"I got it, Lancel!"
"Oh, hey."
Fiore ran up to him and handed over a bag filled with the items he needed. The transaction must have taken quite a while, because by the ti Fiore finished, Lancel had already collected everything Faust had asked for over an hour ago.
Ti had passed in the blink of an eye. It was already 4:30.
As they walked around Port Town, Lancel spoke up.
"Are you free after this?"
"Not really. I need to head back before 8:00 though. Why?"
"Faust and I are planning to get a al around 6:00. Would you like to join us?"
"No way! Ah, but is it really okay? I wouldn’t want to intrude..."
"Nonsense. Faust isn’t that kind of person. She wouldn’t mind."
"Then... if you insist." Fiore’s eyes sparkled with excitent. "I can’t believe I’m actually going to et Countess Faust Lieber..."
"...Is she really that special?"
"You have no idea," Fiore said, her voice full of admiration. "Do you even know what it ans to beco an Erudition in your twenties?"
"No...?"
"Think of it this way. Most apprentice witches stay in that stage until they’re between fifty and eighty years old. So even take over a hundred years. Becoming a full-fledged witch usually happens around that age, too. But an Erudition? That ans you’ve already reached full witch status while still in what we consider the infancy phase!"
Basically, it didn’t just an being a prodigy. It ant being a prodigy among prodigies, an absolute monster of talent.
To these witches, anyone between the ages of twenty and fifty was still considered a child. Even Lancel had only recently found out that both i and Ishtar were actually forty years old.
"If I may ask... how old are you, Miss Fiore?"
Fiore pouted, clearly displeased with the question.
"Don’t you know you’re not supposed to ask a woman her age, Lancel?"
"Uh..."
"Just kidding. Hehe. I’m turning 48 this year!"
"Is that so...?"
"What about you, Lancel? How old are you?"
"I think I’m 23 this year...?"
"Wow! So young! In that case, you should be calling Big Sister Fiore!"
"Do you want to...?"
"Actually, no... Miss Fiore sounds nicer..."
"...?"
Lancel tilted his head in confusion. While he had no plans on ever calling her Big Sister, didn’t that sound more casual than "Miss"?
Or maybe Fiore was simply the type who preferred proper honorifics.
"Ooh! Oooh! What’s that?"
Fiore pointed excitedly across the street. A large crowd had gathered ahead. Without waiting, she grabbed Lancel’s wrist and pulled him along.
On the ground, regular townsfolk stood on tiptoes trying to see, while witches floated in the air above for a better view.
Fiore snapped her fingers and levitated herself upward.
"A troupe?"
It seed to be so kind of street performance. The perforrs wore colorful, exaggerated outfits that consisted of bright masks, heavy clown makeup, and ridiculous costus that made them look almost comical.
They moved with surprising agility, juggling flaming torches and performing acrobatic flips that drew cheers from the crowd.
"That has to be magic."
"Is it even possible to swallow a sword?"
Witches in the crowd watched in confusion, wondering how ordinary humans could perform such feats without any mana. After all, these perforrs clearly weren’t witches.
"Lancel, what do you—"
Fiore turned to speak to him, only to realize he wasn’t floating beside her. She looked down and saw him standing on the ground, looking up at her.
She had assud he would levitate with her, since she knew he could use magic. But then she quickly realized how stupid that would have been. Revealing that a man could use magic in front of so many witches would have been dangerous.
"Ah. My bad."
Fiore hovered downward, grabbed Lancel’s wrist, and hoisted him up into the air so he could see the performance alongside her.
"Oh, wow..."
Lancel had seen his fair share of performing troupes around the continent, yet each ti he was still srized.
Ordinary humans could never use magic, but ti and ti again their creativity amazed him. It was no wonder humans were considered the most adaptive creatures.
"...?"
At that mont, one of the perforrs t his gaze. It was probably nothing. They were probably just surprised to see this strange pair floating together.
Yet as the performance continued, Lancel beca certain that he kept eting that sa man’s eyes.
The perforr had heavy makeup and a shiny red nose. Every ti he swallowed a sword and pulled another one out seemingly from nowhere, the man would turn his head and look directly at Lancel before returning his attention to the crowd.
"...."
It had to be a coincidence.
* * *
When the clock tower struck six, Faust appeared as Lancel and Fiore waited for her by the bench.
The sun was just beginning to set, leaving the sky still bright enough that the first stars were only faintly visible if one looked up.
Faust approached with exhausted steps. Her face showed the sa fatigue, flushed and glistening in the warm evening light.
"Did it not go well?" Lancel asked.
"Yeah. Those damned fucking lines... I nearly got into a fight when soone tried to sneak ahead of . Oh, who’s this?"
"Ah, hello," Fiore said softly as she slowly stood up. "My na is Fiore Gretelle. Countess Gretelle’s apprentice witch. It’s an honor to et you, Countess Lieber..."
"Likewise," Faust replied. "I heard you were acquainted with Lancel. I hope he hasn’t done anything weird to you, has he?"
"Ahaha... Lancel’s been a good friend so far," Fiore answered with a light laugh. "But he does have this weird tendency to stare at kind of strangely..."
At that mont, Faust turned to glare at him.
"...? This is slander..."
No, that wasn’t the point.
Why was Faust speaking to Fiore as if she were his mother?
"I have no idea what she’s talking about. Anyway, here." Lancel handed over the plastic bag to Faust. "I’ve gotten everything you needed."
"Haa... Thank you...! At least this makes up for this god-awful day I’m having..."
"Hm? Tell about it."
"Later. Let’s grab sothing to eat first. I assu you’ll be joining us, Fiore?"
"I’d love to!"
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