Chapter 53

'''First impressions are the most lasting. I' (TBA, TBA) is the 53rd chapter of The Ancient Magus' Bride'' manga written by Kore Yamazaki.

Synopsis
Elias, Chise and Ruth with the aid of Hazel create a shortcut that leads from the Ainsworth home to the College. Elias and Angelica discuss how Chise received Elias' original bolo tie.

Summary
Philomela tests out the tea that Chise gifted her (using the same detect magic method that Renfred used on Alice when he first found her) to help her feel better and discovers it is imbued with magic, so she throws it in the garbage. She, however, keeps the potpourri satchel that was also a gift in her pocket.

The Ainsworth residents are getting ready for another day at the College, but they are using a shortcut today with Hazel as their guide. The previous trip to the college took 3 hours, whereas this shortcut makes the commute only 5 minutes. Hazel arrives to pick up Elias, Ruth and Chise to guide them to an appropriate entrance to the back road that will lead them to the College. The only catch is that the roads are guarded by Sentinels, aka Hunting Hounds. An old telephone box serves as a not noticeable entrance and they enter the dark tunnel. Hazel is already granted safe access to these roads because of his job as a courier. He seems to offer them a bag of meat as payment for everyone else's safe passage. In order to reuse the road again and again without being attacked by the hounds is to have their scent placed inside you, which requires everyone to eat a piece of the hound's scales.

Everyone arrives safely at the College. Chise reflects on what Hazel said about his mother nagging him to settle down with that special someone. This triggers Chise to ask Elias why he asked her to be his bride, when they are interrupted by Angelica who is delivering a parcel to the College. Chise heads off to class, leaving Elias and Angelica to have their own discussion about Chise and the origin of her bolo tie. We flashback to when Chise was still asleep, recovering after her fight with Cartaphilus. While she is asleep, Ruth tries to explain to Elias her reasoning why she doesn't care about getting hurt while helping others. Chise cherishes others but not herself. She takes action without thinking that other people may worry about her in the same manner that she worries for others. Since Ruth and Chise share injuries, he worries he will be too injured one day to help her when she needs it. Elias comes up with a solution for Chise not thinking of her own safety by gifting her his original bolo tie (the one that was gifted to him by Rahab). The thought being that she will be so worried about something happening to this precious item that she will second guess putting herself in danger.

The chapter ends with Zoe in the nurse's office for an examination with Alexandra. Someone seems to be spying on them from outside the room.

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