Novice Witch - Chapter 1: The Witch Sets Off

I bow slightly with my hands clasped in front of the house where I've spent many years.

"Ouch!"

I'm struck from behind with a staff. As I rub my head and turn around, I see my Master standing there, staff in hand.

"Don't create an atmosphere like you're saying farewell to the dead."

"Tehe~"

I'm struck with the staff again.

"Sigh, so have you forgotten anything? Did you bring a handkerchief?"

"Are you my mother, Master? Well, I suppose you're something similar. Don't worry, I've put everything in my Storage Pouch."

I pat the pouch hanging diagonally across my shoulder.

"More importantly, will you be alright without me? Can you clean properly? Don't stay cooped up all the time; get some sunlight occasionally, okay?"

"Ellie, before you came here, I had always managed on my own, so I'll be fine."

Ellie is me. My real name is Ino Eri, a proper Japanese person. It's been about 300 years since I fell into this world. Originally, I was a woman in her late thirties working at an extremely black company.

Bowing my head when I didn't want to, enduring power harassment and sexual harassment, with overtime work being the norm, sleeping either at my desk or in the nap room—I was living like a walking corpse in such a company.

On a rare day off that I couldn't remember when I last had, I reached the nearest station on the first train. Thinking I could finally get proper sleep, I was walking unsteadily with my head down when, without any warning, I suddenly found myself in a forest.

At first, I thought it was a dream, but there was no sign of waking up, no matter how long I waited. And I was too sleepy to think, so I just sat down where I was. The warm sunlight filtering through the trees and the slightly humid breeze felt pleasant, and as I thought, "Ah, it's been a while since I've been in the sunlight," I fell asleep as if losing consciousness.

When I woke up, it was dark, and night had fallen. No matter how much I thought about where I was, I couldn't come up with an answer. Soothing my stomach that was complaining of cold and hunger, I wandered aimlessly in the moonlight, and that's when I found the house of the Master where I would end up spending nearly 300 years.

When I knocked on the door in desperation, the Master who came out was surprised but took me in, a person with nowhere to go. This place was apparently an area called the Enchanted Forest, far from human settlements, and luckily, I had wandered into the Barrier set up by the Master. If I had moved in a different direction, I would have likely become food for magical beasts.

Invited into the house, I was given a meal and ended up explaining my situation. The Master quickly believed my story about coming from a different world. I was later told that this was because I possessed an unusually large amount of magical power in this world, and I was using words that were said to have been used by those called "lost ones" or "fallen ones."

I asked about how to return, but was told it was unknown. Although I asked about returning, if asked whether I really wanted to go back to that life, I could say "no" from the bottom of my heart, as I was so mentally and physically exhausted. With no particular goal and no desire to return to my original world, I asked the Master to take me on as an apprentice.

The Master, for their part, seemed to have their curiosity piqued by my magical power and knowledge from another world and agreed to take me on as an apprentice. And before I knew it, about 300 years had passed.

Now, this woman, formerly in her late thirties, appears to be a beautiful girl in her mid-teens from any angle. Let me say it again, I've become a beautiful girl in her mid-teens. You might wonder why I've gotten younger after nearly 300 years, but that's the result of swallowing a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone created through alchemy. By the way, the Master appears to be in their twenties but has lived for over a thousand years. Apparently, they've long forgotten their exact age.

And recently, having been recognized as a Witch by the world, I'm setting out on a journey today. It took about 300 years to be recognized as a Witch, but this is apparently fast—though the only example I have is the Master in front of me.

A Witch is one who knows alchemy, knows magical arts, knows pharmacology, knows spirits, knows the Origin, and knows the world. By knowing all of this, one is recognized as a Witch by the world. Well, even now that I've become a Witch, I don't know exactly how it happened or what triggered it, but I suddenly understood at some point that I had become a Witch in that moment.

When I asked the Master, it seemed it was the same for them. Although we say "Witch," depending on the place or person, we might be called Saintess, Oracle, or even Demon Lord. In the end, regardless of what we're called, our essence is that of a Witch, so the Master calls themselves a Witch. By the way, the Master says there are three other people who have become Witches like me and the Master.

"Well then, Master, I'll be going now."

I wrap myself in a black hooded robe, adjust the pouch on my shoulder, and make my staff float so I can sit on it. All of these are my favorite magical items that I made myself.

"Please take care of yourself, okay? Your self-sufficiency skills are--"

"Quiet, now. Just get going already."

I call out to Hokuto, Master's familiar, a white Star Owl nearby, and Hokuto turns its head completely around to acknowledge.

"Just in case, I've put about a hundred years' worth of meals in the Bottomless Box, so please eat them. And no picky eating, okay?"

"Is that so? Well, thank you. Anyway, come back anytime. This is your home, after all."

"Thank you, Master. Well then, I'm off."

I take one more look at the familiar house, then rise into the sky with the staff I'm sitting on. From the air, I wave to Master and set off. I fly out from the deep, deep forest that repels people, heading east.

I've cast Concealment Magic to avoid being spotted by the forest's magical beasts. It would probably take a month on foot to get through this Enchanted Forest teeming with magical beasts. By flying like this, I should be able to pass through the forest in about a day.

The knowledge of this world that I've heard from the Master is from several hundred years ago, so it's completely unreliable. Even the direction I'm heading is based solely on Master's words that there was a town there several hundred years ago, and I don't know what lies beyond.

Sometimes people would visit Master's house, but I wasn't interested in stories from outside the forest, so I didn't listen carefully. If I had known I'd be setting out so soon, I should have asked about nearby countries and towns.

I fly through the sky, feeling the warm sunlight and pleasant breeze. It's been about 300 years since I fell into this world, but this is the first time I'm leaving this forest. Thinking that this is a journey I could never experience in my original world makes me feel somewhat excited.

[EN: This will be a preview translation of the first few chapters, so it is free for pickup.]

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