Mary’s Diary Entry No. 24

Well, that was an eventful past several days. I must be honest, I was shocked enough at the events that occurred that it took me a while even to get back to my normal, cheery self that everyone knows and loves. Honestly, I still feel a sense of trepidation towards the whole thing. Well, the actual event that occurred wasn’t too stressful in itself, but the information I got from it shows that bitch is still out there.

The first day of my apprentice’s life here started relatively simple enough. She just got to this world, but it felt like she was already starting to acclimate fairly well. With the somewhat bizarre clothing she had worn when she had arrived here, I was concerned she wouldn’t even be able to dress herself but she managed that well enough. She did mention having an interest in clothing, though it was during the course of decimating my beer keg so I had taken it with a grain of salt at the time.

She also was in a good enough mood that I figured she had noticed the hangover cure I had left for her. At the time I was worried taking that would be a daily occurrence for her, but since the first two day’s she’s managed to get her beer consumption to tolerable levels. It was probably just stress from ending up here from the mundane world that made her go so hard at the beer the first couple days here. Well, that an that vixen of a niece pushing her to it. That girl really can’t be trusted around my precious apprentice. But, anyways…

She really seemed thrilled at the food here, although she was less happy about the tea for some reason. Dunno why, I use perfectly fine leaves. I don’t want to brag, but I make a pretty tidy income with my potions and consultations. But she’s always looking at the teapot every morning as if it’s lacking something. I’m almost starting to get worried about it, but she hasn’t said anything directly about this so I’ll just wait for her to talk about it when she feels ready.

Concerns about tea aside, she seemed absolutely thrilled when I gave her that sword I had picked up. Most people here tend to prefer longer rapiers or double-edged swords, but this sword came from her world, and she seemed familiar with it. Rather, she was downright ecstatic over it. It was downright adorable. At the same time, it was funny compared to her expression earlier when I handed her the magical compound I had been developing. Oddly enough, despite claiming to have no practical experience with magic she seemed intimately familiar with the effects of this compound. It really is strange. But going from scared to looking like a child handed a new doll was absolutely charming. Even if it was a sword. She seems a bit tomboyish, when all is said and done.

Her tendency to space out is concerning but endearing in its own way. I don’t think she was aware of it, but she was actually whistling and skipping a bit on our walk to town. Again, I really lucked out with this new apprentice. A bit of creativity and out of the box thinking goes a long way with using magic, and someone at this level is sure to be able to think of things that defy all conventional logic.

It almost makes up for the reception we received at the gate. Really, these people say the most outrageous things about me. That stupid thing Brother called me during an argument just happened to make it out to the common people, and now they’ve all taken to calling me that. “Madness Witch” is downright slanderous. Everything I do is completely rational, even if the average person can’t exactly tell how. And Heinrich, the guard, having the nerve to call me that to my face. If he’s ruined my apprentices view of me there’ll be hell to pay for him.

Of course, dealing with the bureaucratic nonsense took up most of the day. Honestly I hate bureaucracy, but it’s practically unavoidable when going near any sort of city or town. Which is why I’m perfectly content living in the woods. It’s so much less noisy here, and you can just feel the energy in the air from all the plants and animals living in the surrounding. I really can’t imagine how Brother and his family put up with it. Though on second thought Elizabeth really doesn’t seem to be putting up with it well.

Rose did fairly well with being introduced to the local town, but she made a few slips here and there. The worst was at Jeanne's place. It was my fault for not warning her, in hindsight, but she really wasn’t thinking through what she said. Maybe guilds just aren’t as big of a thing as they are here. I know they don’t really appear much in books from the mundane world set in what they call a modern setting, but they’re all over the more historically-influenced books, so they must have some awareness of how overbearing they can be.

And the world of clothing is one that can be surprisingly cutthroat. The Tailor’s guild is massively protective of their secrets, and does everything they can to grow their power. Rose really needs to be more careful in the future. That knowledge should come with time, although the events later in the day might have distracted from thoughts of the Tailor’s guild for a bit.

On the walk back we received a warning from the Old Man, of all people. Normally he doesn’t interact much with other people, although I do seem to have encounters with him more than most people do. I also spend more time in the woods than most people, so that probably is the main reason.

Upon this warning, it only made sense to be prepared for the worse. I got out my usual ancestral weapon, the one you described Grandpa using along with his Moisen or whatever you called it. Still haven’t figured out how to recreate one of those, although a few of the books I managed to pick up from the mundane world mention them. Of course, that’s when I heard a scream I recognized. It seemed Elizabeth was sneaking out without an escort again. So I had to leave my apprentice for a bit. Luckily Rose seems competent enough that I can trust her to take care of herself. Brother would be beside himself with grief if something happened to Liz, and I’m a bit fond of the girl myself. Despite how she acted later that day, I mean.

Actually mopping up the bandits in the area wasn’t too difficult. The Molotov seemed to put them a bit off guard, and a few explosive spells were enough to quiet down the rest. I didn’t sense anything else from my surroundings, but I figured it’d be best to get Liz to the safety of my cottage. I had given my apprentice a compass that could guide her back, she was on the path anyways which makes even the compass just a back-up, I couldn’t sense anyone else nearby…I thought she was safe.

When Rose did finally get back, she was livid and, even worse, she was wounded. I wanted to help her right away, and apologize, but that’s when that girl started acting in the most appalling manner. I know she’s always been a bit of a free spirit, but to act like that towards my apprentice was just uncalled for. Forgive me for being a bit possessive, but she’s my apprentice. I don’t want some young hussy stealing her. The absolute nerve of that girl.

Rose did her best to ignore it at the very least. And what she had to say about her attack was downright disturbing. Six bandits had managed to hide right under my nose. That should have been impossible. Not to brag, but I’m one of the greatest witches out there. Only a few people in the world could have avoided detection from me. But these ones did. Which implied the bandits had a very powerful connection.

That powerful connection for some reason didn’t warn the bandits about the defenses I had set up however, and the bandits attack ended rather anti-climatically. I didn’t want to confront the possibility that these bandits may be connected with her, so I did want anyone would do, and put it off for the next day. I had my hands free with making sure Liz kept her claws off my new apprentice after all.

Actually summoning the spirits of the bandits the next day, however, confirmed what I had already suspected. They weren’t actually meant to do any serious damage to me; she was just toying me, using the bandits as a convenient pawn. What made it worse was how Brother reacted to the news when he came to pick up Liz. That bitch murdered you, mom and dad, and got away with it too, and Brother’s reaction is to tell me not to act rash?

At least the next couple weeks were relaxing. The next day I gave my apprentice her first actual magic lesson. Well, I had her help with brewing beer. We were really running low, and it seemed like I could kill two birds with one stone by combining it into a practical lesson. If that woman is hanging around it’s probably for the best that I get my apprentice to the point where she can look out for herself. After that I’ve set her to gaining familiarity with the flow of mana, sensing its presence in plants. It has the added advantage of helping to keep my garden and greenhouse healthy. Rose has really taken to it too. I really did luck out with getting my new apprentice.

I’ve decided tomorrow that I’ll have her go into town on her own. She’s started to get used to this world, so she should get used to running errands on her own. And I’ll be honest, the order we placed with the tailor really did slip my mind with the events of the past day. She should be fine though. I hope things are going okay up there, mom, dad. I miss you so much.

Your daughter (of course you know it’s me),

Mary Korppi xoxoxo