The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 304

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 304   Witch of Misfortune: Reunion with an old friend

“Who might you be~?”

Along with these words, an old woman emerged from the shadows of the building.

Not only the old woman but various men of different ages also appeared from behind her. There were teenagers and those in their fifties. There were even those older than that.

However, among them, the only woman was that old lady. So, it’s understandable that the overwrite of the enchantment came from her. But…

… My “Enchantment” was overwritten by such an opponent?

I thought that, but I didn’t want to think that way. Because, if I were to admit it, it would mean that my charm is being surpassed by someone as insignificant as this old lady.

Certainly, she has features that might suggest she was beautiful in the past. She’s of average height, and if she were younger, she probably could have attracted many men. However, that’s a thing of the past. Now, she’s nothing more than an old woman.

However, the fact that she appeared in this situation implies that this old lady used “Enchantment” or some kind of commanding skill.

Despite her appearance being significantly inferior, if she forcibly manipulates someone under my charm, it suggests she possesses a power at least two tiers higher than mine. At the very least, she must be of the Eighth rank, and perhaps she might have reached the Tenth rank.

“Don’t use such repulsive language with someone of the same sex. Your fawning attitude hasn’t changed since the old days.”

“The old days?”

I shouldn’t know anything about an old lady like her. However, this old lady behaves as if she knows me from the past, like an old acquaintance.

There shouldn’t be many who know about my past self. While I had been in this town in the past, it has been decades since then, so there shouldn’t be anyone I know.

“Sigh~. You still don’t get it? There have been some awful stories. Even though we’ve been comrades for decades. Well, leaving you aside, I’ve changed quite a bit. It’s not your fault if you haven’t noticed.”

Even though I don’t understand, the old lady continues the conversation without providing any proper explanations.

Feeling unreasonably irritated towards this person, I ordered the men who were attending to me to attack the old lady.

“Hey, what are you doing all of a sudden?”

However, the attacks from those men were blocked by the men who stood behind the old lady.

I had expected this to happen, but seeing it actually blocked only increased my frustration.

Because of that, I unconsciously found myself biting my lips.

“Don’t kill them.”

Even so, I continued giving orders to the men to keep attacking. However, due to the numerical disadvantage, they were easily subdued without causing any significant harm.

It was as expected, but it still angered me when it actually happened.

With increased frustration, I bit my lips even harder, eventually causing them to bleed.

However, feeling the pain and the taste of blood spreading in my mouth, I managed to calm down a bit.

…I’m still okay. There’s still no problem. This situation can be handled in one way or another.

Yes, there shouldn’t be any problems.

If the opponent can overwrite my enchantment, then having people around me in the first place is meaningless. Moreover, I might be manipulated and attacked from behind.

Thinking about it, letting them go first was the right decision. I could have at least fatigued the opponent a bit, making it the best move.

With these thoughts in mind, I suppressed my frustration, took a deep breath, and decided to question the old lady once again.

“Who might you be~?”

“Well, can’t be helped, I guess. In that case—will this make it clear?”

Still behaving like an acquaintance, the old lady sighed, then placed her hand on her face.

“Huh! You are…!”

After the old lady removed her hand from her face, the old, worn face was gone, revealing an incredibly beautiful face that would enchant anyone who looked at it.

The word “Disguise” popped into my head.

However, that in itself is fine. Disguise is a skill possessed not only by “Courtesans” but also by “Fraudsters,” “Jesters,” and “Thieves.”

So, what surprised me wasn’t the fact that this woman used the Disguise skill; it was because this woman had the exact same face as someone I knew.

Rather than exactly the same, it was the person herself. Based on her behavior and words earlier, it seemed to be genuinely her.

If that’s the case, this transformation wasn’t due to the use of the Disguise skill…

“…So, you’re still alive.”

Looking at the woman standing in front of me, I managed to squeeze out those words somehow.

“Yeah, I managed to survive. Thanks to that, you know. Unlike you, who got out of here in just a few years, I ended up sticking around here. But well, I’m doing fine.”

However, for some reason, after saying that, the woman placed her hand on her face again and changed back to her original appearance as an old lady.

Maybe the recent change was to make me remember who she was, but I didn’t understand. There shouldn’t have been any reason to deliberately return to an ugly appearance.

However, not understanding this woman’s thoughts has been the case since long ago. She has always thought and acted inexplicably. That’s just how this woman is.

I thought I had killed her, but she wasn’t dead.

I don’t know how she managed to recover from that, but it seems this woman has been here all along since then.

Judging from her appearance and behavior, I assume she holds a certain position.

“…You were supposed to be dead back then, weren’t you?”

Although I was surprised to see the face of someone I thought I had killed, I couldn’t let that surprise linger.

To calm myself and present an air of composure, I superimposed the “usual me” on top of myself, changing my way of speaking.

However, in response to my change in attitude, the woman in front of me—Carmena—shrugged her shoulders in apparent exasperation and sighed.

Every gesture she made just added to my irritation.

“I think it’s about time you stop talking like that. You’ve already fallen apart quite a bit. Well, I might not be the one to say that. …So, what was it? Ah, about that time.”

Carmena seemed to reminisce about the past or recall that time. After a moment of distant contemplation, she chuckled.

“Indeed, at that time, I was close to death. No, I was nearly killed. By you.”

Then, with a slight cloudiness in her eyes, she fixed her gaze on me.

At the same time, the men behind Carmena began to surround me, each brandishing their weapons in my direction.

Certainly, this woman can handle something like this. It’s understandable why she took away my Charm authority.

After all, unlike me, Carmena holds “Courtesan” as her main occupation, not a sub-skill. I don’t know what rank Carmena is at the moment, but even if she’s at the same rank as me—or even lower—she would still overwrite my Charm with just a one-rank difference.

“Some wealthy people often buy slaves as convenient lovers, but at that time, it came down to choosing either me or you. One of us could leave the cage, and the other stayed inside.”

Yes, that’s right. The man who bought me was looking for a ‘Courtesan.’ So, it was a dilemma between me, who was of good quality, and this woman.

That’s why I tried to kill this woman to ensure I would be chosen.

However, if I had simply killed her, I would have been suspected, so I used poison to make it look like an illness. Even if it was a minor ailment, the man would hesitate to buy someone who seemed sick.

Indeed, Carmena, who fell ill with an unknown cause, was not chosen, and I was able to leave the cage.

However, I never expected her to be alive.

At that time, I thought she would die after I was gone. Without considering any aftereffects, I poisoned her to make her fall seriously ill. So, I naturally thought she was dead.

“You’ve been here all this time, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, they say you get used to wherever you live, right? This place has become quite a comfortable city.”

Since she has been here from before the city transformed into a den of criminals, she must feel the changes more deeply. She spoke nostalgically while looking around the surrounding buildings.

Those words irritated me.

“Despite that, the public order seems really bad, doesn’t it?”

“Hahaha. Well, that’s true. But, once you get used to it, it becomes part of your everyday life. It’s like a fascinating show when you’re just watching.”

So, to negate such words, I made a sarcastic comment, but she just laughed it off.

“Well, let’s leave the reunion of old friends at that. Instead of the life stories of old women like us, there’s something important to discuss now.”

The moment she said that, the atmosphere changed dramatically.

On the surface, nothing seemed different. However, the aura around Carmena, which she had wrapped herself in, became something filled with malice.

And, in harmony with that, the energy from the men who stood around Carmena turned aggressive.

“…Is such an attitude towards an old friend really necessary?”

If it comes to a fight, Carmena herself might not be a big issue, but the men around her would become troublesome. Considering they were all called here, it should be assumed that everyone is at least Eighth Rank, and there are more than twenty of them.

Usually, even if there were injuries, it would be manageable, but the current situation is a bit tricky. I sustained injuries due to the plant, and my stamina is depleted. Although the injuries have healed, it doesn’t mean they are completely problem-free.

I don’t want to think about it, but in a prolonged battle, the possibility of defeat starts looming.

“Oh, were we old friends?”

On the surface, it’s the same ordinary conversation as before. However, the malevolence that makes it seem like an attack is imminent hasn’t changed.

“Didn’t you say that just a while ago?”

—If I’m going to make a move, it’s best to do it as quickly as possible and finish them off all at once.