It was early morning, and things were quiet as I munched on some salad and bread.
“It’s a misuse of government funds, I say. Our taxes would be much better used rebuilding this here manor.”
“Squeak.”
“Hoot.”
This was usually where the eldest member of the manor would reprimand me from the side for my dillydallying at breakfast, but I didn’t have to worry about that today.
Instead, I had the luxury of sipping on some tea next to my two favorite familiars as I watched some television. The news was full of frightening stories lately. Entirely unknown to those who lived in this peaceful town of ours, there was a world of despair out there—or at least that’s the picture the news painted.
I’d recently made it a point to watch the news more. It wasn’t something I usually paid attention to, but with a certain old hag breathing down my neck about keeping up with current events… My teacher wanted me to do it, so I did. Seeing as she was one of the, you know, Seven Sages and all, I guess she didn’t want her apprentice to be some country bumpkin.
“What use is any of this anyway? I wanna watch my shows.”
Staring uninterestedly at the screen, I continued to chow down on snacks, when something interesting happened to come on.
“In recent news, the International Magic Conference, overseen by the esteemed Seven Sages, concluded just forty-eight hours ago. Among the pressing topics addressed was the growing concern over the ecological impact of magical activities. As a proactive measure, two representatives from the Seven Sages are now on their way to a location in Central America believed to be bearing the brunt of such magical disturbances—”
“Huh? The conference is already over?”
I glanced at my smartphone. Most people thought witches lived a more traditional lifestyle, so it usually caught them off guard when I’d whip out my phone. I bet they thought we used magic to contact each other. Could you imagine, though? It could take a few minutes to chant a spell that would even come close to doing what a smartphone did in mere seconds. The public didn’t realize that their modern culture had already surpassed the magic arts.
I unlocked my phone and checked if there were any messages from my teacher but found nothing. She had attended the International Magic Conference that was held in North America.
“Meg, I shall be leaving the manor for a while.”
A week prior, my teacher approached me about her trip. I was in the living room reading up on a magic formula at the time. It wasn’t rare for my teacher to leave the manor for work. On the occasions when she would be gone for a few days or more, she would let me know beforehand.
“Where to this time?”
“North America. The Seven Sages will be assembling. There is a lot of work to be done, so I believe this conference may drag on for quite some time.”
“Do you reckon it’ll be on the telly?”
“I’m sure the news will pick it up. It isn’t uncommon for our conferences to deal with international issues. There may also be changes to the rules regarding magic. The world is watching us mages, after all.”
“Wow, must be nice.”
Save for one member in particular, it was rare for any of the Seven Sages to appear on television. This was why such an event always drew so much attention.
“I wanna be on television someday. I think my beauty would captivate all the boys around the world.”
“I believe your beauty would be better kept to yourself.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Understand that this will not be a vacation for me. I will be locked up in a conference hall for several sleepless days. You’re welcome to go in my stead if you so wish.”
“Ha-ha, methinks ’tis a most excellent notion!”
“Speak in a way that makes sense.”
“Sorry. You don’t need to worry about me, though. What’s five, six days? I could last two months, even a year and be just peachy!”
“Perhaps, though I doubt the manor would last in that situation.”
“What do you mean by that?”
It had been a week since my teacher left me with those words. I thought she’d be back around today, ready to talk my ear off with complaints about the conference, but evidently, the conference was already long over.
“Welp, I guess my short break is just gonna be that much longer.”
As I mumbled this to myself, my eyes shifted to the second place setting of fresh bread and eggs I’d prepared for her return.
“I wonder if it would be wrong to eat two breakfasts…”
My idle musing echoed throughout the empty manor.
Much like the proverbial bolt out of the blue, however, it was always the most peaceful of times when happenings reared their ugly heads. In this case, it was early in the morning of the next day when the bolt struck.
The sun wasn’t even up yet. I was still asleep, snug in my bed, when there was a commotion in the front hall. At first, I assumed it was two of the many woodland familiars getting into a spat, but the creaking of the front door opening quickly dispelled this guess. I squinted as I looked at the door, where light from outside crept in.
“Hmm? Yaaawn. Lemme sleep just a bit more…”
“Wake up. That’s an order.”
Drool was making its way from my open mouth onto my pillow when I felt something on my face.
“Huh? What’s that?”
It was the bottom of a foot, and the second my mind processed it, my nose registered the incredible stench coming from it.
“That smells awful! What are you—? Eugh! Oeugh!!”
I fled to the corner of my room and started gagging. Then someone called out, “Well, excuse me! They don’t smell that bad!”
Slowly, I looked up to see the owner of the smelly feet, and…
“You have some nerve.”
…a woman stood there, wearing a pointed witch’s hat and a black robe.
“I am Inori. Would you know me as the Wise Witch of the East?”
“Wise Witch…?”
I racked my brain, the Wise Witch, just like the Eternal Witch, was the title of one of the Council of Magic’s Seven Sages.
“That’s right, I’m the Wise Witch, Inori. One of the Seven Sages, at your service.”
“Huh, you don’t say.”
My doubts weren’t unwarranted, seeing as I’d heard the Wise Witch was over one hundred years old. The woman before me had wavy black hair and a perfect nose. She wore an open-shouldered, tightly fitted dress with slits here and there exposing her bare skin. She looked, at best, twenty-four or -five—far too young to be a Sage. I’d heard of witches with enough power to extend their life and alter their appearance, and in terms of power, I could tell just by looking at her that Inori had unimaginable power at her disposal.
“So what brings the Wise Witch to our humble abode?”
“Haven’t you been watching the news? About the Seven Sages’ inspection? There is an inspection being conducted on the impact of magical energy on the environment, and your teacher is the one overseeing it.”
“Yeah…”
According to Inori, my teacher went to a part of the world that had a high concentration of magic. It wasn’t uncommon for places like this to have poor cell phone reception due to the high magic density, which explained why I hadn’t heard from her.
“Since it will take her a while to complete the inspection, your teacher wanted me to come check on the house.”
“What?! I’m seventeen! I can take care of myself! She shouldn’t treat me like a child!”
“It sounded like she was more worried about the house than you, per se.”
“Oh… Right…”
Inori continued, “So I’ll be spending the next few days with you,” before patting the copious luggage behind her with her hand. There were three full-size trunk suitcases. She must’ve been an inexperienced traveler, because the businessmen and women seen running to and from the airports had at most a small roller on them.
“That’s fine, Inori. I’d just like to ask one thing first.”
“What’s that?”
“Could you please wash your feet? They smell atrocious.”
“I could end you right now if I wanted to.”
Getting back to the subject at hand…
While Inori was busy wiping her feet with a towel, I sighed.
“Can you believe my teacher, though? She could’ve sent me a message before she went into the reception dead zone.”
“She was afraid of what you’d do if you knew she wasn’t coming back anytime soon.”
“Ha-ha-ha. What could I do? Ha-ha-ha-ha.”
What am I going to do? There’s nothing to do! Except maybe test a few new spells on some of her defenseless familiars.
“Were you the one who brewed these herbs?”
As I schemed to myself, Inori was looking through my medicine cabinet with curiosity.
“Oh, yeah. How did you know?”
“Because Grandma Faust doesn’t study medicine anymore.”
“That’s true.”
My teacher was well-versed in many schools of magic, and this made her busy. This was especially true as of late due to her intense focus on time magic research. The research I was doing on medicine and plants was something I’d taken over for her.
“This smells nice.”
“Right? That’s a new recipe. It’s filled with nourishment for your body, too. I bet you’re tired from the council meeting. Would you like some tea?”
“That would be wonderful.”
Herbal teas were my specialty. My teacher liked the tea I made as well and asked for some every morning. The color of this brew was close to black tea, but I could change it depending on which herbs I used.