After shaking off my dark thoughts, I asked, “By the way, what are you doing out here in the forest? Are you working?”
“No, I’m actually in training right now.”
And then he told me his story.
A few days earlier, his younger sister had been kidnapped by a strange group. The muscleman hadn’t been around, and so he hadn’t been able to rescue her.
He had heard from an eyewitness that the people who kidnapped his sister were a bunch of burly men. In order to take them on, he had taken up training here and knocked down all the trees one by one.
…And he had also incidentally taken a part-time job as a lumberjack to make money.
“…So you’re just knocking trees down for money, then?”
“What are you saying? Making money isn’t the point. I need more muscle—so much more,” he denied with heaving breaths. Something about this was strange.
“Isn’t your goal to rescue your younger sister?”
“That’ll happen sooner or later. I don’t have enough muscle to fight the burly men who kidnapped her.”
Um, you’re already superhuman, so please go ahead and save your sister already.
…It seemed like I might meet the same fate as the fallen trees if I said that aloud, though, so I just gave an exaggerated nod.
“First of all,” he continued, “I’ve got to take down the champion of this forest—the bear. This is my first objective.”
“A bear…?”
“Yes. A scary one, too. He can grab fish out of the river with his bare paws. I’m nowhere near that dexterous.”
“Uh-huh…”
“After that, they say there’s an ax-wielding oddball living deep in the forest, and I have to duel him, too. I’ve heard that he wrestled the bear to the ground. He’s one to be feared.”
“Uh-huh…”
If the bear has already been defeated in a wrestling match, then hasn’t it already lost its “champion of the forest” title?
“After that—”
He made me listen to his plans for about an hour, but the words little sister never once came out of his mouth. I had to wonder if he really had any intention of going to help her. Maybe his overtrained muscles had started constricting the blood flow to his brain. He’d completely lost sight of his original goal. In the end, rescuing his little sister had become less and less important.
I wonder when he’ll remember why he’s doing all this in the first place.
Well, that story has nothing to do with me.
CHAPTER 4
Fund-Raising
“…Ah, this is bad.”
I had arrived at a small country that didn’t seem to have any defining characteristics, but I wasn’t lamenting the clichéd townscape. My purse, on the other hand, was in terrible shape.
After I was forced to sacrifice three silver coins for the entrance fee, the remaining three coppers and single silver coin had to huddle together into a pitiful little quartet. Sadly, the silver coin was so old and tarnished, you couldn’t distinguish it from the coppers at all if you didn’t look closely. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to use it.
A copper coin was usually enough to buy one loaf of bread. With a silver coin, you could get one night at a cheap inn, and if you had gold, you could buy some high-class accessories.
Which meant the best I could do right now would be to sink my teeth into some bread at a drafty old inn, curl up beneath some thin sheets, and try to sleep away the hunger pangs. That was about it.
In short, I was close to death.
“…What am I going to do?”
I always feel most like spending money when I’m having money problems. Holding my grumbling stomach, I walked along a large avenue. Food stalls were lined up like sparkling jewels, selling bread, fruits, vegetables, and more. Famished as I was, I could almost hear them calling to me.
Ah, I want to eat everything…
I want to eat—
“Um, I’d like some bread, please.”
When I came to, I was standing in front of a food stall. The rich scent of wheat wafted through the air. There were no prices listed.
The good-natured older woman seated on the other side of the tray of bread looked at me and smiled. “That’ll be three coppers.”
Oh, the nerve. Coming here was a mistake.
Turned out she was an old bat who extorted money from the poor.
“Hmm? Please excuse me; maybe my hearing isn’t so good anymore. Could you say that once more, please?”
“That’ll be three coppers.”
“I see, so three pieces of bread cost three coppers?”
“The price is for one, obviously. Something wrong with your head, missy?”
I should be asking the same thing! Are you stupid? Why should I have to turn over three copper pieces for some stale bread that’s been left out for who knows how long? I wanted to let her have it with one of the several complaints that came to mind, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to raise my voice.
In the end, I said nothing and left. Still exhausted and sustained by nothing but air and my own saliva, I passed by the awful food stalls that were tempting me.
Proceeding straight down the broad avenue, I came to an open square where a large fountain stretched up toward the sky. There was nothing unusual about it; it was the kind of architecture you might see anywhere. And on the bench next to the fountain sat a man and woman chatting and laughing, paying no mind to their surroundings—another completely ordinary scene.
……
I decided not to dwell on whether my irritation actually justified the desire to roast them alive and headed toward the fountain instead. Scooping up the running water with both hands, I drank. The cold liquid ran down my throat, and I felt instantly refreshed.
“Oh, look, darling, that witch is drinking the fountain water.”
“She really is! How uncouth! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“……” I gathered magical energy in my hands, pulled out my wand, and turned around silently.
Instantly, with a subtle crack, the bench split in two.
“Kyah! What on earth happened to the bench?”
“Maybe it’s jealous of our love! Ha-ha-ha!”
“……”
They were so stupid, I couldn’t even be mad at them anymore.
The fountain water had soothed my empty stomach somewhat, so after putting my wand away, I continued on.
First of all, I had to find a place to spend the night.
“You want to rent a room? That’ll be three silver coins.”
“For three nights, yes? Sorry, I only want to reserve one night.”
“No, one night is three silvers.”
“……”
This was already the sixth inn. I had started my search with the cheapest-looking hotels, so how was this happening? Every single inn was at least three times the usual price.
This place had cracks in the walls and didn’t even have a bath, but the proprietor was saying that one night cost three silver coins? What a joke.
I kept at it. “Can’t we negotiate? I only have one silver and three coppers…” I turned my purse upside down on the counter. Clink—you could hear the sad truth.
“Isn’t that only four coppers?”
“Ah, this one’s silver.”
“…Oh, so it is. It’s very dirty.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“There’s nothing I can do.” The man running the inn sighed. “Please understand, miss. This is a business.”
“So extorting money from the poor is a business?”
“Commerce has always been this way.”
“Aughhh…” There was no denying that, and it looked like staying at this inn was not an option. “I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think that the prices in this country are a little too high? The town doesn’t even have any sights to see or any unique local product that would justify raising all the
basic consumer prices so much.”
“Uh… Miss, you’re a traveler, so you wouldn’t know…,” the innkeeper murmured.
As I expected, there was more to it.
After glancing around, the innkeeper lowered his voice. “The newly crowned king is a foolish man, and he artificially inflated the local currency.”
“Artificially? Do you mean counterfeit money is circulating through the market?”
The innkeeper nodded. “Indeed. And with all the counterfeit money going around, the value of our currency crashed. As an outsider, the prices in this country would seem a little high, but for everyone who lives here, everything’s a reasonable price.”
“Reasonable, hmm…? But it’s counterfeit money, right? Isn’t there any penalty for using it?”
“The king’s the one who put it into the market, so I should hope not.”
I see.
I finally understood what was going on in this country. I didn’t know what the king was trying to do, but if he thought he could stimulate his economy with counterfeit currency, he must be bona fide fool. However, there apparently hadn’t been much pushback from his citizens about it…
“It doesn’t really matter if the money we’re using is real or fake. If the king increases the amount of money in circulation, the citizens can just increase prices. It doesn’t cause problems for us locals. Only travelers like you run into trouble.”
“…We sure do. People coming from outside are liable to have their hearts broken by the high prices.” People like me.
The innkeeper glanced quickly at something behind me. When I looked, another customer had lined up behind me, and I saw the three silver coins for one night. Apparently, paying triple the ordinary price really did seem appropriate to the locals.
“Will that be all, miss?”
“Yes. Thank you very much for your valuable information.”
I bowed and left the inn.
I would have to work to earn money for a room.
I went back to the broad avenue where I had failed to buy bread and sat unobtrusively on the side of the road to watch the people walking by. They seemed so carefree, going about their shopping.
Even knowing that they were using counterfeit money, they were happy as could be.
“……”
Since I was a traveler, sooner or later I was bound to use up all of my money. I had never settled down somewhere and taken a job, so it was inevitable. I had run into cash problems many times before now. I couldn’t even enter a new country if I ran out of money, after all.
Normally, I would pretend to be a shopkeeper, or help out someone in need, or do something else to earn a little pocket change. But, I thought, if it doesn’t matter whether the money people are using is real or fake, then there’s no reason not to use that to my advantage, is there?
This time I’ll sell my services at three times the usual price, too. Then I’ll be just like everyone else around here—someone who can use counterfeit currency without a shred of guilt.
“Hey, you,” I called out to a young man walking down the street with a sullen expression.
His shoulders hitched in surprise, and he turned toward me. “Huh, me?”
I nodded and beckoned him over. “There’s something troubling you, isn’t there?”
“Um, who are you?”
“Goodness, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I am a traveling fortune-teller,” I said shamelessly, then pushed up my pointy hat and stared at the sullen youth.
“Something troubling me…?” he replied, still skeptical. “Do I really look that upset?”
“Indeed. It’s the only emotion I see on your face.”
“Really…”
“Truly.” I nodded vigorously.
In my experience to date, when it comes to business dealings, hesitation is directly connected to failure. The moment you show hesitation—the moment a crack becomes visible—that’s when the other party starts to be suspicious of you. In other words, it’s best to act with confidence.
That’s why I promptly asserted, “Quite often we don’t know what is bothering us. For example, lack of confidence in your personal appearance, or problems at work, or feelings of dread about failing to meet our soul mate even after such a long time—”
“……!”
I spotted the slight change in his expression. Aha, so he’s having trouble finding a girlfriend. Is that it?
“You’re feeling troubled because…you cannot find a girlfriend. Isn’t that right?”
“…I guess so, yeah.”
He turned to look away, and I spoke again. “Shall I read your fortune and find out when your soul mate will appear before your eyes?”
I took out my wand and summoned some magical energy. With a cute poof! sound, a small flame appeared.
“…Ah.” And immediately after it appeared, it was blown out by a breeze. Apparently, I hadn’t summoned enough magical energy. Smoke drifted from the tip of my wand in a reluctant farewell.
I was supposed to examine the flames to tell a fortune, but it wasn’t happening.
After blowing all the rest of the smoke out, I waved my wand around. “Ah, I see, I see.”
“Huh? That was enough?”
“Yes. What I just performed is known as a smoke reading, a style of fortune-telling in which I predict your fortune by examining the smoke.” A lie, of course.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“That may well be so. This style of fortune-telling is a secret art, passed down through the generations of my family, so it’s not something that most people would know about.”
I couldn’t afford to blow my cover, so I had to cut off the idle chitchat. “By the way, regarding your soul mate…”
“Y-yeah. So? When can I meet her?”
“Today.”
“Huh, today? Wait, are you saying it’s y—?”
“This evening, your soul mate shall appear before your eyes,” I continued, before he could embarrass himself and say something he would regret. “If you go straight ahead from here, there’s a plaza with a fountain, right? There should be a broken bench next to the fountain.” I took something out of my purse and held it out to him. “If you wrap this around your hand and stand next to the bench, your soul mate will appear before you.”
He took the object from my hand and tilted his head in confusion.
“…What’s this? It just looks like an ordinary piece of string.”
“It most certainly is not. That is a magic string, imbued with my magical energy. It has the power to draw your fortunes to you.”
I hadn’t actually put any magical energy into the string, of course. And even if I were to do so, it wouldn’t have the power to draw anyone’s fortunes closer. In fact, I had picked up the string earlier at one of the stalls.
“If I have this string…I’ll meet my…”
“Your soul mate, yes. Now look sharp and go wait until this evening. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the one you’re destined for, would you?”
Somewhat puzzled, the young man gripped the string tight. “Got it. I’m going to wrap this string around my hand and wait by the bench.”
He stood up to leave, wearing a renewed smile, but I stopped him immediately.
“Sir, the fee for the string and the fee for the fortune-telling come to one gold piece all together.” The youth grimaced visibly, until I said the magic words: “Worry not. If by chance you do not meet the one, I shall offer you a full refund.”
About an hour had passed since the gloomy-faced young man had left.
A single young woman walked by. Her dress was plain, and so was her face—everything about her was plain, really. She looked about the same age as me.
There was plenty to work with, but she was squandering her potential with clothes that looked like they came off the closet floor, to say nothing of her poor skin and hair regimen.
Just like my dull silver coin. And so my next customer had been chosen.
“Hey, you!” I called out to her as she passed by, head down. “Am I correct in assuming you are struggling to find a lover?”
The young woman jumped in surprise and turned toward me. “…M-me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Um, who are you?”
“Goodness, how rude of me. I completely forgot to mention that I am a traveling fortune-teller,” I said shamelessly, then pushed up my pointy hat and stared at her.
The girl trembled like prey caught in the eyes of a predator. “H-how did you know that?” she fearfully asked.
“I know these things. I am a fortune-teller, after all. I can see everything, from your troubled feelings to your fated soul mate.”
“M-my soul mate? Y-you can really see that?”
“Indeed. I can see him clearly before my very eyes.” Of course, it was all lies.
“Then when will he appear?”
“Today.”
“T-today…?”
The girl looked at me with apprehension, her heart racing at the mention of a soul mate. But I was in no rush. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
“If you go straight ahead from here, there is a plaza with a fountain, right? There should be a broken bench next to the fountain.” And so, keeping a very even composure, I told her the rest. “This evening, a young man with an old piece of string wrapped around his hand will appear there. He is the one.”
Things continued in this fashion for a while.
I picked up some rocks around the area and told people they would improve their fortunes, manipulated soul mates into meeting each other, and so on. After several days of excellent business, my purse was bulging with coins. By my estimation, I had made enough to live large for several months here.
Well, well, I must give my thanks to the king who made the counterfeit coins.
Since the prices were so high in this country, I used up a lot of money on room and board, but everyone was happy to pay a much higher rate for my “services” than usual. The actual value of money in this country was lower than in other countries.
“…Yes—I have imbued this HALF-OFF sign with my magic power. If you hang it in front of your shop, bread will be flying off the shelves.”
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 1 Page 5
