Like most of the anime and novels Anis had seen, this world also had an Adventurer’s Guild.
Dangerous, life-threatening work like hers was almost a daily occurrence here.
Unlike at the town gate, she did not face any trouble while selling her materials at the guild. Before long, she walked out of the guild doors carrying one small pouch filled with coins.
‘Next, I need to buy materials and head back as soon as I’m done.’
Anis scratched the cat’s head in her arms. She had more urgent matters to research: concocting a potion for Mi that would allow him to speak.
“Meow.”
Mi rubbed back against Anis, acting very affectionate.
2 hours later, Anis had finished purchasing all the necessary materials. She moved toward the gate while counting the remaining coins in her cloth bag.
“Speaking of which, it’s really lively here. The level of prosperity is on a completely different level compared to where we live.”
The shops on both sides were bustling, people flowed through the streets, and merchant caravans moved through the center of the road. Even the horses pulling the wagons looked spirited.
Although it was cold here, it was not to the point of affecting daily life. Rather, it felt like the warm, bustling atmosphere of the mortal world in winter.
‘Once I’m free in the future, I really want to take a proper look around here…’
Anis muttered to herself as she walked down the street, completely unaware of a voice lingering behind her.
“Hey, Miss Witch, please wait a moment.”
Anis, having heard nothing, continued forward. The voice behind her involuntarily rose in volume. “I said — can you hear me — ?”
“Hmm?”
Anis knit her brows slightly and looked back. It was actually another witch whose outfit and appearance were almost identical to her own!
After the other party noticed Anis’s gaze, she clearly became delighted. “Young lady, I see you have a remarkable constitution. You’re a natural talent for magic. Why don’t you come with me?”
“Meow — ?”
Mi was the first to react, letting out a loud meow. Anis followed suit, holding the cat as she spun on one foot to distance herself from the woman.
“Senior Witch, were you calling me?”
“Yes, exactly! I was calling you!”
The mysterious witch took a step forward. “Do you want to become stronger? Do you want powerful monsters to follow your every command?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Anis’s guard slowly rose. In her past life, if anyone had dared to approach her like this, she would have turned and walked away long ago. Not only that, she would have cursed them as a total creep under her breath.
“Don’t be so guarded. We’re two of a kind, after all. I have a secret magic manual here that can make you stronger. The price is reasonable. Are you interested?”
“You’ve been reading too many martial arts novels.”
Anis rolled her eyes at her, shielded her cat, and turned to leave.
When she had first started university in her past life, her counselor had given them vivid instructions. There were three things to guard against upon entering school: fire, theft, and seniors. Especially beautiful seniors, because they were definitely after your money!
The mysterious witch unfastened half of her robe, causing Anis to recoil.
What was she doing? In the middle of the street, in broad daylight, she was going to strip?
‘An Isekai street video series?’
“Heh heh, look!”
The witch revealed half of the inside of her loose robe. Hanging inside were actually various books!
Not only that, the titles and covers of some of the books were quite unbearable to look at. Just looking at them made Anis’s heart race and her face flush!
Great, even in another world, there were people selling smut on the streets!
“I’m not interested in those things!” Anis’s face turned beet red. “I’m leaving. Stay away from me!”
“Wait! Wait!”
Seeing that Anis was about to leave, the mysterious witch became flustered. She grabbed Anis’s wrist. “I have more than just those spicy little books. I really do have magic books that can make you stronger. Look!”
She pulled a magic book with a black cover from the gap of her ample cleavage. “This one is definitely perfect for you!”
However, Anis did not pay any attention to the book because the woman’s hand was gripping her wrist, only 1 inch away from the coin pouch she hadn’t put away yet!
“What are you doing! You’re going to rob me just because I won’t buy it?!”
“Wooo-meow — !!!”
The girl and the cat both bristled at once. Their scuffle gradually attracted the attention of passersby.
“What’s going on? A forced sale?”
“No, no matter how you look at it, it looks like a robbery in broad daylight!”
“Move aside, move aside! The guards are coming!”
The shout of “the guards are coming” instantly cleared the heads of the two entangled women.
Anis did not want to be caught by the guards. For this trip, she had only one principle: keep a low profile and finish things quickly.
“This is all your fault for refusing to let go. Let go!”
Anis pulled her wrist back crossly. At the same time, the voice of a guard rang out. “It’s you again, the one selling illegal forbidden books! Catch her!”
“Honestly, it would have been fine if you just accepted it earlier. Oh well, since fate brought us together, I’ll give this book to you as a gift.”
No matter how Anis tried to dodge, the mysterious witch stubbornly forced the black-covered magic book into her hands.
“Hee hee, welcome to the new world.”
After the mysterious witch finished speaking, she snapped her fingers. Following a burst of dissipating smoke, by the time Anis’s vision returned to normal, she found herself standing outside the city.
“…”
Anis held the magic book, looking back toward the city. What else could she say?
Was that person actually… kind of nice?
“Whatever, let’s just go back.”
Anis summoned her broom, sat on it, and flew toward the north.
After flying back to the mansion, she handed the purchased items to Sherry. She ate dinner and washed up.
Once everything was done, she extinguished the magic crystal chandelier in the room, leaving only a single dim oil lamp on the desk. Only then did she take out the book to study it carefully.
“Meow~”
Mi raised his two front paws and climbed up Anis’s leg, looking as if he were asking for a hug.
“You don’t need to stay with me, you know. Come on up.”
Anis placed the cat on her lap and gently scratched the top of his head. After letting out a yawn, the cat lay on her legs and fell into a dreamland.
On the other side, Anis’s fingers brushed over the pure black book cover. She quickly noticed something was wrong. There was something on the cover; judging by the tactile feedback from her touch, it was text.
She drew her wand. “REVEAL.”
A faint light flickered. After it receded, text written in golden lacquer appeared on the cover.
To be precise, it was not the common script of the modern world, but an ancient text from a much older era.
In order not to wake the cat, she used her wand to fly an ancient text dictionary over from the bookshelf. After a careful comparison, she confirmed the title.
“Dark Grimoire? Black Magic?”
Anis’s brow knit slightly. According to the original story, there existed a magic system in this world that was completely different from the current common magic in both theory and practice, known as Black Magic.
However, all books related to Black Magic had been destroyed by the people of that era over 500 years ago. Learning it was strictly forbidden, and there was no plot in the book about the protagonist learning Black Magic. So this…
“Meow-wu?”
Just then, a soft cry from the cat interrupted Anis’s deep thoughts. He stared fixedly toward the door without blinking. Anis instantly understood something and hurried to hide the book.
In the next second, there was a soft knock on the door.