Wicktoria and the Magic Tea Artisan

Chapter 4

As I flew on the flying longboard to Lamont's office, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this magic city. I saw sights of the city that I couldn't see before I bloomed. One of the nicknames of this city was Glass Castle City but I couldn't see any glass castles before. I could see the shapes of the buildings but couldn't see the surfaces clearly. Buildings made of magical materials or magically decorated ones didn't appear precisely to my eyes. But now, the beautiful sight of the Glass Castle City was before my eyes. Each glass castle had different colors and effects. I never knew the city's glass castles and buildings were so beautifully crafted. There were glass castles which displayed rippling auroras on their surfaces, and ones adorned with stunning glass art and gemstone embellishments, among others. Moreover, I just found out that the city's streets were also made of glass.

Of course, there weren't many people walking on the streets because most folks were up in the sky. The majority were traveling on flying longboards, while some were gliding through the air on flying sleds, winged roller skates, or ice skates. Some people even traveled in their flying bathtubs while enjoying baths!

After a few minutes, I spotted two castles that were more magnificent and beautiful than any castle I had seen in the city. One was silver, and the other was golden. I thought the silver one might be the Ministry of Magic, and I sensed that the golden one was the king's castle. I had heard plenty about how stunning those glass castles were.

"That specific golden color is reserved solely for the king's use. Others aren't allowed to use it. The king's castle and MoM castle are interconnected with magical passages," said Lamont.

"Have you ever seen the king in person?" I asked him.

"Yes, I had a chance," Lamont replied.

"How about princesses and princes?" I asked.

"Plenty of them."

"How?"

"The king and their children regularly host diplomatic activities like balls and afternoon tea parties and the guests from other kingdoms must visit the immigration office inside MoM. Additionally, MoM employees are frequently invited to those events," he explained.

"Seriously? Wow, it feels like stepping into a fairy tale I read as a kid. No, wait. I shouldn't get ahead of myself because I'm certain I'll fail the interview," I said, feeling gloomy.

"Why do you think so?"

"You know it. I bloomed today. Until now, I couldn't handle any magic items, cast spells, or read magic textbooks properly, so I haven't had any decent education. Even the smartest students who've successfully completed the school curriculum wouldn't get in here... I just don't stand a chance. There's no hope."

"But you've experienced something they haven't," said Lamont.

"What's that? Being bullied? Insulted? Isolated?"

After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Yeah, those experiences and emotions might be helpful for this job."

"I'm not quite following."

"There are various teams within MoM. One of them is helping people who were cursed. And there are tricky cases. Some curses aren't visible to others. They're only seen by certain people and because most people can't notice that they are suffering from a curse, the victims cannot be understood. Their pain and depression... They struggle by themselves. It's a lonely journey."

"I'm sorry. I'm still confused."

"Well, it really depends on a curse so I think I better describe an example. In my case, I've been cursed and it's a very weird one. People cannot see my facial expressions."

"No way. But I can see your..."

"Yes, that's why I'm taking you to this interview. You can see what others can't see."

"I felt something was strange because it seemed like other students couldn't see your smile during the orientation earlier."

"Right. They can't see my smile at all. I bet you haven't heard of such a weird curse. People are more familiar with curses that threaten your life or make you fall into an eternal sleep, things like that."

"Actually, I have. I read a few books about curses. I learned that there are many peculiar kinds of curses out there. They may not be life-threatening, but they can really mess up your daily life. Like, not being able to eat chocolate ever again."

"Wow, that curse sounds awful." Lamont chuckled. "Compared to that, mine's no big deal. People avoid me and call me arrogant because of it but I can still indulge in chocolate, which makes me really happy."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's not that serious."

"But it is serious. You must be misunderstood every moment," I said.

"Right. And I lost a lot of friends. You know, people don't want to spend time with me because I always look cold and uninterested in their stories or feelings. So I usually spend free time by myself. I used to be more outgoing so it was hard to adapt."

"Oh, Lamont, I'm so sorry. Would there be anything I can do for you?" I could totally relate to him as I also had to spend a lot of time by myself without a friend. Nobody wanted me in their group project because I couldn't do anything about magic. Most people thought I was cursed or retarded so they didn't want to talk to me.

"Actually, there are. Would you be my friend? If you see me with a sad face, ask me what's wrong. If there's something funny, laugh with me. That kind of friend. That's what I need right now. Honestly, I feel so lonely and exhausted. I've been digging through a lot of materials including ancient texts to break this curse, but it feels like I'm not getting any closer. It's so frustrating."

Tears welled up in his eyes. I could feel his sadness and pain. As soon as we arrived at his office, I hugged him, and patted his back. "You've been through a lot. It must have been really tough," I said.

He hastily wiped his tears away and hugged me back. "I foolishly thought that I could handle it all on my own but I was wrong. I need friends and colleagues. I just can't do it alone. I just can't survive this loneliness."

"You're not alone. I'm here now. "I'll always be by your side whether you're sad or happy."

We patted each other's backs for quite a while, comforting each other, and it eased a lot of sorrow in my heart.