GDTEA Ch 54

They Call Me a Witch

There are people like that.

People who are trapped in delusional beliefs, unable to think normally. Or those who blindly believe in superstitions to the point of losing reason and confusing reality with fantasy. And those who insist on maintaining old customs, forcing irrationality and taking sacrifice for granted.

Each of them suffered consequences from stubbornly clinging to their own ways.

Sharti didn’t have the courage to stand up to an abnormal group.

She didn’t want to either.

‘I’m just a doctor.’

Sharti was a doctor who saved people and grasped the hands extended to her for help.

So naturally, her unilateral action this time had crossed the line. As an outsider, she had touched and diverted a village’s food supply, making her crime serious.

She knew it.

Under the pretext of helping patients, she had harmed others too.

‘Perhaps there could have been a better way.’

If she had set aside her prejudice and revealed the disease to the village chief instead of Ashu, then calmly presented the cause and solution for the illness after taking time, they might have derived a more moderate method after sufficient discussion.

But Sharti couldn’t do that, and the criticism, hostility, threats, and anger pouring down on her were things she rightfully had to endure.

‘…It’s okay.’

It’s fine. It’s okay.

Surprisingly, Sharti was fine.

Sharti raised her gaze to look at the broad back filling her vision.

[Sha, if it’s hard to bear, bite my hand. My hand is tougher than your teeth.]

This was already the second time she had shown seizure symptoms in front of Ren.

And once again, Ren embraced her without commenting on her symptoms.

[You won’t die. It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here. Sha, my master. Look at me.]

Amid the auditory and visual hallucinations that were severe enough to make her lose consciousness, Ren’s voice was like a spell.

A magic spell that kept her from losing consciousness.

‘Even when I was disoriented, he made sure my robe and hood didn’t come off, keeping them tightly wrapped.’

Under Ren’s reliable protection, Sharti felt reassured in a way that couldn’t be fully expressed by the word “dependable.”

It was the same now.

In a situation where normally her face would have turned pale white and she would have trembled, Sharti gained courage from Ren’s presence as he argued and stood up for her.

‘So what if they call me a witch.’

After all, wasn’t she thrown before the Neweiton Imperial Army five years ago as a preposterous scapegoat?

Even being the “Princess Arisviyan,” famous for her beauty, only led to death.

Then becoming a hideous and cruel witch wasn’t so bad either.

“If accepting death obediently is the natural order, then what about resisting death and wanting to live?”

Lowering her hand from her neck, Sharti raised her head firmly.

Everyone in the hall fell silent at her strange voice that sounded like scraping metal.

“Is that going against the natural order, so you’ve just been watching their suffering with folded arms until now?”

Sharti stepped forward.

She didn’t realize it, but right now she was emboldened by Ren’s presence, making her much more reckless and aggressive than usual.

“Y-You, what horrible…”

At that moment, someone with a pale blue face was heard muttering that she was a “real witch.”

When Sharti instinctively hesitated, Ren immediately grabbed her hand.

“Don’t stop, Sha.”

At the low murmur, Sharti squeezed Ren’s hand tightly and then let go.

Sharti took two more steps forward, leaving Ren behind.

Ren, left behind, clenched his fist. He suppressed the urge to put his arm around Sharti’s shoulders and walk with her.

“Don’t use such a cowardly natural order as a convenient excuse.”

So many gazes, too many eyes were filled with contempt.

But Sharti didn’t care.

Rather, she was glad.

See? At least she had managed to shut their mouths.

“…Don’t cross the line.”

Ashu’s grandfather spat out a final warning.

Sharti swallowed her heart, which felt like it might burst out.

“They asked me to save them.”

“…!”

“They called for me to help them. They grabbed me, saying they didn’t want to die.”

The bizarre and terrifying voice continued without regard for the reactions.

Sharti strained her neck.

“The people here probably can’t hear it. Since you’re forcing death upon them with your ears and eyes covered.”

Finally, Sharti walked all the way to the white-haired old man.

She was close enough to touch if she reached out.

“They reached out to me in pain, and I took their hands.”

Sharti turned her head and scanned the village officials.

“From now on, I won’t let them, or you, die.”

“……”

“If you want to die according to the natural order, I won’t stop you. No one can comment on another’s death. But I will definitely save anyone who asks me for help. As a doctor-.”

Thanks to her continued conversations with Ren, her voice had become clearer and louder.

Even though it was still an ugly frog-like croak, Sharti no longer showed the same aversion to using her voice as before.

“Today’s immediate food needs can be solved by sending my assistant and the village chief’s son outside the village. They’ll bring back food that you can eat comfortably without worrying about poisoning.”

“I-I’ll go! Leave it to me!”

Ashu, who had been anxiously watching the confrontation, chimed in appropriately.

As things reached a temporary lull, the village officials began to exchange glances.

The village chief glanced sideways at his father.

“Elder, do as you wish with your natural order or whatever. I’ll do my duty as a doctor.”

“After turning the village upside down, you’re now announcing that you’ll continue to meddle in our village as you please?”

The wrinkles between the old man’s eyebrows, who had been staring at Sharti, deepened.

“According to you, Elder, it must also be the natural order that your grandson asked me for help, that I entered this village, that I found out the disease name—all of it.”

“…You’re not making sense.”

“That’s fine. I’m just making an announcement.”

Finally, when the old man turned his gaze away, Sharti’s body went limp.

Relief that Ashu’s grandfather had lost his will to fight seemed to creep into her voice, as a slight laugh escaped at the end of her words.

“An announcement! What kind of speech is that! First, the food you stole…”

“It’s just a waste of breath. Let’s go.”

“W-What?”

As the old man rose, the village chief followed with a dissatisfied expression.

The village officials also shot Sharti disapproving looks before reluctantly leaving the hall.

“Master.”

As the elder left with the village chief’s support, Ren quickly approached Sharti.

The hall, which had been filled with suffocating criticism and accusations, was now quiet.

“Are you alright?”

Ren, examining Sharti who stood firmly, whispered with concern in a low voice.

Sharti was standing there with trembling fists clenched, though she didn’t know when she had started gripping them.

“D-Doctor—”

Just then, Ashu approached awkwardly.

Perhaps because it was his first time hearing Sharti’s voice, Ashu’s usually innocent smile was awkward.

“Th-Thank you.”

Still, Ashu first expressed his gratitude to Sharti, keeping proper manners.

Sharti had said it was an announcement, but to Ashu, all her words were commitments and promises.

Her unwavering trust was fully conveyed to his heart.

“I’m so ashamed of myself. I visited the sick people often, but I never exchanged a word or even made eye contact with them. I think they avoided me, seeing me as my grandfather or father.”

Ashu, biting his lip firmly, sniffled.

“I wasn’t someone they could comfortably share their pain with. Before fighting with my father, I should have visited them and reassured them…”

How desperate and urgent must they have been to ask Sharti, an outsider, to save them?

As Ashu deeply reflected on his regret toward the patients, Sharti slightly shook her head.

“No. They probably couldn’t even move a finger since they collapsed. They would have been too weak to open their eyes, sleeping continuously. When I examined them, they were constantly half-unconscious, moaning in their sleep.”

“What…? But earlier, you said they grabbed you, saying they didn’t want to die and begging to be saved…”

“…Hmm, it worked well, didn’t it?”

“…!”

Ashu’s mouth fell open.

It had been Sharti’s tactic. Sharti added that she had been anxious about whether anyone would believe her.

“Anyway, with this, we’ve somehow overcome the crisis… Ah!”

“Sha!”

“Doctor!”

As Sharti’s legs gave out and she staggered, Ren immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders and firmly supported her.

“I-I’m fine. The tension just released…”

“That’s enough, you don’t need to say more. Here, drink some water first, and take deep breaths.”

Ren lowered himself and skillfully attended to Sharti. While doing so, he firmly held her in his arms, as if protecting her from Ashu, who had awkwardly extended his hand.

Pretending to be concerned about Sharti’s throat, Ren prevented Ashu from hearing more of her voice.

It was both worry that Sharti might be hurt by Ashu’s reaction and a desire to monopolize the conversation with her.

“You need to rest now. Leave the food gathering to me.”

“No, I’ll go!”

<The patients’ meals are urgent, so both of you should go separately to the places marked on this map.>

Sharti wrote on the notepad from within Ren’s arms.

She wanted to escape the embarrassing position, but her legs were still weak, and her cold body was welcoming Ren’s warmth.

<If you take the ointment I brought and some food from this village, they’ll exchange it for you.>

“Understood.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Given the hidden nature of the village, it was impossible to go down the mountain and request help from the lower village without the village chief’s permission.

So the food they needed right now had to be obtained from the village beyond the mountain peak or from cabins in the mountains.

‘The stone only reacts near this village, so there shouldn’t be any problems in villages at a distance. We should be able to secure at least one day’s worth of food.’

Fortunately, she had briefly confirmed this on her way here, just in case.

Ashu, who had been looking at the map with sparkling eyes, sighed in distress.

“What if there’s strong opposition again tomorrow?”

If the meager meals continued, the village people’s resentment would grow.

After all, more than half of the villagers still showed no poisoning symptoms, so they would be antagonistic toward Sharti who kept talking about treatment.

“But I still don’t understand.”

Ren clicked his tongue and continued.

“Is the reason for their strange logic and stubbornness merely because it’s a ‘hidden village’? I feel like there must be another reason.”

“Well, I don’t really…”

Ashu also frowned, saying he didn’t understand either.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“What? Wouldn’t it save time if we went together?”

Ren, who had risen with Sharti, frowned at Ashu.

“Are you suggesting I leave my master alone in this village?”

“Ah, y-yes, that’s right.”

At the sharp, almost fierce gaze, Ashu nodded vigorously.

Ashu looked at Sharti and smiled shyly.

Feeling a surge of annoyance, Ren unfolded the map in front of Ashu’s face.

“This is the farthest place, so I’ll go there.”

“Ah, then I’ll go to these two places…”

“-Wait.”

The village chief, who had returned unnoticed, interrupted the conversation.

The middle-aged man, who resembled Ashu, still had an unpleasant look directed at Sharti.

“Who knows what you might do if we send the two of you out. We’ll send a village person as a supervisor with you.”

Ren looked at the village chief with a slanted gaze.

In contrast, Ashu was delighted at his father’s reluctant permission and nodded repeatedly.

The village chief turned his gaze to Sharti.

“Regardless of your intentions, you acted on your own without consulting us, so we must hold you accountable.”

At the sudden hostility, Ren’s face became expressionless.

Before Ren could show another sharp reaction, Sharti tapped his arm to calm him down.

At least the chief was using formal speech.

“Follow me.”

“Father! Then I should…”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

The chief, who had turned cold toward his son, gestured to Sharti with his chin and left.

‘I guess he wants me to follow?’

As Sharti tried to follow the chief, Ren immediately blocked her with wide eyes.

He sent her intense signals with his eyes, saying that she shouldn’t go alone and that she should take him with her.