Volume 1 Chapter 16 Madam Killer III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Just inside the gate of Toyata Village, there’s a small, rounded forest on the right.
The villagers call it the Honey Forest, but it seems there used to be a big mansion there long ago.
(I always thought it was just a forest…)
Until I went to ask for honey for my chicken ham, and discovered—it was a secret garden—no, a secret herb garden.
It’s a little garden, surrounded by trees, about the size of a small playground, filled with many kinds of herbs and brightly colored flowers.
The scent alone made my shoulders relax a bit.
Tiny bees, shining emerald green like golden bugs, buzz back and forth among the flowers.
”They’re stingless bees,” someone once told me. “Elf bees, actually. They don’t sting at all.”
(Apparently so. Still, their color reminds me of gnats, which is… kinda gross.)
If you look closely, they’re not much different in shape from earth bees.
Cute, shiny, metallic green bugs—but yeah, the color’s a bit misleading.
In the middle of the herb garden, there’s a small log cabin.
The bees are flying in and out through the gaps in the logs.
(Ah… that’s Ms. Erin’s place.)
Ms. Erin is an elf woman over 100 years old.
Her real name is so hard to pronounce that humans can’t say it.
(I tried once. Gave up halfway through the second syllable.)
She fell in love and got married to the rich man of this village over 70 years ago.
They had no children. After her husband passed away, she tore down the mansion and now lives with the bees.
(Somehow, that sounds… peaceful. Lonely, but peaceful.)
Honey is usually very expensive in this world, but Ms. Erin shares it with the villagers for free.
But not everyone gets it—only special people.
Mr. Chaa, who tried to resell the honey to merchants for profit, was told, “You’ll never receive honey from me again.”
(He still avoids this part of the village, even now.)
The kids get the most honey.
They love Ms. Erin, but they’re also pretty scared of her.
Even Ani-Ani from Guildmaster’s always acts nicely in front of Ms. Erin.
(She must be terrifying when she’s angry…)
When I first met Ms. Erin, I was surprised.
My first impression was: a beautiful old woman.
Her face is smooth, without even one wrinkle, and her gentle manner makes her look young—not young like a girl, but like something preserved in time.
Still, you can see the mysterious beauty that shows she’s aged—like old trees or antique dolls, full of time.
I stepped toward the cabin, cleared my throat, and tried not to sound too awkward.
”Hello, Ms. Erin. I came to share and ask for some honey.”
Today, Ms. Erin was diligently working with the soil again, as she usually does in the evening.
The sun was starting to set, and a cool breeze began to blow.
The bees were buzzing around, making their last efforts to gather nectar.
When it gets dark, they return to their nests and stop flying; it seems they can’t fly in the dark.
”Hello, Sir Hero. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough honey to share right now.”
The little bees gather only a tiny bit of nectar.
The village kids are looking forward to it too; I can’t just take it all for myself.
”Well then, I’ll just give you a little today.”
I took out a small package of honey, not wanting to seem like I was only giving a little because I didn’t get any honey.
”Today’s honey is unsalted, so it won’t last long. I only brought enough to eat today.”
Ms. Erin took the package and looked at it closely, but suddenly it disappeared like magic.
”Hehe, surprised? I put it in my magic bag.”
A magic bag, huh?
It sounds like game storage.
I wish I had a cheat like that.
”The magic bag comes from a time-space magic skill, but there’s also a magic wallet that comes from a life skill.”
Oh, I have a life skill.
That means I can get one too; I should practice when I have some free time.
”If you put it in the magic bag, it won’t spoil?”
”To be precise, I’m not putting it in the bag; I’m just handing it to my future self at the moment I take it out.”
A time machine?
No, in this case, it’s more like a time tunnel.
”So, you can put in as much as you want without any capacity limit?”
”Capacity, huh? For me, it’s about 2 backpacks worth.”
Hmm, so there is a capacity limit.
”I still have the salted meat you gave me before stored carefully.”
Huh, I wonder if she hasn’t eaten it?
That’s a bit disappointing.
”Oh, could it be that elves are vegetarians?”
”No, there are many skilled hunters among elves. By the way, I love meat!”
That’s good to know, but a meat-loving elf is quite different from my image of Ms. Erin.
”Elves dislike dirty food, so maybe people misunderstand and think we don’t eat meat. But the meat you gave me isn’t that dirty, so I enjoy it a lot!”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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