After the door folded itself into a briefcase, a threatening shadow loomed behind the woman in red.
"Wait a second," she said. "Where do you think you're going?"
Seeing her approach, Luz didn't hesitate.
She ran deeper into the tent, lifted the fabric at the bottom, and slipped outside.
But the moment she emerged…
what she saw left her frozen.
Before her stood a cliff.
And below… a bizarre world beyond imagination.
A giant centipede spat out a butterfly… only for the two to start kissing.
Nearby, a stand sold food that seemed alive.
An unfortunate passerby was suddenly grabbed by a tentacle emerging from one of the dishes—
and dragged inside, vanishing completely.
Luz stood speechless.
Then, beside her, she noticed a tiny fairy-like creature approaching.
It looked adorable.
Relieved, Luz leaned toward it.
"Please tell me all this is a dream…" she said.
The little fairy opened its mouth—
revealing rows of sharp dentures-like teeth.
"GIVE ME YOUR SKIN!" it screamed.
SMACK!
Luz slapped it away as fast as she could.
The creature collapsed.
"Am I in hell or something?!" she shouted.
At that moment, the woman in red appeared behind her.
Luz turned and froze in fear.
Soon, she found herself seated on a stool in front of the stand.
"P-Please don't eat me… I just wanted my book…" she pleaded.
"Eat you?" the woman in red said cheerfully.
"Why would I eat a potential customer?"
With an optimistic grin, she began showing Luz all kinds of objects.
Then she held up an old television.
"This magical box reflects your sadness."
Luz looked amused.
"It does more than that."
She grabbed some batteries from the table, inserted them into the TV—
and it flickered to life.
A gymnastics video began playing.
The surrounding crowd stared in awe.
"Whoa… what is that?!"
"I want to buy it!"
"No, I'm buying it!"
Suddenly, everyone started shouting at once.
A crowd quickly gathered around the market stall, everyone waving money frantically.
"I'll take it!"
"No, me first!"
The woman in red looked deeply impressed by the girl standing before her.
"Wow," she said with a grin. "You're amazing. What's your name?"
Luz smiled enthusiastically.
"Luz Noceda!"
The woman raised a brow.
"You humans sure are good at business."
Luz blinked in surprise at the way she said humans.
Then she laughed awkwardly.
"Wait… you're human too, right?"
The woman smirked.
Without warning, she untied the band wrapped around her head—
revealing pointed ears.
Then she jumped onto the table dramatically and declared with pride,
"I am Eda the Owl Lady—
the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!"
Meanwhile…
I had already slipped out of the tent.
While no one was paying attention, I grabbed a green cloak with a small hood that had been lying in a box.
As I stepped outside, I let out a breath of relief.
Whew… I made it out.
Good thing I didn't get caught.
I walked through the crowd, watching the scene before me with quiet joy.
This was it.
The meeting between Luz and Eda.
The encounter that would change Luz's destiny forever.
If I remembered correctly…
this was when a guard would arrive and try to capture Eda, only to be driven back.
Then Eda would take Luz away to her house…
and everything would begin.
For now…
I still couldn't interact with them.
But that time would come soon enough.
Right now, I needed to find a way to prepare myself.
After all…
I intended to become a mage.
I already knew the glyph patterns Luz would later discover.
I could start practicing early.
Maybe even combine them…
Create new spells.
That was one of the main reasons I wanted to come here.
I glanced back and spotted the guard arriving.
Just as expected.
I looked one last time at Luz and Eda.
A smile appeared on my face.
Then I turned away.
We'll meet again later, I thought.
Ahead of me, all kinds of strange creatures walked the streets.
Some looked ridiculous.
Some looked terrifying.
And some… looked like they might eat me.
I swallowed.
"Well…" I muttered.
"If I want to stay alive here…"
I pulled my hood over my head and kept walking into the unknown.