But pain or no pain, it wasn't enough to stop Ais from earning money. It took considerable persuasion — but the Instigator's gift for words and her reputation for keeping promises together convinced the Femi family to let her stand watch on the last night of the week. She earned the final 10 pounds.
April 6th, Monday. Approaching noon.
Ais managed a smile and said her farewells to the Femi family:
"Mrs. Mia, thank you for looking after me these past few days. I'm at Number 7, Burlingford Street, Joyewood District. If whatever it was comes back to trouble you again, I'm very happy to help."
Mia Dalton looked at her with genuine concern:
"Are you sure you won't wait until you're feeling better before you go, Ais? You really look like you're pushing yourself."
Ais declined gently:
"Please don't worry, Mrs. Dalton. I'm only taking a carriage to a friend's place in the West District — it's nothing I can't manage. I already arranged it with her, and it's not as if this is some insurmountable difficulty. I really don't want to cancel on her."
Seeing the mistress simply nod without further protest, Ais looked over at Leel, whose expression made his reluctance evident.
"You don't have to look that sorry to see me go. I'm not leaving Beklund. And I've barely started on my Ancient Hermes — once I'm better, I'll definitely be back."
As she said it, she couldn't help patting Leel on the head.
Leel didn't seem bothered by the gesture — only asked:
"What about after you've finished learning? Will you stop coming to see me?"
That actually made Ais smile, even in her current state:
"Of course not. We're friends — whenever I have time, I won't mind coming by. And you have my address now. If you write, do you think I won't write back?"
Leel had no particular reaction to this. It was Mrs. Dalton beside him who found herself struggling to look at the scene with neutral eyes — it looked far too much like an older sister reassuring an unhappy younger brother. She suddenly felt her son's marital prospects might not be so easily resolved after all.
Seeing Leel stay quiet, Ais lowered her voice toward him:
"By the way — you wanted to know my Sequence, didn't you? The answer is 7. And six months ago, I was still Sequence 9."
Watching Leel's head come up in surprise, Ais added with a smile:
"What I can tell you is that it wasn't a coincidence, and it wasn't exceptional talent. Unfortunately, I made a promise to someone, so I can't tell you the details. Only one thing: become a true Seer.
Do that — and don't listen to any evil god's temptations. Then you don't need to worry about your potion bringing trouble to your family."
Leel listened to her words, astonishment mingled with a thought drifting up: the warning the uncle who had provided the formula had offered him when he'd come of age — act freely, but do no harm.
Watching Leel's expression grow thoughtful, Ais turned her gaze back to Mrs. Dalton and gave a small bow:
"I'll take my leave now, Mrs. Dalton."
Then she picked up her clothes in one hand and walked to the Femi family's carriage without looking back, and directed the coachman toward the street where Zoe Freya lived.
A pity — I swore an oath in front of a deity, so I can only say this much. Whether he understands is up to him. Ais leaned back in the carriage seat and turned the thought over slowly:
That way I'm not taking too much from him, hopefully.
Ais wasn't someone who liked owing people things. Even as a Witch now, she had no intention of changing that principle.
About ten minutes later, stepping out of the carriage, Ais suddenly remembered she'd forgotten to ask Mrs. Dalton to recommend her to others.
My experience as a detective is still lacking. Should I have business cards made? She thought about it as she walked slowly toward Zoe's shop.
Zoe was sweeping out front, having just seen off her last client. She liked to tidy up before making dinner — which left her free to rest until the afternoon's first appointment.
"Ugh, it hurts."
Zoe, focused on her sweeping, suddenly heard a familiar voice and looked up with an immediate smile — which immediately changed to alarm at Ais's limping gait:
"Ais, what happened? Did you hurt your foot?"
Ais stepped forward and threw her arms around Zoe, hanging off her as she started complaining:
"Zoe, my period not only came early, it's really painful. And nothing works to make it better. I can barely walk, and I really just want to cry."
Ais's voice was naturally pleasant; paired with a genuinely aggrieved tone, it made her sound unbearably fragile and heartbreaking.
Zoe's heart immediately softened at the hint of tears in her friend's voice. She instinctively did what her mother had always done — patted Ais gently on the back:
"It's all right. It's all right. Go ahead and cry if you need to — there's only the two of us here."
"Zoe, I suddenly feel so much regret about my choices."
After just two sentences, Ais could feel tears welling in her eyes.
Zoe, who knew exactly what period pain felt like, said nothing more and kept comforting steadily:
"Never mind that for now. Here, lean on me — let's get you upstairs to the bedroom first and lie down."
"All right. Sorry, Zoe. I promised to take you out to celebrate today."
"That doesn't matter. We can celebrate in a couple of days."
Zoe guided Ais gently upstairs and into the bedroom. The two sat on the edge of the bed and held each other for a while.
With Zoe's comfort and company, the worst of Ais's sense of grievance gradually eased. She didn't end up letting the tears fall after all. She sniffled once, pulled back from Zoe's arms, and sat up straight:
"Sorry, Zoe. When I saw you, something just… slipped. Lost control for a moment."
Zoe teased lightly:
"No need. Getting to see a miserable, pitiful, genuinely helpless Ais — I think I got quite a good deal out of this."
"You're laughing at me! Go on, get back to your work. Don't worry about me — other than some pain, I'm fine. Everything else is normal."
Feeling her face growing warm, Ais immediately pushed Zoe toward the door. And then called after her:
"Don't do anything special for lunch. I've tried quite a few foods for pain relief at the Femis' — none of them worked. Just leave me a small portion. I can't eat much right now."
What was I doing just now? Left alone in the room, Ais — finding herself increasingly cringe as she replayed it — buried her face in the duvet and wasn't going to come up for a long while.
That evening, after washing up, Zoe came in wearing a plaid nightgown and looked at Ais, who had retreated early to bed with the duvet pulled over her face. She couldn't hold back a smile.
Once she was in bed, Zoe leaned close:
"Still hurting?"
Ais turned toward her and held on:
"Still hurting."
"Let me rub your stomach." Zoe said, reaching over.
"Mm." A nasal murmur.
After a while, Zoe asked:
"Ais — once you're better and properly back at work, will you stop staying here?"
Ais answered softly:
"Obviously. I can't exactly meet clients here. And even if I don't take dangerous cases, that doesn't mean there's no risk at all. I've seen enough of unreasonable people — I've even heard of someone killing their own wife over a careless remark."
"What? That was definitely a Storm Church follower. But that means we'll see each other less." Zoe was first startled, then wistful.
"Nothing to be done about that. But I promise — at minimum, whenever your period comes, I'll be here to look after you. Until you find someone you actually like. Speaking of which, Zoe — if you ever meet a man you're not sure about, find me. I'll investigate whether he's trustworthy, free of charge."
"Then I'll say thank you in advance, great detective."