Chapter 8

Chapter 8: City Date As I walked the road home, I pondered whether to report my encounter with Bronte to the guards. Though I had refused her proposal, it was true that if her plan came to fruition, it would result in a better world for witches. Still, I couldn't bring myself to condone Bronte's plot. If a witch's rebellion led to the death of common folk, it was clear that the public's wrath would also turn towards the witches' sisters. Considering that, much as I hated to admit it, she would have to be apprehended. With that in mind, I made a detour to the guards' station and informed them of the recent events, reporting that Bronte was likely the perpetrator of the recent mass murder. I hoped they would catch her soon... but if Bronte's tale was true, she seemed as fierce as a warrior who had fought through wars, so she wouldn't be easily captured. I could only hope that the guards would manage somehow. After finishing various errands, I finally returned home, and Hecate greeted me at the entrance. "Welcome back, Sister Ulgir. You're later than usual today.” "Yes, some new matters came up, and they took quite a bit of time to deal with. So, is there something you need?" "Not need, per se, but since tomorrow is the day of our outing, I wanted to confirm that the plan hasn’t changed." Hecate said this with a gentle smile on her face as she stood by the front door. Indeed, I had promised to go out with her tomorrow. I remembered her saying she wanted to go out with me to eat Western-style sweets. "Then you’re correct. We'll need to make some preparations for tomorrow." "Yes. Especially since you're usually not concerned with your clothing, we'll have to dress you up fashionably." Hecate said this with a smile, causing me to let out a wry grin. It was true that I had little interest in clothing, and up until a few years ago, I mostly wore simple and plain clothes. However, lately, every time I went out with my sisters, I've been dressed in cute clothes with bright colors. The reason being, on the days when we had an outing planned, a fashionable outfit would be prepared in my room by the time I woke up in the morning. Not wanting to dismiss my sisters' efforts, I always wore those clothes whenever we'd go out. The first time they saw me dressed fashionably, my sisters were overjoyed. Istos kept repeating "Sister, you're cute," Demeter hugged me without hesitation, and I remember Hecate being struck with emotion. So, I could assume that there would be a set of clothes prepared for me when I woke up tomorrow as well. With so much distressing news lately, I hoped the outing tomorrow would provide a welcome change of pace. ＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋ The next day. As expected, when I woke up in the morning, a set of clothes was ready in the closet. It was a vivid sky-blue corset dress. I changed into the dress and started preparing breakfast with my apron on. Then, as usual, I began eating breakfast with all my sisters. "Sister Ulgir, how do you find the clothes we prepared for you today?" "What can I say? I don’t really know much about the quality of clothing. What I am sure of is that I'm still not used to wearing this kind of outfit." "If you wore these kinds of clothes regularly, it would suit you." "I’ll pass. It seems like it would be quite a hassle to launder such clothes if I wore them every day." While having such conversation over breakfast, Hecate and I, having finished all of our preparations, left the house as planned. Our first destination was a new Western-style confectionery shop that had recently opened in the city. Having never been to a specialty sweets store in this life or my previous one, I felt a bit nervous. Upon arriving at the charming confectionery shop, I found it to be a somewhat curious place. Besides familiar sweets like shortcake and macarons, there were also unusually exotic sweets displayed on the shelves. For example, there were donuts shaped like the infinity symbol and jellies that looked like tentacles. While it could've been interesting to try those unique items, I wasn't in the mood for them today and instead opted for a safe choice—a single slice of shortcake. Hecate, on the other hand, purchased a slice of apple pie. Fortunately, the shop had a terrace seating area out front, so we decided to enjoy our sweets there. The shortcake tasted almost identical to the ones from my previous life, which was reassuring. "It's not bad to indulge in something like this once in awhile. It’s sweet and delicious." "That’s good to hear. I’ll give you a bite of my apple pie, so please give me a bite of your cake in return." Hecate looked straight at me and said this before opening her mouth wide. Seemingly, she wanted me to feed her. This was what is commonly referred to as an "Ahhn" moment. Resignedly, I cut a bite-sized piece of the cake with my fork and brought it to Hecate's mouth. As she blushed slightly and happily ate it, I helped myself to a bite of her apple pie. "Ah, I wanted to feed you too..." "I'm fine. I’d find it too embarrassing anyway." After finishing our sweets, we continued our outing for a while. We stopped by a clothing store where I was turned into a dress-up doll by Hecate and then took a stroll to places we normally didn’t visit, enjoying the change from our daily routine. Finally, as the day began to wane, we decided to make our last stop at a bookstore. The bookstores in this world are somewhat unique in that they sell something called magic books, alongside regular books. These are absolutely necessary for ordinary humans who wish to cast magic spells. Unlike witches, ordinary people cannot cast magic from birth, but through reading magic books, they can learn to do so. For example, reading a magic book titled "Spells to Create Water" would, as the title suggests, allow you to cast spells that produce water. However, once a magic book has been read by someone, it loses its power and the pages turn blank. Since reading these books can teach witches new spells as well, they are valuable tools for us too. Yet, useful magic books are exceedingly expensive and for us, who can naturally use magic, they often don't seem worth the cost. So, during trips to the bookstore, we usually end up just looking at the magic books and leaving without buying anything. However, on this occasion, I discovered an old-looking book that seemed fascinating, with the title "The Comprehensive Guide to Magical Tool Craftsmanship." A quick peek inside revealed methods to create magical tools like a scythe that turns cut grass into hay instantly, and an amethyst that converts souls into magical energy. Whether I could actually create any of these magical tools was another matter, but just reading about them was quite entertaining. Perhaps it was because I also worked as a craftsman. In the end, I bought the book and left the bookstore. As for Hecate, she appeared to have purchased a newly released bestiary of magical creatures. "Sister, did you enjoy today?" "Yes, very much. It was far more enjoyable than walking through the city alone." As we walked the road home, bathed in the evening sun, I said this to Hecate. After a while, I noticed Hecate's hand fidgeting beside me as we walked. Without a word, I reached out and held her hand. Then, she beamed a full smile and gently leaned closer to me.