Chapter 19 – Do you think I’m some sort of super-powerful witch?

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“Are you absolutely insane? You must be out of your mind,” said Shuye two days later when I showed him the gold. He buried his shaggy head in his large hands as though in despair.

“What?” I said.

I had modified the building’s settings to allow Shuye to enter, and he spent the next fifteen minutes gesticulating wildly and almost frothing at the mouth as he raved at me.

“This-this-” He indicated the ingots that were piled high and glittering and shining in the light. “Do you even realize-”

Shuye was so agitated that he couldn’t even finish his own sentences. I patiently waited for him to calm down.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You think it’s a bad idea to sell this gold,” I said.

Though I had only fed the smelter with regular ores, the resulting product seemed to be something special. I don’t know why that happened because the bars the smelter made from [Gold Ores] in Adventure Incarnate were just [Gold Bars].

[Exquisite Gold Ingot:

An exquisite ingot of gold. Incredibly pure and possessing great power, it is a valuable crafting ingredient.]

Shuye buried his head in his hands again. “Please tell me that you haven’t shown this to anyone else.”

“I haven’t shown this to anyone else,” I said obediently.

My words were exactly what he wanted to hear, so he finally calmed down. “Good. If you need money, then put the mill back and sell rice. Everyone knows that you’re a spiritual farmer, so selling rice will be something that people expect.”

“I just thought that it would be easier to get money by selling gold,” I said. “Wouldn’t this sell for a lot?”

“It would, but the problem is that people would think that you have a treasure hoard here on your farm. The Westerlands are generally quite safe, but you shouldn’t tempt fate,” he said.

I had to admit that that made a lot of sense. “Okay, I’ll do as you say.”

“Good.” Shuye seemed to deflate, and his shoulders sagged as though he was being weighed down by the weight of his worries.

“But…” I said.

Shuye raised a hand as though to stop me from saying anything more. I closed my mouth and decided to talk about it later, since it seemed that he had reached his limit for the day.

“I’ll just put this away then,” I said as I put the gold into my inventory. Then I walked him out of the building and let him watch as I demolished it and put the mill in its place. “Better?”

“I’m relieved that you at least know how to listen when someone teaches you common sense,” he said.

I decided not to tell him yet that I had no intention of quitting blacksmithing. I was definitely going to be a great weaponsmith in the future, no matter how dangerous it was.

Daring to live exactly as I please is my goal!

***

The first dead demon had turned up on my doorstep two weeks ago, but it was only today, at dusk, that the person responsible showed up.

I had just showered and changed into nicer clothes for dinner when Fengying excitedly informed me I had an important visitor. A few minutes later, Yinuo, the maid, showed Prince Baiyu into my living room.

I wondered why Fengying had shown him into my quarters instead of the formal reception room.

I bowed as I greeted him at the door to my room.

“Good evening, Your Highness,” I said.

“Good evening. There’s no need to bow or call me ‘Your Highness,’” he said.

Prince Baiyu was wearing a gorgeous set of robes in white and orchid violet, with ornately embroidered with a peach blossom design. His long white hair was loose, and he looked absolutely stunning.

“What should I call you then?” I ushered him into the room, and we sat on horseshoe-back armchairs made of fragrant rosewood.

“Call me Baiyu,” he said.

“Then you should call me Violet,” I said. “Are you blushing?”

He wasn’t, but I felt like teasing him a bit.

Prince Baiyu touched his cheek with his hand as though to check if his face was red. “It’s just that people don’t need to use formal language unless it’s a formal occasion.”

“Oh? Do people generally call you ‘Baiyu’ then?”

“No…”

“How many people call you by your name?” I asked.

“My parents and you,” he said. Now he really did blush.

“I’m honored.” I smirked at him.

“There’s no need for excessive formality when you’ve already climbed into my bed and taken my clothes off. Our relationship is intimate enough to call each other by name,” he said.

“Hey, stop saying it like that. What if someone heard you?” I wouldn’t put it past the gossipy maids to be standing outside the room trying to listen in on our conversation.

“It’s true. You even touched my birthmark,” he said, pointing to the purple lotus mark on his forehead.

“…” I looked away and pretended I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

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“When are you going to take responsibility for what you’ve done?” he asked me with a mischievous smile.

“I told you, that doesn’t count because I was just healing you. What were you doing in the cave all alone when you were sick, anyway?” I said to change the subject.

“Hmm.”

“Tell me. Don’t I deserve to know?”

“I’m sure you’ve already guessed that I suffer from qi overload,” he said. “People from the White Tiger clan’s ruling family are born with an enormous amount of qi. Sometimes, it can be too much for the body to handle.”

“I see. But that doesn’t explain why you were alone.”

He looked away from me and sighed. “It’s a delicate matter.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” That was fine, since it was none of my business, anyway. “Have you used up all the potions that I gave you? Do you need more?”

I figured that was probably why he was here.

“I still have a few left.”

“Here, let me replenish your supply.” I went to the dining table in the next room and took out a large chest with a hundred potions in it.

“Thank you, but I hope I won’t need this many.” Despite his words, Prince Baiyu waved his hand, and the potions flew and disappeared into his sleeve.

“Wow, I thought you would call one of your servants to take the potions. You must have a really large soul space.” Powerful members of the God Beast clans and human cultivators had a mysterious “space” similar to a System inventory that they could use to store items, but, as far as I knew, it was mostly used to store weapons and armor, and it wasn’t particularly large. The size of the space depended on the person’s cultivation level.

“Yes, I have more than enough qi that I can use,” he said.

I went back to my seat and said, “Why do you think you won’t need this many when you already used up most of the potions that I gave you?”

He smiled down at me. His teeth were very white and his incisors were quite prominent. “Did you like my presents?”

“I loved them. They were quite delicious.” Just as I thought, he had been the one sending me the demon corpses. The whole thing reminded me of the way that cats would bring their kills to their humans. “Thank you.”

“Every year during the spring, the clans go to the southern lands to kill demons. That’s where I’ve been these past few weeks, but the hunting season is over now,” he said.

“Oh, I see.”

“So I won’t be needing these potions.”

I didn’t quite follow what he was saying, and if he really thought he wouldn’t need the potions, why did he even take them?

He seemed to notice that I was confused, so he explained, “We don’t eat human food because there was a famine three hundred years ago, and the clans decided to fast until it was over. That was when we found out that we don’t need to eat human food, and that eating demon beasts is beneficial to our cultivation.”

“Wait…” Eating demon beasts boosted cultivation? I gave him a horrified look. “Are you saying that you’ve been eating demon beasts all this time? Even though you suffer from qi overload? That has to be making your condition worse!”

Prince Baiyu rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “The hunting season is a time when everyone from the clans work together.”

“In other words, people were watching, so you had to do it?”

He leaned back in the chair and said, “My family would lose a lot of face if I didn’t partake of the kills.”

I rolled my eyes, but I knew that in this world, heck, probably even back on Earth, “losing face” was a serious concern for people in positions of power. I personally wouldn’t be bothered about it, but I’m not a ruler.

“Losing face is better than dying!” I said.

“I’m thankful for your help, but I wouldn’t have died. At most, I would’ve been in a coma for a few more days,” he said.

“Oh yes? You were totally helpless and unconscious in that cave. Anyone could have gotten in and done anything to you!”

“No, I wasn’t unconscious. I may have been unable to move my body, but I could still use my aura. I had an extremely strong shield over the entrance of the cave.” Prince Baiyu gave me a sidelong look. “How were you able to get in, anyway?”

“There was no shield. I walked in with no problem,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I would’ve noticed if you’d done something to the place.”

“Normally, people wouldn’t be able to touch me without my permission, too,” said Prince Baiyu.

I chuckled. “I was definitely able to touch you, though. Are you saying you gave me permission for that?”

“No, I’m saying you ignored all my defenses. How did you do that?” he said.

“Are you serious? Do you think I’m some sort of super-powerful witch or something?” I smiled at the thought. “More likely, you were delirious and thought you’d set up your defenses, when really there was nothing there.”

He shrugged.

“Your condition is really serious…” I said.

“It should go away when I’m older,” he said.

Now that I was face-to-face with Prince Baiyu, I seemed to remember that there were a few joke items that were given away in Adventure Incarnate that might help him. I made an excuse about being thirsty and got a glass of water from the other room while I browsed through my inventory. By the time I finished drinking, I found it.

“Would you like a glass of water, too?” I asked the Prince.

“No, thank you,” he said.

I sat down on the seat beside him again and slowly put on some gloves. “I have something for you.”