Champignon Witch (シャンピニオンの魔女)

In the depths of the black forest,

hiding away in a house made of poisonous mushrooms, there once lived a young witch.

Although young, she had lived many times longer than humans who appeared her age.

She had been living there alone ever since she was about half her current height.

Recently, she'd taken an interest in making medicine.

Working in a flow with the steam to perform such a methodical task

seemed to put her mind at ease.

Her medicines were effective against many ailments, and selling them in the nearby town

brought her some very welcome income.

Luna, are we heading to town?

Mm-hmm.

You can ride on me, Luna.

Maybe on the way home.

It's fine with me, though. This isn't heavy at all.

Have a nice trip!

Once every three months, she took the medicine she made into town.

Are you gonna buy more books with the money from the medicine?

Yes.

You know what I think? I'd love a nice, warm, red vest.

But I just knit you one a little while ago.

Yeah, that old thing? It's so stiff and scratchy, wearing it makes me wanna cry.

But people say vests made from velvet goat wool are fluffy and soft

and they still keep you nice and warm.

Well, that's one way to complain about Merino's wool.

Aww, that's not what I mean. It's just personal preference.

I think my skin is more suited to velvet wool, that's all.

So when we get to town, can we visit the vest shop?

I'll alter Merino's vest for you so it feels more like velvet wool.

But Luna, have you ever even felt yarn made from velvet goats?

If you don't know what it feels like, I kinda doubt you can copy it.

We really should visit the vest shop so you can see what it feels like.

Wherever the witch walked or touched,

she would often leave poisonous mushrooms in her wake.

Thus, she was known in town as the Champignon Witch.

LUNA, THE BLACK WITCH

I wonder if he'll let you touch a vest.

I really doubt it.

Because mushrooms might grow on it?

Stay away from that!

Don't get close to the black witch's poisonous mushrooms!

There are people whose skin rotted away after just touching one!

Someone even died after accidentally eating one.

Yuck! They're releasing a strange gas. I bet it's poisonous!

No, those are just spores.

Hmm?

Oh! It's the vest shop!

The witch never felt very comfortable in town.

Don't worry. I'll fix the other vest and make it nice and soft.

I thought so! The black witch's breath and skin stink like poison gas!

Get too close and you'll die!

It was crowded places that bothered her more than the town itself.

Things had been like this for as long as she could remember,

so it had never made her particularly sad. It was just the way her body was.

MEDICINE

Hmm? Oh, look who's here.

I just ran out of your hair growth formula, so this is perfect timing.

People say it works very well, you know. Would you bring me a bigger batch next time?

I also need more of your back pain medicine.

The apothecary was friendlier to the witch than most of the townspeople,

as he both depended on the witch's pharmaceutical skills,

Good. Here you go.

and because he had some knowledge of black witches.

But whenever the witch visited, he always wore his herb-infused mask.

Oh, would you take those mushrooms that sprouted with you?

It was just the way things were.

The witch loved the bookstore.

Oh. Please come in.

Its owner was a descendant of both the human and spirit worlds,

so he was also somewhat understanding towards the witch.

The town was bustling today so I figured you'd be in.

The townspeople were very suspicious of both strangers and outsiders,

so he lived his life in human form.

Hmm? What's that for?

Oh, are you checking out my true form again? Please don't.

I couldn't deal with you falling for me.

Spirit types kinda have an attitude, don't they?

I am glad you came, though.

It's been quite some time since your last visit,

so the air in town's grown stagnant. Even just stepping outside felt depressing.

But thanks to your visit, maybe I can finally start venturing out again.

You did absorb the poisons in town today, didn't you? Thank you, as always.

But you know,

the way your body reacts to pollution by growing mushrooms that filter out toxins

never ceases to amaze me.

I'm sure it's rough on you and the mushrooms that have to carry that poison, though.

A-A bunch of mushrooms sprouted in the town square at the crossroads and surprised me.

Oh. I think I know why.

Last week, there was a public execution there.

The criminal's regret and the crowd's outrage must have saturated the area.

The poisons from all of that wickedness probably reacted to you.

The bookstore owner did not state this outright,

but a public execution meant it was likely part of a witch hunt.

It was also likely an acquaintance of the witch, and likely someone innocent,

who was executed in the square.

While this was still a small country, it was able to develop to the extent it had

thanks to the help of powerful magicians.

To maintain control over that power across generations, the royal family

chose powerful white witches as their queens.

As a result, those who were loyal to the crown

were known as white witches and white wizards, and those disloyal

became known as black witches and black wizards. Thus began the "Black Witch Hunt."

Oh, right.

Hmm?

I got some good books in yesterday.

Oh!

I picked out a few that I thought you might be interested in.

The world was a difficult place for the witch,

but because she could still sell medicine

and buy her dearly beloved books in this human world,

she had not completely given up on it yet.

Six Pigous should just about cover it.

Oh, they grew mushrooms!

Money is full of bad energy, after all.

Oh. Miss Witch, I have a favor to ask.

I picked up a very strange book. It seems to be under a very powerful curse.

Word is that many of the people who read it went insane and died.

I can't even pick it up.

Miss Witch, watch out!

Gulp.

It's over.

The book should be fine now.

Th-Thanks.

It tastes like that curse killed around 150 people.

I don't ever want to know what that tastes like.

You really are something, Miss Witch.

I appreciate the help.

He did appreciate her,

but as soon as she walked in, he was burning herbal incense and wearing his crystal

as he always did.

Oh. And as thanks, you can read this. If you like it, it's yours.

Bye.

Yeah. Come back soon.

The witch already knew that when she left the store,

the bookseller would start vigorously wiping down everything she had touched with lye.

Still, she was grateful that he would wait until she left,

indeed, that he would even let her in to begin with, so she paid it no mind.

All was well.

Finally!

Luna?

I'd been waiting for him to get this medicine back in stock!

Now my bedridden mother can finally get better.

I wish I could thank the person who makes this medicine.

And selling it at a price we common folk can afford? What a blessing.

The town was unpleasant in many ways,

but it still offered unique moments like this that made her visits worthwhile.

Thank goodness! Surely our child will get better with this.

I wonder who brought it to us.

This was not something she'd see if she stayed hiding, alone, in her forest home.

It was her reward for having the courage to venture into the outside world.

Luna, if they knew you made it, those people probably wouldn't buy your medicine anymore.

But if that made you happy, I'm happy, too.

It was as if all of her stress from enduring one day in the city simply evaporated.

For the witch, these moments were more magical than magic itself.

MEDICINE

A medicine that grows back legs? I can't sell that here!

If I started selling a medicine that unusual, especially if it actually worked,