Seeing the girl weeping in terror, Magna found himself completely at a loss for words.
He hadn’t even considered that the blurry figure would turn out to be a little girl.
He pulled the rusty blade back from her neck, only now realizing how hard he had been pressing it, to the point of drawing blood.
’’Um... Sorry, I was...’’ He tried to speak to her, feeling a sharp pang of shame for terrifying a child like this.
’Man, I should have chosen the archer class.’
He thought with shame, realizing his new cold-blooded instincts were the exact reason he was in this mess.
If he had been a bit more patient, he would have stayed silent and observed from the shadows until he figured out who she was, completely avoiding this embarrassing situation.
Anyway, he soon remembered that he was also trapped inside a child’s body right now, which helped a fraction of his dignity return.
’’Can you stop crying? Please? I won’t hurt you, okay? Look, I’ll even throw the weapon away.’’ He dropped the rusty blade and raised his empty hands, doing his best to make the girl feel safe.
He had no idea how to talk to kids, so this was the only thing he could come up with on the fly.
Fortunately, it seemed to work.
Hearing his words through her tearful hiccups, Faye opened her eyes and looked at the monster standing before her.
The face staring back at her didn’t look like a monster at all. In fact, it belonged to a child who seemed to be right around her age.
His voice had returned to normal as well, leaving no trace of the terrifying, layered echo that had just chilled her to the bone.
Yet to her, one single fact remained unchanged. The person in front of her was someone very strong.
Drawing on the strict etiquette her family had drilled into her about dealing with superior powers, she quickly wiped her tears with the sleeve of her robe.
She forced her terrified expression back into her usual cold, indifferent mask, then bowed her head and spoke with a strained voice.
’’Please accept my apology, sister. I didn’t know this cave belonged to you.’’
Magna blinked in surprise. He was caught off guard not just by her sudden shift in composure but especially by how she had just addressed him.
’’Sister?’’ he asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
Seeing his frown almost shattered Faye’s cold mask once more.
Panicking, she quickly corrected herself and bowed even lower. ’’I... I’m sorry. Miss Fire Witch.’’
This only deepened Magna’s confusion. ’Fire Witch? Who is the Fire Witch?’
He was completely lost until something suddenly clicked in his head. He took a quick glance at the scorched goblin corpses littering the floor.
’Wait, does she think I’m some kind of Witch who caused this massacre?’
He hadn’t seen his own reflection in a mirror yet, so he couldn’t be entirely sure what he looked like.
But surely, just looking at his body and hearing his voice, it ought to be obvious that he was a boy, right?
He was at a total loss for words in the face of such a massive misunderstanding. Still, since she seemed much more collected now, he figured there was no point in correcting her just yet.
’’Yeah, sister is fine...’’ he replied, an awkward expression plastered on his face.
Faye’s posture visibly relaxed as she raised her head with a soft sigh of relief.
She had heard plenty of stories from her mother about Fire Witches, how short-tempered and violent they could be. Knowing this one was surprisingly easygoing helped ease her trembling heart.
’She looks so young. She must be the prodigy of her family,’ Faye thought, taking a closer look at the figure before her.
She didn’t even question his outfit, which consisted of nothing more than a red cape wrapped around his waist, as she only focused on how small Magna actually was.
He was even slightly shorter than her, though his frame was strangely toned and sturdy, which made sense considering, in her eyes, he was a strong Witch.
’Do all Fire Witches look like this?’ Her innocence was quite touching.
Deep down, it stung her pride, but she had to accept that the world was vast and full of monsters far more talented than her.
Sensing her thorough, silent gaze, Magna felt another wave of awkwardness creep in. He cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.
’’So, mind telling me what you’re doing here?’’
Faye flinched, realizing how rude it was to stare. She instantly straightened up, met his eyes directly, and answered.
’’I came here to complete my first trial to earn my Witch Hat.’’
Noticing Magna raise a skeptical eyebrow, she quickly added, ’’My task was to hunt a goblin and bring back its corpse. But... things didn’t really go according to plan, hehe.’’
She let out a sheepish laugh before remembering that such unrefined behavior was completely unfitting for a Winterborne.
Snapping back into character, she stifled her smile and instantly locked her face into a cold, indifferent expression again.
’What is wrong with this girl?’ Magna thought, genuinely wondering if she was showing signs of severe schizophrenia or if all Witches in this world were just naturally this weird.
After thinking for a second, Magna said, ’’Then, if you have nothing left to do here, you should leave.’’
He wanted nothing to do with this girl, as she looked like the exact type who would easily drag him into trouble.
Besides, he still needed to retrieve the mother goblin’s body to give her a proper burial, something he couldn’t possibly manage with this girl hovering around.
However, the moment Faye heard his words, she froze.
Panic instantly washed over her face, and her voice pitched up in alarm.
’’No, no, no, I can’t! If I fail my trial...’’ She trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.
Magna had no idea what would actually happen if she failed, but judging by her extreme reaction, it was clearly something unpleasant.
’’Why don’t you just take one of these corpses?’’ he suggested, nodding toward one of the scorched bodies on the ground.
Faye instantly refused with a slight frown. ’’That won’t count. It has to be me who kills it.’’
Magna’s brow furrowed again as he offered another way out. ’’Well, I’m not entirely sure, but you can try searching the deeper parts of the cave. If you’re lucky, you might find one that’s still alive back there.’’
Faye’s eyes lit up at the idea. ’’Are you sure? You really don’t mind?’’
Magna shook his head. ’’I’m about to leave the cave anyway. It’s all yours. Goodbye.’’
He turned around and began walking toward the exit.
His plan was simple. Once she wandered off deeper into the cave, he would come back, pick up the mother goblin’s corpse from where he had left it, and slip away completely unnoticed.
Unfortunately, her very next words shattered that plan before it could even begin.
’’Okay. Uh, can you tell my mother that my trial will take a little longer when you see her outside?’’