A Tiny and Mighty Lady — Meilin

The lady bolted out of the shop, and I followed her closely behind.

I was not built for this level of activity…

We made it out of a bookshop, and the sight in front of me was dreadful—an old lady, surrounded by monsters. The monsters were ugly creatures with black, ink-like liquid dripping over their body. Their eyes were white with millions of pupils. The sight left me completely revulsed.

The lady ran towards the monsters without hesitation, yelling, “Give me back my grandma!”

She lunged at the most enormous monster and kicked his head with such force that a normal human being would be killed if they were hit. The beast staggered and then growled. The tiny lady kicked it again and moved on to the smaller monsters.

Should I help? It looks like she’s handling it just fine. But still…

The lady finally reached her grandmother and helped her back to her feet. “Are you okay?”

At that moment, the most enormous creature pounced on the lady. As if the orb was controlling me, I raised my staff at the monster. My voice rang out on its own, a distant voice, an unfamiliar voice, that didn’t belong to me:

“Obliterate.”

Wait— that wasn't me—

A beam of light was shot at the monsters. The monsters around the area

all vanished at once. They screamed, and their skin burned as they disappeared. It was like vampires meeting sunlight.

There was a moment of silence. Then the villagers, who were watching, erupted into a round of applause. Suddenly, those once cold stares turned into warm ones, all congratulating me on saving a villager’s life.

Huh. And I thought that they would be afraid of my spell. Seems like the

villagers’ trust is easier to gain than I thought.

Himari ran out of the shop, calling my name. “Meilin? Meilin!” She pushed through the crowds of people and approached me. “Meilin? What happened? Are you okay? Why are there ashes on the ground? Why does it stink so bad?”

I nodded. The lady poked my shoulder. “So your name is Meilin. I’m Ruri Aoki. Nice to meet you.”

Ruri extended her hand to shake mine. She was standing on her tiptoes. I shook her hand and turned back to Himari.

Uh…

Himari had a big pout worn over her face. “You still haven’t told me what happened.”

When I opened my mouth to explain, Ruri interrupted me by saying,

“Meilin saved my grandma from some monsters. Not a big deal. Normally, I would be able to fight them off myself, but I was busy tending to my grandma, so. Thank you, Meilin. I know a nice cafe near here, I’ll buy you a drink as an expression of gratitude.”

Himari stared at Ruri, “Thank you very much, Ms Aoki, but Meilin has a journey to go to—”

My stomach grumbled. Loud.

Ruri chortled, “Meilin’s stomach gave me an obvious reply. Let’s go. It’s nearly the end of my shift anyway.”

At the cafe:

We sat at a small table at a cozy cafe. The cafe was decorated with stickers of cats, and a section was filled with cat toys. Haruki would love this place. I can already imagine him playing here with the other cats; unfortunately, he didn’t join us.

Ruri sipped her coffee quietly. I had a cup of mocha, as well as a cheesecake, and Himari had a hot chocolate. She often eyed Ruri and gave me strange looks, as if to say: Who is this girl? And why does her attitude stink?

“So.” Ruri broke the awkward silence. “You are a witch.” She pushed up her glasses, acting like a top-tier detective.

“Yes?”

“I’m surprised I could even find a witch in this economy.” Ruri leaned in and observed my face, “A quite pretty one too.”

“I said that first,” Himari grumbled, noticeably upset.

Ruri then shifted her gaze to my staff, and particularly, the shining orb on top. “A witch with a wish orb.” She smirked, teeth gleaming. “How interesting.”

Himari immediately covered the orb with her hands, “Don’t you even think of stealing it.” She scowled at Ruri.

“Huh, as if I would dare. You have a mighty witch here. I do know my limits. Back on topic. You purchased, actually, you haven’t paid yet, but who cares—your map for your journey to Aokaze Peak, correct?”

“Uh huh.” I took a bite of my cheesecake. Wow, this is delicious.

Ruri took the book from my hands and flipped to page 54, “Here. This is the map of Aokaze Peak. Nothing special, just a normal mountain.” Then, she flipped to page 23, “You are currently in Kazemura. You’d have to go to the mountains of Becher.” She flipped the pages again. “Then to the lost kingdom—Tian Cheng. Over to the garden of pleasures— Eikasia, then finally to Mysteria. After Mysteria, you’d arrive at Aokaze Peak. That is the fastest route.”

I smiled. How nice to have someone knowledgeable telling us. Himari kept pouting.

“You know. I’ve been wondering,” I asked Ruri, “why weren’t you afraid of me?”

Ruri laughed again, her voice sounding just like a cartoon villain. “Not everyone is a scaredy cat. But for me? It’s because I’ve always looked up to a witch.”

Look up? To a witch? Himari almost spat her drink in shock.

“Celeste. Witch Celeste.” Ruri smiled, “She’s my mentor.”

A witch as a mentor? Now this is even more shocking. Himari began listening intently now.

“Celeste— Witch of Aeternus. She is a proud soul and a great inventor. She found the system of this world unfair and began exploring Elysium to find ways to change it. When she arrived at Kazemura, I was just a little kid. She thought I was a ‘quite fascinating child’ and decided to stay in Kazemura longer to teach me.”

Ruri smiled at the thought of memories she was fond of.

“After meeting her, I’ve always dreamed of being a witch, but I couldn’t be because I wasn’t born one. And because I didn’t have an orb.” She sighed, “It is unjust. You’re lucky to get to cast such amazing spells.”

“Anyway, if you need to find an experienced witch for advice, you should find her.” Ruri sipped her coffee. “Judging by her last letter sent, she should be in Tian Cheng as of now. If you want to meet her at some point in your journey, I could send a letter to her notifying her of your arrival.”

I nodded, “Sure. Thanks a lot.”

Ruri smiled, “My pleasure.”

I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Himari beat me to it, “Ms Aoki, you don’t seem like a bad person, so…Would you like to join us on our journey?”

Ruri gasped softly, her lips parting as she looked at the two of us. She thought for a while, then shook her head, “If it were up to me, I would already be packing. But my parents would kill me if I did. I already dyed my hair without their permission.” She grinned, “Have a fun time on your journey. I’ll be rooting for you two.”

We bid farewell to Ruri and returned to the orphanage. I held the map

tightly around my chest.

I feel like I’m forgetting something…

Oh well.

Probably not important. Definitely not life-threatening.