A creature with a skull for a head purchases an orphan with no penny to her name. Chise Hatori is troubled by visions and is sold as a slave.
Chise soon discovers she’s been sold to an inhuman mage – a wizard who isn’t human. She’s rapidly spun into a world where the magic’s around the corner. It doesn’t matter where she goes, who she meets or what she runs into.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy manga, and I had doubts when starting this one, but I’m proud to say I was proven wrong. It could have been the details in Chise’s purchase. It gives me an uneasy feeling thinking about it. Reminds me of a Stacey Doodley documentary regarding sex trafficking in Cambodia. So there’s a much darker side to this story, even in the first volume.
There is a moment when the mage states his reasoning for purchasing Chise in the first place. Other than just being his apprentice magician. He wants her as a wife, but I strongly feel he wants to protect her from whatever happened to her in her past.
“Indeed, the world in which you grew up was not kind, but it was not your enemy. There is already a key in the lock that holds you. All you need do now is open it.” (Elias, mage)