A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 306: The Deep Woods Witch [III]

Chapter 306: The Deep Woods Witch [III]

The witch remains on guard with Elaina while Elaina is also on guard but a bit loose, enough to make the witch understand her intentions. And to keep her guard down a lot more, Elaina decided to show the forage she collected on the way before she arrived in the deep woods. But the moment Elaina pulled out the bag and poured its contents onto the ground for the witch to see, the witch didn’t look at the contents of the bag that were landing on the grass, instead, her eyes remained fixated on the bag itself to the point she even calls it a magic tool.

Magic tools.

If swordsmen can either pick up another sword, a dagger, or a shield, mages also have the magic tools that would become their side weapon. Since mana is a resource that mages utilize to create magic and fight enemies, there are times in the heat of the battle when one cannot recover mana completely due to the situations, either they are in dire situations where their life and death are on balance, or if they needed to deal the final attack but cannot do it due to the lack of mana.

That’s when some mages decided to create magic tools. Tools that either store mana for the mage to siphon during their dire need of mana, or to use it directly as a weapon by utilizing the stored mana and unleashing it as raw power against the enemies.

However, why would the witch call the bag she is holding right now as a magic tool?

"That’s definitely a magic tool! Does that mean the people seeking the cure have also advanced themselves and created the tool in your hands in the process?"

The words of the witch did not make sense for Elaina. The storage bag she had in her hands is an invention made many centuries ago. It wasn’t exactly a sort of a new thing and even hermits who should be living in the mountains have gotten one or two during their explorations as this thing has been scattered all over the world and one can get lucky if they found one in dungeons, or if they came across a dead person carrying one.

So, for someone who doesn’t even know this bag is something that only people who are too sheltered to the point that they don’t even know the recent happenings around the world.

Before Elaina can get confused further, one of the gods answers her query and it is the Goddess of Medicine.

"[Farmer...remember her words, "people seeking the cure". According to your words, they are branded witches as a result of them looking for a cure for the plague that spread many centuries ago. If so if she is talking about her compatriots when she said "people seeking the cure", then that means she is a pure witch that has yet to know the world and only knew the final events they have experienced back when the plague hit,]" the Goddess of Medicine explained.

"Wait, if that is the case, then this witch should have been dead by now! There is no way a human can live this long unless they are elves or beastmen who have long lives!" Elaina frowned.

"[Witches have their ways to prolong their lives and in some cases, some of them are immortals. They can still die, but they will stop aging the moment they hit the right age and will remain in that state for the rest of their lives. Perhaps, this witch in front of us is one of such witches,]" the Goddess of Medicine answered.

"[You seemed to be very well versed with the witches, Goddess of Medicine? I thought you don’t like to really work with people and would rather stay by yourself?]" The God of Farming got interested in the workings of the Goddess of Medicine.

"[O-of course I am! Who would be responsible for creating a cure to that plague and imparting that knowledge to my followers? It’s none other than me. So if there is anyone who knows about them more than themselves, it should be me,]" although embarrassed, the Goddess of Medicine proudly proclaimed.

"I see. So in short, this witch in front of me is likely to be an immortal hermit who has yet to realize that the end of the plague era has been over for centuries and has yet to know the advances of the world?"

"[Most likely. Her robe and her witch hat are something I recognized as their first uniform back then. Which means that this woman before you is a first-generation witch. She is one of the oldest witches to ever exist if that is the case.]"

Elaina was so busy chatting with the gods that she didn’t realize the witch is already in front of her and is currently inspecting her bag.

"Hmmm, its inner workings look complicated but the way they made the subspace inside a piece of clothing is something that I didn’t think of. Looking at the subspace, it should be a lot bigger than it looks. Maybe a whole room or something? Wow, I should take notes and maybe I can replicate that?"

Elaina was just speechless seeing the woman do her little inspection but she didn’t disturb her and just let her do all of the inspection. The fact that she got close without getting afraid of her is enough for Elaina to make her drop her guard like this.

"Yes, this should be the case. If I use the right material, it seems I can replicate it a bit and if I do this and that...yes..."

As she got a lot closer, her gaze and Elaina’s gaze met and she immediately backs off.

"Hey, don’t worry. I don’t bite. If you want to observe more, you can do so, but do you believe me now that I am not someone who will cause any trouble? If I was, I would have attacked you while you were busy in your inner world just now."

The Witch cleared her throat and although her vigilance to Elaina returned, she sighed and turned around.

"Come inside. We will talk there. Also, bring that magic tool with you. I still wanted to see that."

Elaina successfully persuaded the witch. She grabbed all of the dropped forage stuff on the ground by letting the storage bag sweep it all inside before she followed the witch inside her humble abode.

Upon entering, Elaina is welcomed with the strong smell of herbs. Compared to the smell of herbs that she smelled back when she entered Julia’s private quarters, the smell coming from this witch’s home is much stronger. Strangely enough, she is fine and her nose seems to be not in trouble.

"Sit anywhere you like, as long as you are not too close to my cauldron. I don’t want it to tip over just because some stranger messed with it."

Elaina nodded and looked around. There were empty chairs near the table so she sat down on it and put the bag on the table for the witch to observe as she agreed.

"Based on what I saw with your tools and based on your clothing, are you perhaps a noble mage? For someone who has access to a magic tool like this, it is kind of a waste to just use it as a regular chest to store items," the witch said as she served her some wild herb tea that the witch brewed for herself.

"Me? A mage? I don’t think so. I can’t even use magic, let alone cast the simplest magic known to man. I am not a mage and I can’t feel the mana. I am a farmer," Elaina revealed, causing the wooden spoon on the hands of the witch to fall and the shocked look on her face plastered.

"You are not a mage and yet you have access to that tool? I am quite sure things related to magic should only be used by magic practitioners like me. How come regular people who can’t use magic are now able to use them?

"If you are talking about this storage bag, this thing is normal."

"What?"

"Regular people can use these kind of things as they are no longer associated as magic tools. As for what you call magic tools, they are indeed exclusive to mages and wizards now but that’s because they are strictly used for battle and can only be utilized and used by people who can freely control their mana without any problems."

The witch seems to have trouble understanding the situation and is just shocked by Elaina’s revelation.

"Based on how you are talking like the advancement of the technology has yet to progress, you must be someone who has yet to learn the situation outside the world right now?"

Seemingly like a nerve got hit, she sighed and explained.

"Yes, I don’t have access to the latest of the world’s situation and I am still afraid. Afraid that we witches will still be ostracized by the populace. I don’t want to be burned into the stake like my other sisters who only just wanted to put the plague to a full stop."