If The Villain Catches Me Alive

The next scene that unfolded before Theodore’s eyes was a rural village.

 

A young man, unaware of his presence, walked past Theodore who was still dazed. The young man’s pants were caked in dirt and his steps were erratic, but his eyes followed the boy’s every move.

 

By the time he realized it, Theodore was already silently following close after him.

 

The young man was talking to someone in front of the fountain in the center of the village, the figure looking vaguely familiar to Theodore’s eyes.

 

“Dante! Why haven’t you been around lately?”

 

Theodore was even more surprised to hear the name he hadn’t heard in a long time. Dante. Dante.

 

“Ahaha. It’s been a long time, Grandpa Klau.”

 

“Did you bring some herbs?”

 

“Grandpa is more excited about the herbs than about me, huh.”

 

“Of course I’m glad to see both! Take them out, come on.”

 

‘So that’s why he’s covered in dirt… Thank goodness….’

 

Theodore breathed a sigh of relief to himself. The young man

called Dante sold the herbs and collected the money. He bowed respectfully to the old man, then whistled and swung the pouch of money around before making his way back out of the village.

 

‘It’s already getting late……’

 

Where is he going? Theodore followed him silently even as he thought that to himself.

 

The young man’s house was perched up on a hill outside of the village.

 

‘How did he… afford to live in such a place?’

 

Theodore looked at the little cottage and made a sour assessment. It doesn’t look like he… built it himself. Did he buy it? ……Why does he live by himself? He could have rented a place in the village…

 

Theodore hesitated for a moment when he saw the door Dante had entered through. Should I open it? He thought to himself. He doesn’t know if he can see him now or not…

 

While he was thinking that, the door swung open.

 

Dante stepped out of the cottage with two loaves of bread in one hand and a glass of drink in the other. He flopped down on the grass next to the door, looking eerily familiar.

 

Munching on his late supper and sipping his drink, he stared longingly at the village he had just come from.

 

Theodore followed his gaze and looked down into the village, where he saw a family living a simple life, chatting away.

 

Theodore realized at that moment.

 

‘……You too.’

 

So you were lonely after leaving me. You couldn’t escape. You kept… missing me.

 

That’s when he mustered up the courage to sit down next to the lonely man.

 

“Just wait.”

 

Theodore crouched beside him, buried his face in his knees, and turned his head only slightly. The same words he’d said earlier, to the man who had taken his hand.

 

“I’ll find you.”

 

***

 

Living in the countryside was surprisingly well-suited to him.

 

‘In fact, for most of my life, I’ve never had anything to do with the countryside…’

 

He expected to struggle to fit in, but he didn’t. Surprisingly, he found that he liked the calm, peace, and quiet of the countryside. He regretted the fact that he didn’t know the feeling of being far from everything.

 

The silence quickly calmed his always turbulent mind. With a calm mind, he slept well. Moreover, he felt a little healthier because he ate well. It seems that people are at their best when they eat well, poop well, and sleep well.

 

Ah, the villagers…

 

He was known as ‘Young man A’ who lived alone after his parents passed away.

 

The day he first fell into this village is surprisingly simple to describe.

 

When he opened my eyes, he realized that he had fallen into a small cottage on a hill and walked down to the remote village, looking for signs of life. There, he found the villagers quite by accident.

 

At the time, he hadn’t eaten anything yet so as soon as he saw them, he started to….

 

Bam-!

 

‘Oh no!

 

‘Here, someone has collapsed!’

 

He was so relieved that he’d come to this place…. The villagers who found him took good care of him. They fed him, gave him water, and gave him a place to sleep. They cared for him like a newborn baby. …He’s grateful to them.

 

Of course, some people were wary of meeting someone like him for the first time, but even those people….

 

‘Where are you from?’

 

‘Do you live with your family?’

 

‘Where do you live?’

 

When they saw that he couldn’t answer any of these very basic questions, they seemed to think that he was just a young man who couldn’t speak.

 

……So, he didn’t bother to explain himself.

 

That was how he was able to blend in with the villagers without giving any answers.

 

Oh, and…

 

There’s another thing he realized.

 

Crash-!

 

He realized that his new body didn’t contain any magic.

 

This is because he came back from death… So he shouldn’t be heartbroken over such a trivial matter… or should he? 

Well, when he thought about it, it was probably better to have no magic at all. It reminded him of so many things Dante had done before, and it was like starting a new life. However…

 

“Oh no, I broke it again…”

 

The problem was that sometimes he forgets and tried to use magic unconsciously. A simple floating spell is almost like a third hand to him, so naturally he lets go of the bowl while expecting it to float away, only to have it shatter.

 

Huu, that’s already the third one. Despite breaking one every day, it’s not always easy to act like a normal person.

 

Oh, and… also. Dante got a job here.

 

In fact. In the beginning, he didn’t even think about getting a job. He was too busy adjusting to being alive and happy to be alive. But one important thing he forgot was that…

 

‘Even in the countryside, people need money and food to survive.’… That.

 

After realizing this after a long two days of being taken care of by the villagers, he seriously thought about it on the spot.

 

‘ ……How am I going to make a living?’

 

He didn’t think about any of that before, he just thought he’d be very lucky to survive. ….He didn’t think about what would happen next.

 

Then, something dawned on him: I really am… nothing without magic.

 

Unlike the capital, the countryside was small, and most people were self-employed, so there was hardly any work available.

 

And then, as he was walking around near the cottage, deep in thought about how he should live his life, he saw….

 

‘Uh, that’s…….’

 

Something caught his eye.

 

It’s a plant with symmetrical leaves. It tends to grow in clusters of two or three and it looks like…

 

‘Mandrake.’

 

It was an herb that he had often used in his magical research for treatments.

 

“Is, is it really…?”

 

He knelt down on the ground and used his fingers to dig up the dirt around the herb, trying to keep the roots from getting damaged. Carefully… gently…

 

“Whoa……”

 

He wasn’t wrong. It was really a mandrake, with distinctive roots.

 

‘Crazy. I guess my ancestors weren’t wrong when they said that if you learn something, you’ll be able to use it someday!’

 

That’s how he ended up as an herbalist. That’s how his life in the countryside came to be.

 

In the morning, he would wake up slowly and eat yesterday’s leftover bread for breakfast and lunch. Then quietly bask and rest in the warm sun, leaving the cottage just as the sun is high overhead. Right behind the cottage is where his work kit is (although it’s really just a hoe and a basket).

 

That’s all he’s taking with him up the mountain.

 

Truthfully, it’s just a hill climb… but since his stamina makes it feel like a mountain, he calls it a mountain.

 

After gasping for air until almost collapsing, he would reach his secret garden.

 

“Kya…”

 

There are always plenty of herbs buried there, all beautiful in their own colors, waiting for Dante to pick them. It’s so beautiful that it makes him hungry…

 

Grrr.

 

Um… never mind.

 

Regardless, he pulls out the herbs in moderation, ensuring the roots are kept intact. About halfway through the basket, his stamina runs out, and then he just starts walking downhill. After all, this is his garden. No one comes there aside from him, and if they do, only he knows that they’re really good herbs, so he doesn’t have to worry about it.

 

So with just the right amount of herbs, he makes his way down to the village….

 

“Dante!”

 

Only to see someone waiting for him.