The sun dipped behind the clouds, casting long shadows over the outskirts far from the city center.
A gentle breeze swept past the aged spires of the crumbling buildings, causing a few white stones to dislodge. They bounced against the stone walls several times before finally settling at the feet of a girl.
Hilxi frowned as she inhaled the dusty scent wafting from the ruins before her.
“This is the place you mentioned?”
Beside her, a girl with pale green hair stepped onto one of the stones, speaking as she walked.
“Yeah, don’t you think this place is perfect for hide-and-seek?”
Not really. This place seems dangerous—prone to cave-ins, with plenty of dirt and spider webs.
Hilxi shook her head and followed the girl.
“By the way, you still haven’t told me your name, little grass girl.”
“Little grass… girl? Don’t give me such a lame nickname, big sister. Just call me Aoli.”
“Hm, I’m Hilxi.”
Before long, they stepped into the ruins and spotted several figures gathered around a pool.
Saying ‘pool’ was generous—there was no water at all. The stone pool showed signs of weathering, with many cracks and pieces scattered among the overgrown weeds.
The group consisted of boys and girls, all seemingly under twenty, around Aoli’s age.
Hilxi cast a quick glance over them, lowering her head slightly to hide the faint smirk playing at her lips.
Juggling a few Silver Coins—these must be from wealthy families… Heh, looks like there’s some profit to be made here.
“Is this the new recruit you found, Aoli?” a red-haired boy asked.
“Yeah, her name’s Hilxi.”
“Uh, hello.”
Faced with youngsters a few years younger, Hilxi tried to act mature.
“Hilxi, huh? Looks pretty dumb,” the red-haired boy sneered for some reason, then laughed.
“…”
Huh? Believe me, I’ll show you what real street justice looks like.
“No way, she’s so cute~” a girl with short pink hair rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with inexplicable affection.
Nice eye for beauty, but please don’t give me that creepy look just because I’m a girl too.
“She’s wearing a Triangle Hat—must be a Magician, right?” a dark-haired girl with wheat-colored skin frowned.
Ah, I’ve been found out. Looks like I won’t blend in here.
“No worries. She’s just a Magician. Even if she’s allowed to use Magic, she won’t beat me,” said a boy with a black hat, striking a cool pose with his side to the group.
So arrogant. The first victim is definitely you!
Aside from them, two others remained silent, quietly studying Hilxi.
They were the Bread-haired Girl and the Sea-blue-haired Girl.
Aoli and Hilxi stood together, looking at everyone.
“You all know the rules, right? How about Aoli and I be the seekers, and you guys hide? Of course, I promise this Miss Mage won’t use Magic.”
Hilxi glanced at Aoli.
You only invited me to use my Divination Magic, didn’t you? Your promise seems meaningless… Such a bad kid.
No objections came, and a Silver Coin was handed to Aoli as a token of participation.
Hilxi reluctantly took a Silver Coin from her own pocket and handed it to the grinning Aoli.
“Don’t be stingy. We’ll earn it all back soon,” Aoli whispered.
“Let’s hope so.”
The game would last thirty minutes. If Hilxi and Aoli failed to catch all six hiders within that time, they would lose. Catching all six meant victory.
By the way, caught hiders immediately lost the right to earn Silver Coins; only those who remained hidden for half an hour could win money.
Simple rules.
“Alright, you can start finding places to hide.”
They had one minute to hide, while Hilxi and Aoli faced the wall to “reflect.”
Footsteps quickly faded, and Hilxi glanced at Aoli beside her, whispering:
“So, no Magic allowed, right?”
“Huh? It’s allowed.”
“But you just promised—”
“Oh, that? I lied.” Aoli smirked.
Verbal promises are worthless, after all.
The minute passed quickly, and Hilxi turned to face the ruins.
“My Divination Magic can only be used three times. Before then, I’ll try to find them without Magic.”
“Only three uses?” Aoli gasped, then gave Hilxi a helpless look.
Hilxi’s expression darkened, her eyes chilling as if staring at a corpse.
Startled, Aoli quickly shifted to a cheerful smile.
“Oh! Three’s enough. We only have to find three people!”
Hilxi withdrew her gaze, raising her Triangle Hat.
“Then, let’s split up, little grass girl.”
“…Don’t call me little grass girl!”
The two parted ways—Aoli covering one area, Hilxi the other.
“This ruin is quite big. I wonder what it used to be and why it was abandoned.”
Hilxi muttered to herself as she scanned the surroundings. Besides fallen stone pillars, there were only crumbled walls and dust thick in the air. Sunlight revealed swirling motes of gray dust.
Playing hide-and-seek in a place like this was a novel experience—provided she wasn’t hit by falling stones.
…
“Do you think we’ll get found here?”
Two girls peeked through a gap on the rooftop, looking down about three or four meters to Hilxi below.
“No way. This place is so hidden, and since it’s Hilxi’s first time, she definitely won’t find us.”
They were the Bread-haired Girl and the Sea-blue-haired Girl.
The Sea-blue-haired Girl looked worried.
“Really? I have a feeling we’re about to get caught.”
The Bread-haired Girl rolled her eyes.
“Are you cursing yourself?”
As they whispered, Hilxi clapped her hands and casually scanned the area.
Clearing her throat, she suddenly shouted:
“Stop hiding! I see you!”
Her voice echoed through the ruins.
A faint startled cry answered, and Hilxi turned to the roof, a triumphant smile crossing her face.
So you’re hiding there.
But after a moment, the rooftop figures didn’t emerge.
Hilxi frowned.
“People on the roof, stop hiding and come out!”
…
“Like last time, even if we get found, we just act like we weren’t and keep hiding.”
“Right, we’re so high up she can’t reach us.”
The Sea-blue-haired Girl sighed with relief, her gaze drifting upward to the sunlight.
Then she suddenly saw a face.
“Ah! A ghost!”
“Found you! Oh, there’s two of you,” Hilxi said, shadowed and smiling.
“How did you get up there?! You were just on the ground!” the Bread-haired Girl exclaimed in disbelief.
“I’m a rock climbing expert, you know.”
Hilxi naturally didn’t mention she’d flown up on a broom.
“Damn! Being the first caught is all your fault!”
“I didn’t mean to…”
…
Having found two people easily, Hilxi felt good and wandered the ruins.
Sometimes she crawled into dark pits to check for hiding players, sometimes she pulled open tattered cabinets, other times she moved rocks with her bare hands to see if anyone was lying there.
Ten minutes passed with no luck.
Tired, she squatted on a fallen stone, her right hand slipping into her pocket, touching something round and smooth.
“Good hiding spot… I’ll need to use some tricks.”
She quietly used Divination Magic to scan and immediately learned the location of the black-hatted cool boy.
Hilxi’s expression twisted oddly.
Two minutes later.
She arrived at a well-lit ruined building, standing before a long rectangular stone box.
Grasping both edges, she prepared to lift the lid.
“Ugh!”
Her face flushed red as she gritted her teeth, exerting all her strength.
But the thing wouldn’t budge.
Could it be that kind?
Shaking her hands, she tried pushing instead.
With the grinding of stone, the Stone Coffin lid slid open.
“Oh? You found me?” The boy with the hat lay calmly inside, expression unchanged.
“Good hiding spot,” Hilxi complimented him.
Who would think to hide inside a coffin?
“But I still got caught… Maybe next time I should seal the lid…” the boy murmured.
“Then you might stay there forever.”
Using the same method, Hilxi’s Divination Magic helped her find the red-haired boy and the dark-haired girl. Only the pink-haired girl remained.
About five minutes left.
“Wow! Big sister, you found five people all by yourself!” Aoli trailed behind admiringly, claiming to help but barely doing anything.
Hilxi stopped at a curved corner. Divination indicated the last pink-haired girl was nearby.
But all she saw were piles of gravel and scratched wooden planks.
Squinting, Hilxi thought.
No one here? Did my Divination mess up?
“What’s wrong, big sister? Use your Divination to find the last person!”
“No Magic left.” Hilxi shot Aoli a displeased glance. “Stop following me. Go look elsewhere.”
“Ah, time’s running out!”
“Then go quickly, little grass girl.”
“…Okay, okay.”
Sending Aoli away, Hilxi crouched down, running her fingers over the gravel stones.
After a few seconds, she pushed the gravel aside and spotted something.
A pink glass sphere, about the size of a baby’s fist, gleamed.
“This…” Hilxi raised an eyebrow and picked up the sphere.
It was light, like an ordinary glass ball.
This was clearly out of place in the ruins.
Could the pink-haired girl have transformed into a glass sphere? An absurd thought.
But if it was some kind of Magic, then it wasn’t absurd at all… Hilxi considered that if she took the girl out like this, no one would recognize her. She’d have to change her back to human first.
Exhaling, she expressionlessly set the sphere on the ground, grabbed a nearby stone, and slowly raised her hand, eyes fixed on the sphere.
“I wonder if I can smash it…”
“Don’t!”
A panicked female voice sounded from nowhere, freezing Hilxi’s movement.
Her lips curled into a smile as she gently picked up “her” again.
“You must be the girl who called me cute, right?”
Turning into a glass sphere…
Your Magic’s pretty impressive!
The smile on Hilxi’s face grew wicked, her deep blue eyes radiating a terrifying light.
“Y-Yes… it’s me.”
The voice trembled with tears.
Waaah… so scary, not cute at all… The girl trapped as a sphere panicked internally. Maybe Mom was right—don’t judge people by appearances.
“Change back.”
“…Okay, please… put me down.”
Hilxi set the glass sphere down and took two steps back.
The sphere began to expand like dough being stretched, and seconds later returned to the girl’s form.
Pink short hair, wearing a dress with a coat, her expression timid.
“Come with me.”
Hilxi started walking away; the pink-haired girl hesitated but gritted her teeth and followed.
…
“One minute left. I’m not going to lose, right?”
Aoli looked worried, standing by the old pool, having given up on searching.
“Looks like we’re going to win again, Aoli. Your picks just aren’t good,” the red-haired boy laughed easily.
“Noffy’s our best at hiding. She definitely won’t be found.”
Just as they said this, Hilxi exited the ruins and walked toward them.
Trailing behind was Noffy, the pink-haired girl claimed to be best at hiding.
“Time’s not up! I win!” Aoli raised her wristwatch, smiling broadly. The hiders’ relaxed expressions vanished.
The fact that Noffy, who wielded such mysterious Magic, had been found stunned the red-haired boy.
He looked at Hilxi again, realizing he had underestimated her.
“Ah, lost…” the Sea-blue-haired Girl sighed, regretting her Silver Coin.
“Lost again, huh? I should’ve sealed that coffin…” the hat boy muttered, still dwelling on the risky idea.
“Sorry… I got caught…” Noffy apologized; everyone shook their heads.
They had no face to blame others—they had all been found even faster—and only felt a tinge of regret.
“Enough of this. Let’s go home!”
“Yeah, that’s it for today. I’m off.”
No one wanted to keep playing; they all said goodbye and left.
Seeing this, Hilxi almost blurted out, “Don’t go, my ATMs,” but held back.
Only Hilxi, Noffy, and Aoli remained.
Hilxi glanced at Noffy, then smiled at Aoli, extending her right hand.
“I found all six. You understand, little grass girl?”
Eight Silver Coins… Heh, technically, since I found them all, they should all be mine, but I’ll give this little grass girl one. After all, without her, I couldn’t have joined. Hmm, I’m too kind…
Aoli reached into her pocket, preparing to pay.
“Of course, big sister, I didn’t help much, so all eight Silver Coins are yours.”
So considerate… What to do, should I give her one after all? Hilxi hesitated.
Suddenly, Aoli pulled her hand from her pocket.
Swish!