“So, do you need anything from me?” The witch asked once more. She grabbed her cup with a casual demeanor and took a sip as she crossed her legs, sitting across from me.

“Um, my strength is that I can remember all the dialogue from Luminous Dream: Magical Girl Cherry Blossom episodes 1 through 75. My weakness is that I start quoting them when I’m nervous… which is now. ‘Believe in the power of love!” I shouted with conviction.

“...” The witch sat in silence, which was occasionally interrupted by the sound of chirping birds and hopping frogs. She took a deep breath, and let it all out gently while closing her eyes awkwardly.

I avoided her gaze and fiddled my fingers. I grabbed the cup of tea I was offered and slowly picked it up. The aroma of bitterness assaulted my nose with a calming presence, as if it's an invitation of relaxation and soothness.

I sipped a little of the tea to get a taste. It was bitter, perhaps too bitter for what I anticipated, however, I couldn’t deny the sense of tranquil and lull atmosphere that followed and alleviated any sense of anxiety and worry I just had.

“Sorry for my little outburst earlier, I thought this was a job interview.” I tried my hardest to relax my cheek, but all I could do was an awkward smile.

“Hired. You can even stay in this place.” The witch immediately replied with a smirk and lovely smile. Although the witch had a lovely attitude, I felt as if her witch hat had a judging expression but I quickly shook it off.

Hearing this, I was taken aback by her sudden reply that felt playful rather than the serious tone I thought I’d hear when a manager would hire their employee. Since I had only been in this world for a day, I didn’t know if I could even live properly, so hearing her words really calmed me down with a hint of excitement.

“Um, thank you! I thought I had to beg Roy and his grandpa to stay at their home for tonight.” I said as I stood and bowed to the witch in front of me. I would’ve never guessed that a savior would offer me a place to live and a job.

A spurt of tea was spat from the witch’s mouth as soon as I muttered my thanks. She grabbed a cloth from her pouch and started rubbing it onto my face as I just took it awkwardly without any resistance or sound. After all, the touch of the witch cloth was far more comforting than the wet texture of tea on my face right now.

Not to mention, she also wiped my fox ears. However, the time she took to wipe away the tea on my ears was uncomfortably long. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel… relaxed as her bare hands touched my fox ears. It felt so pleasant that I couldn’t help but let out a weird noise.

“Ah… Wait, what are you doing?!” I yelled as I finally noticed that she was simply rubbing her hands on my ears.

The witch coughed as she was done and grabbed her staff as she muttered something. She pointed her magical staff into the cloth she just used to wipe my face off. A tiny burst of light engulfed the cloth as its dirty texture from the tea disappeared into non-existence and there was no trace of wetness on the cloth itself. The witch casually put the cloth back inside her pouch.

“Anyway, you were serious?” The witch asked with a deadpan expression. There was no hint of jest in her voice, just a straightforward question. I tried to read her expression more, but all I could see was a confused face.

“What?” I asked as I tilted my head quizzically.

“What?” The witch followed.

The witch red eyes stared at me for an uncomfortably long duration. I looked at her eyes in response. We were staring at each other in silence for quite a long time before it was broken by an exaggerated cough from the witch.

“Forgive me, I thought you were kidding the entire time. I mean, why would a rich noble fox lady like you need to be here?” The witch asked. As soon as the words leapt out of her mouth, there was a wave of whiteness and distressed air materialized from her red eyes. She immediately followed up with another question, “Did the Demons attack Vulprithal, The Golden City Of Fox?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

A tint of wrath could be heard from her voice as she gripped her staff strong. It was as if whatever I said next would determine whether or not she would come flying out and leash her inner rage based on my answer.

“Uh, no. I'm just travelling because of… personal reasons,” I said as I avoided her gaze. I took a peek at her with fear. Just like that, her intensifying aura immediately switched as she smiled.

“Ah, I see… Hm, I get it now. Well, younglings like you seem to have an obsession with love, huh. Well, I guess I can help you out. I'm also a fan of forbidden love, you see…” The witch smiled as she sipped her tea.

I immediately forced through to clear any misunderstanding, “It's not like that! Did you think I'm a runaway princess or something being kicked out from home after my family found out about me having an affair with my fiance or something?!”

“No, it's more like I thought you were taken away by a human that your parents didn't approve of. After running away from home with him, you two travel together. However, he suddenly died amidst your travel and so you become stranded among humans and become lost as you try to find your way home, hoping that your family would still accept you.” The witch explained with an excited and reddened cheek.

“That's too morbid!” I yelled.

I gasped for air as I tried to calm my breathing. It was clear to me that I shouldn't have taken her antics seriously. With another sip, I tried to lead the conversation once again, but she took the initiative first.

“Okay, fine. I won't probe any further. I do find it weird how a fox princess like you would be among the isolated human village here, but you must have your own circumstances. So, let’s leave it at that.” The witch said. Somehow, I could sense a hint of sadness from her voice as she uttered the word human. Perhaps it was because she looked down for a moment after she said that.

“Thank you. Sorry for being a nuisance, I’ll figure it out myself,” I said as I finished the last of my cup. I stood up from my seat. However, just before I could thank her for her time and the tea before leaving, she stopped me.

“I won’t go back on my words. I can take you as my apprentice, that way you can live here and help me while getting money,” The witch said as she stood and reached out her hand to me.

Once again, I was shocked at her sudden kindness. There was a part of me that was unsure whether I could take her offer. However, being stuck in another world, with no money, no one to guide me except for a dream that I couldn’t quite properly interpret, I had no other choice but to accept her kindness. Especially as her red eyes were staring me with a sincere offer, I couldn’t betray those eyes.

I shook her hand, “Deal. Thank you, Miss witch.”

“Catherine, you can just call me Catherine. For your first task, please harvest some cabbages for lunch.”

----------------------------------------

“Ugh.. I hate cabbages!” I muttered a moan in distress as the blinding light of the sun pierced me without mercy. Nevertheless, I kept moving my body as the intense heat struck me as I pressed the cabbage in front of me, identifying its firmness.

“Remember what I taught you! A ripe cabbage is firm, compact, and solid, with tightly packed leaves!” Catherine said as she stood nearby me while holding a parasol, smiling as she watched me cutting the stem off just below the head of the cabbage.

I threw the cabbage into a box filled with cabbages. The amount of cabbages I’ve harvested in the past two hours was more than the amount of cabbages I’ve eaten from the rest of my life.

“That’s enough,” Catherine said, as she waved her wand and levitated the box as it flew towards the shed near the farm.

“Aah… This heat… I’m gonna die…” I muttered as I walked towards and sat down on a chair near the farm with the roof on top, a resting place. The shades created by the roof gave me a pleasant feeling as the wind blew past me. For the past two hours, I’ve done nothing but harvest cabbages.

I looked over my arms as sweat covered it. The dress I wore to harvest the cabbage wasn’t exactly the best outfit to use, but I had no other clothes. I wanted to ask Catherine to borrow some clothes, but she only smiled at me, without giving a response.

Catherine walked towards me as she put her parasol away. She was holding a glass of water and offered it to me. I accepted it with a tired smile and immediately gulped down water. I finished it as quickly as possible. I put the empty glass away on a nearby table and moaned in exhaustion.

“Good work, my apprentice. You reek of sweat.” Catherine said as she smiled. She waved her magic staff in front of me as she muttered something. A calming breeze and mist appeared as it washed my body and dress without leaving any wet feeling. Once more, I sniffed my dress as it gave a refreshing feeling. The sweat that covered my dress and face disappeared, replaced by a somewhat fragrant smell, like a citrus.

“Is this what an apprentice does? I thought I would learn magic like that and chant spells or something.” I sighed as I looked at the field filled with plenty of plants and trees filled with plethora of fruits at the side of Catherine’s house.

“Of course, we’re just getting to it.” Catherine grabbed a crystal ball from her pouch as she put it on the table beside me. “Are you ready?”