Chapter 6

Runa stayed at the store and Wilhelm on the other hand had to leave by himself. He informed them that he's got things to do.

Rachel lent the clothes Runa was going to wear. She went to a changing room and wore it. Rachel was clapping softly when Runa got out of the room wearing the same clothes as her. It was not difficult to find a size that matched her.

The store is around ten square meters. It has a second apartment that serves as Rachel's house. This small business was built using the couple's money. Although, Tepht had been the one to fund the construction of the store and Rachel for the ingredients needed for cooking.

They only have one employee inside the store and her name is Patricia. She's been working in the store ever since it opened.

She mainly does the serving and cleaning of the dining area. The store has a table for two and a table for four inside the dining area, and Patricia is very skillful in her job.

She is agile and has great stamina. The way she attends to the customers and communicates with them is applaudable. She'll be the one to teach Runa how she does her job. Most of the customers are mainly guards and adventurers, there are some civilians as well.

"Hey newbie, I'll be teaching you the basics so you better listen carefully" a cheerful girl about the same age as Runa. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm R-runa.."

"Alright then Runa, see that broom over there? Sweep the area where there are no customers, then clean the plates on tables and carry them back inside the kitchen."

"G-got it..!"

"If you want to quickly learn how to do this job then watch me and note some of what I do."

She followed her instructions, Runa swept the floor and cleaned the tables. Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, Rachel was preparing orders. There were about ten customers at that time. Runa washed the plates, and Patricia saw a mistake when she was cleaning the plates.

"Listen Runa, you must first separate the tableware. Cups with cups, utensils with utensils, plates with plates, and also the same with bowls. Arrange them from the cleanest to the most soiled. The leftovers on the plate must be thrown in the garbage bin."

"After washing the plates, place them over there so that the water drips or you can wipe them with a clean cloth to dry them quickly"

Runa understood what Patricia said and quickly adapted, she's a fast learner. After Rachel was done cooking she helped Patricia attend to the customers, even though she gave a shy vibe she was able to communicate with them.

Since Rachel was on the front attending with customers Patricia went inside the kitchen to help Runa with the dishes. They also cleaned the equipment that Rachel used for cooking.

"Your job here is service for the customers but since you're still new you must first undergo basic work."

"Observation is key when you're learning something always remember that," Patricia advised her.

After four hours of working Runa's shift ended. It was late in the afternoon the customers were fewer compared to the number of customers at noon.

"Thanks for the work Runa, you're pretty easy to teach. It was fun showing you how things are done" Patricia compliments her for a job well done for her first day of work.

She's glad that she didn't mess things up.

Runa then went home since her work was done and this time she alone admires the scenery along the way.

By the distance, Runa saw suspicious figures following the path to Wilhelm's house. She doesn't want to get involved with them and minded her own business. Maybe they happen to just walking the same path. But, Wilhelm's house was the only infrastructure that was around that area.

She confirmed that they heading towards Wilhelm's house.

She thought that those people were thieves aiming to loot Wilhelm's house.

"Thieves? What should I do? The leader is sneaking and peeking around but doesn't leave the forest, she must be looking for a way to enter the house, I must tell Master about this"

Runa passed through the other side of the forest and hurriedly ran to the house. A purple lightning stuck a meter ahead of her. Runa stopped her movements as she saw that the lightning destroyed the ground.

"Who told you that you can come near his house?!" A feminine voice asked, She saw Runa rushing to the house and decided to throw magic at her.

She showed herself, slowly approaching Runa.

Runa didn't answer, she was feeling cold feet after she saw chars form on the surface of the ground. The lightning was strong enough to burn the ground. If she got hit by that lightning who knows if she'd survive.

But she doesn't have a way out of the situation considering that her opponent could kill her at any moment. The unknown person walked slowly towards her, making sure to remain a certain amount of distance. She was a cautious mage because of her awareness of distance and some of her companions had not left the forest yet.

Runa not knowing what she'd do instinctively rushed towards the yard. If she was quick enough she could jump towards the fence and it could make a decent shield since it was made up of metal. It may block the attack.

The woman with the purple cloak noticed her eyeing the fence and quickly threw another lightning magic but this time it was aimed at her. Runa channels mana and creates water.

She briefly visualized objects that could block the lightning and the image of the walls from the town crossed her mind. She quickly changed its shape into a wall stopping the magic from hitting her.

The unknown woman clicked her tongue, "A magician huh? Then try blocking this one!" A magic circle bigger than the first was shot towards her. The lightning was bigger and faster compared to the first two.

Runa knew that she couldn't block the attack. She closed her eyes bracing herself for the impact but the magic barrier around the house blocked the fatal magic. It was a magic barrier that enveloped the entire area of the house. She only noticed that she reached the area within their yard.

"Urgh! That idiot placed a barrier that blocks magic over his house but it lets thieves enter the perimeter? What failure of a barrier is this?" She floated and entered inside the barrier as well. She aimed another large magic circle towards Runa.

"You'll pay the price for trespassing a mage's territory!"

Runa doesn't understand what she was implying because she was the one who was trespassing but why was she accusing her of being the one to trespass?

She fired the shot and it landed a direct hit.

The woman was shocked to see Runa standing and unscathed.

Runa was as shocked as she was. There were three layered barriers forming a bubble shape around her.

"No way... that's his magic... You..! What's your relationship with Wilhelm?!"

She asked impatiently. Runa processed her thoughts. It seems that the woman attacking her is acquainted with Wilhelm.

"He doesn't have any female companions that are close enough for him to cast protection magic and all his relatives are in Gressaia!" She added.

"D-do you perhaps know Master Wilhelm?" Runa asked, her voice was scared.

"Master? MASTER?!" She placed her knuckle on her chin and started thinking. She finally gave her a sharp look and asked, "A-are you his student?"

"I-I'm his student, I guess..."

Runa doesn't know what her relationship with Wilhelm is, he doesn't treat her like a slave despite her being one. He's friendly with her so maybe they're friends but she doesn't want to conclude that one thing is clear, Wilhelm teaches her magic which means that they're having a teacher and student relationship, along with the rest.

After hearing that her face relaxed and told Runa, "Is that so, I thought you were a thief who was about to barge into his house. I apologize for my hostility"

She was actually a reasonable person. However, it doesn't change the fact that she almost killed Runa.

"My name is Celestine--"

She was about to introduce herself when a woman with red hair and deep blue eyes called her as she approached them from afar.

"Sis! Why did you leave us behind in the forest?"

The two others followed and each of them looked like maids. Now it was clear that they weren't thieves or bandits, Runa had her whole body trembling out of the event.

"Is he not around?" The blonde asked. "I guess he isn't. He should have been here by now."

Runa shook her head and offered them a small bow and tried to walk straight to the porch. Runa didn't invite them to enter the house. She doesn't have Wilhelm's permission to invite people inside his house. And, she was still scared of what had happened.

It was a trembling event. She wanted to head straight to the house where she would make herself feel at ease.

One of the maids felt slightly offended about her not inviting them. According to their customs it's rude of her to not invite them inside her master's house considering that they were guests.

It was valid that Celestine had informed Wilhelm of their visit. As his student, Runa is expected to welcome them but she didn't know a thing about their visit, Wilhelm didn't tell her about it. After all, he thought that they would come and visit a few days later and never that soon.

"Are you not going to invite us in?" Asked by one of the maids.

It startled her and had to stop before reaching the door.

"It's fine, Runa was it? I'm a close friend of Wilhelm we came from the same academy so why not let us inside?"

Runa shook her head, "I-I'm sorry b-but it's not my decision to let other people in"

"You need proof?" She pulled the lower part of her cloak and pointed a crest, it was a book-like crest.

It was similar to the crest on Wilhelm's cloak.

She was convinced that they knew each other, but her answer remained the same.

"Fine, fine, do you know where he is then?" Celestine gave up,

Runa doesn't know where Wilhelm had gone off to but she knows for sure that he'll return home by sunset and her reply was a brief,

"I-I don't know..."

"I see, then I guess we'll have to wait outside. It's only a few moments before the sun sets though... Is that fine with you Sam?" She said while looking at the red-haired woman.

"It looks like we don't have any choice, are you sure that he can tell us details about the ring?" The red-haired asked her, she sounded doubtful.

"Yep, he's the best with this kind of thing" With a small reassurance she then believed her.

The woman who introduced herself as Celestine has golden blond hair and sky-blue eyes. She's beautiful, like a pretty fancy doll, and has a hint of haughtiness. They were convinced that the girl really didn't know about their visit when Runa went inside the house.

One of the maids tried to step inside the yard but she was resisted by the barrier. The barrier only allowed those who were permitted to enter the area to not be repelled by the force of the barrier.

Runa was keeping an eye on them as they were waiting outside. After changing her clothes she glanced at them at the large glass window upstairs.

The one called Celestine is reading a book and the red-haired woman starts looking around the area while the two maids remain standing like frozen statues.

Runa thought that they were nobles but someone with high status would usually come by with a fancy carriage and in their case they were wearing robes and were sneaking around the area looking all suspicious.

If they were nobles then those ladies shouldn't go outside without bodyguards. It would be very dangerous for them and they wouldn't be permitted to leave their territory without bodyguards.

The red hair has this allluring vibe that almost charmed Runa, her appeal doesn't attract a person sexually but you get this feeling that you want to interact with her.

The maid with black hair and opaque black eyes gives a gloomy vibe and the other maid who has green hair with a poker face gives a dangerous vibe. She was the one who was staring at Runa the most.

Lastly, the golden hair has this princess vibe but she emits a kind and lovely aura. They were the weirdest group of people she ever met so far.

Runa saw Wilhelm appear from the distance. Runa hurriedly went downstairs and fixed herself up. The visitors noticed that Runa was waiting by the door.

Wilhelm on the other hand stopped as she saw them outside the yard. He saw a very familiar face. As they both had eye contact he sighed and Celestine grinned. He decided to walk past them.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me!"

"Why are you here now when you're supposed to be arriving a few days later?"

"Can't help it since I've finished my errands ahead of time"

Wilhelm sighed yet again, "Fine, get inside."

He guided them,

"Runa..? you're here already? You didn't spare some time to hang out with Rachel?"

"N-no I thought that I was to return home right after my shift"

Wilhelm thought that she would stay there to list down some notes about her job considering how eager she is to learn stuff. It made him wonder why she decided to go home right after her job finished.

Celestine was staring dagger behind his back. The way he treats Runa is so different than how he treats her. His face looks kind and gentle when he's talking to her, something so different than the annoyed vibes he gives to Celestine. Because of the difference in treatment, she started to be silent and just observed how Wilhelm treated Runa.

As they entered the room Celestine noticed that the entire place was clean and tidy. She glanced at his study, and knowing Wilhelm, he would usually leave them in a mess especially his table. She expected that there should be some scattered papers and opened book at his table.

But everything was well arranged, the books were on the shelves and the papers were neatly stacked on his desk. Her silence deepens as she feels an uncomfortable feeling brewing in her chest.

Wilhelm noticed that Celestine was acting differently, it was her silence.

He was feeling happy that he made her quiet since he predicted that she'd make a fuss about the mess as she usually does whenever she gets the chance to enter his dorm back in Gressaia.

She would surely nag at him while tidying his workspace but it doesn't end just there, she would also be forcing him to help her with the cleaning without the use of magic.

Wilhelm asked, "So? What brings you here?"

Celestine didn't answer instantly, as if her mind was wandering off, there was a short delay before she said,

"Ah, well, uhm. My sister. She--"

It almost sounded like she didn't know the reason for her visit. Candice, the green-haired maid noticed and stepped in to cover her words.

"Lady Celestine accompanied Lady Samantha, her sister; to ask you something about a magical sword and a ring."

The red-haired stepped in and introduced herself, "Greetings sir Wilhelm, I've heard about you from my sister, my name is Samantha. I'll be straight about our purpose here, I'd like to ask for details regarding these. I will pay the price for it."

Samantha pulled out a sword from a void-like space. The sword came along with a ring. Wilhelm noticed that the items were imbued with magic. But what caught his interest the most was the space magic that Samantha performed.

It was surprising to see someone other than him to used them as a storage.

"I'll head out for a bit and have some fresh air. Candice, stay with them for now," Celestine told them in a down-spirited way.

"Are you okay sis?" Samantha asked. Concered of the sudden mood swing.

Right before they left their home, Celestine was very excited to come here but then she looked like she's troubled by something.

"Yes Sam... I'm fine"

Candice wouldn't want to leave Celestine by herself but she wanted to respect her long silence and agreed with it. If it's around these areas then there won't be that much of a problem. The place is protected by a barrier and the surroundings are peaceful.

She had already checked the area if there were potential threats to Celestine or Samantha and she didn't find any. Candice knows the reason why Celestine acted that way. And she knows that it is better to leave Celestine alone for a moment.

Celestine walked out of the house, she went near the shore where the sea touches the land continuously. She doesn't know why she walked out, it was supposed to be their small reunion.

She was caught up in her thoughts about Runa. Just what is it about that girl that Wilhelm treats her so kindly?

On the other hand, Wilhelm had an unusual reaction to how Celestine acted. That's not how he knew her, she would be annoying as such, enough to make him scratch his head but what was it that kept her silent? She was being herself a while ago but then a sudden change occurred.

Candice was glaring at him, her eyes saying 'Do something about this or else' The threat didn't pass through Wilhelm but for some reason, he decided to go along with her.

"There are books inside my study that can tell you about this, Runa, guide them inside the study. You should already be familiar with the arrangements, the books are on the second shelf"

Wilhelm instructed, Runa nodded and led the three of them to the study.. The books inside his study were all priceless stocks of knowledge. They searched for a book that could comply with what they were searching for.

Wilhelm saw Celestine stainding by the shore. He walked and stood beside her. They both were listening to the sound of the waves.

"What's bothering you?" She didn't answer.

"Is something the matter?" He asked a different question but there was still no response.

"Alright, fine." Wilhelm decided to leave her alone considering that she

wouldn't answer but Celestine grabbed a piece of his cloak and he stopped.

"So? What is it?" He asked for the last time.

Celestine doesn't know what to tell him. The only thing that she wanted to know was what was going on with him and Runa, his eyes looked different when he looked at her. It was kind... And caring eyes.

And Wilhelm's study, that's what bothered her the most. He would complain if someone touched them and arrange them without his consent. Not even the faculty in their academy would try to arrange his research area.

It was only Celestine who could force him to fix his workspace but seeing how tidy the room was, a vague feeling resided inside her chest.

"S-since when did you both meet?"

"Who? Runa?"

"Mn..."

"About a couple of weeks from now, probably months, I'm not sure I didn't count the days"

"What is she to you?"

"Why are you asking? It doesn't matter what she is to me and it's none of your busine--"

"It is!"

"Wha--? What do you mean it's your business?"

"You're impossible Wilhelm! You really piss me off! Go die you insensitive jerk!"

She groans, Celestine starts creating a large magic circle and attacks him. A large lightning blast directly hit Wilhelm. The water around them was pushed because of the tremendous force.

"Are you mad..?" Wilhelm asked as he stood undamaged by the attack, Celestine was agitated with his question and fired a barrage of magic. It was raining lightning.

Their commotion was heard by the people inside his house. The noise must have also reached town, Samantha quickly headed out of the house the moment she heard lightning strikes. Candice and Miran, the two maids followed as well, along with Runa.

There was a fight between two magicians. Samantha wanted to stop the commotion planning to jump between the two but Candice stopped her before she could do it,

"Your Highness, you must not interfere. This is Lady Celestine's problem and knowing Wilhelm he won't do anything to harm the Lady, rest assured."

"No, that's not the reason why I want to stop them. They're destroying the place!"

She pointed to the areas that got hit by lightning.

"Oh, I thought you were concerned about your sister's well-being. Nevermind, Wilhelm can fix that but for now, we must keep a safe distance in order to not get caught up in their fight."