Tomika-sensei stared at the school’s roster of students on her laptop. She contemplated while she sat at her cluttered desk full of papers, binders, notebooks and textbooks in the empty faculty room since all the other teachers had gone home for the day. Then, there was a knock on the door. It opened slightly, and Akira stuck her head out while she waved around a plastic bag in her hand.

“Kuroki~” She called out.

Tomika-sensei fixed her glasses as she looked up.

“Oh, Riko.”

Akira came in the room and put the bag on Tomika-sensei’s desk.

“Sorry, did I disturb you?”

Tomika-sensei shook her head.

“Not at all.”

“I brought take-out, so I hope you don’t mind trying out Chinese food.”

“Hm. Should be a new experience.”

Akira grabbed a chair and sat near Tomika. They both took out the white take out boxes from the bag and began eating. As Akira was eating, Tomika-sensei was still contemplating.

“What’s wrong? Your food is going to get cold.” Akira asked with her mouth full.

“Hm? It’s nothing, really.”

Akira gulped her food.

“Did something happen at school today?”

“Not really… but there was a person that Kazuma brought to school that struck me as peculiar.”

“Who?”

“A blond foreigner named Alice. He claims that he is her second cousin that came here as a transfer student. I don’t think she’s on the school roster yet though.”

“Alice? Hmm… She sounds familiar…”

Akira thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.

“Oh! She’s probably the same girl that Kazuma brought on the bus with him this morning! That name did seem familiar!

“Did he say anything about her?”

“He did tell me she was a lost girl, and asked me to take her to the police station personally.”

“…Really now?”

“—Or at least what he said. He primarily asked me to take her to the police station, but in the end, she insisted on following him instead. What a strange girl. I wonder what Kazuma’s got himself into.”

Tomika-sensei fixed her glasses.

“…Yes. Indeed. It seems like he will have a lot of explaining to do next week.”

Tomika-sensei opened her takeout and took a bite out of her shrimp.

“By the way, Riko…” She spoke while chewing.

“Hm?”

Akira looked up at Tomika-sensei while she slurped on her yellow noodles.

“Shouldn’t you be keeping an eye out for him? You are entrusted with a responsibility after all.”

Akira waved her hand, and she gulped her food.

“He’ll be fine. I taught him things here and there, but he’s done pretty well on his own.”

She looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing about Kazuma.

“He’s come a long way since then.”

“…Have you received any word from them?” Tomika asked.

Akira shook her head.

“Not ever since that day. It’s like they’ve vanished or something. But looking back, he made it seem like it didn’t bother him the slightest.”

Tomika-sensei sighed as she fixed her glasses.

“What trouble he’s been all these years.”

Kazuma was frozen in place as he stared at the two giant stone golems that looked down at him.

“Prepare yourself.” The hooded figure’s stern voice said as he clenched his fist.

He pointed his finger at Kazuma and Alice.

“…Get them.”

One of the two stone golems had raised its arm. But just before it was about to strike down at Kazuma, the second golem had suddenly hit its own comrade. The first golem fell, and there was gust of wind and a small aftershock when it fell. Dust suddenly emerged that made it hard to see. Everyone around it covered their eyes with their arms.

(What is this?) The figure thought to himself.

(I never ordered it to— is it acting on its own? Unless… No, that can’t be it…)

Kazuma rubbed his eyes and saw that the enemy was distracted. He took a hold of the situation as an opportunity to escape. He quickly grabbed Alice’s hand and made a run for it while the enemy was distracted.

After the dust had cleared moments later, the hooded figure looked around to see where the two of them had gone. There was no trace of them anywhere.

“Tch. So they’ve escaped… no matter. We’ll find them soon enough.”

He looked over at the fallen golem and looked up at the other golem that stood still.

“Hmph. It looks like there was someone else that had interfered.”

Kazuma had took a hold of Alice’s wrist and they both ran through a nearby alleyway. After they ran away far enough, they stopped to catch their breath.

“Why… did you stop me?” Alice asked as she gasped for air.

“You… know why…” Kazuma wheezed.

After they both took a small break, Kazuma took a peek outside of the alleyway to see if the coast was clear. Instead, he saw that the streets of Tokyo were filled with busy people and vehicles again.

“Wha— how’s that even possible?”

Kazuma rubbed his eyes and looked over again. There was no change. Everything had remained the same as before.

“Strange… he was here a moment ago— more importantly, the people are back!”

He scratched his head, trying to grasp the situation.

“I didn’t imagine that right? That person who just summoned two golems from the ground with his own two hands…What the hell is going on here?”

“…You should go.” Alice said.

“Huh?”

She gave a piercing glare towards him.

“Leave now. Never speak of any of this to anyone.”

“Now hold on just a minute—”

“You know too much for your own good.” Alice interrupted Kazuma midsentence.

“Ok look, I know I said before that it wasn’t my business to know. But back there, it seemed like you knew who that person was. Just who was he?”

“…”

Alice became silent and averted her gaze away from Kazuma.

“So you do know something.”

“Go.”

“Alice…”

“Kazuma, I appreciate your concern for me. But for what it’s worth, this is even bigger than you. They’ll be after you again.”

“What do you mean?”

Alice shook her head.

“…I’ve already said too much. You have to leave, now.”

“I told you already, I’m not leaving. I’m not changing my mind about this.” Kazuma said firmly.

“Then you leave me no choice.”

Alice’s arm stretched outwards, and the palm of her hand was facing towards Kazuma’s direction. For a while, nothing had happened. Kazuma was just staring at the palm of her hand while he was waiting for something to happen. Alice looked at her hand for a brief moment, thinking that something was wrong, but she tried again as she stretched her arm out at Kazuma once more. Nothing happened.

“…Strange. Why isn’t it working?”

Kazuma was clueless as to what was actually going on right now. He looked around to see if anything was supposed to happen.

“Uh…wow. Okay. This is awkward. Is something supposed to be happening right now? Or…”

Alice looked at her hands.

“It should be working… But why isn’t it?”

“So… does that mean you can’t do what you were about to do?”

Alice shook her head.

“That’s not the point here!”

Kazuma sighed.

“Alice, please. All I’m trying to do is help you out. You’re not giving me any information here. All of this may seem like I’m prying, but I can’t leave you be unless I know for sure.”

Alice gave in and sighed. She glanced at her left and right, and then looked back at Kazuma.

“…Alright. But not here.”

“So where?”

“We can talk when we’re back at your place.”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them both quickly went to Kazuma’s house. Once they got there, Kazuma put down his things, and they both sat down on the couch. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Alice took a deep breath. Alice and Kazuma both turned to each other.

“So?” Kazuma asked.

Alice sighed.

“…It’s hard to explain. Where do I even begin?”

“How about I start by asking who that person was?”

“Alright, well… that person is… a magician.”

“…Is that it? A magician?”

Alice nodded.

“Ok wait. Hold on a minute. Just to clarify here, is a magician you’re talking about—”

“Uses magic.” Alice interrupted.

“Magic, ok, but like…what exactly?”

“Spells, incantations, sometimes rituals, etc. Things like that.”

“Spells? Like that thing he summoned? That was magic?”

“…Yes. That’s true. The golems he summoned were a work of magic, and how he made the surroundings seem vacant.”

“T-that too? Wait, so if that person is a magician and he if was after you, then does that make you…”

Alice hesitated for a moment before she responded to Kazuma. She then took a deep breath and looked back at him right in the eye.

“That’s right. I am a magician.”

“…”

Kazuma became silent as he turned away from her.

“…D-does that bother you?” Alice frowned.

“Was that why you were so hesitant to talk about yourself?”

“…”

He turned around and put his hand on top of Alice’s head.

“Well, I can see why you would keep such a secret.”

Kazuma averted his gaze from Alice for a moment.

(That, and how much anime I watch over the years to somehow get an idea of where this is going.)

“I don’t think that bothers me though. You seem like a good person.”

Alice glanced up at Kazuma grinning at her. She couldn’t help but smile back.

“T-thank you.”

“But on that note, was that why you were so reserved by other people?”

“The existence of magicians is meant to be known secretively. We live in seclusion, hidden away from other parts of the world. And—“

“And?”

“…T-they were people I never met before. So when you let other people believe that I was your relative from a different country, it made me feel reassuring that I wouldn’t have blown my cover.”

Kazuma inhaled sharply.

“Right. That.”

“And don’t think I’d let you off the hook by what you told those other two.”

“Wha— you heard?”

Alice puffed her cheeks.

“Of course! You didn’t think I would just stand around, now would you?”

She sighed.

“Oh well. At least you didn’t give away anything vital. It was a good thing you didn’t know that I was a magician before. Letting people know about it would cause a panic. Even the fact that I told you that magicians exist in this world was harmful enough.”

“Why’s that?”

“If everyone knew about magicians, it would become catastrophic. Not everyone will embrace the fact that people like them exist, on top of that, there would be others out there seeking for power. Worst case scenario, a potential war.”

“W-war?!”

“That’s just the worst that could happen, if we’re not careful.”

“So was that amnesia thing all an act too? To cover up your identity?”

Alice shook her head.

“No, that was for real. What I had said about not remembering how I had actually arrived here was the true. I don’t remember anything that had happened the past few months, other where I came from at least.”

“And where did you come from?”

“The Organization.”

“Organization? Is that supposed to be a name?”

“It’s the place where I came from.”

“Doesn’t that name seem a bit… too ordinary?”

Alice shrugged.

“Don’t ask me, I wasn’t the one who came up with the name.”

“Alright then… what is this ‘Organization’?”

“They’re a group of magicians trained to help others at least.”

“Didn’t seem like it from the looks of that magician we encountered today.”

(I wonder if something had happened to them…) Alice thought to herself.

“Are they usually trained that way?” Kazuma asked.

“Well… we were trained in magic as a way to defend ourselves and others, never to be used for conflict.”

“Trained? So you were taught by someone to use magic?”

“That’s right. We have Masters at the Organization that teaches us how to use our abilities.”

“So like a school of magic of some kind?”

“Somewhat.”

Kazuma put his arms behind his neck as he looked up at the ceiling.

“And you’re a part of them too then? So when you tried to cast magic on me back there…”

“Yeah, but it didn’t work somehow…”

“Uh huh… is there a reason for it? Maybe it has to do with something about your memory?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure…”

“I’m curious. How are you able to use magic?”

“Magicians use what we call ‘mana’. It’s the source of energy that allows us to cast our magic. Potentially, many people have mana, and so magicians convert that mana to cast spells and incantations.”

“Would that mean people like me could have it too?”

“Most likely, but for some people who never encountered magic their entire life would mean that they either: one, haven’t unlocked their potential, or two, they don’t have mana at all. There are other ways for magicians to give another person to gain the use of mana, however. Though, I never seen anyone use that sort of thing before.”

“In other words, does that mean people like me can use magic too?”

“I don’t see why not. But this ‘Tokyo’, as you call it, doesn’t seem like anyone uses magic here. It’s a strange environment.”

Kazuma got up from his seat and stretched.

“Well, unlike your magical society, we use advanced technology and science. You know, wind generators that make electricity, cars, televisions, things like that.”

“I see…”

He sighed.

“You truly aren’t from around here, are you?”

Kazuma looked up at the clock.

“Man, it’s this late already? We’ve been talking for that long?”

Alice stomach growled, and she put her hands on her tummy.

“Kazuma, I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go cook something up.”

He went over to the kitchen, and Alice flopped down on the couch. While Kazuma was looking through his fridge, Alice laid down while she stared at the blank television screen.

“Hey Kazuma, I want to watch something.” Alice said as she sat up straight.

“Sure. You can turn on the TV if you want.”

“The remote, of course.”

“‘Remote’?” Alice asked as she looked around her.

She spotted a black rectangular object on the coffee table and picked it up.

(Is it this thing?) She asked herself while she speculated the remote.

Alice pressed the red button at the top randomly, and saw the television turn on.

“Interesting, so that’s how it works…”

Kazuma put a plate on the coffee table, and Alice turned to look at the plate of food that was presented to her. It was the same thing that she ate for breakfast, eggs and toast. Alice sulked.

“Isn’t this the same thing we ate this morning?”

“Relax. There isn’t enough time for me to cook up something that doesn’t take at least half an hour.”

Alice didn’t complain any further, and ate her food quietly while she watched television. Kazuma dusted his hands.

“Alright, now for homework.”

He grabbed his messenger bag and went over to the dining table.

“Homework again, Kazuma?”

“Hey, I have responsibilities you know— ah.”

Alice looked over at Kazuma while she chewed on her toast.

(Tomorrow’s the weekend, so why should I be doing homework?) He scratched his head.

“Hm? Kazuma?” She asked with her mouth full.

Kazuma shook his head.

“It’s nothing. I’ll just do it another time. It’s the weekend after all.”

“‘Weekend’?”

“Yeah, at the end of each week, we have no school on those days.”

“I see…what a strange world we live in.” Alice said as she bit off a piece toast.

She turned her attention back to the television while she finished up her food. At the same time, Kazuma left his messenger bag at the dining table and did the dishes. After Alice finished her food, she got up and brought her plate over to the kitchen.

“Thank you for the food.” She thanked with a smile.

Kazuma replied with a nod and a smile, and Alice went back to sit on the couch where she went back to finish watching her television program.

By the time Kazuma had finished cleaning up, he found Alice who fell asleep with the TV on. He turned off the television and brought over a blanket to cover over her. For a while, Kazuma smiled at the girl who was sleeping peacefully. For a moment, he contemplated over the information Alice had told him.

(Magicians…) Kazuma thought to himself.

He shook his head.

“It’ll be fine.”

Just as Kazuma turned around, he felt a tug on his shirt behind him. He turned around and saw that Alice was awake. He knelt over to Alice.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking… why did you help someone like me, a total stranger?”

“Well…” Kazuma smirked.

“I’ve always been taught to help out whenever someone is in a pinch.”