Inn, second floor, hallway beside the stairs.
The air fell silent.
Monica stared into those deep blue eyes, vast and endless like the ocean, and felt a tremor within her.
She… knows my secret?
A friend, really? Is that truly possible…
The cold woman hadn’t felt nervous in a long time, but under this wave of emotion, her heart raced, and even her body temperature began to rise.
Her hand clenched in her pocket, conflicted, but soon relaxed as she exhaled quietly, unseen.
Maybe… it’s okay to say it out loud.
“I…”
Monica lowered her gaze, lips slightly parted.
Suddenly, bang!
The door swung open, and Saya-san dashed out, traces of food still clinging to the corner of her mouth. Seeing Hilxi hadn’t left, she brightened up immediately:
“Oh! Hilcy-san! Hehe, so you really were waiting for me!”
“…”
Hilxi pressed a hand to her forehead, muttering under her breath that the mood was completely ruined.
“Eh? Monica-san, you’re waiting for me too?”
Monica, back to her usual cold expression, nodded and softly replied.
She looked up at Hilxi, who shrugged and then offered a gentle smile.
“Is that so? That’s impressive.”
“…?”
Monica seemed to think she hadn’t said that out loud, a question mark almost appearing above her head.
“Eh? Hilcy-san, what are you saying now?”
“Nothing. Let’s go!”
Magic Unification Association, classroom.
Today’s lecturer was a mage with deep purple hair, dressed in a magical robe and wearing black glasses, her aura mysterious yet mature.
She was explaining how Magic Potions are brewed, the materials needed, and the properties of those ingredients.
In short, it was a course about Magic Potions.
Hilxi was interested, but her mind kept whispering, “Sleep! Go to sleep!” and “If you don’t sleep soon, you’ll drop dead!” making it hard to focus.
It was tough to endure.
So she decided to sneak a nap.
Resting her arms on the desk, she rested her head and fell asleep.
Monica, sitting behind her, chose to ignore Hilxi sleeping during class.
The voice around her gradually faded, and her consciousness slipped into a haze… After some time, Hilxi felt someone nudging her.
She snapped out of light sleep, her tousled hair framing her drowsy eyes as she saw two people standing nearby.
“Sleeping during class, you’re really a model student.”
Hilxi saw Naersha, clad in a black and blue robe, with pale yellow hair, looking at her.
Beside her stood Jiai, black-haired with brown eyes, wearing a pristine blue robe reminiscent of the ocean.
All the newcomers in class had turned to watch.
“What’s the matter?” Hilxi yawned.
Jiai stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm:
“Get up. They want to see you outside.”
Outside the classroom, hallway.
Leaning against the wall, Hilxi was no longer sleepy. She looked at the two and feigned annoyance:
“What’s going on? I still have class…”
“That’s hardly called class…” Naersha shook her head.
“I have good news. The victims turned into Demonic Puppets have, for some unknown reason, all recovered.”
“Oh!! Really? Is that true? That’s amazing!” Hilxi pretended to be extremely excited, even placing her hands on Naersha’s shoulders, shaking her repeatedly.
“Really… really, please let go.” Naersha was surprised by Hilxi’s excitement and felt a bit moved.
It was touching how happy she was about others’ recovery—a truly pure and kind-hearted child.
“But we don’t know why the victims suddenly recovered, so we came to find you.” Naersha sighed in relief as Hilxi released her grip.
“I don’t know either.”
“So use your Divination to tell us.”
“Divination about what?”
“Where the Demonic Puppets are.”
“Oh.”
After some discussion, Hilxi understood their purpose and promptly pulled out her Crystal Ball, but just as she was about to begin, she hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Jiai and Naersha asked in unison.
Hilxi cleared her throat:
“Divination consumes a lot of Magic, so… I need a divination fee.”
“…”
Naersha was momentarily speechless.
“No need. This is cooperation with work; the Association will thank you.” Jiai said calmly.
“Oh? How will they thank me?”
“With words of gratitude.”
“Eh… (displeased)”
Realizing there would be no divination fee, Hilxi started the divination right in front of them, searching for the Demonic Puppets’ location.
As expected, the image was all darkness.
After all, the Demonic Puppet was in her pocket—of course it would be dark.
But she couldn’t tell them that, or she’d be called in for a reprimand. At this point, she could only rely on her acting skills.
Hilxi widened her eyes, her hand trembling as she held the Crystal Ball, lips parted in a look of disbelief:
“Uh ah?? Divination… failed?”
“Huh?”
“Why?”
The two were baffled. Divination failed?
No, why did you suddenly give up?
“Uh, well, in cases like this, either I messed up, or there’s only one other possibility.” Hilxi quickly adopted a calm expression.
“What possibility?”
“You’re teasing me now?”
Their looks turned sour as they stared at her. She glanced around, then whispered:
“The Demonic Puppet might… be dead!”
“Ah??”
“No, why?”
Hilxi shrugged, indicating she didn’t know either.
It was fine yesterday; nothing happened today, so how could it suddenly be dead? Wait, something special did happen today—the victims suddenly recovered. That’s it… Jiai pinched the edge of her robe thoughtfully.
“Can you divinate the cause of death?” Naersha asked.
She also suspected the victims recovered because the Demonic Puppet suddenly died.
“That’s… difficult. Maybe it did so much evil that its conscience hurt so badly it chose to commit suicide?”
“Can a puppet even have a conscience…” Naersha scoffed.
“Maybe.”
“Enough with the nonsense, can you divinate the cause of death or not?” Jiai turned to Hilxi, her expression saying “Can you or not?”
Hmm?? Feeling challenged, Hilxi wondered what would happen if she just pulled the Demonic Puppet out now.
Suppressing the urge to tempt fate, she pouted:
“Alright, I’ll try.”
Half a minute later.
“Ah, divination failed again, sorry, sorry.”
“…” Naersha was helpless. “Looks like it’s a cold case.”
“Useless.” Jiai sighed.
“Huh? What do you mean? Want to fight?”
“I give up.”
“Eh??”
They only obtained the information that the Demonic Puppet was dead, but not the cause. Their expressions were less than pleased as they left.
Hilxi returned to class but, having been called out, had become the center of attention and dared not nap. She stayed attentive until noon.
After training ended, Hilxi went with Saya and Monica to lunch, then returned to the inn and slept until nightfall.
A wasted afternoon for earning money.
Night, inside the inn.
Gurgle gurgle…
A black pot sat atop the stove, bubbling with thick liquid.
Hilxi stood beside it, looking at notes in her hand while tossing ingredients into the pot.
She wasn’t cooking, but brewing a Magic Potion—though the result was poor, and the air was filled with an unbearable stench.
“Hm?? Didn’t it get thicker after adding this herb? Why does it feel even thicker now?”
Seeing the potion turn into green tofu-like chunks, Hilxi’s eyelids twitched. She hurriedly took out her Crystal Ball to divinate the potion’s efficacy.
The divination revealed it was highly poisonous.
“Impossible! These ingredients are all ordinary, no toxins at all… Ah, I’m dizzy.”
After a while, Hilxi slowly came to, headache pounding. She grabbed the pot off the stove and, with pot and all, tossed it downstairs.
Clang!
Then she used Wind Magic to blow all the toxic fumes out the window. Only then did she feel somewhat better.
Almost died—Magic Potions really are dangerous.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Hilxi shivered at the near miss.
“Next time, I’ll practice with Monica… okay?”
Suddenly, she realized a serious problem.
She walked to the window and looked down.
She saw three or four people lying unconscious on the ground, including a staff member who greeted her every day.
Without hesitation, she shut the window, drew the curtains, then paced over to the bed and lay down.