With the meals in hand, Auguste and Henrietta left the barn and followed the road into town. It was a road commonly seen anywhere, unpaved and of barely even dirt. The Henrietta Company had traveled on such roads more times than they could count. Which was why it felt odd. From their experience, the town should have been just a little over half an hour away, yet, they arrived in what felt like merely ten minutes.

"We sure got here fast."

"Too fast."

"So Gusty, what now? We just gonna ask around?"

"That's the plan, but..."

The town was huge even from afar, about the size of Fortuna perhaps. Naturally, where there was a town this large, there would be no shortage of people. This town was no different. With just a glance, one could see people coming to and fro on the streets, shopkeepers tending to their shops or stalls, as well as travelers from afar. However, there was something strange about them. It took Auguste a moment to realize what he found so uncanny.

"Is it me, or are they kind of 'vague'?"

Even while looking at the people here, Auguste couldn't quite describe their appearance. Were they tall or short? Men or Women? What were the colors of their eyes, their hair? Did they have small faces? Did they have big eyes? All these questions, Auguste could not answer.

"Yeah, I know what ya mean. It feels kinda dreamy lookin' at 'em."

It was as if you'd forget them once you took your eyes off of them. Like forgetting what you were dreaming about soon after waking up.

That being said, they could be talked to and the contents of the conversation could be remembered. That was all that Auguste and Henrietta needed from them at the moment.

With the information gain from the vague people, Auguste and Henrietta found where Finn was living. It seemed like Finn was a well-known figure in town. They called him a kind, helpful man who was always glad to lend a hand to those in need. A local hero, some even called him. Auguste thought that certainly sounded like what Finn could become. As for his dwelling, Finn lived in a two-storied building of stone bricks on the corner of a street, tucked between a bustling restaurant and what seemed to be a toy store.

Arriving at the front door, Auguste knocked with trepidation in his chest, wondering who would be greeting him. Of course, it would most likely be Finn, but in this strange town filled with strange people, will this 'Finn' be the same one he knew? The answer did not arrive in a timely manner. In fact, it did not arrive at all. Even after knocking on the door repeatedly, no one responded.

"Is he not home? It's the middle of the day after all. He's probably at work," Henrietta concluded.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Guess we'll have to find out where he works next. I wonder what he even does."

While thinking about their next step, the two wandered by the toy store. By chance, Auguste took a glance inside, and there, he spotted a tall, broad-shouldered figure emerging from the back of the shop. It was a figure that struck him with nostalgia, a familiar figure that he instinctively knew that he could always depend on.

"Finn!" Auguste called out, quite surprised that his friend was working in a toy store. With all the wood chips and dust on him, it seemed like he's the one making the toys too.

Was Finn always good with his hands?

Thinking back, he had seen Finn putting together some makeshift fishing rods before. Rarely did they caught anything though.

"Is that you, Gusty? And Henri too!" Finn seemed surprised to see them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Yer sister asked us to deliver this," said Henrietta as she handed Finn his lunch.

"Oh, thanks, I was thinking of taking a quick lunch break."

"Yeah, about that," Auguste spoke with his arms crossed. "Why don't you just eat at the restaurant a building over? Would save us a whole lot of trouble."

"Oh, um, well that's..."

"Darling, are those your friends?"

Another person emerged from the back of the shop. It was a woman, or so Auguste thought. He can't be sure because she too was like the rest of the townspeople. As soon as he took his eyes off her, his impression of her became vague.

"That's right," Finn happily answered her, "This is Auguste and Henrietta, we used to go dungeoneering together."

"Finn," Auguste's stern tone pulled Finn back, "I just noticed that while your lunch has some pretty big portions, it's not quite big enough for both you and your wife. You're a big guy, so you're probably going to eat all of it too. So, why is it that your sister only made enough for just you? Why is it that she made us deliver it all the way here when there's a restaurant right around the corner? And what about your wife, why can't she make you food instead?"

Speaking of which, Auguste remembered, when I saw the town from atop the hill, I thought that it might either be either a village or a town. How did I mistake a town of this size as a village? I should have been able to get a clear view up there. It's as if this world is constantly shifting around with no rhyme or reason, kind of like a......

"Oh, speaking of which, do you want to see this thing I've been working on? It's a little more complicated than your typical wooden horses, but I think the children would love it."

Finn completely ignored Auguste, causing the latter to furrow his brow in both frustration and suspicion.

"I think we'll pass. We still have to deliver to Morganna."

"Is that so, sorry for holding you up then."

"Sure. Anyways, do you know where she lives?"

"Morganna? She lives in a forest not too far from here. Just head west and you'll get there eventually."

"You want to be more specific?"

"Don't worry about it, it's not hard to find."

"Uh-huh, whatever you say."

With his brow still knitted together, Auguste left Finn's toy store with Henrietta in tow.

"That was weird," Henrietta was quick to comment.

"So I've noticed."

"Ya know, we should talk to him more, try to figure out what's wrong with him."

"I don't think there'd be much of a point in that."

"What makes yer say that?"

"Well, I have a suspicion or two, but I need to see Morganna first. I'm sure once we meet her, it'll all be clear."

"I guess we should hurry then... What the-"

"Maybe we don't have to hurry that much after all."

Before they even noticed it, they were already walking down a forest path. They didn't even remember leaving the town and yet, there they were.

"This is startin' to get way too spooky for me."

"Well, it's too late to turn back now. Heck, I don't think we even can at this point."

The two kept walking, following the path ahead of them through the dense woodland. They weren't sure if they're even heading in the right direction, but Auguste had a feeling that if they kept walking, they'll arrive where they ought to be sometime soon.

It ended up as expected, sooner than expected even. Auguste and Henrietta eventually ended up in front of a cabin in the middle of the woods. Outside of the cabin, there seemed to be a small garden with some unknown plants growing in it. From the back, the clucking of chickens could be heard.

"Rather homely for a witch's home, don't you think, Henri?"

"Yeah... I don't think even a witch wants to live in some decrepit hole."

Walking up to the front door, Auguste went ahead and knocked on the door. He did not have to wait long for an answer.

"Took you long enough," said Morganna as she swung the door open. "I was about to starve to death."

"I think we got here pretty quick all things considered. Besides, can't you cook for yourself? I heard chickens in the back."

"Those aren't for cooking."

"What other use would ya have for chickens?" Henrietta chimed in.

"They lay eggs, I suppose," Auguste answered.

"And what do ya do with eggs?"

"Alright, I see your point."

"Well, if you must know," said Morganna with a hint of reluctance, "I can show you'd like."

Auguste and Henrietta looked to one another for a moment.

"Uh... Sure?"

After taking the packaged meal from Auguste and Henrietta, Morganna guided her two visitors to the back of her cabin. There, in an enclosure of tall, wooden fences, Morganna grabbed a chicken and with it tucked under her arm, walked further into the woods.

Some ways from the cabin, there was a cave. The air was cool with plenty of moisture. Led deeper within by Morganna, a chicken in one hand and a ball of fire in another, they eventually arrived at the rear of the cave wherein a large 'thing' laid.

Said 'thing' was about as tall as Morganna and three times her width, it was transparent and gelatinous, and upon seemingly sensing Morganna in the vicinity, it wiggled in apparent glee.

"Is that the Slime?"

"It grew as I fed it. With this size, it's becoming difficult to keep it in the house. I've been meaning to ask, but I wonder if Elaine's barn has any space for it."

"Won't it try to eat the cows though?"

"Oh, don't be silly! It's properly domesticated."

"I don't even know what domesticating a Slime means, but fine, I'll ask Elaine about it later."

"Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, do you want to try feeding it?"

"Huh? Why me?"

"Why not? You're always staring when I feed it, so I thought you might want to try."

"Not when it's this size." Auguste then turned towards Henrietta. "How about you Henri, you want to try?"

"Are ya insane? Have yer seen the size of this thing!? It'll gobble me whole!"

Neither of them seemed all too thrilled at the idea, and so, leaving Morganna exasperated at their pathetic display and fed the Slime herself. Incidentally, they did not enjoy the sight of the chicken slowly being dissolved as it struggled within the 'belly' of the gelatinous creature. Henrietta even threw up halfway through. By that point, Auguste decided that his morbid curiosity was not worth it and decided to leave.

"By the way, what made you decide to move all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Auguste asked as they made their way back to the cabin.

"Why?" Morganna lifted her brow. "I mean, I never liked places with too many people to begin with, so the forest seemed like a perfect choice."

"Why not just move in with Elaine."

"I only stayed around till I figured out where I was going to live, now that I have a place of my own, I don't see the need."

"Despite that, you still got her to make food for you."

"She did that on her own accord. I'm just humoring her."

"Well, I'm just surprised that you decided to live like your master."

At the mention of her master, Morganna gave Auguste a dirty look."

"Why did you even settle down here, anyway?" Auguste asked yet another question.

"Why? I mean, I..."

Morganna couldn't answer him, and just when Auguste was about to press on...

"Oh, and speaking of which, there's this catalyst I've been trying to work on but I'm having some trouble gathering the materials."

She changed the topic, much like how Finn did. No, rather than changing the topic, she was acting as if the conversation didn't even happen in the first place.

"Morgan, why'd you even become a Dungeoneer in the first place? Wasn't it to study the Abyss? Was it to further your mastery of the Abyssal arts? Why are you hiding out in the woods like your master for?"

Even at the mention of her master, Morganna continued talking about her catalysts.

"I'm thinking of a material that has Ether with a high level of purity in it," Morganna said, completely ignoring what Auguste was talking about.

"There's no pure Ether. Ether is Ether," Auguste retorted. "If you're talking about the memories within the Ether, then you need to refine it first to make it 'pure', that's what the catalyst crafting process is all about. Not to mention, a catalyst needs to come from a living object, and living things are complicated. You don't just find materials that come with 'pure' Ether."

By this point, Auguste had some basic knowledge of the witch's magic. He was rather interested in them after all. He even once thought that even he might be able to use them if he learned enough about them, though that didn't go very far. Still, he enjoyed the conversations, learning things from Morganna and even Joseph was fun for him. That's why he was immediately able to tell that this Morganna did not know what she was talking about. Morganna was speaking like someone who had only heard pieces of conversations here and there about magic and filled up the gaps with their own imagination.

"You're not Morganna," Auguste declared. "And that wasn't Finn either!"

"What are you talking about?" Finally, Morganna responded to him. "Of course I'm me."

"I think we're done here," said Auguste.

With a very confused Henrietta in tow, the two left the forest in a hurry.

"W-what was that all about?" asked Henrietta. "Did you figure something out?"

"Yeah. This whole place, it is without a doubt some kind of dream."

"Seriously? Though, I guess that explains a whole lot of things."

"Let's go," said Auguste, not slowing down his steps in the slightest. "It's time get our friend to wake up."

***

End of Chapter 79