“HOW it pains me to bid you adieu, but I know I will see you again soon, Lady Nichika!”
They were standing at the crossroads outside Brownie Village. Nichika returned Angelica’s childlike big wave with a small flick of her wrist.
“I promise I will absolutely, positively come running to you the day I finish up my studies at Elminage!” she declared with a sunny smile.
Nichika’s one condition was that she properly attended the magic school she had run from.
The young lady was quite dissatisfied at first, but she changed her mind when Will told her she wouldn’t make a good traveling companion if she ran away from things she didn’t like. The butler’s passionate appeal was a sight to behold—he was desperate not to let this chance to straighten her out slip by.
After walking for a while, Oswald looked back and reported what he saw. “She’s still waving.”
“Don’t look back. Don’t look back. I’ll only look forward.”
Nichika kept walking, chanting like she was saying the slogan of youth, and finally breathed once they reached a spot where they were out of sight.
“Not even I would want to bring a girl like that along…”
Angelica wasn’t a bad person by any means, but Nichika’s instincts yelled that she would become a worse troublemaker than Oswald. Her tremendous wealth and influence made her even more unmanageable than an eccentric witch. Still, she felt guilty.
“Think Elminage will survive…?” Oswald muttered.
Aaaah! Headmaster Grindieda, Melissa, I am so sorry! Nichika mentally fell on her knees apologizing to them. She felt bad for pushing Angelica on them, but she needed them to look after her. Headmaster Grindieda did accept her into Elminage, after all. Washing her hands of the situation with that thought, Nichika sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“But I’m glad it all worked out in the end.”
As she walked, Nichika held up the magic crystal that continued to emanate a bewitching gleam. Angelica gave it to her as goodbye gift. “Greed” was written on it, just as she suspected. She threw it in the air and hit it with a fireball. The shattered pieces crumbled as they fell and the wind swept the dust away. One, two, three, four; Nichika counted on her fingers and tilted her head.
“Does that mean we have three left to go?”
“Let’s go! Let’s go! High and low!” Wolfie hummed, prancing past them.
A sudden gust of wind fluttered Nichika’s deep crimson cape. It was a prototype in a new clothing line dyed with klehna given to her by the mayor as an apology for tossing them in jail. Her happy acceptance of it was met with Oswald’s disdain.
“You’re just being used in that priss’s marketing scheme,” he said, seeing through their ploy. “Do you want to be walking advertisement for them?”
“Don’t care. I love the color.”
Every time she passed through a town or village, her equipment and memories increased.
Will I remember everything once I get back home? I don’t want to forget a single thing, she wholeheartedly prayed.
However, her prayer was easily overturned in the next village. She was about to learn certain events were better off forgotten, and as soon as possible.