A Prophet's Peaceful Life

The orange-haired girl's snow-white face looked sickly. Her skin was as flawless as porcelain. She looked like a doll. With long, thin fingers, she extinguished the incense stick and raised her gaze to Zel, speaking to him like a mother scolding her child: "Ezekiel."

Ren, surprised, leaned closer to Haku to whisper, "I thought his name was Zel."

"Me too," Haku whispered back.

Ezekiel, annoyed, stepped through the papers scattered on the floor to get next to the girl. "I told you we were coming. Couldn't you have tidied up a little?" Zel hissed through his teeth, but his hope that the others couldn't hear was in vain.

The girl frowned and, without holding back, snapped at the boy, "Oh really? I seem to recall you saying a week ago you were bringing an oni here. I don't know how bad your eyesight has gotten in that time, but I see two."

"I'm sorry I can't see the future like you. Oh, wait a minute..."

She threw the blanket off herself to get at him more vehemently, but Haku interrupted.

"I don't want to interrupt this cordial welcome, because I'm enjoying it very much, but I was told I could meet the Prophet."

The orange-haired girl, as if she were a completely different person, straightened up in her white floral nightgown on the bed and coughed.

"I am Lily. The one and only Prophet and strongest mage of the Ivory Concord and the entire world. I see the future and the past, and for the right payment, I reveal it."

Haku snorted, "Maybe you can be the second best."

Lily jumped up and, not caring about the papers, went barefoot to her desk. She pulled out a drawer and threw everything behind her while she searched for something. Finally, she stood in front of Haku and Ren and shoved a paper filled with incomprehensible scribbles and numbers under their noses.

"I checked all the mages theoretically and compared our strengths. I came out victorious 99.9% of the time," she declared. The oni opened her mouth to speak, but it was as if Lily had read her thoughts, and she answered. "Yes, I took your Master into account too."

"If that's the case, why haven't you killed the orcs yet?" Ren asked, out of pure curiosity, but both girls looked at him, irritated.

Lily went to the window and opened it. The warm breeze fluttered her hair and the bottom of her long dress, which tightly hugged her slender waist, and dispelled the incense smell from the air. Her white face looked even paler in the light.

"I'm not at the height of my power. And I live by my code of ethics. I would only kill someone I judge to deserve it."

"That's all well and good," Haku began. "But life doesn't work that way. Everything that leaves your mouth is a lie. The greatest mage who can't and won't kill anyone? That's ridiculous!" She turned on her heel. "If this is the great and famous Prophet, then I don't need her fake answers."

She grabbed the doorknob when Lily rushed to Ren and took the boy's right hand in her two delicate hands. She blinked up innocently at the boy, who was only a few centimeters taller than her, fluttering her eyelashes. Ren, blushing, tried to look away. He noticed up close that the girl had a mole on the corner of her mouth, which somehow made her even more beautiful.

The girl stroked his face with her other hand and turned his head back toward her.

"Poor little lamb. You don't know what's happening, do you? And this..." She looked down and stroked his hand. "It's so sad that no one has dealt with this. After all, everyone knows that mages—especially beginners like you—need gloves."

Haku slowly let go of the doorknob and turned around. She scrunched up her little nose and took a big step towards them, then stopped, as if she were glued to the floor.

Lily’s laugh erupted, and she bent over, clutching her stomach. With one hand, she brought her fingers together, except for her little finger, which was pointing skyward.

"Lily..." Zel leaned against the wall and carefully shook his head, but the girl in question didn't care.

Lily—still maintaining her strange hand gesture—ran her hands over Haku's motionless body. She expertly patted down the oni's clothes, finding the hidden weapons. She threw them to the floor, where they burned to ash in a flash next to her feet.

"Oh, don't look at me like that!" she teased Ren, seeing the distressed look on his face.

Ren looked at Haku, who was still standing motionless. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her hands were clenched into fists, her nails digging into her skin until blood dripped between her clasped fingers. Ren had never seen magic up close before, but it was clear that this was it, and Lily was maintaining it with her hand gesture. He had to do something, anything, before Haku was hurt even more. He knew he was no match for a mage, but he didn't care. He grabbed the girl's wrist, and she stepped back in surprise, releasing her held fingers... But nothing changed. The oni's body remained frozen.

The cheerfulness vanished from Lily's face. Her bright eyes darkened, her pupils narrowing to an ominous gleam. Now she felt the boy was a threat.

"You thought I couldn't do magic without my hands?" She shook him off and began chanting something in an unknown language. Her body lifted off the ground, and her head lolled back as if she were possessed. From outside, thunder was heard, and the sound of rain tapping on the floor.

Ren felt a dreadful chill prickle his skin. He defensively stood in front of Haku like a statue. Just as the raindrops stopped in mid-air before they could reach the floor, Lily's body slumped to the ground in a faint. Haku came back to life. She felt her body all over, and when she realized all her weapons were gone, she decided to go without them. Only then did she see the orange-haired girl on the floor and stop.

Zel leisurely walked over to the girl, taking her into his arms and laying her on the bed.

"Don't even think about killing her." He directed his statement at the visibly fuming Haku. "This is her domain. Every single paper and stroke of a pen is there to protect her if someone dares to trespass. I suggest we let her rest now and come back later."

Zel closed the door behind them.

"I'm sorry it was such an intense meeting. Lily enjoys meeting with new people, and while I'm glad I could learn something new about you, I would have been happier to hear it from you." He looked meaningfully at Ren, signaling that he had been found out.