“Hinami?”

Momo who was beside Miko looked at Hina.

“You mean this is Hinami Akume?!”

She suddenly looked excited and shocked at the same time. She immediately approached Hina.

“I’m a big big fan of yours.”

“Really? It’s an honor for the famous Midnight Witch to say that. It means a lot to me.”

Hina held her hand and replied with a smile.

“You know me?”

“Of course. I’m even a fan of yours. I just love how small and cute you are despite being so strong.”

Hina then started to walk around Momo while looking at her from every angle.

“I haven’t even seen dolls this adorable before.”

Momo suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

‘Why does it feel like I ran into someone like Gramps and Uncle Nova?’

She asked herself.

“Hina, what are you doing here?”

Miko asked.

“Wait, Miko.”

Hina lifted her hand to stop Miko from talking while playing with Momo’s cheeks.

“So cute! I’ll definitely put you in a comic, since words can’t really capture your cuteness!”

She said excitedly.

She then looked towards Miko’s direction and saw Tia.

“……!”

She immediately froze when her eyes met Tia’s. She didn’t even breathe, it was like time itself came to halt for her. After a while, she fell to her knees completely dispirited.

“I admit my defeat. There’s no way I can accurately reflect such beauty with words or drawings.”

She even started crying.

“This is a beauty that transcends art!”

She seemly became even more depressed.

As for Tia-

“Hmph. At least you know.”

She stood tall with her chest puffed out proudly.

“Ah…..”

Miko stood there without knowing what to do.

“Oh, Miko.”

Hina suddenly stood up like she just remembered him.

“What a coincidence. I wanted your help with the character I based off you.”

She then went into her bag and took a notebook.

“I want to go over some stuff with you. You can have a look at my latest works as a reward.”

She approached him and said.

“………”

Miko was silent for a while because as usual he couldn’t sense any negative feelings coming from Hina. However, he had a hard time believing that he ran into her by coincidence. He began to wonder if she followed him. If so, was it really the reason she said.

“Wait….New Works?”

He asked.

Hina nodded.

“You mean, works that haven’t reached the public?”

“I’m the only one that has seen them. Not even my editor has.”

Hina replied.

Miko suddenly felt really tempted. If your favorite author wanted your advice in return for you being the first to see their new work, could you easily reject them?

‘I think she has some ulterior motive, but….’

Miko looked at the notebook that was in Hina’s hand.

‘I wanna see it!’

He shouted in his head.

“Sure, I’ll help.”

He said after a while.

‘Momo and Tia will be there as well. So even if something happens, they’ll be able to do something.’

He thought.

“Really? Thanks! You’ll be great help!”

Hina suddenly looked excited and even drew closer to Miko and showed him a beautiful smile.

“I know the place we can use.”

Momo said.

Later, Miko and the girls were brought to Momo’s private house that was in the center of the city.

“I only use this place for practicing spells, but it’s pretty secure and we won’t be bothered.”

Momo said, as she introduced the three story home to them.

“Wow….This house is enchanted.”

Hina said.

“You can tell?”

Momo asked.

“Yeah. I’ve always had a special eye for magic. I could tell right away.”

“Special eye?”

Momo suddenly looked at Hina’s eyes.

“Wait, weren’t your eyes purple?”

She asked. The others looked and saw that Hina’s eyes were gold and were glowing.

“Ah, this just happens whenever I try to read the magic before me.”

Hina pointed at her eyes.

“My eyes have the ability to break down mana and analyze it.”

“Really?!”

Momo jumped and dragged Hina’s face down to her level. She looked at her crystal gold eyes.

“Amazing, this must be the eyes of a god.”

She said.

“How far can you see with it?”

“After 500m it becomes a bit hard to make out a person’s eye color.”

Hina answered, unbothered by Momo rudely grabbing her face.

“Amazing. If Alec ever hear about this, I’m sure he would try to experiment on you.”

Momo said.

“I can see that.”

Miko nodded in agreement.

“I’m surprised that you were willing to reveal that.”

Miko said.

“Well, I can tell that you’re still cautious of me, so I wanted to lay it out in the clear to show you that I mean no harm.”

“…….”

Miko didn’t know how to respond to that.

‘Miko is having a hard time handling this girl.’

Tia thought while looking amused.

“Okay, lets go in and get started.”

Hina said with a perky voice.

They entered Momo’s private house was immediately blown away.

“This is inside a house?”

Hina asked after looking around. The scenery inside the house was that of a beautiful valley that seemingly stretched for several miles. There was a wide blue sky with all kinds of creatures flying about. There were wildlife everywhere.

“A Dimensional Field spell.”

Tia immediately figured out the reason for why the inside of Momo’s house looked like they were outside.

“That’s right. The inside of the house leads to a different dimension.”

Said Momo.

Miko looked and saw a grassless spot on the ground with something drawn on it. It was a magic circle.

“This magic circle is so complex, I can’t analyze it in one go. It would take hours or even days to do so.”

Said Hina, who was looking at the circle with her special eyes.

“Worthy of the empire’s Youngest Spell Master.”

She smiled at Momo and praised.

“Thanks. It really took a lot of researching before I could pull it off.”

Momo responded.

“Is this alright for you, Hinami?”

She asked.

“Call me Hina, and it’s perfect.”

Hina replied. She then sat down on the soft looking grass and started to pet a nearby rabbit.

“Miko, here’s the manuscript where your character makes his debut. Read it and tell me what you think.”

She took out a stack of papers and handed it to Miko, who looked at it like it was a piece of treasure. However, before he could open it it was snatched by Momo.

“Ladies first.”

She said.

“I have a copy, so there’s no need to fight.”

Hina handed Miko another one before he and Momo could begin battling over the manuscript.

“You get to see another day, little girl.”

Miko took the papers and said to Momo, who ignored him and started reading. Miko also started to read in silence.

Tia was bored so she approached Hina.

“Say, do you play Gangster’s Paradise?”

She asked.

“Yeah. I play it whenever I’m free. It’s what I use to sharpen my skills.”

Hina replied.

“Really? Which area do you play in?”

“Lizard Bay.”

Tia snorted when she heard that.

“Noob.”

“Eh?”

Hina was instantly confused when she heard that.

“Sorry, bad habit.”

Tia said after a bit.

“Ah…..”

‘Was I just called a noob by a goddess?’

Hina thought to herself.

‘I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.’

“Hey, have you ever heard of a player called Ace?”

Tia asked.

“Ace?”

“Yeah. He’s a legendary pro gamer. He killed us in Gangster’s Paradise and now we’re hunting him down.”

Hina immediately shook her head.

“I’ve never heard of him.”

She said.

“Hm…”

Tia looked at her with a gaze that seemingly stared right into her soul. It was as if she could see everything that Hina had hidden.

“I see.”

Tia smiled.

“Thanks for being honest.”

“Of course. I would never be bold enough to lie to a goddess’s face.”

Hina also replied with a smile.

“If you did, you would definitely be one serious daredevil.”

Tia said.

“I’m done.”

Momo said while putting down the papers.

“I only read up to his introduction and initial interaction with the main cast, so I don’t know if I’m 100% accurate when I say this.”

She looked at Hina and said-

“This character is too unstable. He’s whimsical, and completely out of control. He’ll work better as a villain than a hero.”

Hina nodded when she heard what she said.

“I agree. Characters like that make great villains, but people find it hard to relate to them as a hero, or even anti-hero.”

“But isn’t that the point?”

Miko said while still reading the paper.

“He’s clearly not hero material, but still desperately tried to fit in. As long as it’s done well, the readers will sympathize with him.”

He then paused a little before saying-

“A tragic hero.”

“Hm! Yes, you’re right. This character is a tragic hero.”

Hina said.

“And he’s based off me.”

Miko looked at her.

“Is this how you see me? A tragic hero?”

Hina nodded.

“Yes, and no. This character is based more off your past self rather than the current you.”

Hina said.

“The you who never received recognition no matter how hard you tried, but still never gave up. That you was a tragic hero in its own right.”

“You did your research.”

Miko said.

The way Hina portrayed the character in her book was very similar to how Miko was as a child. So much that he saw himself in the character. To achieve this, Hina needed to do some intensive research about him. This caused him to frown. Momo also frowned because she thought that this would stir negative feelings in Miko, which wasn’t good; especially the way he’s been rushing himself as of late.

As if sensing that, Tia-

“You really like Miko don’t you?”

She asked Hina.

“For you to create a character like this and it to be so similar to him, so you must really like him.”

“Well, I won’t deny that.”

Hina said with a laugh.

“Like everyone else, I heard the rumors but instead of fear I felt interest in him. I wanted to learn his story, see things from his point of view, and not from the masses.”

She then showed a bright and beautiful smile.

“I really love tragic heroes after all. They tend to be the most beautiful when they bloom.”

“……..”

Hina’s bright smile caused Miko to be silent. If he had to be honest, it made him as uncomfortable as he found it beautiful.

‘Bloom huh….’

Miko and the girls didn’t notice, but Miko’s shadow started to mold in to the shape of a beast when he thought that, only to return to normal a second later.

Hina spent a few hours with Miko and the girls before returning home. They offered to walk her home, but she refused saying that it was too much to ask of them. She was now walking alone in the city. When she saw that there was no one around, she stopped and stretched.

*Rip!*

Suddenly tearing sound came from behind her, and a pair of giant white dove wings appeared behind her. She jumped and started to fly with her wings. She flew pretty fast and soon left the city and was now in rural areas heading towards another country in the empire.

While she was flying, she had a smiled on her face.

“I gotta tell Ace that the players he killed are hunting him down. I’m pretty sure that he would be thrilled when he hear who it is.”

She said.

“I guess buying that Dreamscape Gaming pod was worth it.”

She took out her phone and started to search for a number.

“I wonder if he’s home, and if he is, is he still playing that game?”

She said with a hum.

“Sora is still on tour, but he should be getting back anytime now. I’m sure he’ll love hear about this as well.”

She found what she was looking for, but just as she was going to make a call, a message came in.

Hina frowned when she saw the sender’s ID.

Nebulous.