Now that Arakil was back, Lily's nightmares faded over time, bringing her a sense of relief and comfort. Once Rose returned, they would likely be gone for good. She only wished the staff would be honest with her and explain why Rose was gone. They made it sound like it was some big secret, and even though they promised she was fine, it still caused doubt to fester.

The teachers were also grateful that Lily had started participating in class once more rather than working in utter silence. She didn't admit that she was having nightmares and used missing Rose coupled with feeling ill as her excuse.

When Lily next saw Margit, she asked if they could visit the alchemist and explained that she wanted to sell the plants they gathered. Margit didn't seem completely averse to the idea, but what sealed the deal was when Lily used Rose's absence as the reason for her needing a chaperone.

True to his word, Arakil also didn't disappear again. While he said he was meditating to generate more Mana, she could call out his name at any point, and he would promptly respond. For the first few days, Lily made a habit of randomly calling him out for no justified reason just to ensure he was still there.

Arakil didn't mind; he figured she needed emotional support, so he used the time to critique her work and offer further advice. He also started giving her a few new glyphs by themselves so that she could learn how to draw them.

Arakil also eventually managed to coax the full monster story out of Lily. He was quite surprised to hear that the monster's body began to disappear after death.

Lily also offhandedly mentioned how Rose claimed adventurers got stronger by defeating monsters, but her disbelief was heavily apparent, and she used herself as an example for the falsehood. Arakil initially had a few suspicions but held them back for now, not wanting to burden her with his postulations.

In preparation for her visit to the alchemist, Lily had also obtained some parchment scraps and vaguely labeled the plants that Arakil had identified. She also didn't know the names and simply wrote their apparent usage before neatly placing them in her basket.

As for the plants Arakil identified as useless, she kept the flowers she deemed pretty enough in a spare vase. The rest were thrown into a pile to show the alchemist, just in case.

Then she just had to wait for the weekend, when Margit promised to take her. While initially hesitant about Arakil's suggestion, she now was giddy at the prospect of making her very own magic ink.

***

Heading out into the city again was a strange experience for Lily. She felt Rose should have been there with her, but that wasn't possible. While getting ready, she also realized she had lost her hat in the chaos with the bird monster.

Margit was at least diligently chaperoning and holding her hand as she guided her to the storefront. Lily tightly gripped the basket with her free hand as they walked down the moderately busy street.

Arriving at their destination, Lily examined the fairly large building. A picture sign rather than a shop name displayed a potion bottle and a handful of herbs. While many other city buildings looked renovated, this one still held a rustic charm.

A bell on the door rang to announce their arrival, causing Lily to jump slightly. Margit smiled reassuringly as they walked towards the counter.

"Be with you in a minute," an elderly female voice from the backroom announced.

Either the owner ran the shop solo, or the staff would arrive later, as nobody else was in the building.

"I'm still surprised you managed to pick so much," Margit whispered to Lily, pointing towards the contents of her basket.

"Rose helped a lot," Lily answered.

While they waited, Lily explored the storefront with curious eyes. Bottles were lined up in cabinets and shelves, as were what looked like bundles of dried herbs.

Although the handwriting was quite terrible, the labels listed their purpose. She noted that some of the plants Arakil had disregarded were labeled for use as tea.

Eventually, the backdoor opened, and an elderly human woman appeared. Lily was a little surprised. A human was quite a rarity nowadays, as nearly everyone had some latent demi heritage. Or perhaps her parents were both demis of vastly different species, which could sometimes result in a human-looking child with no visible inherited traits.

"Sorry for the wait. What can I do for you?" The woman politely asked.

Margit gestured for Lily to state her business. Lily gathered her confidence and cleared her throat before finally speaking.

"H-hi... My name is Lily. The guard Osmin told me to come sell to you." Lily answered.

"Osmin?" The woman mumbled.

"Perhaps you knew him as Oz?" Margit suggested.

The woman seemed lost in thought and suddenly smiled as if recalling a memory.

"I think I know exactly who you are talking about!" she said with a smile. "I wondered what had happened to that boy. I had no idea he had joined the city guards. My name is Camilla. It's nice to meet you, Lily." Camilla replied and tilted her head at Margit.

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"Margit," Margit replied, looking slightly embarrassed for not introducing herself sooner.

"Pleased to meet you both," Camilla said with a cheery smile. "So, what brings you to my store? Nothing serious, I hope."

Margit gave Lily a little nudge to answer.

"Y-yes, umm..." Lily stuttered. She placed the basket on the table. "I have these to sell or maybe trade for another herb."

The woman smiled until Lily offered a trade. Then, her face became one of intrigue. It was a peculiar request from a child she had assumed wanted to earn some money to buy something nice for herself.

"Trade, you say?" The lady asked, scratching her wrinkled chin. "What herb are you looking for?"

Lily nodded and reached into her pocket, where she had kept the mossy herb in a folded handkerchief. She presented it gently to the woman.

"I'm looking for more of these," Lily answered.

"Oh? Are you suffering from headaches?" The woman asked curiously.

Lily started stuttering and stumbling; she wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question.

"N-not exactly... Umm... I also wanted to maybe ask about a part-time job." Lily mumbled in response.

"Oh? You seem a little young to start looking into tinctures or potions." Camilla asked quizzically.

"We do start the children at a young age at the orphanage for their career options," Margit interjected. "However, Lily is actually older than she looks and is of apprenticeship age."

"Ah... My apologies," Camilla said, giving Lily a curious glance. "I'm certainly not opposed to an apprentice or helper. Can you tell me a little about yourself?"

"I can read and write," Lily answered confidently. "I can also do some scribe work."

"Basic bookkeeping as well," Margit added. "Although she hates it, she's often top of her class when it comes to numbers."

"Right... Math," Lily mumbled.

Margit and Camilla both held back a soft chuckle at Lily's attitude.

"Well, I could certainly use someone to rewrite my labels for me. Old age has rapidly ruined my handwriting," Camilla responded. "While my mind is still sharp enough for my bookkeeping, it's also suffered in readability. But... Why get into herbalism? There are probably much nicer stores you could work for or even a minor noble."

"Umm... I know a little about herbs," Lily answered. "I want to learn how to prepare mixtures. It seems interesting."

"Really now? You know a bit about herbs?" Camilla questioned.

"Y-yes..." Lily stammered out. She pulled out some of the herbs from her basket and pointed to the little label she had written herself.

"I labeled them..." Lily whispered shyly.

Camilla looked surprised and impressed, while Margit seemed utterly confused; Lily had not mentioned this beforehand.

"Well, now... Today is just full of surprises; let's see what you have here..." Camilla responded.

Camilla reached down for a pair of spectacles that were hanging from a somewhat gaudy chain around her neck. After adjusting them on the bridge of her nose, she started looking in the basket and reading the labels Lily had made.

"Hmm... Interesting... Yes..." Camilla muttered to herself as she read and inspected. "Digestion...? Huh... I suppose that would help. Hmm..."

Margit desperately wanted to question Lily but managed to restrain herself. She did not want to ruin her chance at a possible apprenticeship. At first, she thought the girl was perhaps exaggerating, as kids often tended to do. But now, Camilla's earnest and real effort to examine Lily's notes forced her to reevaluate that assessment.

On the other hand, Lily was extremely nervous; she felt like she was sweating buckets. While she wanted to claim unwavering confidence in Arakil's evaluation, he had written off some of the plants that were clearly being sold here.

After a tense few moments, Camilla finally finished looking over everything. After removing her spectacles, she gave a very motherly smile.

"Honestly, well done. I'm extremely impressed," Camilla responded. "When would you like to start?"

"Really?" Lily asked,

"Of course, dear. I'm a very serious person." Camilla replied.

"Umm..." Lily tried to respond but wasn't sure how to answer. She turned to Margit for guidance.

"Well, if Lily has no complaints, we can swap her to all morning lessons, which leaves her afternoons open," Margit answered. "Otherwise, her weekends are up for grabs."

"Weekends are mornings only. I have a personal life to take care of," Camilla clarified.

"Umm... I'm fine with anything," Lily answered.

"Wonderful," Camilla said cheerfully.

"I'll let your teachers know to move you to morning classes," Margit replied. "I'm sure between myself and the other staff, we can sort out your escort."

"If someone can drop her off, I don't mind escorting her back home," Camilla clarified. "My route home is pretty close to the orphanage."

"That would be greatly appreciated, Miss Camilla," Margit said happily.

"Thank you, Miss Camilla," Lily quickly added.

"No trouble at all," Camilla giggled. "I'm getting a very diligent student by the sounds of things. In fact, what do you say about staying behind and having a small lesson today?"

Lily turned to look at Margit, who gave an affirming nod.

"Yes, I'd like that," Lily replied.

"Excellent, I'll bring her home mid-afternoon?" Camilla asked Margit.

"Yes. Thank you once again, Miss Camilla." Margit said, giving a very minor bow.

"Bye, Margit. Thanks for bringing me over," Lily responded.

"You're welcome, Lily. Be on your best behavior," Margit said with a smile.

"I will!" Lily promised.

Once Margit left, Camilla fetched a tall stool for Lily. Then, they sat at the counter with the herb basket between them.

"So... Before we begin. Do you mind telling me why you're after Fairymoss?" Camilla asked. "You said you weren't suffering from headaches, which is its main usage."

"I... Uhh..." Lily started stammering. She wasn't expecting to be put on the spot like that.

Camilla didn't say anything beyond humming and clearly waiting for Lily to give some response.

"I... I was told it's valuable," Lily finally answered.

"Oh? Interesting..." Camilla responded, a tiny grin forming on her face. "Because its market price would very much contradict you. There are several effective methods to cure a headache, after all."

Lily was rapidly losing her nerves; her skin felt clammy and uncomfortable. She kept mumbling and fidgeting with her hands, trying to figure out how to answer.

Camilla eventually gave a smile. "Of course, that's only true if you're a demi."

"Wh-what?" Lily blurted out.

"Demis. Demihumans," Camilla elaborated. She poked one of Lily's rabbit ears, causing it to flinch along with its owner. "Like yourself, my dear."

"N-no... I mean..." Lily started trying to explain.

"I get the vague feeling you loosely understand what I'm talking about," Camilla said with an almost predatory grin. "Especially with some of the relatively obscure usages you listed for the other herbs you brought."

"I-I don't-" Lily began to stammer in protest.

Camilla held out a single finger, indicating Lily to hush and listen. "So I'll quit beating around the bush and tell you. It indeed clears a headache for demis; I'll also add that it is very effective in that regard."

Lily found herself gulping while Camilla paused for dramatic effect.

"But in humans, this herb doesn't just help with a little migraine. No... in humans, this herb also recovers Mana," Camilla said with a knowing smirk.

Lily felt her jaw shut tight as she uncomfortably adjusted herself on her stool. When Camilla mentioned Mana, her eyes couldn't help but widen in shock and surprise.

"So, my dear. What is a cute little bunny like you looking for a herb with such an unorthodox and remarkably unrecognized usage?" Camilla asked while she raised an eyebrow.

Then, as if she had all the time in the world to wait, she politely folded her hands in her lap. It looked like Lily wouldn't get out of trying to dodge this question. Lily's mind began to race as she tried to figure out how to answer the question without revealing Arakil's existence.