"Come out and fight me, you fraud!" Alice yelled, her voice filled with fury as she searched for me.

  Meanwhile, I was safely hiding at a distance, watching her from behind cover. Once she finally flew off, I let out a deep sigh of relief. "That was way too close..."

  Instead of finding Marisa's house, I had somehow stumbled upon the home of a crazy blonde girl who wanted me dead. Looking around, I didn't see any smoke rising from a chimney—meaning Marisa probably wasn't home.

  So, I decided to go to someone who would definitely know where Marisa was. Patchouli.

  Patchouli was always compining about Marisa stealing her books, so there was a good chance Marisa had been at the Scarlet Devil Mansion recently. Plus, as long as I stayed far away from that crazy blonde girl, it was the perfect excuse to visit.

  When I arrived at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I expected to see its usual ominous, gothic atmosphere. Instead, I was greeted by the sight of Hong Meiling... dancing?

  I nded nearby and watched her for a moment. Her movements were slow and fluid, almost like a river flowing in the wind. She moved her hands in circur motions, stepping lightly with perfect bance.

  Curious, I walked up to her.

  "What are you doing?"

  She opened one eye and smiled. "Tai Chi Chuan. It's a breathing exercise to improve my chi flow and maintain my strength."

  I nodded. "Huh. Didn't expect to see a kung fu master practicing slow dancing."

  She ignored my comment and continued her movements, but I had more important things to ask.

  "Have you seen Marisa come through here?"

  At that moment, Hong froze mid-movement. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead.

  "Marisa?" she said stiffly. "I think she came... wait, maybe she didn't."

  Her nervous reaction told me everything.

  I narrowed my eyes. "You fell asleep again, didn't you?"

  Hong averted her gaze. "...No."

  I crossed my arms. "Lying won't help. If you weren't asleep, then I'll just ask Sakuya if she saw Marisa enter."

  Before I could take another step, Hong lunged forward and wrapped her arms around my leg, nearly knocking me over.

  "Please don't tell Sakuya!" she begged. "If she finds out, she'll report me to Lady Remilia, and I'll be out of a job!"

  Seeing her like this, I sighed. "Alright, alright, I was just joking! Ow! Can you let go already? My leg's about to snap in half!"

  But she still didn't let go.

  I started to feel the pressure on my leg and, in a desperate attempt to make her calm down, I blurted out, "I'll tell Sakuya good things about you!"

  She blinked and looked up at me. "Good things? What good things have I done?"

  I opened my mouth... then immediately shut it.

  Oh no.

  I couldn't think of a single good thing she had done. If I didn't say something fast, my leg was going to snap like a twig.

  "Uh... how about this?" I stammered. "I won't tell her... if you teach me, uh... Kung Fu!"

  Of course, that was a total lie.

  That made Hong pause, loosening her grip just slightly as she looked up at me with a skeptical expression.

  "You? Learn Kung Fu?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't look like the type."

  I put on my best serious face and nodded. "Of course! A magician must be prepared for anything! What if someone tries to rob my hat? Or steal my coat? I need to defend myself."

  She narrowed her eyes. "That sounds more like you want to learn how to run away better."

  I cleared my throat and looked away. "That's... a secondary reason."

  Hong sighed, then finally let go of my leg. "Fine, fine. But if I teach you, you better not sck off. I'll show you some basics."

  I internally cheered. Not only did I get out of trouble, but I also got a potential new skill out of it.

  "Great! So, what's the first lesson?" I asked, standing up straight.

  She smirked and cracked her knuckles. "First, we're going to work on your endurance."

  I swallowed hard. "...That sounds pretty ominous... and why do I have the nagging feeling that I forgot something important?"