Chapter 3: Charles’s Magic Item Shop
AFTER breakfast, Leo taught Lille how to brew tea. Under Leo’s instruction, she made a pot of apple tea, and they sat drinking it while they digested.
“Master Charlie,” Lille began. She had waited until both of their teacups were empty to broach the subject. “When Ark rescued me, he said you needed my help, but…with what? The housework?”
“No.” He shook his head, smiling. “If that was what I needed, I wouldn’t have specifically asked for a sorcerer. No—I need you for something else entirely.”
Something else?
She gazed at Charles, unsuccessfully trying to come up with a guess.
Eventually, Charles stood up from the table, maintaining eye contact with her all the while. “…All right,” he conceded. “I had been planning to tell you once I was sure you were used to living here, but I suppose you’re ready. Come with me.”
As Lille obediently followed him, she realized he was heading toward the annex, which was connected to the house by an outdoor walkway. She had been intrigued by the small building since the day before. She noticed that apart from the door that opened to the walkway, it also had a front entrance around the other side. There weren’t any sign boards or posters, but judging by the layout, it appeared to be some type of shop.
Charles strode down the covered passageway, and Lille shuffled behind him. He came to a stop just before the door to the outbuilding, then turned to face her.
“Go on,” he urged her, gesturing toward the door. Slightly nervous, she stepped forward and hesitantly opened it. Instantly, the smell of old books engulfed her nostrils. She squinted in the dim light, and a room full of mysterious trinkets revealed itself.
Bookcases as high as the ceiling towered over the room, and they were crammed with thick tomes, their spines decorated with symbols she had never seen before. The walls were adorned with clocks of various sizes, and unusual clumps of grass hung from the ceiling in addition to some lampshades. Small glass bottles and ornaments were haphazardly lined up along the shelves. Some glowed with faint light, while others bubbled thickly.
Timidly, Lille stepped inside. She could see a crowd of items littered across the table in the middle of the room, but she hadn’t the faintest clue what they were. Even with the overhead lights turned on, the store was dim, suffused with a dusk-like orange glow rather than the morning sun’s radiance.
“Welcome to Charles’s Magic Item Shop!” Charles announced, throwing both of his arms outward before taking a theatrical bow.
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“Magic…items?” Lille queried dubiously.
“That’s right. I’ve always loved inventing new concoctions and tools, so it was my dream to open this shop if I ever started a new life,” he said cheerfully. Somehow, in the shop, Charles seemed more lively than usual.
“So, what do you need help with? Sales assistants?” Lille guessed.
“Well…” His face contorted in hesitation.
Ark flew in then and landed on top of the table. “No one ever buys anything,” Ark supplied bluntly.
“Hey! You’re so tactless!” Charles complained.
“Master Charlie has absolutely no artistic flair or sense for customer service, so it’s rare that anyone even comes inside. I mean, what do you think this is?”
Ark used his beak to indicate a small brown bag tied at the top with a leather strap, and a can with some strange-colored leaves stuffed inside. She opened the can slightly, but immediately retreated when she smelled an unpleasant, peculiar stench.
“Umm… Medicinal herbs?” she hazarded.
“I had a go at making some products aimed at women. They were supposed to be potpourri for sweet dreams, and some tea for deep sleep…” Charles explained, looking harrowed.
Ark glanced back over at Lille and said, “See what I mean?” He inclined his head to one side, giving Lille a meaningful look. She felt sorry for Charles, but she could admit Ark definitely had a point.
“He makes a bunch of weird stuff. Clocks that cackle like witches when the hour strikes twelve, music boxes that sing like sirens, laughing bags that scream like mandrakes… I’ve seen it all. A girl your age would probably have a better idea of what young people like, right?” Ark ventured.
“Yes, I think so,” Lille replied. “For example, you could put the potpourri in a lace bag and tie it up with a ribbon. For the tea, you could add more petals, and sell it with some cute, colorful sugar cubes. You also might want to work on the fragrance some more,” she shyly offered.
Charles’s eyes began to sparkle as he listened. “You’re right…!” He beamed. “If we enchanted the ribbon too, the magic would be even stronger. And if we sell the tea in sets, we could combine different types of tea with different sugar cubes to create all sorts of effects… I couldn’t have come up with this on my own.”
He scrambled to find a piece of parchment and quill on the disorderly table, then began to write, muttering under his breath.
“Lille,” he called suddenly, setting his quill down and taking a deep breath. When he looked up at her, his eyes were full of hope, and he clasped her hands between his own.
“Y-Yes?” she replied.
“Ark chose the right person. With you here, I feel like people will actually start coming to the shop.” He smiled. “Please…would you help me?”
“Yes, of course.” She nodded resolutely, squeezing his hands in return.
She was happy that there was something she could do for him. She desperately wanted to be useful; she believed helping people was a wonderful thing to do—but, truth be told, she found she was especially eager to help Charles.
“All right. Now that that’s settled, would you like to go into town today?” Charles clapped his hands together, looking excited.
“Isn’t it a bit early for our monthly shopping trip?” Ark asked.
“Yeah, but Lille needs some more clothes. It’s not fair to force her to wear secondhand dresses all the time, and I didn’t know her size before she got here, so I couldn’t buy anything in advance. Plus, we need materials to redecorate the shop.”
“True. I suppose girls need all sorts of clothes,” Ark agreed.
“I’ll let Leo know,” Charles said. “Let’s meet back here again once you’re both ready.”
“O-Okay!” she responded out of habit, but she didn’t know what else she could do to prepare. There was no need to fetch any belongings or money, because she had none. In the end, she decided to simply wait in the store until everyone returned.
After a while, footsteps echoed in the passageway, and the door opened. She assumed it would be Charles or Leo, but the person who appeared in the doorway was far bigger than either of them.
“Wh-Who are you?” she called out nervously.
He was a burly man with red hair, and he looked older than Charles. The way his short hair stuck out from the back of his head reminded her of a bird’s feathers for some reason. He was richly dressed: he wore a burgundy vest, pants, and boots, though his muscular physique made him look more like a soldier or huntsman.
“Oh, right.” His eyes widened. “It’s your first time seeing me in this form. I forgot.” He spoke in a friendly manner, as if he knew her. Then Lille realized she recognized that low voice, as well as the way he tilted his head to one side.
“Wait… Ark, is that you?” she guessed.
“Bullseye. How’d you know?” He ruffled the top of her head, which felt strange considering the fact that Lille was usually the one stroking him.
“How can you turn into a human?” she asked.
“Well, when you’ve been alive for as long as I have, you learn these things. I’m a magical bird, after all.” He puffed out his chest.
“That’s amazing,” she replied. “But why stay in your bird form at all, then?”
“Because I’d get worn out otherwise. That’s what it boils down to. I’d draw unwanted attention if I went around town as a bird, so I take human form whenever we go there. I try not to stay like this for long, though. Besides, even as a human, I’m not very good with my hands,” he explained.