After witnessing Hilxi’s cooking (poison-making), Saya never mentioned letting her take over the kitchen again.
After all, it would be a shame to die of food poisoning before even meeting Ireina-san.
Because of this, the task of cooking fell to Saya.
Hilxi tried to secretly learn cooking on the side, without a shred of shame.
Several peaceful days went by like this, until one day, as Hilxi was walking down the street intending to buy some daily necessities, she noticed that the people around her seemed different.
Both their spirits and their bodies appeared somewhat drained.
“Have you lost your appetite lately too?”
“Yeah, yeah, no matter what I eat, I feel nauseous. I’ve lost several pounds because of it.”
“I’m starving, but as soon as I see food, I just feel sick. I can’t eat at all…”
“Same here, but the Magic Unification Association has sent people to investigate. Apparently, it’s an Unknown Infectious Disease, no one knows how it started.”
“Infectious disease? Is it okay for us to be talking this close?”
“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re already sick anyway.”
“That’s true.”
Infectious disease?
Hilxi eavesdropped on the nearby pedestrians’ conversation, and her heart leapt—there’s one here too?
How terrifying, how terrifying. Better stay away from them.
So she quickly distanced herself from the crowd, hugging the wall as she walked, dodging anyone she saw as if she’d spotted a wild beast.
This so-called infectious disease seemed to have only started showing up recently. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt that most of the cases were clustered around the inn where she was staying.
Because of this, she didn’t dare go to crowded places anymore.
If there’s an outbreak, wouldn’t Saya-san and I be in trouble?
Just thinking about getting sick made Hilxi shiver. She muttered under her breath:
“No, we have to move, we absolutely have to move. There’s no way I’m catching this thing that makes you feel nauseous at the sight of food! That’d be worse than death!”
With that thought in mind, Hilxi hurried back to the inn on her broom, not even bothering to buy the things she needed.
She leapt in through the open skylight and, upon landing, happened to see Saya holding Ireina’s Triangle Hat, a lovesick expression plastered on her face.
“Ehehe, Ireina-san~”
What a bizarre expression.
Sensing Hilxi’s presence, Saya shuddered, like someone caught red-handed in the act.
An awkward silence descended.
A few seconds later, Saya put the Triangle Hat on her head, feigning composure and letting out a cough:
“Weren’t you out shopping? Why are you back so soon?”
What a clumsy attempt at distraction.
Hilxi grumbled internally, then spoke seriously:
“That’s not important right now. Saya-san, have you lost your appetite at all? Or been unable to eat?”
“No, why?” Saya looked puzzled.
“It seems there’s an infectious disease going around that makes people nauseous at the sight of food, and it’s right around here. Pretty scary, honestly.”
“Eh!? Really? Doesn’t that put us at risk?”
“Yeah, exactly, so let’s move out for now!”
I’ve never liked this lousy inn anyway, now’s the perfect chance to find a better place.
“Move out?” Saya tilted her head, supporting her chin with her palm and posing a soul-searching question: “Do you have any money?”
“No.” Hilxi answered immediately.
“So, are you planning to live on the streets?”
“Nope.” Hilxi shook her head without hesitation.
“That’s why your ideas are so unrealistic.” Saya shook her head and spread her hands, not sure where her friend got the confidence to talk about moving.
Don’t you know why we’re stuck in this place to begin with?
“Ahem, just lend me a little, Saya-san.” Hilxi said smoothly, her shamelessness as solid as a city wall.
Saya rolled her eyes:
“Yeah, sure—just pay back the thirteen silver coins and six copper coins you already owe me first.”
“I’ll write you an IOU.”
“I don’t take IOUs.”
“……”
Done for, the money princess won’t lend me anything, what do I do?
Hilxi felt as if her life had turned dark, her future vanished.
Looks like I’ll have to get a job.
“If you’re willing to look for work, ferrying people or making deliveries on your broom isn’t a bad idea. Here, take these.”
Saya pulled out two recruitment flyers from who knows where and handed them to Hilxi.
“…You were already prepared? That’s some deep scheming.”
Hilxi accepted the flyers with resignation.
This was clearly premeditated—she was ready to sell me off! So sad.
“If you don’t get a job soon, my wallet won’t survive supporting the both of us.”
“What? It’s not like I spend much, just three meals a day…”
“Are the clothes on your back from kindly aunties shoving them on you?”
“Eh? How did you know?”
“……”
Kingdom of Magicians.
Hilxi sat on her broom, flying through the air, with a Magician about her age sitting behind her.
In the end, she’d chosen to find work.
“We’re here.”
She stopped the broom in front of a café, making her announcement.
Her orange-white-gold hair settled down as the broom came to a halt.
“Ah, we’re here already? That was fast! You’re a Magician too, right? You’re really good at flying with a broom—could you teach me sometime?”
The purple-haired girl who hopped off the broom looked at her with eager eyes.
“No…”
Hilxi was about to refuse, but then she realized—teaching magic to others wasn’t a bad idea. After so many nightly raids, she had more spells than anyone could count.
Especially when it came to broom flying—she was a true master.
Might as well do a good deed.
“Sure, but I’ll have to charge a fee.”
Hilxi flashed a sly smile.
“…Goodbye.”
The purple-haired girl turned and left without a second glance.
“…?”
Watching her walk straight into the café, Hilxi was left bewildered. What? She wants to learn magic for free? Shameless!
She watched the girl disappear into the café, frustrated—there went her chance to make a fortune.
But the encounter gave her an idea. With all the magic she knew, why not become a private tutor? That’d be easy money, and not too much work.
Not bad. I’ll refine this plan when I get back.
Just as she was about to fly off, someone hurried over.
“Hey, don’t go.”
“Hm?” Hilxi turned and, to her surprise, recognized the newcomer.
She didn’t know many people here—just a handful, really.
The woman had long pale purple hair, wore a mysterious blue-black robe adorned with badges symbolizing stars and the moon, and her amber eyes stared straight at Hilxi.
It was none other than the Witch of Night Blossom, who had once scammed a lot of money out of her.
“I don’t have any money—wait, no, I’m not doing any fortune-telling.”
“I didn’t stop you for that.” The Witch of Night Blossom kept her enigmatic smile, pulling Hilxi back as she tried to escape on her broom.
“Then… what’s this about?”
Just seeing her made Hilxi’s wallet ache… headache.
But she noticed something—besides the Witch’s Badge, the Witch of Night Blossom also wore a Moon Badge of unknown significance.
“Have you felt any loss of appetite lately, or felt nauseous at the sight of food?”
That sounds awfully familiar… Hilxi shook her head slightly:
“No, I haven’t.”
Then she suddenly thought of something:
“Lady Yedo, are you here to investigate the disease? Are you from the Magic Unification Association?”
“You just have to look to see the answer.”
“Oh, so that Moon Badge is actually the Association’s symbol?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t know.” The Witch of Night Blossom looked at her, a bit surprised—wasn’t this common knowledge?
“Ahem, it’s just the first time I’ve seen one in person, so I wasn’t sure. Anyway, what’s the story with this disease?”
Hilxi was curious about the origins of this wave of sickness.
“I don’t know either.”
The Witch of Night Blossom gave her an ambiguous look, leaving Hilxi full of question marks.
“Is there a cure?”
“Purification Magic might work, but this Unknown Infectious Disease seems to have a source. If you don’t eliminate the source, it’ll keep coming back.”
“So what’s the source?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
The Witch of Night Blossom gave her a look reserved for idiots.
“…Fair point, but Lady Yedo, aren’t you good at fortune-telling? Shouldn’t it be easy to find something?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s why I found you.”
Huh??
What does this have to do with me?
Hilxi was at a loss, a sense of foreboding welling up inside her.
Seeing Hilxi’s clueless face, the Witch of Night Blossom explained:
“I used divination to find the source of the disease, and the clues pointed to you. Or rather, the divination told me that you’re the mastermind behind it.”
Hilxi was shocked—what did this have to do with her?
She quickly waved her hands:
“No way! Absolutely not! I’m a law-abiding citizen—why would I spread disease?”
There must have been an error in your fortune-telling!
“That’s why I need to investigate. Are you free?”
“…I’m working.”
“Then you’re free. Come with me.”
“? What do you mean? Where to?”
“To investigate.”
“Can I not go?”
“Sure. In that case, just come with me to the Association for tea.”
“……”