The dream team!

I yawned and without chanting poured myself tea using magicーmy hand holding the cup being filled in thin air, placing my elbow down the table.

I had just woken up from slumber… and yesterday, Marieka entered my abode which means today is not gonna be a good day. And that person was sitting beside me, wearing a smile that was so bright, It looks like I'm staring at two suns. One from my window and one here. Did she lose a screw somehow….?

Exhaling, I asked Marieka. “You really insisted on sleeping in my house. Are you sure that you were okay resting on the floor? I would’ve slept on the couch. I’m not sure if the blanket or pillows would’ve sufficed.”

“No, not at all. In fact, it was so cozy… Were you using ice magic the whole night?”

“Yep, I kept my staff running, using synchronizing magic to supply it with my mana, I thought you wouldn’t like the cold…? I adjusted the temperature so were you okay with it? ”

“No no, It was great! I’m glad I had a sleepover at your house!”

“But that’s literally because you had nowhere to stay… You have money, you didn’t want to use it for an inn? Or did you find an excuse to leave your house again…”

She jolted. “Eilise, that was three years ago!! I changed. And It’s not like I don’t wanna use my money. It's that I didn’t bring enough. If I still hadn’t found you then, I was gonna camp in the forest the whole day.”

“Fair enough reason, I shouldn’t have opened the door so you can get some training, you know. To prepare for our journey.”

“HEY!!!!!” Pouting, her brows furrowed.

I placed my cup down and took the paper that Marieka wrote yesterday, narrowed my eyes, took a closer and began reading the description.

Let’s see… Long red-haired woman, tall, pretty. Her name is Annaliese Genovefa. That’s uhm… Quite the Interesting description.

“What does she look like? You didn’t draw her out.”

“Ah…. Uh…. I can’t draw, tehe~~”

I paused, before turning my head to her. “You expect me to send a message to someone who I don’t have knowledge of? Very smart Marieka! Let’s give some random person a meet up and create a party!”

“I’M SORRY OKAY? I DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION IN ART CLASS!!”

“It’s fine… I’ll expect the worst, just write your message at the back. The date and time for the meet up and where,” I hand her the paper to my left.

Marieka laid the paper in place, took the quill and began scribblingーThe sound of the tip scratching the paper, the table echoing from the contact of the pen. 

I waited until she was finished before taking a glance at her handwriting. So far the letters looked pretty aristocratic, smooth lines and weren't wobbly as before… It came as a shock to me that she improved.

The last time I saw her handwriting, it was a mess… That’s surprising! Means she’s doing well in her classes.

Writing the last letter, she stopped her hands and straightened her posture. “ーDone! Now how do we send this to her!!”

“Just add your mana in it and toss the paper in the air.” I shrugged.

Marieka stared at the paper, lowered her head and closed her eyes. Blue light began encircling her, illuminating the room before tossing the paper in the air and it disappeared, which caught her off guard.

She recoiled back. “ーWOAH…? WAS IT SENT TO HER? WHAT’S THIS MAGIC? I'VE NEVER SEEN IT!”

“I drew a magic circle in the paper, it’s my magic. I use it to send reports to his highness and the royal magic organization. It’s really useful. Basically, how it works is that depending on the place or person, it usually teleports from the nearest, or directly to the selected.”

I fine-tuned it to act this way in case I need to send letters to other people who wouldn’t know my identity…

“That’s so cool… Eilise, I love your magic… Even way back when you used to secretly make one before you were appointed.”

I exhaled. “You know I’m the only one capable of using them right? That’s why I suck making magic. Because the average person can’t keep up with how absurd it is, and don’t have the ability to do so… Well that’s enough talking for me, what time did you write for the meetup?”

“This afternoon so… Five hours? Is what I remember. And the meetup is in this village.”

“.....Just to be sure, is she really in this region…? I’ll trust you… I’ll go take a bath first and begin to prepare my things and a disguise… I’ll wear my cloak… And what about your clothes? Did you learn how to use pocket magic yet or… Did you…?!”

She jolted, her mouth dropped. “Ah, sorry… I still don’t understand how that works. So I only brought myself, my wallet and my academy robe. It’s too complicated, Eilise!!! I’m sorry!!!!”

“.....I’ll teach it to you during the journey. I can let you borrow some of my clothes, if yours does get messy.”

“Can I try wearing your witch robe? Does the seal only restrict the visibility of your mana?! It doesn’t have any other effects right!?”

“You’ll faint from the lack of mana.” I said bluntly.

Marieka frowned, and didn't nudge any longer.

Then I stood up from my chair and went to the other room to begin preparation for the journey.

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

Three hours later, I went back to the living room holding my luggageーkneeling to lay it on the ground before opening the lock. Inside I stored all my essential needs from my drawers, extra clothing and so on. Then standing up, I took a few grimoires from the bookshelf and placed them in the remaining space inside the luggage.

It’s just so that Marieka could use these ones for study along the way.

There, I was all set. Preparation is going smoothly…

Closing and locking the luggage. I stood up to face the mirror, summoned my robes using pocket magic and wore it before spinning around.

It's been a year since I’ve worn this… I stared at the mirror a little longer, It’s still the same as before.

And just as I thought I was frozen in place, Marieka beside me on the other hand was still as a statue, her eyes glued to me. Inspecting me head to toe. What's she doing now…?

“My eyes are blessed… I can’t believe I'm seeing THE Pointed Hat, Mistress Eilise Frediereke in front of me!! Am I hallucinating!!??"

“Then who was the one earlier…? Miss. Eimiliese…?”

I snapped my finger and my witch hat appeared in thin airーfloating above me. I grabbed the edge and wore it over my head.

Woah, would you look at that? It really is her!! …Is what I would say if I was another person… Hmph!

Yet for obvious reasons, I know that I can’t be wearing this while traveling. I took it off and tossed it in the air, disappearing as it fell down.

Snapping my fingers before a large cloak appeared in a flicker, I wrapped it over my shoulders, pulling my hood before spinning in the mirror and closely inspected everything. It was perfect! I’ll be wearing this throughout my journey.

Beside me Marieka wore her academy robe and grabbed the extra luggage. Inside it were a few of my small clothes. It was still big, but it was good enough for temporary use. I plan to buy her a few clothes when we get to the Imperial Vascht.

I leaned down to grab the luggage on the floor and snapped my fingers. The luggage instantly vanished.

I listed everything, my staff, my wallet, and my luggage were all stored with pocket magic and essentials? finished...

Going out of the front door to leave the house, I held the doorknob and locked the doors, and began walking to the forestーpassing through the trees as it swayed from the gust of wind.

The sun rays glaring atop of us like the heavens opened. It’s been so long since I came out without a disguise…

Well, partially. But this time, I don’t have a disguise… It’s my real appearance.

I glanced over my shoulder, looking over Marieka. Walking alongside Marieka again made me feel like I'm back in my academy days…

Twenty minutes of walking later through the forest, we finally arrived at the village, entering the market place which was crowded like usualーsimilar to last year.

Squeezing through the crowds, I let Marieka walk in front, we passed through the crowds until we arrived at… The Adventurers guild…?

I tilted my head. I thought the meeting place was somewhere, secret? It’s fine I guess… 

We made our way inside the tavern as the sounds of chatters echoed through the building. There Marieka began approaching a tall, red haired woman with a metal headband, wearing a brown cloak, who was staring at the bulletin boards amongst the adventurers.

I stood still for a moment before walking towards them, staying silent.

Annaliese, who was talking to Marieka, stopped to look at me. Her eyes widened. “So this must be the person you were recruiting, Marieka?”

Jolting, my mind raced. Huh…? Wait a minute… Did Marieka already tell her who I was?! We just talked about this!!

“Yep! It’s her. At first I thought I would never meet her again… But then WOOSH! And here we are! Fate is a scary thing… We’re all set now Annaliese.”

Annaliese approached me and offered a handshake. “Hello! My name is Annaliese Genovefa, a traveling knight from Brynheint. What’s yours? Are you a mage?”

I shook her hand, looking up to show a sheepish smile. “H… hello. My name is Verieka Heitey… Yes, but I’m just a normal mage… Nothing special.”

“So you are a mage! That’s great. We have two mages now, It’ll make traveling a lot easier.”

Annaliese's smile grew bigger. Guessing from her reaction, I guess Marieka had only told her about a friend that she wanted to travel with, which gave me a sense of relief.

Exhaling, I held my chest. Thank goodness, I was gonna SCOLD her if she exposed me.

 “ーNow that we're here, we should register for a real party, Annaliese! We can’t travel without an official party certificate.” Marieka raised her hand.

“Don’t worry about that Marieka. I already prepared the paper, I just needed yours and Miss. Varieka’s signature! We can discuss where we’ll start and our stops after we’ve signed everything.” Annaliese turned around and went to the receptionist table.

….Yep, It’s happening. I’m actually doing this, I can’t believe it...

Marieka went beside me, covering the side of her mouth and whispered. “Psst! Eilise! Should we tell Annaliese your real name?”

“I guess, maybe when we’re far enough along in the journey…? Keep it a secret for the time being.” I said without turning.

Marieka nodded, playing along.

Well, it’s not wrong to have a little bit of fun…? Ehehe~~, let’s see how long I can play out being the weak mage.

But now that’s settled, I can now fulfill Marieka’s lifelong dream… And yet I feared the TORTURE we’re gonna be experiencing when we begin… Thus, officially the start of our journey. A newly formed adventurer party! Hooray…!!

God, I have a bad feeling about this.