Ilena had been awake for some time.
Zheng Qing was not sure whether higher-dimensional forces had played a part, whether she had simply slept enough inside that glass sphere, or whether the 528 Hz tuning fork that rang outside Sanyou Bookstore every day had truly awakened the spirituality of life.
In any case, about ten months ago, just after Zheng Qing had twisted off a Hellfire Demon's head and taken off Taiyi to catch his breath, Yellow Flower Cat appeared before him with a very grave expression and told him that a stranger had appeared in Sanyou Bookstore in Beta Town.
Zheng Qing knew full well how important the bookstore was.
It frightened him into rushing back to Puji Island.
Then he saw the young witch wandering naked and bewildered between the shelves of Sanyou Bookstore. Like a ghost, she seemed to glow white in the pitch-black room—Zheng Qing swore that, at first glance, all he had truly noticed were Ilena's eyes. Those infant-like, pure eyes stood in stark contrast to the impression he had of her in his mind.
She did not know who she was.
She did not know where she was.
She did not even know what magic was.
Yet the first time she saw Zheng Qing, she smiled, and she smiled happily.
"—Ilena Moonlight, awakened in accordance with the guidance of my heart. May I ask, are you my shopkeeper?"
Only after saying that did she suddenly come back to herself, a trace of realization appearing on her face. "Oh, so my name is Ilena Moonlight? What a lovely name."
Zheng Qing looked at her helplessly.
It was not until the witch slowly walked toward him that he hurriedly pulled a broad cloak from the Gray Cloth Bag and draped it over her. Only then did