I made sure the young girl was comfortable first before I went toward the small pantry and brought out tea and biscuits.
The label told me that nothing back here was expired, so I felt confident serving these delicacies.
I had even gotten lucky with the tea because it was one of the special blends that had no caffeine and was safe for kids to drink.
The young child took the drink I offered her before she put the cup down.
I waited for her to start speaking because it was important for me to make the other person feel like speaking first. And the girl wasted no time when she started to tell me what I needed to know.
"As you might have guessed, I am a witch. But I am not your normal witch. I used to be normal, but for the past few years, I have hit a slump and can no longer practice my magic properly. See—! Not even a spark would come out when I try to use magic… ah, don't try anything funny with me. I can still kill you within seconds."
The girl warned and I pretended to take her warning seriously.
"I see. So, you feel like you have hit a wall, huh! Everyone goes through these hard times, so you should not beat yourself up for it. Rather, you should think about what you should do from here on."
I counselled the female.
From the look on her face, I could tell that she was not too happy after hearing my words, and her eyes told me it all.
'Ah, so she thinks I am a fake trying to scam her, huh? It's nice to see that people don't change no matter where you go. They always like to judge people at face value.'
The little girl must have seen a lot in her life for her first instinct to be to distrust me like this.
But I was not discouraged. I refused to show the girl that I was giving up on her.
"Your speak big words, shopkeeper. So, what do you suppose I should do?"
The girl asked and I decided to take a minute to think over my words.
After all, what I tell this young girl here was crucial. It would dictate how this young girl saw me in the future.
"First, you should think about the reason why you lost your powers in the first place. Did you realize something… or did something happen? The problem you are facing might not be a physical one, but rather, an internal one."
I tried to use small words to make the girl understand what I wanted to, and I saw the girl's eyes widen slowly as she likely remembered something.
"Now that you say it, I did remember an incident that took place at the same time… that bitch… ugh… sorry storekeeper, but I need to head out. I will pay double for the book… don't deny me. You have helped me out more than I could ever thank you."
The girl told me and I nodded back at her with an awkward expression on my face.
But I never lost my smile.
"I see. In that case, I should let you go now. You should come and visit me when you need me again. My doors will remain open to you."
I told the girl as she paid for the book she bought plus some extra before she left in a hurry. It felt a little scummy to take money from such a young girl, but I needed to eat and survive as well.
So I pocketed the money and opened the register… only to see a lot of money inside.
"Huh—! Looks like I am not going to have any problem buying food for a little while. I should save some of this money and renovate my psychiatrist office in the adjacent room."
With this, I started to make preparations for a new life in this world.
"First, I should check my inventory and see what I need to throw away. Then, I should go and buy some food and also get some news about where I am currently."
Knowledge was power. No one believed in this statement more than I did as a science student.
So once it was getting late, I decided to walk out and lock the store. I put up the sign which told everyone that the shop was closed for the day and I went to get some food.
The bread and vegetables were cheap to get, but the stove and the material to cook cost some money.
Bringing it back to the store was an even bigger hassle, especially since hiring someone to bring it back seemed like a waste of money.
I carefully brought everything back and my arms shook as I somehow carried everything.
But right before I reached the door, my foot tripped on something and caused all the material in my arms to go flying.
'Fuck—! What the hell—!'
I almost yelled out loud before I looked at what tripped me. I had to hold back my scream as I saw a leg connected to a foot and a lot of red.
Someone was bleeding right in front of my store and it was a miracle that no one had noticed this yet.
"Shit—! I should get him inside. But what if he's a criminal… but my oath as a doctor… fuck—! I will deal with this later. For now, I should patch him up."
______
"That bitch… how dare she cross me… she will pay for trying to trick the Black Witch of Blood."
The young girl dressed in black and white cursed as she left the bookstore. As soon as she stepped outside, her small form faded and she became an adult once more.
She was Emma Jones, one of the most notorious and evil witches of the current time and the person she was cursing was Reeze Spencer, the witch of white magic.
As magicians of opposite faiths, they had opposing views on how magic should be used and it often caused a clash.
During the last clash, the white witch had cast some kind of magic on her, but Emma had not noticed at that time.
That magic must have had a delayed reaction that caused her magic to get sealed up and due to the mis-timed appearance of the spell, she had not noticed.
Thankfully, she had found out in time what happened and how to resolve her situation.
"I was worried about my delivery when the old shopkeeper retired, but it seems like the new one is not an ordinary person either. He looked quite human but there was something about him that felt inhuman… even my senses told me to be careful."
The witch muttered as she walked away from the shop.
She felt grateful for the help she had gotten and despite having paid the price for help, she did not feel satisfied.
"I will make sure to repay what is due. A black witch always repays her favor."
The female promised before she walked away. After all, she needed to find a way to undo the magic that had been cast on her.
And once that was done, she would think about how to repay the favor.