Note: This chapter is not from Luise’s pov.

Hmm… seventeen grams of distilled ectoplasm. Where in the world am I supposed to get that from? Probably going to make a request to the next merchant that comes into town.

 

Ding

 

That the ding of the bell on the door. It means Carl is here. A tall well built human with brown hair and brown eyes. Looks like he is wearing his hunter’s garb and judging by the filled sack he is carrying, I assume he is back from a successful hunt. 

 

“Hey Calliope, why are you reading on the job?”

 

“Oh come on Carl, nobody comes into the guild anyways. We are out here in the absolute outskirts of the Stevlere empire. I don’t even know why there is a guild in this town anyways.”

 

“Eh, fair enough. Anything new?”

 

“Just some more things to add onto this month’s request list.”

 

“Eh?? More? Your requests keep on getting pricier and pricer you know.”

 

“Hey, potion ingredients are not cheap alright!”

 

“Its just the common cold and occasional poison cure potion, its not that hard right?”

 

“I think you are forgetting that those ‘common cold’ potions require mermaid tears or crimsonflower, both things that are hard to get. As for the poison cures, those are specific to the type of poison."

 

“Yeah yeah, I get it.”

 

“Hey, what did you catch this time? It looks too big to be a coyote”

 

The sack on his back looked a bit more full than normal, was he able to snag a boar?

 

“Ah, this? I was able to get my hands on two deer. Was able to nail two back to back with an arrow! You think May will like it?”

 

Every time he goes out hunting he always gives a majority of it to that orphanage. I think everyone knows that he just wants to get on May’s goodside, but at least he is actually helping those kids out. 

“Yeah, she probably will. Wait, didn’t you just give them a coyote yesterday?”

 

“Hey, that orphanage has alot of kids, they’ve probably already gone through it. Anyways, I am going to head on over and give them their share. Watch over the place for me, I’ll be back soon.”

 

“Yeah yeah, take your time.”

 

Every single time he goes over to that place he always spends at least an hour. Well, it gives me more time to read at least.

 

Ding

 

It's the doorbell again. Did Carl forget something?

 

Looking in the doorway there was not the tall figure I expected, but instead… a pretty dwarf girl. Pretty rare for a dwarf to go adventuring by themselves, let alone a dwarf girl. And her attire is certainly odd, more casual rather than protective, but who am I to judge. 

 

“Um… excuse me miss, would you happen to know where Mr. Johnston is?”

 

Huh? Is she looking for Carl?

 

“Uh, yeah he just left, why do you ask?”

 

“I just wanted to know if there was any work I could do.”

 

“Well, if you want the quest list they are over there. Ain’t much though except the occasional gather and basic hunt quest. Once you grab one just come over here and I can scan your tag”

 

“My… tag?”

 

Why is she surprised? Every adventurer has to have their tag scanned so they can be held accountable for failed and uncompleted questions, that's basic knowledge. Actually, the more I look at her… is she not a dwarf? Her hair is white, something that is really rare, and her eyes are gray. I thought dwarves usually had orange or brown eyes…

 

“Wait… you are an adventurer, right?”

 

“Umm… not exactly…”

 

I could see the girl begin to fiddle with her fingers. If she isn’t an adventurer and she isn’t a dwarf… Could she be an elf? No, her ears are not pointed and she obviously isn’t a beastman. Wait… don’t tell me she is just a little human girl.

 

“Hey quick question, how old are you?”

 

The second I asked her that question her eyes immediately looked away. Yep, she is just a little girl. That begs the question though, why does a little girl want to pick up a quest?

 

“Look, kid, unless you have special permission from a guild leader, significant royalty, or government official, you won’t be able to become an adventurer until you reach fifteen.”

 

“Fifteen… alright then, can you help me learn until then? You are a witch right? Can you teach me alchemy or magic until I can join?”

 

Alright this kid is just plain odd. First of all, why is she insistent on learning and becoming an adventurer. Aren’t little girls her age usually playing with toys or something? And who in the right mind would ever associate themselves with a witch? Most people immediately become distrustful of witches due to their association with dark alignment magic, it took me years before I could get this town to trust me, so for her to instantly want to be taught by a witch is confusing to say the least. 

 

Wait another minute.

 

“Hey girl, how did you know I was a witch?”

 

“It was kinda a guess more than anything, but that staff next to you probably means you can cast magic, and you are reading a book on alchemy ingredients. The only profession that I know of that deals with both alchemy and magic would be a witch. Excuse me for assuming.”

 

“How old are you anyways?”

 

“Huh? Umm… I’m ten.”

 

“Ten?!”

 

“Uhh… yes..?”

 

I’m sorry, a TEN year old wants to become an adventurer and take on jobs. A TEN year old wants to become an apprentice witch. 

 

Yeah, no way am I taking her in so young, no matter how smart she is. Not only do I not want to take in an apprentice, but she is way too young to be one anyways.

 

“Look kid, you are way too young for me to be teaching you anything. Come back in say… five years and we can talk about this again.”

 

“I’m sorry but that is not something I can afford to do. Can I at least borrow a book or two so I can teach myself?”

 

“Kid, alchemy is not something to mess around with. Just simply having too much water pressure in the test tube can cause it to explode.”

 

“And that is why I want you to teach me instead.”

 

This kid is going to get herself killed if she tries anything by herself. Hm… how about I give her a challenge then. Something that she will obviously be unable to do so that she will give up. Maybe then she’ll cool it down for a bit. Either that or try to learn on her own anyways…

 

“Ok, how about this. You complete a challenge for me. If you can do it, I’ll take you in and we can see about the adventurer thing… you fail, and you won’t touch both topics for the next five years. How does that sound?”

 

Immediately I could see her face light up. Sorry kid, I know it’ll go dark as soon as I give her the challenge.

 

“Aight, shoot.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What is the challenge?”

 

“Oh, uhh… how about this. Bring a wild boar back here. Bring it to the front door of this building ALIVE. If it is dead, you fail. How does that sound?”

 

Hunting a wild boar around here is not an easy feat, I know that Carl occasionally struggles with it sometimes. Boars are unpredictable as they will either charge at you headfirst or immediately book it in the other direction. Come on girl, understand this is impossible and give up. 

 

“Hm…. alright, I get it.”

 

And with that she turned around and left the building. Seems even she realized how impossible that is. 

 

Back to my book then I guess.

 

—

 

Ding

 

Again? Oh wait, it's Carl.

 

“Hey Carl, you are back fast.”

 

“Yeah, May was busy getting things ready for a new girl they found yesterday. Human girl, silver hair and eyes, I think May said her name was Lois. wait no, it was Luise.”

 

“Hey, how old is the girl?”

 

“Interested in her too, huh? Yeah, silver hair and eyes are really odd traits for a human to have.”

 

“Carl, how old was she?”

 

“Uh… I think May said she was ten.”

 

“Yeah, that girl was here like half an hour ago. Wanted to become an adventurer”

 

“Huh? People can’t become adventurers until they are fifteen.”

 

“That's what I told her. After she asked if she could become my apprentice.”

 

“Thats odd… did she know you were a witch?”

 

“Yep. didn’t seem to care.”

 

“And what did you say?”

 

“Well she was very determined so I kinda gave her an impossible task. I told her that if she failed she was to stop pursuing either adventuring or apprenticeship until she was fifteen.”

 

“Well she’s still a kid so I doubt she would stop trying even if she did fail. What task did you give her anyways?”

 

“I told her to bring a live boar to the front door of this building.”

 

“YOU DID WHAT!?”

 

“Huh? Why are you so loud!?”

 

“Ok, think about it. What word would you use to describe a kid who was trying to do a dangerous job for adults?”

 

“Reckless”

 

“And how would you describe a kid trying to become an apprentice, let alone a witch’s apprentice at such a young age.”

 

“Also reckless”

 

“And what type of kid would look at an impossible and dangerous challenge and attempt it anyways”

 

“...”

 

“What type of kid Calliope?”

 

“A reckless one…”

 

I think I fucked up.

 

“Calliope. We need to go looking for that kid. Now.”