The reason Lacey had been so depressed when she’d realized earlier how much Allen had grown was because she was frustrated at her own lack of growth. The boy whom she’d thought was still young was actually ahead of her. Meanwhile, what did she have to show for herself? All she could do right now was tremble. On top of Lacey’s head, Tee danced wildly, unable to keep its balance.
“Come on, it’s only been a month since you put up the sign. I’m not even sure if everyone knows you have a sho— Wait, I guess they do...” Allen tried to console her, but wasn’t of much help.
Lacey had wished she could just put up a sign and be done with it, but she had to do more. She had needed permission to establish a new business. She’d gone to Granny, the village elder, to get it. Allen’s father, Kargo, had supported her as well.
Lacey didn’t have many connections, but after spending almost half a year in the village, she’d made a handful of acquaintances. She’d quietly whispered to a few other people and put in what effort she could.
However, there was a more fundamental issue.
Though they had been told that Lacey was running an anything shop that would do anything, the residents of Plume Village weren’t exactly sure what to ask for. If she had been running a tool shop, they might have popped in to see it. But the villagers were satisfied with their current small-town life, and since they didn’t have any problems, they didn’t need to visit Lacey.
Allen had a hunch that this was the case as he observed Lacey acting depressed. The villagers were aware that Lacey was some kind of extraordinary mage, but since they didn’t know anyone who could use magic well, they didn’t know what it was capable of. Besides, the whole village was reaping a profit by helping Lacey manufacture sachets, so they were all relatively thriving.
Although Lacey had vaguely realized this, there was nothing she could do about it. If nobody had any problems, then there was no need for her services. It was a tragic tale.
Lacey already had a small build, but she was shrinking herself even farther. Seeing her like this, Allen felt rather sorry for her. She was lying on the table and sulking now.
“It’ll be okay,” he patted her shoulders. “My dad said that things are always bumpy when you first start out. Having a solid start is important, but so is the stuff that comes after. It’s what you do now that counts the most. In any case, you should come down to the village sometimes. My brothers will be happy to see you, and you could use a breath of fresh air every so often, right?”
∗ ∗ ∗
Thus, at Allen’s invitation, Lacey left the mansion and went to the village, but she remained melancholy as she wobbled and clutched her staff. Tee was gliding up in the sky and basking in the sun’s rays, enjoying itself as it circled around.
The perfectly cloudless weather contrasted starkly with Lacey’s mood. She trudged along, quietly moping as she bumped the tip of her enlarged staff against the ground.
“What do I do...? What if I don’t get any clients at all, ever...? What do I do...?”
Next to her, Allen had an inscrutable look on his face.
In general, Lacey was pessimistic and not very sociable. Allen wondered why she didn’t have more confidence in herself, but that had to do with the environment that she had been in.
Lacey was without question the best mage in Croix and had earned the alias “Dawn Witch.” However, from her own point of view, this was just the result of hard work and luck. She was an orphan, so she wouldn’t have been able to survive if she didn’t improve her magic skills.
Only those with mana could use magic. She was of the belief that anyone with magical talent could cast magic on her level if they just dedicated their lives to it the way she did. Since she’d had very little human interaction in her life, Lacey felt that she was really nothing special.
The flaw in her logic was that nobody could possibly put forth as much hard work as Lacey had.
“Nobody ever? You don’t have to rush things. People will come to you eventually. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s up with your staff? It keeps getting bigger and smaller. Is that magic too?”
Allen had a good point, but just putting up a sign for her anything shop had required a great deal of resolve from Lacey. She’d decided to walk her own path, but the courage to do so alternatingly swelled and shrank within her. Naturally, she didn’t regret making that choice, but inside her heart, there was a feeling that twinkled like the starry sky she’d seen with Wayne.
That was why, well...it was understandable that she’d feel discouraged, like she was getting nowhere.
Lacey answered Allen with a sniffle. Her voice was reduced to a whisper. “The staff itself is just a normal staff, but it changes size depending on my motivation.”
“How does that work?”
“I consciously made it that way so it’d be easier for me to focus, but instead, it just seems to be influenced by how I’m feeling.”
“Not sure I understand, but magic sounds really difficult.”
The majority of people who possessed mana were nobles. Not only was there a limited pool of people who could use magic, but memorizing the formulas required strenuous effort. It was no surprise that common citizens were unfamiliar with magic.
Hm? Hold on, the reason I’m not getting job requests is because people don’t know what mages can do...so what if I made it so that they had a better understanding of magic?
“What’s up with you, sis? You just got jittery all of a sudden.”
“U-Um, Allen, I think—I think I just—” Just as Lacey felt like she’d hit upon something, she was interrupted.
In front of a small house, a little girl with orange hair stood up with an audible effort. She leaned on the nearby fencing with quivering legs.
“Ah!” Lacey’s eyes went wide in surprise. A moment later, the girl fell backward onto her butt. She sat stunned, her two arms still sticking out ahead of her.
Lacey and Allen looked at her with the same expression on their faces. But the girl made another grunt and once again pulled herself to her feet, her hips wobbling.
“Ah! Ahhh! Lane, be careful!”
She almost fell backward again—but before she could hit the ground, Allen swiftly slid and caught her. Safely on Allen’s knees, the toddler called Lane laughed happily with her mouth open, flashing a few baby teeth.
The circumstances of her birth had been chaotic. After all, it had been Lacey’s second job.
The last time Lacey had seen Lane, she hadn’t had any teeth growing in yet, but in no time flat, she was trying to stand upright and do things on her own. Lacey was even more aghast. It seemed like she was the only one who wasn’t making any progress. The sheer shock of it all made her tremble.