As I reluctantly sat down next to her, the witch put her staff aside and poured me a glass of wine I had already refused. The maid finally returned to the dining hall with a cup and filled jug of water. She knelt down beside the barely conscious fox spirit behind me and started helping her take small sips. I was tempted to ask Helga how she was taking this situation so well, but the creepy maid wore an unsettling hint of a smile that gave me all kinds of new creepy vibes.

Maybe she knew what had happened to her former head of house and was actually enjoying this…

The witch cleared her throat to get my attention. She sat up a little straighter in her dining chair, which amusingly didn’t have much effect given her short stature. “Now then. I don’t believe we have formally introduced ourselves yet, and that’s no good for business. You already know what most people call me, but my real name is Evelina Vex.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You want me to call you Evelina now?”

“Make that Lady Evelina,” she nodded smugly.

“Alright, Lady Evelina,” I said. “You can call me Lady Beryl.”

Her face twitched again like she had another indecent thought, but thankfully she let it pass. “Very well. Today is a momentous day, Lady Beryl, because I am retiring.”

As if to amplify the absurdity of that statement, the loli finished off her glass of wine with one long drink.

“You’re… what?”

“Retiring, yes it’s true. I’ve made a handsome sum of gold over the years, but now I will be using my own brewed potions not for business, but pleasure!” She poured herself another glass of wine before gesturing around us. “And as thanks for your assistance in this matter, I will offer you the chance to retire with me here and live a long life of luxury!”

With her? “Yeah, I don’t think so. How about we call it even; you can keep the mansion, and I get to take my pick of everything else inside it.”

Evelina grinned as though she knew I would say that. “That’s bold, I’ll grant you that. But even if you had earned that much and we could split this in half, I cannot let you run out with a barrel full of gold. Now don’t give me that look! I am no dragon, mind you. I’ve no use for a pile of shiny coins to laze about upon day and night. However, consider this: you haven’t even been in this world for a week yet. Do you really expect you could throw around that much money without raising every eyebrow in the city? And where would the Church come sniffing next? No, I have an idea that will better suit us both.”

I crossed my arms under my breasts. “And you want to help me out of the goodness of your own heart, I’m sure.”

The witch cackled again, taking another sip of wine. “Come now, Beryl! Not only did I fix the little ‘problem’ you brought to my doorstep that fateful night, I have already helped you more than you know. For instance…” She tipped her glass down toward Viela. “When you summoned her, you stepped in the circle, didn’t you?”

Just when I was hoping I could finally forget about that…! “And if I did?”

“Of course,” she nodded to herself. “Ordinarily, a rank amateur such as yourself would never stand a chance sealing a contract with a vixen like her, no offense. Many demons will then turn to deception on the unwitting summoner for various selfish reasons. If you recall the other night, Luc was going to warn you about that—until I stopped him. There are… unorthodox ways around the system for the benefit of both parties, as you have clearly discovered.”

Evelina shot me a knowing wink.

Was this witch really saying she was trying to help me back then so I could be with Viela? No, that smug look on her face said she just found this result far more amusing…

I sighed and let my arms relax. “Alright, I’m listening. What’s your unorthodox idea here?”

She stared at her glass, swirling the wine around in it for a moment before speaking. “My expertise lies primarily in the alchemical arts and demonology; in truth, I do not possess nearly as many spells around your level of practice as you would hope. Not without the kind of training that neither of us have the patience for, at any rate.”

“Is that right?” I challenged. “Are you even retiring from the whole ‘apprenticeship’ thing we agreed on?”

“I remember making no such agreement,” Evelina huffed in her squeaky, snappy tone. “But perhaps I would be remiss if I didn’t offer you the very basics.”

The witch turned to her gargoyle minion like she was ready to bark out another grumpy command. A second later, she shrugged, deciding to take another drink instead before reaching into her sack on the floor. After removing a stack of parchment and lazily inking a few pages with a magically levitated quill, she tossed a trio of spell scrolls onto the dining table in front of me.

Apparently she was full of all kinds of surprises today. Evelina only bothered to write the name and symbol of each spell, but they all looked fairly self-explanatory anyway. Even though I was hoping for something more like fire magic, I had to admit these seemed relatively useful…

For beginner spells, at least.

“Now then,” the witch said. “Practice those until you can do them all upside down with your eyes closed, and then we can discuss any further training.”

Ugh. I could tell she was messing with me again, but she made her point.

“You had something else in mind then?” I prompted.

Evelina grinned a little wider. “Indeed. I have an offer that’s too good to refuse: I can get you into the Magic Academy.”

A sudden wave of déjà vu washed over me. Since day one, it felt as if everything had always led back to that place…

“Simply put, the entrance exam is a sham,” she went on. “It’s designed to keep out the commoners and lesser nobles they don’t want setting foot inside. Not to mention the utterly atrocious tuition fees.”

Sounds familiar…

“Why would I want to bother with that place?” I asked.

Evelina sighed, reaching for her wine glass once more. “Loathe am I to admit the training in spellcraft they can offer is second to none. The Academy is the pinnacle of magical research in the world, and if you’re after the Demon King’s head like the other Outworlders, most likely you will have to get inside one way or another.”

“And why’s that? Do you think one of Mao’s soul fragments is really in there?”

“Perhaps,” she winked. “Call it a witch’s intuition. Regardless, I can get you in. I have a lifetime of experience in dealing with the nobles, and no one knows the true amount of fortune I have amassed over the years. All you need is the right letter from me put into the right hands, and a few palms greased with gold for good measure, and Lady Beryl will be their next student without a doubt. The rest will be up to you, but I can assure you I have done that much for someone like yourself before. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone else who can give you this chance.”

A concerning thought rose to the front of my mind, distracting me from mulling over her offer. “So what’s the catch? You want me to do something for you, right?”

Her eyes lit up at the topic. “Indeed. You could think of it as your own little practical ‘entrance exam.’ I just want you to gather some herbs for me.”

I was honestly expecting something far more nefarious. “You’re just sending me on a gathering quest?”

The witch stroked her chin. “A gathering quest… Yes, let’s call it that! Here’s the situation: I wasn’t joking earlier when I said there is a shortage of ingredients required for my hangover cure. Most of them I can obtain just fine; the problem lies with the murkthistle. Too few adventurers want to travel to the only region one can find murkthistle anymore, and it is damn near impossible to grow elsewhere. Believe me, I’ve tried. There are but a few weeks left until the next school year begins, and you will probably need all of them to make the round trip in time.”

I crossed my arms again. “Let me get this right: you want to send me on a long journey away from here. That sounds like a great excuse to get rid of me while you strip this mansion bare and make off like a bandit.”

“Heh!” Evelina chortled. “I like the way you think, but no. I am far more interested in seeing this deal through than you are aware. Here, consider this an advance on your reward and a taste of what you will receive in my good graces.”

She reached into her sack again before tossing a bulging pouch toward me. Catching it in my hands unleashed the sound of countless jingling coins, and when I checked inside, I found it was loaded with gold.