Sylvia

  ***

  Having cried my eyes out I found myself being comforted by a young dy. Her arms were gently around my head and she stroked my hair as if I was some sort of child. Slowly I looked up and saw a pair of gentle, yet fearsome eyes looking back at me.

  “Are you feeling better now?” She asked.

  “Heh-” I couldn’t help but ugh. “Yes I am. Thank you for listening to this old woman.”

  “Why is it that so many women call themselves old around me?” She asked no one in particur. “You don’t look that old.”

  “Thank you for your words.” I smiled.

  Slowly I parted from her and once more looked to the flowers. So many lost, each with families grieving them. Those girls, although I call them my children, it’s not like we were blood reted. Still, I couldn’t see them as anything other than lost children. My children. And what of this child? Looking at her, I couldn’t help but wonder who she lost. Perhaps sensing my question, she looked at the flowers and answered.

  “I lost my friend.” She said. “Her name was Evelyn. She ran a bookstore in town.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” I said.

  What else could I say?

  “My children-” No, I should be honest. “The girls under my care were caught in the path of destruction from the ‘dragon’ creature.”

  That flying serpent, the creature that Melody supposedly called a dragon, was the cause of all of this death.

  “At home when it happened?” She asked.

  “No, they were with clients from the night before.” I said.

  “I see…” She said.

  From the tone of her voice, I don’t think she understands at all. Not only from that, but most women would feel flustered when speaking of our- rather my line of work. She’s an innocent one. I thought that maybe she was the daughter of a merchant given the quality of her clothes, but I must be mistaken. Then again, I don’t know any noble that would hold a crying woman like myself. Even though I felt grateful, I couldn’t help but worry. Why is someone like her out here by herself?

  No, she likely has hidden guards, or magical tools to protect her. She’s lucky, even if she doesn't know it.

  “What will you do now?” She asked in my silence.

  “What now…?” I repeated.

  What will I do? Although I did have savings, they were stolen in the chaos immediately after the attack. It seems like in any circumstances, people would resort to looting. Not only that but the man I rented my room from also died. That pig of a man. I’m gd I no longer have to try and refuse him. Then again, the building was bought out and I am left to the streets. Well not exactly. The Regents are offering temporary dorms for people to stay at, but as a dy of the night, I’m not welcome. Luckily my specialty often ends in the morning. Even with that however, given recent events, not many are in the mood for it. Still, I was lucky enough to not have to sleep on the streets every night.

  Stuck in my thoughts, I saw the young dy staring at me.

  “I suppose for now I’ll return inside the walls before the gates close.” I said.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, would you like to ride with me?” She asked.

  “To ride with you?” I asked.

  I briefly considered it, but I shook my head.

  “No, although I may not look like it, my presence isn’t desirable for anyone.” I said.

  “Even if that’s true, it’ll be far faster and safer for you.” She said. “Not to mention that we are heading the same way.”

  “I could use the exercise.” I said.

  “Please let me at least take you to the gates.” Saying that, she held my hand and looked up at me with those gentle yet determined eyes.

  Why does- no what an absurd thought. Still, that warm hand showed no signs of letting go. She’s a noble, a young one, but a noble nonetheless. It’s best to simply humor her instead of letting this become a problem.

  “Very well.” I smiled.

  “I’m gd to hear it.” She smiled in kind.

  It was a fierce smile, her eyes alone I bet could make a child shiver in fear. And those teeth of hers gave her the air of a predator. They would fit well on someone crueler than her, yet she had them. A wolf in sheep's clothing perhaps?

  “Ah?” She seemed to come to a realization. “I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Evelyn.”

  Only her first name? Is she trying to put me at ease, or is her family infamous? Regardless, if she doesn’t want to say it, I see no need to force her.

  “My name is Slyvia.” I said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “And it's a pleasure to meet you too.” She smiled at me. A smile not too dissimir to Melody’s.

  Goddess

  ***

  I watched as that carriage made its way through the city. It stopped briefly at the gate, but otherwise it continued along its path. I smiled as it took one of the paths I thought it would. I’ve prepared for this. Not just one attempt, but several. In total, there were seven attackers waiting, four on her current path. As she drew near to the first one, I waited with baited breath.

  …

  Nothing happened? Why did nothing happen? Looking at the first guy I “convinced” I saw him passed out in an alley with alcohol spilled over him. Okay, well that’s what I get for using a drunkard. Whatever, I have others just in case something like this happens.

  Why did I use a drunk? Well, to avoid disturbing the world too much, I must limit any direct use of power on this world. If I don’t then this world may become like Earth, overrun by dragons and formless gods and time travelers and every other terrible thing under the sun. Because of that girl, dragons have already nded here, and I wanted to avoid that. Well, it’s not all that bad. Luckily she can deal with those small ones, so I don’t need to power up the Demon Lord or Saints. Then again, it’s because of her that they are here in the first pce. So it’s only natural that she cleans up her own mess. Anyway, she’ll be arriving at the second location soon…

  …

  Huh? What's up with that bird? Why is it attacking my pawn? Ah, it took his earring. It must have been too tempting for it. I guess birds do like shiny things after all. Still, I don’t like how these two failed. Something strange is going on…

  …

  WHY!? What on earth is going on!?!? Why is he getting robbed!? He’s wearing actual rags! Why are you robbing him!? They took the knife! WHY!?

  …

  Why? Holding my head I sighed. The st guy on this route was in an alley clutching his chest. He is so young. Why is he having a heart attack?

  …

  I think I’m done for the day. I’m going home…

  ***

  “Hey man.” Styx said. “How’d it, like, go?”

  “It didn’t work, did it?” He thought to himself.

  He’s spot on as usual… Sighing, I went to bed.

  Evelyn

  ***

  Having returned home, me and Angelica headed to our hideout. It turns out, that something suspicious was happening. Some guy in an alley had a magical artifact on him. I can’t tell what it was yet, but Angelica brought it back so we could study it. It’s an earring, but so far no normal magic reacts to it. Well, I say that but I’ve only tried my dark magic. As for my magical girl powers, well that ends up breaking a lot of this world’s tools, so I’m holding back on it. Maybe I should bring it to the Shadows to see what they have to say? No, let’s try and figure out this one on our own. Having said that, I put it in a drawer where I’ll definitely remember it, and turned my attention to something else.

  “How long until we can restore Project Amber?” Angelica asked.

  As for Project Amber, this is a safeguard for The Empire. Rather for the Capital and it’s immediate surroundings. To put it simply, it puts a protective shield around every person powered by my magic. There are limits to it, so it’s not like everyone will be invulnerable to every attack. Rather they’ll be invulnerable to most attacks. Someone like Gokarul could possibly break through it, but people like him don’t show up every day. So, had this been a normal emergency, I probably could have saved everyone. Unfortunately it was a dragon. Even I wouldn’t be unscathed if I was hit with a direct attack.

  “Three days until it's charged back up.” I said. “Although maybe we should do something simir for other Kingdoms.”

  “Isn’t that too much work for you?” She asked worriedly.

  “It’s better than everyone dying.” I said. “And it’s not like dragons attack every week.”

  “Still though.” She sighed. “Aren’t you working yourself too hard?”

  “Once this is done, I can go back to rexing.” I said.

  “You say that, but even before the dragon appeared, you were heading out almost nightly to fight demons.”

  “What can I say, it’s part of the job.”

  Shrugging, I turned back into Melody and started charging up Project Amber.

  “Why not ask your Goddess for some help?” She hopped onto my shoulder. “Maybe another Magical Girl?”

  “Absolutely not.” I said. “It’s too big of a responsibility. Not to mention the dangers of it.”

  “This isn’t Earth. You even said that Gokarul isn’t that strong.” She countered.

  “For the people of this world he is.” I said, and that’s not what I’m talking about.

  “And your Goddess isn’t from this world. Why not ask her to make at least one other magical girl?”

  “To be honest, I don’t think anyone from here could handle the power. Even Charlotte and the reincarnations.”

  “Really? What about me?”

  “Unless you can become a kid again, no.” I said.

  “Speaking of becoming a kid, how is my body coming up?” She asked.

  “Yeah about that…” I muttered.

  “It’s not good, is it?” She sighed.

  “Well, good news and bad news.” I said. “The good news is that you have a strong soul.”

  “And the bad?” She asked.

  “You have a strong soul.” I sighed. “I haven’t found anything that can safely hold your soul without it shattering or dividing your soul into weird little homunculus guys.”

  “I’d like my soul to stay in one piece if it’s fine with you.” She said.

  “Yeah. So our only option is to grow a body for you.” I said.

  “Or steal one.” She said.

  “Or steal one.” I nodded.

  “Wait, is that actually an option?” She asked.

  “Yeah. I can always remove someone’s soul and put you in their body, but I don’t want to do that.” I admitted.

  “That sounds like murder.” She said.

  “I mean, yeah but no.” I hesitated. “It’s complicated.”

  “Right.” She sighed. “So, is it possible for us to grow a body for me?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know how.” I said. “I asked Celestia, but she just told me to look up how babies are made.”

  “Right.” She nodded, gncing at me. “So, do you know how babies are made?”

  “Well, they like-” I hesitated. “You know.”

  “…” She looked at me. “You don’t know, do you?”

  “I mean I know how god babies are made.” I said. “You can find them in like cabbage patches and in sea monsters and like in cows and by like cutting apart other gods and in meteors and all those other things.”

  “Right.” She nodded. “What about human babies?”

  “Well…” I had to take a moment to think. “Storks?”

  “Well, that’s not wrong but also not right.” She sighed.

  “So, then how are they made?” I asked.

  “Well…” It was her turn to hesitate. “I… I don’t want to give you the talk. Ask anyone but me.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Is it weird?”

  “Yeah, let’s leave it at that.” She nodded.

  “Alright, well good to know.” I said.

  With that topic dying off, I continued to recharge Project Amber.

  Alyssa

  ***

  Late one night, after I said goodnight to the twins, I found myself afflicted with those sparkling sensations in my eyes. Both me and my husband have been experiencing them, and it was recommended to stop working te into the night. I know reading in dim light can cause eye strain, but I’ve never experienced something like this. Regardless, with nothing to work on, I was headed to my studio. Well, I call it a studio, but it is more of a hobby room. Currently that hobby is painting, although I fear that it isn’t quite as fun as it used to be. On my way, I heard a knocking on the window. That’s odd. We’re several floors above the ground and there should be no trees for security reasons. Before I could even turn to look, there was a shadow at my side. 17 I believe?

  “Ah.” 17 said.

  Peaking over her shoulder I saw the familiar face of Melody smiling at me.

  “Ah, Melody.” I greeted her. “What brings you here at this hour?”

  It can’t be an emergency, she would have contacted us through that device my husband had made. She rarely comes over for simple conversation, so she must need some advice.

  “Hi hi!” She waved with both hands. “I wanted to ask you a question, if you have the time for it.”

  “Of course.” I nodded. “Please, come in. I’ll have the lounge ready for you.”

  “Got it!” She said, before flying off.

  Off on her way to find a balcony or open window, I headed down to one of our many lounges. 17, for her part, already headed off to instruct the staff.

  A few minutes ter, I found myself on a couch, opposite of Melody. Both 17 and a maid were stationed by the door, ready for any instructions. Taking a sip of some tea and enjoying a lemon fvored cookie, we settled in before our conversation actually started. Eventually however, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “So.” I started. “What was this question you had?”

  “Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I really need to know.” Melody said.

  “You can ask me anything.” I reassured her.

  “Thank you.” She smiled. “So, can you tell me how are babies made?”

  “…” I froze.

  Huh? I’m sorry, did I hear that right? Did she just ask how babies are made? Gncing at the maid, she too seemed to doubt her ears. As for 17, well, she is as unreadable as always. Looking back at Melody, she had an innocent, ignorant look on her face. This question was one asked in good faith, yet I couldn’t find the words to answer it.

  “Um…” I said. “Well…”

  “Well?” She tilted her head cutely like a small animal.

  “Well…” I said.

  Okay, how do I expin this? Um… Uh…

  “I think that’s a question best saved for your parents.” I said, mind in a mess.

  “?” She looked at me with eyes that I couldn't describe. “I don’t have parents.”

  “!” That’s right!

  What a stupid thing to say! She’s the avatar of the moons! Of course she doesn’t have any parents!

  “Forgive me.” I said quickly. “Um, how about I find someone who knows how to expin it best.”

  “That’s fine by me.” She nodded slowly.

  Wanting to move on from the subject, I hastily thought of any topic aside from this one. Um… That’s it!

  “You may not know this, but I’ve been trying my hand at painting!” I said.

  “Is that so?” She asked. “Landscapes or people this time?”

  “?” This time?

  I must have brought this up before. Oh well.

  “Landscapes mostly.” I said, gd for the subject change regardless.

  Grayburne