His fingertip tingled. That sensation came first. On the stone wall of the atelier, there was a mark he'd never seen before. A faint blue light wavered softly within the orange of dusk. Koko stared at it intently. Something was wrong. It hadn't been there this morning. ―　―　― That morning, Koko had been full of energy. It was a free day. One of only four that came each year—a day when Master Kifah said "do as you like." A special day when the atelier's apprentices decided how to spend their time themselves. Koko sprang from bed and threw on her blue robe. White shirt, black slacks. She pressed down her black short hair, which was sticking up, and ran down to the dining hall. "Let's all do something together!" She burst into the dining hall and said it to the empty room. No one was there. Four notes lay on the table. Koko picked them up one by one. A hastily scrawled note from Master Kifah: *Out since morning for Assembly business. Back by evening. Spend your time as you wish.* Oruo's neat handwriting: *Updating the city map. Can't relax without it.* Agu's rough scrawl: *Going to the herbalist Radiche. Restocking supplies.* Tete's tiny handwriting, packed densely: *Found new ink material candidates in the back alleys. Going to collect them. Regarding the mixing ratios for the new materials, there's a description in yesterday's documents——* It went on and on. Koko stopped reading halfway through. Riche's note was placed in the center of the dining table. It had a drawing. A picture of Sorbetta's stall and a huge arrow. The destination was clearly the market, no question. Koko lined up the four notes on the table and stared at them for a while. Everyone was already gone. The dining hall was silent. Somewhere in the hill city of Mezzaluna beyond the window, a bird was singing. The sound of a carriage passing over the stone-paved slope echoed. *(…I didn't think this through at all)* She admitted it to herself. She'd been so eager to collect everyone's ideas written on paper, but she hadn't decided on a single thing she wanted to do. She'd also been honest with herself that everyone would probably be out doing their own thing anyway. But actually being left alone in the atelier felt lonelier than she'd expected. Koko stood up. "I'll go too." She said it to the empty dining hall and headed for the entrance. ―　―　― The slope in front of the atelier was steep. Mezzaluna was built along the ridge of a crescent-shaped hill, so you either went up or down no matter where you were going. The stone-paved road was old and worn, especially slippery after rain. Koko had forgotten it was sunny today by the time she'd descended three steps. "Ah——" She caught her foot on a stone. Her right foot kicked at the air. Her body tilted. "Whoa!" It didn't end with a thud. Someone's hand had grabbed her arm firmly. "That's dangerous, kid." Looking up, she saw a middle-aged woman holding a large shopping basket. She had a white cloth wrapped around her head like a block of tofu. She looked like a stall vendor. "[gentle]You have to go down slowly." "Oh, th-thank you so much…!" Her face grew hot. A little embarrassing. As Koko thanked her, she decided to ask anyway. "Um, have you seen a kid in a blue robe, a kid with glasses, and a kid with red hair…?" The woman thought for a while, then shook her head. "Haven't seen kids like that." Right. Koko sighed and started down the slope again. This time, watching her feet carefully. ―　―　― Mirto Market was at the foot of the hill. Over a hundred stalls lined up from morning, and the smell of food, medicinal herbs, and the bustle of people all mixed together in a lively place. Koko always felt a little lift in her spirits when she came here. Kalda, the old man who grilled river fish skewers, waved at her from a distance with a "Miss!" Koko waved back. The nice smell of herbs drifted all the way over. As she wandered past the stalls, a small shop with an unfamiliar colored powder caught her eye. *(What is that?)* She drew closer. Glass bottles were lined up, their contents pale blue, dull green, or blackish orange. The powder in each was fine and beautiful. "Rare, isn't it?" The middle-aged male stall owner called out to her. "[excited]Is this Campana mineral powder? The color is completely different." "That's right. This batch came from a special layer. This pale blue one, when you mix it with ink, extends the duration to twice the normal time." "Twice!?" She leaned forward without thinking. The quality of ink used in drawing magic changed greatly depending on what kind of mineral powder you mixed in. That was the very first thing you learned when you came to the atelier. If you could get high-quality mineral powder, the same magic circle would last longer or be stronger. Koko understood why Tete's eyes sparkled at materials. Koko was weak to things like this too. "How much do I need to buy to get some?" "One small bottle for three silver Luche. If you buy in bulk, I can give you a discount." "Then one——" She reached for the pouch at her waist. Her hand touched nothing. Koko froze. She searched again. Still nothing. *(…I left it at the atelier)* She closed her eyes. She needed three seconds to accept reality. "I-I'm sorry… I forgot my wallet…" "Hm? Oh, I see." "[sad]I'm really sorry, I was so excited just a moment ago…" "Come back another time. The goods will be here." The owner smiled at her. He was a kind person. Koko bowed repeatedly and left the spot. She could only laugh at her own carelessness. ―　―　― Wandering around the edge of the market, she heard crying. A small voice. But definitely there. Koko turned toward the entrance of Passo Street. A narrow stone-paved alley stretched ahead. Old stone houses were densely packed, and you'd lose your sense of direction if you went in too far. At the entrance, a small girl was crouching. Three or four years old. Brown hair tied in two pigtails, wearing a one-piece dress. Her face was wet with tears, looking at the people passing by. But no one stopped. "[gentle]Hey, what's wrong?" Koko crouched down to meet the girl's eyes. The girl looked startled. "…Mommy… is gone." "Did you get separated? Where's your home?" "I don't know." Koko stood up and took the girl's hand. "Then let's look for it together. Do you remember what was near your house?" "…There were… lots of flower pots." "Okay, let's go." They entered Passo Street. They turned left at the first corner. Right at the next corner. Dead end. They backtracked and tried another path. Another dead end. Koko stopped and looked around. Every street looked the same. Old stone walls with faded pattern marks. Apparently remnants of magic circles, but she couldn't tell how many years old they were. Tete had once told her that marks like this were common in Mezzaluna's old districts. *(…Where am I?)* She was lost. Completely lost. She'd tried to help a lost child and ended up lost herself. The girl squeezed Koko's hand tightly. *(I can't let her cry. If she cries, I lose)* The moment she thought that, a sensation from long ago came back. When she was small, Koko had gotten lost in an alley like this. Not knowing where to go, she'd just cried. The sky growing dark was scary. The voices of unfamiliar adults were scary. Then a strange old man had spoken to her. "What's wrong, where's your home?" Just that was enough to let her breathe a little. Koko felt the edges of her eyes grow hot. But she wouldn't cry now. She couldn't cry in front of the girl. "Wait here a moment." Koko went to the wall and headed toward a slightly larger street. Then she smelled it. That herb smell. "Kalda!" Around the corner was a skewer stall. Kalda turned around. "Miss, what's wrong? In an alley like this?" "[scared]There's a lost child, but I got lost too… Do you know a house with lots of flower pots?" "Ah, maybe Marina's place. Hold on." Kalda quickly flipped one of his skewers and said "This way," heading into the alley. His steps were practiced, showing no hesitation. Koko pulled the girl's hand and followed. After turning three corners, a house with red flower pots lined up on the windowsill came into view. The door opened and a young mother rushed out. "[crying]Marta! Where were you!?" The girl threw herself into her mother's arms. "The big sister stayed with me." The mother looked at Koko and bowed deeply. Koko's chest felt a little warm. She was glad she'd come. And she'd confirmed something else too. She couldn't just pass by someone in trouble. That was probably because someone had helped her long ago. That memory had moved her today as well. ―　―　― She returned to the atelier in the evening. As she was climbing the slope, her feet suddenly stopped. There was something on the wall. On the atelier's outer wall, near the entrance. It hadn't been there when she'd left this morning. Koko approached slowly. A pale blue pattern. It was based on circles, but it was completely different from a normal drawing magic circle. It wasn't drawn with ink either. It was carved into the stone surface as if it had always been there from the beginning. Koko reached out her finger and touched it gently. Tingle. "Whoa!" She pulled her finger back. It was numb. It felt like static electricity, but it had reached deeper than that. She looked at the mark again. It was pulsing. Slowly, rhythmically. Like a heartbeat. *(This… isn't normal drawing magic)* She knew it by instinct. Koko saw drawing magic circles every day. On the shelves of the library, on the walls of the atelier's workshop, on practice paper. This was completely different. The way the patterns were arranged, the feel of the lines, everything was something she'd never seen before. Her chest felt unsettled. Who had drawn it? Why? That night, Koko couldn't sleep for a long time. ―　―　― Morning came. Koko lay in her futon, staring at the ceiling. She sat up and opened the window, and cool morning air drifted in. The direction of the Tramont River was hazy with thin mist. She decided to go to the library. The second-floor library was the place in the atelier that smelled the oldest. Most of the books on the shelves were handwritten copies, with characters faded in places. It was also where Tete always spent her time. Koko didn't usually use this place much, but today was different. The shape of the mark wouldn't leave her head. She pulled out a book labeled "Magic Records from the Mezzaluna Area" from the ancient texts shelf. Next, a thin book titled "Compilation of Marks Outside the Drawing System." Then she grabbed a few more old-looking ones at random. She stacked them on the table and opened them one by one. The first book wasn't relevant. Neither was the next. By the third book, she was getting sleepy partway through. The fourth book. Koko's hand stopped. In the yellowed pages, there was that mark's shape. Not exactly the same, but clearly from the same family of patterns. The unique arrangement based on circles. With trembling fingers, she traced the text. The characters were old and some were illegible. But picking out only the readable parts—— *'…When the seventh day's moon rises, the mark activates and… the place where it is carved… will disappear.'* Koko couldn't move from that spot for a while. She felt the blood drain from her face. Disappear. The place where it was carved. *(The atelier… will vanish?)* She traced the page with her finger. Seven days. The mark had appeared yesterday evening. So one day had already passed. Six days remained. The sound of morning birds drifted in from outside the window. Koko set the book on the table and leaned back deeply in her chair. She couldn't do this alone. Her knowledge wasn't nearly enough. Even if she read all yesterday's documents, she still wouldn't understand what that mark was. She didn't know what was needed,