I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by James B. (7/14).

Lara, tightly gripping my trembling hand, calmed her emotions to some extent and explained the rules regarding the witch exam.

In fact, the witch exam itself wasn’t that difficult. It was an exam that any witch who was born and raised in this Witch’s Forest from a young age could pass.

“Y-You sit on the Northern Altar in the Witch’s Forest and feel the energy of nature for exactly one month. T-Then, the Witch’s Crystal will settle inside your body, and y-you can finally become a Witch Pharmacist.”

“Is that the witch exam? There’s nothing else you have to do?”

“Y-Yes… T-That’s all….”

“One month… Does that mean you can’t come down from the altar even if it rains or if lightning strikes?”

“Y-Yes, yes…. A-And if you do, you’ll receive a terrible punishment that c-can’t even be spoken of….”

The words “terrible punishment” that came out of Lara’s mouth drew the attention of three people.

“…Terrible punishment?”

“Do you perhaps lose the qualification to become a witch forever?”

“Ah, n-no…! B-But I can tell you it’s a terrible punishment…. I-It’s hard even to say it, but if you really want to know… U-Um….”

“It’s fine. It’s not a curiosity I want to solve while ignoring a lady’s pain.”

“…Me neither.”

“Anyway, that doesn’t seem to be the important part, so if you don’t want to say it, there’s no need to hear it.”

“They’re right. You don’t have to say it if it’s difficult, Miss Lara Medichilling.”

“T-Thank you….”

All three of them were curious about the content of the terrible punishment, but when Lara openly hesitated, they all avoided hearing the answer, as if it was rather unpleasant to listen to.

It was fortunate for Lara that they cut off their interest like that. I also thought that those three didn’t necessarily need to hear the content of that punishment.

It wasn’t for the same reason as Lara saying it was so terrible that it was hard to even put into words, but it was certainly a story that would dampen their enthusiasm to help her.

“A test of sitting still on the northern altar for a month… Excuse me if this is a rude question, but how do you handle meals and sleep?”

“D-During the exam period, the forest’s energy flows through your body, so it’s okay not to eat…. Y-You can sleep while sitting…. Ah, and for toileting….”

“It’s okay not to talk about that, Miss Medichilling.”

“…Then, Miss Lara, is there a part where we need to help with your exam? From what I’ve heard so far, it sounds like an exam that you have to complete on her own.”

“W-Well…. O-Originally, it’s an exam that should be solved alone without the help of others, but….”

“…But?”

“L-Lately, there have been rumors of dangerous monsters appearing deep in the forest…. I-I wanted to ask you to e-exterminate those monsters….”

Here it comes. My XP event.

One of the three rewards that could be obtained from this “Lara’s Secret” episode was this experience event. The other two were, as I mentioned before, an increase in the number of accessible Lara scenes and obtaining the “Witch’s Pendant” item.

The witch exam wasn’t something that was taken based on a single person or a regular exam held every year.

Once every 10 years, when the energy of the forest was most orderly, sitting on the Northern Altar and gathering one’s mind and body for a month was the witch exam. On that same day that, all the women who were qualified to take the witch exam would sit on the altar and take the witch exam.

“Since you’re asking us to protect you from monster attacks during the witch exam, if it’s such an important exam, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to recruit adventurers who directly hunt monsters in the forest rather than us?”

“Right. Witches have a lot of money, don’t they?”

“W-We usually do that…. B-But this time, I’m the o-only one taking the witch exam….”

“Hmm. Does that mean you can’t afford to hire adventurers or mercenaries because only one person is taking the exam? As far as I know, witches receive a considerable amount of supplies and gold and silver from the Royal Family every month through pharmaceutical technology.”

“Ah, n-no…! T-The elder witch will pay for everything…! B-But the reason is a bit different….”

“Then, what is it?”

“T-There’s no one to go out of the forest and recruit adventurers for my exam…. T-That’s why I personally went out and asked the Hero…. W-Well, to be precise, I was able to answer because the Hero spoke to me first….”

If there were even just three witches taking the exam, the witch community would have brought in outsiders to deal with the monsters that interfered with the exam, preferably, some strong female adventurers.

If there were about three children taking the exam, the mothers of those three could hold hands and go through all sorts of hardships outside the Witch’s Forest, even being scammed, to find and bring someone to help.

However, for the sake of just one person, the process of that one person’s mother going out of the Witch’s Forest alone, visiting the rough adventurer’s guild full of rough people, and specifically finding a strong female adventurer among the adventurers or mercenaries to entrust the request was an extremely arduous ordeal. 

It would probably remain as an experience more terrible than death for the witches.

As much as everyone expected after seeing Lara’s mother earlier, telling a woman with such a personality to go out of the Witch’s Forest alone and do what was mentioned was practically no different from a decree of exile from the Witch’s Forest. 

If such a person were sent out of the Witch’s Forest alone, she would be left behind and isolated in some distant village, unable to even catch the returning carriage.

In other words, the reason this communication-impaired Lara deliberately enrolled in the academy was to find someone to help with this witch exam in place of her mother. 

We were the ones who reached that point in the process.

“The reason is a bit absurd, but since we’ve come this far, we have no choice but to help.”

“R-Really?! T-Then….”

“Ethan Richard Blackwood. Just call me Blackwood.”

“T-Thank you, B-Blackwood….”

“Yeah, I’ll help too, although my strength is meager. What will you do, Knight Colt?”

“I will also attend for the safety of His Highness and the others.”

“T-Thank you…!”

“…If it were a request like this, it would have been nice if you told us before coming here. My specialty is fire magic, so I can’t fight in the forest.”

“Ah, t-there’s a large lake called the Spring of Mana to the east of the altar…!! Y-You can use fire magic as much as you want there, even if it’s your specialty…!!”

“…Alright, I understand. It’s better than doing nothing.”

“Of course, I’ll help too. So, when does the witch exam start, Miss Medichilling?”

“I-In t-three days…! Ah, a-and I need to tell the elders that I brought people to help….”

Before a suggestion to rush to the elders could pop out, I quickly intervened and changed the subject.

“Then, let’s go see them now, including that. Also, are there any rituals that the elders need to perform at the altar before the exam?”

“R-Rosewood, h-how did you know?!”

“I had a feeling there would be.”

“W-Wow, a-amazing…. R-Rosewood, have you ever thought about becoming a witch? I-I think you’d be good at it since you’re so smart….”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

I had seen countless times what the witch exam meant in the world of Luminor Academy. 

It wasn’t a ritual that someone not native to the Witch’s Forest would do.

‘No matter how much I desire the skills of a witch, no sane person could endure such an exam.’

If Ethan were the only man, I might have considered it, but Antonio was also here, and that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat would arrive soon.

I flatly rejected Lara’s statement trying to make me her colleague and started with what needed to be done first to take the exam.

“Since the elders might be surprised if we all go together, Miss Medichilling and I will go for a bit. Is that okay?”

“Y-Yes…. R-Rosewood…. H-Haa….”

“…Alright, be careful.”

Leaving behind Ethan’s answer, who was looking at Lara holding my hand a bit discontentedly, I moved my steps to the building where the elder council was.

I felt a bit excited at the thought of being able to directly face the Three Elders I had only seen in the game.

The Elder Council Building, where the Three Elders stayed, was not far from Lara’s house. It was close enough to see after passing about five houses.

The reason why the house of the elder who had spent a long time in the Witch’s Forest was close to the house of Lara’s mother, who was just a young witch, lay in the residential style of the Witch’s Forest.

The Witch’s Forest had a village structure where about a hundred houses surrounded a central square in a circular shape. Among them, starting from the house of the oldest supreme elder, it was common for a slightly younger witch to live next door one by one.

This was the result of the witches’ characteristic tendency to “want to live closer to someone even slightly closer” being manifested.

Usually, only about one witch was born every 3-4 years, so their numbers were so small that even just going through about three people older than oneself within the village would result in an age difference of over 10 years.

To that extent, there was bound to be a generation gap even among fellow witches. Of course, in the Witch’s Forest, 10 years was a sufficient age difference to build a friendship through hard work and conversation, but it was still natural to have better communication with someone of a more similar age.

A five-year difference was relatively easier to converse with than a ten-year difference. A two-year difference was easier than a five-year difference.

As a result, the houses ended up being arranged in a feeling of an arithmetic sequence of the residents’ ages. Next to a 100-year-old witch lived a 103-year-old witch, and next to the 103-year-old witch lived a 105-year-old witch.

Making a full circle like that, Lara’s mother, who had the shortest career as a witch in this village, was about 40 years old. 

By skipping a few empty houses in the middle, one could reach the elder’s house.

“T-Thank you, Rosewood…. I-If you hadn’t held my hand earlier, I-I would have been too nervous to speak properly.”

“I’m glad you calmed down that much. That big house over there is where the elders live, right?”

“Y-Yes…. T-That’s the house….”

“Do the elders have any aversion to outsiders or anything like that?”

“Ah, i-it should be fine…. T-The elders are a bit better in that regard…. A-And I think you could sufficiently converse with other w-witches too, Rosewood….”

Well, that would be the case. 

After all, I had visited the Witch’s Forest more than a few times, even in my previous life. 

I had the methods to converse with Lara, Lara’s mother, the Three Elders, and other witches who were important to the story all figured out in my head.

As I walked to the house where the Three Elders lived while having such a conversation with Lara, a carriage I had never seen in the game caught my eye.

…What? I had never seen a witch who raised horses in the game.

T/N

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!