Chapter 3: Meeting a Stranger Again, the Origin of the Female Bully

The candle burned, shedding its light, while patches of black marked the wooden walls.

Hilxi’s orange-white-gold hair trailed in the bathtub, as she enjoyed the comfort of the soak and pondered her plan.

How could she manage to touch Elaina for ten minutes?

As a Witch, Elaina must have mastered all sorts of powerful magic!

If Hilxi could just obtain even one, at least she would have the means to protect herself.

But since Elaina was a Witch, sneak attacks were obviously out of the question. Hilxi was quite sure that, if she tried, she’d just end up getting knocked out by a brick herself.

So what should she do…

Hmm… that’s right! Why did she have to antagonize Elaina anyway? She could just use a gentler approach.

For instance, while Elaina was asleep, she could quietly… yes, that would work!

The next morning, the gloomy sky slowly awoke, a trace of light appearing on the horizon.

Swoosh!

A pair of azure eyes snapped open, and Hilxi stared blankly for a moment. Then, as if recalling something, she sprang up from the bed in an instant!

“I actually fell asleep!”

Did she just miss such a golden opportunity?

Hilxi gritted her teeth, wanting to slap herself twice, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Her gaze happened to drift out the window, where the gray sky filled her vision.

Hm? It’s not even dawn yet. I’ll sleep a bit longer.

“Sleep my foot! I still have a chance! Elaina-san should still be asleep—now’s the time!”

With her mind made up, she quickly dressed and, without even washing her face, hurried to Elaina’s room.

She had even made sure to ask Saya yesterday which room was Elaina-san’s.

“She should still be asleep, right? What if she’s awake? Hmm… I’ll just use the excuse of calling her for breakfast.”

She pushed the door gently—and to Hilxi’s delight, it wasn’t locked!

Ahaha, the heavens are on my side!

She snuck into the room, closed the door behind her, and glanced around, soon spotting Elaina-san still fast asleep on the bed.

Carefully, Hilxi crept to the bedside.

For some reason, even though she wasn’t actually doing anything bad, she couldn’t help but feel like a scoundrel.

She reached out her somewhat nervous and trembling hand, gently picking up Elaina’s small hand that was sticking out of the covers.

Unconsciously, the corners of her mouth lifted.

What kind of magic would she get? Teleportation? Fireball? Well, anything would be great.

Ah… She’d have to wait for ten minutes. If Elaina happened to open her eyes now, she might actually be scared to death on the spot.

Hilxi’s own thoughts made her break out in cold sweat. She glanced at the still peacefully sleeping Elaina and sighed in relief.

Am I crazy? Why am I scaring myself for nothing? That’s just terrifying.

Ten minutes passed quickly, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.

Hilxi let out a long sigh, glanced at Elaina’s cute sleeping face… ah, she really wanted to give it a squeeze.

But she’d better not ask for trouble.

She let go of the hand and left the room.

As the door closed with a soft sound, Elaina quietly opened her glass-like eyes.

She’d been awake ever since Hilxi entered.

The reason she didn’t react was simply to see what Hilxi was up to.

But she hadn’t expected…

“So this is the Female Hooligan, Hilxi?”

She squeezed the little hand that had been warmed. She was at a bit of a loss for words.

Though secretly holding someone’s hand while they slept was certainly impolite, it couldn’t really be called hooligan behavior… could it?

Still, she did feel like she’d been taken advantage of.

Maybe this was the aftereffect of a serious blow to the head…

“I thought Hilxi-san would steal my wallet. Looks like she’s not so bad after all.”

Back in her room, Hilxi locked the door and sat on her bed.

She had gained a wind magic!

“Even if it’s just the most basic Wind Blade, at least I have something to defend myself with!”

Hilxi was happy, but after the excitement faded, she felt a little frustrated.

Elaina-san must know all kinds of advanced magic, yet Hilxi only drew the most basic Wind Blade. Was her luck really this bad?

Hmm… Got her wallet stolen while going to breakfast, got beaten up when halfway through CPR, yeah, maybe she was pretty unlucky.

Forget it. No use dwelling on it—the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

Might as well try out the first magic she’d gotten!

Hilxi raised her hand toward the wall, looking serious.

Three seconds… ten seconds…

Nothing happened.

“Ah! Am I an idiot? I don’t have a Magic Wand!”

Yes, you needed a Magic Wand to cast magic.

“A Magic Wand costs three Silver Coins, right? I only have two!”

She was plagued by the lack of money once again.

Actually, the original owner did have a Magic Wand, but it had been tricked away by some shifty merchant.

It definitely wasn’t because she didn’t know its value, nope.

“What do I do? Looks like I’ll have to borrow one Silver Coin from Elaina or Saya.”

So Hilxi went to Saya’s room, turned the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Locked.

Bang, bang, bang.

“Hey! Saya-san! Time to get up!”

After knocking for about five minutes, Saya appeared at the door, looking thoroughly annoyed.

“It’s so early! What do you want?”

“Hmph.”

Hilxi put on a warm, disarming smile, leaned her left arm against the wall, and stated her request:

“Lend me one Silver Coin.”

“…What do you need it for?” Saya didn’t refuse right away.

“To buy a Magic Wand!”

“Huh? Aren’t you an ordinary person? What do you need a Magic Wand for?”

“To become a Magician again, of course!”

“Wait…? Didn’t you say you’d forgotten all your magic knowledge?”

“I remembered a bit.”

“Really…?”

“Really. Why would I lie to you?”

“All right then. I’ll lend you one.”

“Hehe, thanks Saya! You’re so cute today! My heart is melting.”

“…Just go buy it.” Saya blushed, pulled a Silver Coin out of her pocket, and handed it to Hilxi.

“You’re blushing, Saya-san.”

“Ahem, I’m not. Now go, go. I need to catch up on sleep.”

“Okay!”

Bidding Saya-san farewell, Hilxi left the Inn and went to the shop that specialized in Magic Wands, buying the most ordinary one with her three Silver Coins.

Even so, she felt heartbroken to have spent all three Silver Coins.

As for how she would pay Saya back? Wasn’t it obvious? First rule of the Three Virtuous Beauty Principle: Never give up money once it’s in hand, even if it’s borrowed.

As Hilxi jogged happily down the street in the early morning, a dull thud sounded and pain shot through her shoulder.

A passerby… No, the passerby, in order to avoid knocking down the soft-looking girl in front of him, had thrown himself aside instead.

“Ow… that hurts.”

Hilxi winced and rubbed her right shoulder, which had now been bumped twice, and she felt a surge of irritation.

After seeing who the passerby was, she grew even more annoyed.

It was the very Thief who had stolen her wallet yesterday!

Well now, so he picks out the easy targets, huh?

“Hey! You knocked me down and you’re not even going to apologize?”

The passerby seemed not to recognize that the soft-looking girl before him was the foolish child he’d made a windfall off of yesterday, and continued his act.

“Apologize?”

Hilxi’s expression darkened.

Seeing the passerby try to stand up, she glanced down, lifted her leg, and lashed out!

Bang!

“Ow!”

It sounded as if something shattered.

“You… you…”

The passerby looked up at Hilxi in pain. When he got a good look at her, his eyes widened in shock.

Wasn’t this the unusually strong girl from yesterday?

“What… what a coincidence.”

“Yes, what a coincidence indeed.”

Hilxi forced out a malicious smile.

Then, aiming for the passerby’s weak point, she kicked him hard again!

Bang!

“Ow!”

“That’s for stealing my money!”

Bang!

“Ow!!”

“For making me work all day!”

Bang!

“Ow…”

“For almost making me sleep on the streets!”

Bang!

“Ow…!”

“Damn you! You scoundrel, cry out even louder!”

Hilxi lost track of how many times she kicked the Thief. It wasn’t until the fellow was foaming at the mouth and about to pass out that she finally stopped.

It was early in the morning, so no one came to stop her.

Still, a few people watched from the shadows, but Hilxi didn’t care. She took the money from the Thief’s pockets and left.

Annoyingly, her once bulging wallet was now half-empty!

So she gave him another kick, spat, and only then left.

All this was witnessed by the onlookers in hiding, and from that day on, besides being called a Female Hooligan, Hilxi earned herself a new nickname—Female Bully. Congratulations, Hilxi.