...All the strange things about this had been visible, in various respects, from the start.
The way Colette lived, for example. Why would a girl of only 12 or 13 years of age be living alone in a ramshackle cabin in a forest right next to a village? She had told her that her parents had passed away, but she was still too young to be living on her own.
She was precisely at the kind of age where the villagers ought to be looking after her, given that she'd been born in its vicinity. Communal life wouldn't be possible if not for the spirit of people mutually helping each other out.
If they weren't going to help her out, then that meant...
"The very fact that a young girl has ended up living in a ramshackle cabin in the forest is proof that Colette is shunned by the people of the village. She can't get any help from the adults, so she's had no choice but to live on her own. Though, surprisingly enough, it seems like she's been living quite a strong life." Omega concluded, realizing the situation that Y/N hinted to her days ago.
She'd acquired her cooking and hunting skills back when her parents were alive. Despite not receiving any love from the villagers, the love she'd received from her parents had kept her from dying.
However, having been shunned and turned away from her village, the girl's loneliness had attracted a different problem.
Namely, the issue which Palmyra had shouted at her...
"...A Witch? This sure is a fateful thing."
Colette's living circumstances, the presence of the "Beast" which Palmyra had told her about, as well as the word: "Witch" that she'd cried out as she embraced the struggling Colette.
The whole picture surrounding this snowy forest became clear from the fragmented pieces.
There'd been a downwards spiral, wrought by the fear they'd held against the unavoidable "Witch".
"It started when Colette's parents died."
Palmyra let go of Colette as she twisted her body with a bestial roar, and began to talk.
The death of Colette's parents. ──That had been the trigger for the collapse of everything.
"Colette's house was attacked by a Witchbeast. Both of her parents were killed, leaving only Colette behind..."
The house was left in a dreadful state, and Colette's parents, having been attacked by the Witchbeast, had apparently been left in a state so terrible, that no one could bear to look at them. Palmyra had said that Colette had ended up being the only one to survive in this bloody house.
Colette had afterwards been taken in by one of her relatives in the village and begun to live there.
However, tragedy wasn't going to let her escape.
"The Witchbeast hadn't overlooked Colette after it failed to kill her. It found the house that had taken Colette in and..."
"Sunk its fangs into that family, I imagine. ──Witchbeasts are the nemeses of mankind. It's really no wonder that there's some around that show such guile if it's for the sake of killing or maiming."
"...The harm the Witchbeast brought didn't end only with that. It went on, and on."
The Witchbeast had kept pursuing Colette without showing signs of relenting.
Tragedy struck each house every time that Colette was taken into them. ──Despite that, the Witchbeast had never bothered to kill Colette.
As the damage spread, no matter how kind of heart the villagers were, they became unable to keep her. They perceived the presence of the girl named Colette as a burden.
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Re:Periodic : Deceiving Life in Another World From Zero
FanfictionY/N L/N, renowned genius and pride of his own Prefecture in Japan, was transported to Re:Zero after an unfortunate incident. Upon arrival, although the black-haired boy that he expected to see was not present yet, he understood quickly that this was...
