Vigau was a small town of about five thousand bisected by the Antoinette River. Vigau was supposedly built on the spot where the woman the river was named after drowned. It was some sort of romantic tragedy that had all the marks of a complete fabrication.

Before the Mage Ban, the Phoenix Mages' Guild and the mages it trained were one of the main drivers of the local economy, but now nearly all of the factories had been shuttered and the magic-driven technology that provided most of the convenience to the average citizen's life had fallen into disuse. Apparently the transition to magic-free technology was a difficult and ongoing process. What little remained in use was tightly regulated and restricted. It all seemed like a lot of trouble.

There was a market district on the riverside several blocks from Giger's cottage. You had to get up close to dawn to get the freshest food from the fishmongers and greengrocers. Giger gave her the money and had her do the shopping, as was appropriate for a housekeeper. Most of the items were familiar, but some things she had never seen before. She had to remind herself that it was twelve deniers to the sou and twenty sous to the livre. Handling the wad of notes and purse full of copper and silver coins seemed strange to her, as if buying and selling was once a far simpler affair.

If there had not been more bags than she could carry, it was entirely likely that Giger would have made her carry everything back to house herself. Sure, part of it was to maintain the illusion that she was his employee, but part of her felt that he was milking it a bit. He probably enjoyed having a servant do his work for him. It was annoying, but Gally owed everything to him and so long as his demands were not too unreasonable, she had a hard time finding much justification to complain.

There were some things that she wanted for herself, like shoes that were more comfortable and underwear that was more substantial than the slip she woke up in, but that would have to wait for another time. The groceries had to get back home first.

During the outing, she noticed a couple of the bronze statues, apparently like the one she used to be. She did not make a point of it or ask Giger any questions. She just looked at them and wondered if those statues held people trapped inside like she was. If they were brought back, might they know something about the world they left behind?

She thought about the whole way back and while she was putting away the groceries back at the cottage. Apparently Giger took a great risk bringing her back, so doing it again was pretty well out of the question. That one Witch-hunter had not come back, but it was possible that they were watching Giger more intently now. If he tried the same trick a second time, he would most likely be caught, and where would that leave her?

Lunch was simple, just sandwiches and a salad, but Giger said he was expecting something more for supper. Gally had yet to make a meal that properly satisfied him. That was a concern for later, though.

She had to quickly go through the house after they ate because Yugo was coming back. Giger did not tell her much about Yugo, only that he was the son of one of the wealthier families in town. He had the potential to be a mage and so his father wanted him trained regardless of the Mage Ban. Giger was paid well for his trouble. Apparently Yugo's lessons alone accounted for nearly half of his income.

Speaking of Yugo, his knocking at the door prompted Gally to set aside what she was doing and go let him in. Ever the gentleman, Yugo tipped his hat to her, saying, "Hello, Miss Gally."

Gally found herself blushing as well. Awkward though he was, he was still fairly charming and handsome if a bit younger than she preferred. He was terribly kind to her, a complete stranger, and while she would like to take the high road, she would be lying to herself if she refused to admit that his wealth added to the attraction.

She was no gold digger, but even if she were, it would be a dangerous game to play and the last thing she needed to do was invite any more danger into her life.

Yugo suddenly found the courage to step forward and take up Gally's hand in his own.

Gally had to quickly disengage or she would completely forget herself. She slipped her hand out of his and slidled around beside him.

Embarrassed and just a little crestfallen, Yugo doffed his hat and offered it to her, mumbling, "Oh, yes. Yes, of course."

While Gally was helping Yugo out of his coat, a hissing sort of chuckle directed their attention to Prissy perched on the arm of the couch.

Her voice became even squeakier than usual when she switched roles, mocking a swoon and writhing around on her back making kissy noises.

All the horseplay was swiftly cut off by the sound of Giger's voice.

Completely missing the point, Prissy sat up straight and asked him, "Giger, what's a dime novel?"

Giger shrugged.

Yugo stepped in, hastily saying, "Master, if anyone was being untoward, it was me. Please don't—"

Giger prompt cut them off.

Everyone went quiet. After a few moments of standing there in awkward silence, Giger looked to Gally and asked her, "Why are you still here?"

Giger did not seem too receptive to the idea.

Forgetting appearances, Gally mumbled, "You sure dress like one."

Yugo had to stifle a chuckle.

Giger simply gave her a dirty look, but Prissy took greater offense and gave Gally a clawed swipe at her hand.

Yugo attempted to mediate, saying, "Master, if it's alright with you, I don't mind if Miss Gally watches our lesson. She might learn something."

Prissy pinned her ears back again and gave her a mighty glare.

Prissy hopped off the couch and went to go sulk on top of one of the bookcases.

Looking annoyed as ever with all the disturbances, Giger said, "If we can get started, let's review. Tell me three advantages of the Agrippina Set."

Giger held up two fingers and then lowered one as he said, "You gave me two sub-items of the first advantage, the Agrippina Set's simplicity. Two more."

Yugo had to struggle for an answer.

Giger stroked his chin and mused, "I don't know if I shouldn't count that as another sub-item of its simplicity."

Curiously, the more irritable Giger became, the quicker Yugo was able to answer him.

Now that Yugo was answering, he did not get tripped up so easily by Giger pressing him.

Yugo knelt down and quickly went to work, first drawing three concentric circles, overlaying it with a pentacle and several other auxiliary lines, then the runes. When that was done, he placed the candle in the center of the magic circle and stood up. Extending his hand toward the candle, he whispered a few words and a little tongue of flame suddenly appear on the wick. Gally politely clapped at the feat, which earned a derisive sniff from Giger.

Rather starting an argument, Gally simply gave Giger an annoyed look before leaving for the bathroom. As she was going, she could hear Yugo say, "Master, you really are too hard on her."