Nissia

  ***

  With work having ended today and my brother being out with his dy friend, I sat in my room reading a letter from the Regent twins. Nearly four years have passed since we first met and we suspect that the game’s story is going to be starting soon. Not only that, but we discovered the identity of the viliness. Her name is Evelyn Eytell. At first we weren't exactly convinced that it was her. Not only that, but she was acting strange, and had almost Earth like mannerisms. To put it pinly, she wasn’t behaving how she was supposed to be. However, that didn’t st.

  Not long after meeting the Regent twins, Evelyn changed. It was almost as if the world was forcibly correcting itself. Rumors told of her being the cause of several servants being fired in a single night. Not only that, but the servants who came in seemed to have bad attitudes towards her step mother. They constantly went around her back to accommodate Evelyn. As for her step father, he was so busy with work that he was unable to do anything.

  It would seem like the previous pn to reform Evelyn wasn’t going to work. Evelyn, who is most likely a native of this world, seems to be doomed to her fate. That leaves us with a big question. Are we? Given how long it’s been, none of us can clearly remember the plot of the game, so we don’t exactly know if we are on one of the good endings or bad ones. Wait, actually, I don’t think the game even started yet. Aren’t we supposed to meet up at school first? When is the game starting after all? Given the fact that there is no public school here, I’ll need to ask them when the school year starts. Let’s hope things go well…

  Melody

  ***

  Having flown out of the estate, I headed towards the capital in the dead of night. Like always, I said goodbye to the Shadow, who may or may not be keeping an eye on me, before I did so. I’m not sure why, since I’ve only ever seen them once, but Uncle Aaron said that they have been keeping an eye on me for a while. Anyways, today I was going to be running a sort of experiment.

  …

  Arriving at the capital, I saw plenty of tall buildings and towers. Soon enough, I saw a rge church-like building. Wow, lots of stained gss and bell towers. How expensive was it to build this pce? Well, let’s not float around outside all night, let’s head in! Finding a small hole on the roof which looked like some birds entered through, I used a quick spell to clean it up and crawled in.

  After making sure that I was alone, I went ahead and nded. Huh? Less pews then I would have thought. I wonder if they move the seating at night? Anyway, at the center of the wide room was some sort of altar made of marble, and on it was a rge obsidian sphere. Now, time to test my magic. Taking one of off my gloves, I pced my hand on it.

  …

  Nothing happened? Okay, how do I use this thing? Maybe it needs some blood? Well dang. Obviously I don’t have anything to cut myself on. Looking at the altar, I searched for a dagger or anything sharp. The closest thing that I found was a statue of a dy with wings. I rubbed my hand against the sharpest looking part and nothing happened. Hmn. Okay, what if I transform into Evelyn and try again? Doing just that I try again but to no avail. What now?

  Changing back, I look at the statue with an arguably bad idea in mind. Swinging my fist down on it, I shatter the statue into several pieces. Transforming to Evelyn I grab one of the pieces and using the jagged edge, I cut my palm. Ouch that hurt more than I thought. But this should work, right? Looking at my blood drip on the stone device, nothing happened. Well, it was worth a shot. Changing back, I used my moon magic to both heal my hand and fix the statue. I’m a bit out of practice so it was harder than it looked, but given all my experience in fixing the damage I caused on Earth, I eventually was able to do it. As I fixed it, the obsidian reacted.

  With a quick fsh, it lit up. Realizing that this magical device would react to magic, I became somewhat annoyed at my own stupidity. As soon as the statue was finished, I filled my hand with magic and touched the obsidian. As soon as I did, the room was filled with a blinding golden light. Wow, that was fast. I wonder if I can make this thing glow brighter? Pushing more magic into it, the light continued to grow. Seeing this, I thought that maybe my moon magic is the same as this world's holy magic? That’s good to know.

  Ah, I hear shouting and footsteps. I quickly withdrew my hand and, making sure I was invisible, made my escape though the same hole that I entered. Okay, so I may have caused some sort of disturbance. Let’s hope that it was only inside the church.

  Nissia

  ***

  In the dead of night, I quietly slip out of my bed. Looking past my brother’s empty bed, I debate lighting a candle. Deciding against it, as they were expensive, I slip my feet into my sandals and quietly exit the room. Moving past the kitchen and our mostly new oven, I head to a door furthest away from everything. Using what little of the light of the moon that made it through the windows, I opened the door to be greeted by a closet sized space filled with nice smelling herbs, soft moss, a bench and a bucket that I didn’t dare look in. At times like these, I very much miss Earth’s plumbing. Despite having to use a bucket, we were one of the lucky few who didn’t have to rely on public bathrooms, not that there were many bad ones nearby.

  Given the fact that it was the dead of night and I was relying on moonlight, I kept the door cracked open to at least somewhat see what I’m doing. Very gd I convinced dad to install a new bench, I was suddenly confronted by a golden glow from outside. That’s odd. Candles don’t look like that and we don't have any sort of magical mps. Opening up the door slightly more, I looked out the window and saw a beam of golden light shooting up into the sky, coming from the direction of the capital. I don’t think it’s the magical girl. She’s moon themed so her light would be pale. That light is gold and it’s going on for quite a while. What could that be? Wait. Isn’t that the sign of the saint appearing? Oh dang. Looks like the game is going to start soon. I’ll need to be ready for that. Once more closing the door, I finish doing my business and head back to sleep.

  Lna

  ***

  Hearing a commotion coming from outside my room, I sleepily rise from bed. What could be going on at this hour? With only the light coming out from under the door, as my heavy curtains were closed, I carefully made my way to the door. Opening it up, I saw a few of the te night staff running by. It wasn’t the “Oh god we are going to die!” type of run, but more like “Look, it’s a fight!” type, so I followed them. Keeping my hand on the wall to prevent my sleepy self from falling over, I saw over the shoulders of the adults a golden light shining from outside the window. Huh, that’s weird.

  “What’s going on?” Lloyd’s tired voice asked from behind me.

  Yawning and rubbing my eye, I pointed out the window towards the light.

  “It’s a light…” I said.

  Whatever it was, no one seemed scared, so I didn’t really care. Lloyd, on the other hand, opened his eyes wide as he looked out the window.

  “It’s starting…” He said dramatically.

  I don’t get what bit he’s trying to do, so I can’t py along. Not sure how much longer I can take, I tug on his sleeve.

  “I’m tired…” I yawned.

  “Ah, right.” He said taking my hand.

  Half asleep, I trusted Lloyd to bring my back to my room, forgetting all about the light.

  Melody

  ***

  Landing in my room, I yawned as I was about to go back to sleep. Before I could take a single step, or even transform back into Evelyn, I was picked up like a piece of luggage. How nostalgic. Looking through the darkness, I saw the space beside me shimmer. From the darkness emerged a woman in a bck, leather armored suit with a short sword on her side.

  “Ah, 38.” I said. “Hi.”

  This woman was Shadow 38. I unfortunately don’t know her, or any of the other Shadows’ names. She is one of my babysitters, although she likes to call herself my guard.

  “You are in so much trouble…” She sighed.

  “What? What’d I do?” I asked.

  “I saw the light.” She said.

  “You're converting to worship the Moon Goddess?” I asked, a bit more excited than I probably should have been.

  “No. That golden light that came from the direction that you flew off in?” She said annoyed. “You know, the light that the whole Empire could see?”

  Yikes. That was me. I might actually be in trouble!

  “I just touched a rock!” I said.

  “Save it for your Uncle.” She sighed.

  “Aw dra- Wait, can you tell him I was sleeping?” I asked.

  “No.” She said firmly.

  “Aw drats!” I snapped my fingers.

  “Honestly, you are one strange kid.” She said, setting me on my bed.

  Being freed, I transformed back and made myself comfortable. Looks like I’m not going to be scolded just yet. Leaning back, I looked at 38. Since she was inside, she didn’t wear a solid mask st time, but rather some cloth mask that reminded me of ninja from back on Earth. I wonder if there's something like them here?

  “Hey, have you ever heard of something called ninja?” I asked.

  “Can’t say that I have.” She shook her head. “What is it?”

  “It’s a person who sneaks around, and spies, and assassinates, and uses tricks and magic to stay hidden.” I expined. I don’t think ninja actually used magic, but I’m a Magical Girl, so who knows. Maybe they did. “Oh, also they can cut arrows and whatnot out of the sky.”

  “That sounds a lot like us.” She nodded. “Where do they come from?”

  “Oh, um some far off nd in the east. I’m not so sure.” I said. She definitely doesn’t know what Japan is.

  “Where did you hear about them?” She asked curiously.

  “The Raven told me.” I said.

  That’s a lie. The Raven that I told them about is just a made up person that I’m using to expin my Earth knowledge. Lying is really good! I’m very gd that Orion taught me how! I should lie more often.

  “The Raven…” She sighed. “And just who is this ‘Raven’ guy?”

  “Oh you know…” I avoided eye contact.

  “Right, well if this Raven guy comes along, I’ll be sure to ask him a few questions.” She patted my head.

  Part of me wants to tell her that I’m not a child and she should stop, but another part of me wants this to continue. Outside of my dreams, I can’t remember the st time I was told so much as "Good job" let alone getting anything near a hug. Ah, I made myself sad. Maybe I should ask for a hug? No, I don’t want to be seen as clingy. Let’s save the hugs for Orion. For now, let’s wait to be scolded by Uncle Aaron.

  …

  “So, you broke into the Grand Cathedral simply to find out if the magic given to you by the Moon Goddess was the same as holy magic, despite the fact that any magic from gods is considered to be holy magic?” Uncle Aaron asked, sitting in his office in a soft looking robe.

  “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds obvious…” I muttered, avoiding eye contact.

  Why didn’t I think of that?

  “Well…” Uncle Aaron sighed. “If you wanted to test your magic, you could have just asked.”

  “I didn’t want to bother anyone.” I said.

  “And because of that, you’ve woken up the whole Empire.” He said.

  “Who could have guessed that would have happened? I barely touched it!” I lied.

  “I suppose you’re right.” He sighed again.

  Holding his head for a moment, he took a deep breath.

  “Okay.” He started. “Firstly I’ve already sent a message to the Regents to inform them that his incident was probably caused by you.”

  “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” I asked crestfallen.

  “As far as anyone is concerned, no.” He said. “However, given the spectacle you made, the Regents must do something. Luckily for us, we’ve been pnning.”

  “Let’s hear it!” I said, excited to change the subject.

  “We pn to gather together all the saints we know of in the capital.” He said. “This now includes you.”

  “Is that good or bad?” I asked.

  “That depends.” He paused. “How do you feel about going to school?”

  “School?” I asked. “To build connections?”

  As a noble, I should have a variety of tutors to teach me everything I know. As such, schools are more for establishing connections rather than learning. There are learning institutions out there, it’s just that they are universities and are mostly used for researching and not necessarily teaching. But that’s besides the point. Let’s listen to Uncle’s expnation.

  “Normally? Yes.” He said. “However this particur school has long been used to train the saint when he or she would appear. Admission is difficult, however thanks to your little show, the Regents can forcibly admit anyone they cim to have the potential to be the saint.”

  “Oh, so that’s good to keep them safe.” I said.

  “Yes, but normally when the saint appears, the Demon Lord arises and demons become far more active and start attacking cities.” He said.

  “Good thing I’ve thinned them out.” I said.

  “And thankfully, because of you, most demons inside the Empire have been destroyed. Instead of having garrisons in every town, we can send groups out to hunt down demons to ensure that they don’t repopute.” He said. “But that’s another matter. As for the Demon Lord himself, I’ll ask you bluntly. Do you think you can beat him?”

  “Yep.” I said.

  “On what grounds?” He asked.

  “Demons seem kind of weak, and if this guy is waking up or whatever, I can take him out before he knows I’m there.” I said.

  “We’ll keep that in mind.” He said. “Back to the subject of school. Do you know what sort of reputation you have?”

  “I’ve heard a bit about it.” I said. “People think I’m just some bratty spoiled kid, right?”

  “That’s a nice way of putting it.” He nodded.

  “So what about it?” I asked. “You think people will bully me or something?”

  “No, you are by w a Duchess after all, however, things will not be easy for you. People will look to befriend you or at least pretend to befriend you. They will try to use you for their own gain.” He expined. “Not only that, but rumors say that you are close to the Regents twins.”

  Yeah, I’ve done this before. Should be easy enough to deal with.

  “I’ll deal with it.” I said.

  “Are you sure you can?” He asked.

  “Yep.” I said confidently.

  He looked into my eyes for a moment, looking for something. Whatever that was, he found it and nodded.

  “Very well.” He said. “I’ll take care of things on my end. You get some rest. We are going to get very busy starting tomorrow.”

  “Yes!” I nodded.

  Once more looking me in my eyes, he saw my determination and nodded. Excusing myself, I headed back to my room with 38, invisibly, by my side. Looks like I’m going back to school.

  Grayburne