The Seed Thief - Vol. 1 Chapter 3.3

If the traces of magic left in the village truly belonged to this witch, it would be a headache.

The Magic Tower had declared that they wouldn’t send mages out into society for a while. So now, if this powerful witch, independent of Magic Tower, joined forces with those plotting rebellion, she could become a grave threat.

‘It’d be better to restrain her before that.’

He observed the witch walking in front of him, humming a tune.

She was a head and a half shorter than him, with a slender body. The wrists exposed beneath her mop-like clothing were so thin that they would snap if he gripped them with a little force.

But he shouldn’t let her appearance deceive him.

‘Rather than being careless…I was dumbfounded.’

When he first saw her, he didn’t think she was human. Her hair tangled with dust and leaves so long that it trailed on the ground, and she wore raggedy clothes as bizarre as the scarecrow’s. Under the moonlight, she looked like a feral creature.

But that shock was just the beginning.

What made him suffer the most while he was under the witch’s curse, trapped in the forest all day long, was the urge to urinate. Starvation and lack of sleep were bearable, thanks to his harsh training. But dealing with his bodily needs was an entirely different challenge.

‘Could it be that it will go on like this…?’

Just when the fear overwhelmed him that he might do something shameful he hadn’t done even as a child, the witch returned. Then, he wanted to get rid of the urgent matter first and…….

The thought of what happened next made him want to die again. The mere thought of exposing his genitals to someone, even to the opposite sex, made his head dizzy. And yet she’d touched them.

He would never forget that moment for the rest of his life. The feeling of something precious he had protected for such a long time shattered.

He was too shocked to think straight, and when the witch commented on how big and pretty it was with a nonchalant expression, she crushed under her feet whatever rationality was left in Ervandas into powder.

The humiliation and frustration of having his most intimate part exposed and judged drove him to despair.

Ervandas couldn’t recall what happened afterward. The next thing he knew, he was walking eagerly behind the witch.

Throughout the walk, the witch kept singing merrily.

“I got it~ I finally got it!”

What on earth had she gained? He was curious yet afraid of the answer. Somehow he felt it wouldn’t do him any good if he found out.

Ervandas lowered his gaze, looking at the spot that tingled with excitement from the stimulation.

Aside from the inconvenience of getting dressed, he had never thought much about it.

In the shared bathroom of the Temple Knights Order, he noticed that his penis was quite large and lighter in color than the others, but he paid no mind to it. To him, it was just an excretory organ, nothing more.

However, at this moment, Ervandas was more acutely aware of his body part than ever.

‘Oh God.’

He called out to God, wanting to cry. Even though quite some time had passed, he couldn’t shake off the sensation of the forest witch’s touch. It had only lasted for a moment, yet why was his penis still feeling stiff and twitchy like this?

Even if his mind wandered a bit, that moment kept returning to haunt him. The moment the witch’s fingers, as bony as her bare wrist, grasped his penis.

Was it because that was such a shocking moment? Every sensation of those fingers touching him was etched so vividly in his mind. And the unfamiliar heat that came rushing in right after.

‘Is this another curse?’

Other than that, there was nothing to explain the situation below. Ervandas desperately ignored the thing that kept rising, focusing his gaze on the witch to distract himself.

‘What a ridiculous sight.’

He was sure that even the kingdom’s beggars dressed better than the witch. Without her magic, she would have looked like a madwoman living in the forest rather than a witch. The only odd thing was that she didn’t smell foul, even in that state.

‘Does she ever bathe?’

He prayed the witch had. If she had touched him with unwashed hands that left him squirming underneath, he might have caught a disease.

After walking for a while, when the sun was about to set, Lulu finally arrived home. She puffed out her chest and proudly exclaimed.

“That’s my house!”

At those words, Ervandas spoke in confusion.

“Where is the house? I don’t see it.”

“What are you talking about? It’s right there in front! Can’t you see?”

“Are you seriously calling that the rotten wooden shed about to collapse a house?”

Lulu’s mouth dropped open at Ervandas’s harsh words. A rotten wooden shed? Of course, the door and walls were rotting bit by bit, but it was still her home!

“It’s not a shed!”

Lulu leaped over the stairs the stone golem had smashed and opened the door. Kreeeek. The front door made an even worse noise than usual as it opened. From beyond the door stood a scarecrow’s head and a skeletal crow greeting Lulu.

The rotten wooden door against the darkening sky. And inside, a grotesque scarecrow head and a skeletal crow. It truly liked an entrance to hell.

Lulu embraced the scarecrow and crow that welcomed her, pecking their wrinkled faces before facing Ervandas. He thought, indeed, this was what a wicked witch looked like, kissing things that were painful to look at as if they were lovable.

“What are you doing? Come in.”

Thinking there couldn’t be any more gloomy sight than this, Ervandas reluctantly followed Lulu as she commanded.

“Good heavens…”

An uncontrollable sob of despair escaped from Ervandas’s mouth as he went inside. He took back his earlier comment about the shed.

This was no shed.

It was a junkyard.

Crumbling books towered to the heavens while furniture cowered between, along with knickknacks scattered aimlessly underfoot pushing Ervandas into a swamp of confusion.

He couldn’t comprehend why the desk was draped in a blanket, topped by a dish cradling a grimy pot. Glass jars filled with who-knows-what crammed the cupboards, and cutlery of unknown usage littered around them.

Ervandas clenched his trembling hands and lowered his gaze, a very wrong choice. The floor was even more astonishing.

The floor was lost beneath a sea of books and unidentifiable fabrics. The dust piled up to such preposterous proportions that it granted the floor a whole new coating.

Ervandas held his breath. If he breathed any more here, he might get sick.

Unaware of his thoughts, Lulu trotted to her room and back with a crumpled blanket. She kicked aside a few books that littered the floor before spreading the blanket over them.

“Er. From today, this is your spot.”

“……Pardon me?”

“You’ll sleep here.”

Lulu giggled while patting the blanket with her palms. Thanks to her efforts, the wrinkles smoothed out slightly, and the dust on the floor flew up in the air, making her cough and cover her mouth. Ervandas remained frozen, watching her struggle.

Ignoring the horrible fact that this witch kept him around, he would have to sleep here? Really here?

A chill ran down his spine in an instant. Not even when he first faced a demon after being born was he this terrified.

The thought of sleeping on this dirty floor that seemed to have never been mopped since the house was built, with that rumpled rag who knows when it had been laundered spread upon it – just imagining it made his skin crawl.

Though he valued cleanliness, he used to camp as a temple knight, sleeping on a thin cloth that covered the naked ground. Yet, he didn’t feel as creepy as now.

“What are you doing? Lie down quickly. You must be tired from standing all day.”

Lulu flopped beside the blanket like a little girl watching a kitten she had picked up fall asleep. She rested her chin on her hand, looking at Ervandas.

“Lie down quickly,” it was a command. Ervandas’s body jerked then he dropped to one knee.

He gritted his teeth. No way. Absolutely not. He would rather sleep on the bare ground than on the dirty dust where footprints would be left visible. And certainly not while sweating profusely and sticking like this!

Lulu’s order and Ervandas’s desperate will to resist fiercely fought for control of his body, making him tremble violently.

“Is it because you don’t like me? But I’m tired, so let’s call it a night…….”

“Please wait, master.”

Ervandas gathered all his strength to block Lulu’s words. If Lulu had said just one more word, he felt he would fall into a more horrible hell.

“What’s wrong? Need more blankets? Do you like softer ones?”

“No, it’s not like that…….”

But before Ervandas could finish speaking, Lulu darted inside and soon returned with worn-out blankets piled high enough to conceal her body. She placed the blankets down next to Ervandas.

“Kulk!”

Where on earth had these blankets been stored all this time? The dust mixed with a faint moldy odor filled the air. Ervandas covered his mouth and nose, thinking. At this rate, he might die before the day was over.

He quickly racked his brain. He had to somehow get out of here. But the witch wouldn’t let him leave. Then how should he resolve this situation?

After a moment of hesitation, a desperate voice came out.

“I…I’ll sleep outside.”

Rolling on the dirt would be much more hygienic than sleeping here. Besides, in such a cramped house, the witch certainly wouldn’t say much if he slept outside…….

“No. Sleep here.”

But contrary to his expectation, Lulu was firm.

Lulu felt sorry for Ervandas sitting unsteadily on one knee.

‘You must be tired.’

Hadn’t she cast a spell on him and ran away? He must have endured the night dew and the midday sun right where he had stood.

‘That’s why I wanted to quickly let you rest, so why won’t you sleep?’

Though she intended to send him back once she had the seed, she did bring him by force. So at least while he stayed here, she hoped he could be comfortable. She’d even brought out all the best blankets in the closet, which were too good for her to use.

She prepared a spot for him to sleep in the living room since her room was too cluttered for him to sleep. She had considered offering her own bed, but it was too small and would make Ervandas uncomfortable. So she laid out several blankets on the floor, a better option.

Yet he wanted to sleep outside.

‘That’s not possible.’

Lulu thought of the forest witch. Although she was old, hadn’t her body rapidly deteriorated after she spent a whole night falling asleep on the rocking chair outside?

‘That can’t happen to Er.’

So Lulu ignored his words about sleeping outside. Meanwhile, Ervandas’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat. Thinking it would be best if he fell asleep immediately, she commanded again.

“Lie down.”

Thump.

Ervandas’s body, which had resisted Lulu’s command, instantly collapsed onto the blankets. Lulu gently turned him around and tucked him in the blanket. Ervandas’s face distorted even further.

“Sleep well.”

She had learned from the forest witch that stroking the head before sleeping could make one fall asleep faster. So Lulu extended her hand, hoping Ervandas would soon fall asleep comfortably. But in an instant, Ervandas’s head swung to the side, avoiding her hand.

“……?”

Was it a coincidence? Lulu reached for his hair once more. Ervandas again swiftly turned his head, artfully dodging her hand.

“Why dodge?”

Lulu asked, unable to comprehend his behavior. He replied with a look that he would die if she touched him.

“It’s dirty.”

“What?”

“Your hands are dirty.”

Ervandas continued once his mouth opened.

“Your hand. These blankets, this floor. No, this entire house is dirty. I cannot sleep here.”

Lulu opened her mouth wide at his words. Meanwhile, Ervandas’s eyes slowly closed as they followed Lulu’s order. He murmured with all his might.

“Dirty…”

Then he fell into a deep sleep—