The Seed Thief

Vol. 1 Chapter 2.2

The stone golem she had created was emotionless. So were her other creatures. At least the forest beasts would sometimes reveal hints of emotion, but it was only a brief moment of instinct-driven feeling. It was hard to sense joy or sadness from the forest animals.

Perhaps, her endless yearning for emotion stemmed from that. She hadn't struggled with such feelings before when living with the forest witch, who was full of expression.

Lulu crouched down, silently staring at the people. Until the laughter carried by the wind and the sunlight stung her eyes, Lulu lowered her head even more.

* * *

As the sun set, looking at the orange sky, Lulu muttered.

"......It's a failure."

After Lulu began to observe, as time passed and the crowds thinned out, she had many chances to use obedience magic. But right before using it, she hesitated. Was it right to take the seed using forbidden magic? After all, it was stealing.

'You shouldn't take what's not yours,' was one of the few pieces of wisdom the forest witch taught her. Moreover, the magic she was about to use was forbidden, which the forest witch had warned against using.

Her plan now involved breaking both rules; it couldn't be right.

'What if I give something else in exchange for the seed?'

Lulu pondered what she had at home that might be valuable to people. First, the ores the old lady, who had given her bread, wanted. That would be valuable.

'Other ores may have value too?'

There were many ores with pretty colors. What else might people want? As the sun sank lower, Lulu considered what to offer in exchange for the seed for a long time.

Then she heard a rustle behind her. Who could it be? Lulu turned around in surprise to see the scarecrow standing there.

"What, why are you here?"

In response to Lulu's question, the scarecrow dashed to a nearby rock and hopped agitatedly around it. Compared to the golem, the scarecrow was made from scarce ingredients, so it couldn't convey intentions well.

Looking puzzlingly at the scarecrow, it took Lulu a while to understand what it wanted to say.

"The golem is worried because I haven't returned, so he told you to see me?"

The scarecrow hopped high like yes to her words. Then, as if its mission was complete, it turned around and ran away.

"Hey! Where are you going? Come back!"

Lulu hurriedly called out to the scarecrow, but it acted as if it didn't hear her and vanished into the forest.

It listened to the stone golem, but why did it ignore her, its creator?

Mumbling that it was a defective creation, Lulu stood up. The sun had hidden beyond the mountains when she got lost in thought. The forest was submerged in the darkness as the night approached.

She could easily create a small light with magic, but if a light floating in the forest at this hour, it would alert the villagers to her arrival. So she needed to get back quickly.

It was the moment Lulu turned toward the forest.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii―!

A scream pierced the air. Lulu turned her body in a flash to the sound.

"Scarecrow!"

When she first breathed life into the scarecrow, it could not control its body well and would often bump into things and break. Anytime that happened, Lulu had to roam the forest all day, searching for its shattered remains. It was so tiring that she gave the scarecrow the ability to make noise with a new magic formula. Thanks to that, the scarecrow called out to Lulu when it was in danger.