01x06 - The First Day

[bunniefuu]

Phew.

There.

That's it!

Oh, okay. So that's how
you write "mushroom."

Hello. I'm a magician's
apprentice. My name is Lizel.

Lize?

Oh. Coming!

Whoops! It's actually Lize.

My name is Lize.

My original name is Lizel, but
that's what's called a "true name,"

and I'm not allowed to
share it with people.

It's the key that unlocks my magic, so
right now I should only say it in my mind.

Please stir what's in that pot for me.

All right.

But use your magic to do it.

All right.

This is my mentor, the black witch Luna.

She always seems kind
of irritated with me.

What were you doing so far out?

I was writing in my diary just
like you told me to, Miss Witch.

I didn't understand magic language,
so I was a little nervous at first,

but now that I can write what
I'm thinking with thoughtography,

I have a lot of fun guessing which
words have what letters in them.

I'm starting to really enjoy it.
I'm learning a lot, so I'm glad I started!

Oh. What? It's hot!

But to tell the truth, Miss Witch...

doesn't seem to be very
good at staying irritated.

Um, you really don't need to
do all this. I'll be fine.

Huh? Whatever do you mean?

I don't know why, but she always
seems to have her hands full.

I can do that.

No. I've decided to do it myself.

Lize kind of sounds like a girl's name,
so I don't actually like it that much.

But it's the name that Miss Witch
gave me, so it's very precious to me...

Even though she only
took the "L" off the end?

What's precious about it?
That's about as lazy as you can get.

Good afternoon.

Hmph.

This huge grouch's name is Claude.

He always barges in here

to grumble about something
when he's not even invited.

He really bugs me.

Well, he's always crowing about
stuff, so maybe he "birds" me?

Still, he has the personality
of a maggot, so...

Huh?

Yeah, let's say he bugs me.

I'll kick your a*s, you little brat!

What's the matter, Claude?

Ask yourself that, punk!

Oh, Claude.

It's very rude to read
another person's diary.

When are you gonna learn to check
that attitude of yours, huh?

I can't help it.

Miss Witch was very clear that if
anything makes me upset or sad,

I need to write it down in my diary
and not keep it bottled up,

so the filth doesn't rot my heart.

So you're calling me rotten filth?

Luna! What the hell have you
been teaching this brat?!

Oh, please don't be angry with Miss Witch!

It's okay! I feel better after
writing my feelings down,

so I'm not as disgusted by your
presence as I was a minute ago.

Just doubling down
on the insults, are we?!

He can't help it, Claude. Lize
is a cursed youngling, after all.

He shouldn't be bottling toxic
feelings up now, should he?

Even little things can build
up if you're not careful.

I don't want Luna to have to grow another
one of those huge, black mushrooms.

Fine, I get it.

Do you really, though?

You're always grumpy and you
take it out on everyone else.

We all have to set a good example so Lize
doesn't turn into The End of All Things

since he doesn't understand all this yet.

The cursed youngling, destined to one day
turn into The End of All Things. Yeah.

You sure brought home a real
bundle of trouble this time.

Are you even aware of what
sort of mess you've dragged us all into?

I don't give a damn about
what happens to the brat,

but this was all your call,
so it's your responsibility.

Claude, you need to do something
about that nasty attitude of yours.

You're not inspiring
a lot of confidence, here.

Oh, I know! For dinner tonight
I'll do a big beef spit roast!

I think crow pie would be a better choice.

One day, these people saved me.
I have no memories from before then.

I don't know who I am or where I'm going.

I don't even know the real reason
why I have to keep a diary.

Tell us your name.

It's Lizel.

What the hell was that?

Did you just feel a blast of wind
from him the second he said his name?

Hey, you. Did you just
use some kind of magic?

I... haven't...

You should not use that name anymore.

Luna?

I don't know what happened
to him, but I have a feeling

he shouldn't be using that name.

His true name?

Probably.

I know that, unlike black witches,

since the white witches
have weak magical powers,

they depend on contracts
and "spells" to use magic.

Also, since they are
bound to those spells,

their "true names" are the
keys to unlocking that magic.

Their true names are like weak spots.

Revealing them basically opens
them up to be targeted by curses.

What? What are these people talking about?

The fact that he would
just blurt it out to us

must mean he's seriously disoriented.

Do they mean me?

Um...

You are the one who should
never have been born.

What is this place?

Who are you people?

Why am I here?

How...

Who...

Who in the world am I?

Um, I believe...

that I am in your debt. It seems
like you must have rescued me.

Thank you very much. I...

should be going now. I wish I had
something to give you as thanks.

See? What did I tell you?

I'm hurt?

Huh? A mushroom... doll?

A transference doll, huh?

My wound got better.

No, it moved?

Who is that?

You must now care diligently
for this fellow,

until he recovers from the injury
he accepted in your place.

Huh?

That will be your first responsibility.

Don't cut him any slack.

If you're gonna make him into a magician

and keep him from becoming a monster,

you need to set your feelings aside.

This is the black forest.

You chose this.

And starting today,
this house is where you live.

You are not allowed to leave
this place for any reason.

Once you have become this kid's mentor...

I am the Champignon Witch.
My name is Luna.

And you are my apprentice,
here to learn magic from me, Lize—

Don't use his true name!

Uh, Lize...

Lizela? Lizelo?

Lizette.

Isn't that a girl's name?

Lizotto.

That sounds like food.

Isn't Lize good enough?

Yeah.

C'mon, Luna. You got this.

Uh... your name is Lize,
b-because it is. That is all!

That's right. Like the crow said,

this name was picked on the spot and
had an undeniably impulsive ring to it.

But after I jotted it down in my diary,

I forgot all about how
it felt at the time.

Anyway, never use your old name again.

Also, don't get any funny
ideas about running.

If you run away, I will k*ll you.

So I'm an apprentice to a magician?

To the Champignon Witch?

That was my first day as
a magician's apprentice.

That night, I was still very anxious
and overwhelmed with uncertainty.

The black forest

is a place where evil spirits,
criminals, and poison monsters live.

It is an ominous place.

A black witch

is one who wields powerful magic,
refuses to conform to others,

and uses poison to conjure
and control monsters.

Her horrible actions throw communities
and countries into chaos.

She is a terrible witch.

Good morning.

Oh. I overslept?

I'm sorry!

We're going to pick up ingredients
for breakfast, so get dressed.

Okay.

Even though I don't have
any memory of who I am,

I do still seem to remember some things

that aren't strictly
related to my identity.

Oh. Th-Thanks for your help.

That includes rumors I'd heard
about the Champignon Witch.

Oh. The clothes are a perfect fit.

Thank you very much.

I heard she's a witch who looks
as dark and ugly as her personality,

who emits a hideous, poisonous odor,

and sprouts extremely toxic
mushrooms all around town,

which causes problems for everyone.

Oh. Is this another mushroom?

Yeah, it sure is.

And it's okay to pick?

Of course.

I want you to peel that mushroom,
chop it up into pieces,

and then gently mash it.

This one had a clean and crisp fragrance
like morning dew, green grass,

and flowers all mixed together.

So maybe those rumors weren't quite right.

PEEL...

Okay.

CHOP, CHOP...

Y-You need to make much more of
an effort to do your chores with magic.

Starting immediately!

I'm sorry.

And you are forbidden from holding
a knife for the time being.

Now, clean yourself off!

How annoying. It feels like I'm
not used to this body, but why?

I think he's still a little too young
to be peeling things with a knife.

Mm-hmm.

Phew.

How embarrassing. I feel so immature,

and I still don't know anything
about using magic yet.

How did I end up as
a magician's apprentice?

Oh. Um, some of the mash

got in your hair.

Do not touch me!

You must never touch me.

O-Okay.

I'm sorry.

She'll k*ll me if I run away.
A terrible witch.

Let's dig in!

Wow!

It looks so good!

SHIITAKE PANCAKE RECIPE

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS "FEELING"

FLUFF FLUFF...

Thank you for the food!

Now that I think of it, I haven't eaten
a single thing since I woke up yesterday.

Maybe I didn't need to take
those weird rumors so seriously.

It's so good!

Yeah!

Luna, this is great!

Just like the pancakes
they made in that book!

Maybe if I were a cow or a sheep,
I'd have thought it was delicious, too.

That's what I thought of it.

This is very good!

I exhaled that lie as easily
as I would a breath.

But Miss Witch worked hard to make this
for me. I've gotta try to finish it.

Hey. What do you think you're doing, Luna?

I thought you promised to make the kid
use magic for all of his everyday tasks

to help him get better at
magic quicker, didn't you?

The heck is that?

You're kidding me.

Did you make that for him?

Uh... well, you see...

You need to make him do all of
the cooking with his own magic!

You aren't allowed to help him!

But Lize hasn't gotten there.

He can't use magic at all yet.
We'd starve to death!

That's the whole point, you a*s!

I'm a sheep.

Sometimes new skills only appear
when you're backed into a corner!

And you promised that was the way
you were going to play this, Luna.

But you're already
trying to pull this crap.

You're not inspiring a lot of confidence.

Oh.

Do you even understand

the scale of the responsibility
they've entrusted us with, here?

Black fog.

There's a black fog that comes
out of living creatures.

I have a feeling I used to see it a lot.

Anxiety, sadness, suffering,

sickness, curses, hatred,

madness, malice, sin.

There are many toxic feelings that can
arise from and then consume living beings.

But this is the first time I've seen
it here. It's still kind of faint.

I know that bad things have happened
in places where the fog got thick.

So I'd better...

Hey. What did you just do to me?

Huh? Uh, I... there was a black fog...

Um, did I... do something?

Did you just say "black fog" to me?

Stay the hell away from that black fog,

and never try to touch me...
me or Luna again!

Who am I?

Why am I here? Why don't I know who I am?

And what are these faint
words I hear in my head?

You are the one who should
never have been born.

You must never forget what your name is.

Whose voices are these?
And what was that black fog?

How did I already know
about it? What am I?

That kid is a disaster.

I doubt he even realizes he's already
sucking poisons out of people and things.

At this rate, he's gonna run out of time
a whole lot sooner than we expected.

But it isn't his fault.

We need to force him to learn some
kind of magic to deal with this

before his body absorbs more
poison than it can handle.

What are they talking about?

Is it about me?

That kid is a poisonous monster.

The moment we determine he's a lost cause,

there will be no choice but to k*ll him.

Is that what you want, Luna?

If you keep going this easy on him,
that's exactly what will happen.

But if I can use mushrooms to suck out
the poison collected in his body,

we shouldn't have to rush
to a decision that quickly.

Yeah, but we already talked
about what a huge risk that—

Lize, where are you going?