This inn has almost no guests.

The few that are here have all gone into their rooms, and the corridor was eerily silent.

There was no one to see or hear us.

An empty, dark hallway with just the two of us.

And the woman in front of me wasn't wearing the thick, rough clothing that was typical of women in this world. Instead, she was dressed in something light, almost silky.

Even if I had no special feelings for her, a situation like this would make anyone uneasy.

My eyes darted around the hallway, not sure where to settle, and I shifted awkwardly. While I moved my arms and legs pointlessly, the dancer began to mutter something.

It didn't seem like she was speaking for my ears.

Still, her soft, indistinct murmurs got under my skin.

Somehow, I couldn't help but pay attention.

Her voice carried a rhythm, like a lullaby sung to a child. It flowed through the corridor, almost like background music.

Maybe because I hadn’t gotten proper sleep, I started to feel a little drowsy.

Forget talking—maybe I should just go back to my room and sleep.

I was tired.

My eyelids grew heavy, and my vision narrowed as they began to close.

Then the dancer spoke.

“… If you're tired, it’s okay to sleep5. But before you do4, take three steps3 and bark like a dog2, twice. It’s very natural1. Everyone feels good when they do that.”

In an instant, my sleepiness evaporated.

I reached out immediately.

The hallway was narrow, and we were standing right in front of each other.

The dancer’s slender neck fit perfectly into my hand.

I held her throat just tightly enough not to break it, then lifted her slightly.

The dancer flailed, kicking her legs while choking for breath.

Satisfied that she wouldn't be able to say anything more, I asked her, "What are you trying to pull? Why do you keep adding those weird numbers to your words? First in Enorthian, and now in Arenon... What are you up to?"

The dancer grabbed my wrist with both hands, struggling.

"Don't even think about making a sound. If I hear anything like what you did before, I will break your neck."

"...Urk...urk..."

"If you understand, just move your eyes."

The dancer’s eyes rolled from side to side.

"Now explain yourself. Anything that sounds off, and I’ll snap your neck. No tricks."

The dancer blinked her eyes in acknowledgment.

I loosened my grip, just slightly, and she coughed violently before speaking.

“… Cough... cough... I wasn’t trying to harm you... I just wanted to see if my power had any effect... That’s all. Look at what I said. It should be obvious…”

I said nothing, and she continued, coughing between her words.

"...I swear, I wasn't trying to hurt you... It’s just that I have no weapons, no nothing..."

"If you had so much as a sharp stone in your hand, you'd already be dead."

"..."

A glint of fear crossed her face, just for a moment.

“So, what exactly were you doing earlier?”

“I... I have the power to control a person's mind, just a little."

"What do you mean?"

"If you were an ordinary person, you would have taken three steps down this hallway and barked like a dog, twice."

“...”

So she really expected me to do that?

I thought it was just wordplay.

"But it didn’t work on you at all."

"..."

"I thought maybe it was because I used Enorthian, so I tried in this country’s language. Usually, it works best in someone's mother tongue, the language they grew up speaking."

Ah, that would make sense. Of course, it wouldn’t work on me.

Both languages are familiar to me, but the first language in my head is Korean from my past life.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Any language that enters my head is automatically translated into Korean.

The reason I felt drowsy when she was murmuring earlier must have been because of the rhythm, not the language itself.

Hmm… wait. Could what she was doing be hypnosis?

Counting backward during hypnosis—I've seen that on TV.

Unconsciously, I looked at the dancer’s face.

If she knew about hypnosis... Could she be a reincarnator?

But I couldn't just outright ask her if she was a reincarnator.

While I hesitated, the woman spoke again.

"I'm a witch. My power is to control people's minds. Though it clearly has no effect on you."

A witch.

Fantasy, indeed.

Asking her if she was reincarnated would have to wait.

Things might get strange if I brought it up now.

Still in my grip, she smiled.

"My name is Dorthe the Witch. Those who know me call me Dorthe of the Enchantment."

“...”

It sounded impressive, but her neck was still caught in my thick hand, her head tilted awkwardly.

Because I held her slightly aloft, she was standing on her tiptoes, barely able to keep herself upright.

She might claim to be a witch, but right now, she didn’t seem threatening at all.

“So, what does this witch Dorthe want from me?”

I asked, and Dorthe awkwardly smiled, gripping my wrist with both hands.

“Could you... let go of my neck first? It’s hard to stand, and I can barely talk…”

“Keep talking like this.”

“…Sigh... You’re a very cautious person.”

It’s not caution—you were acting incredibly suspicious.

When she realized I had no intention of letting her go, Dorthe began speaking, dangling from my hand. She didn't seem like she was trying to deceive me or do anything sneaky.

“The man I travel with is Muel. He bears a grudge against you. Originally, it was because of your mother. He wants to kill you, but it’s impossible for him to do so, as he’s only capable of singing. That's why he needs me.”

Hold on, should I be killing you right now?

I must have tightened my grip slightly because Dorthe coughed and began tapping my wrist with her hands.

“…Wait, listen! Please, just listen... It’s not about actually killing you… He’s just pretending.”

“...”

What was she even saying?

I signaled her to continue, and Dorthe spoke, still coughing.

“…I’ve been using my power on him all this time. I’ve been laying the groundwork, trying to manipulate his memories. The original plan was to give him a vision of killing his enemy and then replace his real memories with that. But when he saw you, that became impossible. If he perceives you as real, my power may not work.”

But because of the effort she’d put in over so many years, she didn’t want to risk even the slightest chance of failure.

So, she was here to make a request.

“…You want me to pretend to be dead?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I’m just asking you not to kill him if he’s wandering near you. I once met an Enorthian warrior, so I know you people never leave any threats unchallenged.”

She gasped for breath, her mouth hanging open. After catching her breath, Dorthe spoke again.

“…Think of him as a fly. A fly buzzing around. Please, just ignore him.”

I frowned, and Dorthe quickly added more.

"Isn't he pitiful? Because of your mother, he can’t even be a proper man anymore."

“...”

What on earth was she talking about?

What did my mother have to do with him being a man?

Seeing my expression, Dorthe raised one hand.

She mimicked a cutting motion with her fingers and spoke.

“Your mother cut it off.”

“...What?”

It took me a moment to understand her words.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Dorthe’s eyes drifted to between my legs.

“Down there.”

“...”

“She cut it right off.”

Oh my god, what...

I recalled the sad expression of the bard who had been singing earlier, and I felt sad too.

Mother, that’s a bit too much.

It might have been better to just kill him.

Right at that moment, Dorthe's voice cut through my thoughts.

"It would have been better to kill him, right?"

Yes, I had just thought that too.

"He really is pitiable. When I first met him, he had come to the area where I lived to end his own life."

“...”

"And he was so scared of your mother that he would have seizures and pass out at just the mention of Helga's name. He would foam at the mouth and collapse whenever he even heard something reminiscent of her name. But her name is known throughout the kingdom, so it was impossible for him to live like that."

The bard had essentially become neurotic due to his fear of my mother.

Unable to cope, Dorthe had gradually and painstakingly replaced his fear with resentment and hatred.

And alongside that, she had also planted fake memories that didn’t exist in reality.

Her plan was to one day replace his real memories with those false ones. Dorthe had worked on this for over twenty years.

He had only been able to act somewhat normally for the past few years, she said, looking at me with pleading eyes.

“I’ve put in so much effort; I don’t want it all to collapse here.”

Her efforts aside, the bard’s plight did seem unfortunate.

Seeing me hesitate, Dorthe smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.

“I’m not asking for a favor without giving something in return. When your little bird matures, I can find it a mate. If it’s female, I’ll find several males. If it’s male, at least one female. What do you think?”

“...”

What kind of nonsense was this?

Seeing my expression, Dorthe’s eyes went wide.

She seemed to have forgotten that I still had her by the neck.

“Don’t tell me... Do you not know what kind of bird that is?”

“...”

I had thought it might be something special since other animals kept trying to eat it in the Forest of Darkness.

But still, it was just a little bird.

I never imagined it was significant enough that offering to find it a mate would be a worthwhile deal.

Dorthe's expression turned cunning as she grinned.

"Hehe. If you let Muel live and pretend you don’t notice him, I’ll tell you what kind of bird it is."

Sigh.

I let out a small sigh and looked at her directly.

"No thanks. I don’t need to know."

I didn’t care what kind of bird Rella was.

As long as they didn’t try to harm me, it didn’t matter to me what Muel or this woman did around here.

However, using it as leverage to control my actions was not something I could accept.

The bard being pitiable was a separate matter.

As my grip tightened, Dorthe made a strange noise, her airway constricted.

“Ku…Kurk…”

Just before her neck snapped, tears welled up in her eyes as she grasped my wrist with both hands.

She mouthed silently, begging, P-please, forgive me... spare me.

Seeing no deceit in her eyes, I let go.

Coughing violently, Dorthe collapsed to the corridor floor.

After coughing for a while, she wiped her mouth and got up.

“Enorthians are really too violent.”

She grumbled, looking up at me.

“Still, thank you.”

“…”

“You’re not going to kill Muel, are you?”

“…”

“Hehe.”

Dorthe laughed softly, then turned and began to walk away.

As she moved down the hallway, I called after her.

“So… what kind of bird is it?”

Dorthe turned back and smiled.

“You’re curious after all?”

“…”

“It’s a phoenix. I don’t know how you got it, but for a baby phoenix to be all alone without its mother’s protection is extremely rare. I’ve never seen one before.”

“…”

“If it ever has chicks, give me one. That is, if it’s possible.”

With that, Dorthe hummed softly and walked away into the hallway’s darkness.

A phoenix...

No way.

I let out a small sigh.

Rella, who had been practically passed out because of the guy in the shared room’s stench, suddenly stirred.

She wiggled out, flapping her wings.

After moving about my hair for a moment, Rella pecked at my head.

“Pipipi!”

Judging from the loud chirping, she seemed hungry.

Rella pecked at me again, as if to demand I give her meat.

“Alright, alright.”

I’ll get you some food.

Instead of your mother.

With a heavy heart, I made my way back to the room.

“I’m sorry, Rella.”

I whispered softly, and Rella chirped loudly, as if she didn’t understand.

Or maybe she was urging me to hurry up with her food.

Anyway, I’m sorry, truly.