Chapter 7 -
“Alright, let’s make the promised cold soup for dinner.”
“Let me help you, Majou-sama!”
Teto and I stood side by side as we cooked our dinner in the kitchen of the rental house.
We made fish meuniere, butter-sauteed vegetables and mushrooms, seaweed salad, and other dishes to accompany the cold potato and milk soup, which turned out quite well.
“*Exhale* I guess this should do.”
“Yay, we’re going to have yummy dinner again today!”
«Nya~»
Just as we were done with cooking and were about to have our dinner, we heard Kuro's call so we turned around and saw that the girl we left sleeping on the bed had awakened.
“E, Excuse me…… where am I?”
The girl asked in a nervous voice.
I tried to respond with the calmest voice I could muster to not agitate her.
“This is our home. Kuro found you collapsed on the way back, so we brought you here."
“Kuro?”
“That black kitten over there is Kuro. He's smart and cute!"
A gentle expression showed on her face when she turned to look at Kuro who Teto pointed out with a hazy look.
“So you saved me, thank you.”
«Nya~»
When the soft chestnut-haired girl pointed her finger at Kuro, Kuro abruptly averted his face and moved in front of the dinner plate.
I then invited the girl whose shoulders had dropped in apparent dejection after receiving a cold reaction from Kuro.
“It’s about time to have dinner, let’s eat first.”
“Goodness, no! You've even loaned me your bed when I was in a collapsed state, there’s no way I can impose on you anymo—’growl~’.”
She tried to reject the offer but her stomach betrayed her.
The scent of sizzling butter must have stimulated her appetite as her stomach made a loud gurgling sound, causing her to blush with embarrassment.
“You can be honest, you know. There’s no way we can let you go out in this state when you’re still so young.”
“Majou-sama is right! Dinner is delicious, too!”
“Y-Yes? Young? Majou-sama? Umm, then thank you for your offer……”
Her words were nearly inaudible at the end but she was firm in conveying her gratitude. I arranged dinner for her.
“Woah, what’s with this bread! It’s so white and fluffy! And sweet, too! The soup is sticky yet cold, and it hits the spot! Ah, the smell of the fish meuniere is amaaaaazing! Oh, and this salad, a fresh salad that’s not wild grass with dressing, is delicious, too! And this crispy thing, seaweed? I never knew it could be so delicious even though I've eaten it before……”
I made extra food thinking Teto would eat it, but the girl must have been really hungry because she ate it so deliciously. Sure enough, it really felt good to see others eat your cooking with delight.
"Thank you for the meal. And, thank you very much."
After becoming full and regaining her strength, the 12 year-old-girl politely bowed her head and looked at us. Teto and I thought it was just the right time to introduce ourselves.
“Let’s introduce ourselves. I am Chise.”
“Teto-nanodesu! And he’s Kuro as mentioned earlier.”
«Nyaa~»
We introduced ourselves, with Teto also introducing Kuro — who had a lazy expression on his face after having finished dinner — whom she was cuddling and making ‘banzai’ poses with.
The girl's shoulders seemed to relax at our friendly interaction, and her expression softened.
“I’m Yuishia. A magician…… ‘s disciple affiliated with the Suzurland Clan. Once again, thank you very much for saving me.”
“So, why was a magician from the Suzurland Clan collapsed in the back alley in that state?”
Yuishia slowly raised her face that was drooping down, seemingly vexed by my question, and spoke about her life.
SIDE: Yuishia
I was a commoner’s child living in the capital city's downtown area.
I used to have parents, but my father, a fisherman, passed away in a storm at sea and soon my mother too died from a disease, as if chasing after his footsteps.
I was 10 at that time and, without even getting the chance to mourn for them, I was taken into the dormitory of the Suzurland Clan as a magician's disciple because I happened to have talent in magic, apparently.
I worked hard to become a splendid magician, a court magician, and make a lot of money to make my deceased parents feel at ease.
But fate seemed to have something else for me as although I could use life magic, I didn't seem to have any talent in elemental magic.
The Suzurland Clan, for they were a faction of wind magicians, favored the ones blessed with wind magic. So it was inevitable for the failed ones like me to fall out of their favor.
The favored children would go to the guild and defeat monsters in the dungeon to level up, increase their magic power, and repeatedly practice their skills in wind magic. In contrast, no matter how much we practice with our relatively high amount of magical power for commoners, the number of times we could use magic was fixed.
As a result, the gap between us grew wider and wider.
In addition, the favored children are from noble or merchant families with money. They could become even stronger by using catalysts and magic-enhancing potions, while we had to earn money every day by doing miscellaneous tasks assigned by the guild and the Suzurland family to pay for our dormitory expenses.
For once, I thought that since I didn’t have any talent in wind magic, then wasn’t it fine if I joined another magic element faction?
However, there was bad blood among the factions, and those who jumped ship, even if they joined them sincerely, were looked at with deep distrust on the premise that they joined to steal their research, so it wasn't even possible to change factions.
Hence, I didn’t find any resolution to my poverty, however, I didn't give up on becoming a court sorcerer. I reduced my food expenses and gave it my all to save money by doing menial tasks to get my hands on a magic catalyst. Though my body gave in first before I could save enough money.
And then, two kind girls let me rest on a soft bed and treated me to dinner until late in the evening.
“And well, that’s my life story…… I'm sorry. I went on a rant on my own.”
Although only a bit, I felt a bit relieved after explaining my circumstance so far to my saviors in front of me.
SIDE: Chise
“Thank you very much for the meal. I’m heading back to my dorm now.”
“Be obedient and stay here for tonight. Look at the time, it’s already so late. Young people shouldn't push themselves too hard."
“Majou-sama is right-nanodesu! You should be reliant on others' favor when the situation permits, we even have desserts, you know!”
I grabbed Yuishia who was about to leave despite how dark it was outside, however, she had a strange expression on her face for some reason.
“What do you mean young when clearly I’m older? Besides, shouldn’t you need to ask for permission from your parents or guardians?”
“We may look like this but believe me, we’re far older than you.”
Yuishia was a little surprised when I told her so.
“Also, I have a proposal for you,”
“P-Proposal? What is it?”
I recalled the empathic reaction I had received from Yuishia when I touched her. So I dished out my proposal to find out what that was all about.
“Would you like to live together with us in this house?”
“L, live together…… you say?”
“We still have an empty room, and you don’t need to pay for it. We'll also shoulder all the food and necessity expenses, too. Instead, we would like for you to take care of Kuro in our absence when we may have to stay away from home for a long time. Also, keep an eye on the sea every day to look for signs of the floating island.”
Well, Kuro was intelligent so he would return on his own when it was time for a meal, though. I muttered so under my breath.
“You mean you want to hire me as a live-in helper? But why does a stranger like me…”
“Hmm, let’s say we have something in common. And I believe this would be cheaper and more efficient than living in a dorm, so?”
Yuishia, as a matter of course, seemed lost at my proposal.
On one hand, she was lost as to how there could be such a too-good-to-be-true offer without any drawbacks. On the other hand, she was also thinking about her self-interest. But her biggest concern must be that she knows nothing about us.
“Please give me some time…… to think about it.”
“Of course, just tell me when you have decided. For now, take a bath and then rest.”
“Yes-nanodesu!”
“Eeh, there's a bath!?”
I chirped in a cheery tone to dispel the heavy atmosphere hovering over Yuishia.
Then we headed to the backyard where we built a bathtub surrounded by makeshift walls and used magic like usual.
“«Water» «Fireball».”
I first made the water appear out of thin air to fill the bathtub and dropped a fireball to boil the water.
I turned to look at the young girl who yelped seeing such an unconventional bath preparation.
“You must be tired, right? You can go ahead. Make sure to scrub your body plenty with soap. Don’t worry about clothes, I'll have new ones prepared.”
After saying that, I sent Yuishia to bathe and prepared the pajamas and other bed necessities for her with «Creation Magic».
“Majou-sama, will Yuishia be staying here?”
“Hmm, I do wonder about that. So far, she should be joining us after me showing my magic to her, in my opinion.”
Teto asked me while gazing at Kuro, who looked sleepy and curled up in his bed. He might be a mythical beast, a cat sith, however, he was still in his juvenile phase so he must be tired after all that walking we did today.
Teto and I waited for Yuishia to finish her bath while having tea together. After having time to think deeply in the bath, Yuihisa's expression was a stark contrast from before.
“I saw that Chise-san is a far more remarkable magician than me! So please teach me magic! I'll do anything, including working as a live-in helper!”
"Sure. Well then, we’re going to take a bath. You can go ahead and sleep on the bed early."
“Later, Teto is also going to bathe with Majou-sama.”
“Eeeeeh—!”
Yuishia was stunned as she saw us off to the bath while not expecting to receive a yes right away. She must have wracked her brain hard, spent a long time in the bath to reach a conclusion, and then told me her request after changing into her pajamas.
This was how the Witch of «Creation Magic» and the Witch Yuishia, who would later be known as the former's disciple, first met.
