The "her" by his ear suddenly laughed softly. As Shade concentrated on casting the spell, he saw the witch beneath the canvas vanish as though performing a magic trick, leaving the raised cloth to collapse completely onto the tablecloth.
He removed the canvas and saw a palm-sized rag doll with gray-black hair lying on the tablecloth. Its eyes were sewn from black buttons, its nose was a red cloth bundle, and its face clearly bore a smug smile.
"This—"
Shade picked up the canvas again and covered it. When the canvas was removed, the witch reappeared. Supporting herself on the tablecloth, she sat up, pressed her lips together, met his gaze for a few seconds, then looked away:
"There's something wrong with this Transformation Spell. My human form is already the result of transformation, yet it can force another transformation on top of that... It seems the cursed state is really affecting me badly. This doesn't count. I'll try again once I'm feeling better."
As she spoke, she turned her head away from Shade, showing him only her profile. Even the tips of her ears had turned bright red.
Shade tactfully avoided discussing the matter again until lunch was over. When they set out once more toward the depths of the Woodland, the witch simply transformed into an owl and perched on Shade's shoulder again:
"I have a habit of taking naps. You don't mind if I rest on your shoulder for a while, do you?"
"I don't mind, but aren't you supposed to be guiding us?"
"I'll tell you the direction. I'll wake up when we get there."
Shade felt that she definitely did not want to take a nap. She clearly just wanted to forget about the Transformation Spell as quickly as possible.
At around one thirty in