The Little Witch Who Loves Slimes Just The Right Amount

“—and everywhere I go, everybody just stares! People keep trying to come up and talk to me now too—I never know what to say! It's exhausting. I’m not built for this kind of attention,” I whine.

“I’m sure it’ll wear off… eventually,” Lucas says.

I sigh. “At least I get a break from it whenever I’m with you, Petra. It’s so nice having a friend who scares everybody away.”

“Aw, no prob—

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Bet all the different nicknames get annoying too,” Lucas says.

“Well… the nicknames are kinda fun.” I smirk.

Jane counts on her fingers. “The Silent Summoner, the Slime Witch, the Wandless Wonder, the Quad Mage, the Flying Fury.”

“Heh heh.”

“The Nutcracker—”

I slam the table.

“NOT THAT ONE!”

“My, aren’t you a loud bunch?” Arthur pulls up a seat at our lunch table.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Petras growls.

“Well, I have to admit, after my match with Nora, I’ve found myself taking quite the interest in her. I’d like to learn a little more about her, get closer to her—see what makes her tick.”

“WHAT?!” Lucas shoots to his feet.

A group of girls passing by fawn over Arthur. He flashes a smile, and they all swoon.

“Why don’t you back off Nora, you… you… philanderer!”

“Yeah, ya shut-eyed freak!” Petra turns to me. “Nora, tell him to leave!”

“... I mean, how can I turn down the chance to make a new friend? Plus, if he wants to learn how to bond with his summon, I’d be more than happy to help.” I smile.

“Well, let’s not go that far—I’m just here to observe. I killed my summon’s mom, and its mom killed my parents—not exactly a recipe for companionship.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Near the end of our battle, when I was dragging you around, your dragon had the chance to take me out, but stopped mid-attack. I’m pretty sure it was because it didn’t want to hurt you.”

His expression shifts.

“Lucas told me how you contracted your summon, but I can’t help but wonder… When you were covered in its mother’s blood—what if it wasn't actually scared of you? What if your contract formed because it recognized its mother’s scent and imprinted on you?”

Arthur opens his eyes, stunned.

“If anything, you’re both kind of alike—the way you lost your parents when you were young. Guess you can add me to that club too.” I give an awkward smile.

Arthur closes his eyes and gives one back. “You really are something else, aren’t you?”

“Alright, time for you to leave!” Petra scowls.

“Petra! Play nice!” I reprimand. “He just wants to help people, like we do. Can he really be that bad?”

“He sent me to the infirmary!”

“But I did that too.”

“That’s—that’s different!”

“If I may interrupt.” Arthur turns to Petra. “Nora’s not the only one who’s caught my eye. Your performance during our match together left quite the impression on me.”

Petra leans over the table. “If you think you can win me over with empty flattery, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“I’m well aware I’ve built up a reputation as a bit of a sweet talker—a necessary step in pursuit of my ambitions—but you have my word: I’m genuinely interested in cultivating a relationship with all of you. I believe we share similar goals and can help one another achieve them. I have no intention of wearing a mask when speaking with you. I’ll say only what I mean.”

Arthur leans forward and tilts Pera’s chin toward him.

“So when I say I find your feisty attitude cute, you know it’s true.”

Petra’s face turns bright red, and she jumps back. “I—You! Oh, I can’t wait to wipe the floor with you! Our rematch can’t come soon enough!”

“Good.” Arthur leans back. “I love a girl who can kick my ass.”

Just as Petra looks like she’s about to blow a fuse, Jane interrupts. “I have to be honest—I’m feeling a bit like a fifth wheel here. All four of you are the tournament’s top finishers. You’re all so incredible… then there’s just plain old me, who barely made it in at all.”

“Nonsense.” Arthur replies. “While I’m no fan of your methods, you absolutely put up an impressive performance—one worth taking pride in.”

Jane smiles…

…then smirks. “Really? I’m not too aggressively mediocre for you?”

He turns to me. “...You told her about that one, huh?”

“It’s okay, Jane! You can just be our mascot!” I give her a sly smile and start pinching her cheeks. “You’re certainly cute enough!”

As Jane struggles to resist, Pudding angrily hops out from under my hat. “Squee!”

Oh, uh, nevermind. Pudding doesn’t like you moving in on his job.

Jane snorts before breaking into laughter, and the rest of us can’t help but laugh with her.

***

Walking down the hall with Lucas, I finish reading the letter a spellbird delivered to me after today’s final class. It’s from Granny and the village boys, who heard about my tournament win. They sent me such kind words of support and updated me on how they’ve all been doing. With Granny’s help, the boys have been conducting research into monsters and have even started to grow fond of them. So fond, in fact, that Owen—through the same means I did—managed to contract one! Apparently that caused quite the stir, but thankfully, they all seem to be doing well.

“Must be a really nice letter.” Lucas smiles.

“Am I really that easy for you to read?” I smile back.

“They don’t call me the Nora-whisperer for nothing.”

…

“Do they really call you—”

“No. I’m kidding.”

I giggle. “Oh yeah? Well, what am I thinking now?”

“About how excited you are for our first club meeting.”

“...Maybe.”

After the tournament, Super Grandpa called me into his office on Sunday and helped me get the club approved in a single day. He also helped me come up with plans for the first week’s meetings, hang up fliers, and even had the club mentioned in today’s homeroom announcements! Apparently the school board was salivating at the prospect of more summoners unlocking this new summoner magic.

Lucas’s expression turns nervous. “I gotta be honest, Nora. Between our club being brand new, run by a couple first-years, and having such an unorthodox focus—I can’t help but worry people aren’t gonna show up.”

“They better show up! I spent hours plastering the school with like hundreds of fliers!”

“Wait a minute, that was you? These have been such a nuisance I didn’t even bother to see what they—”

“Leveraging & Advancement of Monster Excellence—Nora, we’re the lame club?”

“No we’re not! We’re awesome!”

“No—I mean, look here—the first letter of each word. It spells LAME.”

“...Oops.”

“Welp, it was a good run. We lasted all of, what, one day?” Lucas sighs. “Well, let’s see if anybody actually bothered to show—”

We turn the corner to find at least a hundred students and their summons sitting on the field or making their way over. A ton of students aren’t even first-years.

I pause. “I can’t believe it… all these people, they’re really willing to try getting closer to their summon?”

“Guess you made an impact on people at that tournament.”

I start getting a little teary-eyed, but fight it back and turn to Lucas with a big old smile.

“I guess I really did, huh?”

***

“You! Stop messing with the grass!”

“Miss Boldheart, you’re our club advisor?” Lucas asks as we walk up. “I thought you were the advisor for—”

“The Ice Magic Club? As if covering our academy in litter wasn’t bad enough, Nora got me transferred here as club advisor.”

Lucas glares at me judgmentally.

“It was Super Grandpa’s idea!”

“STOP CALLING THE HEADMASTER—you know what? I’m done for the day.” Coldheart walks away and collapses face down into the grass next to—

Nettle?

I wave, but she’s too occupied to notice, petting her summon:

A Black Ooze.

That warm look in her eyes… it’s hard to tell underneath all those bandages covering her face, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen her smiling. She seems so close with her summon. I wonder if—

“Petra! Stop!”

I look over to find Jane holding Petra back from smacking Arthur.

“Hey, guys!” I wave. They put their scuffle on hold to come talk.

“Hi, Nora! Everything ready?” Jane asks.

“Yup!”

I pull out my opening remarks, and start speaking to the crowd.

“Uh h-hello. I’d like to w-welcome you all to—”

I look up and find nobody’s paying attention—they’re all too busy chattering.

“Hey, everyone? Could you all, um—”

“HEY! LISTEN UP!” Petra shouts.

Silence. All heads turn to me.

Uh oh. That’s a lot of—

“Oof!”

Petra slaps me on the back and grins.

“Come on, Nora! You’ve got this!”

“Compared to that tournament speech, this crowd is nothing.” Arthur says.

“We’ve got full faith in you!” Jane chimes.

Lucas grabs my hand. “No matter what happens, we’ll always be by your side.”

“Thanks, everyone.”

I pull back up my—

“Oh, um.” My cheeks grow hot. “You can let go of my hand now, Lucas.”

“Ah! Sorry.” He pulls away, flustered.

I turn—

“Squee!”

Pudding pops out from under my hat, startling me, then making me giggle.

As I look around, I think back to how just a few months ago, I never could’ve imagined my life would end up like this. That I’d grow so much, be able to dream so big, be surrounded by so much love, be just so… happy.

Thinking about what the future might hold, I can’t help but feel excited. I look out at the crowd one more time, a huge smile spreading across my face—one brimming with anticipation.

I take a deep breath

Arthur looks over and asks me one final question as we all take our first step forward into a brand-new future:

“So… are you ready, little witch?”

 — THE END —