???
***
Once again my pn failed… Having various attacks over a wide distance for several nights in a row didn’t work. It seems like no matter how far our attacks are unched, she managed to stop them before any substantial amount of damage occurred. Not only that but she doesn’t seem to get tired at all… In addition to that, due to these constant failures, my generals are beginning to doubt me…
This isn’t fair! No other Demon Lord had to deal with this situation! No goddess ever descended to hunt you down! Even the Elves weren’t this troublesome! Why did this have to happen to me!? It isn’t easy being a Demon Lord! What? You think you can do better? Well, I’d like to see you take a shot at it! Oh? One of my generals is going to try? Well, this should be fun to watch at the very least. Let’s just make sure he does this away from us, so he doesn’t get us all killed…
Nissia
***
Sitting in css, I checked the marks in the back of my notebook. Given how often she’s missing, I’m going to keep count of how many days of school Evelyn misses. Another one to the count… Is that mean? I feel like it might be mean, but let’s pretend that it’s science so I feel less bad. You know, it’s a wonder that she manages to have some of the highest grades in our css with how often she’s sick. I have an excuse of being reincarnated, but she’s a native. Well, if she probably studies in her off time, and she has a lot of off time. Still, I can’t help but feel bad for her. Missing her youth because of her poor health…
Anyways, I looked at the board as there were various triangles drawn up in chalk. You know, how do you even make chalk? Back on Earth, kids used to draw on the sidewalk with it. I wonder if Lna and I can make money by introducing it…
“MAGICAL GIRL!” A DEEP VOICE BOOMED OUT.
Holy shit what was that!? Looking around in arm, myself and others looked for the source of the voice.
“IT IS I THE GREAT GOKARUL THE DISMEMBERER! WARLORD OF THE MARSHES, GENERAL OF THE GREAT DEMON LORD MOLLMITHIN AND I HEREBY CHALLENGE YOU TO AN HONORABLE DUEL!” The voice called out.
“By the goddess the Demon Lord has awoken!” Levi, very poorly, whispered to his desk mate.
The Demon Lord is awake!? Why now!? What’s going on!? Gncing at Charlotte, who many suspect to be the true Saint, I was unsurprised to see that she was very armed. To think the Demon Lord would be announced to the world like this. From his subordinate challenging, not even the Saint, but Melody. What a world to live in, huh?
“IF YOU AREN’T A COWARD THEN COME AN-” Gokarul was cut off by a great big crash.
““““…”””” The css was quiet. What just happened?
“WHAT!? HOW DID YOU GET HERE SO FAST? I DIDN’T EVEN SAY WHERE I WAS YET!” Gokarul seemed armed.
It seems like he’s talking to Melody…
“-NO MATTER! NOW THAT YOU HAVE ARRIVED, FACE ME MAGICAL GIRL!” He stated confidently.
“…”
“YOU KNOW WHAT, THANK YOU FOR NOTICING!” He said. “DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE A PLACE FOR AN HONORABLE DUEL?”
“…”
“ALL OF THIS? HALF A DAY.”
“…”
“YEAH. IT’S MY HOBBY. YOU KNOW I GOT A LOT OF TIME WHEN I’M NOT-” HE HESITATED. “WAIT, YOU’RE TRYING TO DISTRACT ME! QUIT FLYING AND STEP INTO THE ARENA FOR OUR BATTLE!”
Wait, did he make an arena to fight in? Just what is with this guy? Are all Demon Generals like this? Maybe they aren’t as scary as I thought…
“HAHAHA!” He ughed. “YOU FOOL YOU’VE FALLEN INTO MY TRAP!”
Oh no, is this bad?
“THOSE ARE UNBREAKABLE BARS MADE OF PURE ORICHALCUM!” HE SAID.
Oh my god, he has that really strong fantasy metal! Firstly I’m in a fantasy world, so it’s real metal, not fantasy. Secondly, I want some! Think of how cool of a sword it can make! Wait no! Melody is in trouble!
“EVEN WITH THE FULL STRENGTH OF-” He continued.
There was the sound of bending metal which silenced him. Looks like I was worried for nothing… Hey, what’s making this noise anyway? Was this some sort of spell that is letting us hear this all? If so, why can’t we hear Melody?
“OKAY HANG ON. RELAX. LET’S CALM DOWN.” He said. “LET’S ALL JUST CALM DOWN. WE CAN TALK THIS OUT. WE CAN BE CIVIL. WHY DON’T WE-”
“EVILBEGONE!” Melody’s voice sounded out from a distance.
Sounding like a pair of speakers were just blown out, whatever was letting us hear this, stopped.
““““…”””” Everyone was silent.
Did she just…?
“I think she got him…” Lloyd said.
“Right…” The teacher said. “So, who can solve for X?”
Okay… I guess we’re done with that…
Melody
***
Very quickly stuffing orichalcum into a magical bag, not the one Uncle got me, I kept an eye out for anyone who may be watching. On Earth this stuff is super expensive and rare! I am so going to keep this for myself! This can be used for all sorts of things including teleporters! I don’t know how to make them, but I can probably convince Orion to teach me. Ah! My phone! Or rather the thing that looks and acts like a phone, but isn’t!
Looking at it, I saw that every single contact that I have is trying to reach me. Boy, aren’t I popur! I don’t get to pick who I can respond to, so I guess it’s up to luck? Clearing my throat, I answered the call. I wonder who it's going to respond to first…
“Hello, this is Melody!” I said cheerfully. Got to keep up appearances!
“Melody!” Orson yelled into the phone.
“Ah-” I pulled it a bit away from my ear. It looks like it was Lloyd and Lna’s dad.
I wonder if that was intentional?
“I’m here.” I said, from a distance.
“Ah, you sound fine.” He seemed relieved. “You defeated the Demon General, correct?”
“Yep, I got him!” I said triumphantly.
An easy, but fun fight. It isn’t often that my opponent talks. Like at all. Most of the demons that I fight are animalistic, and the ones that do talk, don’t really banter much. Oh, the woes of a Magical Girl, no one to show off too. But this guy! Gokarul was just like one of the monsters on Earth. If he was maybe like a hundred times stronger than he would have been a really fun opponent. He even exploded just like the guys on Earth did! Oops, I’m not supposed to think that. Let’s just be happy that no one got hurt.
“That’s excellent.” Orson said. “Now, I’ll make this quick. The demon said that you were caged in pure orichalcum, is that correct?”
“Yep.” I nodded.
“Can you bring that metal to us?” He asked. “It’s very rare and highly sought after.”
“Oh…” I looked at the orichalcum I have yet to clean up.
Okay, what’s the pn… I really want this metal, but what he said is a bit troublesome. Looking at my phone, I realized that this is what all the calls are about. This is going to be annoying…
“Melody.” Orson said. “Melody, I don’t like that silence. Did something happen?”
“Yeah…” I said. “About that…”
“…” He was quiet.
Oh, I really don’t like that silence…
“Did you destroy it…?” He asked somberly.
“Well…” I started.
Wait, that’s it! I can use that!
“This pce is like super cursed so I had to!” I lied. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt from like any curses or anything you know!”
“There’s a Saint. We have the Saint…” He sighed. “We could have broken the curses…”
Crap we do! Okay, I need to blow this pce up! I’ll blow it all up!
“I-I’ll look for any scraps!” I said quickly. “I’ll try to bring some back!”
I very quickly hung up and sighed. Okay let’s go scorched earth before I answer any of the other calls! Gathering up all of the other pieces of the metal, I held up my staff.
“MOONBEAM!!!” I cried out.
…
With the sun setting, I left my house, leaving my phone behind. Given the arrival of a Demon General, there was lots of work that needed to be done. For one, we now know that the Demon Lord is around and active, given that one of his Generals just openly challenged me. Luckily they are focused on me and not the Saint since I really don’t want any of them going after Charlotte.
Just today, I’ve been visiting the Regents, the Church, and the tower where I would share information directly with the Shadows. So, my days have been kind of busy. Did I say days? Yes. Yes I did. I’ve been visiting neighboring kingdoms, bringing people to the pce where I fought Gokarul so they can investigate, and look for orichalcum, and make sure that no more curses remained.
There were a few curses, none that could hurt me, that the church dealt with. Also, as an apology to Levi’s parents, as they owned the nd that I had very thoroughly exploded, I visited them and gave them a small bar of orichalcum. It was about as thick as a quarter and no longer than my open palm. On Earth this would have been enough to buy at least three jumbo jets, so it should be enough to pay for the damage I caused. The look on his mom’s face was amazing! The moment I told her what it was, she just stopped functioning! Super funny.
Anyway, now that I’m freed from all of that, I was visiting my cave hide out that Angelica was hiding out in. It’s been a good few days since I’ve seen her, so I hope she’s doing well.
“You’re te!” An angry raven flew at me.
“Sorry I had to deal with something!” I quickly apologized, handing over a magical bag full of various foods.
“Yeah I heard it. That Demon General guy.” She said. “I’m gd you didn’t die.”
“I am too.” I said.
With her perched on my shoulder, I held the bag open for her and entered the cave. Sitting on a patch of moss I used magic to light up a small campfire. Taking in the warmth, Angelica took a seat next to me. Taking a peck of this world’s equivalent of a doughnut, she settled in.
“So, what now?” She asked.
“I got some time off while the church figures out what to do.” I said.
“And school?” She asked.
“I already missed most of this week, so one more day won’t change anything.” I said. “Besides, I need to work on this pce.”
“And, how are you going to do that?” She asked.
“I asked the goddess to teach me creation magic.” I said. “She hasn’t yet, but with my powers, I can pretty much mimic this world's magic so I was going to make a nice little building for us. Maybe a tower or something.”
“Like a watch tower?”
“We’ll see. But for now, let’s go ahead and eat. I’ll tell you about everything that happened and what’s going on in the world.” I said.
“Got it. Let’s hear it.” She nodded as best as a bird could.
…
Working on and off over the next few days, I returned to school like normal, although thanks to the Demon Lord’s awakening, I’ve been a bit busier than normal. Luckily The Empire and other kingdoms have been working hard themselves. Knights and armed groups have been traveling along roads and near vilges to try and keep them safe. They’ve been able to keep casualties down, and I’ve only been sent in for emergencies. Thanks to that, I managed to fully attend school for a week! Next time, let’s aim for two! That being said, a change. A major change did happen…
Sitting on my bed with 38 at my side, I leaned my head against her shoulder. Feeling her gentle hand on my head, I looked at the paper holding her new orders. I didn’t hate them. In fact I agreed with them, but I still didn’t like them…
“It’s not like we won’t see each other again.” 38 comforted me.
“I know…” I said.
Given the fact that the Demon Lord awakened, the Saint, more than ever needed protection. Aside from myself, the single person who I would trust to do that is 38. Not only has she kept up with my antics, she’s also one of the more skilled Shadows when it comes to combat and anti-magic techniques. Given the Demons that she has defeated in her career before guarding me, she’s the obvious choice. That didn’t really make me feel any better though…
“When do you start?” I asked.
“Tomorrow.” She said.
“They really aren’t giving you any breaks, huh?” I asked.
“Tell me about it.” She sighed.
Really, a one day notice of a transfer? Next time I see Uncle, I’ll ask him to give them some more time off. Also, maybe to raise their pay a bit. They aren’t really cking in money, but as full time bodyguards, I feel as if they should be getting paid more.
“Well, I’m gd that it’s you protecting her.” I admitted.
“What, tired of me?” She asked.
“No! I just… I’m gd to know that she’ll be in good hands.” I said.
“I know.” She stroked my hair. “I’m going to miss our little conversations…”
“I bet you’re gd that I’m a little rule breaker for that.” I smiled.
“Kind of.” She nodded.
Ah yes, I remember when I first saw her. Boy was I surprised that I had an invisible protector. Soon after I started working as Melody in this world, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I thought that it may have been a ghost, so I didn’t think much of it. Although upon realizing that it was following me, I decided to have a bit of fun. Seeing a patch of air that didn’t look quite right, I walked towards it and it moved out of my way. Soon I was the one following it! How annoying it must have been for her! Invisible to everyone but me! That fun didn’t st long however since Uncle decided that it would be best to introduce us to prevent any sort of incident. And so that’s how I learned of 38 and the existence of the Shadows.
Having been specifically told not to talk to or even acknowledge her or others like her, I did the exact opposite and she eventually started to respond. And so our friendship began!
“You have no idea how annoying that was.” She sighed.
“That was the pn!” I said.
“You really are an annoying kid.” She pyfully messed up my hair. I’m sure I can hear her smiling.
Having fun in the moment, I focused on the warmth in her hand, knowing that I’ll soon be missing it. I’m not sure how long the two of us sat there, but eventually it had to come to an end. I knew that from her two final pats, which were heavier than the rest.
“Well. I suppose I shouldn’t keep stalling.” She said.
“Yeah…” I said.
Standing from the bed, she looked at me.
“This is it for now.” She said. “The next time we can talk with each other is during the debriefings.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, standing with her.
For a while, there have been monthly meetings at the watch tower where myself and the other Shadows would exchange information. Though, it’ll be a while before that time comes.
“I’ll miss you.” I said, hugging her.
“We’re going to see each other tomorrow.” She said, not rejecting me.
“I know.” I said.
Once more, we share a moment. Having kept her for long though, I was the first one to break away.
“Keep Charlotte safe.” I said. “I’m counting on you.”
“I will.” She said. “You stay out of trouble yourself.”
“I’ll try.” I said.
Exchanging one st moment, 38 opened my window.
“Bye now.” She said. “You take care.”
“I will.” I waved goodbye.
Like the shadow she was, she slipped out of sight, leaving me in my room, with only the moonlight.
Grayburne
