My past-life memories… don’t seem very useful. It’s just a world full of songs and dancing. That’s all, really!
“All it did was make my head spin... there’s nothing in there that’ll help with my life now!”
Selina peppers me with questions, hoping I might remember some lost magic or unknown magic circles. But there isn’t anything magic-related at all—though there are plenty of strange things. She lets out a big, disappointed sigh.
Unlike magic, my heart overflows with unfamiliar melodies, which makes me just a little bit happy.
“Since I’ve unsealed your magic, let’s practice little by little! And you’ll need to learn about medicinal herbs too—that’s essential for making a living as a witch!”
Apparently, medicinal herbs grow abundantly in the Great Forest.
The problem is, I’ve only been able to walk within Selina’s barrier until now. On top of that, my surrogate nannies Mary and Ben—along with their kids—have been eating most of the herbs along with the weeds. Goats are surprisingly excellent at weed control.
That’s right—there are no medicinal herbs inside the barrier. But I’ve always had questions about this barrier.
“Selina? Why didn’t you have the barrier up before? If you had, I wouldn’t have been abandoned on your doorstep, right?”
Selina lets out another big sigh. “You’re absolutely right! But maintaining a barrier uses magical power—especially keeping one up for seven whole years.”
She launches into another long, self-congratulatory speech. But since she did raise me, a foundling, I endure it patiently.
“You can sell medicinal herbs to nearby Lang Village too. So even if I suddenly drop dead, you’ll be able to feed yourself.”
Selina can afford to say such morbid things, yet no matter how many times I ask her age, she never answers.
“Asking a lady her age is terribly rude!”
A lady? Selina certainly has refined features. I can honestly nod if someone says she was beautiful in her youth.
But she has no interest in grooming. Her white hair is disheveled, carelessly tied back with leather cord when she works. It was probably blonde or platinum blonde originally. Her eyes are deep green—they look black from a distance.
When she goes to Lang Village, she wears a black robe with the hood up, looking like a suspicious witch straight out of a storybook.
I apparently had fluffy blonde hair as a baby, but now it’s strawberry blonde.
Sometimes in the adult books I sneak-read, pink-haired women seduce people. When I ask Selina about this worriedly, she just snorts and says, “You don’t seem like you’d be able to use charm magic.”
My eyes are hazel. My face is... well, pretty cute, I think.
Incidentally, the formerly beautiful Selina is hopeless at cleaning, cooking, and sewing. Seven-year-old me is better at all of them.
Since my memories returned, various foods I want to eat keep popping into my head, making my stomach growl constantly. Most of the ingredients aren’t available in the Great Forest or nearby Lang Village, though.
“I wanna go to Lang Village too!”
I’m not particularly interested in the other kids running around, but there has to be more there than in the Great Forest, right? And if there are any musical instruments, it might make this lonely life a bit more enjoyable.
Ever since my memories returned, melodies have been playing continuously in my head!
“Zoe, your clothes are too small now, so I’ll have to buy you new ones… Oh, I know! You’re seven already. It’s time to start earning your own keep!”
What?! I’m still only seven! In my past-life memories, that’s barely old enough to start school.
Seeing my pouty face, Selina launches into a lecture. “It’s only natural! The children in Lang Village start helping out around this age too. Especially since you don’t have parents, Zoe—you have to learn to support yourself.”
She’s right... I don’t know what kind of people my parents were, but if they abandoned me as a newborn, they can’t be counted on.
“What kind of medicinal herbs should I gather?”
Selina drops a large, dusty book onto the table with a thud. “Read this and memorize which herbs to gather. This forest is full of medicinal plants.”
But while the Great Forest has plenty of herbs, it also has plenty of monsters. Selina, who can defeat monsters with magic, completely forgets that detail.
She really isn’t suited for child-rearing!
I’ve spotted some medicinal herbs growing in areas that had been blocked by the barrier before. I think they’re low-grade herbs from what I’ve read in the book, but I need to get closer and observe their characteristics to be sure.
“Selina, can I go outside the barrier?” I asked properly!
Selina says “Yeah,” so I have permission.
So this is my first time outside! I walk up to the barrier and carefully step my foot out.
“Wow, my first time outside the barrier!”
I could see out before, but I could never quite touch what was just beyond reach, so this is pretty exciting!
Since Mary and Ben have been eating the medicinal herbs along with the grass inside the barrier, I get absorbed in picking the herbs I studied in the book.
BWOOOOOR!
But then, I look up sharply to find a Big Boar right there!
“Zoe! Get away!”
Screaming and panicking, I’m shoved aside as Selina slices the Big Boar in half with a Wind Cutter spell.
“Don’t space out like that!”
Sure, I was concentrating on herb gathering and not paying attention to my surroundings... but isn’t this partly Selina’s fault too?