"Kayla? Is everything all right?"

I nod halfheartedly. "Yep. I'm just a bit exhausted."

"Go home, I'll clean up the place."

No, I'll help you. That's what I'm supposed to say, but I'll just take up my boss's offer. "Thank you."

So here I am, walking home, staring at the number that girl gave me. Apparently, her name is Miko. At least, that is what she wrote in the contact info.

I am unsure if that whole guild stuff would lead to anything good, I definitely should delete her number, but something keeps me from doing so. However, join a mages' guild? Even without knowing precisely what they do, I know that this is not part of my future plans. There was a general idea in the public about what they do.

They are the ones who clean the dungeons before the creatures living in them can escape. Clearing means fighting and killing, in my case, probably dying. I don't know exactly what dungeons are, but you can enter them through portals that seem to pop up at random.

Many people believed that this was pure scaremongering. There hasn't been a single monster outbreak for over fifty years. The existence of these gates to these worlds has been clearly proven, but only the mages who are allowed to enter them learn what lies within.

Everything is too convenient. All this secrecy makes the taxpayers, who finance a large part of the mages' work, anything but happy.

As the daughter of a witch, I find it all rather exciting. But more as a spectator. Just because I can use magic doesn't mean I have to join a guild. The compulsory dungeon defense service for people like me was also abolished over ten years ago. Now, mostly one thing drove the mages into the dungeons.

Money.

I won't start turning my life upside down because of that. There's a reason why I never took the license exam. I don't want to have more to do with magic than I do now. Sure, I feel special because I have this ability, but why should I join a guild because of this?

There are active mages in my family, which must be enough. Not everyone has to use their talents for other people. I am no real witch. I am not even sure if I am allowed to call myself one. I never properly learned to use magic in the first place.

The idea of using my magic to heal random people without a license was born out of a lack of money and pure curiosity. And I blame my mother, who taught me the basics of healing when I was a small child.

At least my father insisted that I should enjoy a normal life, so I wasn't sent to a school for mages. And amid my friends, I could use my little magic without worrying. No one would have believed that I was a witch anyway.

Even now, it wasn't written on my forehead that I could use magic, but somehow, Miko found out about it. Of course, she found out, just like the guy from earlier had heard about me from someone else.

It's all totally fucked up. Why do I have to worry about all this? I've been so good at ignoring all these things my whole life.

But her guild is asking for my services. They want me for my healing. But why me? Aren't there any registered witches? Someone with experience?

Where am I actually? I'm not paying any attention to my surroundings. It's good that my subconscious knows where I live.

If I join a guild, I must stop helping drunk people in dark alleys. It does not sound that bad, but it is not that I dislike it, even though it's scary from time to time. I suppose I could always stop, but I wouldn't want to miss out on the money right now.

Am I really thinking about joining a guild?

The only nice thing tonight was Miko herself. She's unbelievably pretty, but I'm not so desperate that I'd join a killing squad just to befriend a hot girl. Okay, killing Squad might be a bit of an exaggeration. Although I wouldn't say I'm familiar with how guilds work, as far as I know, they're a pretty violent business.

How I am being recruited for this one seems a tad shady, but somehow it suits me. My illegal activities in an alley behind a pub don't exactly make me look unsuspicious.

Before I realize it, I stand in front of the apartment complex where I have lived for two years already. It is one of those unsightly gray blocks that make up a large part of most cities. Ugly, but serving its purpose.

Since the elevator has been broken for ages, I take the stairs that lead up to the outside of the building. Luckily, my apartment is on the second floor, which makes the climb bearable.

Within my four walls, my first destination is the kitchen. I'm not super hungry, but I want to shove one of those sweet, chocolate-filled croissants wrapped in far too much plastic into my mouth.

Nibbling on one of them while holding a second one, I walk into the bedroom, which is also my living room, and let myself collapse onto the bed.

I should take time to think about today again. But I can't wrap my head around what happened. In my defense, I just noticed that my heart is beating so loud and fast that it is hard to focus on anything else. According to Google, I definitely have a heart attack right now.

It would be lovely to talk about everything with anyone. 

I'm curious what Mom would have told me, probably that I should do it and take this chance. She loved magic almost as much as she loved me, so it seems apparent that she would have talked me into doing it.

I could ask my Dad, but I'm unsure how he would react to a call in the middle of the night from his only daughter, who contacts him only once or twice a year after leaving him. 

These thoughts are depressing. I'm pretty much alone in this, aren't I?

MIKO

She is completely lost. I've been secretly following Kayla for ten minutes, but I don't have to make much effort to avoid being spotted. Not once has she turned or looked around.

It was my guild leader's plan to recruit her, and it was my idea to do it this way. I thought it was more exciting to ambush and catch her using magic. But in the end, I almost feel bad for her. After all, she seemed pretty obedient. I never wanted anyone to join our guild in the first place, but I could probably work with someone like her.

I know that a healer is something very rare. Healing was scary for most magic users since you interfere with another human's body, somehow changing and speeding up biological processes.

The magic we use is mostly based on imagination; nobody knew exactly how it worked or what could go wrong, but the basis of healing magic was built more on the healer's feeling, which sounds absolutely nuts.

Our guild would profit massively to get someone like her in our rows. The whole strategy I worked out a week ago was a huge success if you ask me. I practically forced her to join us or at least talk to my leader, which was equivalent to joining. And with her choice of words, she played into my hands so much that I briefly got the feeling that she was trying to get blackmailed by me.

But honestly, this last week was the first time I wished to dive into a dungeon again. Killing monsters feels better and more relaxing than stalking someone. I consider truly apologizing to Kayla someday. If she manages to reach her home without getting hit by a car.

Oh, it looks like we've arrived at her apartment. It would be fun to see how far I could follow her before she discovers me, but I think she has enough to digest for one night.

I open the maps app and save in my current coordinates, just in case she doesn't contact me. Wait, I act pretty creepy, don't I? Cornering her in some dead end, following her home, saving her location… the next step would be to search through her trash.

I know why I was doing all of this, but the police wouldn't really care. And I know how much the cops hate us witches. They'd love to get one over on me. That's why I'm going home now. I'm not so eager for problems, but what an exciting day. I can't wait to see her silly face again.

◆

Ah, screw you, Kayla!

After only sleeping for around seven hours, blurry-eyed, I checked my phone's display only to see that Kayla hadn't contacted me yet. I have no patience for that. Nothing was on my agenda for today except dragging her here, and I wanted to get that done as quickly as possible. I got ready, had a relaxed breakfast, and checked occasionally to see if she had messaged me.

With quick steps, I run down the stairs, searching for my lovely guild leader. I need some reassurance before I force Kayla out of her apartment.

"Good morning, Miko. How was yesterday?"

"…Great, do you know where Lilith is?"

"In her office."

"Thanks."

Determined, I enter the den of the person who had given me this annoying task.

"Good morning, Miko. How was yesterday?"

"What are you? Twins?" I grumble.

"Hm?" Her confused face is just as silly as Kayla's.

"Forget it. Your healer isn't responding. I told her to message me, but she didn't. Now I want to drag her here."

"How did she react to the offer in general?"

Good question... How did she react? Relatively positively, I would say. But I can't really remember what she said. The only thing that comes to mind is those strange faces she made.

"She may or may not want to work with us."

"What makes you say that?"

"You told me yourself that she's not registered. She doesn't have a license at that age. There must be a reason why she prefers to work in a pub."

"You just have to make her realize how special she is. If that doesn't work, try to make her realize how special you are. I would have done it myself if I wasn't convinced you could get her to join us."

I wish she had done it herself. I know first-hand how good she is at buttering someone up.

"Go now, I'm sure you will find the right words."

Yes, for sure, it's nice how much she trusts me to do her job.

"I want to meet her today. So, try your best, and don't scare her away."

I sigh and set off. Kayla lives about twenty minutes' walk away. I could take the bus, but maybe it's better to take the time to create some sort of plan. I should be careful not to tell her what I really think. Otherwise, I might have to start looking for a new healer.

Not that I'm seriously angry or that I'm that disgusted by the thought of a complete newbie joining us. But if she decides to become a witch, it will be painful for her and me.

Arriving at her apartment block, I take the stairs up and stop in front of the door she entered yesterday. I ring the bell and wait a terribly long time, but what's even more terrible is the face of the girl who opens the door, only to close it again immediately.

She reacted fast, and I only caught a glimpse of her. Oh boy, she looked really bad, as if she hadn't slept a single second bad.

So, I start talking to the closed door, "I'm sorry for just showing up. I want to apologize for yesterday and start all over again. Could we speak face to face, please?"

Man, I have no idea what's going on in her head, and I don't really feel like asking, but when I saw that tired face, I felt sorry for her.

And we need her, so I must make the best of it. I can convince her how much fun it is to be a witch. I can be the one to open up a new world for her and shape her into someone who can make a difference.

It's not that I want to take care of her, but I feel like I must.

Absorbed in my thoughts, I almost miss the part where Kayla opens the door and looks at me judgmentally as if she knows exactly what I've just been thinking.

"Come in," she says in a pained voice, and so I do.