[22.3] A Welfare Check

…Several days later…

I made a fist and watched as ice crawled across my skin before melting off.

Looks like I'm almost back to normal.

I heard a knock on the door and looked up, "What is it?"

The door flung open so harshly that the hinges broke off. Hazel ran into the room sobbing and threw herself on the bed to embrace me.

I let out a painful gasp of air as if I had just been crushed by a wrecking ball.

She hugged me close, "I was so worried about you!!!"

My face started turning blue, "Can't… Breathe…"

Felix walked in behind her with a bright smile, "Hazel, you're strangling her."

"Oops." She opened her arms, freeing me from her clutches. "Sorry."

Felix sat down on the edge of my bed and grinned, "How are you feeling?"

I stared back at him with complicated feelings.

In the beginning, I thought of this kid as an annoying nuisance.

…Then he saved my life.

I scratched my cheek and averted my eyes, "S-Sorry…"

He tilted his head, "For what?"

"For forcing you to save my life…"

He laughed, "You didn't force me. I did that because I wanted to. I told you Reika, you're special to me. I won't let you go that easily."

I forced out a laugh.

That almost sounds like a confession.

I changed the subject quickly, "By the way, where's Goldilocks?"

Hazel blinked innocently, "He was right behind us."

Caldwell pushed a blushing Cyrus into the room, "He is right here!!! He was just being shy!"

Cyrus made a sour face before slowly looking at me with a timid expression. He spoke in a low voice, "Are you feeling better-"

I jumped from my bed and pounced on the unsuspecting Cyrus. After I had him pinned on the floor, I started to yank up his shirt, "Where were you injured?! Let me see it!!!"

Cyrus let out a shrill cry as he nearly cried trying to prevent his shirt from being pulled up, "STOOP!"

Caldwell panicked, "Little Miss!!! You're not healthy enough to attack him yet!"

Felix rushed to my side and attempted to pull me off, "Reika!!!"

I continued to try to pull up his shirt as I shouted, "There's something I have to check!!"

Zephyr sat to the side watching the show with a wagging tail.

"Felix! Let me help!"

Hazel rushed over and wrapped her arms around Felix then gave him a tug. We were thrown back like a bag of feathers and landed with a hard thud.

Luckily my impact was cushioned by Felix's body.

Felix broke out into sobs, "HAZEL! THAT HURRRT!"

She covered her mouth in a panic, "I'm sorry I'm sorry!!"

I got off of Felix quickly and comforted him with a large hug, "There, there. Shoo, shoo~ Go away pain. Don't even think of coming back another day~"

Everyone: "..."

I heard the room get silent and turned to see everyone staring at me slack-jawed.

I blinked in confusion, "What?"

Cyrus's expression darkened, "Since when have you two been so close?"

I flushed.

Close?! I just feel indebted to him!!

I cleared my throat, "Don't misunderstand. He was hurt so I was just comforting him."

Felix stifled his cries and nuzzled into me, "Oh, you must be using magic because it suddenly doesn't hurt anymore."

Cyrus stood up with a pout, "I-I am hurt too!"

I let out a sigh and held out a free arm, "Come on."

He grinned and ran over to me. I embraced both of them with a twitching face.

Children are so clingy.

Caldwell shouted, "I am hurt too! I want a Reika hug too!"

I clicked my tongue, "You look completely healed. You don't need a hug."

His eyes watered dramatically, "B-But! I want a hug!"

My expression darkened, "Don't even think about touching me. If you do, I will tell Chief Gonza about what I found in your room."

He froze, "L-Lets not be impulsive-"

Hazel cried out, "I want to be comforted too!"

I groaned in exasperation, "You weren't even hurt!!!"

She made a pitiful expression, "My heart was hurt seeing you hurt…"

I clicked my tongue, "Go hug Zephyr."

"OKAY!"

She ran over to the unsuspecting Zephyr who was then strangled in her embrace. He tried to escape, but his attempts were futile. Eventually, he succumbed to her hug and went limp.

I laughed, "Okay, maybe don't hug him so tight."

"Oh! Right. Gentle hugs. I forgot." She loosened her grip, but not enough for Zephyr to escape. She grinned, "Hehe~"

I released the two boys and leaned back, "By the way, what are you all doing here?"

Hazel grinned at me, "We wanted to check on you."

I nodded, "Well you've checked up on me."

They all stared at me silently.

I spoke slowly, "Is there something else?"

Felix laughed, "We can't just come over to visit you?"

I tilted my head, "You can… But you all look like you want to say something."

Felix froze with his smile still on his face.

Finally, Cyrus interrupted the silence. "What kind of things do you like?"

I was caught off-guard, "Huh?"

Felix scratched his cheek awkwardly, "W-Well… We know you like art… And cats… But is there anything else you like?"

I'm so confused.

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Like hobbies?"

Hazel leaned toward me, "If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

I stared at her silently.

I guess it would be to return to my previous world.

….Right?

I shrugged, "I'm satisfied with magic. I'm already powerful."

Cyrus shook his head, "She doesn't mean power. She means gifts. What kind of gifts do you want?"

Why are they asking about that now?

I felt the room get much colder and turned to look at the doorway. Looming in the darkness was the Headmaster with a dark expression.

I forced on a smile.

I guess he put them up to this.

I let out a sigh, "I like the usual things. Dolls. Cake. Dresses."

Zephyr snickered as he recovered from the strangulation, "You don't care about any of those things."

Felix whined, "Come on, Reika. You can tell us what you like. There must be something other than art."

I furrowed my brow.

What kind of things do I like?

I'm… I'm not so sure.

I like magic.

I like cats.

And I like art.

Other than that…

Well, I don't really care about anything else.

Ugh. Is there nothing more to my personality?

Am I actually a boring person?

"Well…" I spoke slowly as I thought aloud, "I guess I like things that would make me a better witch. Like a flying broomstick... A witch's cloak... A cauldron... And a witch's hat."

Hazel tilted her head, "What's a witch?"

Caldwell also asked, "What do you mean by a witch's hat?"

"Ugh. One moment." I stood up and went over to my desk to grab a pencil and paper. I made a quick sketch of the stereotypical witch, "This is what I mean."

They all looked at it, analyzing the picture closely.

Hazel spoke first, "Why does she have such a long nose with a lump on it?"

"That's a witch's nose."

"Hm…"

Caldwell inspected it closely, "The hat seems a bit… Different."

Cyrus laughed, "I've never seen such a ridiculous thing."

I stuck out my tongue, "It's not ridiculous!"

I'm a witch now so I need to act more like one!

I've already got a black cat as my familiar. Now I just need the other accessories.

Felix nodded slowly, "I think we can make this work… But is there really nothing else you want?"

Well of course there are things I want, but these children could never give them to me.

I shrugged, "There's nothing else that I can think of."

After entertaining the children for a few more hours, the Headmaster finally came to chase them out. Before they left, I pulled Cyrus into an embrace.

He blushed, "W-What are you doing!?!"

I took a deep breath as I ignored him and opened my eyes to see that same beautiful color dance around him.

I pulled away slightly and looked down.

Sure enough, the red string is still connecting us.

I felt Cyrus get yanked away and looked to see the Headmaster dragging him out, "No more hugging. She needs rest."

I waved them off as I pondered the reasoning behind that string.

Who would know?

….The trashy tutor!

He wrote complicated books, so he should know!!