novelraw Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Volume 2, Chapter 9. Made a Little Progress
“Come in, the door isn’t locked.”
Hearing the noise outside the door, Yemi Ai spoke with her crow-like, distinctive voice.
Lightly pushing the door open and entering, realizing that she was now under the gaze of this suspected old undying Witch, Leticia instinctively straightened her back and assumed the so-called “etiquette” posture that she remembered the woman had once taught her.
“Heh... not bad.”
Only her eyes and the surrounding skin were visible beneath the black cloth covering her, and Yemi Ai laughed maliciously. “Looks like the training was effective after all.”
“...It’s thanks to your good teaching, madam...”
Speaking quite awkwardly, Leticia was ranting furiously in her heart, so intensely that even Stano on the other side could faintly hear a word or two.
But soon, her connection with Stano was cut off.
After her body weakened, this connection grew weaker, lasting shorter as well, which to Leticia was actually rather good news.
It was still for her own good!
Heaven knew when this lunatic old hag might suddenly give her a few blows of “loving education”!
“Kukuku, seeing you being so obedient, I won’t hold it against you for only coming back when the sun is about to set.”
Hearing this, cold sweat almost broke out on Leticia’s back.
After playing matchmaker for Joey and Rona, Leticia had successfully gotten close to Rona in this way, and indirectly asked her whether her family had any prescriptions or remedies for calming the mind.
In the end, she had indeed gained something.
“Hmph, seeing how distracted you are...”
Suddenly putting down the book in her hand, Yemi Ai walked up to Leticia and scrutinized her face. “Your complexion looks bad, what, did you run into some trouble?”
Was this... concern for her?
No no no, that didn’t seem possible...
“I didn’t run into any trouble, on the contrary, I had some gains.”
Leticia spoke softly, “As for my complexion... maybe I’m just a little tired.”
“Ah ha~ yes yes, that’s it!”
Yemi Ai laughed sharply. “Even now, I can still smell the sweet fragrance of life leaking out of this broken vessel of yours. Though I haven’t personally experienced it, I can completely imagine it—the feeling of living itself being suffering!”
So wonderful.
“...”
Leticia really wanted to throw her a contemptuous look, but still held back. “It’s not as painful as you make it sound...”
After a day of experiments and summarizing, she figured out that her current physical state was tilted toward extreme weakness. This body had once suffered a serious illness; even if it had recovered, it left lingering effects—such as insufficient stamina, frailty, and so on. Now, these issues had worsened.
“Living is suffering” was just an exaggerated statement. Right now, Leticia merely felt easily fatigued, often having to stop for breath after walking too much, unable to perform strenuous activity, nor allow her emotions to fluctuate greatly, otherwise she would collapse and faint on the spot.
That was all.
For now...
Yes, only for now.
“Looks like you’ve gained something, haven’t you?”
Yemi Ai asked with a smile. “Well, that’s understandable. After all, it’s a matter concerning your own life—you must of course act immediately... Ah, such children who struggle to live, such spirit, such eyes, truly, truly irresistible...”
One could almost imagine the flush beneath her veil. Holding Leticia’s cheeks in her hands, Yemi Ai’s eyes glittered with fanaticism: “Do you know, the eyes of children like this are the most delicious of all.”
Could this lunatic not finish a sentence properly?!
One moment her tone was like some cheesy romance game, the next she had swerved straight into a horror movie set!
Although Leticia already knew Yemi Ai was unreasonable, if she truly had to get used to this, she herself would probably go mad.
“Ahahahahaha...”
Expressionless, Leticia turned her gaze away. “I see.”
“Fake.”
Yemi Ai let go lightly. “I’m not that deranged, how could I possibly eat brats’ eyeballs? That bitter stuff tastes terrible. Though the attached optic nerves are fairly soft, they’re far too salty. And if there are still eyelashes stuck on them, the texture is even worse!”
That didn’t sound like someone who had never eaten them!
And the more she described, the scarier it got!!!
Seeing Leticia’s slightly pale face, Yemi Ai smilingly patted her head. “You actually believed it?”
This wasn’t a matter of believing or not...
“So, what are your gains?”
Switching topics on her own, the woman always clad in black sat on a shoddy wooden chair.
“Ah, actually it’s not that big a gain.”
Leticia paused, then said, “Right now, if I exercise strenuously, or get too emotional, I’ll faint. So this afternoon, when I went out, I found a family of apothecaries and asked whether they had any medicines that could calm the mind.”
“Seems you did gain something.”
Yemi Ai smiled. “But let me tell you beforehand—seeking remedies is your own business. All expenses are yours to bear, understood?”
“That’s only right.”
Leticia nodded lightly. “I won’t cause you any trouble, madam.”
This was also why Leticia hadn’t gone to the town’s pharmacy—she had no money.
Originally she had wandered aimlessly outside, but happened to run into the rural children, and by chance obtained this outcome—it really was only luck.
“That’s good.”
Yemi Ai nodded in satisfaction. “I already told you before, I won’t overly restrict your movements. As long as you return by night, it’s fine. Mm, but one thing must be said: once my business is done, we’re leaving. So, during this limited freedom, think carefully about how to save your own life.”
“Thank you, madam.”
“No need to thank me.”
Yemi Ai said lazily, “It’s only because your actions amuse me that I’m willing to play along with you for a while. In the end, what kind of ending you’ll get depends on yourself, little girl.”
“I understand.”
......
Looking at the faint lights outside the window, Leticia calmed herself and slowly organized her current information.
Rona’s family did indeed have a prescription for a sedative (in this world called Tranquil Incense), as well as the necessary ingredients. After a short conversation, Rona could, in her own name, give Leticia a portion of Tranquil Incense. However, this was not Leticia’s ultimate goal.
Better to teach one to fish than to give them fish. If she merely had ready-made medicine, it could indeed calm her in the short term. But what about the future? What if she used it up? What about after leaving the town? What would she do once such meager goodwill was exhausted?
All these were factors that needed consideration.
Her temples throbbed painfully, and Leticia pressed them lightly, muttering to herself: “First I need to verify the effectiveness of the sedative, then find a way to obtain the method of making it...”
Speaking of which, she could also coerce Stano into checking their family library for similar prescriptions. If there were any, it would save her some trouble.
“Too bad I can’t go out at night...”
Huh...
Speaking of which, why couldn’t she go out at night?
This world seemed to follow a rather typical medieval Western-style social backdrop: light and normalcy on the surface, while heresy, magic, or sacred miracles existed beneath. Then, what dangers lurked in the night...?
Thinking of this, Leticia developed a new doubt.
In such a society, it was impossible not to have thieves, bandits, murderers and the like. Then why didn’t the Church’s oppressive rule, and its ceaselessly preached doctrines, classify such people as heretics?
Was it simply because their existence was unrelated to demons? Or because of some other aspects she could not yet think of...?
Such baseless speculation only brought on headaches.
“Forgot to ask how many days until we leave...”
Sighing softly, Leticia looked at the sleeping Yemi Ai on the bed beside her. “At least take off your veil and hat when you sleep...”
In the end, what was this person really here for?