Witch Hunt
The days of peace suddenly come to an end.
One day, the return of a man who had gone out for work was late, which became a problem within the village. Like Aoi and Irias, he went to the village outside the village for work and earned compensation for his work.
It was usual for him to not come back for nearly a week after going out of the village. However, this time, he was one day late than scheduled, and he still hadn’t returned.
Worried? No, he’s a grown man. If there’s a party or something in the village, it’s not uncommon for him to be late for a day. People in the village thought so and decided to wait and see.
However, he didn’t return even after two days. Worried that he might have had an accident, the village sent messengers. And even the messenger didn’t return for two days.
The commotion in the village grew. Something must have happened, is he okay? It would be nice if nothing happened. The adults in the village gathered and discussed repeatedly, but they couldn’t understand the current situation and couldn’t reach a conclusion.
At that time, a crow flew into the village. Attached to its foot was a letter, and the villagers understood at a glance that it was an animal being used by magic.
The letter was from the messenger who went to look for the late man, and it said this:
[We’ve been betrayed by the village. A large group of witch hunters has come, and they’re searching for our village.]
The letter was covered in blood, and the village was in turmoil. It had only been less than two or three weeks since they received information that the king had changed. The sudden movements of the country caused great confusion.
“We should immediately abandon this village and escape!”
“No, the preparations to leave the village are not yet complete! If we flee outside the village without a plan, we’ll just have casualties…!?”
“Besides, winter is approaching! Do we have a place to endure the cold…!?”
The village was in a heated debate. Ever since the king had been replaced by a hardliner, they had been preparing to evacuate the village as a precaution, but they never expected action to come so soon.
With the preparations to leave the village underway, but without a clear destination, the indecisive debate continued.
“What about the elderly? I can’t imagine they’d be able to keep fleeing long distances!”
“And the letter only said that the witch hunters are searching for our village. It’s possible this remote mountain village might not be found after all…”
“What nonsense are you spouting! How can you be so optimistic?!”
Amidst the discussion, the village chief spoke up.
“It’s the best to escape from this village.”
“Village chief…!”
“Anything could happen from now on. The witch hunters may continue searching until they find this village. We should leave this place while the commotion is still fresh.”
In the midst of the debate with no answers, the village chief set a clear direction for action.
“Finish the preparations for escape in one day. We’ll leave tomorrow night. In this forest, the outside world is as familiar as our own backyard. We’ll leave this village when the outside world is asleep.”
“Village chief, but…”
“I understand what you want to say. But no matter how much we discuss, there’s no right answer. Time is running out. I instruct everyone in the village to leave.”
“I understand, village chief.”
“And one more thing…”
The village chief closed his mouth for a moment, remained silent for a while, and then slowly opened his mouth.
“We must be left behind, including me, the elderly. We can’t leave here.”
“What…!?”
The words of the village chief caused a commotion.
“We can’t leave here. We can’t walk long distances. It’s only natural.”
“…………”
“And also…”
The village chief looked outside the window.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“We can’t abandon Shinju-sama (Divine tree). We’ve been with the Shinju-sama since we were born. We’ve lived with the Shinju-sama much longer than the young people, and we’ve respected it all our lives.”
Outside the window, the symbol of the village, the Shinju-sama, stood tall and dignified.
If everyone in the village looked out the window, they would see that the symbol of the village spread its branches as if enveloping the village. Its figure was even more robust and precious than usual.
“We can’t leave the Shinju-sama at this point. We can’t… “
The village chief murmured deeply. As the villagers looked around, they realized that all the elderly people in the room had the same expression as the village chief. Until the end, their determination to be with the Shinju-sama could be seen on their faces.
“Village chief, we’ll stay here too.”
A middle-aged man spoke up. He held power in the village.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Only the elderly should stay. Others should escape.”
“However, village chief, if this village becomes a battlefield, someone is needed to stop the enemies for those who left the village. The elderly won’t be able to handle it.”
“…That may be true.”
“We’re already over forty. We have affection for the village and the Shinju-sama. Let us fight to protect the Shinju-sama.”
“…………”
The village chief closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating the desperate look in the man’s eyes. Then, he slowly began to speak.
“…Understood. Let’s leave behind the minimum force needed to hold this place. The rest of the younger ones will leave here tomorrow night.”
“Yes!”
The decision was made. They would organize their belongings and prepare for escape by tomorrow night. Despite the haste, the food supplies were not even half of what was initially planned. Nevertheless, they mobilized all the villagers to prepare as much food and necessary tools as possible.
Leaving behind the elderly and the minimum force, over thirty young people were set to leave the village.
The villagers were filled with anxiety. Was this the end of the village? Where should they flee? Would they be able to survive? They all moved their hands nervously, their faces pale.
“A-Aoi, Verdi… W-what’s going to happen to us…? W-what about the village…?”
Irias approached Aoi and Verdi, trembling as she asked. Unable to hide her anxiety, Aoi clenched her teeth tightly, her face turning pale. At that moment, Verdi shouted loudly.
“It’ll be fine!”
” ………… “
” ………… “
Aoi gritted her teeth, unable to formulate her next words. At that moment, Verdi shouted out.
“It’s all right! “
“V-Verdi…?”
All eyes turned to her.
“I’ll protect everything! If the enemy comes, I’ll mow them down! Everyone, trust me! I’ll protect everyone!”
Verdi’s voice was so loud that it reached not only Irias and Aoi but also all the villagers. Her confident voice eased the people’s minds just a little bit.
“So, don’t worry, Irias…”
“Verdi…”
Verdi gently stroked Irias’s head and smiled softly.
“T-that’s right! I’ll protect everyone too! You don’t need to worry, Irias…!”
“Aoi…”
Dragged along by Verdi, Aoi also spoke with determination. Verdi nodded softly.
“…That’s right. As Aoi said. If it’s me and Aoi, we can protect everyone. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“T-that’s right! W-we can protect everyone! I won’t let anyone die…!”
With Aoi’s loud voice, all eyes were on the three of them. Both Verdi and Aoi had tense expressions, and Aoi’s body was trembling slightly. Even at a glance, it was clear that it was just bravado.
However, their bravery encouraged the villagers. With just a loud declaration that everything would be fine, the villagers’ anxiety eased slightly.
Irias smiled softly.
“…Thank you, both of you.”
The fear faded from Irias’s face, and her expression calmed slightly.
Together with the villagers, they prepared all day long. Although it was far from perfect, they managed to finish the preparations by nightfall.
The young people leaving the village were all covered in black coats with hoods, ready to blend into the darkness of the night. They were seen off by the elderly remaining in the village.
If the village wasn’t found by the witch hunters and everything went well, they would send someone from the remaining group as a messenger. They had already designated a meeting point for the messenger to rendezvous with the escapees and inform them that the village was safe. Then, the escapees could return home without worry.
Believing in that outcome, the young people left the village. Hoping this wasn’t a final farewell, they quietly slipped away from the village into the dark night.
As they smelled the damp grass and trees of the night mountain, the ones leaving their homeland walked slowly. Their village was hidden among the trees, disappearing from sight with just a short walk. Although the surrounding mountains were like their own backyard, they had never experienced leaving their village in the deep darkness of the night, making it feel like they were walking through an unknown world on this day.
They continued to walk for three days and nights, escaping from the village. Zigzagging through the mountains, they continued their escape, making sure not to approach neighboring villages. The steep mountain where their village was located could be seen from afar. To others, it was just a mountain with nothing but vast nature, but to the villagers, they could immediately tell where their homes were on the mountain.
And then, they saw it.
“Ah…”
From the direction of the village, a faint fire could be seen rising. It looked like a small flame from a distance, but they could sense that it was large enough to engulf the entire village.
“The village…”
“Fire in our village…”
The village was burning. They sensed it from that small light.
A heavy and painful feeling filled their chests, and tears fell from their eyes as they looked at that small light.
The group realized that their village of mage had vanished.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
