Inside of a certain church in a certain town in a certain strange, fantastical world, a festive mood pervaded the dining area as four women flanked a child sat before a moderately-sized cake.

After finishing a small prayer expressing gratitude for good health and fortune received thus far, as well as for such things to continue in the future, the women began to urge the child to blow out the candles poking out of the top of the cake.

“Hurry! Hurry, blow it out~!” One woman said while fanning both hands outward.

“Go ahead, babe. It’s alright,” said another, her head tilted somewhat to the side as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

With encouraging smiles from the other two as well, the child took a deep breath and leaned forward.

“Fuu~” A gentle stream of air escaped her lips, cascading over the surface of the cake and guiding away the softly-burning flames one by one.

As soon as the last candle was extinguished, the four women erupted into a joyful cacophony of cheers and congratulations.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

Today, Micah has just turned seven years old. As with every year, the nuns saw it fit to throw a party despite their somewhat impoverished living situation, and every year Micah would convince them that such a thing was unnecessary, only to be surprised when they do it anyway.

As the one in charge of the finances, Henrietta always insisted that she had things under control. But with each birthday having gotten bigger and better than the last thus far (this one included), she couldn’t help but worry that they were overspending.

For example, when they went over to uncover a series of dishes on the table, Micah’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of all of her favorite breakfast foods lined up in a neat presentation.

Henrietta really had gone above and beyond for her gift, going out to buy high-grade ingredients beforehand and spending nearly all of the previous night in the kitchen in preparation for today. In addition to that, she was also the one who bought the cake and decorated it with both the candles and the icing that spelled out her name in a fancy font.

Then again, it was perhaps because all of that was so expensive that the gifts for the other nuns were more modest by comparison, though no-less heartwarming in Micah’s eyes.

“Here ya go, Micah~!” Josefine said as she presented her gift with both hands.

Micah inspected the card she’d been given front and back, marveling at the sight of her own name clearly printed on it “Th-This is…!”

“Yup!” she answered. “I got you your very own library card! Now you can check out books at the library whenever you want.”

“But, I thought kids twelve and under needed an adult to check out books for them.”

“Wahaha~ Who do you think I am?” Josefine crossed her arms with a self-satisfied expression on her face. “I volunteer there every day, remember? I pulled some strings with the librarian, and she was more than happy to get you one!”

“Wow…” Micah continued to stare at the card. As an avid reader even before her reincarnation, Micah had spent more than her fair share of time in front of books in this world. And now, the realization that she would be able to check out whatever books she wanted without needing to bother Bernadetta or the others about it first was simply heavenly. “Thank you, Big Sis~! This is awesome!”

“Of course it’s awesome! It came from none other than me, after all~” Josefine was getting a little full of herself under Micah’s praise, but the two of them had been spoiling each other for as long as she could remember anyway, so she didn’t mind. “Beat that, Miss Bernadetta!”

“Uuu...~” At having the ball put in her court so abruptly, Bernadetta seemed more than a bit hesitant to present her gift. “O-On second thought, I don’t think mine is as good as yours. You’ll just feel let down if you see it now…”

“Eh?! After I gave you such a great set up, you’re just gonna give up?!” Josefine looked liked she’d been slapped.

“Mama… I can’t have it?” By now, Micah was more than used to her adopted mother’s somewhat bashful nature, and immediately employed anti-mind-changing tactics. Watery eyes, perfectly-executed pout, only a true monster would have the fortitude to resist her guilt trip face. “Please…?”

“Mmnn… O… Okay… Here-, here you go…” Bernadetta caved rather easily and handed over her gift from behind her back. Micah accepted with a wide smile and ran a hand over the fabric of the item she’d received.

“Ooh~” Josefine cooed. “It even has her name on the front. That’s so cute~!”

What Bernadetta had given her was clearly a hand-knitted sweater, pink in color and bearing her name in large, neatly-sewn purple block letters that looked lovely against the backdrop. It was just the slightest bit bigger than her own body, but she assumed Bernadetta had made it with the intention that she would wear it for years to come.

It was cute and would match well with some of the other clothes she had, so she certainly had no complaints. “Thanks, Mama! I love it!”

“R-Really? You do?”

“Mhm! Mama worked really hard to make this, right? If it’s from Mama, every gift is the best gift ever~!”

Bernadetta seemed on the verge of tears as she covered her mouth. “That’s… Thank… you…”

Everyone shared a smile as the woman turned her trembling body away, riding out the waves of happiness as if it were her own birthday being celebrated. In the meantime, Micah faced the final nun and her closest friend in this world, Brunhilde, who sat patiently in a chair off to the side.

Her gift was the most plain by far nothing more than a simple notepad and pen. Still, Micah’s expression was more than grateful as she accepted the items.

“You know,” the old woman started. “If you wanted something as simple as that, you needn’t have waited for your birthday to ask for it.”

Micah shook her head. “No, this is fine. This means more to me than you know.”

Ever since she’d first been brought to Magi, a myriad of thoughts had passed through Micah’s mind over the years. Most of which had to be stored only in her memory, since she lacked the motor functions to properly write and the means with which to do so privately. But with this personal notepad, she could write down all of her thoughts and organize information more appropriately.

As far as what would be useful to her in the far future, this was perhaps the most valuable gift she’d received. And so, she smiled as brightly as she had with the other gifts.

“I know you would probably have preferred something a bit more exciting,” Bernadetta, who’d managed to compose herself, placed a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “But the cake and ingredients were expensive enough already, and took weeks of saving up everything we earned just to be able to afford this much with our budget. I’m sorry, babe.”

“It’s okay,” Micah responded. “Gifts like these are way better than really pricey stuff anyway. I’ll be sure to get you all something extra special for your birthdays!”

“Hey now, don’t start talking about our birthdays. Yours is still far from over, you know.” Henrietta laughed, and Josefine nodded in agreement.

“Yup, yup! Now let’s dig in before it gets cold! All this gift-giving’s made me super hungry!”

“Wait, you mean it’s not all for me?! Ah-, hey!”

Soon, the group descended into joyful chaos as everyone found their seats and began eating, chatting lively the whole time.

-----

The festivities ended at around noon, and after cleaning up together, Micah was left to her own devices as the nuns went about their day Henrietta and Josefine both prepared to head out for work after having notified the tavern and library respectively that they would be late that day, Bernadetta went to stand outside to attract visitors to the church (which they’d been getting more and more of lately thanks to the nuns’ growing popularity in the town), and Brunhilde stayed inside to look after the church interior.

As for Micah herself, she decided to accompany Josefine to the library, and after exchanging goodbyes with Bernadetta on their way out, the two left the church with Henrietta. While taking in the sights of the bustling streets of Halloway that she’d grown so used to over the years, Micah began to plan out her objectives for the day.

[Otherworldly Scarf]

[A scarf brought over from another world. Grants the wearer unique powers.]

[Ability - God’s Blessing Lv. 12]

[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and the more it is used. After a set amount of experience is gained, this ability will level up.]

[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]

[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]

{Default Abilities}

[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]

[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]

{Added Abilities}

[The scarf can be manipulated according to the wearer’s will. Its potential length, as well as its offensive and defensive power, will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]

[Free Slot]

[Unlocked at Lv. 20]

[Unlocked at Lv. 30]

[Unlocked at Lv. 40]

[Unlocked at Lv. 50]

First was [God’s Blessing]. As a result of getting her ass kicked by fighting Mr. Stronoff, she’d gained a whole eight levels and another new [Free Slot] due to reaching Lv. 10. Still, while she’d been excited at the rather abrupt increase in power she’d gotten from the experience, it also created a noticeably higher hurdle for her to climb in order to continue leveling up with her usual training. In the three years since that incident happened, she’d only managed to level up one time, bringing her to Lv. 12.

It was a little sad, but an important reminder that she couldn’t keep doing the same things over and over if she wanted to make real progress with the Ability. In order to level up faster, she would need to go out and experience new things on wider and wider scales. She was almost certain that her brush with death, coupled with encountering a contracted servant and even speaking to a real demon had all played parts in her rapid development that night.

Well setting that aside, she’d already decided what to use the [Free Slot] on long ago. The whole reason why she was going out today was to make the necessary preparations for her ultimate goal: Finally using real magic.

“It’s rare to see you going out like this, Micah.” Henrietta suddenly broke the silence as they walked deeper into town from the outskirts where the church sat. “Usually you wait until Bernadetta has business before you go somewhere. What brought this on?”

“Obviously, she’s gonna use the totally awesome gift I gave her!” Josefine tilted her nose up, practically skipping with every step.

Henrietta rolled her eyes. “I was talking to Micah, not you, Little Miss Modest. Micah?”

“Hm. I guess it would be nice to check out a few books too, but I’m mainly going to take some notes.”

“Notes? On what? All the material for your studies should be at the church. Is it for a hobby?”

“I… guess you could say that.”

“I see. Good luck then.”

“Ooh, Micah’s hobby!” Josefine said. “What is it, what is it~?”

“Eh… That’s…”

“Hey, cut it out. No need to pester her about it,” Henrietta quickly said, coming to her rescue with a chastising tone. Josefine pouted slightly, but didn’t push it when she saw Micah’s relieved expression.

As the group arrived at the library, Henrietta gave Micah a stern look. “You’re free to indulge in your hobbies at your discretion, but make sure you’re not doing anything illegal or immoral. And don’t let it get in the way of your usual studies. Okay?”

Micah couldn’t help but cringe slightly at the blonde nun’s warnings. It hardly felt like something one should be saying to a seven-year-old, but she supposed she only had herself to blame for failing to properly fool them into thinking she wasn’t as intelligent as she really was. As a result, she’d been getting treated much more maturely by the others, Henrietta in particular.

All she could really do in this situation was nod her head to show she understood. Satisfied that her message had been properly conveyed, Henrietta said her goodbyes and continued on her way to the tavern, leaving the pair to enter the library.

“Ah! She’s here!” The moment they did, a veritable army of children rushed up to greet them. The first to arrive practically threw themselves at Josefine, who barely managed to crouch down and spread her arms to catch them in a massive hug right before the others descended on her. In moments, she was on the floor in a tangle of limbs, joining the raucous laughter with her own giggles.

“You’re late!” shouted one of the children. “What took you so long, Miss Josefine!”

“Yeah! We’ve been waiting for you forever!”

“Read us a story! A story~!”

“Wahaha~ Looks like I kept you guys waiting, huh?” Josefine managed to right herself within the pile of kids, holding one of the youngest in her lap while grinning at the others surrounding her. Her expression was so innocent that for a moment Micah had trouble discerning her from the rest.

Though it really shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it did. Josefine had proven time and time again through their interactions that she was extremely good with children. It was to the point that she was sure that if Josefine wasn’t aiming to become a librarian, she would definitely have gotten into caretaking.

In fact, it was because of Josefine that parents began to bring their children to the library for group reading and tutoring in the first place. The story apparently went that Josefine paid a visit to the library one day and came upon a boy trying to get his mother to read a story to him whilst she was busy studying for her work. In order to placate the upset child, Josefine offered to read the story to him in her place, much to her relief and gratitude.

It was difficult at first, getting him used to being read to by a stranger. But Josefine’s infectious charisma soon had him fully-invested and hanging off her every word. He reported the experience to his mother, who then spoke about it with a friend of hers that also had a child, who was then brought to the library in another scheduled reading session, which then urged them to spread the word even more, and all of a sudden every child in town was being brought here every day for these group readings.

It was when she started tutoring the children as well that the librarian decided to reward Josefine’s hard work by paying her a small sum for every hour she spent tutoring per day. So many years had gone by with this system in place that it practically became Josefine’s job to come here and read to the kids, then set aside some time for tutoring before she went home.

Because of that, Josefine became one of the main sources of income for their family, besides Henrietta’s work as a waitress.

“Sorry I’m late! Miss Josefine had some SUPER important business to attend to!” she said, reaching over to pull Micah into the group with a tight hug. “It was this cutie’s birthday today! So you know I had to make sure it was the absolute best one ever~”

“Ehh~ It’s Micah’s birthday?!”

“Happy birthday, Micah!”

“Here, you want my chocolate?”

“No fair! You said I could have it!”

“Haha…” Micah could only chuckle awkwardly as the energy of the group threatened to overwhelm her.

These kids are cute and all, but no one’s a match for Yuu's adorableness. Ahh, I wish I could show him off to them like Josefine’s doing for me...

----

As Josefine settled into her usual task of reading to the kids, Micah decided to explore the library and flip through a few books while searching for anything she could find on spells and basic magic.

A few things here and there caught her eye, but she quickly came to the realization that any books on magic seemed to only describe the theory of it rather than any practical applications or instructions. It was no different than what she’d already read about at the church, and was thus completely useless to her.

But surely that wasn’t it. There had to be some sort of guide or spellbook that listed out basic spells for beginners to get started with, right? Or was the only way to learn magic as a newbie to come under a master’s tutelage? The idea felt too strange to consider.

In the end, she picked up a few books that interested her and sat at an isolated table.

A few hours later, Josefine finally shut the pages of her fifteenth book, though with how many times the children had begged her to read the stories subsequent times, the total amount she’d closed that day was at least double that. But since it had finally reached the top of the hour, it was time for her break before her tutoring began.

She stood up from the lounge and headed for the main library area, popping her joints with a satisfying *crack* as she stretched her arms over her head. It didn’t take her long to spot Micah sitting on her lonesome next to a stack of thick-looking books.

“Micah~” she called as she made her way over. As the seven-year-old looked up at her, face paling as she tried to quickly hide the book in her hands, she managed to catch a glimpse of title.

‘The History of Magi: A Non-Fictive Retelling of the Geographical Evolution of the Circle’

Next to it was an encyclopedia of Magi’s major landmarks and locations, as well as various other books on known species, flora and fauna, economics, and even the current political state of affairs.

It was way beyond something a child her age should even be able to comprehend, let alone read all the way through. And judging by the small pile on the opposite side of the stack, it seemed she had already gotten through a few of them before she arrived.

When Josefine came upon this miraculous sight, she could only think of one way to respond.

“Nice job!” With one hand resting on her hip and the other flashing Micah a thumbs up, she winked cutely while letting her tongue hang to the side of her mouth. “What amazing reading ability! As always, Micah’s awesome and cute! Mainly cute, though~”

“A-Ahaha…” Micah, who’d been so stunned by having been caught that she couldn’t properly formulate an excuse for why she’d had so many books a child her age had no business reading, put on a forced smile as she laughed along with Josefine.

Oh right. I forget that, at the core of everything else, this person is an idiot. I haven’t dodged a bullet like this since I was two. ...Should I congratulate or scold myself for that fact?

After helping her put away all of the books she’d procured, Josefine sat down with Micah and the two began to chat about various things, with the topic eventually shifting to the books in the library (courtesy of Micah).

“So, uh…” she started as casually as she could. “By the way. Does this place have any spellbooks?”

“Spellbooks?”

“Yeah, like-, like books on magic and stuff. I was just a little interested in checking some out. You know, for curiosity’s sake.” She glanced away, doing her best to look disinterested in the hopes that Josefine wouldn’t get suspicious.

But it seemed that, once again, she’d forgotten who she was speaking to. “Ah! Really?! So Micah wants to read about magic too, huh? That’s great!”

“Eh? It is?”

“I’d love to get you one!” she said, her face falling moments later as she settled back into her seat. “But… The spellbooks here aren’t publicly available. Only Heroes and Heroes-in-training can use them for free. Everyone else has to pay a huge amount of money.”

“Oh…” Micah’s own expression fell with the realization that her quest wouldn’t be as easy as she’d hoped.

Haa… At least I know they’re here. Should I try stealing them? It’ll be bad if I get caught though…

While Micah silently stewed on her options, Josefine suddenly perked up again and leaned close. “...But you know what? I’ll let you take a peek at one anyway if you want, but only if you give it back before you leave and don’t let anyone see it. Deal?”

“Huh? R-Really? I-I mean, yeah! Deal!” Micah was caught off guard by the nineteen-year-old’s offer, but was more than happy to accept it. Afterwards, Josefine reached across the table while extending her pinky finger, and after realizing what she was doing, Micah also reached out to wrap her own pinky around it, the two sharing a grin along with their silent promise.

Without another word, Josefine got up from the table and headed off behind the front desk, briefly speaking with the librarian about how she’d start the tutoring soon as she slipped into the back room.

I know Josefine’s just naturally good with kids, but she really is a great older sister too. Always with a smile on her face and doing her best to make the people around her happy. I wonder if this is how Yuu felt whenever I was with him. Did he think I was a great older sister too? I hope so...

After a few minutes, Josefine returned from the back room with a satchel slung over her shoulder. Completely at ease, she made her way back to the table and let the bag fall onto the surface, sending Micah a sly wink as she walked off towards the lounge area to get back to work.

Micah nodded thankfully in response and immediately set about opening the bag and flipping through the book stashed inside. Just thumbing through the first few pages was enough to reveal that it was exactly what she’d been looking for an encyclopedic collection of known magic spells and how they work, complete with diagrams and helpful tips.

Pulling out the pen and notepad Brunhilde had given her, she began copying down the spells that caught her eye, noting the ones that looked interesting, simple, and easy for beginners. When she was done, she slid the book back into the bag and quickly stood up from her seat, practically beelining for the exit.

On her way out, she made sure to catch Josefine’s attention as she helped a young boy review math problems, sending her a thumbs-up to signal that she was finished. Josefine returned the gesture with a wink before waving goodbye, and Micah did the same as she pushed through the doors and re-entered the town.

Immediately, she headed for a certain place an isolated field in Halloway she’d scouted ages ago for this very moment, where the chances of anyone walking by were low. For safety purposes, Brunhilde was the only one who knew that she’d decided to turn such a place into her practice spot for magic. If something ever went wrong and she found herself in trouble again, the old nun could bring help.

The first thing she did upon arriving at the field was activate the second [Free Slot] she unlocked by reaching Lv. 10 with [God’s Blessing], and immediately list out the conditions of her next Added Ability.

[The wearer can draw from a large mana pool contained within the scarf.]

This was an idea she’d come up with while brainstorming ideas on how to deal with the issues that limited her ability to use [God’s Blessing] for long periods of time. By creating a mana pool inside of the scarf, she could make up for her low mana problem, thus allowing her to use [God’s Blessing] for longer than her own body’s mana would allow. At the same time, she would no longer suffer from Mana Depletion as long as she limited her mana usage to the scarf’s pool and never let her own body’s supply run out. It killed two birds with one stone, and so she wasted no time in confirming it.

[Rejected.]

However, it clearly wouldn’t be that easy. She was slightly disappointed to see that it didn’t work, as she’d been hoping that reaching Lv. 12 would allow the conditions to go through despite them being pretty steep. After reasoning out what might have been wrong with her conditions, she concluded that the mana pool size being “large” was what caused it to be rejected. And so, she quickly changed it.

[The wearer can draw from a moderately-sized mana pool contained within the scarf.]

[Rejected.]

However, it was rejected as well. With sagging shoulders, Micah tearfully relented and changed it once again to what she’d been hoping to avoid.

[The wearer can draw from a small mana pool contained within the scarf.]

[Rejected.]

EH?!?!?!

It caught her completely by surprise when this too was rejected. Sighing, she decided to lower it one more time, taking solace only in the thought that the same addendum would be added as it was for her first Added Ability:

[The wearer can draw from a minuscule mana pool contained within the scarf.]

[Accepted. A new [Ability] has been added to [God’s Blessing].]

[Otherworldly Scarf]

[A scarf brought over from another world. Grants the wearer unique powers.]

[Ability - God’s Blessing Lv. 12]

[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and the more it is used. After a set amount of experience is gained, this ability will level up.]

[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]

[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]

{Default Abilities}

[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]

[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]

{Added Abilities}

[The scarf can be manipulated according to the wearer’s will. Its potential length, as well as its offensive and defensive power, will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]

[The wearer can draw from a minuscule mana pool contained within the scarf. The size of the pool will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]

[Unlocked at Lv. 20]

[Unlocked at Lv. 30]

[Unlocked at Lv. 40]

[Unlocked at Lv. 50]

Wha-?! It’s even smaller than mine!

Though it was just as she predicted: The same message as before was added onto the end of her conditions, detailing that the Ability would increase in potential as [God’s Blessing] gained levels. Trying to see it as a silver lining that her future self would thank her for later, she decided to just focus on practicing the spells using her own body’s mana.

First up were the four elements. One of the books on magic theory she’d read at the church mentioned that mages tended to lean towards one or more of the four elements naturally, and found themselves more proficient at them than others. Personally, Micah bore a preference towards the fire and wind elements, and silently hoped that her proficiency lied in those areas.

However, she quickly hit a roadblock while attempting the first spell, the basic fire spell ‘Flame’.

To cast ‘Flame’ one had to envision their mana steadily heating up until it comes to a boil. The caster would have to exercise a precise amount of control in order to not harm themselves, but at the same time enough laxness to allow the flame to grow. Once the heated mana has reached an optimal temperature, the caster can then set ablaze any target they wish. However, the flames must be conjured through some medium, whether it be the caster’s own hands or a tool of some sort.

In addition to the notes on the basic description of ‘Flame’, Micah also scribbled her best simulacrum of the diagram used as a visual guide alongside the explanation.

Things went well at first. Just as the spell described, she could feel her mana boiling over inside of her body. However, when she tried to actually cast the spell by igniting her hands, nothing at all happened and her mana simply returned to normal. She tried several more times, only to get the same result. Confused, she stared down at her hands while wondering if she was doing something wrong.

Eventually, she decided to move on to the basic wind spell ‘Gust’ (Similar to ‘Flame’ in that it generates wind using a medium, with a level of intensity matching the amount of mana put into the spell) that she also noted down, but it too has no effect. She tried other spells like ‘Harden’ (Reinforces whatever its cast on with earth magic) and ‘Aqua’ (Does the same as ‘Flame’, but with water), only to fail each and every time.

Frustrated, she came to the depressing conclusion that not only did she have laughably low mana, she also apparently had no magical talent whatsoever. The thought was enough to make her smile bitterly at the unfairness of it all. Without [God’s Blessing], she never in a million years would have had a shot of doing anything other than living her life as a common civilian.

Still, she didn’t give up. With Yuu’s well-being at the forefront of her mind, she simply couldn’t bring herself to give up while she still hadn’t tried every possible option available to her. Even if her talents didn’t lie with magic, she’d find a way to level up [God’s Blessing] until she could give herself such talent, or some other edge, or something in order to give her the power to find her brother without anything getting in her way whether it be human, demon, or God himself.

She moved on next to Summoning, another spell that had caught her eye in the spellbook, prompting her to copy down the details.

Summoning first required the caster to form a connection with the target they wished to summon, which must first possess mana and thus be a living creature. The process of connection uses what’s known as a ‘mana signature’, which is essentially like one’s magical fingerprints their personal identifier as someone who possesses mana. Every living thing has mana in some amount, and every person and animal has a mana signature that is unique to them.

Connecting one’s mana signature with that of another’s is a process that can be likened to having their very souls touch, which is seen as being extremely intimate and is widely considered to be the ultimate act of trust between two parties.

As such, it is highly recommended not to attempt a summoning on a creature one hasn’t first established a connection with. With that being said, it is possible to summon a creature at random without having met it first, though at the cost of not knowing what the creature will be, as well as a high failure rate. That is why it is only recommended to be done in extreme emergencies where there are no other options.

Despite all of the warnings from the spellbook, Micah still wanted to at least give it a shot, and so began to cast the spell while envisioning her mana reaching into a vast expanse to carefully pull something towards her, like casting a fishing line into a boundless sea. Following the notes she took, she imagined what type of creature she wanted to summon; something powerful, something loyal, something cute…

Surprisingly, the spell began to activate in response to her thoughts, and she could feel her mana pulling on something far away, bringing it closer, and closer, and closer, until finally, in a bright flash of light, it appeared before her.

And it. Was. Hideous.

Out of the foul haze came the silhouette of tangled limbs. It pushed forth a strange image, that this is what she might've looked like after having been struck by that car so many years ago: mangled, twisted, all form and definite shape broken. Blinking did nothing but solidify that idea, as the red bare flesh was noticed upon those stringy limbs, none of which ended with the right amount of toes or fingers. They twitched, the joints cracking as the thing unfurled. The center of the mess was lithe, pitifully small. More red flesh there, like the whole creature had been skinned, it being the guts left behind to rot.

It came to a stand. Micah had a hard time believing something like this could move at all, but there it was. Like a tripod with broken legs, it leant to one side. A swishing tail attempted to balance this, whipping to counterbalance. "Tail" was only an assumption, as Micah couldn't think of anything else to call the fleshy, slime-slick appendage writhing from what could be thought of as its hips, given that two of the three legs also met there.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of something so grotesque-looking, a surge of bile forced its way up her throat and threatened to burst out had she not stifled it and her gasp with her hand. The other went to hold her stomach, as if to ease the bubbling gastric juices within.

It heard her, somehow. With startling dexterity, it turned in place, and she came face-to-face with its eye. It was a deep urine yellow, held in place amidst its torso by thin tendons attached to its top and bottom. The proximity made her throw her head back; an instinctual reaction working like a force field to keep it at bay.

It blinked, observing her with a curious gaze.

Only once she was able to compose herself did she give it a proper look. Mixed somewhere inside the revulsion threatening to overwhelm her, Micah felt some measure of pride for her summon, finding an odd sense of accomplishment with having actually succeeded in bringing forth a creature that… looked powerful. Potentially? Well it would at least certainly shock and throw her enemies off guard with nothing but its appearance alone. Plus it did look somewhat cute… if you squinted the right way. And were half-blind.

“A… Alright,” she started shakily, somehow nervous under its direct gaze. “Your name is… um… Mini-, no it’s definitely Minikui. Now Minikui, listen. I’m gonna keep you as my… pet? Familiar? I don’t really know what the proper term is in this world. More importantly, I summoned you, so that means I’m your master. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on making you do anything dangerous right away; first I’ll need to determine how strong you a-”

*Schlop* *Schlop*

Whilst she was explaining her intentions for her summon, it suddenly approached her, smushed one of its many orifices against the side of her head, and began to suckle on her hair. It was honestly hard to tell if it was supposed to be some kind of affectionate gesture or not, but regardless, she pushed it away and cringed a bit at the slimy excretion it left dribbling down in clumpy globs.

But still, she refused to allow it to assert its will over her and flip their relationship on its head simply because nearly everything about it was horrifying in some way, so she activated [God’s Blessing] and swiftly moved her scarf ends forward to give it a light shove in retaliation.

“No. I’m the master. Listen when others are speaking to you.”

It wobbled a bit from the force, gyrating its entire body for a few seconds, and just when Micah thought she’d finally gotten through to it, it suddenly perked its head up and dashed away towards the town proper.

“Ah, wai-!”

Panicked and already fearing the worst, Micah chased after it, astounded at its incongruous speed. By the time she reached the town, it was already too late: Screams of terror rang out through the streets, with shouts of ‘Monster!’ and ‘It’s going to kill us all!’, among other things replacing the once-jovial mood of Halloway’s mid-afternoon.

Moving as quickly as her legs could carry her, Micah followed its trail, using witness accounts and the horrified cries to track it as it seemed to go on a rampage.

“Oh gods it’s eating me!!!”

A rampage of… hugs? Unexpected as it was, it didn’t appear that Minikui was actually hurting anyone. Instead, it was going around hugging, nibbling, and cuddling everyone in sight. Though she supposed she couldn’t blame the townspeople for believing that they were under attack, when something with that kind of appearance suddenly started stampeding through town and closing in on random people.

Shaking away her thoughts on the slightly-amusing sight, she continued to chase after Minikui while doing her best to reassure those who’d been “attacked” by it that everything was fine.

“Kyaa?!?!”

Eventually, the trail led Micah back to the library, where upon arriving, she heard Josefine cry out from inside. Fear spiking over the teenage nun’s safety, she burst through the front doors to see that Minikui had latched onto her in a giant bear hug, lifting her off the ground and shaking her around with erratic movements. The other patrons had all ducked for cover, or were simply staring with mouths agape while the children peeked out from behind their backs with looks of wonder and amazement.

“Hey! Let her go, Minikui! Right now!” Micah barked at her summon, but it either didn’t hear her or simply ignored her in favor of affectionately nuzzling Josefine.

Shit…! It won’t listen to me! I’ll have to find some other way to calm it down, but first I should make sure Josefine doesn’t panic.

“Big Sis! Everything’s alright, so please just… relax…?”

Just as Micah’s attention turned to Josefine in order to tell her to keep calm, her mind blanked out as she realized that the teen was doing much more than that.

“Hehehe! I don’t know what’s going on, but if you wanted to hug me, all you had to do was say so! Huggy~ Huggy~”

She was actively returning the hug with full force, her usual innocently joyful expression on full display. Naturally, Micah was struck speechless by the sight, along with all the other patrons in the library.

I mean, I already know that she takes “free spirit” to the next level and all, but this is just…

“Stop! Nobody move!” Fortunately, the door to the library was kicked open and a squadron of the town’s guard came shuffling through while barking orders. Startled by them, Minikui dropped Josefine and smashed through the nearest window to escape, all in one motion.

“There it is! You four, after it! The rest of us will stay here and check for casualties.” Micah couldn’t help but be impressed by how on top of things the leader of the squad was, but she quickly shook away those thoughts in favor of chasing after Minikui. However, as she tried to leave herself...

“Whoa there, hold on kid,” said the leader as he reached a hand out to grasp her shoulder. While guiding her back inside, he addressed the rest of the room. “Everyone just stay calm and don’t leave the building until we figure out what’s happening and make sure no one was hurt.”

Tch, these guys, doing their jobs properly… I take back what I said about being impressed. Now they’re just annoying.

It was clear that the guards wouldn’t let her leave until the situation settled, which either meant that they found Minikui and killed it, or it escaped. And neither of those outcomes were what she wanted for her summon.

So naturally, that meant she’d have to escape herself.

But the only way to do so would be to create a distraction and sneak out, which was easier said than done. The patrons and children were abuzz with fear, worry, and excitement over the strange turn of events, and a few of the guards were going around speaking to everyone and checking to see if anyone had been hurt while one stood at the entrance to keep anyone from leaving.

As her eyes passed over to Josefine, it was to see her concluding her conversation with the leader, all smiles and assumedly assuring the man that she was completely fine. She was clearly still coming down from her excited tizzy, even as Micah made her way over.

“Hey, uh… Are you okay?” she asked.

“Well I’m really confused and feel kinda gross with all this slime on me, but it was still a lot of fun being in such an unexpected situation, ya know? I’ve got so much hug energy now, I just wanna go around giving everyone a bunch of hugs~!”

“I-Is that so…” Smiling awkwardly as a drop of sweat slid down her cheek, Micah decided to just accept Josefine’s sporadic nature and move on to the main point. “Well, anyway, I wanted to ask you for another favor.”

“Eh~ A favor? Tell me!”

“I wanna leave the library, but the guards won’t let me. Can you go and distract the one at the door for me so I can sneak out?”

“Roger that! Just leave it to me!” Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly considering the nun’s soft spot for her), Josefine didn’t question Micah’s intentions at all and immediately agreed to help without a second thought. “I totally know how it feels being stuck in situations like these when you just wanna go home, so never fear!”

“...”

Deep in her heart, Micah began to feel somewhat guilty. Since the moment she arrived at the church, she’d always been on the receiving end of Josefine’s unwary loyalty, no matter what situation she found herself in. The girl seemed to have complete trust in her, and never saw anything she did as wrong. Though the two had had their differences over the years, they’d never even argued a single time.

It reminded her so much of her relationship with Yuu that it was almost unsettling.

But that was what made her feel that much guiltier about all of the lies and manipulations and using not just her, but their entire family to her advantage. The thought of Yuu doing the same to her was enough to make her stomach knot.

And because of that guilty feeling, she decided to give Josefine an ‘out’. “Hey… You don’t have to agree so quickly, you know? If we get caught, you’ll be in big trouble along with me.”

Josefine’s head tilted as a look of confusion came over her expression. “Then all we have to do is just not get caught, right?”

“Eh?”

“If defeat isn’t an option, then all you can do is succeed.” Her usually cheerful look reappeared, somehow seeming more gentle than usual. “Right?”

“...Right.” Micah’s eyes narrowed as her lips spread into a sentimental smile at Josefine’s unexpected words, and the hidden truth behind them. The positive, overly-idealistic philosophy perfectly suited the type of person Josefine was. After hearing it, there was simply no way Micah could refuse her help any further.

And with that, they set about enacting their plan. Though all things considered, it wasn’t all that complicated. Far from it, actually.

“Uweee~” Josefine wailed as she approached the guard standing in front of the door. “Oh, woe is me~ It hurts~ It hurts oh so much~ Ohhhh~!” With a not-so-convincing performance, she flamboyantly stumbled to a fall right in front of him. “Death! Despair! Agony! All of these injuries I’ve sustained from that dreadful creature are just awful! Just awful! Oh, it hurts so muuuuuch~”

“.........”

N-No, it’s okay. I’d react that way too if I was in your shoes…

Micah sent her silent apologies to the poor guard made to witness such godawful acting as she swiftly cracked open the library door using one of her scarf ends and slipped outside whilst he was distracted.

Now back on the streets, she resumed her hunt for Minikui. More witness accounts and screams lead her back in the direction of the church, specifically near the tavern where Henrietta worked. Unfortunately, as Micah would soon remember, that day also happened to be one of the days that Henrietta got off early. This series of circumstances is what lead to Minikui encountering Henrietta on her way home from work.

Eye lighting up with innocent playfulness, it moved in to give the biggest hug of the day to the unsuspecting woman.

“Oh no! Minikui, don’t!” Micah arrived moments later and tried to shout a warning, but it was too late.

“Kya-?!”

As she felt a pair of moist appendages wrap around her body from behind, pressing into her sizeable breasts with enough force to restrict her movement, Henrietta let out a cry of surprise. However, a moment later her wide eyes slowly shut, and her agape mouth settled into clenched teeth as the sensation of a body pressed up against hers from behind finally clicked with something in her head.

“Not again…” Something of a mix between annoyance and resignation appeared on her face as she silently raised her handbag used to hold her uniform when she wasn’t working and her normal clothes when she was on shift.

Then, in one solid motion, it was whipped around to connect with the top of Minikui’s head in a powerful downward smash that planted its face into the dirt floor below. Without even acknowledging who she’d just struck, Henrietta adjusted her clothes and let out a dignified ‘Hmph!’ as she walked off while grumbling something about “perverts” and “getting a clue”.

After making sure the coast was clear, Micah approached Minikui’s inert form and stared down at it.

“...Ah. It’s dead.”

The pooling greenish-yellow liquid from its cracked head gave little other conclusion.

With a pitiful look on her face, she couldn’t help but wonder if this outcome was the result of Henrietta’s terrifying strength or Minikui’s unexpected frailty. Either way, her first summoned creature had turned out to be rather disillusioning in the end. Still, Minikui was friendly and had good intentions, so she decided to offer it a proper farewell.

Pressing her palms together, she began to pray.

Goodbye, my beloved Minikui. You were honestly the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in my life, but you were still my first summon. I'll always remember the times we shared. Like the time you… ate my hair. It was pretty gross, actually. But you meant well. That was the thing about you you always meant well.

As she concluded her prayer, Minikui’s corpse began to fade away in a white haze similar to how he’d first appeared. It appeared that, with the death of the summoned creature, the Summoning spell was being undone.

And thus, it seemed the story of Minikui had come to a disappointingly swift end. It was almost a shame that such a unique-looking creature was killed in such a ridiculous way.

*twitch*

Eh…?

Or was it?

-----

N-No. No way. I was just imagining things. It was definitely dead. It had to be.

Surely the slight movement she saw just before it disappeared was just her imagination. That was what she forced herself to believe as she went about her chores at the church in the evening.

Considering Josefine happened to be nearby, she decided to inquire about something that had been on her mind ever since she first summoned Minikui.

"So like, what exactly was that thing from earlier? Was it some kind of weird species in Magi or something?" she asked casually.

Summoned creatures can’t just be willed into existence. The whole purpose of summoning is to transport a creature to your location in order to aid you. For that to work, the creature needed to be somewhere in the world. It goes without saying that you can’t summon something that doesn’t already exist.

"Nope,” Josefine answered. “I've never seen or heard of anything like that before. And all the books I've read on Magi's species never said anything about it. But it was cute though, right~?"

"...You-, you mean it's not part of any race?"

"Nope~!"

"B-But that thing it... existed somewhere in the world, right? And no one's ever seen it before?"

"Seems like it~!"

"...And there's at least a chance that more of them also exist, right?"

"Probably~!"

"..."

She couldn’t help but ponder the idea that an unknown creature like Minikui had been geographically somewhere in the world before she summoned it, whether on another continent, beneath the land, or in some kind of horrific laboratory, and that there were potentially more of those horrifying things out there somewhere...

Needless to say, Micah had quite a bit of trouble sleeping for the next few nights.