The tiny witch from the.., p.22
The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 3, page 22
Nel shrugged. “I suppose so. For now, our priority is raising the average skill of doctors in general. There are too many who don’t understand the makeup of the human body. Even in a kingdom as large as Redford, there are doctors who have never inspected a cadaver. It’s mind-boggling.” Apparently having had his fill of inspecting Geord’s arm, Nel released it and took a seat. “But if you’re really that interested, you should talk to Ryne about it,” he said offhandedly as he asked a nearby maid to get him some tea.
Misha tilted her head. “Uncle Ryne?”
“That’s right. He’s the one who perfected the technique in the first place.”
“What?!” Misha shouted in surprise, but Nel had already moved on, focused entirely on the sweets on the table.
Seeing he had lost interest in the discussion, Misha instead turned to Miranda. “Did you know that, Miranda?”
The anticipation in Misha’s eyes brought a pained smile to Miranda’s face. “Yes, I suppose. I’d heard stories of it, but I’m afraid I don’t know the details. Ryne has always had an interest in the human body. When he was little, he played with anatomical models as if they were toys. The moment he was recognized as a young adult, he bolted out of the village. He was probably already looking into methods of stitching and suturing that didn’t leave damaging side effects back then.”
In the same way Miranda and Leyas had played with medicinal herbs, Ryne had played with models of the human body. He had shown a talent for hunting when the adults had brought him along, but after some time, they’d discovered he had only been tagging along for the experience in dissecting and butchering the animals. Back then, the girls had just been happy he was sharing meat with them.
Leyas was complaining about Ryne practicing his stitching on their preserved meats before he was even ten... Miranda recalled.
As Misha bubbled in excitement over how incredible her uncle was, Miranda started to hesitate over how much she should actually share about him. But before she could make a decision either way, a hand reached over her shoulder to take a sandwich from the table.
“Wow, you guys sure seem to be living it up. I’ve been dragged through so many meetings, I haven’t even had time to eat,” the man in question grumbled, dropping into a seat beside Miranda.
As a punishment for going to see Leyas and Misha in secret, Miranda had left all the negotiating with Redford’s officials to Ryne. When Nel had also run away from the responsibility, Ryne had been left as the sole connection point between Redford and the People of the Forest. He was easily the busiest of all of them. He was a skilled and adaptable man, so he had no problems dealing with the responsibility they had shoved in his lap, but the unfamiliar work was enough to stress him out, leaving him in a rather poor mood recently.
Yet Miranda pretended not to notice, forcing him to keep up the work entirely on his own. They had been close friends since childhood. She was more than used to his bad days. His temper didn’t scare her in the least. He had been foulmouthed from the start, so that was no change, and she knew full well that he wasn’t the kind of man to lash out violently just because he was upset. From Miranda’s perspective, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Despite all that, Miranda did feel a little guilty seeing the stress he was under, and so decided a good helping of his niece’s attention was just what he needed. “We were just talking about you, Ryne. It seems like the person who treated this man’s arm used your technique to do so.”
“Oh, really?” was all he said as he slumped lazily back in his chair. A maid placed some tea—warm, not hot, as his sensitive tongue required—in front of him.
“Apparently his arm almost got cut off about ten years ago, and someone reconnected it for him. Do you remember doing it?” Misha asked, evidently quite invested in the story.
Giving her a quick glance, Ryne shrugged. “Not really. I’ve been to lots of places, so I’ve treated a lot of people.” But Misha’s passion finally got through to him, so he sat up straight and beckoned Geord over. “Here, can I take a look?”
Geord got up without hesitation, showing off his arm to yet another stranger. Despite his rough manner of speech, Ryne’s hands were quite gentle as he inspected Geord’s arm. He went through the same procedure as Nel, asking Geord to do all sorts of tests with his arm and hand, before giving a thorough inspection of the scar line.
“Oh, yeah, this is definitely my work. But damn, the scarring is terrible. The skin here is still so stiff,” Ryne muttered to himself before staring hard at Geord’s face. “Nah, sorry. Still don’t remember you one bit. But hey, looks like you’ve made quite the life for yourself since we last met. Good for you.”
As Ryne smiled at him, Geord responded by biting at his lip, as if struggling to contain something. He then pulled his arm back, taking Ryne’s hand and dropping to his knees, bowing so his head touched Ryne’s hands.
“Because you saved me... Because you saved my arm, I’ve been able to protect so many people that are important to me. Thank you.” With the way he bowed his head, it was impossible to see his face, but no one had any trouble gauging how he felt from the tremble in his voice.
“Sure,” Ryne said quietly, giving only a small nod to avoid ruining the moment. Geord didn’t move for a long while, keeping his forehead pressed to Ryne’s hands.
Misha gulped, entranced by the scene. After so long, Geord had finally been able to express his gratitude. Misha felt there was something remarkably precious in those words.
For a while, the room was quiet, but the one to finally break the silence was Ryne himself. “So, should I fix that arm for you?” Ryne grinned, pulling his hand out of Geord’s grip.
“Fix it...?” Geord looked up in confusion, not understanding what Ryne meant.
“Yeah. If you overdo it with your arm, your fingers start to go numb and you lose grip strength, right?”
“Uh...” Geord was stunned. He had kept those side effects hidden from everyone, but Ryne had pinpointed them so precisely.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. There was a lot I didn’t know ten years ago. I thought I was missing some of the important nerves when I was reconnecting them. I could do a better job for you now, if you like.”
Sensing something ominous in Ryne’s grin, Geord retreated a bit, still on his knees.
“So you mean...you’d cut it off again?” Misha asked.
“Yeah, that’s the fastest way. Luckily we have Old Man Nel and the others here, so there’s no shortage of help. We’ve got plenty of anesthetics and painkillers too. I won’t be able to stay for your rehabilitation, but Toma will be around, so he’ll take care of you,” Ryne replied brightly, as if he were discussing a walk in the garden. All the while, Geord continued scurrying backward, hiding his arm from sight.
“Oh, that sounds like a great idea. I’ve never had the chance to see it done in person,” Nel said, appearing behind Geord to put his hands on the poor guard’s shoulders and hold him in place. Geord jumped from the sudden contact.
“Would you mind if I watched too?” Misha raised her hand hesitantly, knowing full well that they might not want to share one of their secrets with her yet.
“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second. My arm is perfectly fine! Why are we so set on cutting it off again?!” Geord began to protest. He knew if he didn’t say anything, something terrible was about to happen to him.
“If you’ve got lingering side effects, we should fix them, right? I don’t have a strong memory of it, but it’s my work, so I should take responsibility. In fact, while I’m in there, why don’t I reinforce the bone so it’s harder to break?”
Ryne’s surprise at Geord’s protest made it clear he wasn’t acting maliciously and was in fact trying to be generous, but Geord nevertheless wanted to shout back, “That’s not the problem!” That said, he did owe this man his life. It was difficult to just refuse him outright, so...
“Oh, looks like it’s time for my meeting with Ryan. Have a nice break, everyone,” he declared in a perfect monotone, slipping out from Nel’s grasp and dashing out of the room.
“Wait! Geord!” Misha evidently wanted to say something more, but Geord had no interest in hearing her out. Once he was caught up in her curiosity, he had no confidence he could shake her off. And he had no desire to be their experiment.
Sorry, my arm is perfectly fine how it is. You’ll have to hold on to that curiosity until you see someone who really needs the help! he thought, racing down the halls as fast as he could without outright running.
“Aw, he left.” Misha returned, having run to the door to try and stop him.
Miranda sighed. “I know you’re not used to being thanked like that, but you didn’t have to scare the poor guy.”
Ryne just shrugged with a smile. “I wasn’t really joking. If he can’t properly grip his weapon because of exhaustion, that’s a real issue for a knight. If he gets involved in a protracted battle, it could cost him his life. Things are peaceful right now, so taking three to six months off to rest should be perfectly fine, right?”
Miranda’s eyes widened at the unexpectedly serious response. “I thought you just wanted to show off your skills to Misha.”
“Well, there’s that too. Seeing someone’s arm cut off and reconnected would be a good experience for her, right?”
“Uncle Ryne...” As much as Misha had been excited at the prospect, she didn’t want to push Geord into something he didn’t want, so hearing that Ryne had been serious about it was a bit alarming.
“But fine. He’s allowed to decline if he doesn’t want the treatment.” Ryne laughed before draining his tea and asking for a refill.
Afterword
Newcomers and old faces alike, thank you for reading. I cannot begin to express my gratitude at having made it to publishing volume 3. This volume marks a major turning point in the story, so I am really glad we made it this far.
“Wow. You’re as stiff and formal as they said, huh?”
Gah?! Is this a repeat of the nightmare from volume 2?! Who are you?!
“A nightmare? How rude. I’m everyone’s beloved princess, Lalaya. Nice to meet you.”
Oh wow, you’re the last person I would have expected. I thought you were that self-proclaimed angelic little devil again.
“Oh, he wasn’t able to make it. Now that he’s taken an actual interest in succession, the former prime minister won’t let Carolus out of his sight.”
Hooray! Serves him right. I hope he grows up well.
“I agree. He’s been quite the scoundrel lately, so you have my sympathies. He gave me a message for you, by the way. ‘Make sure you write more scenes for me!’ There, I’ve done my job.”
Uh...okay. So, what is someone as busy as the king’s own sister doing here?
“I am the sister of the king, a princess who loves and is loved by the people. Therefore, I have come to put the wondering hearts of the people at ease. However, I am busy, so let’s speed through these.”
Question 1: Where did Misha go?
Wow, right to the point, huh? She’s gone on a journey back to the village of the People of the Forest with her uncle. She’ll meet all sorts of people on her way. Expect the fantasy aspects of the story to start growing stronger. It will all be a good experience for her as an apothecary.
Question 2: Isn’t calling people as skilled as the People of the Forest “apothecaries” underselling them?
Well, they began as apothecaries, and so they continue to call themselves that, but in truth they are a group of various medical experts. Long ago, there wasn’t much difference between a doctor and an apothecary. There was even a time when barbers would serve as surgeons. They follow a similar line of reasoning.
Question 3: Will we ever return to Redford?
Uh...that is definitely going to be a spoiler if I give any details, so I’ll just say, “Yes” and leave it at that.
Question 4: The title of the series is The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods, but...
Wait, stop! We can’t keep going! We don’t have the space for any more questions! I’m sure all of your concerns will be answered as the story continues, so I’d be happy if you come along to cheer Misha on in her adventure!
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Mr. Yoh Hihara for all of the wonderful illustrations he produced for this volume. They’ve become an indispensable source of motivation for my writing. I look forward to what you have for us in the next volume.
Thank you to my supervisor for all the ideas you gave me for short stories. I’m sorry for being so unreasonable. You’ve really helped me.
Thank you to my family for being so patient with me while I let my deadlines drive me into a mad panic.
And thank you, dear readers, for coming with me this far. I hope we can continue to watch Misha grow together.
Yanagi
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Copyright
The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 3
by Yanagi
Translated by Nathan Macklem
Edited by Carly Smith
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2024 Yanagi
Illustrations by Yoh Hihara
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2024 by TO Books
This English edition is published by arrangement with TO Books, Tokyo
English translation © 2026 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: March 2026
Yanagi, The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods: Volume 3
