A Single Mother's Farm of the Gods
Chapter 307: Returning to Civilization

Chapter 307: Returning to Civilization

The Goddess of Medicine is indeed correct. The Witch herself has been around for many years and because she decided to escape and become a hermit, she never knew the recent civilization updates and what happened to the plague.

"I did have a few friends who I had contact with back in the early days but soon enough, they stopped sending back letters allowing me to assume that they might have died or they have been captured and executed. It’s still the same outcome, they have died so in the end, when no one else returned any message to me, I immediately knew that something must’ve happened that I didn’t want to know and so, I remained here."

Many might think that living a solitary life is a bit lonely and they needed someone to interact with people from time to time so that they wouldn’t go insane. But that is not really necessary and Elaina is one of those people who can live a solitary life and still manage to live peacefully. She even planned this out back then when she planned to have a farm. Considering that she doesn’t need to sell her produce to the market by selling it manually, she can live a comfortable solitary life without the need to interact with people until her twins are born.

Of course, it didn’t happen due to the recent events. It’s just that she was blessed with people and they all naturally came for her. So for Elaina to see the witch living in a solitary life, isolated and unaware of the happenings around the world, she can tell that this woman did not choose this solitary lifestyle by her own choice. She was forced in this situation due to the sad reality that she once had back in the past. But does that past still hold? Not anymore.

"Let me ask a few questions, Miss Witch. Are you happy in this forest living with your creatures and isolated from all the chaos outside this little safe haven of yours?"

The witch sighed. "I’d be lying if I said I was. Although I am indeed happy with some of my time here, I still long for the time I can return without the need for people to persecute me, to be able to talk with people normally like we are doing now. I don’t want to remain alone forever, especially with my eternal life, I don’t want to keep on living without any purpose and just living the same routine over and over just so I can remain alive."

Their suspicion is indeed correct. The reason she is still alive even after all these years, is because she is immortal. But Elaina is not surprised. Considering that there are plenty of people in the world who are immortal, what is more, to add another person to that list? And besides, even if she is immortal, she can still die if she is killed, she will just not die from old age. Still, being immortal is considered a curse by many especially if your loved ones are not immortal in the slightest.

"Alright, next question. Are you still afraid of the outside world?"

The witch nodded. It is clear that whatever she witnessed in the past even if it has been centuries, is something traumatic. And considering that there are many of her compatriots who have been executed during the witch hunt, one would naturally fear returning.

"But you still wanted to return to the civilization, yes?" Elaina asked once more.

"...Even with a small talk with others or having a partial return is fine by me. As long as one would not see me as a danger, then I want to go back and return to the normal times."

Hearing that, Elaina smiled. The moment she said this, she already got another plan. And that plan is to rope in this witch to her farm. Considering that Julia is working on the same work as she does, it is safe to say that Julia and the Witch are the same in many ways, except for the Hermit fact. And one little makeover on her outfit is enough to even help with her returning to civilization without problems.

"Then, are you willing to come back with me to the civilization? You can decline if you want, I will not be forcing you to return with me. But consider this option if you want to return and be able to talk with other people again."

"I am a witch. I would be hunted by the people again if they knew I was practicing magic and brewing various concoctions from various herbs!"

"So what? Magic is universal now. And it is being used by various people nowadays, and not just mages and witches like you. As for concoctions, potions are literally concoctions and have been used as a product for years that adventurers use. There is no need to fear doing what you do naturally anymore. In fact, you can reveal you are a witch to anyone and no one would bat an eye with you. Unless you will start hexing other people, then that is a different story."

"H-hexing?! That is a taboo for us magic practitioners! And we don’t practice hexing either!"

"So it was just a misconception and false rumor that hexing was something witches specialize in?"

"Hex magic is considered a dangerous magic type due to how it involves dark forces and since to cast a hex properly involves using a sacrifice or an exchange to do so, it is not only harmful to the one getting casted Hex on but also to the caster who will have a chance of dying from backlash from the Hex itself."

Hearing that explanation, Elaina soon understood why it was a banned magic type. It was like offering your soul to the devil as a way to harm others. This was a misconception back in the past considering that people die left and right due to the plague, and they only wanted to pin the blame. And the unfortunate people who received that blame were the witches themselves who were all entirely innocent. No wonder that nowadays, those people who are considered witches in the past are now doctors and are capable of treating victims of hexes. They never practice Hexes anyway, they are just healers who are misunderstood.

"Then I suggest that you return with me to the civilization. Not entirely exposing you to the crowd but only a few people. My farm is not that far from the town but it was a place where people would need to walk a certain road to reach as it was not naturally seen unless one wanted to visit my farm."

"Will no one start killing me there? What if you are just lying and would hand me to the authorities once we are there?"

"Woah there, I am not that sly to cause the demise of other people, even if I report you to them, they will just free you in the process since you didn’t do anything that would cause them to arrest and execute you in the process. You can count on my words. And if you are still not convinced, you can just attack me and burn my farm in the process."

Elaina’s proposal is a bit sudden, but the allure of returning to civilization is something that she has been waiting for so long. She didn’t want to remain alone anymore and now that one road is opening up for her, she is tempted to accept and take it...but she is still hesitant."

"Alright, if you are still not convinced, you can visit my farm. I exit this forest and you follow in the distance. If you see me doing anything suspicious, you can go back and run away immediately. What do you say?"

She didn’t respond right away and Elaina sighed. It seems her plan didn’t work out.

"Well, it seems you are not willing. I am not forcing you but the offer still stands..."

"I will go."

"Huh?"

"I said I will be coming as well! I want to return to civilization, okay? And if you are telling the truth, then I don’t want to keep on staying here any longer. I want to be able to interact with other people again."

Smiling, Elaina stood up from her seat. "Then let’s go back. You don’t need to pack up your things just yet, just visit and observe. Gauge if you really wanted to go back or not. Then you can make your decision after that."

"Alright, I can do that."

"Then let’s go. It should be almost lunch time by the time we arrive there."

And so, Elaina roped in the hermit witch who had been staying inside the deep forest, isolated from the world back to the civilization. She hasn’t fully brought her back, but now that she is going to visit and see the world again after all these years, perhaps this is something that she long for a long time.