[S1] Chapter 3: Pretend

"I can't do it."

"It was your idea."

"Because I thought it's more respectful."

"An email would have done as well."

"Maybe I'll write one."

"We're right outside the pub."

"So what? He doesn't know that."

"Let's get in there now."

If Miko hadn't asked me on Lilith's behalf whether I'd already quit my job, I would probably have just turned up for my shift tomorrow evening.

With my head slightly down, I walk through the door. In one hand, I hold an envelope with my resignation. It's not really that dramatic, but this letter is related to the fact that I will sign the contract with the guild as promised.

When I was on my own, the doubts about the whole thing came up again. But by this afternoon at the latest, when Miko picked me up at home to drag me here, I was quite retaken with the prospect of working with her.

"Hey Kayla, you bringing us a new customer?"

No boss, no I'm not. If he were to look me in the face, he would realize it, but like my past self, his eyes are glued to Miko, who radiates complete disgust again.

He walks towards us and I hold the envelope out to him before he reaches me.

"What's this?"

"I have to stop working here."

"Is everything all right? Are you in trouble?"

"Everything's great, I'm just starting a new job."

"Fine, what do you want to drink?"

"Huh?"

"Well, as a parting gift, like I'm just letting you go."

I don't really have to think, "A pina colada, please."

"Good, and that pretty friend of yours?"

"Something where you can't taste the alcohol."

"You don't have to take something with alcohol, and sorry to ask, but are you even allowed to drink yet?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good, do you like sweet stuff?"

"Not that much."

"That makes it harder."

I also start to ponder what drinks there are that didn't taste like alcohol and weren't sweet at the same time.

"How about a beer?"

So, he can't think of anything either. Beer has quite a taste of its own.

"Never had one before, so why not?" Miko shrugs her shoulders, and we walk to the counter together. I sit on the other side of this one for the first time since I started the job. Hopefully, I looked as competent as my boss as he prepares my cocktail.

Miko is already critically eyeing her glass of beer.

"Here's a pina colada for the lady."

"So, now out with it, what job are you leaving me for?"

"I'm going to join a mage guild."

You can tell he's thinking about his following words.

"Oh, you're a witch?"

His surprise is poorly acted... As he is also one of my clients who regularly benefits from my ability to neutralize alcohol with my healing magic, he is well aware of this.

"She's not," Miko interjects.

I'm not?

"First, she has to get her license. Treating a few drunks isn't worthy of a witch."

My boss and I look at each other with some worry written all over our faces.

"What's going on? Don't get the wrong idea. No one cared what Kayla was doing here. The Ministry has bigger worries. Maybe the tax office would be interested."

"Okay, that's enough. I'm happy that you've found such a great job with a lovely colleague like this."

No one else was in the pub yet, so there was no danger of anyone overhearing us, but we didn't have to provoke it.

I sip my Pina Colada without comment, and Miko dares to try her first beer. She empties half the glass in one big gulp, a sight that would hurt any connoisseur.

"So, when do you notice the alcohol?"

"Is this your first time drinking?"

"Yes."

Good thing it's only one beer. But with a woman of her stature, even that can quickly take its toll.

"Let's wait and see. If you're not feeling well, I'll heal you."

◆

"You're sure you don't want me to heal you?"

"Why would I want to lose this feeling? I've never been better."

After the first beer had its effect, she ordered another. So, she ended up with a whole liter inside her system. I don't recommend anyone to drink alcohol like water, but Miko is old enough to make such decisions, maybe.

"I finally understand Lilith's passion for wine."

"Hmm, you might actually like wine too."

"Let's drink some after you sign your contract."

Is it my fault she's fallen for alcohol? It's not as if I encouraged her. But she wouldn't have come to the pub with me if I had resigned without her asking. I feel a little guilty. Maybe I'll heal her secretly, which might be difficult since I'd have to touch her.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" oh god, was I staring again?

"Sorry."

"You like women, don't you?"

A cold shiver runs down my spine. What can I say? I don't fully know the answer myself, but yes, I find women just as attractive as men. But it depends on the person. So, do I like women or Miko as a person? But she didn't ask that, and I don't want to tell her now.

"It's all right, you don't need to answer." Her words express understanding, her face annoyance.

"Thank you."

With the beer under her belt, she was more talkative than before, but from that point until we reached the office, there was a silence between us.

"Ah, there you are. Shall we do it in the basement or right here on the table?" Lilith looks ecstatic. That lousy pun could have been mine.

"Either is fine with me."

Lilith slaps the contract with the line for my signature on the table and hands me a ballpoint pen. I was expecting quill and ink, given how she presents herself, but I can tell she's in a rush.

I don't intend to make it any more exciting and sign it.

"Do you drink wine?" She asks.

MIKO

What time is it?

I lie in bed and want to reach for my smartphone, but I feel a weight on my arm. After Kayla had signed, Lilith brought out a whole wine crate. We drank, talked about various things, and disturbed Kayla with a few scary stories from our dungeon adventures.

I feel far too well for all the stuff I've downed. Kayla must have been at work... but my arm is dying because she's probably been lying on it for a few hours. I'm grateful that I don't have to experience a hangover, but I need to pull my arm out from under her with a jerk, or she needs to heal me again.

She mumbles indistinctly and turns around without waking up after I complete my own rescue mission.

Slowly more memories are coming back, Eliza had urged me to let Kayla sleep in my bed, but I didn't see the point in crashing on the floor because of that, so the unexpected snuggle session happened.

Maybe not the best idea, with the assumption that Kayla has an undeniable crush on me. Without ever having had a romantic relationship, I've unfortunately known since a young age how people behave when they find me attractive. But that is something that doesn't really concern me. Sooner or later, she'll realize I'm not interested and will inevitably give up, just like everyone else.

For now, we must get along with each other. We will spend a lot of time together. When I think about it, she should continue to adore me rather than dislike me.

Well, what do I do now? Go downstairs, I guess.

The door next to the table leads into a kind of living room, where we usually hang out. Eliza sits there at the table and drinks a cup of coffee.

"Did you sleep here?"

"Yes, it got quite late last night."

"What's Lilith doing?"

"Sleeping? She didn't get any treatment from Kayla. I guess she is your personal healer."

"Oh, come on."

"But I think she fits in with us."

I can only nod and agree with her.

"By the way, when did you start drinking beer?"

"I wanted to appear a bit innocent and inexperienced, plus it was offered to me."

"Do you really think you need to play pretend with her?"

"I've always done that, and I'll keep it that way for now."

"What are you afraid of? She seems like a kind person."

"You know how kind persons normally end up."

"That doesn't mean that you need to fake your personality."

"Like she notices anything."

"Don't overestimate yourself. You aren't as perfect as you may think."

"Thanks for that kind of conversation first thing in the morning."

"Don't be sulky now. I just think you're taking your role too seriously. You don't think she only joined because of you?"

The way Kayla stares at me makes it too easy to imagine that she did it because of me. But Eliza is correct. There will be more behind Kayla's façade. For better or worse, I'll have to look behind it.

"Do you know where my textbooks are?"

"Trying to distract?"

"No, I just wanted to thank Kayla and help her get the license."

Sluggish footsteps approach.

"Good morning," Kayla finishes her greeting with a long yawn.

"Morning," my eyes involuntarily wander over her. Her face literally screams headache. Otherwise, she seems in a good mood.

"Do you want some painkillers?" Eliza pulls a packet out of the breast pocket of her blouse.

"No thanks, a coffee will do," Kayla waves her thanks and takes a seat at the table.

I get her a mug from the cupboard and pour some coffee into it.

"Thank you. It was freezing in bed without you."

"Miko's a proper heater, isn't she?" Eliza chuckles.

"It must be awful sleeping with her in summer."

"She's always alone anyway, so you don't need to worry."

Could they maybe stop talking about me while I'm present?

"Let me know when you're feeling better. I'll go and look for something."

"Why don't you sit with us? Then I can help you look for that something," her smile is so gentle that it almost hurts. If she were aware of it, she could probably get anything in the world.

"All right," I get my cup and make myself a 50/50 mix of milk and coffee.

"Good," Eliza claps her hands together and stands up. "I'll take care of Lilith. There are some buns in the kitchen. Just throw them in the oven."

Kayla stretches her arms in the air and moans with satisfaction as her back cracks slightly. Is she perhaps already feeling a little too comfortable?

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Why does she ask me? I'm neither her boss nor her mother.

"I don't know, we don't have any jobs, so you're off. You can just start practicing for your license."

"Is the exam difficult?"

"When I took it, I found it to be pretty easy," needless to say, I barely got through the theoretical part. The practical section was where I excelled.

"What do you have to do?"

"In the theoretical part, you must only tick a few questions correctly. Most of them are about laws for mages. In the practical part, your amount of mana is measured, your control is tested, and you must perform at least one spell. Then you get a rank, which is there for guilds to judge if you are good enough for them."

"Wow, what rank did you get?"

"A-rank, the second highest."

"And Lilith?"

"I don't know, but probably S-rank, she's exceptional."

"Great, and how do I fit in here?"

"Don't worry. As a healer, you can get a job in good guilds even with an E-rank. You've literally got a free pass."

"Can you teach me some spells?"

"What for?"

"I don't want to drag down the average with a bad rank."

"Have you ever used anything other than healing magic?"

"Nope."

I can't help but sigh. It's a lot harder to learn magic at her age compared to children and teenagers.

"I can try."

"Thank you."

"But stop smiling at me like that."

"How do I smile?"

As if I could describe that.

KAYLA

"Just imagine you're blowing air out of your hands."

That just sounds stupid. "I don't have a mouth on my hands," I explain, feeling somewhat defeated already.

"No shit? Can you at least pretend you're trying? I can't take much more of this."

Miko is really impatient. After we had breakfast, we looked for documents to study. But I insisted on starting with the practical part, so we returned to her apartment.

We have been sitting together on her bedroom floor for almost an hour, trying out various elemental spells. As a demonstration, Miko let a ball of paper fly, set it on fire, and extinguished it with water, which she created out of nothing.

Seeing magic like this with your own eyes seems surreal. What I can do is not so obvious in the end. I can't even describe how it feels for the other person when I heal them. But the fire from her hand was real. I could feel the heat.

Despite having seen it from her, I can't imagine it. I can feel the mana in my body. When I heal someone, I can channel it into my hands without any problems. But the thought of creating fire or water doesn't lead to anything.

That's why Miko decided that I should try wind magic. It's supposedly easier because you can just use and manipulate the air around you. I don't have to create anything out of the blue.

Usually, I have no trouble imagining the wildest things in my head. Still, they stay imaginary, and I'm not forced to turn fantasy into reality. But that is the basis of magic, making the impossible possible.

I feel sorry for Miko. I can see her racking her brains. She's either going through all kinds of insults for me in her mind, or she's desperately looking for an idea of how I could manage to use wind magic.

"Can't you just imagine that you don't have to heal me but that I urgently need to cool down? Just let some wind come out of your hands," she ruffles her hair.

"Maybe we should just stop for today."

"Great idea. For now, just try to keep mana flowing out through your hand. What form it eventually takes is a problem for future Kayla."

"And it's really okay if I take your books with me?"

"Not planning on ever reading them again, so go ahead."

"I'll say goodbye then. If I need help, I'll write you, okay?"

"Sure," her smile seems a little forced, but still better than none at all.

What a first day of work. Having breakfast with my colleagues and then desperately trying to move a piece of paper with wind. It all feels more like a big joke and not like I will become a witch who protects people from the monsters in the dungeon.

On the way home, I concentrate on keeping some mana flowing from my hand. Arriving at a traffic light, a small group of school kids stare at me anxiously. Something I've never experienced before.

"Stop staring, it's a witch."

If you wanted to say that quietly, you didn't make it... I interrupt my mana flow. Come to think of it, I've never seen anyone use magic in public. Maybe it's not allowed. I should wait until I get home to practice.

Once I arrive at my own four walls, I put on something cozy and make myself a cappuccino. I park the hot drink next to all the textbooks on my desk. Aaaaah! I don't feel like studying at all!

Rather reluctantly, I open the first book on laws for mages. My eyes wander to the first note stuck at the top of the page.

You only need to memorize some keywords here. I've highlighted the most important ones!!!

Wait, wait. I assumed the notes were from back when she was studying for her own exam. I quickly flick through the book and find several marked pages. In some places, she has drawn straight up in the book with some highlighter.

She didn't really write new study notes for every topic, did she? I quickly check the other books, all of them have the same handwritten, cheeky notes that can only come from Miko.

Only one note stands out a little since it is the only pink one. I open the page and read the short message.

If I can do it, you can do it too!

This almost brings tears to my eyes. How is Miko so cute? I don't think I'm used to someone making an effort for me, as I hardly ever do it myself.