can’t just stand aside, can I?
I’ll stop the illegal cultivation to protect my dream, secure the entrance to the Great Labyrinth to normalize Yu Yeo-reum, and perhaps get some hints about ‘fluffiness,’ which could raise Seugal’s motivation to train and possibly even stop the world’s end.
It’s like killing two birds with one stone and even taking down Goliath.
The problem is that I’m a man, so approaching the “Witch’s Sect” is basically impossible.
Storming in recklessly might make everyone hide away.
“So, Yu Yeo-reum, I need your help. Become a spy for us.”
I was planning to send Yu Yeo-reum to infiltrate the “Witch’s Sect.”
She’d be my little mole.
But a small problem arose.
“What is she doing here?”
“Haenamjjin! You first! Acting dead while you were alive!”
Turns out Yu Yeo-reum had brought along Baek Yeo-ul, the bread thief.
Seugal chimed in, as if amazed.
“Wow, you really do get yourself into everything, don’t you? If you came back, you should’ve properly celebrated that instead of picking a fight with a cult. Are thorns growing in your mouth if you don’t cause trouble every day?”
Apparently, Yu Yeo-reum had spread the news that I was alive this morning.
It was something I expected.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Yu Yeo-reum, unapologetically defiant.
Whatever.
Three women.
With three spies, we could triple the results, right?
Why not launch an infiltration mission into the “Witch Sect” from the inside?
While I was rubbing my hands together with this thought, Baek Yeo-ul kicked my backside.
“Ouch…”
“That’s payback for kicking my a**!”
The bread thief over here… who knew she remembered that I had kicked her backside?
They say a woman’s resentment can make the frost fall even in the sixth lunar month.
Indeed, this girl was可怕的.
“I actually thought you were dead!”
Whoosh!
The bread thief, who had kicked me in the backside, was now hugging me.
“An… and this is my thanks for saving my life!”
She’s all over the place.
Still, the bread thief’s warmth was comforting.
I’ve noticed lately that I like when others embrace me.
While I was thinking that, Yu Yeo-reum got mad, yanked Baek Yeo-ul away, and shoved her.
“Hanamjin is mine. He is supposed to become my husband.”
“What…? Husband…!?”
While lying on the floor, Baek Yeo-ul was visibly trembling.
Seugal, who had been narrowing her eyes at Baek Yeo-ul, frowned as if hearing something unprecedented.
“Yu Yeo-reum, what’s wrong with you? Have you gone mad?”
It seems these girls don’t know about the dark side of Yu Yeo-reum yet.
But there’s a saying:
Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
Women’s problems should be solved by women themselves.
While they’re busy with that, I might as well handle some very important matters.
Specifically, preparing a ‘shelter’ in case of the apocalypse!
It’s been something I’ve been putting off like the cherry on top of a cake, but it might be time to start the project.
With the help of the long-surviving nymphs, we might be able to make some real progress.
Hehehe-.
My secret bastion, just thinking about it gets me excited…!
