Shopping After the Preliminary Experiment

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Will didn’t even feel himself dream. He had a very long, deep sleep. His consciousness was still stuck in the second before he closed his eyes. For him now, it was as if an afternoon had been cut away.

When he woke up, he rolled up the blanket, sat up. In this empty cave, Leah seemed to be gone.

“Just like before. Can’t bear to wake up your student when you see them sleeping from exhaustion.”

Will stretched, got up, and pushed open the door.

“Ahem, you’re awake?”

He heard these joyful words and saw Leah standing in front of the tree. Sweat was dripping from her forehead, and she was panting. Under the afterglow of the sunset, she looked as if she had been working hard all day.

But… Will looked at the tree they had been using for practice. A wax block that Leah had made herself was hanging on its branches.

Undoubtedly… Leah hadn’t woken him up, but had gone ahead with her “preliminary experiment.”

“A preliminary experiment without a second person present doesn’t meet experimental standards.”

“It’s fine. After all, I wrote the witch lab standards.”

“What? I always thought the school-wide experimental standards poster was written by you?”

“That’s right. Hmph, besides witches’ experiments that blow up the lab every day, no other experiments require a second person.”

Leah spoke proudly, then looked up at Will. Her hands were behind her back, and she had intentionally pushed the hat that could have hidden her expression back on her head, so that when she looked up, the brim wouldn’t cover her face. And… her crimson eyes, which could completely lock Will in place.

From her eyes, Will could feel her irrepressible “joy,” and the “love” she had always hidden in them.

“Will, aren’t you curious? About the results of the preliminary experiment.” She began.

“Of course you succeeded, otherwise you wouldn’t ask me.”

“Then. You. Should. Ask.” Leah pouted, saying each word deliberately.

“…How did the preliminary experiment go?”

“The shape of the wax block has changed a little. My output power wasn’t at its maximum. If I had the potion you provided, I could definitely shape it—Will, the direction you interpreted that ancient magic in is correct.”

Hearing this, Will breathed a sigh of relief. He actually had the least confidence in interpreting ancient magic; after all, it was something witches had come up with. Since it was correct, at least it proved he hadn’t led her astray.

“If that’s the case, then clearing the Snow Woman is…”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to think about that.”

Without warning, Leah took Will’s hand. Without explanation, Leah’s soft little hand pulled Will, dragging him out of the woods, towards the town. Unexpectedly, Will was a bit off-balance and could only be forcefully led forward by Leah, almost being “dragged.”

“Le-Leah, Teacher, wait… where are we going?”

“Aren’t, aren’t you the least bit curious? Why did I have to… have to complete this experiment today?”

“No clue.” Will thought for a moment. “I only know your contract with Cradle expires today.”

“That’s so you, isn’t it? What a blockhead.” Leah chuckled lightly.

“I think… I’m not a blockhead in the general sense.”

“You seem to have been avoiding the town, especially the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s been a long time since you’ve walked around, right?”

The two walked through the forest, the leaves that had fallen in autumn, frozen in winter, and were now decaying in spring, rustled under their feet. To this question, Will could only nod.

“There’s no need to go there…”

“Then you have to come with me. I’ve already booked the best spot.”

“…What?”

“This is a preliminary experiment, a reward for myself. I’m just bringing you along—if you feel bad, just think of it as me paying you back for all the times I freeloaded off you before.”

Leah gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. After all, “accepting a returned favor” was quite a forceful move.

…

On the main street of Holanda Town. Will put on his hat and pulled up his collar, covering half his face like a black mask. He felt this was very suspicious, but even if someone from the Adventurer’s Guild saw him, they probably wouldn’t think he was “the youngest child of the Hysterm family, who was officially declared dead.”

“The streets are so crowded today…”

Will followed Leah. She wasn’t walking in front of him to forcefully drag him along like before, but was walking beside him, like a couple on a walk, her little finger gently hooked around his, strolling down the street.

If his life was divided by the battle in Dustbone Corridor, the days after that had been stretched very, very long for him. Not just because he had to act alone for a long time, but also because in a short period, he had thought about many things and completed many tasks he couldn’t before. In such a “long” time, he hadn’t walked in a crowded place for a long time.

“Holanda Town. It’s a small town in the north of the Entark Empire. Not a military fortress, nor a snowy mountain scenic area, but… there’s a river that passes by the town, representing the city’s origin.”

Leah explained to Will as they walked.

“The river always completely thaws around this time, and you can see group of fish swimming by. So, to commemorate this day, they named it the ‘Melting Festival’—similar to the stories of all cities, it’s a festival that represents the arrival of spring.” She turned her head, very patiently.

“This is probably a human festival, right? In a person’s lifetime, they might only celebrate seventy such festivals—if they are far from home, that number will be discounted by several decades.”

Hearing these words from her was a bit strange. In Will’s memory, Leah was not someone who was willing to understand human customs. Witches were all like that; their long lifespans made them feel that they couldn’t understand humans. Because a festival like this town’s might have only started two hundred years ago, and might end in a few decades due to the town’s decline. For long-lived witches, their time and connection with humans were always like this. What was long for humans was a fleeting moment for them.

“Ah, we’re here.”

She stopped in front of the Adventurer’s Guild. Will saw the sign for the Adventurer’s Guild and instinctively took a step back, but Leah held his hand.

“Don’t be afraid. No one should notice you today.”

“I’m not afraid of that, it’s just… just that I have a slight… slight aversion to this institution.”

But, as he said that, Leah had already pulled him inside.

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