Chapter Ten: Master Hagas
Estelle
It is bad to follow strangers.
Even when I was still young, I already knew that. But the person in front of me now is not really someone I can call a total stranger since we already encountered each other back then in the merchant.
He’s the elf merchant who sold me the necklace that I am wearing right now.
“He’s nowhere in the forest anymore,” the elf merchant told me and slightly turned his face to see my reaction. I am still standing and not even moving an inch.
“If you’re still waiting for that young man, he’s not going to come and get you.”
“How would you know?”
If this elf is saying the truth… That Azval! I’m going to crush him.
Oh wait, I’m the one who left him behind.
Ugh, but still! How dare he not go after me?
“I cannot sense his mana anymore. Another man went to this area a while ago and met him. Both of them left this forest at the same time. Maybe he’s someone that the young man knows,” he explained and now his body is facing me already. Since I am almost an inch taller than him, he’s almost looking up to me.
“More importantly, we have an urgent matter to discuss.”
He continued his walk and I had no choice but to follow him. It’s better since I can feel that he means no harm to me. Also, he said that I was in danger together with Amalia.
“Amalia?” I mumbled to myself.
“She used to be my apprentice. She’s the reason why you’re here,” he replied to me as if I directly asked him who she was. But it is also a good thing that he told me. It confirms my suspicion.
She was the tall girl who could be a model who gave me the pills!
“Used to?” I repeated.
“It’s a story that is considered as history now. I will only tell you the details that you’ll need to get back to your world.”
I stopped walking.
Get back to my world?
I smiled bitterly and bowed my head.
“Who said I want to get back to that world?”
With that, I heard that the elf also stopped walking and later on, I saw his feet near mine and a slap echoed to the whole forest. I felt a stinging sensation on my left face and with my teary eyes, I raised my head and looked at him with confusion
His eyes are full of rage and he’s breathing heavily. I cannot utter a word, nor can he. I just stared at him for a while due to shock and he avoided my gaze and sighed with disbelief.
“M-My apologies,” he said and reached his palm on the side of my face that he slapped.
I flinched in the thought that he would slap me again but later on, I felt a warm sensation and I saw a little light that came out from between his palm and my cheek.
The pain from when he slapped me was gone. It’s as if he didn’t slap me in the first place.
“It wasn’t my intention to slap you. I… I just didn’t expect to hear those words again,” he explained then turned his back again on me and started walking.
I still decided to follow him. Maybe because I can’t bring myself to blame him for his action earlier. That slap kind of knocks some sense to me.
If my parents heard what I said, the pain I felt earlier would just be the bite of a mosquito compared to the looks that they would give me and the words that they’d say to me.
They might not hurt me physically like what this person in front of me did but nothing can compare to the emotional pain that they always provide.
“I think I just needed that slap,” I said while already following him, “you see, never once did my parents hurt me physically but I think that it’s best if they’d just slap me like you did. The physical pain would just go away in a matter of time but the emotional one, it stays here with me forever.”
“Both are not okay. My apologies, once again.”
I didn’t say anything back and just silently walked. But that didn’t last long when he filled the silence between us with an explanation.
“Amalia said something like what you said earlier,” he started. “When her lover died, he took her heart with him to the eternal pit. ‘Who said I want to stay in this wretched world?’ those are the exact words she said as everything around us is burning into ashes. I cannot stop her and my other apprentice barely did. She believed that this world wronged her and especially her lover. So when she found a way to go to another world where a complete copy of her lover exists…”
“That world you’re talking about is my world?” I asked when I saw an opportunity to.
“That is right. To do that without disturbing the balance of this world and yours, she sent you here in exchange for her existence.”
I didn’t realize it soon but we are now in front of a small cabin in the middle of this forest. You can see that it is already old but when the both of us entered, it was sturdy on the inside.
The elf merchant told me to sit on a wooden chair and I did. He prepared me tea and both of us continued our talk between this rounded table. This is my first time to drink tea.
It’s so warm and sweet.
“I wasn’t able to introduce myself. You can call me Hagas,” he said as he sat down and took a sip of the tea he prepared.
“Is that what Amalia called you?”
He gave me a small chuckle.
“I’m… I’m Estelle.”
“No. Most of the time, she calls me Master. She’s my apprentice after all.”
A gentle smile appeared on his eyes as if he was reminiscing the past.
Just what happened between them?
“I assume you take all the pills she gave you,” he started again and I nodded in response.
“How many days?”
“20… ah, around 19 days now,” I said and looked out the window watching the sunlight hit the trees visible.
“I don’t know what happened to you back in your world but staying here won’t solve anything nor you can consider this as a solution.”
“I know,” I put down my teacup and gave him a warm smile, “but isn’t a 20 consecutive days escape from reality not bad?”
“Amalia’s recipe was not perfect and the swap between the two of you should only happen for hours. Night time, I assume, when I detected your presence the first time you came here. But since she was swept by the happiness of meeting her lover once again, one of the variables she didn’t consider was how the other party would play their part, and that other party was you.” He gave me a serious look before he continued.
“For sure, she already knows what’s happening right now and is thinking about how to solve this but she cannot do it alone as the things she needs are in this place. That’s why I reached out to you.”
“Won’t I just go back after 20 days?” I asked in confusion. After all, that was my conclusion when I took all the pills.
“The perception of time between the two worlds was already disturbed when the both of you exchanged places,” he said in a serious tone. He tapped his pointer finger on the wooden table as he continued his talk.
“I just learned this earlier with my craft that one day in your world, nine days have already passed here.”
“That much?!” I shouted without much thought and stood up.
The round table between us and our tea shook and left some stains on the tabletop. When I realized what I had done, I took a deep breath and sat back.
“I’m sorry... What will happen if I can’t go back?”
“Both you and Amalia will die. In what way? I still have no idea,” he said in a sad tone and he’s the one who lowered his head this time, “you asked if the both of you can’t just switch back after 20 days? The thing is you both need a trigger and that is something that I am still figuring out. I will reach out to you as soon as I already found a way. Knowing Amalia, she might already be doing what she can—”
“W-Why did you stop?” I asked when he was about to drink his tea but stop midway.
“I might be wrong,” he said as he put down his tea.
“She might not be doing anything right now and just waiting for her death. That is another possibility. She knows that the person she came to in your world is just a replica of her lover and not really the person that she loves. Amalia is someone who cannot die easily and this is an opportunity for her.”
“So I might die?”
“Do you want to?”
He stood up and went to his shelves full of books.
Do I want to?
I just needed some escape but thinking that I would be gone forever in just a matter of time, is that what I really want?
The people I met in Café Estella, those also who I met in university, and most especially, Sophie…
If I die here, I won’t be able to see them again. Nana’s tomb, who will take care of it?
Will my parents even bother to take care of it?
Ah, my parents… what will happen to them?
I bit my lips and I envisioned myself banging my head on one of the pillars of this cabin. This all just started to me wanting a good night's sleep, now I might really sleep in peace… forever.
Goodness, Estelle.
“You look like you still have someone precious left. Here, there’s the list of the things that might help you adjust to this world since you will be staying here for almost, 6 months. Hopefully, not that long.”
Master Hagas handed me a book as thick as the TC7 Leithold book Sophie was always carrying. She’s taking a BS in Statistics. That book gave me shivers same as the one in front of me right now.
“Do I need to study all of this?” I said as I am now scanning the book.
“It’s much better if you experience them, too. Do you know how the magicians in this world become great? Through experience. They just don’t sit around for hours in front of a book, they apply them,” he said meaningfully and took a seat again in front of me, “this is how this world works after all.”
“T-Thank you for this and your insights about this world.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I just want my child to be back home safe,” he said pertaining to Amalia. I smiled at him and got back to scanning the book. “You can go now. Since you’re already in this world, might as well enjoy your stay here.”
“Wait, don’t I have anything to do?”
He would just talk about the difference between our worlds and that he would make sure to bring Amalia and me back to our respective worlds but he didn’t tell me anything that I should do.
“I also want to help.”
“The potion is something only I can do since the ingredients can only be available in Erend.’
Ah, the land that is protected and only selected people can enter.
“You can enter due to you being an outsider of this world and your mana component is different from ours but since Erend is where the magic lies, a lot of divine creatures will be attracted to you. Some are good yet there are also dangerous ones. It is better if you stay here.”
“Divine creatures?”
He stood up and walked to the door so I also did. I think our conversation is also bound to end anyway.
“Hmm, the best example is dragons.”
I almost let out a loud gasp. Dragons?! Do they exist here?
“The most common here are dragons since they cannot be forced to be taken to Erend. You might also hear the people talking about it since it sometimes is the subject of war between the kingdoms. As much as possible, don’t interact with the divine creatures. You can see the others in the book that I gave you.”
“T-Thank you so much, again. I’ll do my best… in my own way?” I am not sure.
Do my best where? Avoiding the divine creatures and waiting for my death?
Yeah, Estelle. If you just didn’t gulp down that jar of pills, death might not be knocking at your door six months from now.
Master Hagas gave me a chuckle and opened the wooden door. The forest was nowhere to be seen. It’s pitch black.
“Don’t worry as soon as you step out, you’ll be in front of the Inn you’re staying.”
Magic is really awesome!
I might consider studying magic here. It’s very tempting.
Once again, I thanked Master Hagas. He just gave me a reassuring smile and told me that he would visit me as soon as he made progress.
As I stepped into the void, his last words sent shivers down my spine.
“Stay alive until we meet again, Estelle.”
I felt a sudden dizziness which made me close my eyes and when I heard some chattering in my surroundings, I already found myself in front of The Elderberry Inn.
Stay alive? I definitely will.
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