Episode Two

“I think I’ve got the gist of it. Sion — what do you think?”

Selene almost never asks my opinion on a job. She must be keeping a closer eye on Kiaran and Uno than she was letting on.

“I think we should take it. It sounds like it might be a handful, but four people should be more than enough.”

“Though — why did you ask for us specifically?”

I turned to Kiaran, who was draining what must have been her third or fourth glass of orange juice.

We’d be putting our lives in each other’s hands, so it seemed worth knowing why she’d chosen us in particular. Someone going to the trouble of naming us by request usually had a reason, and reasons could be complicated.

Kiaran’s hand stopped at the question. She tilted her head, an open, slightly puzzled expression on her face.

“Why? Because I wanted to meet the Witches, obviously.”

No hidden agenda whatsoever, apparently.

I glanced at Selene. She had frozen in place, smile still on. Then she gathered herself, and in a carefully subdued voice, turned to Becky.

“…Understood. Becky — we’ll take it.”

“Yes!! I knew coming to Becky was the right call! Uno, isn’t this great!”

The golden hair bounced energetically back and forth at the edge of my vision. Uno, seated beside her, held up a thumb in Kiaran’s direction — which I took as agreement.

Honestly, it was going to be a complicated job. With two extra people around, supply would be harder to manage.

But if Selene’s goal was to build the name of the White Witch and Black Witch, then taking prominent jobs was the right move. Better to earn the reputation and send her off on her own sooner. For that, if nothing else.

I waved to Becky — who looked faintly concerned — and we left the guild. Since it would mean staying overnight, we agreed to go and gather our things and meet at the city’s main gate in an hour.

Selene and I went back to the house, packed a change of clothes and some food, and made our way to the gate. At this hour, the road was thick with adventurers setting out on jobs, and carriages were crowded everywhere.

There was no sign of the other two yet. Selene and I talked quietly while we waited, until a pair of figures appeared through the crowd — drawing looks from people and horses alike, one of them calling out at full volume.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!!”

Kiaran was running at full tilt. Behind her, Uno was being nearly crushed beneath a bag considerably larger than she was. That looked… precarious.

“I’ll go check on Uno.”

I watched Sion jog off towards them — then caught myself. That was me. I watched myself jog off. I went to check on Uno.

Kiaran arrived at a run with all her bags swinging, looking like she still had plenty of energy to spare.

If she could just give some of that to Uno. A little to me, while she’s at it.

“We got completely lost — I still don’t really know the city.”

“It is a big place. I think we used to get turned around all the time when we first arrived too.”

I gave a wry smile as I said it, and Kiaran stared at me — then began slowly closing the distance.

Something in her expression had shifted. More focused. Not quite like herself, and the change made me catch my breath.

“Um…? What is it?”

I kept easing backwards as I asked, but she didn’t answer — just leaned in closer.

“You smell nice.”

Her nose was at my neck. She sniffed, small and quiet.

I startled away from her, putting distance between us.

“I — do I? I do wash properly…”

Even as I said it, last night flashed across my mind unbidden, and my hand went to my throat.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Uno! Are you okay?!”

Whatever interest she’d had in me was gone. She dropped her bags without ceremony and sprinted back to the other two.

That was a shock.

Watching her dart back and forth around them, happy as anything — you’d never have guessed. In that moment, there had been something about Kiaran that felt like a completely different person.

“Sion — the carriage is here. Come on.”

“…Sorry. I was somewhere else.”

I answered the voice calling me and headed for the carriage. This was going to be a long journey by any measure — getting into my own head before it even began was not a useful habit.

The horses hitched to the carriage were already shifting impatiently, tossing their heads. I set my bag down and was getting ready to climb in when Kiaran’s voice rang out.

“I’m sitting next to the Black Witch! White Witch, you’re next to Uno!”

“Sion gets motion sickness, so I’ll be sitting beside her. I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“She’ll be fine! Uno is a huge fan of both of you — talk to her!”

I would, honestly, prefer Selene next to me. Spending the whole journey at this pace was going to be exhausting.

Kiaran, unbothered by Selene’s visible lack of enthusiasm, took my hand.

“I’m a Black Witch devotee, personally. Uno, you like both equally, right?”

“…I like both. I won’t accept anything except Sele x Shio.”

Uno murmured it, expression as vague as ever.

That was the first time I’d heard her speak. Shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes. She always looked half-asleep — was she really a mage?

“I’m… not sure I follow, but you’re cheering for us, right…?”

“…Yes. Until I die.”

I couldn’t find a response to that, so I stretched my cheeks into something approximating a smile and left it there.

“We’re going to be late. Sion — come here.”

Selene pulled my arm firmly and steered me into the carriage. In that moment, I was genuinely grateful for her forcefulness.

“Aww, I wanted to sit next to her.”

Kiaran pouted, and she and Uno climbed in after us.

It was a generously sized carriage, and we had it to ourselves. If I ended up getting badly sick, at least there was room to lie down — a small comfort.

The horses called out, and the world began to move.

The rolling lurch of a carriage was something I doubted I’d ever get used to.

Once the city was behind us and the view had opened out into green grassland on all sides, Selene began speaking in her composed way.

“Shall we go over the details of the job while we travel?”

“Oh, you can drop the formal speech too, White Witch!”

Selene gave a slight smile at Kiaran’s suggestion and continued.

“Our destination is Lintz Village — more than half a day’s travel from here. Or rather, an abandoned settlement near Lintz Village.”

“We’ll spend the night in Lintz Village and head to the site after sundown the following day.”

“Why not go straight there? We’re pretty strong, you know.”

Kiaran said it with some pride.

For my part, a night’s rest was genuinely welcome. Even in a carriage, going straight into combat after this long a journey — I wasn’t sure how far my mana would hold.

“Caution first — let’s not take unnecessary risks. The guild has certified your abilities, but there’s always the possibility of not being able to perform at full strength.”

“Hmm. Fine, I guess.”

Kiaran shrugged. The sound of the carriage filled the silence for a while — then, apparently bored of it, Kiaran reached across and took both our hands, her tone shifting.

“Oh! We never did proper introductions. We barely talked about magic at all!”

“Like this thing.”

She nudged her foot against the weapon leaning against the seat beside her — something almost as tall as she was.

“Kiaran’s magical tool is a spear… isn’t it? That’s a little unexpected.”

Magical tools — madōgu — came in every form imaginable. For someone her height, a one-handed wand or a grimoire would have seemed more natural.

“Yep! And I use yellow magic — the bzzt bzzt kind!”

She scattered small sparks from her fingertips, shoulders shaking with laughter.

That tracks. There wasn’t supposed to be any connection between personality and magic colour — but for someone like Kiaran, fiery red or electric yellow were the only ones that really fit.

“And you, Uno?”

“…Blue magic. My tool is this.”

Still wearing her vague expression, Uno drew out a slender wand — barely more than a twig. Around the handle, two ribbons were tied: one white, one black.

I decided not to comment on that.

“Yellow and blue — a good pairing.”

Selene looked between them as she said it.

“Sure is! You’ll be surprised by what Sceldia-trained magic can do!”

Kiaran bounced in her seat, unbothered by the carriage’s swaying.

“Now it’s your turn! We already know some things, but still—”

For just a moment, I thought Kiaran’s eyes went narrow and still.

She was measuring us, maybe. We were well-known enough that other adventurers sometimes did that — checking whether the name matched the reality.

“I’ll start.”

Selene glanced at me briefly, then turned to them.

“Selene Silvar. White magic — my tool is my staff.”

She rested her hand on the staff propped against the seat beside her — nearly as tall as she was.

“I’ll take a support position from the rear. If I can hold a vantage point over the whole field, I can handle command as well.”

She spoke without hesitation, eyes moving between them. It wasn’t just her ability — the way she carried herself when she talked was part of why people trusted her. I thought that, watching her, for what felt like the first time.

“Last one — you, Sion.”

I gave a small nod and faced them.

“Sion Olstad. Black magic — and these two.”

I drew the oversized dagger from my hip and held it up alongside my left hand.

“A dagger and… a ring?”

“Right. I’m not particularly strong with magic, so I’ll mostly be in the front line.”

I said it to their faces, and told a small lie.

Magic was something I was actually good at. But I wanted to use as little mana as possible.

“Wow. Even your magic is white and black.”

“Just coincidence.”

Selene gave a small smile.

With the introductions done, I had a rough sense of how things would go in a fight. Kiaran and I on the front line, Selene and Uno providing support from behind.

If it went that way, I’d barely need to use magic at all. I turned my eyes to the changing landscape outside and let out a quiet breath of relief.