Reani

  ***

  That kid is an odd one and I’m not talking about her personality. As one of the mages who knows healing magic, and has studied medicine, I can’t help but find her odd. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Bianca Reani, Chief medical officer of the Acadia Mercenary group. Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts of things. Missing fingers and limbs, curses, lots of alcohol reted injuries, people surviving seemingly fatal wounds, and even some mild poisons. This kid however is something else…

  Through healing magic, I can see that her bones had cracks and fractures, organs showed traces of rupturing, muscles were torn, and all of this looks to have been done within the st year. Any single one of these would be life changing injuries without magical assistance, however all she has is an admittedly severe limp. And that’s not even mentioning the poison. Oh the poison… Every other injury aside, I’m not sure how she’s not dead. My healing magic has the ability to detect and cleanse mild poisons and infections from the body. Though I’m not sure on the exact amount, her blood is AT LEAST half contaminated with poison. HALF! It’s gotten to the point where she herself can be cssified as poisonous! If she so much as bleeds near someone, they might just get sick! How is this kid alive?

  Looking up at my tent, I can’t help but think of her. Just what sort of life has she lived to get into this situation? All that we know about her is that her parents died and she was left alone out here. Just where is her home? And I’m not talking about that “hole in the ground” as Aura calls it. Sighing to myself, I need to know. I know it’s the dead of night, but it’s not like that kid sleeps anyway. I’m sure that she just waits to pass out. Why is that? Swinging myself off my cot, I throw a robe on along with some sandals, and head out of my tent. My bunk mates were already sleeping, so I better be careful not to wake them up.

  Heading out, I shiver as the cold air hits me. It’s only fall, but as we all know, weather here is more likely to be extreme when something happens. For example, simple rain can become days long rain storms, and a hot day can quickly become an equally long heat wave. We had a bit of bad luck coming out here so te in the year, but a contract is a contact. Walking to our infirmary, I saw a small figure sitting outside, looking at the stars. It’s almost freezing, how is this kid out here without a coat?

  “What are you doing out here?” I asked.

  “Ah.” She turned to look at me in surprise. “Doctor dy.”

  Doctor Lady… That's what she calls every woman who wears the same uniform as me. I don’t think she knows our names. Let’s try telling her again.

  “It’s Ms.Reani.” I said, moving to stand next to her. “And again, what are you doing out here?”

  “I’m looking at the moon.” She pointed up at the moons.

  “Which one?” I asked.

  “The white one.” She said.

  White one? We don’t have a white one. Looking up, I saw the three moons. Red, green, and blue. No white moon. Looking back down at her, she seemed to be at peace. I couldn’t help but worry that her sleeping habits may be causing hallucinations. It's te and cold. Lets try and get her inside to sleep.

  “It’s cold out. Why not head in and get some sleep?” I suggested.

  “But I want to look at it.” She said innocently.

  “But what if you catch a cold?” I asked.

  “I’m resilient.” She said.

  Yes, that’s true, but I don’t want to be the one that gets her killed because of the cold.

  “You’re going inside.” I said, picking her up.

  “Aw…” She pouted, though didn’t resist.

  She’s so light… Has she ever had a proper meal? Even now, we’re feeding her small portions to try and fatten her up, but I just can’t help but worry. Something like this will take time. Healing magic can’t fix it. Pushing open the door fp, we were greeted by the warmth of the enchanted tents. Though I say warm, they weren’t actually what one would consider to be warm. That being said, it was a lot warmer than outside. Getting to her cot, I saw that there was a little nest made from spare bnkets and the cloak she was wearing when brought here. Whatever, as long as she stayed in here, this was fine.

  Setting her down, she made herself comfortable, and then looked up at me. It wasn’t a sort of look where she wanted to say something, but rather, she was staring off in the distance, and I just happened to be in the way. An odd habit she had. I wonder what she’s thinking about, or if she’s thinking at all. She should just go to sleep.

  “You should close your eyes and get some sleep.” I said.

  “Ah? Oh, I’m fine. I’ll fall asleep soon.” She said, snapping out of her trance.

  “It’ll be faster if you close your eyes.” I said.

  “I don’t want to do that…” She said avoiding eye contact.

  “Why is that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “…” She gnced at me as if wondering if I could be trusted.

  Trying to make her feel at ease, I sat by her side and looked at her kindly. After a moment, she put her head down and looked at the door.

  “When I close my eyes… I see them…” She said.

  “See who?” I asked.

  “M…” He hesitated. “My parents…”

  “Ah.” I realized.

  Though I don’t know what happened to her parents, I could only imagine what it’s like to see your dead parents whenever you try to sleep. Given her injuries and where we found her, I doubt her parents simply died. There is no such thing as a non violent death in this forest. Now, was it demons or bandits? I can’t imagine either one would simply let her escape. Whatever happened, it was horrific. Enough so that she wouldn’t even close her eyes to sleep. As a doctor, no, as a human, I wondered if there was anything I could do to help. There was one thing I could do.

  As a magical doctor, there have been times which I needed a patient to be put to sleep to operate on. Depending on how strong of a spell I use, the time they stay asleep could st from minutes to days. Obviously, I’m not going to put her to sleep for days, but this is an option.

  “Hey, would you like me to use a sleep spell on you?” I asked.

  “A sleep spell?” She asked.

  “Yes. I can use a spell to help you sleep.” I expined to her. “Maybe then you won’t see them.”

  “…” She took a moment to think about it.

  Though I called it a sleep spell, it wasn’t exactly that, but it was close enough. There were actually sleep spells, but those are more like sleep aids. They help one go to sleep rather than forcing one to go to sleep. They won’t work on someone who refuses to close their eyes. Looking at her as she thought about it, she eventually turned to me.

  “Can we try it?” She asked.

  “Yes.” I was secretly relieved.

  When she first came in, I was tempted to do this, but she was already in a bad mood. I didn’t want to anger her any further and cause her to try and run away.

  “Do I need to do anything?” She asked.

  “No, just get comfortable and put your head down.” I instructed.

  “Okay.” She did just that.

  “Next I want you to count to ten.” I said. This wasn’t actually necessary, but it helped people calm down.

  “1… 2… 3…” She started counting.

  Before she made it to four, I cast the spell and her eyes closed. Her breathing was steady and she seemed to rex. Just to be safe, I decided that I should at least stay in the tent with her for the night. Covering her with a bnket, I moved to sleep in one of the cots nearby.

  Evelyn

  ***

  “Wake up sleepy head.” A familiar voice called out to me.

  Feeling my weak body waking up, my senses started to come back to me. The air here was clean. No, rather it was sterile with a faint scent of medicine. There was a regur beeping too. Feeling as if I was waking from a nap that was far too long, I opened my eyes. The clean white ceiling of my hospital room greeted me. The artificial light, in addition to the sunlight, was blinding. Blinking several times as my vision was blurry, I tried to make sense of things.

  “There you are, finally awake.” The voice once more said.

  A gentle hand brushed away some hair that was on my face. With effort, I turned to face whoever this was. Seeing a woman in a suit with bck hair. Ah, it’s her. Seeing my gaze, she smiled at me.

  “Looks like you had a nice sleep.” She said.

  “I-” I started.

  “No, there's no need to speak.” She silenced me. “You should just y there and listen.”

  What’s going on? I’m back on Earth? I shouldn’t be here. Is this a dream?

  “It’s no dream, well that’s not exactly wrong.” She smiled. “You are dreaming, but what’s happening here is very real. I’ve been trying to reach you for a long time, Melody.”

  “!?” I was shocked.

  How does she know that name? Aside from Baxter and the others of the Moonlight Blossoms should know about that name. Before I could even question her, she continued.

  “There's no need to be worried. I don’t mean you any harm, I just wanted to tell you something.” She said. “Firstly, congratutions on being reborn. You can thank Celistia for that.”

  Celistia!? The Moon Goddess!? Is she here? I look around, but I'm unable to find her.

  “Please calm down. My sister isn’t here at the moment.” She said.

  Oh, so she isn’t… Wait sister!? She has a sister!?

  “Oh yes, she’s my younger sister but please allow me to skip over that for now.” She said. “We have limited time and it’s very hard to get in contact with you.”

  I have so many questions, but please go on.

  “Yes well, as you know, you unfortunately died in this world. Because of Celistia you were reborn, though there are some problems that were unforeseen at the time. The world that you were reborn in is an odd one. For reasons not known to me, it follows cycles. Everyone born into that world is tied to a certain fate. Evelyn is bound by that fate, though what it is I cannot tell.”

  Bound to a fate? Could it be that I’m fated to die? The fact that the crash killed everyone aside from me is suspicious. Not only that but I’ve apparently been eating poison everyday. My magical girl powers must be keeping me alive.

  “Yes they are.” She nodded. “By having the blessing of an outside goddess, you, Melody, can change fates.”

  Wow. So, what should I do? Honestly I just want to survive and eat good food once I’m out of this forest. I haven’t been eating well and I really want some ice cream or at least a cinnamon bun or something.

  “I understand that, but I would also like to ask you a favor.” She said.

  Oh, what is it?

  “I want you to undo the fate that is binding the world.” She said. “Both me and Celistia believe that all life should be free to live as it pleases. Don’t you?”

  Yeah, that would be nice. If I am fated to die in this world, I would like to avoid it if possible.

  “I would too. Having to die young once is bad enough.” She agreed.

  Yeah, that sucked. By the way, who are you?

  “Right, I haven’t introduced myself.” She lightly ughed. “I’m-”

  A cold hand touched my face, and my eyes shot open as my body recoiled. I found myself back in the tent with the Doctor dy and another woman looking at me. I guess that was a dream after all. To think that the moon goddess has a sister… I wonder if that person I saw was actually her or if she was just taking the image of someone who I already knew. I should try and sleep more often to try and talk to her. I’ll ask Doctor Lady to use that spell again on me tonight.

  “Looks like you had a good sleep.” The woman said, pulling her hand away.

  “Was my spell helpful?” Doctor Lady asked.

  “How long was I asleep?” I rubbed my eyes.

  “It’s already nearing lunch time.” Doctor Lady said.

  Wow, I slept for a long time. I definitely couldn’t do this if I was by myself. Looking out the door fp, I wonder if it’s too te to get something to eat?

  “Is there still food?” I asked.

  ”All you need to do is ask.” The unknown woman said.

  I did ask though? I turned to Doctor dy and asked her.

  “Is there food left?” I asked.

  “Yes, I can get you some if you want.” She said.

  “Yes please.” I said.

  “Right, just give me one moment.” She said, heading out of the tent.

  Being left alone with this woman, I decided not to let things become awkward.

  “Hi, who are you?” I said.

  “You don’t recognize me?” She asked.

  Okay, I should have just kept quiet. Right, well I already messed up, so let’s just ask and hope she forgives me.

  “Have we met before?” I asked.

  “My name is Aura.” She said. “The leader of everyone here.”

  That name sounds familiar. I wonder if I know an Aura back on Earth?

  “Hi Aura.” I greeted her.

  “You don’t remember me do you?” She asked, disappointed.

  “I’m sorry.” I apologized.

  “I’m the one who asked you to stay here.” She said. “You called me a witch. Remember?”

  “Ah!” The realization set in. “You’re the mean dy!”

  “I have a name.” She said.

  “Yes, you’re-” I hesitated. What’s her name?

  “Aura.” She pointed at herself. “My name is Aura.”

  “Hi Aura.” I greeted her.

  “That poison really did a number on you.” She muttered.

  Poison? Oh right, the grass is poisonous. I think it was Doctor dy who told me that? I should be more careful about what I eat in the future. As I was pondering this, a pte of food was suddenly in my hands, and I found myself looking at Doctor dy.

  “Ah, thanks.” I said.

  “You just noticed…” She sighed. “You really do need to be here.”

  Yeah, I’ve been zoning out recently. Wait, have I? Has it only started to happen when I got here, or is it that there are now people around to point it out? Just to be safe, let’s assume that it’s been happening for a while. I took a bite out of my food. This is good. Maybe I can ask one of them to teach me to cook. But that can come ter. Right now, let’s just enjoy this meal.

  …

  Putting my pte down, I look at the two who were observing me from their chairs.

  “Um…” I started.

  I’m not really sure what to do. I am under their care, so I’m not sure what I’m allowed to do.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “How are you feeling?” Doctor Lady asked.

  “Ummm.” I took a moment to think about it. “Not tired.”

  “Well, that’s a good start at least.” The woman sighed.

  “Aura told me that you’ve been having problems with your memory. Is that true?” Doctor Lady asked.

  “I never said that.” I said.

  “Can you tell me what my name is?” The woman asked.

  “Oh.” Having been asked this, I realized that I haven’t introduced myself. “I’m Cra Melody Evelyn. You are?”

  “See.” The woman said.

  “Do you remember my name?” Doctor Lady asked.

  “Doctor Lady.” I said.

  “Do you remember your parents’ names?” The woman asked.

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  Obviously I remember their names. Ceicel and Sophia Eytell. How could I forget my parents’ names? Thinking about it, I wondered when I learned their names. Though given how the servants address them, it wasn’t like I wasn’t going to hear them say it. Now, what about back on Earth? I guess it was… Um… what are their names? My name was Cra…? What was my st name?

  “So, what were your parent’s names?” Doctor Lady asked, holding a notepad.

  “We don’t just mean their first names.” The woman said. “First and st names as well as any titles that they may have had, or what people called them.”

  “Duke Ceicel Eytell of Acle Spia and Duchess Sophia Eytell of Martil.” I said, still curious about my Earth parents’ names.

  “I’m sorry, but could you say that again?” Doctor Lady asked. “Did you say Duke?”

  “Yeah. Dad was a Duke.” I said.

  “And… what did you say your name was?” She asked.

  “Cra Melody Evelyn.” I said. “Though they called me Evelyn.”

  Thinking about it now, maybe I should only have introduced myself only as Evelyn. After all, Cra is dead and Melody is… I guess she’s sleeping? I’m not too sure what I should call it when I’m not her.

  “Why didn't you say this earlier!?” The woman asked, hands firmly on my shoulders.

  “You didn’t ask.” I said.

  Seriously, who goes around saying, “Do you know who my parents are?” like honestly? Who would do that? I’m not my parents, I’m me.

  “Hey kid.” The woman said.

  “That’s not my name.” What a rude person.

  “Where did you say you were from?” She asked.

  “The Empire of Apricah.” I said. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I told them.

  “The Empire…” Doctor Lady muttered, shaking.

  Given her reaction, and from the fact that we are called “The Empire” I once more couldn’t help but wonder if we were evil. After all, I can’t think of one good pce that calls itself "The Empire."

  Lloyd

  ***

  “So, we’re going on a hunting trip?” Lna asked.

  “Sounds like it.” I said.

  The two of us were heading back from the stables, fresh from our riding lessons. I’m not sure if it’s because of the game setting, but we are doing much better than expected. Even in swordsmanship, I’m being praised for my skill. Now, if only we can start learning to use magic. That’s still a few years off though, so there's nothing we can do about it. According to the game, we both start using magic at the age of nine, so we still have some time before then.

  As for the hunting trip, apparently there is to be a royal hunt once a year. This will be our first year attending with mom and dad. Normally only father would go, however given that we just turned five, we are all heading out as per tradition. The capital is in good hands and there aren’t any problems so it’ll be fine with the regent family to leave it for a while. Not only that, but it’ll give us some family bonding time. Unlike most normal families, it’s rare if we all get to eat dinner at the same time. But that’s another matter.

  “Where’s it going to be?” Lna asked.

  “I’m not sure.” I admitted.

  The game had many hunting areas, but those only appear after the main game starts. Luckily I do know of several royal forests that could be our destination, but I have too little information of where it may be. Truth be told, what information we have consists of an announcement of an announcement. So, nothing much.

  “Ugh.” I don’t want to deal with bugs…” Lna compined.

  “There’s plenty of bug repellents around, so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.” I said.

  “Bugs and camping go hand in hand.” She sighed. “Can’t we go somewhere where there are no bugs?”

  “Like where?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. The beach?” She suggested.

  “I thought you hated sand flies?”

  “Yeah, but at least they don’t sting you.” She said.

  “That’s true I guess.” I nodded. “I hope you don’t mind if I change the topic, but why did you want to suddenly learn to ride a horse?”

  “There’s no cars around and given the whole adventuring thing to sy the demon lord, I figured it was better to learn it early.” She said.

  “And here I was thinking that you were getting cold feet on it.” I said.

  “It’s not like we can avoid it, right?” She looked at me hopeful.

  “If we could I would have let you know already.” I shook my head.

  “I figured.” She shrugged. “Hey, what about the heroine? Do we know who it’s going to be yet?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Whoever it is must be hiding it. I can’t find any information about who it could be.”

  Not only is that person ying low, but there are two other possibilities. One is that the person who was reincarnated, is like Lna and has no clue that they are in a game world. The other is that we are the only reincarnated people and everyone else is a native. In terms of beating the demon lord, I’m not sure which one would be the better outcome. Obviously if it is a person of this world, then they would want to fight for their family and friends. If its someone who is reincarnated, they might want to try and take over the world using video game logic.

  Luckily if the person does want to take over the world, I’ll just hire an assassin to kill them. Actually, how would I do that? Firstly, I’m five. How would a five year old hire an assassin? Can I even afford one? Okay, I might need a new pn. Maybe Lna has an idea?

  “Hey, random question, but how would you go about killing someone?” I asked as casually as I could.

  “Um…” She took a cautious step away from me.

  “No, not you!” I said. “I was worried that another reincarnation might want to take over the world.”

  “Oh.” She said. “Why not just bonk them on the head?”

  “Yeah, but they’ll have magic.” I said.

  “Get them when they’re sleeping.” She said.

  “Okay.” I sighed.

  I was hoping for too much. I’ll need to find us a colborator. Maybe one of the royal guards who can keep their lips shut. The next question is how I would go about telling them that I’m from another world? This is going to be complicated…

  Nissia

  ***

  I patted my brother on the back as he y face down in bed.

  “She just used me…” His muffled voice came from his pillow. “For cinnamon buns…”

  Yeah, this may have been my fault. Some time ago, Aiden got a girlfriend and things seemed to be going well. Today however, one of her friends told him the truth and it broke his heart. Having brought cinnamon buns into this world, and inadvertently causing this, I had to at least be here for him.

  “There there…” I couldn’t think of anything better to say.

  I don’t know what to say in this situation. In my past life, me and my friends were loners. We didn’t go out and date. We stayed home and pyed games and had husbundos and wifus. Actually, that's not true. I was on my way to a date when I got hit by that truck, so I guess I had a boyfriend. Oh, who am I kidding. I was third wheeling my way to some free ice cream. Me dying probably ruined the mood.

  Turning from his pillow, Aiden looked up at me.

  “You’re a good girl, no matter what others say…” He said.

  Aww. How- wait. “No matter what others say.” What does that mean? What are people saying about me?

  “W-what do they say?” I asked hesitantly.

  “You know, that you’re a rough and brutish kid.” He said.

  “I’m not!” I protested.

  “You gave Rodney a bloody nose over some rocks.” He said.

  “I did not!” I said.

  I kicked him in the balls over some magic ore that I found. I was keeping my treasures hidden so when the game starts I could sell them and get some money for good gear. He found me collecting them and tried to take them, so I kicked him and he fell on his face- Oh wait, yeah I did do that.

  “He deserved it!” I argued.

  “So now you did it?” He smiled at me.

  “He was stealing my stuff.” I said.

  “Really?” He asked, enjoying himself. “He was saying that you stole his stuff.”

  “That liar!” I said. “I’m going to kick his butt!”

  Aiden ughed and put a hand on my head, looking at me with gentle eyes.

  “What a rascal.” He said.

  It’s good that he’s feeling better, but the next time I see Rodney, I’m going to beat him up. That kid messed with the wrong baker. Let’s forget for a moment that mentally I’m in my twenties, and just think about beating up that five year old. What a jerk.

  Grayburne