“Oh, it’s a traveler. Yoo-hoo! Take your time and enjoy your stay, okay?”
One resident who just happened to be near the gate that had been left standing open ushered the witch into the city with a casual gesture, as if welcoming in a friend.
The land the witch in question was visiting that day was a place that was known by the curious name Cocktail Country.
According to what she had heard, no definite name existed for the place, and travelers who had visited gave it their own names that pointed to some of its characteristics.
The name for the place was different from person to person. One person might call it Marble Country, while another might call it Patchwork Land.
The fact that they hadn’t even settled on a fixed name revealed the curious nature of the place. Nobody knew how many people lived there. Even the amount of territory it covered was unclear. The residents, who had come from all over, lived however they liked.
So much so that one could say it was less of a city and more of just an area where people lived as they pleased.
In summary, it was a very complicated place.
The event that had caused the witch to fly there on her broom had taken place three days earlier.
It had happened while she was walking through the shopping district in a different city.
“You there, Miss Witch! Are you interested in a little part-time job?” I heard a voice from behind me. “I’ve got a sweet little deal for you. Whaddaya say, my cute witch?”
Cute witch, you say?
Now, just who could that be?
Oh, right—
“You mean me?”
The girl who turned her head suddenly was a witch with ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes. She was dressed in a black robe and a black pointed hat and wore a star-shaped brooch on her breast. Who on earth could this incredibly cute witch be?
Allow me to repeat myself.
That’s right, it’s me.
“I saw you come in earlier. You’re a traveling witch, right? In that case, I’ve got a good job for you. Want to give it a go?”
“Oh? A good job, you say?”
I frowned, doubtful of the extremely suspicious solicitation, but once I listened to what they had to say, it seemed to be an invitation to a surprisingly respectable job.
According to what the person said, they wanted me to go buy books in a place called Cocktail Country or something like that. They said they were desperate to get their hands on some items that were only sold there.
I couldn’t help but think that if they wanted them so badly, couldn’t they go buy them themselves? But of course, the fact that they were asking someone else meant they must have had their reasons for it.
“The fact is, it’s a really dangerous place…”
So basically, you’re saying you’re scared, so you don’t want to go there?
I was shocked.
“My! Imagine sending a weak, helpless girl to a dangerous land!”
“You’re a witch, aren’t you?”
“And I’m also a weak girl.”
“Anyway, just get going. We don’t want to go near that place if we can avoid it.”
“We?” I cocked my head questioningly.
A moment later—
—all around me, a crowd of men who seemed to be the merchant’s colleagues quickly gathered.
“You’re going to that place? Well then, while you’re there, buy some cosmetics for me, would you?!”
“If you don’t mind, would you buy some clothes for me?!”
“I want weapons!”
“Me too, me too!”
As if they were competing with one another, the men held out money for me.
I wondered just what kind of place this could possibly be.
“Whoa, seems risky.”
Apparently, this is the kind of place that many merchants would want to avoid.
So that is how I ended up flying on my broom toward a dangerous land, holding on to a large sum of money from the group of merchants. That was when I had heard about all the different names used to refer to the place.
I had asked them, “So what kind of place is it anyway?”
But since not a single one of them had ever been there even once before, their answers were all the same.
“Mmmm…”
They just gave a low groan.
Ultimately, still lacking a clear picture in mind, I had set out for a place that at least had a variety of names, whether it was cocktail, or patchwork, or marble.
Well, it may have a lot of different names, but—
“You know, our city has a lot of different factions, one for each neighborhood.”
—to learn about a place, the best thing you can do is ask the people who live there, right?
I figured I’d better take care of my job first thing as soon as I arrived, so I wandered around town reading the shopping list of things the merchants had requested from me.
The first place I visited was a bookstore.
“By the way, this is a place where avid readers live. We call it the Bookworm Block.”
“Huh.”
“The people who live here live in different neighborhoods depending on their hobbies and tastes. If you’re an avid reader, you live in the Bookworm Block. If you like clothes, it’s the Fashion Block, and the muscle lovers are in the Brawny Block, while those who love scents reside in the Perfume Block.”
“Hmm…”
I see, so you group yourself with others who share your interests and live close together?
Looking around, it certainly did seem like the whole area was filled with bookstores, just as I might have expected of a place called the Bookworm Block. The store I had just happened to enter had a chic appearance. It was the type of store that carried a lot of philosophy books.
“Even within the Bookworm Block, ours is the most refined store. Our location is also closest to the city gates, and most importantly, we have many wonderful books, wouldn’t you agree?”
Most of the things the merchants had commissioned me to acquire were things made by the people who lived here. It was just my luck that my shopping list had the title of a philosophy book written by someone who lived there on it.
I carried the designated number of copies of that book, and nothing else, up to the counter.
By the way—
“I’d also like to get some adventure stories written by people who live here, but where are those?” I asked.
“Ah…adventure stories, huh? Those will be in the farthest corner of Bookworm Block.”
The moment I asked, the attitude of the clerk in the most refined bookstore, or whatever it was, turned cold. Maybe I had said something unsavory?
Though I was feeling uncomfortable, I drew a line through the name of the philosophy book that was written on my list and continued down the street.
There, I found a store with a colorful appearance.
“Hey there! If you want adventure stories, we’re the place. Whatcha looking for?”
As soon as I entered the store, the clerk called out to me. I had many things to find, and searching diligently for them one by one would be exhausting, so I was grateful for this kind of attention.
I showed my paper directly to the clerk.
He immediately said, “Got it! That’s a new work that just came out recently! Wait just a minute,” and went into the back of the shop. He quickly returned.
“I see you’ve already been to the philosophy bookstore?” he said as he handed back my list.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! And I bet that odd clerk was there?” he asked with a smile.
The clerk kept laughing as he told me that he pitied the other store for having been driven to the farthest corner of Bookworm Block.
“……”
I see, so it seems that even similar stores on the same block do not necessarily get along well.