Agnes Returns

While I was still feeding the furnace charcoal, waiting for it to get hot enough to melt the crucible's contents, a fairy shot straight out from behind the tree's canopy, heading straight for me. Thinking that it was Isabel, I didn't pay much attention and turned back to the furnace.

Before I had a chance to make sense of what was happening, about twelve feet off the ground, the tiny fairy transformed into a short old woman. The old lady, with her wrinkled skin and simple brown robe fluttering in the wind, fell gracefully. A faint orange glow formed around her hand before a small streak of flame shot out towards me.

The still resent memory of the raid, had me on edge, and while confused, I managed to react. I desperately dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the flame that struck the ground, leaving behind a scorch mark before burning away. Clumsily rolling along the ground, my body still hurting, I struggled to my feet.

Swaying slightly, I turned back to my attacker. As she gently descended to the ground as if walking down a staircase, I finally recognized her as Agnes. Memories of her training held back the angry shout I was about to release, leaving it to die in my throat.

"Hello, my idiot pupil," Agnes said in a sickly-sweet tone that, if you didn't know her true nature, would seem fitting for a kindly grandmother but sent shivers down my spine. "I heard that there was an attack, and you got hurt. Tell your teacher exactly what happened."

Ignoring the complaints of my body, I stood up straighter and immediately began recounting what had happened, omitting my brief meeting with the goddess.

"Interesting," Agnes said, shaking her head mockingly, continued, "I noticed a dense mass of mana when I took you in as my disciple, but I wouldn't have imagined that you would almost immediately create a curse."

Growing tired of Agnes's shenanigans, I turned back to the furnace and said bluntly, "I am busy and, honestly, still recovering. So if you don't need anything, I would appreciate you leaving me to my work."

Pouting somewhat, Agnes said, faking concern, "I decided to come here and check on you, and you say such hurtful things to this old lady?"

"Anyway, I wanted to see you and maybe continue your training," she said, dropping the act.

"Well, I have things to do, but if it doesn't interfere too much with my work, I might consider it," I replied without turning away from the furnace.

"Ugh, fine," Agnes said as she plopped down, feigning exasperation.

Eventually, Agnes got tired of continuing her bit, and her natural curiosity as a fairy overwhelmed her faux stoicism as she asked, "So what exactly are you doing?"

"Making a sword," I replied curtly, gesturing to the wooden sword I used to make the mold, which lay on the ground nearby.

"Interesting, why not use alchemy? It would be easier."

"I am trying to create a specific mix of materials, and when I tried using alchemy on a smaller piece, it was significantly harder than expected compared to simply changing its shape," I explained as I opened the furnace. Struggling slightly, I used a spell to lift out the crucible and shakily poured out the phosphor bronze into the mold. After pounding the mold a few times on the ground to remove any major air pockets, I finally turned to look at Agnes. She was staring at me contemplatively, and after a few moments of silence, she said, "I was surprised when that little girl said you could still use magic, but now that I see it, I am sure that something unusual is going on in that body of yours."

Immediately changing gears, she jumped up and brushed dirt from her dress. "Anyway, I am going to be staying for a while," she announced, shrinking, and shooting off before I could voice any opposition.

---

Isabel, still somewhat surprised, having never seen Agnes move so quickly, shook her head and returned to searching for her mother. Soon enough, she found her lounging on a flower, sleeping soundly. Isabel landed next to her and hugged her, resting her head on Tallia's surprisingly supple chest.

Tallia stirred, and upon seeing that it was only her daughter, closed her eyes again while gently brushing her daughter's hair with her fingers. After enjoying the moment, Tallia finally asked, "So what is my runaway doing home so soon?"

"There was an attack, and Adam got kind of scary after the other human got hurt…" Isabel started, recounting what had happened to her mother.

After hearing out her daughter, Tallia chuckled and said, "The world is vast, and there are many things you have yet to learn, little one. But an almost universal fact is that conflict happens, and especially when it comes to protecting someone close to them, humans have an almost unparalleled ability to overcome adversity. You should take this experience to heart and learn that no matter how calm and friendly something appears, if pushed, it will fight back. I mean, the whole reason I let you leave was to learn more about the world outside of our calm little hollow."

"Also, considering you have built a relationship with that human, he would probably fight just as hard on your behalf. So even though his power might seem scary, knowing that it would be used to protect you should bring you some comfort," Isabel's mother said listlessly, returning to absentmindedly stroking Isabel's hair.