Evelyn

  ***

  You know, having been hunting demons for a while now, I can’t help but realize that demons are kind of weak… When I was younger, I heard all about how you needed the power of a saint to fight them, and how even the Empire with all of its strength was pushed to the edge fighting them. However every time that I go out and fight them, they don’t put up that much of a fight. Yes, I bst them from the sky, but I have gone down to fight them. Even restricting my powers, they weren’t that challenging. Oh well. The less of them there are, the safer people will be. Let's keep bsting them, even if it is boring. For some time, I kept going out doing the same thing. Eventually I had to fly out further to find any.

  …

  One day as the sun was rising and I was getting ready to sleep, there was a knock on my door. Before I could get up from bed, a group of maids entered.

  “Lady Evelyn, it’s time.” Said one of the maids.

  “Time…?” I asked, rising from bed.

  “Stand.” She said.

  Half forcing me out of bed, I stood for them as they quickly changed my clothes. Shouldn’t I take a bath first? Actually, shouldn’t I eat? Also why the dress? It was a non offensive, but rather pin bck and white dress.

  “A sun dress?” I asked.

  “Lady Apine picked it out for you.” One of the maids said. “You should be thankful.”

  Well, I should thank her I guess…

  “With the restricted budget, this is all that she can spare.” Another maid said.

  Why are you telling me that? That’s Uncle Aaron’s decision.

  “Please head to the parlor.” Another maid said. “The tea party will begin shortly afternoon.”

  “Tea party?” I asked.

  What tea party? Is today a special occasion that warrants a tea party? I suppose I should pay more attention to my calendar.

  “The honor of the Eytell family is on the line.” Said one of the maids. “Do your duty as the host.”

  Saying that, the maids left my room. What? I’m the host? I don’t even know who’s coming. How can I host a tea party? The door once more opened and one of the maids poked her head in.

  “By the way, the Regent twins and their parents are coming.” She said before once more leaving.

  Okay… Um, let’s go apologize to Uncle Aaron in advance. Using my magic, I quickly cleaned myself to ensure no strange smells clung to me, and I left my room to head to Uncle Aaron’s office. On my way, I looked out the windows and saw servants preparing tables and chairs in the garden. Good, at least I don’t need to worry about setting the thing up. I hope that they at least have the seating arrangements made. I’ll check in on it and also try to remember the names on it. After checking how much time I had, I soon arrived at Uncle’s office. I knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

  “Enter.” Uncle Aaron’s voice sounded out.

  Trying the door, I found it to be locked. Odd. Quickly picking the lock, I entered. Sitting behind his desk, Uncle Aaron looked over documents. Given the piles of papers I saw, he must be really busy. Despite this, he looked up as I entered.

  “Evelyn, welcome.” He said.

  “Uncle.” I politely greeted him. “Allow me to apologize.”

  “As far as I know, you have done nothing wrong.” He said. “Or could you be pnning something?”

  “Today I am hosting a tea party, and I’m afraid I may mess up.” I admitted. “Please forgive me.”

  “Ah yes, the tea party.” He nodded.

  Okay, so he knows too? Why is it that I’m the st person to know about my own tea party?

  “Do your best, that is all I will ask of you.” He said. “I will have my own personal servants take care of the troublesome things.”

  “Thank you.” I gratefully bowed. Looks like I won’t get into trouble at least.

  “Before you go, I have something for you.” He said, reaching into a drawer in his desk.

  Uncle Aaron pulled out a small wooden box and pced it towards me. Walking forwards I picked it up and inspected it. It was a very nice box. It’s a shame that I don’t really have any jewelry to put in it. My birthday is coming up soon, so maybe I’ll get something then? No, probably not. We don’t celebrate my birthday here.

  “Go ahead and open it.” He said.

  Oh. Right. Opening it up, I saw a silver neckce with what resembled a small pocket hanging on it. Pressing the button on it, it opened and I saw the current time. Just under three hours until the tea party if this was right. Closing it, I gave it another look. It was engraved with a riverbank with trees lining it. Without waiting for instruction, I go ahead and put it on.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something change. There was a streak of gold in my hair. I tried to brush it off, but I soon saw that it wasn’t something in my hair, but it was my hair. It was the same golden blond as Uncle Aaron’s hair. Looking at the neckce, I quickly realized that it was a magical neckce.

  “Make sure that when you are seeing others or leaving the estate, you wear it.” He said. “As an Eytell, people will expect you to look a certain way. That will help you.”

  “Thank you.” I bowed once more.

  “And one more thing.” He said.

  “?” I looked up at him.

  “I’m sure that you are aware that the Regent twins are coming, correct?” He asked.

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  “Their parents are going to want to talk to you.” He said. “When the time comes, one of my aids will bring you here.”

  “Right.” I said.

  When that happens, I’ll need to be sure to thank them for arranging the carriage and guards that brought me back from the forest.

  “Thank you.” I said once more. “I’ll take my leave.”

  Uncle Aaron nodded and went back to his paperwork. As he did so, I exited the room to go and prepare for my first tea party. So... How do I host a tea party?

  Lna

  ***

  With the carriage slowly coming to a stop, Lloyd and I looked out the window. Standing before us was a grand estate. Consisting of five floors and surrounded by a vast garden that rivaled those in the capital, was the Eytell estate. I exchanged a nervous gnce with Lloyd. Shortly after we received the invitation to the tea party, I shared my suspicions with him. This girl may become our biggest threat in the future.

  However, given our ck of information, we can’t be certain. Luckily we have a pn. Given that this may be the viliness, we are going to try and pacify her. Regardless of how she acts, we are going to befriend her. As long as she sees us as allies, she should be less likely to join the Demon Lord. From what we know of the story, we were supposed to save her back when she was rescued, however we only learned about her return after we came back from the hunting trip. It is possible that Lloyd is wrong about that specific plot point, however there could be something more dangerous.

  Evelyn may be a reincarnation like us and Nissia. If she is, then we have a good chance of convincing her to work with us to defeat the Demon Lord. After all, she should know of her fate should the Demon Lord win. However, if she is a reincarnation, she may act against us in ways we can’t expect, to gain power for herself. Who knows, she may even know more about the game than us.

  “Now now, don’t be so nervous.” Mom let out a light ugh.

  ““R-right…”” Me and Lloyd said, sitting back.

  “The young Lady Evelyn is around your age, so work hard to become her friend.” Dad smiled at us.

  I couldn’t help but worry for the worst. After all, we all heard the rumors about her. She constantly bullies the staff and pushes her brother into the pond that they have. Apparently the servants fear getting close to her. It’s only thanks to Lady Apine that there are any servants willing to stay with the family. Seeing the looks on the guards, I could tell that they worried for us. Evelyn won’t do anything to us, will she?

  …

  Having left our carriage and separating from our parents, we were guided to our table. Not even having taken a seat, we were immediately surrounded by kids. Ah, it looks like they were told to make connections with us… Gncing at Mom and Dad, I saw them greeting other adults away from the kids. Looks like we’ll be a bit busier than I thought.

  …

  Eventually the crowds dispersed and we were able to take a breath. I hate having to deal with this…

  “I should have stayed home…” I sighed.

  “We’re going to have to deal with this when we get to school, so get used to it.” Lloyd said, taking a sip of tea.

  “Man, being a regent is tiring.” I said, having some tea as well.

  “Just look at Mom and Dad.” He said. “They’re still going through it.”

  “Yeah.” I muttered.

  Taking a quick look at our surroundings, I spoke up in a quiet voice.

  “Have you seen her?” I asked.

  “Yeah…” He nodded, gncing at her.

  Evelyn. She seems…

  “She’s kind of me…” He muttered.

  “Yeah…” I agreed.

  We haven’t yet spoken to her as she was busy darting around the pce, assisting the servants. Given her appearance, and even with her almost unreal golden hair, if one were to look at her, she would remind them of an overworked and underpaid waiter in some small family restaurant. She even carried a notepad and looked to be taking people’s orders. This girl can’t possibly be the viliness…

  “Do you think she’s like us?” I asked.

  “Probably.” He nodded.

  Aside from acting like a waiter, she seemed strange... Despite being almost sickly pale and looking dead tired, she was joking with a young child. We weren’t the only ones who kept stealing gnces at her. Both the children and adults looked at her oddly. Was this the girl who was said to bully the servants and her brother? Were all the rumors wrong? Ah? She’s coming over here.

  “Sorry for the dey.” Evelyn said with a tired voice and baggy eyes. “Is everything to your liking? Is there anything you need?”

  “No, there's nothing…” I said instinctively.

  “In that case, can I-” She started.

  “Actually, can you tell us a bit about yourself?” Lloyd asked.

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Well, what made you want to have this party?” I asked.

  “Oh, this wasn’t my idea.” She said. “I only learned about it this morning. I would recommend the chocote cookies to go with your tea. Although if you are looking for something different, you should try the mint chocote chip cookies.”

  “I’m sorry?” Lloyd asked.

  “Mint chocote chip cookies.” She said. “I can’t say that they are my favorite, but they have been popur in the area recently.”

  “No no, about the party.” I said. “What do you mean you only learned about it today?”

  “I only learned of it this morning, so I haven’t had much time to prepare. As such, I’m a bit busy.” She said. “If you excuse me, I must attend to the other guests. Don’t worry, I’ll have some cookies brought to you shortly. If you need anything, feel free to fg down any servants, they would be happy to help you.”

  Without waiting for our reply, she headed off to the next table.

  ““…”” Me and Lloyd looked at each other in shock.

  She’s the viliness, right?

  Evelyn

  ***

  Wow, being a host is tough, but everyone is mostly smiling, so I think I’m doing okay. I wonder where Aunty Apine and Robbie are? They have been gone all day. The tea party might end before they return. Oh well, they are probably out shopping or something. I’ll be sure to save them some cookies.

  “Lady Evelyn.” A voice called out to me.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  Turning around, I saw a familiar looking aid of Uncle Aaron. Not quite young, but too young to be considered middle aged. Sporting a short salt and pepper beard and a gray suit, Simon greeted me with a quick bow.

  “It’s time.” He said. “I’ll lead the way.

  “Yes, of course.” I said. “Thank you.”

  Following him, I made my exit, informing some of Uncle Aaron’s servants of my departure. Heading inside we quickly made our way to Uncle Aaron’s office. Without knocking, Simon opened the door for me.

  “Ah, Evelyn. Please come in.” Uncle Aaron said.

  Entering, I saw Uncle Aaron along with the Regents; Orson and Alyssa Rsenr. I gave them a formal bow as Simon closed the door behind us. Thinking about how best I can thank them. Before I could however, I received the shock of a lifetime!

  “Young Lady Evelyn, as the leaders of The Empire of Apricah, we offer you our deepest gratitude.” Regent Orson said, bowing.

  “Thank you for all your hard work.” Regent Alyssa bowed as well.

  “!?” What!?

  Confused and very concerned, I looked at Uncle Aaron for help. He looked at me in amusement. Okay, so he isn’t going to help. What about Simon? Ah, no. He’s doing his best not to ugh. What do I do? Do I speak up? Do I need permission to speak? Wait no, firstly they shouldn’t be bowing to me at all!

  “P-please stand up!” I hurriedly said.

  “Honestly, for all the work you do, you should take pleasure in it some more.” Regent Orson said with a smile on his face.

  “Dear, you shouldn’t tease her.” Regent Alyssa smiled as well.

  Seriously, what is going on!?

  “I suppose I should get us started.” Uncle Aaron said. “Firstly, I want you to know that you aren’t in trouble.”

  I wasn’t worried about that before! Also that's exactly what you tell someone who’s in trouble!

  “Secondly, we know.” He said.

  Seriously, what did I do!?

  “Master Eytell, you must be more specific or she won’t know what you’re talking about.” Simon said.

  Please do!

  “Then allow me to expin.” Uncle Aaron said. “Some time ago, our agents reported something strange.”

  Oh, story time! I wonder if I should take a seat? Oh. There is no chair for me. Also, what agents?

  “Something about a girl who called herself ‘Magical Girl Melody’.” He said.

  There should be a "Charming" in there. And this is about me? I wonder how people view me. I am the first Magical Girl in this world after all.

  “She used powerful magic to incapacitate one of the guards for the Young Regent Twins.” He said.

  I don’t remember doing that.

  “And she defeated nests full of demons that would normally take an entire army days to do, in the blink of an eye.” He said.

  Really? Those guys were kind of weak.

  “Furthermore, this ‘Magical Girl’ was spotted flying into and out of your room.” He said, looking at me.

  Oh, he SO knows. Let’s have some fun and try to py dumb for a bit.

  “My, that’s news to me.” I said.

  “Evelyn, you aren’t in trouble.” He said. “Your actions save numerous lives by dealing with those demons.”

  “That is correct, furthermore, we wanted to offer you our support and grant the title of saint upon you for your deeds.” Regent Orson said.

  “If you wish, you can marry our son.” Regent Alyssa smiled.

  “No thanks.” I responded immediately.

  “Oh?” She looked taken aback.

  Oops. Maybe I should have hesitated.

  “I know that he may be strange, but is he that undesirable?” Regent Orson asked.

  Uh-oh. I may have just insulted them.

  “I’ve heard the rumors myself, but I didn't pay them that much mind.” Regent Alyssa said, troubled.

  What rumors are they talking about? Whatever, let’s try and reassure them.

  “I can promise you that I don’t pay attention to rumors and I have not acted because of them.” I said.

  “So you’re saying that you find him undesirable based solely on your interaction with him and not from any rumors?” Simon asked.

  Okay, when you put it that way, it sounds bad. Maybe I should just stop talking. After all, a wise man once said, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

  “My niece is far too young to think about those things.” Uncle Aaron came to my rescue. “Let’s focus on the matter at hand. That being, this ‘Magical Girl’ as she calls herself.”

  Everyone turned their attention to me. Very gd that they’ll overlook my unintended insult, I was happy for the subject change. Okay, so how do I expin this to them?

  “Um…” I hesitated. “I’m not sure if it’s going to make sense but I was given a blessing by the goddess of the moon to vanquish evil?”

  I suppose that’s going to have to do it. After all, I don't think they’ll believe me if I tell them that I was reincarnated from another world. You know they might, but let’s leave that out. I don't think being a commoner as well as a Magical Girl won’t really change anything.

  “Yes I heard about this.” Uncle Aaron said. “Something about a pale moon?”

  “A pale moon?” Regent Alyssa asked. “I’m not aware of any pale moon.”

  “Nor am I.” Regent Orson said.

  “I’ve looked into it and found no trace of anything called a pale moon.” Uncle Aaron said. “In regards to the moons, they are often seen as evil.”

  Uh-oh.

  “It is said that the demons came from one of the moons. Which one it was, we don’t know. Furthermore, the ancient species known as ‘Elves’ also came from one of the moons.” He said. “But that’s another matter entirely. For this pale moon? As far as I can tell, there is no such thing.”

  “Well, I’m sure she isn’t bad…” I said.

  Yes her sister, my current mentor, may engage in insurance fraud from time to time, but the goddess herself isn’t bad.

  “If she has given you the power to defeat demons, then I can’t say that she is.” Uncle Aaron said.

  “With power like that, you may even be considered the saint.” Simon said.

  “How can we tell?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Uncle Aaron said. “We’ve already discovered the location of the saint. Rather, saints. Fourteen of them to be exact.

  “Huh?” I asked.

  According to the stories, there is only supposed to be one saint at any time. Maybe they are like saint candidates? Not sure of this, I decided to ask.

  “Isn’t there only supposed to be one saint?” I asked.

  “According to the church, yes. There can only be one saint at any given time.” He said. “As far as anyone is concerned, there is only one. However, that is not true.”

  “Truth be told, there is no-” Regent Orson started.

  “Sorry for interrupting, but is this one of those, ‘I can tell you but I’ll have to kill you’ things?” I asked. “Because if so, I would like to leave.”

  “You already know far too much.” Simon said.

  “I promise I’ll forget.” I said.

  “The fact that we are telling you is a sign of our trust.” Regent Alyssa said.

  “Yes, though given your not so secret outings, there is still a risk with you.” Uncle Aaron said. “We’ll need to work on that.”

  “How did you know I was leaving in the first pce?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

  “We have our ways.” He said.

  Okay, so let's just assume that they are spying on me or something. I'll need to be careful of that in the future.

  “That being said, may I ask that you show us this form of yours granted by the moon goddess?” Regent Orson asked.

  “Um.” I looked around.

  Now that I’m looking, I noticed that all the windows were covered. Given the fact that they know, I suppose this was always their intention. Just to make sure, I look to Uncle Aaron for permission. As if reading my thoughts, he nodded. Okay, let’s not say the phrase out loud. Last time I did, a small moon descended and messed up the surroundings. Alright, let’s do this!

  Aaron

  ***

  With a fsh of pale light, my niece disappeared and in her pce was a child with long brown hair in a ponytail on either side of her head, almost reaching down to the floor. In her hands she held a staff with an orb on top, and was dressed in a white and gold dress, just as the reports said.

  “Interesting.” I nodded.

  “Pretty cute, right?” She asked with a smile.

  Her voice was unfamiliar and cheerful. Not at all like the tired voice she had just moments ago. Even the act of her simply standing there was somehow more energetic than before. That being said, I couldn’t exactly agree with her words.

  “I can’t say that I approve of my niece going out in a dress as short as yours.” I said. It barely covered her knees.

  “Oh, it’s plenty long enough.” She said waving the fabric of her dress. “Also it’s easy to move in.”

  “I take it that this is the form that the goddess chose for you?” I asked.

  “Um, I guess so, yeah.” She nodded.

  Although I can’t fathom what a goddess thinks, I can’t say that I’m enthusiastic that she chose my niece to put herself in danger to fight demons, but at least she seems to be well prepared for it. We can make use of this.

  “From what I hear, you can use advanced magic in this form.” Regent Alyssa said. “Can you truly fly?”

  “Yep!” She said taking flight. “Pretty easy.”

  “Fascinating.” I said. “When and how did you get this ability?”

  “Um…” She took a moment to think. “I managed to take this form when I was stuck in the Dark Woods.”

  “Oh…” Regent Alyssa said.

  “The Dark Woods…” Regent Orson muttered sadly.

  Yes, the Dark Woods. Over a year ago, she was stranded there after the carriage accident that took my brother- her parents' lives. Somehow she managed to survive for nearly five months by herself, only being picked up at the end by a group of mercenaries. How anyone, let alone a child could survive there for that long is beyond me. However Evelyn did. Because of this moon goddess’ power or despite it, she’s alive. However, people can’t live on power alone. She has survival skills better than most grown adults.

  “And was this power useful in surviving there?” I asked.

  “Yep!” She said proudly. “As it turns out, the grass there is poisonous so it helped me in not getting sick.”

  She may not be as skilled as I thought, but consuming poison is certainly a novel way to survive. Let’s move on from that.

  “If you can fly, why didn’t you try to escape yourself?” I asked.

  “These powers were weak because of the poison, so I couldn’t really do much with them.” She expined.

  Well, that expins that. We can learn more of her powers ter. In her current state, I don’t want to force her to stay in an unfamiliar form for long.

  “Yes, well you can change back.” I said. “For now, we have things to tell you.”

  “Right.” She said nding and changing back to her original form.

  Seeing this, I couldn’t help but frown as I look at her. Compared to the form the goddess gave her, she is visibly unhealthy. She may not be as thin as when she first arrived, but it's obvious at a gnce that she isn't eating as much as she should. Maybe I should take more of an active role in her care? After all, it would seem that my wife doesn't quite like her. Maybe I should prevent them from meeting in the future? Gncing up from her, I saw the look in the Regents’ eyes that held the same dissatisfaction with her change. We are going to need her to be healthy if she is going to be working for us. It seems that it was time for a change. But first, there was one thing I needed to be sure of.

  “Evelyn.” I said. “I know that you wish to help people, and in that form of the goddess you can, however not everything can be solved with magic alone.”

  “Are you sure?” She asked. “Magic is very useful.”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” I said. “Firstly is the mental block.”

  She’s strong, I know it, but is she strong enough? I sighed and looked her in her eyes.

  “There’s no easy way to say this, but there will be a time when you are given no choice but to kill someone to save the innocent.” I said. “Can you kill someone if you need to?”

  “Nope.” She said easily.

  “Then we will need to change that.” I said.

  “No, I mean I can’t kill people.” She said. “The goddess said that if I kill people then I’ll lose my powers.”

  “Ah, is that so?” I asked.

  Well, that is going to be troublesome…

  Grayburne