Bonus Short Stories
Those Who Have It, Those Who Don’t
Today was the one day of the year where girls in the middle of their growth periods spent the hours in hope and unease. At the very top floor of the Institute, which had been locked up tight, the female students were being measured. All of the staircases were blocked off with tape reading ‘No Entry,’ and teachers kept a watchful eye nearby.
Among the girls was a redhead who didn’t seem all that enthusiastic, since she let out a depressed sigh. Having finally resolved herself, the girl, Tesfia, in her underwear, stepped onto the scale. It took less than one second to get the result, so bracing herself was pretty much pointless. In the next moment, the scale cold-heartedly chucked out a number at her.
The silver-haired girl who came after her wrapped up her weighing while Tesfia groaned. There were measurements in this day and age where being small had its advantages.
“Ahh, you really are light, Loki.”
“W-What are you doing all of a sudden? You’re not as heavy as I thought you would be, Ms. Tesfia.”
It came as a shock to the person herself, but Tesfia’s weight was just barely excusable. Considering the training she was going through every day though, she’d be forgiven for thinking that she would have lost more weight.
All that midnight snacking must have gotten to me.
Tesfia’s shoulders slumped.
The next measurement was height. Tesfia had made use of the dirty method of tying her hair up, but it was easily seen through by the teacher.
She tried raising her chin in a bit of token resistance. However, that only prompted the teacher to push down on the measuring stick even harder.
“Ack!”
With tears in her eyes, Tesfia painfully held onto her head and made way for Loki. That said, this measurement was a hurdle for her. Before coming to the Institute she really hadn’t cared, but now she seemed bothered by her growth being slower than the other girls around her. She didn’t let it show around Alus, but she secretly hoped for improvement.
Loki politely stepped up to the measuring stick, but everyone in the room could see that she was standing on her toes. Of course, there was no way that would fly, and before long she fell prey to the cruel and accurate measuring system.
“T-This is just too much... Teacher, this must be broken!” Loki grumbled, then sighed as she looked at her result. Her only saving grace was that she was a year younger than Tesfia and Alice.
“That’s right, we still have room to grow,” a voice sharing her hopes said. Said voice belonged to Tesfia, and Loki found herself nodding in agreement. However, the two had one last hurdle: the chest measurement.
“Are you ready, Loki?”
“Of course. I don’t think I can take much more, so let’s wrap it up quick.”
The two entered the partitioned-off measuring rooms where female teachers awaited them, each having a bad feeling about what was to come. The next moment—
“Ms. Fable, sorry, but no matter how much you beg, as a teacher I can’t do that! I have a duty to measure everyone equally!! It’s not going to happen, okay?”
Loki could hear the results of Tesfia’s attempted shady dealings from the measuring room next to hers. “What is she even doing?” Loki murmured, despite being in a similar situation. To be honest, she wasn’t willing to go that low, and she didn’t want to be associated with such tactics either.
“Ms. Loki... Uhm, why don’t we start by removing those pads?” the teacher said with pity in her voice.
Loki was so dumbfounded that the serious teacher almost considered letting her cheat. When she came out of the measuring room, Loki looked even more dispirited than Tesfia, like her soul had left her body. With their shoulders slumped, they turned their pent-up frustrations onto another girl who came out of her measuring room a moment after them. With bloodshot eyes, they scanned their eyes from her feet upwards until they stopped at a certain point.
“W-What is it?” The girl’s shoulders trembled at the stares of the two wild beasts as she timidly spoke.
“Alice... I was wondering why I didn’t see you anywhere.”
“U-Uhm, that’s because you’d definitely take your anger out on me. I was trying to be considerate!”
Tesfia and Loki stormed up to Alice, who looked like she might cry at any moment, and confiscated her license at a blinding speed, intently reading the measurements recorded on it.
“You’re growing taller, and your weight is average...”
“T-That’s not true, I put on some weight too?” Alice faltered a little, looking awkward and trying to placate the two with her other less-than-optimal measurements, hoping they they’d call it even after seeing a certain envy-invoking value—but her attempts at playing victim were seen through immediately.
“Moving on to the chest measurement... W-We’re eating the same things, so why... All that extra weight just went over there... Why does all the fat go to my stomach, but to your chest? ...This is unfair!”
A gloomy shadow fell on Tesfia’s face. Loki read Alice’s chest measurement, and realized that it was a pipe dream for her. She directed a hollow stare Alice’s way.
“That’s why I didn’t want to show it! I’m actually really envious of you two, too! Fia is slender, and Loki dear is small and cute... I would be fine with not being so big!”
“Alice...”
“Ms. Alice.”
The three exchanged looks after Alice’s desperate plea. They formed a combined front and returned to the measuring rooms together.
“Please split this chest measurement in three!” they all said.
The three girls thrust out their licenses to the female teacher, demanding their measurements be changed.
“As if I could!”
But their demand was immediately shot down. And it need not be said that they were then given a stern lecture.
The Beginning of Everything for the Young Girl
The girl earnestly trained herself to become stronger for the sake of revenge. In the human world, killing Fiends was seen as a wonderful way of contributing to humanity, but to the young girl Loki Leevahl, that didn’t matter. Only the flames of hatred for the Fiends that had killed her parents burned within her, moving her forward. Indeed, if nothing had changed, she would have been forever driven by her hate.
With no relatives to speak of, Loki was conscripted at the age of eight. Joining the Magicmaster training program, she grew stronger despite her tiny frame. She was confident that she was the strongest in her age group. Unrivaled in close combat, before long there was no one her age to spar with. Her training had been nothing but painful when she began; she could now easily accomplish it without any struggle on a daily basis. And the days when she was covered in cuts and bruises were long behind her.
Two years was enough to change someone, and Loki was no exception. The number of her classmates had dropped considerably, not that she’d bothered to remember their names anyway.
But the biggest change of all happened within Loki. The flames of revenge had begun to die out, leaving only a smoldering hate that would never start a large fire now. Loki was convinced of that. The only thing she thought of now was to one day say farewell to her parents peacefully resting in the Outer World. She believed that the day would come when she would visit her parents’ final resting place. In order to confirm the truth, to put her feelings into words, Loki would have no choice but to see it.
Though she held on to that dream, she had already learned all of the techniques and knowledge she needed in her training. Around the time she started feeling like she was getting nowhere, a young boy appeared before her. By this time, she was really restless. Lately, her sparring partners consisted mostly of adults, and while she might not always come out victorious, she wasn’t one-sidedly losing. Yet...
He’s fast! Do I block it? No, then I won’t be able to handle the following attack...! She instantly decided how to handle the fist flying her way, just barely dodging it.
Loki was sweating bullets as she turned to attacking. This was a regular mock battle. The only difference was that she was going up against a young boy she’d just met. The unfamiliar black-haired boy looked weak. To Loki, who was strong enough to fight adults, it felt like a waste of time. There was no major difference in their builds, and the only strange thing was that she hadn’t seen him around before. She was sure that the result would be the same regardless, and she faced him full of confidence. However, she very quickly stopped underestimating him.
She couldn’t find any openings in his refined martial arts, and if anything he was accurately hitting her openings. His precise and merciless attacks were almost mechanical. In contrast to Loki, who was going all out, the boy wasn’t sweating in the slightest as he cornered her in short order. It wasn’t a matter of power or the number of moves available to them, this was purely Loki losing in terms of technique. She had pride in what she had developed through her harsh training over the years.
The dull sound of fist and arm colliding rang out, but eventually Loki changed up her method from blocking the boy’s fist to brushing it off. But that was proof that she was unable to withstand the fierce attacks. His fluid strikes showed no sign of stopping. Even now, a right backhand was coming at her.
The attacks were moving so fast that she couldn’t follow them with her eyes. Seeing signs of his attack coming, she raised her right hand to block it. The next moment, a prickling pain assaulted her as she felt the impact of the blow.
Loki was on the defensive, and in an attempt to counterattack, she poured some strength into her right fist. However, she never got the chance to swing it.
He took the initiative again!
She’d blocked his attack, but the next one was already on the way in the form of a kick aimed at her flank.
Loki was in no position to dodge it, so she put her arms down and lowered her posture. Her body stiffened as she braced for impact—which was when his leg came to a halt and headed towards the floor instead.
“Ah?!”
It was a feint. The boy used the momentum from the kick to swing his backhand in the opposite direction.
Loki lowered her head by reflex and the sharp fist grazed the back of her neck. The sudden dodge seemed exceedingly successful as the young boy’s posture was completely thrown off balance. She couldn’t use this against adults, but the boy’s build wasn’t much different from hers. So she chased after the arm that had passed above her neck to grab hold of it and lock him down.
With a fluid motion, she got on top of the boy and constricted his arm. She put all of her weight on his arm to throw him to the ground. And yet... instead he tugged at his arm, bending his body by himself, forcibly changing his posture. By the time she realized that, Loki was upside down. The arm she’d clung onto had now grabbed hold of her collar. She expected that she’d be slammed headfirst into the floor, but instead...
Just before she was about to slam against the floor, the boy followed up with a kick. Despite guarding against it with her arms crossed, she still flew across the floor. Fortunately, the floor and walls were padded, so she wasn’t particularly hurt. That said... she blankly stared up at him from her collapsed state.
I don’t stand a chance.
It was a crushing defeat. She was not given a single opening she could exploit. That was just how big the gap in strength was between her and the boy around her age. Even she had to admit the difference between them. Loki had fully lost, but she still gazed at the boy. At the guidepost for her future training.
Seeing her like that, the boy interpreted it as her accepting her loss and left without saying a word.
From that day on, he would stand in Loki’s way as she endeavored in her training, with him as her goal... and she would continue to lose to him. She put her all in her training so that she could one day overcome the boy whose name she didn’t even know. And before she knew it, the boy’s back had become a major driving force for her.
That didn’t change even after becoming his partner later on. Nor had she slacked on any effort to get closer to him. She continued chasing that back that grew ever larger. Until the day she could repay her debt, she simply longed to stay at his side.
Two Caged Birds
The center of authority in Alpha, the youthful ruler, was currently in her room and swamped with official work. Her gorgeous clothing only served to accentuate her attractiveness. Sitting at her desk, Cicelnia rubbed her shoulders as she looked down at the vast number of documents. The Arlzeit family had long resided in the royal palace, which also served to house the nation’s political body. However, it didn’t serve as a residence for the many politicians, but rather as their offices.
The ruler currently had her black hair in two braids, looking like she was set for work. If she felt like it, she could go through days of work in just a few hours. But instead, she let out her umpteenth sigh as she glared at the documents with a sour face.
Seeing Cicelnia struggling to get through her work—which was rare—the maid Rinne Kimmel’s face twitched. She’d only just returned from an errand, but... Cicelnia wasn’t in a good mood. That said... this happened every year.
“This will not do, the hole will get too deep,” Cicelnia said, as she stamped the proposal to be reexamined and put it on the pile of rejected documents. After a while she shifted her gaze over to Rinne.
“So will it be Ms. Lettie this year again?” The ruler cut straight to the chase, and anyone who couldn’t guess what she was asking would be a failure of an attendant. Rinne had been tasked with selecting a Magicmaster for the annual rulers conference. Summons being sent out to Alpha’s Singles was only natural, as a part of this yearly custom. As a demonstration of national strength, the Magicmaster accompanying the ruler had to be at the top. Ever since Cicelnia became the ruler, the Magicmaster accompanying her had always been Lettie Kultunca... However...
“I... I am very sorry.” Rinne quickly lowered her head. “Lady Lettie is in the middle of a mission in the Outer World and won’t be available for the conference.”
“...And?”
The smile that came in return made Rinne stumble for words. Not having anyone accompanying her for the conference was completely out of the question.
“I have called out to some of the Doubles, and...”
“No thank you. Are you trying to embarrass me, Rinne?”
“Of course not... But in that case, then...”
Rinne cast her eyes down as she recalled the only remaining choice. Alpha’s other Single.
“Bring Alus with you no matter what. Or I will not attend the conference.”
“Please don’t be unreasonable. I have called out to Sir Alus every year, but he has always immediately refused.”
Rinne honestly didn’t see the point in going at all. Alus was ranked No. 1, and he had absolutely no interest in politics. A Single Digit’s duties or responsibilities wouldn’t move him. He could even refuse the ruler’s summons. That was just how valuable the ranked No. 1 was.
The reason Cicelnia had so much influence among the seven rulers was because Alpha ‘possessed’ the greatest Magicmaster. Cicelnia probably wouldn’t go so far as to not attend at all, but it would be unsightly for the ruler of Alpha, the nation that had achieved the most, to attend the conference without a Single. Rinne could feel a major headache coming on as she readied herself for Cicelnia’s response.
“Rinne... Alpha has two Magicmasters. If Ms. Lettie is not available, then what else to do but to ask the other?”
She raised a finger and said it like it was obvious. But if she could do that, Rinne wouldn’t have struggled so much.
“That’s true. But...”
“So I am counting on you, Rinne.”
At times like these, Cicelnia’s lips would always be curled up into the form of a crescent moon. Rinne wanted to follow her master’s orders by all means possible, but she couldn’t help but resent herself for not being able to refuse her master’s flirtatious behavior. But either way, she had to bring Alus back with her.
“I understand... So do you know where Sir Alus is now, Lady Cicelnia?”
“At the Institute, according to the Governor-General,” she told Rinne with an amused expression.
“At the Institute? But... why? Did Sir Alus accept a position as a lecturer or instructor? I was sure he would be with the military or in the Outer World.”
“Apparently, that isn’t it. He ‘enrolled’ at the Institute.”
“—!! That is rather eccentric... I can’t understand how Singles think.”
“Amusing, is it not? I wonder what expression he goes through Institute life with. But... I suppose it will not continue for long. Alus is the same as me.”
“He is?”
Rinne had a perplexed look, wondering how they resembled each other. The ruler of a nation and the top of the Magicmasters. They were both certainly busy people with many expectations placed upon them. She pondered for a second if Cicelnia was thinking of those kinds of duties or responsibilities. However—Cicelnia’s eyes narrowed as a thin smile formed on her face.
“We are both trapped in small cages.” She tapped her desk with a finger as she spoke. “Though we may have splendid wings, we are not allowed to fly outside. We are told to be happy we have wings in the first place, as extravagant collars are put on us.”
Rinne stared at that lonely looking smile on Cicelnia’s face. She didn’t think that she’d be able to understand all the feelings behind it. But she felt like she knew what kind of person Alus was. She couldn’t help but feel that they just weren’t similar.
Rinne believed that Cicelnia had torn off her own wings, resolved to remain in her cage to the end. Meanwhile, Alus continued to struggle and resist even within the cage. That’s why, while he contributed to the nation, he had no interest in anything other than what he himself wanted and wouldn’t obey anyone.
Because his eyes were fixated on the real blue sky, in the real world.
For My Young Daughter
In a corner of the Fable family estate, a happy sight could be seen on the lawn. Two chairs were placed at a small, fancy, round table under the shade of a tree. Around it were colorful flowers in full bloom.
“It’s been so long since we’ve been together, Mother!” a young girl excitedly said with a big smile.
“Yes, I hurried home for your sake, Fia. I’m sorry we can’t always be together.”
Sitting across from the girl, Tesfia’s mother Frose smiled back at her.
Her work in the military was busy, and she only got the chance to come home a few times a month. The handling of the mansion was left to her butler, Selva, and the maids were raising her child. This mother and daughter had very little time together, but Frose did what she could to come home as often as possible.
As she looked at her smiling daughter, she told Selva, “Thank you for your hard work,” showing her appreciation for the butler.
However, he simply smiled and replied, “It was nothing,” lowering his head.
This happy sight was something that all the servants of the Fable family hoped for. Everyone who worked here knew just how excited Tesfia became whenever her mother came home. No matter how hard they might try, they could never be her mother. So whenever there was a family outing like this, Tesfia’s smile spread throughout the entire mansion. And when that happened, the cook put his skills to the test and made more sweets than the two could finish. Just now, an entire cake platter was brought out and placed on the table.
Tesfia’s eyes sparkled and preparations for teatime began.
“Uhm, Selva, I want that.”
“Very well.”
Tesfia recklessly leaned over the table and embarrassingly pointed at one of the cakes with her small finger. With a smile on his lips, Selva calmly moved the cake to a small plate. And before long, he had also served up sweetened tea to go with it. Upon receiving it, Tesfia looked over at Frose.
“Go ahead and eat, Fia. But watch out that you don’t eat too much.”
Tesfia nodded at her kind words and cut up the cake, focusing her entire being on it as she brought a piece to her mouth.
“And Master Frose?”
“I will be fine with just tea,” Frose responded to Selva’s question. Just gazing at her daughter feasting on the cake was enough to make her feel full.
However, Selva looked troubled. “The head chef said that he’d put all of his effort into making these, and was very proud of them...”
“Urgh...”
Frose’s cup froze in the middle of being brought to her lips, and she looked at Selva with a vague smile. She couldn’t help but feel guilty knowing the head chef took pride in his work. However, every time she came home there were more new sweets on the menu, and he always made more than she could eat. In fact, the head chef seemed to be more focused on being a patissier than a cook. Incidentally, the leftover sweets were given to the mansion’s servants.
“Then I suppose I’ll take one.”
“Understood. I’m sure the head chef will be happy to hear that.”
Frose felt like Selva had manipulated her, but quite a bit of effort had been put into the sweets. Besides, she was with Tesfia. As her mother, she could at least share a slice or two with her daughter. She felt like she’d read something about how that was what being a family was all about in a book, and she too carried a piece of cake to her mouth.
Perhaps because she left the child rearing to the maids, or because she’d been in the military for too long... or maybe it was because of her own lonely childhood, Frose still struggled to understand familial bonds. That’s why in talking with her daughter, she almost felt like a stranger working from a manual.
However, her feelings of wanting to spend more time with her daughter whenever she came home were only growing stronger with time. Having spent all these years working, Frose was determined to make this current job her last. So she only had to endure a little more...
“Incidentally, young miss, we also have something like this today,” Selva said, presenting Tesfia with neatly arranged, but otherwise ugly-looking cakes... These were Frose’s first attempts at making sweets, and even though she followed the instructions to a T, the finished product looked completely different. Only the fragrance was similar to what she’d been trying to make, though the smell of burnt baked goods was still mixed in with it...
Selva had neatly arranged these failures in a small basket. Tesfia’s small hand reached out for them, ignoring Frose’s objections, and she unhesitatingly put one in her mouth.
“Fia, spit that out! It’s bad for you!”
Tesfia chewed on it a couple of times, but still couldn’t swallow it. Yet she shook her head at her mother’s words.
She desperately tried to hide her expression from showing as she washed it down with the tea. “You made this, right, Mother? It’s really good,” she happily said. There were some tears in her eyes, but she was otherwise fine.
Frose patted her chest in relief as she resolved to learn from the head chef. And the butler who’d gone out of his way to put his nose in other people’s business would also receive a grumbling lecture.
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