RMFW CH 10

RMFW 🌺 Chapter - 10

Posted by Harry, Released on May 14, 2026

Chapter – 10

At this point, staying completely silent was probably suspicious. It would only be natural for Noel to find it strange.

How should I explain this? While my face remained smiling, my mind was in a panic.

“…Is it… some kind of price for using magic?”

(Huh? What?)

“I heard this from the village elder. Witch-sama and sorcerers sometimes sacrifice something of themselves to reach the highest levels of magic… Did Witch-sama sacrifice her voice?”

It seems witches and sorcerers are a kind of people who gain power by sacrificing something of themselves.

That’s terrifying. My expression stiffened slightly.

I was glad I was a monster that could grow by using evolution points without sacrificing anything.

“Oh… I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bring up something sad…”

Noel hurriedly bowed his head in panic, thinking he had touched on something painful.

I hadn’t actually lost my voice, but since I couldn’t speak in public, it wasn’t entirely wrong. Still, there was no need for him to worry.

I gently patted his head to show him it was fine.

“…Witch-sama is very kind… Um, Witch-sama, I’ll speak to people for you since you can’t talk.”

(Oh, that helps. So he’ll explain to the village that I’m a good witch, right?)

At this rate, I shouldn’t be mistaken for a kidnapper.

I smiled and took Noel’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. I meant to ask him to help me appeal to the village.

If Noel introduced me as a “good witch,” I might avoid being treated as suspicious. Surely no one would suspect I was actually a plant monster—a mandrake in human form.

(Great! I’ll be able to live among humans!)

Or so I thought. But an unexpected situation occurred.

After I gave Noel more medicine-coated meat when he seemed unwell again, we arrived at the village.

And I immediately noticed something strange.

It was eerily quiet.

Even though it was daytime, there were no people outside. Last night there had been lights, so it wasn’t abandoned—but where had everyone gone?

(Did they all hide because they were afraid of strangers…?)

In closed communities, outsiders are often rejected. Maybe everyone had locked themselves inside because of me.

As I walked deeper into the village, Noel grabbed my hand anxiously.

“…This smell… Witch-sama, this is…”

(A smell? I don’t notice anything… my sense of smell isn’t very strong.)

Noel, being a wolf beastman, likely had a sharp sense of smell. As a plant, mine was probably even worse than a human’s.

Then—

“Oh.”

(A human child… she’s collapsed… is she… dead?)

A young girl lay collapsed in front of a house. There was vomit nearby, and she wasn’t moving.

When I picked her up, she was still breathing—but barely. Her skin lacked elasticity. Dehydration.

“…It’s the same illness as my village… Everyone in the village is probably…”

So it was an epidemic.

This village might be almost completely incapacitated. If so, there wouldn’t be anywhere safe to live here.

How many survivors were even left…?

(Wait. If everyone dies… what if rumors spread that the village was destroyed by the witch’s curse?)

I didn’t yet know how witches were perceived here, but in most fantasy stories, witches were villains.

If I was misunderstood before being recognized as a “good witch,” I might never be able to fix my reputation. That would be bad. Very bad.

(It’s the same illness as Noel… so a full recovery potion should work. The problem is how to administer it…)

Previously, I had used a straw-like method with Noel when I thought he was a dog. But doing that to humans—men, women, children—would be unacceptable.

It would look like I was making them drink saliva. If people remembered that and called it disgusting, I could be completely expelled.

(Hmm… I can release medicine from the root part… but where should I make the outlet…?)

My body had several possible “output points”: eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. But no matter where I used, it would look like bodily fluid.

And while I was thinking—

The girl in my arms grew weaker.

There wasn’t time.

(No choice… I’ll use tears for now…)

Like I had done with Noel, I pretended to cry while holding the girl and let drops of the full recovery potion fall onto her face.

If even one drop reached her lips, it would work.

I carefully adjusted my angle so Noel couldn’t see, subtly moving the vine-like parts of my “hair” and guiding the potion down to her mouth.

Gradually, her complexion improved. Her eyes slowly opened.

“…A goddess…?”