Lacey Longs for Freedom: The Dawn Witch's Low-Key Life after Defeating the Demon King Volume 2 (eBook)

Hyogo Amagasa (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7522-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Lacey has settled down in Plume Village and started her own business: Starseeking, an anything shop dealing in custom-fit magical solutions to any problem! However, with the villagers not understanding how magic works, and Lacey being too shy to advertise, how is she going to attract customers?
At the request of Allen's family, Lacey invents a portable magic artifact to keep food cool in the summer months. It's a simple task for someone of her magical caliber. What she doesn't realize is that this new technology will bring dramatic consequences!
Later, her former companion Dana visits with a special job request. Despite possessing healing abilities, she has an ailment she can't cure on her own. As Lacey reunites with old friends and meets new ones, she grows as a person and discovers what she truly enjoys. Lacey's small-town life just keeps getting busier!

Textauszug

Summer had come to Plume Village.

When Lacey had first arrived in the village with only a modest amount of luggage and a staff, winter had been on the horizon. She had been a mixture of hopeful and nervous and had been too busy to savor the seasons. Before she knew it, Lacey had spent half a year in Plume Village.

It seemed both long and short at the same time. At least she could relax enough now to sit in her handmade chair and doze off while looking at her herb garden.

She hastily masked her embarrassment at having been caught sleeping. “Anyway, is that the time already? I didn’t realize it’d be so soon,” she noted with some confusion as she looked around and checked the position of the sun.

“Yeah. It’ll be hot out, so I figured I’d give myself a little more time than usual to reach the capital. I don’t want to put too much stress on my horse.”

Wayne held the status of former hero and spent all his time off going back and forth between the capital and Plume Village. His reason for returning so often was that he’d get worried about whether Lacey was still alive.

Lacey, nicknamed the “Dawn Witch,” had met Wayne when she traveled with him as a member of his party. He’d started looking after her before she’d had a chance to protest.

“Oh,” she replied. As she observed Wayne’s profile and his blond hair swaying in the breeze, she felt like she was on the verge of remembering something. She had listlessly closed her eyes under the shade of a tree, and in the dream she’d had—

That was as far as she thought before she tightly pulled down the brim of the same old hat she was currently wearing to block out the sun and hide her face.

“Hm? What’s up?” Seeing her strange behavior, Wayne rubbed her head, hat and all. This happened all the time. She hunched up a little. Lacey’s unruly black hair bounced as he patted her over her hat.

“Nothing,” she answered, closing her mouth tightly shut. She’d felt a sudden surge of embarrassment.

When she closed her eyes, she could still see tiny stars streaking by, gently leaving a trail and then vanishing.

Don’t go away. Stay at my side. Let me see you live freely from right up close, Wayne had said to Lacey about two months ago.

“Nnngh!” She bit her lips and pulled her hat even farther down. Recently, Lacey would occasionally remember these words. She didn’t know why, but it made her feel fluttery inside, and in particular, she would become restless when she was near the person who’d said it.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?”

Lacey was clearly acting strange. Instead of withdrawing his hand, Wayne slowly lifted up the brim of Lacey’s hat and took a look at her face.

“I-It’s nothing, really!” She raised her voice uncharacteristically and batted away Wayne’s hand—or at least tried to, but he pulled it away first. Suddenly at an impasse, she exclaimed “It’s not a big deal! I’m just tired of how helpful you are!”

“Hey, don’t go complimenting me all of a sudden now.”

“It’s not a compliment!”

Thinking back, he had been like this during their quest as well. She must have been quite a burdensome mage, but Wayne had always turned back to face her and patiently stretched out a hand to her.

Ah, but... At the same time, she recalled something else, but she quickly took a breath and tightened her lips into a straight line. “You’re in a hurry, right? You’ve already told me you’re going. I think you should head back to the capital already.”

“Don’t push me, sheesh. I’m not in that much of a hurry. I could even wait till tomorrow. I’m just saying that if I wanted to head out today, around now would be a good time for it.”

“Argh! If you’re going, then just! Get! Going! Already!” She pushed strenuously at Wayne’s back and knocked her fists against him repeatedly, but Lacey was too small to even make him budge. She was going red in the face.

Wayne glanced at her. “Hm, what shall I do?” he teased, standing up straight with his posture completely unaffected, until...

“Grr-oink!”

“Kyew-ohhh!”

The two monsters suddenly crashed into him.

“What was that?” He blinked. Of course, it was Tee and the boar.

“Huh? What’s wrong, you two?”

“Kweeeee, kweeee...”

However, only Tee seemed to be distressed. It flapped its wings and had tears in its eyes. The boar watched Tee with concern.

Lacey and Wayne looked at each other.

After spending some time deciphering what the two were trying to say, they learned that the boar was going to return to his home.

∗ ∗ ∗

The next morning, Tee ran around like mad on the boar’s back so it wouldn’t forget the feeling. Afterward, it wildly waved its wing as if it were shaking a handkerchief to say goodbye, then kept watching as the boar faded into the distance.

Incidentally, Wayne had decided to stay an extra day to see the boar off, but was currently covered in grit. Just before leaving, the boar had kicked up dirt with his hind legs, specifically targeting Wayne. For some reason, the boar didn’t seem to like him, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“Nkwuuuuuuhhhh...”

“It’ll be lonely without him.”

Tee kept sobbing “kwee kwee” atop Lacey’s head. It wasn’t as if they’d never see each other again, but it was still depressing not to have a friend around.

Even so, Tee’s heartbreak was making Lacey feel sad as well. “Tee, don’t cry. He’s got his own home. He’s stayed at the mansion for longer than he should have.”

“Kyew-weeeee...”

“He’s probably got parents and siblings. Let him go back and visit them,” Wayne suggested.

“He’s right. It’s fine, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Wayne, don’t you need to leave soon too?” she asked.

Wayne patted the grit off his clothes. “Yeah,” he confirmed. There was a lot going on at the moment, but it would be more advisable to head out before it got too late in the day. “Guess I’ll bring my luggage and the horse over. Can you wait a bit?”

“Okay,” Lacey nodded.

Just as Wayne briefly left, an orange-haired boy came lumbering up the hill with a heavy-looking crate on his shoulder.

“Huh? Is big bro Wayne going somewhere again?” the boy blinked in puzzlement. His name was Allen. Ever since Lacey had first helped him out, he’d been periodically bringing her boxfuls of vegetables that he’d harvested from the field.

“Um, he’s going to the capital, apparently.”

“Huh. Must be rough going back and forth. Makes me wonder what his job is.”

He’s the hero. Or was, at least. But of course, Lacey couldn’t say this, so she quietly looked away instead. “Anyway, Allen, you brought vegetables for me again? I could at least go pick them up myself.”

“I’m the one who owes you, so I wouldn’t wanna make you haul your own thank-you gift. I’m doing it because I want to, so it’s fine.” His freckled face broke into a smile as he giggled. Lacey couldn’t argue against him.

With a groan of effort, Allen set the wood crate down on the ground with a thud.

The mansion in which Lacey lived was not only situated on the far outskirts of Plume Village, it was also on top of a hill. It must have been hard for him to haul things there. She’d told him that she’d received enough compensation already, but Allen always stubbornly asserted that “your boyfriend asked me to do this too.” Allen seemed to be mistaken about Lacey and Wayne’s relationship.

But was it just her imagination? The crate seemed to be stuffed even fuller than it used to be, but, before she’d realized it, Allen’s wobbly gait had become strong and steady as he carried it.

She’d heard near the end of winter that Allen was twelve, so he was probably thirteen by now. Meanwhile, Lacey would turn sixteen soon. She was still underweight with skinny arms, but she felt that she’d grown just a little taller. But somehow, even though she was getting taller too, she wasn’t even at eye level with Allen—she had to look up at him.

Allen effortlessly lifted the crate he’d set on the ground back up and patted away the dirt at the bottom. “Big sis Lacey, want me to put this in the usual spot in the kitchen? Or do you want it in the cooling chamber?”

“E-Eek...”

“Hey, are you listening?”

“I-In the kitchen... Ah, I can carry it there with my magic.”

“The job’s not done till it’s done!”

Allen moved swiftly, commenting about how nice it must be to live in a place with a cooling chamber. As she watched him, Lacey shuddered at how fast a child could grow. She saw him all the time, so she hadn’t noticed. Her knees buckled, and her hand hovered over her mouth.

There was hardly a trace left of the boy who had crumpled to the ground when he’d first seen Lacey’s magic. She felt as if he’d completely overtaken her.

Tee had jumped up onto Lacey’s head, but tilted its head in puzzlement with a “Kwee?” upon seeing Lacey so dejected for no apparent reason.

Allen, who knew his way around the house by now,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 16.12.2024
• Reihe/Serie: Lacey Longs for Freedom: The Dawn Witch's Low-Key Life after Defeating the Demon King
• Illustrationen: Hyogo Amagasa
• Übersetzer: Hyogo Amagasa
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: female protagonist • Light Novel • Magic • Malewife • Personal Growth • shrinking violet • Slow life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7522-0 / 1718375220
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7522-2 / 9781718375222