Chapter 5 : The Price of Magic

"Wait, hold on. I mean, I wanted to help you, but that prison is too dangerous."

"Come on, I took care of your familiar while you were gone."

"Did the caretaker take good care of you, Lily?"

Then I heard a deep, manly voice coming from the cat: "Yeah, she let me play with her blue slime. It's so cute—reminds me of my own furball."

"Wait—did that cat just talk?" I pointed at the cat in disbelief.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that he can talk?" She scratched her head sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah, you didn't mention it when we met."

"Ah, hehe, oops! Sorry, sometimes I forget certain little details."

"Little details? A talking cat isn't exactly a small thing!"

"Wait, oh yeah... Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to help you, but—"

"But what? Please, I need your help! My friend is in danger—he's a goblin."

The witch paused, thinking for a moment as she paced back and forth.

"Hmm... alright, fine."

"Really? You'll help me?"

"Hehe, of course! Wait, I forgot to introduce myself properly. My name is Lunaria Mistrielle. You can call me Luna or Lulu."

"Okay, my name is Rissette. Nice to meet you, Luna."

"Hm, so you picked Luna, huh? Well, I'm fine with that."

"So, what should we do first?"

"Well, I already know the location of the prison. The only thing we need is help—maybe my friend from another village can assist us."

"Is the village far from here? I don't want to leave my, uh... pet here alone."

"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't your pet just a slime? I think it can take care of itself."

"Eh, I have a... pet worm in my house. Yeah."

"A pet worm? What? Hehe."

"Yeah, please understand—that's why I can't leave my home for too long."

"Don't worry, we won't be gone long. The village is quite close."

"Really? Okay, thank you. Just hold on—I'm going to check on my pet worm."

"Yeah, don't take too long, okay?"

I then went to check on the baby dragon inside the house.

"Hey there, baby dragon. I'm going away, but don't worry—it won't be long."

The baby dragon looked at me with a worried gaze.

"Hey, it's okay. Look, fish—your favorite food, I assume."

I gave her a fish for dinner. The baby dragon quickly devoured it.

"Eh, that was supposed to be for dinner, but okay. Don't worry, I have another one."

I gave the baby dragon another fish.

"Okay, I'm leaving now."

I then left the bedroom to meet Luna.

"Alright, you've fed your... pet worm?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. But why do you need my help? Can't you go alone?"

"Well, yeah, but you know... she doesn't really like me that much."

"Wait, what? Then will she even help us when we meet your friend?"

"Eh, well, you know what they say—nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Okay, I'll take the risk."

"Really? You will? Uhh, I mean, okay, sure."

Then she cast a spell. A circle appeared with symbols around it.

At first, I didn't think Luna was a real witch, but after seeing her cast a spell and watching the magical symbols appear... yeah, she's definitely a witch.

"Okay, just step into the circle."

"Eh, okay. Is it safe?"

"Safe? Yeah, more or less."

"What do you mean, 'more or less'?"

"Okay, I'll go first. See you on the other side."

"Wait—"

As Luna walked into the circle, I steeled myself.

"Okay, you can do this, Rissette. For Mimic."

I then jumped into the circle. Entering it felt like when I met the old tree—all I could see was a dark sky with stars around it before I was transported.

"Woahh!"

"Wait, Rissette, move! Ahh!"

I landed on Luna.

"Eh, please move! I can't handle your weight!"

"Ah, sorry!"

"Hmm, it's fine. My first time was the same as yours."

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?"

I looked around. It seemed we had landed in an alley in some town.

"Hmm, okay, let's look for my friend. She's supposed to be at an apothecary."

"An apothecary? Is your friend a doctor or some sort of healer?"

"Eh, yeah. She uses her magic to heal people secretly and makes potions."

"Alright then, Luna, lead the way."

"Okay, let's go. Follow me, and try not to look like country folk, okay?"

"Ehh, okay."

Luna walked ahead to lead me out of the alley. Outside, I saw buildings with stone walls and carriages being pulled by horses. It was almost like medieval times.

I then saw a bunch of people wearing colorful clothes.

"Incredible, isn't it? Here, everyone wears such colorful clothing."

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like this. Usually, people dress in black and white."

"Really? People back in your village must be really weird and boring."

"Eh, yeah, hehe."

I continued to be amazed by this town full of large buildings and paved stone roads. I saw buildings with signs reading "Adventure Guild," "Fishing Guild," and "Knitting Guild."

People in this world must have a lot of free time to make guilds like that.

Then I stumbled into a man.

"Hey, watch where you're going! I'm walking here!"

"Ah, sorry, sir! I must have gotten distracted."

"Ah, you must be country folk like me."

"Eh, yeah, sir."

"Huh, don't call me sir—call me Asmus."

"Eh, nice to meet you, Asmus. My name is Rissette. I'm from a village."

"Oh, which village?"

Oh no, I realized I hadn't learned the name of the village we live in.

"Ehh... Home. Homburg! Yeah, that's the name."

"Huh, that's an odd name. Must be a new village. It must be thanks to the new king that there are so many new villages."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, the king is really clever for hiring wizards from the north."

"Oh, where are my manners? I must be keeping you, aren't I? Safe travels, Rissette."

The man then left.

"Rissette! Didn't I tell you not to wander off? Thank the land that man was a kind person."

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just amazed by the town."

"Yeah, I understand, but be careful, okay? There are—"

Before Luna could finish, we saw a group of soldiers in black metal armor.

"Attention, citizens! We will now conduct random searches. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Ah, quick, Rissette! We must hide—this way!"

Luna grabbed my hand and dragged me into an alley.

"What's happening right now?"

"It's the Inquisitors. They look for heresy—essentially people like me who use magic."

"Wait, but doesn't your friend use magic? Then how can she—"

"Eh, well, she practices within the guidelines."

"What guidelines? Shh, quiet!"

Then we saw the black knights capture an old woman.

"Captain, this woman is suspicious. Look—she appears to have lived beyond her years. She must have used sorcery."

"Let go of me! I'm innocent!"

"Hmm, let me see."

The captain touched the woman's face.

"Yeah, you're absolutely right, soldier. This woman has used sorcery. Guards, take her to the dungeon."

"No, please!"

We watched as the old woman was put into a wagon.

"Any of you who practice sorcery will be taken to the dungeon!"

Then all the black knights left.

"Phew, that was close."

"Wait, if sorcery is a crime, then are you a criminal, Luna?"

I backed away from Luna.

"What? No! Please, Rissette, I'm not a criminal. Trust me, okay?"

"Okay, I trust you, Luna."

Luna blushed.

"Eh, are you sure you don't need me to explain why?"

"No, I trust you. Besides, we'd better hurry before those Inquisitors come back."

"Oh, hehe, aren't you the cool one? Okay, we're getting close now."

Luna then led me to a small shop with words that I was unfamiliar with.

"Yeah, this is it—where my friend lives. Let's go inside."

"Greetings, customer! Oh... it's you. Tch, I thought it was going to be an actual customer."

"Hehe, if it isn't my sweet friend, Lynette."

"Shut up, Luna! Don't use that name!"

"And who's that woman behind you? Is she human, or... something else?"

"Hmm, ah, yeah, this is Rissette. Say hi, Rissette."

"Uh, hi, Lynette, I assume."

"Yeah. Look, if you're not going to buy my products, leave, okay?"

"Products? What do you even sell?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked! You see, I sell a variety of products that make your skin shine bright like the moon in the night."

"Eh, okay. Can I try one?"

"Hmm, sure. Like they say, nothing risked, nothing gained."

I watched Lynette grab a potion from her shelf.

"Go on, try it. Rub it on your face."

"Ehh, okay." I rubbed the potion on my face.

"See? Don't you look fabulous right now?" Lynette brought me a mirror.

I saw myself in the mirror and couldn't believe it—it was like when I used that expensive lotion from back home.

"Woah, this product is a miracle!"

"Hehe, see, Luna? Someone appreciates my work."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, can you help us with something?"

"Huh, I should have known. Alright, how can I help?"

"Well, you see, can you help us break into, ehh... you know that place?"

"What place? Name it."

"You know, the one that doesn't technically have a physical location, but it does exist and has thick walls with lots of guards."

"Wait, you want me to break into Green Iron Maw?"

"Eh, yeah, hehe. So, can you help?"

"Absolutely not."

Lynette left her stall and walked toward a door.

"Wait, please, Lynette!"

"Don't call me Lynette—call me Llyn, okay?"

"And why do you even want to break into Green Iron Maw?"

"Okay, Llyn, my friend is in there."

"Really? Whoever it is probably deserves it."

"What did you just say?"

I stomped the ground.

"Listen here—my friend is innocent! His name is Mimic, okay? He's a goblin, and he doesn't have anyone in his life except me and his other friends in my village."

"Sorry, but Green Iron Maw is dangerous."

"Wait, if you help us, I'll do anything—just tell me, please! I'll do anything for my friend."

"Hmm, fine. I'll help you on one condition: Luna has to help me with something afterward."

"Wait, why do I get dragged into this?"

"Luna, please."

"Ahh, okay, fine. I'll help Lynette afterward."

"Really? Okay then, I'm going to help you."

I grabbed her hands. "Really, thank you so much, Llyn!"

"Ah, stop it! It's quite embarrassing."

Then we heard a knock on the door.

"Excuse us, this is the King's Inquisitor. Please open the door before we're forced to use violence."

"Ohh, uhh, I must have forgotten to hide my magic trail."

"You're always like this, Luna."

"So what are we going to do now?"

Then came an explosive sound.

To be continued... See you on Monday!