In this universe, witches were not a class that was well-adapted to direct combat. Unlike magicians, witches did not use verbal chants or spells to exercise their magic, and most of their skills fell into a support category of blessings and curses that required extensive advance preparation.

Of course, this did not mean that witches were entirely defenseless. Calypso had her own preferred means of dealing with aggressors, and she had an intricate system of wards and other curses that would activate if someone wanted to harm her. In the ancient days, common civilians often referred to it as the "evil eye", but it was just a simple mechanism that reflected malice back to a belligerent. Common sense dictated that nobody would attack a witch unless they were prepared to be automatically cursed in a dozen different ways, or at least come prepared with the appropriate anti-witch countermeasures.

However, Calypso had never expected that Varnes would take such an indirect and childish route by pulling on the rug.

Adventurers and their stupid cheap tricks!

The black-haired witch landed rudely on her bottom. "Ouch!"

The half-troll stared at her expressionlessly, and he towered over her from high up above.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Have you eaten yet? I have brought sandwiches for you."

......

...He was so shameless!

+ + +

Minutes later, Calypso was sitting awkwardly on a couch in the waiting area of Switch & Ecstasy.

The mess from the morning's tea party still hadn't been cleaned up, and the lobby was a disarrayed mess. Instinctively, Calypso wanted to get up and start sweeping the floor, especially since she was just sitting around doing nothing, but Varnes promptly glared at her from the bar counter, immediately putting a stop to that plan.

"I'm cutting this sandwich. Just rest for a moment, will you?" The half-troll spoke in his heavy voice.

"Uh... yeah..."

The black-haired witch could only twiddle her thumbs uncomfortably as she waited.

It felt extraordinarily weird. Even though she was hopelessly exhausted from being denied her energy potion, Calypso could hardly remember the last time that she just... sat... doing nothing. Even when she worked at the brothel's reception desk during the quiet hours of the night when there wasn't much traffic, Calypso often kept her hands busy in her notebook, practicing witchcraft, or designing a recipe for a new potion. On the rare occasion that she actually went to bed, Calypso often fell asleep with a book on her face.

Soon enough, Varnes walked over with a plate of food that easily could have been prepared by a professional.

"A toasted ciabatta sandwich, with caramelized onions, arugula, prosciutto, and brie. Served with two fried eggs and a side of summer greens, tomatoes, and almonds, with a sweet and sour mustard vinaigrette dressing." He spoke quietly.

There were four large triangles on a large plate that was bigger than her face. By ordinary standards, Calypso would say that this was clearly way too much for a single human to eat, but these portion sizes were typical for the deli shop that Varnes owned.

Calypso conspicuously noticed that the half-troll had only brought one plate.

"Where's yours?" She asked.

"I already ate."

The half-troll sat down cross-legged on the opposite side of the coffee table, directly on the floor. The sofa that Calypso was sitting on did not face any other furniture, so the man had no choice but to take the ground unless he wanted to move some chairs around. This made Calypso feel incredibly awkward, since Mr. Varnes was technically a guest. 

"Um, we can move to a table." Calypso offered.

"No. I am fine."

"But—"

"Eat your food. I will bring some of paperwork over, and you should get some sleep. I will clean up before the evening arrives."

The black-haired witch hesitantly picked up a sandwich.

"Is this really... necessary...? Don't you have your own store to run?"

"Unlike you, Ms. Calypso, I actually have employees. My store will be fine without me. Rather, if I left you to your own devices, I am sure you would immediately go grab another energy potion as soon as I walk away."

Calypso had an ugly expression on her face.

He wasn't wrong. This entire time, she had been wondering when the half-troll was going to leave, so she could go sneak into her storage room to pick up another energy potion in her stock.

"I despise troublesome things, Ms. Calypso. I will stay here until I've confirmed that you've fallen asleep."

"That's... that's..."

Calypso was speechless. The troll was unbelievably headstrong, and she didn't even know how to respond. Wasn't this a bit too overbearing for a friendly neighbor? It was one thing to be nice, but this was... it was...

"Do you require a blanket? A pillow? I believe the couch should be sufficiently spacious for you to lie down, but if necessary I can go fetch a mattress from next door. We have a spare that we originally got for guests, but it's basically brand new..."

"Mr. Varnes."

Calypso suddenly interrupted him mid-sentence.

She put down her sandwich and looked at him straight in the eye. Her expression was blunt, and she was clearly serious.

"Do you like me?"

The witch paused. Silence spread between them for a second.

"...Because if you do, I want to tell you right now that you're wasting your time."

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