Chapter 17 - New Witch

As I walked down the empty sidewalk— my eyes glancing from side to side along the way— I eventually found my way to the bookstore that was mentioned by Lucy before.

It honestly took me a while to find it because it was in such an odd location— located down some empty backstreet, then some weird alleyway.

The store itself didn't even look like a bookstore— it looked more like some sort of hunted house, so I could see why it had strange rumors about it floating around.

Looking at the old sliding door of the place— that seemed like it hadn't been changed in many years— I wondered if I should really enter this place or not.

Unlike the abandoned building, entering this place seemed like it would be an actual hazard— it was made of wood, after all, not stone.

When my eyes fell on the signboard that hung at the doorway top— I couldn't help but read out the name of the store.

"Red Clove Bookstore," I muttered out loud.

While it would've been interesting if some spooky effect happened when I said it— like lightning or a flashing light— nothing happened since it wasn't a show after all.

It was just an odd name for an odd-looking place.

"Whatever, I'm here after all." After thinking it over a bit— I decided to just go for it— what could it hurt to check out the place since I'm already here.

So being extra careful with how hard I opened the door— I slid it open and entered the building.

Coughing— I looked around at the dusty place.

The room inside wasn't very big— but it was bigger than it shows to be from the outside— with a large enough place to fit a few hundred books.

It was quite impressive for a rundown-looking store—making me wonder just how they had the money to afford any of this.

I assumed it might've just been old money or the place was passed down from generations.

Running my finger along one of the dark wooden bookshelves— I could feel the layers of dust that got stuck to it. Proving to me that this place is not only very old— but also very underkept by whoever owned it.

"Hello?" I called out loudly to see if anyone would hear me— yet I didn't get a reply.

"They aren't close, are they? The door was open."

I thought to myself aloud before walking further into the store— my goal was to find the desk where the worker stayed or something along those lines.

"Anyone working here?"

I asked aloud again as I moved closer to the front of the area— spotting a desk that was at the front, without anyone sitting at it.

"Guess not. Well, I'll just look around while I wait then."

After glancing around a bit at the front of the room— looking around for a worker— I didn't find anyone so I just decided to explore the books they had for sale for now.

Shrugging it off— I made my way over to one of the bookshelves.

I wasn't sure which bookshelf had what books on them— since none of the shelves had labels— so I could only pick one at random.

I couldn't even tell which books were on the shelf due to the book's spine because they were so dusty that they hid the labels and names.

So I was truly picking at random.

"Let's see what they have of interest here before I buy my school books."

Idling down one of the pathways— I ran my finger along the edges of the books— this collected dust on my finger but it was a force of habit to touch the bind of the books as I moved past them.

Even at home.

Eventually, I came across a book that caught my attention— not because of the name or design or anything like that— but because of how weird the book was shaped.

Being a lot bigger than the other books on the same shelf made it easily stand out— but the fact that the book had rounded edges really worked in its favor to draw my attention.

"Hmm, what's this?" I muttered as I pulled the book off the shelf and used my hand to wipe the dust off the cover— trying to get a good view of its name.

"Herbal Remedies, by Luna Lockheart."

The name of the book was quite interesting for something to find in a bookstore— but aside from that there wasn't really anything that stood out from the book— the cover was literally blank aside from the name.

Deciding to give it a quick skim through before I put it down since I didn't think it was worth my interest— I opened it and flipped through the pages quickly.

"Wolfsbane, Vervain, Apple Blossoms, these are quite the collection of herbs?"

I said in a questioning tone since all the herbs mentioned in the book so far were herbs that were useful in witchcraft— they were even explained in such a way that showed their usefulness to witchcraft.

"Mugwort, a herb that is useful for divination and dream-related spells and crafts. Can be used in a variety of ways from grinding to boiling, or even made into incense and burnt to increase the likelihood of dream walking."

I read one of the passages from the books aloud as I flipped through the book once more— and it was correct.

This was absolutely how you used Mugwort— in the basic sense that is.

But why would a random book in some old bookstore have something related to witchcraft that most people wouldn't know?

"Useful for seeing the unseen future."

'What does that mean— I don't even know about this part.' I thought to myself after reading the last line of the section.

That's another thing about the book— it seemed less like an officially published book and more like some sort of journal from the way it's written.

Informal, and with parts that wouldn't make it through some official publishing companies at all.

"What is this? It doesn't seem like a book— and it's too oddly specific to be something that a normal person published." I thought aloud to myself before an idea came to mind.

"Wait, is it a witch's journal?"

The idea didn't seem that unlikely given the situation, after all, it wasn't uncommon for witches to die and their journals or possessions to go uncollected by the witching community and found by normal humans.

It was how even the internet had some basic witching facts or myths about them.

This very journal could be from a previous witch that lived in this town generations back that somehow ended up in this old bookstore.

'Or maybe it's a witch that still lives here?'

Shaking my head at how unlikely that possibility was— not only would the Council know about this, but the book also wouldn't be left out in the open like this— I decided to buy the book out of interest.

Making my way back over to the desk to put it down while I waited for a worker to come back— I heard a sound in front of me.

Footsteps— followed by the opening of a door. Revealed the figure of a woman— that seemed to be anywhere between her 30s or young 40s.

She had long red hair that reached all the way down her shoulders— along with a figure that would put even younger girls to shame given her age.

Her outfit was that of a black dress that revealed quite a lot of her body— both her mid-drift and legs were shown if you looked at them.

'Is this the owner? I can't say I see why she is called a witch.'

I thought to myself— seeing as the woman before me was quite good-looking.

It was hard to believe that the people of this town— people that are prone to judge things based on looks— would have bad rumors about this person floating around.

Given her looks— that is.

"I see you found my journal."

She said with a friendly tone— her voice not particularly odd, but there was something about it that made me feel uneasy.

Maybe it was because of how overly friendly she seemed for someone I just met.

"Your journal?"

I asked with a curious tone because she hadn't actually pointed out what she was talking about. Naturally, I could assume it was the book in my hand— but this was a witch's book.

And while she seemed like a witch, assuming she was based on her looks and general aura would be a bad idea.

"Come now— I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about. You're a smart girl."

She said with a friendly smile that sent a chill down my spine— her stepping closer was just a sign for me to step back further.

My eyebrows raised as I looked at her— now sure that this person before me wasn't human and knew more than she was letting on.

She was a witch.