Chapter 27 : The Witch Prepares to Forge a “Miracle”

“Haa… I really didn’t expect that I’d willingly come back here so soon after leaving.”

As Lanafit stepped into Geshk Forest, she looked around at the dense trees surrounding her and couldn’t help but sigh in reflection.

Compared to the last time, when she had wandered around like a headless chicken, things were much easier this time.

After all, she had left a magical marker in the village.

Now, she could sense the village’s direction at any time and no longer needed to worry about getting lost.

“This spot should be good enough. I heard that the soldiers are stationed around the forest’s outskirts—this area should fall within that range.”

After walking deeper into the forest for another ten or so minutes, Lanafit stopped and cautiously scanned her surroundings.

The villagers were being held in the soldiers’ encampment, so once she located the camp, she could begin planning the rescue.

But even at the outskirts, the forest was massive.

The trees were so dense that they blocked out the sky.

Once you went deeper, it became difficult to tell direction.

If she had to search on her own, it could take days without results.

Still, it wasn’t a huge problem—Lanafit had her own methods.

“This time, I’m counting on you.”

As if speaking to someone, a small white figure, no larger than a fist, darted out from behind her.

Looking closer—it was a small bird, folded and shaped out of paper.

Despite being made of paper, the bird flapped its wings and flew around Lanafit energetically, almost like a living creature.

It was a tracking spell.

As long as something from the target’s body—like hair—was placed inside the paper bird, and the target was within detection range, the bird would automatically seek out their location.

Lanafit had found some hair on the pillow in the village chief’s son’s bed and placed it inside the bird.

But…

Well…

Let’s just say the craftsmanship left a lot to be desired.

Not that it could be helped—this was her first time using this spell.

Usually, she focused on researching powerful magic designed to fend off Roseithe’s sneak attacks.

Watching the bird circling her, Lanafit waved her hand.

“Go.”

At her command, the paper bird shuddered slightly, then changed direction and flew off to her right—clearly having sensed its target.

Seeing it take flight, Lanafit didn’t waste another moment and quickly gave chase in the same direction.

…

After more than two hours of careful sneaking, Lanafit finally reached the soldiers’ encampment.

The camp wasn’t far from where she had released the bird, but the constant need to avoid patrolling soldiers and keep the bird hidden without it being spotted had delayed her progress.

Currently, there weren’t many soldiers in the camp—just over a dozen, likely stationed there to guard against wild animals.

This wasn’t considered a dangerous area, so a small garrison was sufficient.

It seemed the main force had already been dispatched deeper into the forest to “work diligently.”

Lanafit quietly observed the camp.

To stay hidden, she had deliberately left behind her staff, which was far too conspicuous for stealth missions.

Inside the camp, aside from the soldiers, there was a temporary wooden cage.

Inside, more than ten plainly dressed villagers were crammed together.

They were likely the village chief’s son and the others who had been captured.

Lanafit counted them—twelve in total, matching the number the chief had mentioned.

Their hands were tied behind their backs, and many bore some signs of injury.

They looked exhausted and worn, but thankfully, none seemed to be in life-threatening condition.

Seeing that they were still safe, Lanafit let out a breath of relief.

After all, she had promised the chief to bring everyone back.

If even one or two were missing, she’d be too ashamed to ask for her reward.

Picking up the now-lifeless paper bird from the ground, Lanafit quietly slipped away from the camp and moved deeper into the forest.

To avoid getting lost, she used a small knife—borrowed from the chief’s house—to mark shallow scratches into the tree trunks along her path.

If any of the soldiers happened to be mages, leaving magical traces could risk detection, so going old-school felt safer.

As for why she left the camp—

Well, she couldn’t just storm in and take the villagers by force.

Lanafit wasn’t afraid of the soldiers, but the same couldn’t be said for the captured villagers.

If she blatantly rescued them, it would clearly indicate that the village had hired someone.

That would undoubtedly bring retaliation on Stat Village from the soldiers.

And if she really wanted to eliminate suspicion, she’d have to get rid of all the soldiers—not just those in the camp, but also those “working” deeper in the forest.

But Lanafit had no intention of killing anyone—not a single person.

So that bloody method was out of the question.

Instead, she had already come up with an indirect method to rescue the villagers.

Why were the soldiers scouring the forest?

Because of the so-called “miracle,” of course.

And why had the villagers been arrested?

Also because the soldiers suspected they were hiding the “miracle” and were interrogating them to find it.

So, if that’s what the soldiers wanted, why not just give it to them?

Of course, Lanafit didn’t plan to stupidly jump out and declare, “I’m the miracle you’re looking for!”

Setting aside whether they’d treat her like a lunatic, it would be a huge mess if she actually got taken away.

So instead, Lanafit decided to forge a “miracle” and let the soldiers discover it by coincidence.

“But… what should I make…?”

Walking deeper into the forest, Lanafit frowned, slightly troubled.

Gold? Treasure?

Those would work, but they didn’t feel right…

Eventually, she remembered the unique nature of this world—swords and sorcery, heroes and demon lords.

In the fantasy works from her previous world, heroes always wielded holy swords in their battles against demon kings.

But in this world, there was no such thing as a “holy sword.”

So why not just make one?

She could even throw in some flashy effects for dramatic flair—there’d be no way the soldiers wouldn’t buy it.

With that thought, she got right to work.

She found a relatively hidden spot and used levitation magic to bring over a large boulder.

After all, a holy sword must be embedded in a stone for maximum style points.

Add some legend about “only the chosen hero can pull it free,” and the ceremonial atmosphere would be perfect.

Once the stone was in place, it was time to forge the sword.

Smithing?

She had no idea how to do that—not to mention lacking the time or tools.

So Lanafit opted for the simplest, most direct approach: shape the sword with magic.

Using the same technique she used to sculpt the ice rose before, she’d mold the “holy sword” into form.

And since it was a holy sword, light-element magic would have been ideal.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t use light magic.

So she chose her favorite: ice—and added in a few decorative elements from other elements for flair.

Without hesitation, she got to work.

Frost began to swirl in her hands, and soon a sword started to take shape within the cold air.

She had already decided on the design long ago.

What boy hadn’t fantasized about having a cool, heroic sword when they were younger?

Lanafit was no different.

She had drafted the design when she was about thirteen or fourteen, doodled on the blank pages of her homework notebook.

Now, she just had to copy it from memory.

With that thought, the sword hovering in her hands fully formed.

It was a single-handed sword with a dark blue color scheme, perfectly replicating her childhood fantasy.

The hilt was ornate, the blade engraved with mysterious runes and patterns.

But the most eye-catching part was the bright green gem set into the crossguard.

Still, the sword felt a bit… unreal.

That’s because it was still just pure elemental energy—not yet fully given physical form.

As she looked at it, Lanafit felt a strange sense of embarrassment.

This sword symbolized her naïve fantasies from when she was a kid.

Seeing it now kind of felt like emotional cringe punishment.

Still, it looked cool enough that it should easily convince the soldiers.

With that in mind, she raised the sword, point down, toward the stone.

Then she gently tapped the blade with a fingertip.

“Pffsh!”

The blade dropped straight down into the boulder.

There wasn’t even a spark—more like it pierced tofu.

The sword sank in deeply and cleanly.

And at that moment, the once-ethereal weapon solidified completely, becoming unmistakably real.

Looking at the now deeply embedded blade, Lanafit felt very satisfied.

Though it was forged from elemental magic, the sword no longer showed any trace of its magical nature—it looked just like metal.

“Now, onto the next step…”