When Miko woke up, he saw his room’s ceiling.

He tried to raise his upper body, but an excruciating pain prevented him from doing so.

“This reminds me of when I fought Leon.”

As he said that, the scene of Hina's organs being crushed under Darius’ foot, played in his mind.

“In the end I couldn't do much to him, and he left on his own.”

‘Kid, you should thank your grandfather the next time you see him. Since he's the reason you're still alive. However, this is a one time thing. There won't be a second time.’

“Grandfather? He must be talking about Sasha's father. Now that I think about it, I don't even know his name.”

Miko tried to lift his upper body again, and this time succeed. He ignored the pain he was feeling, and got off the bed.

It was when he stood up, that he saw that he was wrapped in bandages.

“Sora or Ace must've heard what happened, and came to pick us up.”

Miko lost consciousness shortly after Darius left, so he didn't know what happened after that.

“These bandages are poorly wrapped. Huh? There isn't any sign of ointment or anything. Did they think that wrapping me up was enough?”

Miko sighed and left the room.

While ignoring the pain, he walked down the hall. His destination was Hina's room.

Upon approaching the door he heard multiple voices coming from inside the room.

“N-No! Why did it have to turn back?!”

“Calm down, Hina. We’ll fix it back to how it was before Gamiko sees it.”

“Sora’s, right. And besides, Gamiko is still asleep.”

“Noooo! I don't want this! I don't want this! I don't want this! Mikky is going hate me if he sees it!”

“Calm down, Hina! Hey, don't cut it! Sora help me restrain her!”

Hearing the panicking voice of Hina, Miko quickly opened the door.

The scene saw was Ace and Sora holding Hina's hand that holding a pair of scissors.

They were trying to prevent her from cutting her white hair.

That's right. Hina's brown hair was now completely white.

And Hina who realized that miko saw this-

“A…A…Aaaaahhhhh!”

Released a panicking scream and hid herself under her sheets.

In response to this, miko stared at her with curious eyes.

“Oh? Your hair turned white. It doesn't look dyed either, interesting.”

He spoke his thoughts out loud, for Hina to hear.

When she heard that, Hina peeped her face from under the sheets.

“….You don't hate it?”

“Why would I hate it? The pure white color makes it even more beautiful.”

Miko didn't know what caused it, but Hina clearly has a trauma regarding her hair color. A trauma so deep that it makes her tremble in fear of it being seen.

Because of that, miko didn't show his confusion; but instead showed a curious face.

“I-Is that true?”

“Yep. Although, I would like to know why you think I'll hate you for it?”

When Hina heard Miko's question, her face paled and her body began to tremble.

But Miko ignored that and pressed on.

“Just so you know, I wont leave until you tell me.”

He stared at her intently.

Hina was re-living a trauma, so she might've forgotten that someone dangerous was targeting her life.

But miko hadn’t. Both he and Hina almost died at Darius’ hands.

Miko now know that Darius must be eliminated no matter what. Otherwise, his life wasn't guaranteed.

He currently can't do it alone, he will need help. So a trembling Hina was problem. He needed her to get over it now, even if he has to force her to.

As if realizing that, Sora spoke up.

“Fine. I'll tell you, Gamiko.”

“Sora!”

“What? You wanna tell him yourself? He was going to find out eventually.”

Hina hang her head down for a while, then the trembling stopped.

“F-Fine. I'll tell him.”

Hina then began telling her story, without looking anybody in the eye.

Four years ago, the Middle Class District. A place known for its many business places and merchants.

Outside the commercial district, this district generated the most income in the kingdom on a daily basis.

Inside this district, there was a bookstore called “Insight”. This was a bookstore that was famous across the entire kingdom.

There were two reasons why this bookstore was famous.

The first reason was because of the immense variety of books it sold.

It had everything from magic books for beginners to cook books dating back to 2000 years ago.

No matter what kind of book you wanted, this store will probably have it.

The other reason was because of its beautiful owner.

It was normal day like no other. The store was packed with people.

Some were actual customers, while the rest only came to see the beautiful owner and her cute assistant.

“How many times do I have to say it? If you're not buying anything then don't idle around in my shop!”

Said the shop owner.

She had a face that could only be described as enchanting, and a perfect figure to match.

She had long brown hair, which she wore in a pony tail, and glossy pink eyes that makes you want to just sit and look in them all day.

She was dressed in black jeans and a pink top, and also had on an apron with the store’s name on it.

“Come on. Don't be like that , Nami. We just wanted to see your lovely face.”

“Yeah, yeah. You'll get to see a smile on it, if you just buy something.”

“I'd love to buy you dinner, Nami!”

“Me too!”

“Nami, forgot about these old perverts, and have dinner with gentleman like me!”

“What was that, brat?!”

Nami sighed as she watched the men, who weren't even customers, making a fuss in her shop.

At time, she spotted a little girl running towards her with a book in her.

“Grandma, Grandma! This book is really interesting! Is there a sequel?!”

The girl had the same hair color as Nami, but her eye color was purple.

Nami took the book from her with a frown on her face.

“Hina, how many times do I have to tell you? It's big sis, not grandma. Do I look that old to you?”

“But, you're my father's mother, right?”

“Well, that's true…”

“Then you're my grandma! Besides didn't you say you're 87 years old? Then you're more than old enough.”

When Hina said that, the whole store froze.

“H-I-N-A-M-I!”

Nami pinched both of Hina's cheeks and started pulling them.

“How many times I've told you not say my age in public?!”

“Ow ow ow ow ow! I'm sorry, Grandma!”

“Huh?!”

Nami pulled harder.

“Ow ow ow! I mean, Big Sis!”

“That's better.”

Nami released Hina's cheeks, and then took a book off the counter and gave it to Hina.

“Here. This is the continuation of that book. Go and read it until I call for you.”

Hina, who was rubbing her cheeks, took the book while frowning and left.

The men who watch the exchange between Nami and Hinami, had wry smiles on their faces.

“Sometimes I forget that Nami is older than most of us here…”

“Yeah, she doesn't look her age at all.”

“Of course she doesn't. Nami is an [Upper B Class]. So she ages slower than us small fries.”

Once someone passes [C Class] they begin to age slower. That's because at that time, your body starts to do everything it can to remain in tip-top condition. This is to allow you to fight longer.

There were also many people who can control how old they looked. So it's hard to tell someone's real age just from looking at them.

“But you know, an older woman isn't that bad when she looks like that.”

All the men nodded in agreement to the new opinion.

Well, that was until they realized who said it.

A man in a red and black tuxedo walked up to the counter.

All the men who saw him, took several steps back to distance themselves.

“Oh, Darius. Are you here to collect this month’s rent?”

Nami warmly greeted the man, Darius with a smile.

“Yeah. I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.”

Darius returned the smile.

“Liar. You just wanted to come yourself.”

“You got me.”

“Sigh~. You have so many subordinates. Why don't use them for stuff like this?”

“If I did, I wouldn't have an excuse to see you. Besides, it's only natural for a gentleman to be there in person, when receiving something from a woman as beautiful as yourself.”

“You still have a way with words, I see.”

Nami giggled a little before handing Darius a bag filled with money.

Darius took it and put it in his pocket.

“Thank you as always. With that done, I'll have to go. I have another appointment after this.”

“Is that so? How unfortunate. Well, then take care.”

Darius nodded and then turned to his right.

“Hinami, I'll be going now!”

“Come play again soon, Uncle Darius!”

“I promise.”

With that, Darius silently left the store.

Seeing that their source of fear was gone, the men approached Nami again.

“I-I'm surprised that you aren't scared of talking with Lord Darius, Nami.”

“Yeah, I almost wet myself when he was next to me.”

Hearing the men confessions, Nami tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Why would I be scared of him?”

“W-Why?!”

“Lord Darius is a notorious crime lord, who's known for several cruel acts!”

“So? Half the people in the world are known for cruel acts. It's a cruel world, after all.”

Hearing Nami’s response, the men stared shockingly at her.

“Besides, why would I be afraid of a brat who's weaker than me?”

“…….”

“If you got nothing else to say, or isn't going to buy anything, then leave!”

Later that day, Nami and Hina had closed up shop, and was now heading home.

Hina was reading a comic book while she walking, and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Nami had to direct her, so that she doesn't walk into the road or hit a pole.

It was something she was used to.

“Hina.”

“Yes, grandma?”

“Hm?!”

“Y-Yes, Big Sis?”

“Why do you always read that comic whenever we’re walking home?”

“No, reason. It's just that it seems more exciting in the evening for some reason.”

“….You're a weird child, you know that?”

“We share the same blood after all….Ow ow ow ow! Let go of my cheeks!”

“You're too cheeky sometimes. I blame that genius brain of yours.”

The two walked past a group of girls playing together. Upon seeing them, Hina hid her face in the comic book, and was trying her best not to look at them.

And Nami saw that.

“Are you still not getting along with the other kids?”

“…Everytime I talk about something, they always look at me like I'm weird. And if I try to correct them when they're doing something wrong, they get mad at me and call me a Know-It-All.”

“Well, you are smarter than most kids your age. No, you're probably smarter than a lot of adults too. So maybe you should try to talk about something they understand.”

“I tried that already. The reason why I even started reading comic books, was so that I could talk to them about something they understood. They just called me a tomboy and laughed at me.”

“Is that so? But most girls don't read comic books, you know.”

“I saw a boy reading one, so I thought maybe girls did too. But they still didn't have to laugh at me.”

“Listen, Hina. Women are discriminative creatures, especially little girls. They just need to find a few things they don't like about you, and they'll scorn you for life.”

“It's a mystery how women can even befriend each other.”

“I agree.”

The two walked in silence for a while, before Nami asked Hina a question.

“Hey, could the reason you started reading comics on your way home, is so that you could hide your face from the other girls?”

“…….”

“Sigh. You won't be able to make any friends, if you stay like this you know.”

“….I don't need any friends. That's because I have grandma.”

Hina mumbled.

Nami peeped at her expression from the corner of her eye. It was a lonely face.

“….Grandma?”

Nami placed her hand on Hina's head, causing Hina to look at her.

“I won't promise that I'll always be with you. But I promise that as long we're together, I'll always protect and love you. So it's fine for you to rely on me for comfort. At least for now anyway.”

She looked at Hina and smiled.

“Don't worry, Hina. You'll make some friends in the future. And I'm sure they'll be some good ones.”

“Yes.”

The two walked in pleasant silence, until they reached home.

A few days later, a change occurred in Hina, that changed the peaceful lives of her and Nami.

“Grandma! Grandma!”

It happened when they were at the store. Nami was attending to a customer, when Hina started to shout all of sudden.

Since Hina wasn't one to disturb Nami when she was dealing with a customer, so Nami deduced that something must've happened.

She worriedly rushed to hina to see what was wrong.

When she got there, she saw Hina holding a knife.

“Hina!”

She hurriedly took it from her, and looked at her with reproach.

“Hina, where did you get this?!”

“I took it from inside this magazine!”

“Huh?”

Towards Nami who was obviously angry, Hina replied with an excited voice.

“I was looking through this magazine, and thought that this knife was cool and wanted to touch it! The next thing I knew, my hand went inside the page. I was freaking out, until my hand touched something. When I grabbed it and pull my hand, the knife came out too!”

Hina then did exactly what she said happened, and took out a can opener this time.

Seeing that, shock covered Nami's face.

“T-That's….!”

Nami then took the magazine from Hina and looked at it.

Two of the pages were blank.

“This power is exactly like her's….”

Nami mumbled. And then as if she realized something, she turned to Hina again.

“Hina, there's something I want to confirm. To do that, I need you to do exactly what I say, ok?”

“Ok.”

“I want you to create another knife. But this time, you’ll create it using only your imagination.”

Hina was going to say that it was impossible, but didn't when she saw that Nami was serious.

“Is something like that possible? Creating something out thin air without using anything as reference?”

“It's possible. There's a certain power that allows you to do it, however you need to know everything about the thing you’re trying to create. What its made up of, how it's created, and what it looks like when it's created…You know everything on how a normal knife is created right?”

“….Yes. I read a book on forging once.”

“Then it's possible that you can recreate it. All you need to do is imagine a knife being created in front of you. You must imagine every process it goes through in order for it to be created. And then, you must feel the desire to touch it, all while releasing the magic in your body….Can you do that?”

“….I think I can.”

“Then please.”

Hearing Nami's request, Hina nodded and started to concentrate with her eyes closed.

She started to picture molten metal being pour into a machine. She then imagined that machine using pressure to compress that liquid into a fixed shape, it then underwent cooling to harden. She then imagined the metal being craved, sharpened and then polished.

And just like that, Hina pictured the metal undergoing several more processes until it turned into a knife. She then felt the need to touched that knife, and held her hand out grasped it. And then it happened.

Nami watched magic particles swarm around Hina's hand. The particles then slowly took a shape, before dispersing. What was left in its place was a knife.

Hina opened her eyes and saw it.

“I-I did it?! Grandma, what is this?!”

Nami looked at the excited Hina, and sighed as if she gave up on something.

“It looks like you inherited both their powers. I really had hoped that you wouldn't though.”

“Their? What are you talking about, Grandma?”

Nami sighed again.

“Listen, Hina. You currently possess two unbelievable powers. [Manifestation], which you used to take this knife from out of the magazine; and [Creation], the power you used just now to create that knife you're holding. They may seem similar, but there's a big difference.”

“A big difference?”

Nami then went on to explain the difference between the two.

“[Manifestation] is like 3D projection that you can touch. Meaning, that you take a 2D image and recreate it into reality. For example, what you did with that knife. You turned the 2D picture into a 3D object. I heard that it doesn't need to be a picture. It can be a drawing, a painting, or even words in a book. For the book one, you just need have an idea on how it looks in real life. I don't really know the details…..Oh, you can't manifest life by the way.”

“A-Amazing!”

“There are other magic similar to this, but only a few that can create something permanent like you did. But once the user runs out of magic, the object will disappear. Unlike yours."

“I see…What about [Creation]?”

Nami showed a solemn expression before she spoke.

“….[Creation] is a very terrifying power. Some would even say that it isn't something a human should possess.”

“W-What kind of power is it?”

“It's the power to create anything as long as you know how it's made, what it looks like, and what it's made of.”

“Wait…When you say anything..”

“It's just what you're thinking. As long as you know these three processes, you can create even life. Human life.”

“Seriously?!”

“I've seen it before. A person being created before my eyes, that is.”

“When? Who did it?”

“I won't say.”

Nami took the knife Hina created.

“Listen, Hina. I won't tell you not to show anyone you're abilities or not to use them; in fact, I think it's better that you master them as soon as possible. They'll definitely help you survive this war filled world. However, I don't want you to temper with life. That isn't a realm humans should enter so easily. Keep in mind that, not even the gods have full control over the beings they've created, so don't think you will. Got that?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then I'll go back to the counter. Oh and don't make anything that will cut you unless I'm around.”

“Yes.”

Several days have passed since Hina awoken her abilities. She has been constantly practicing on how to use them.

It took her only three days to learn how to manifest something by only using words. The first thing she manifested was a futuristic weapon from a sci-fi novel. However, it didn't work the way she wanted. So it was consider a failure.

She was now showing her powers to Darius who came to visit.

“See? Here's the pen that was in the picture.”

Said Hina as she handed the pen to Darius.

“Wow, that's a useful ability.”

Darius took the pen and placed it in his pocket.

Hina stared at him for a while, before speaking

“….Uncle Darius, you like Grandma don't you?”

“Well, everyone likes your grandmother. Plus she's an important customer for me. Why you ask?”

“It's because everyone says you're a scary person, and I thought so too. But you're always smiling when talking to Grandma. You should smile more, and maybe more people will like you.”

Said Hina, with an innocent smile on her face.

“Unfortunately, that's impossible.”

“Why?”

“I'm not feared because I don't smile. I'm feared because of the things I do. Besides, I like being feared. Especially by those of lower standing, it reminds them who is the superior one.”

“Hmm….It sounds sad to me.”

“What?”

“I mean being superior all the time is boring. There's no one to compete with you, no one who can understand you, and no one who would console you if you mess up….That's just boring and sad.”

Hina had on a sad expression as she spoke.

‘This girl must be speaking from experience. There's no one her age who thinks on the same level as her. So she must've been really lonely all this time.”

Darius thought.

Hina sad expression then changed to one of curiosity.

“Uncle Darius, could the reason why you like Grandma is because she's superior to you?”

“Huh?”

Darius was caught off guard by Hina's question.

“You said it earlier. You like to be feared by those lower than you. Then what about the ones above you.”

“The ones above me?”

“I heard that Uncle Darius is a high-class noble like a duke or something. Then doesn't that mean that there are only a few who holds higher power than you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Being born with everything you’ve ever wanted, should get boring after a while. So, that's why you sought those above you. Those who can easily look down on you.”

“Why would I do that?”

“That's because it motivates you when someone looks down on you. It makes you strive to surpass them, and even if you don't it's still fun to put in the effort, right?”

“….I see why you don't have any friends your age. You’re too smart.”

Saying that, Darius pet Hina's head, and said-

“Well, you can always act a little dumber and be more outgoing to make friends. If that doesn't work you can always use your power to make one…..Just kidding.”

He laughed, said bye to Nami, and left the store.

Darius said it as a joke, but he didn't know that he gave Hina a very dangerous idea.

“….Make a friend? Someone who understands me...."

A week later Hina was sitting at home writing something down in a notepad.

“Done! After a week I've finally completed my list of things I want in a friend!”

After getting the idea from Darius, Hina spent a long time reading various biology books as well as psychology, medicine, chemistry, neurology, and alchemy books.

She read books that a 6-year-old shouldn't be able to.

She had completely forgotten what Nami begged her not to do.

She let her desire for companionship robbed her of her reasoning and restraint.

And because of that, Hina committed the greatest taboo for a human. She created life.