Witch Hunt Chapter 4 part3

As a early Xmas present to my hypothetical readership, I posting the rest of Chapter 4 in one go.

(Part 3)

*Ding Dong*

The familiar sound of the bronze doorbell filled the air, when I entered the familiar store and I was greeted by the familiar warm smile of my friend.

“Welcome… Ah, it’s you Michelle!”

“Good day, Lucca.”

Many different types of bread and pastries were lined up along the four walls of the store. There were ones with fruit, others filled with delicious-looking cream… The fragrant scent of baked wheat permeated the inside of the store, stimulating my hunger. Here and there, I noticed new seasonal goods, but also there were conspicuous empty spaces in the rows of pastries, so I inferred that ‘Guns & Breads’ had another successful day. Even though it was past noon, there were several customers inside the store, each choosing a pastry of their liking and lining up to pay.

“It’s going to take a while, wait in the back, ok?” Lucca said while she briskly received their money.

I agreed and headed past the counter towards the kitchen.

“Ah, Michelle. Hello!” Once inside the kitchen, her boss spotted me as he diligently kneaded the uncooked dough for dinnertime.

As always, I decided to sit on a small chair in a corner and wait until Lucca took a break from her work. Sitting there, I could look out the window and let my eyes stare into the cloudless sky; however, that day the view was a little too dazzling for me.

“Are there still clients out there?” The boss asked me directing his gaze towards me, but without letting his hands rest. There was a bit of white cream smeared on this face.

“A few.”

After hearing my answer, the huge man hunched his shoulders in apology while saying, “We are making you wait, huh?”

Since that fateful day half a year ago, I frequently visited the bakery to have lunch with Lucca. At first, I acted in a restrained manner, but that point, it wasn’t rare for me to sit in the kitchen like this, waiting for Lucca to finish her work.

It had nothing to do with my job for the Society, it was for my own sake.

Of course, my initial impetus for coming to the bakery was to interrogate Lucca about Archwitch Meyrin… But when I crossed the door of the bakery, Lucca saw me and inundated with joy and surprise, she overturned the tray she was carrying and hugged me all covered in flour.

“I’m so glad you came! I’m glad to see you again.” I still can’t forget Lucca’s smile as she said those words from the bottom of her heart.

Until then, I never knew someone that was so glad for my existence, aside from my prince. Of course, the Society recognized my value as an asset, but that was an assessment of the fruits of my work, it had nothing to do with me as a person. That’s why I stood drained by Lucca’s embrace, in all of its novelty, since I had never experienced a welcome so warm it made me tear up. I was so perplexed that I stood motionless, not even able to blink.

So in the end, my emotions were in complete turmoil and I couldn’t interrogate her.

Besides…

“I’m glad too, Lucca.” With those words, I sealed our friendship and she became the first female friend I ever had.

For her part, Lucca also seemed to have friended few people since she came to the country; so naturally the frequency of our meetings gradually grew. We ate together, we went shopping together and sometimes I stayed the night at her place.

Once I got to know her I realized that although she looked outwardly calm, there was an element of clumsiness to her, so even though I was but a girl myself, she was so lovable as to make me think I needed to protect her.

Probably he harbored similar feelings towards her…

“Boss! The store is empty right now!” I heard Lucca shout from her place behind the counter.

“Oh, alright! You can take a break!” The boss answered her using his natural tone of voice, which travelled quite well. To me, he said “Go” with a wink.

I bowed to him; then I turned and began walking towards Lucca, when I heard him speak in a more moderate tone than usual behind me.

“You seem depressed today, Michelle… You need to get Lucca to share some of her cheerfulness with you.”

I spun around and Lucca’s boss waved his hands at me, seemingly embarrassed. It was surprising how his powers of perception allowed him to sense my emotional turmoil, something that didn’t match his appearance; unfortunately, that made staying in the kitchen unbearable to me.

When I first met the boss, he spoke so loudly as to make me think that maybe he was a real bear; but considering the way he tried to deal with others in situations like this, he was much subtler than the people around him. He was capable of perceiving small changes and be solicitous towards others, without much trouble… He was an amazing person; the likes I could never hope to match.

Once again, I was convinced that the likely reason why Lucca worked every day with a smile on her face was due to the fact that she did so by his side.

“…Yes, thank you. I’ll be going now.” I bowed politely again and left the kitchen behind.

()

Chapter end