I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 35
Ie was in an unusually good mood as he called out to Carbuncle.
“Alright, Carbuncle, let’s go home.”
As Ie reached out to grab Carbuncle by the scruff of the neck, the creature leapt backward to evade him.
Ie tilted his head and looked at Carbuncle with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing? If we stay here any longer, we’ll be bothering Rei.”
“I will not return to the Holy Church!”
Carbuncle declared in a voice louder than ever before.
“Why not?”
“If I go back, I’ll just be forced to eat that awful holy food! And I can’t deal with that strangely energetic saint anymore!”
Regarding the saint, Ie had to admit, that was a fair point.
“Then, are you planning to become a stray sacred beast?”
“No, I’ll live here! I’ll be part of this place!”
Ie stared at Carbuncle in disbelief.
“Fine. I’ll take care of you.”
“No way! I don’t want a man taking care of me!”
Hearing this, Ie firmly grabbed Carbuncle by the scruff and inspected something.
“I see, you’re male.”
“Where are you looking?! Don’t stare at my sacred parts! Ugh, let me go!”
Carbuncle struggled, but it seemed he couldn’t match Ie in strength.
Feeling a little sorry for him, I spoke up.
“If the Ministry of Holy Affairs has no objections, I’ll take care of Carbuncle.”
“But won’t it be a bother?”
“I don’t mind. But in exchange, you’ll have to work for me.”
“’Those who do not work shall not eat,’ right?!”
Carbuncle muttered “Got it!” and used some kind of teleportation magic to escape Ie’s grasp.
“He can use holy magic like that, so I don’t think forcing him back would work.”
“It seems so.”
Ie reached into his pocket and handed me a leather pouch filled with money, saying it was for Carbuncle’s care.
“This is too much.”
“You never know what might happen. Just take it.”
He even said he would provide more if needed.
“Carbuncle, don’t trouble Rei.”
“I know!!”
Ie let out a deep sigh and turned to leave.
At that moment, the dryad suddenly shouted, “It bloomed!!”
When we looked, an unfamiliar flower had bloomed on the dryad’s head.
It was a strange, moist, brown flower unlike anything I’d seen before.
Carbuncle took one look and immediately gagged.
“Ugh! It smells like a rotting corpse!!”
“How rude!!”
Though the scent was faint, the flower undeniably smelled awful.
Now that I thought about it, the Lust Witch once mentioned that dryad flowers were rare and useful for making special potions.
I put on thick gloves, plucked the flower, and sealed it in an airtight jar.
The dryad let out a weird squeal as I plucked it.
“Stop making that sound, you’re making me lose my strength!”
“It’s because you didn’t pluck it gently!”
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!!”
With all the commotion, Ie ended up leaving in a hurry, mostly because of the smell. The dryad unintentionally chased him away.
◇◇◇
The next day, Carbuncle met Merv Maple.
“Oh, so you were here?”
“That’s right.”
It turned out Carbuncle and Merv Maple already knew each other.
They were overjoyed to be reunited and hugged. It was such an adorable sight.
Today was the apothecary’s day off.
Before heading to the market, I decided to visit my former mentor, the Lust Witch.
Her base was in the red-light district.
Since she also owned a high-end brothel, I entered through the back door.
As soon as the manager saw me, she led me straight to the Lust Witch’s underground chamber.
“She’s probably asleep, but if you talk to her, she’ll respond.”
“Alright, thanks.”
As usual, her sleep schedule was completely flipped.
There was no answer when I knocked, so I let myself in.
On a large bed lay a beautiful woman with fiery red hair.
Sensing my presence, she opened her eyes instantly.
“Rei? It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.”
The Lust Witch had once taken me in when I was struggling financially and made me her apprentice.
Even when I later became an apprentice to the Herb Witch, she never complained and let me go without a fuss.
“What brings you here? You already solved the soap incident on your own, didn’t you?”
“This is about something else.”
Hearing that, she slowly sat up.
Apparently, she had been naked under the blanket.
Well, that didn’t surprise me.
“I brought a gift.”
I handed her the dryad flower, and she accepted it with interest.
“This is rare. Did that old dryad bloom this?”
“Yes, it seems so. I didn’t expect it to, so I was surprised.”
Apparently, male dryads usually don’t bloom.
“So was it actually female?”
“No, it’s definitely male.”
It seemed that in rare cases, high-ranking dryads could bloom regardless of gender. The flower was an extremely valuable item.
“Are you sure you want to give this to me?”
“Yes. I have no use for it.”
“With this, I could brew a potion that could make an entire kingdom fall in love with me.”
“That makes me want it even less.”
I had come to ask the Lust Witch about something in return for the flower.
When I explained my reason, she accepted the flower as payment.
“What do you want to know?”
“I was wondering if you knew anything about those who use dark magic.”
Even if she didn’t answer, I hoped to read something from her expression.
But she remained perfectly unreadable, staring at me with a blank face.
“And if you knew, what would you do?”
“Nothing. I just want to know if they really exist.”
“If it’s just curiosity, don’t pry any further. It will lead to your ruin.”
I understood that.
But after learning about a certain incident, I was more afraid of staying ignorant.
“If you find any clues, come back. If it’s something small, I’ll share what I know.”
It was clear the Lust Witch knew something about dark magic users.
For now, I decided not to press further and withdrew for the day.