Chapter 1 — Just Call Me a Pathetic, Trashy Otaku

It was the day of the entrance ceremony. Unsurprisingly, every year the Antohsa dormitory would enter a festive mood around this time.

The broad hallway resounded with the pops of miniature explosions coming from tiny fireworks crafted through miracles. The multicolored fires twisted in the sky as first-years in fresh, new outfits watched on with eyes that sparkled just as brightly.

The eldest students, the sixth-years, were putting their all into welcoming their new classmates with miracles. Sweet-smelling lollipops were passed out, the hallways were morphed into rose archways, miracles were used to perform magic tricks to surprise the new students, and so on. The mood was like no other time here.

And amid it all resounded some template tsundere lines.

“L-Like I said, I’m not giving you a tour for your sake. It’d just be a bother if you got lost in front of me! Here, this is the cafeteria. Make sure not to forget it!” Stella declared, jabbing a finger at a new student.

She had silver hair—as long as it was wavy—and marine blue eyes that would absorb you right into them...if not for the distinctive glare she wore. Her lithe frame was wrapped in robes, and her youthful features made her look like a new student herself; however, her powerful aura suggested a year of education under her belt.

We stood within Saint Antohsa’s Academy of the Oravina Kingdom. It was an all girls’ academy, surrounded by a massive forest, with a dormitory for educating saints.

The dormitory housed the entire student body, making it complex and labyrinthine enough that one could fairly describe it as a maze of malicious design. It was downright impossible not to get lost during your first visit. Stella was hanging around and guiding each new wayward student she spotted.

The students gave Stella a quick bow, then fled inside the cafeteria. It was clear they didn’t understand Stella’s tsundereness.

Stella crossed her arms with a shake of her head, and I took that opportunity to strike.

“Look at you, Stella, acting like a proper upperclassman! You’re so shy you accidentally let out harsh words, but your actions themselves are kind—the fundamental dichotomy of the tsundere! Here is born Stella the second year. Underclassmen first fear her, but then they grow to respect her the more they know her!”

“Sh-Sh-Shut up! Don’t talk into my ear!”

Stella pulled me off her back and stretched her arms out so that I was as far away from her as possible. Hard to visualize? That would be because I was the staff that she was carrying.

Back in Japan, I’d been your everyday otaku high schooler, but one day a metal pipe had fallen onto me at a construction site, and that had led to me reincarnating as Stella’s staff. Or, more accurately, my soul was bound to her staff by magic. My actual body was back on Earth, asleep in a hospital, apparently. That made my life here in this fantasy world something of a dream—a fitting description for getting to spend all my time as a tsundere girl’s belonging. This was exactly what we otaku would fantasize about all the time.

Stella walked away from the cafeteria, but before long she saw a new student sitting on three big trunks. This time, she resolved to simply pretend she didn’t see anything. She started to pass her by, but...

“Hey, you,” she said, ultimately ending up in front of her anyway. “Don’t put your trunk here. It’s in the way.”

“A-Apologies. I’ll move it now! Winaria Sein... Wha? It won’t go up. Winaria Sein, Winaria Sein...!”

The first-year tried chanting over and over, but all they accomplished was kicking up dust.

Stella impatiently pointed me at the trunks. “Winaria Sein!”

Spirits of Wind, lift up the trunks.

I sensed her intentions and called out to the Wind spirits; within moments, all three trunks rose up.

“So, where’s your room?” Stella asked. The student balked, having no doubt expected her to just fling them to the side of the hallway. The pause was long enough that Stella started tapping her foot. “You must be too tired to use any miracles at this point. I’ll be generous and carry these to your room for you. B-But not for your sake or anything, okay? They’re just in the way!”

“Thank you,” the student said, rushing to her room.

But really, I should’ve been the one thanking them. I had gotten to feast on another certified tsundere moment thanks to the new student’s exhaustion. If possible, I would have shaken her hand and thanked her directly.

＊＊＊

To the first-years, this was the day of their entrance ceremony. But, to Stella, it was the start of a new term. I didn’t know the details, but Stella had been summoned by the professors to do something before class began.

“Eep, I’m gonna be late...!” Stella cried, rushing out of her room and through the festive dormitory.

Even after she’d carried the student’s trunks, Stella had encountered lost student after lost student, each of which she’d guided to their destination without fail. By the time she’d been able to leave her room on her own business, she was already close to late.

“This isn’t my first time thinking this, but tsunderes truly are goddesses,” I said. “It’s divine that you can’t overlook a single person in trouble, Stella! And it’s even more divine how you try to hide your embarrassment over being so kind!”

“Don’t distract me when I’m in a hurry!” Stella barked back while she accelerated. Her strength and agility always increased when she was stricken by embarrassment.

The plants within the dormitory all had sakura-esque pink blossoms. Stella ran through them as they fluttered down, causing some to stick to her silver hair. Her cheeks were flushed from the morning heat. Her breathing was shallow and rough. Her eyes sparkled like jewels as she faced directly forward in pursuit of her destination.

Which is to say that we reached our destination while I was enraptured by her beauty.

She ground her sprint to a halt.

We were in a quiet place surrounded by the verdancy of freshly rooted plants. The air felt especially clean here too. In front of us was a pure-white building that looked something like a church.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“This is the academy chapel. It’s a place to pray to the Goddess.”

I grimaced the moment I heard those words.

Stella, after catching her breath, pushed open the heavy wooden doors.

The inside of the chapel looked like some kind of noble villa. The distant ceiling was adorned with a grand painting, the floor had a scarlet carpet, and there were gold decorations all over the walls and pillars. It was a space so bright and sparkly it hurt the eyes. And looking down over everything was a sizable statue of the Goddess, her face veiled, yet wearing an unmistakable smile.

This world was monotheistic. A single glance at this ornate chapel made it clear how fervent worship for the singular Goddess was. Only I knew that the object of their worship was, in fact, a witch—a being reviled by all aware of them.

“Looks like your Goddess doesn’t see austerity as a virtue, huh?”

“Shh! Be quiet.”

I obliged, and the resulting silence was filled by the clack of footsteps. “Oh my. You are late by ten seconds, Stella Millesia. One must never be late for arrangements. This is common sense for the nobility, but I suppose as a commoner you are not yet familiar.”

That was close. Staves don’t normally talk here either. I gotta watch myself when people are around.

Stella was being addressed by a beautiful woman wearing a tight, formfitting dress that showed off all the curves of her body. The woman had a habit of stroking her long hair, and she had a mole above her mouth, resulting in a highly bewitching aura.

Who’s this? What kind of hot lady would diss my Stella like that?

I didn’t remember her, so I could only glare at her in protest.

Stella, meanwhile, stiffened up. “My apologies for being late. Um, Miss Head Teacher...”

The beauty twisted her lips up into a smile. “Surprised to see me, are you?”

“Yes... I thought the professor for second-years had summoned me.”

“It’s unusual, but Professor Melvia here will be taking on a dual role to teach the second-years too, aha!” came a voice. From behind the beauty hopped an elementary schooler wearing a black pointed hat...or rather, out hopped Professor Elyena.

Seeing a familiar face eased Stella’s tension a bit. “Oh, I see. But where’s Professor Speranza, then...?”

Professor Speranza had been particularly harsh on Stella last year, and the second her name came out, the atmosphere got a little strange.

“Professor Speranza has been relieved of her post,” Professor Melvia said, her expression unchanging. Professor Elyena maintained her usual smile beside her. “Her expulsion was so sudden, there wasn’t anyone left to fill the gaps but myself, the head teacher. I imagine you students will regret having missed the chance to say your farewells, but—”

“Oh no, not at all! That is totally fine,” Stella said, striking a subtle victory pose. All her memories of Professor Speranza were of her being yelled at, so the professor’s absence was nothing but good news for Stella.

Professor Melvia coughed. “Let us get to the point. The relevant matters have been arranged. Come this way,” she said.

Stella stepped onto the regal-looking scarlet carpet and followed the professors.

At the far end of the chapel was a shrine. It had a large orb placed on it—one that seemed to both belong and to be out of place in a chapel like this.

“As you surely remember from your lessons last year, this orb allows one to perceive guardian spirits,” Professor Melvia said, dragging a long fingernail against its surface. Professor Elyena produced a pen and an ink bottle.

Guardian spirits were spirits inside of staves.

“Under normal circumstances, this ritual is performed when one begins attending the academy, but you failed to find a guardian spirit. Given that you can now use miracles, you surely have a guardian spirit. I will investigate them now; if you would please put your staff on the orb,” Professor Melvia said, gesturing at it.

Stella’s cheeks stiffened. “Um... Do you have to?”

“Academy rules specify we must record the grade and element of every student’s guardian spirit. That yours has not been recorded yet is an exception of all exceptions. Now, do not delay.”

This feels kinda bad.

I was sweating, and Stella was looking no better. “Um, theoretically, like... Purely theoretically, if my spirit, um...didn’t have a grade or element, what would happen...?” she asked.

Her concerns were well-founded. What she had in her staff wasn’t a spirit, but me, a normal human. I certainly had no element or grade.

“An interesting question, Stella, but there is not a spirit in the world without an element or grade,” Professor Melvia said, developing a mocking smile. “There are the lords, the dukes, the marquises, and finally, the knights at the bottom. You may be of commoner origin, but you may rest easy that not even you would find yourself with a gradeless spirit.”

Her emphasis on the word commoner ticked me off. It seemed like Professor Melvia was the type to be conscious of her students’ social standing.

“That may be so, but...” Stella began.

“Furthermore, every spirit belongs to one of the five elements: Light, Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. An element not of these elements would be of a yet undiscovered sixth element. Do you understand how revolutionary that would be? It would uproot the foundation of one thousand years of miracle research.”

“A-And what exactly would you do if that happened? Specifically?”

“Your staff will be sent to the Archbishop in the capital to ascertain whether your guardian spirit truly belongs to a new element. The Goddess will provide her judgment. And depending on her judgment—”

Not good! We can’t let this happen!

Stella and I would be ripped apart if they learned I had no grade or element. At that point, why was I even here?! And it looked like Stella felt the same concern. Her hands grew sweaty as she gripped me.

“S-Suddenly I need to wash my hands! I’ll be back in a mo—” she said, turning, then stopping.

Stella...?

She halted her escape to look at her feet. I followed her eyes.

JESUS!

Several pale blue hands were grabbing at Stella’s ankles—a classic horror situation. The fact I didn’t scream deserved some praise.

“P-Please let me go, Professor Melvia,” Stella stammered. Apparently we were dealing with miracles here, not ghosts.

Professor Melvia was pointing her staff at Stella. “The ceremony will conclude promptly. Aquaria Sein.”

“Ah!”

New hands grabbed Stella’s shoulders, forcibly turning her. Then yet more ghostlike hands grabbed her wrists and pulled the staff to the orb.

“Ngh...!”

Stella resisted, but it was no use. I touched the orb.

What should I do?! Use my power to destroy the orb?!

The Goddess had given me divine power to kill Stella. Using it to destroy the orb instead would interrupt the ceremony, but that ran the risk of both the professors and Stella learning about what I could do.

“Oooh? How curious. Nothing is appearing on the orb. Even a meager knight would show some small amount of color... Could there truly be a spirit of a sixth element?” Professor Melvia asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Professor Elyena was staring at the orb with just as much fixation.

We had to finish this, and fast.

Guess I’ve got no choice... I have to avoid being separated from Stella no matter what!

I began whispering a chant, quietly so the two professors couldn’t hear.

“Deus—”

There was a loud clatter, and I reflexively paused my chant.

“Eek, eek! The ink!” Professor Elyena cried. It shattered and formed a growing puddle of black that seeped into the scarlet carpet.

“Goodness, Professor Elyena, that carpet is incredibly expensive!”

“My hand slipped... Aha,” Professor Elyena said, forcing a smile while waving a puffy sleeve.

Professor Melvia returned her eyes to the orb. I was still touching it, and now there was a small white light that hadn’t been visible before. Good thing I hadn’t broken it.

“Stella Millesia, your spirit is a knight-grade Light spirit,” Professor Melvia said.

The arms grasping Stella disappeared. She pulled me back to her chest; I could feel her heart pounding rapidly within.

Professor Melvia, seeing Stella facing the ground, gave a small sigh. “Do not feel sad that yours is but a knight. Commoners and lower status nobles largely find only knights. Great Spirits, as they are known, are the domain of esteemed noble families.”

That must have been her attempt to console Stella. She had otherwise lost interest in her completely.

“Thus concludes the ceremony. You may leave now.”

“Excuse me.” Stella bowed her head and turned.

Then, still carrying me, she glanced back. Professor Elyena stood beside Professor Melvia as she cleaned up the ink, watching us leave with a broad smile.

＊＊＊

“Aaaaah, I’m so glad that ended well!” Stella exclaimed, falling to her knees on some grass after walking a ways away from the chapel. “I thought for sure they’d notice you, Otaku. A sixth kind of spirit would be major news. Thank goodness we made it out of there...”

“You all right, Stella? You can ride me if you don’t have it in you to walk,” I said. I was a staff, which meant she could use Wind miracles to ride me and fly.

Stella glared at me. “Excuse me? Who would ride a pervert like you outside of class? I can read your gross thoughts like a book.”

“Ngh, such merciless prickliness! What a lucky morning this is.”

“Why are you happy to be insulted?! A lucky morning for you is an unlucky one for me. Thanks to you this was nearly an awful day for me!”

“You’re right. Sorry about not being a normal spirit.”

Birds chirped from atop the trees. Stella stood and turned away from the staff.

“Why are you even apologizing? So stupid.”

“It’s a fact that being a human stuck in your staff is causing you problems.”

“Hah! For sure. Thanks to having a gross loser in my staff, I have to be careful every second of every day, whether I’m changing or bathing or sleeping!”

“You’re that conscious of me, huh?”

“N-No...! That’s not what I meant!” Stella said, walking off and obstinately refusing to face me. “A-And since you’re causing so many problems, I’m gonna use you like a workhorse until you’re dead, okay? I’m not gonna let any professor take you away.”

“Aaah! Tsunderes are the best!”

“Excuse me?!” she exclaimed, glaring at me with red cheeks. “Wh-Wh-What’s with you?! Why are you happy about being worked to literal death?!”

“I’d get to work for you my whole life, right? Sounds like a dream come true!” I exclaimed. If I were a human, I’d be gripping my fist to reinforce my declaration.

Stella face-palmed. “Ngh, I forgot...! You’re a giga-pervert...!”

“Not letting the professors take me means you want me by your side, right? Woo-hoo, I get to be with you forever!”

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea! That’s not what I meant at all!” Stella said, stamping her feet and placing her hands on her hips. “I just don’t want anyone to know I have a weird non-spirit. Whether we get separated or not is completely irrelevant to me. It’s true!”

Talk about template tsundere lines...

Stella remained as dishonest with herself as always. But that was just the way I liked her. A girl that was always lovey-dovey was like cake loaded with bags of sugar—it was just too sweet for me; it’d make my stomach sick.

But going too far would get her legitimately mad, so I stopped my teasing. “Well, I’m glad the ceremony went well too. Nothing good would come from being marked as some kind of revolutionary spirit.”

All that about being sent to the Archbishop, judged by the Goddess, blah blah blah was no joke. I had managed to overcome the Goddess’s trickery and make it to Stella’s second year at the academy. My negotiating also meant the Goddess wouldn’t interfere with any further murder attempts.

I really won’t have a problem with her if she just keeps things as they are...

I thought back to my showdown with the Goddess at her so-called divine throne. She was obsessed with Stella and viewed her like her greatest enemy or something. It was hard to imagine her actually backing down.

“Still, Professor Elyena’s as clumsy as ever. I can’t believe she spilled ink all over the chapel carpet.”

“You really think that was just her being clumsy...?”

“Huh?” Stella said, looking at me. “She’s always clumsy, remember? You saw it for yourself last year.”

“True.”

Professor Elyena’s smile at the end stuck out to me. There was no way I had a rank or element when I wasn’t even a spirit. In fact, the orb hadn’t shown anything at first. The light had appeared right after Professor Elyena had spilled the ink. What if she’d used the sound of the jar shattering to cast a Light miracle...?

That’d mean she deduced Stella’s staff had an abnormal spirit and went out of her way to help us...

Professor Elyena had been friendly with Stella from the start. She might’ve muddied the ritual so Stella could have an uninterrupted school life.

The ringing of the school’s clocktower resounded across the academy grounds.

“Eek! It’s already this late?! I need to hurry or I’ll be late for class!”

Stella burst into a sprint. The school building seemed pretty far from here.

“Want to ride?” I asked.

Stella groaned and pointed me to the sky. “Fine. Better than being late. O Spirits of Wind, grant me wings in the name of the Goddess supreme. Winaria Sein!”

Wind spirits, take us to the academy building!

The trees rustled, and wind gathered around us. Stella sat on me with her legs dangling off the side, then we rose up into the blue sky. The feeling of her thighs on me was nice.

“Let’s go, Otaku.”

“Right.”

We flew off to the academy’s front doors.

＊＊＊

Naturally, flying wasn’t permitted within the building itself.

Stella walked down a hall to her classroom, and on the way saw a particularly well-developed girl standing in front of the door. She had gentle features, and hair cut short above her shoulders. It was Feena Serdia, Stella’s one and only friend-plus-roommate.

As soon as she saw Stella, she rushed over like a puppy.

“Stellaaa! What did the professors call you about?” she asked with a smile.

“It was the ceremony,” Stella replied with a tired look. “The one for investigating guardian spirits.”

“So now we know Master Otaku’s rank. Could he be a duke, or no, perhaps even a lord? The professors must have been shocke—”

“Knight,” Stella said, flatly.

Feena was stunned for a moment. “Heh? But my very own spirit is a knight. That cannot be. After all, Master Otaku is a Great Spirit capable of spee— Ngghmm!”

Stella hurriedly covered Feena’s mouth. “Don’t just shout that for all to hear. I said my spirit being different is a secret, remember?”

“Eep, eep. So you did... Still, this is so strange. For Master Otaku to be labeled a mere knight, something must have gone wrong with the ceremony,” Feena said, her expression uncomfortable.

I made sure no one else was in the hall (without turning my rigid staff head somehow), then spoke. “Well, that’s how it went down. You can drop all the honorifics and call me a pathetic, trashy otaku now.”

“As you wish, Master Pathetic Trashy Otaku.”

“Never mind, that sounds even worse somehow,” I said. The sadness in my voice confused Feena. There’s no point in the insults if you preface it with “Master”...!

“Anyway, Feena, why are you out in the hall?” Stella asked.

“W-Well... It was a bit difficult to go inside.”

Stella peered into the classroom, then instantly grimaced.

“Oooho ho ho! I, too, am glad to share a class with all of you fine, courteous ladies!” came a distinctive laugh that could only belong to Quinza.

I always just called her a villainess—she carried around a gaudy fan, wore expensive accessories, and was unreasonably hostile with Stella to top it off. Her red hair was done up superbly as usual today, and she was surrounded by students at her seat by the window. Apparently the class was greeting her.

“Another year with Quinza? This is the worst.”

“Sigh... I must admit the thought of sharing a class with Lady Quinza daily has been a downer for me.”

“It’s fine, Feena. As long as I’m around, I won’t let Quinza have her way. Relax; let’s just go in.”

Stella took the lead going into the classroom. Feena shrugged and followed after.

Quinza’s gang was monopolizing the seats by the window area, so Stella went for the ones by the hallway. There were two free seats, so they naturally sat in those.

And then a sharp voice rang out, as if they had been waiting for that. “Is this all of my classmates? I believe some students have not come to greet me,” Quinza said, clearly directing that at Stella and Feena.

Stella glared at Quinza. “Why should I go say hello to you when we’re not even friends?”

Gasps of disapproval rang out through the classroom.

“What a thing to say to Lady Quinza...”

“She merely does not know manners due to her commoner upbringing.”

A chatter ran through the class.

Feena whispered from her seat next to ours. “S-Stella. It is tradition to greet the highest-status student in a classroom on the first day of a new term.”

“First time I’m hearing of that. Is that a rule in our student handbook?”

“No, it is not an official rule, but rather an informal tradition...”

Although her standing was fairly low, Feena too was the noble daughter of a barony. She had a proper understanding of the academy’s customs.

Quinza stared at Stella while fanning herself. “Why greet me, you ask? I shall generously inform you, foolish commoner. Because I am from House Frantzbelle. Oooho ho ho ho!”

Stella sighed, completely unamused. “And who’s Frantzbelle? Never heard of them.”

“Excuse me?!”

“If you want to say hi, you can come over here yourself. Not that I’ll be friends with you either way,” Stella retorted. Then, having said all she wanted to say, she turned back around.

Silence filled the classroom as Feena panicked. We could hear Quinza grit her teeth from here.

“I see you remain as unpleasantly uncouth as ever, Stupella. You not only refuse to greet me, but you even insult the name of House Frantzbelle?!”

“I just don’t have anything to do with the traditions of this academy. And more importantly, I can use miracles now. It’s just embarrassing for you to keep using that old nickname.”

“How dare you, commoner!” Quinza shouted, slamming her fan down and grabbing her staff. “O Spirits of Fire, fulfill your contract in the name of the Goddess supreme! Ignaria Sein!”

A fireball of noticeable size floated beside the villainess, prompting shrieks from the audience. The flame crackled, as if to represent Quinza’s anger.

In response, Stella stood with me in hand. “You know you’re going to get punished if that fire burns anything in the classroom, right?”

“Fear not, you amateur; my fire will cleanse you and you alone.” The villainess lifted her staff high. “Now, turn to ash before my flames!”

She swung her staff, and a fireball went flying toward Stella.

Stella opened her mouth to chant, but...

“...Thus my heart froze over for all of eternity. Aquaria Sein.”

A blue-haired girl leaped in with a staff on her back and chanted. A sword of ice appeared in her hand—one made through miracles. She unleashed a swift slash trailed by an icy chill.

“Ngh!”

What she’d hit was Quinza’s staff. It escaped her grip and spun in the air before clattering to the floor.

The fireball disappeared just like that. Quinza couldn’t maintain her miracle without a staff in hand.

“That was some bladework! So cool...!” Stella said, cheering on the blue-haired girl.

Who’s this girl...? Is she on Stella’s side?

A quiet fell upon the room. Quinza and the other classmates were all staring at the blue-haired girl in shock.

She was a beautiful girl with a translucent presence not unlike that of an ice sculpture. She had a slender, tall figure and mature features. If she weren’t wearing the same uniform as everyone else, I might have mistaken her for a professor. And now she just stood there with her blade in hand, ignoring the tension in the air entirely.

Quinza was the first to act.

She picked up her battered staff and bore down on the girl. “Do you understand what you just did? Surely. Any who understood the consequences of defying me wou—”

“That’s my seat,” the girl said simply. She pointed to a seat between Stella and Quinza, which seemed to be the one most likely to have been caught in the cross fire of the fireball. There was a book bag on it already, indicating she had left her seat temporarily.

Aaah. Things are finally starting to make sense.

The girl had struck Quinza’s staff to seal her miracles and protect her seat. She hadn’t been siding with Stella in the least.

Quinza noticed that too and swallowed her words.

The blue-haired girl left it at that. Her sword disappeared, and she sat in her seat. She took an old book out of her bag and started reading.

An uncomfortable silence fell, which soon prompted Quinza to tremble in rage. “A-Are you not even going to apologize for smiting my staff?!” she demanded.

Staves in this world were incredibly valuable—so much so that they were considered equivalent to the lives of the saints that wielded them. Knocking Quinza’s aside in front of the public was an offense grave enough that her pride couldn’t forgive it.

Now Quinza’s wrath was directed not at Stella, but at the blue-haired girl. She strutted over to her desk, temples twitching, and slammed a fist down on it.

The girl didn’t take her eyes off the book.

“Name yourself. I am Quinza Frantzbelle. You must surely be of a well-noted house if you are turning your nose at me like this!” she half screamed, almost hysteric.

Finally, the blue-haired girl looked up. She stared back at Quinza with frozen eyes that revealed no emotion.

“Henrietta Razwald,” she said; her voice was largely flat, but she did emphasize her surname.

There was a clatter. A student had stood so abruptly their chair fell over. Everyone in class was staring at her and trembling in fear like she was a serial killer.

“Razwald, you say...?” Quinza asked. She, too, paled and stepped back. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief as if to get some filth off, then spun on her heels and returned to her window seat without saying another word.

The villainess backed down like it was nothing? And what was with everyone’s reaction? Something’s up here.

Henrietta had already returned her eyes to her book. She had to have noticed everyone giving her scary looks, but her stony countenance never threatened to bear an expression. She was like ice itself.

When the professor in charge of this class finally arrived, everyone had finally managed to settle down.

Hmm, I thought.

There was still a lot I didn’t know about this world. I’d have to ask Stella later. I glanced at her, and for some reason, she alone was looking at Henrietta with sparkling eyes.

＊＊＊

Morning classes concluded, and lunch came.

“Time to eat.”

Stella and Feena were sitting next to each other on a bench in a sunny spot of the garden connected to the cafeteria. After getting everything ready, Stella opened her mouth wide and stuffed a sandwich into it—a thick beast with densely layered ingredients. Such was the result of offering her a sandwich buffet.

“Mm, can you believe they let us jam as much stuff as we want in these? Whoever came up with this system is going straight to heaven,” Stella said, munching on her food.

And speaking of heaven, I was there now. I was leaning against the bench, wedged between two beauties. At this point I wouldn’t want to be reincarnated as anything but a staff.

“Antohsa is attended by many noble daughters of distinguished houses. That the food is lavish to match is a delight,” Feena replied, eating her own sandwich. Hers had almost nothing—the type of sandwich you’d see in a convenience store.

Stella seemed as bothered by that as me; she lifted an eyebrow. “That sandwich’s the opposite of lavish. It’s...barren.”

“Stella’s right. You’ve got like a single piece of lettuce there. How is that going to fill you up?”

“It’s fine!” Feena said, sharply. “Apparently I ate a bit too much when I visited home over break. The bust of my uniform was uncomfortably tight when I tried to wear it again, and I understood then I was walking down the wrong path...!”

Seriously?

My eyes fell on Feena’s chest. Her blouse buttons certainly were stretched to their absolute limit, and seemed on the verge of bursting at any moment.

Stella trembled with fearful awe as she looked at the mountains next to her. “Wh-What the heck...? Nothing good can come from those getting bigger!”

“Precisely. Thus, I would like to cut down on my eating,” Feena said, then glanced at Stella. “Meanwhile, it seems you have no need to worry. I envy your ability to eat as much as you like.”

“Did you just look at my chest?!”

“O-Of course not. I was merely observing your frame.”

“You totally did. This is bullying, I say, bullying!”

“Being honest is not bullying. I have experienced constant pain due to the tightness of my chest. A life with no chest pain whatsoever must be a wonderful one indeed!”

“GAAAH! THAT’S WHAT THEY CALL BULLYING!” Stella grabbed Feena’s shoulders and shook her.

It was nice to see them on good terms. I watched on with admiration.

“Look, it’s Henrietta. The rumors she came back to the academy were true, then.”

“She missed a grade and therefore is still a second-year. It’s a relief we won’t have the same class again.”

“Goodness, why did they even let one of her foul bloodline into the academy? If only we could get her expelled somehow.”

Some older students passed by us while whispering. Stella must’ve heard them, as she let Feena go and turned her head.

Henrietta sat on a bench on a distant corner of the garden, eating in the shade. She had a sandwich in one hand, and a book in the other—the quintessential lonely beauty.

Stella looked at her and said, “That’s Henrietta, from our class.”

“Indeed...”

“I’m going to go talk to her,” Stella said, standing up with the gleaming eyes of a predator that had found their prey.

Feena hurriedly clung to her. “W-Wait, Stella! Why talk to her? To what end?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? To be friends!” Stella said like it was, indeed, obvious.

Feena, however, kept her arms locked around Stella’s.

“I am opposed. This is the one thing I cannot overlook...”

“It’s rare for you to get like this, Feena. Are you friends with Henrietta?”

“She is the daughter of a former duke! A bottom-of-the-rung noble such as myself could not possibly have been friends with her. More importantly... Are you not afraid, Stella?”

“Afraid of Henrietta? Why would I be?”

“Because, she... Well... She has a cursed bloodline, no?” Feena said, faltering as if she shouldn’t be saying anything at all.

Stella shrugged her shoulders. “So what? Who cares about that?”

“Everyone! Do you not know the horrors of a cursed bloodline?”

“More like I don’t know what you’re so scared about.”

“I mean, they are LITERALLY cursed! Dealing with magic has only one—”

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but this is my first time hearing about cursed bloodlines. Could I get an explanation?” I asked. Stella and Feena stopped their debate to look at me.

Feena tilted her head. “You do not know of cursed bloodlines, Master Otaku?”

“There’s still a lot I don’t know about this world, sorry.”

“It’s fine... In that case, do you know that each element has a noble house representing it? For example, House Frantzbelle represents Fire, while House Hamiel represents Wind.”

“Ah, that’d explain why Quinza kept talking about her being a Frantzbelle,” I said, connecting the dots.

Feena nodded. “That’s correct. House Frantzbelle is known as the People of Fire. Starting with their head of house, everyone possesses high-ranking Fire spirits. Similarly, Henrietta’s house had been known as the People of Water...until a few years ago.” Her voice lowered. “Henrietta’s father, Duke Razwald, was charged with using magic and subsequently burned alive. House Razwald lost its territory and rank. The honor of the People of Water moved to House Euberta. House Razwald’s blood was deemed to be cursed for having touched magic, and now they are feared by all.”

“Can I ask a quick question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Witches were said to have gone extinct a thousand years ago, right? How’d Duke Razwald use magic, then? Wouldn’t that make him a witch...or I guess a wizard, in this case?” I asked.

Stella was the one to answer. “You don’t have to be a witch to use magic.”

“Elaborate further.”

“Remember the cursed goods? Those have magic in them. I’ve heard you can use them to cast spells if you do some specific things.”

“I see. That tracks.”

Cursed goods were what made magibeasts. They were said to have been left behind by the witches from a thousand years ago.

“Bleh,” Stella said. “Calling it a cursed bloodline sounds so serious, but it just means someone in their family used magic. There’s nothing about that to be afraid of if you ask me.”

“Stella, it’s magic!” Feena cried. “The very same magic that twisted the world a thousand years ago and destroyed civilization itself!”

“It’s not like Henrietta was the one who used it. The fact her father used magic doesn’t mean she will too. In the first place, if she had, she would’ve been imprisoned and executed with him.”

“That’s true, but... It’s not only her bloodline that makes her dangerous. Last year she...she stabbed her roommate and ended up suspended for the rest of the year.”

That did sound kind of bad. Stella and I exchanged looks, which meant in practice she looked at me while I remained completely immobile.

“How did that happen...?” I asked.

“It would seem that Henrietta flew into a sudden rage.”

That couldn’t be the full story. Nobody got mad over literally nothing, so her roommate must’ve done something to upset Henrietta.

“What happened to the stabbed student?” Stella asked.

“I’m unsure myself... But just imagining being stabbed with that sword of ice is terrifying.”

Stella fell into thought, then came to a swift conclusion. “Yeah, I don’t see any problem. That’s not a reason to avoid being friends with Henrietta.”

“Whaaat?! Were you listening at all?!” Feena exclaimed, having gone fully pale. “If you make Henrietta mad, she might stab you! How could anyone be friends with someone so dangerous?”

“You can just protect me with your walls, Feena.”

“O-Oh... You value my miracles that much...?” Feena placed hands on her cheeks. She was probably happy.

“Her knocking Quinza’s staff aside was a big help this morning, and it seems like her name can make Quinza back down. Befriending her seems to be nothing but positive.”

It seemed like Stella had settled on being friends with Henrietta no matter what. She began her march to the corner of the garden, and despite her terror, Feena reluctantly followed with a couple of nervous squeaks.

Henrietta was still reading and eating on the bench. Stella stood in front of her. “You got in the middle of my fight with Quinza this morning. There’s something I want to say about that,” she began.

Good, good. That was a natural conversation starter. All she had to do was express her gratitude, and everything would be perfect.

Henrietta kept her eyes on her book as Stella continued. “But don’t bother with that again. It’s not like I wanted your help or anything!”

Here cometh the tsundere!

I clapped on the inside.

Indeed, Stella had a crippling inability to talk to others in a normal way. That was cute, but also made it basically impossible for her to make friends on her own.

“Wh-Wh-What are you saying, Stella?!” Feena yelped, tugging Stella’s robes while on the verge of fainting. The two of them began to whisper. “Weren’t you here to thank her?”

“I just did.”

“When?! It sounded to me like you were picking a fight with her!”

“Uh, no? I’m trying to be friends here.”

“A tsundere has a fundamental inability to express their affection honestly,” I intoned. “With this in mind, let’s parse the true meaning of her speech just now. When she says ‘Don’t bother with that again,’ she means ‘I would love to have your help again.’ When she says ‘It’s not like I wanted your help,’ she means ‘Thank you so much for helping me.’ When sh—”

“Enough with the explanation! Stop talking so fast!”

Upon concluding their strategy meeting, the two girls turned back around.

Henrietta was focused on her book, as always. All she did was take a bite of her sandwich sometimes. She seemed entirely unconcerned about Stella and Feena.

“Did you not hear me? Or are you ignoring me?” Stella asked.

“She must have disliked you being too direct with the subject. Cultured nobility begin their conversations with meandering small talk.”

“Sounds annoying. I don’t know noble stuff, so I’ll leave this to you, Feena.”

“Whaaat?!”

Stella pushed Feena in front of Henrietta.

“G-G-Good day, Henrietta,” Feena said, tension making her voice crack while her cheeks twitched nonstop. I was starting to feel a bit sorry for her. “Wh-What book might you be reading today? It seems perfect for the season. Could it perhaps be a textbook on magic or the like? Aha ha ha— MGH!”

Stella clamped a hand over Feena’s mouth and pulled her away. Back to strategizing.

“Hey! In what world was that small talk? You jumped right into the big stuff!”

“Given that she was reading, I thought it a natural transition to the subject.”

“Even if it is, you shouldn’t just bring up magic like that. That’s the one word you shouldn’t be using. I thought you were trying to taunt her.”

“I would never! Do you think I am the type capable of taunting others, Stella?”

Well, you’ve taunted Stella more times than I can count, but... I guess that’s what they call someone being a natural airhead. Scary stuff.

The two of them eyed Henrietta again. She remained focused on her book, though her sandwich was gone by this point.

“This isn’t going well. She’s not even looking at us.”

“She may be the type to lose herself while reading,” Feena said.

“I’ve got an idea,” I said, losing my patience. We’d be here forever if I left things to an awkward tsundere and an airhead with no self-awareness. “It’s a pretty standard approach, but how about you compliment her belongings? You’re not likely to offend someone by complimenting them.”

“Very true.”

“I suppose her book would be the natural choice to compliment, then?”

“We just messed up with that, so let’s not. How about her hair ornament?”

Henrietta had a translucent flower that seemed to be made out of glass in her hair. It was pretty without being showy, and it suited her icy beauty well.

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

“Wait, Stella. Don’t let yourself get too embarrassed to be straightforward. Just say the compliment directly, no allusions or meandering.”

“Ngh... I-I know that!”

“Feena, don’t interject with any unnecessary comments.”

“Understood, Master Otaku.”

Stella and Feena stood before Henrietta yet again. This was their third approach. Stella swallowed, then spoke.

“That hair ornament of yours is pretty. You have good taste.”

“It suits your blue hair well, Henrietta. Where did you purchase it?”

Both said their lines perfectly. If Henrietta didn’t respond, it was no longer their fault. The blue-haired girl silently flipped to the next page of her book.

No good, huh...?

It seemed like Henrietta had resolved to ignore Stella and Feena to the end. What in the world was motivating her to maintain her silence to this extent?

“Come on, why ignore us? Surely you can say something,” Stella tapped her feet. “If that’s how you’re going to be, I have my own idea. Just try to read in this tornado. Winaria Sein!”

Taking offensive measures was unideal, but I couldn’t deny Stella her wish. I’d kick up enough of a breeze to disturb her reading.

Sensing Stella’s intentions, I called to the spirits of Wind and—

“Aquaria Sein.”

“Eep!”

A wall of ice suddenly appeared and sent Stella falling onto her butt. Stella instantly stood up and circled the ice wall.

“Hey! Why’d you do that?!”

“I simply fought miracles with miracles,” Henrietta said. Her book was closed now, freeing her to give Stella a cold look.

“Finally, she speaks! Do you always just ignore people like that?”

“I don’t care to speak to students.”

“What, trying to act like you’re better than us, huh?”

“Stella!” Feena cried, whispering from behind. “That’s just going to make her angry!”

Stella kept her hands on her hips, though, and ultimately Henrietta let out a sigh. “I didn’t help anyone this morning. I just protected my seat,” she said, then looked at Feena. “This is an advanced miracle textbook.”

“M-My sincerest apologies! Please don’t stab me!”

“I made this hair ornament with a miracle,” Henrietta said, and instantly the thing moved.

It’s not a normal hair ornament?!

It crackled as if freezing over, then formed another petal, then another. The previously sole flower multiplied, and soon her head was wreathed with ice.

“No way! Those are all made with your ice?!”

“If I remember correctly, you have been wearing that hair ornament since morning, no...?”

Their shock was well-founded. Maintaining miracles was no easy feat—you needed a complete mental image of something without losing focus the entire time. This would mean she had been maintaining her miracle throughout class and lunchtime.

“It’s true. This is a training method passed down by House Razwald. Any Razwald could do it,” Henrietta said calmly. The ornament returned to just being one flower. Maintaining a miracle constantly required incredible focus and control. They may have lost their title as the People of Water, but their abilities remained the real deal.

“Was that everything?” Henrietta asked. It looked like she didn’t intend to talk for a second longer than she had to.

Stella panicked as her eyes fell back down to the book. “Hold it! I haven’t even got to the main point yet. You won’t have anyone to help you in class this year, right?”

“So what?”

“Well! I-If you insist on it, I wouldn’t mind letting you join my group.”

“No thanks,” Henrietta replied instantly.

“Wha—?!” Stella exclaimed, taking a step closer. “Why would you say no? My element’s Light, and Feena’s Earth. Our grades will go way up if we work together.”

“I don’t need any deadweight.”

“Excuse me...?!”

“Did you not hear? I called you deadweight,” Henrietta said, dryly. “Grouping up with deadbeat students is a waste of my time. I’d be better off alone.”

“EXCUUUUSE ME?! What do you know about me?!”

“The wind a moment ago told me everything.”

“Hey! I was holding back for your sake. You couldn’t even tell something that basic?”

“And you prove yourself to be a sore loser.”

“No! You have a bad personality, you know that? That’s why you’re stuck all on your own.”

“I’m fine alone.”

“You’re doubling down...! Well, I don’t want to be in a group with a foulmouthed girl like you anyway! Don’t come crying to join my group later!”

“I won’t.”

This isn’t good...

Stella was picking a fight, and Henrietta was accepting the challenge. The clash between Stella’s prickliness and Henrietta’s sharp tongue was making things worse and worse.

In the end, Stella hung herself with her own words and ended up groaning. “You’re definitely going to regret turning down my invitation! Don’t look at me when you end up being held back another year,” Stella cried.

At that moment, Henrietta moved.

“...Thus my heart froze over for all of eternity. Aquaria Sein.”

In the blink of an eye, she’d formed her ice sword and jabbed its tip at Stella’s throat.

“Ngh...!”

“Stella!”

Feena paled from behind Stella as she froze in place.

She better not even think of hurting Stella...!

I had my divine power ready to blast out at a moment’s notice.

A cold mist, frosty with malice, wafted between them. Henrietta lowered her voice with her sword still thrust outward. “By that do you mean it’s your turn to hold me back a grade?”

“What...?” Stella asked, her voice cracking. “I-I don’t know what you mean... I just wanted to invite you to our group.”

Henrietta watched Stella falter with intense focus, then seemed to relax.

“Don’t,” she said, and her ice sword vanished into nothing. “My heart will never melt. If you want allies, look elsewhere.”

Henrietta picked up her book and turned, leaving us with only that riddle. She left with her cold air, the ice flower bobbing in her hair.

Stella, having watched her go in a daze, stamped her feet and shouted.

“Dummy! Stupid cold-blooded foulmouthed dummy! I’m never gonna try talking to you agaaain!” Stella roared, shoulders heaving as she gasped for breath.

Feena peered over her shoulder. “Are you unhurt?” she asked.

Stella puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. “Forget it. I’m giving up on her.”

“That’s for the best,” Feena replied.

＊＊＊

“Okaaay, everyone, that’s the end of today’s class. Have your reports done by next time! Don’t forgeeet,” Professor Elyena announced.

Everyone busily prepared to leave. The sky was enveloped by thick, black clouds; normally students would stick around at their leisure and chat, but today they speedily put their things away so they could get back to the dormitory before rain began to fall.

Professor Elyena walked to the door, robe dragging behind her, before she suddenly stopped. “Oh! I nearly forgot. The qualifying rounds for the Tournament of Miracles will be held after school today.”

Those words sent an instant shock throughout the classroom.

The Tournament of Miracles?

That was my first time hearing about anything like that. Everyone else was familiar, though, judging by how nobody asked what she was talking about.

“Potential participants should gather in the courtyard. Professor Melvia has a selection exam for the second-years,” Professor Elyena said. With that, she left.

A bunch of chairs scraped back by the windows. It was Quinza’s gang. The villainess and her two usual lackeys left the room with determined looks.

Stella watched them go out of the corner of her eyes, then abruptly stood up. “Feena!”

“Y-Yes?!” Feena asked.

“We’re going too.”

“Ah, you wish to watch the qualifiers?”

“Nope. We’re participating!”

“WHAAAT?!” Feena seemed about to fall over. “A-Are you serious, Stella...?”

“Obviously. We can go back to our rooms anytime. Let’s go,” Stella said, grabbing Feena’s robes and pulling hard.

“Eep, eep! W-Wait just a moment, Stella...!”

The moment we were in the hall, I lowered my voice and asked, “What are the Miracle Games?”

“It’s a big event held in the academy every year. Some students are chosen to compete in a tournament with miracles,” Stella answered.

“Our guardians come to watch, so it lends itself to quite a festive mood,” Feena added.

“I couldn’t even make it to the start line last year since I couldn’t use miracles. There was nothing more boring than a festival I couldn’t participate in,” Stella said, gripping me tightly. The heat in her palms told me all I needed to know.

She must’ve been pretty frustrated...

“Does getting chosen impact one’s grades at all?”

“Nope.”

“Oho. Why’re you into it, then?” I asked.

“The winning group gets a recommendation letter for the Opti Baculus!”

The Opti Baculus was a military group known to consist of the strongest saints in the country. Stella’s dream was to join them. No wonder she was so motivated.

“Seems like losing’s not an option, then.”

“I’m glad you understand, Otaku.”

Feena alone looked uncertain beside us. “Wait... Stella, do you intend to win the Miracle Games? That is surely unreasonable. Only sixth-years ever win.”

“A first-year won once before. Haven’t you heard of them, Feena?”

“I have, but that was Lady Hamiel, the current captain of the Opti Baculus... A Grand Spirit might make that possible, but a knight surely would not be enough.”

“What, you think a pathetic trashy otaku doesn’t have a chance to win?” I asked.

“Th-That is not what I meant in the least! I would never look down upon your abilities, Master Otaku!”

We arrived at the garden while we talked. The sky was overcast and ready to unleash a deluge at any moment.

And here I was reminded yet again that worship of the Goddess was deeply rooted in this world. There was yet another ivory statue of her built here to overlook the students. Quinza and the others participating in the preliminaries were gathered by its base.

Our group made our way there. Quinza noticed us, then sniffed. “Oooho ho ho! If you wish to observe the preliminaries, do take a seat far outside the garden.”

“Bleh. I’m here to participate, not observe. We’ve had this back-and-forth twice now.”

Quinza balked, then burst into laughter. “A commoner wildly inexperienced with miracles, participating in the tournament? I cannot imagine anything more comedic. You must be joking.”

The other students began glancing Stella’s way. The days of Stella being avoided by everyone and called Stupella were long over. Ever since I’d reincarnated into her staff, news of Stella making a dragon in class and blasting out other incredible miracles had spread far and wide.

The fact they were glancing now was not to sneer, but to gauge a new rival in the preliminaries.

“You’ll see soon enough whether I’m joking or not,” Stella retorted just as Professor Melvia arrived.

“Oh my! I see everyone has already arrived,” she said; everyone fell silent to look at her. “One, two, three... I see seven groups, is it? As is the case every year, only two groups from the second-years shall be selected to participate in the Miracle Games, so we will now hold preliminaries. Given the poor weather, let us begin posthaste.”

The professor moved such that the statue was behind her, then lifted her staff. “O Spirits populating the world, O those whose oaths to the Goddess hold true! Let Water be blood, let Earth be flesh, let Fire be heat, let Wind be breath, like Light be wisdom. Aquaria Sein, Terararia Sein...”

Thus began a high-level miracle. The students all readied themselves.

“That’s...the prayer for creating artificial life!” Stella exclaimed, noticing before anyone else and whispering to Feena.

“She must be making some manner of creature, then. Hopefully my walls can keep it away...” Feena muttered.

“All we can do is pray,” Stella replied.

As the two of them talked, ping-pong-ball-sized clumps of earth rose up and began flying around Professor Melvia. Water and light appeared as if drawn from the atmosphere and began fusing with the earth. The activation of high-level miracles never stopped being a sight to behold.

“May these wings cut through the Wind, may these jaws rip through meat, and let these stringers bring death! Be born, army of the queen!”

Professor Melvia’s voice rang out. The earth writhed as if given life, and moments later turned into countless living creatures...or more specifically, into bees. The sound of their wingbeats filled the air with an uncomfortable buzz, their black and yellow carapaces radiated danger, and their stingers were swollen in size. Numerous students began to shriek.

“NOOO!”

“Eek! So many bees...!”

In contrast to the panicking students, Professor Melvia let out a sensual smile as she was writhed in a mass of bees. “The test,” she began, in a voice louder than all the buzzing, “is to slay as many of these poison bees within the preliminaries. Those who defeat the most will be the two chosen teams.”

“Poison bees...” a student rasped.

“Oh? Is it not natural that bees would be poisonous? Being stung will leave you paralyzed for a number of days, so do be careful, everyone.”

Why did you make bees that deadly?!

“And that concludes my introduction,” the professor said, extending her arms and ignoring the panic of her student. “Now, let the preliminaries begin!”

The bees began buzzing even louder, then launched away from the professor and began filling the garden.

“O Spirits of Fire, grant me blazes to burn mine enemies away. Ignaria Sein!”

“O Spirits of Earth, grant me stone to smite mine enemies. Terararia Sein!”

Students began chanting all over the place, affording me a clamor in which to whisper. “Stella, which miracle should I grant?!”

“The usual is fine,” Stella answered. “Feena, smack them down with your walls!”

“Right!”

“O Spirits of Fire, grant me blazes to burn mine enemies away. Ignaria Sein!”

It really was the usual. I called out to the spirits filling the air. Hey, Fire spirits! Gimme all the fireballs you got!

I visualized fireballs raining down like a meteor shower. The spirits answered my call, and several fireballs slammed down into the garden.

“We did it!” Stella cried. But when the dust faded, there wasn’t a single bee corpse on the ground. They had all dodged the fireballs.

Looking around confirmed every other student was reacting like Stella was. They just couldn’t land any hits on the bees.

“What do we do, Stella?!” Feena asked in the midst of dropping iron walls. “The bees are too fast to hit!”

Suddenly, we heard an explosion.

What’s that thing...?

A pillar of fire formed in the middle of the garden like a volcano that had erupted. The fires raged and seemed to burn the heavens themselves.

As both Stella and Feena balked, the pillar of fire swiftly faded, revealing Quinza and her lackeys.

“There was not enough water; my flames should have been far more vast than that.”

“I apologize, Lady Quinza.”

“The wind didn’t match my timing either. We must aim for hitting a larger area!”

“Understood...”

The three of them lifted their staves and gave three separate chants at the same time.

“It could only be named conflagration. The flames consumed all that once lived. Ignaria Sein!”

“The savior was doused with holy perfume. Aquaria Sein!”

“The Goddess of Wind blew away the ashes and breathed life into the land. Winaria Sein!”

There was another explosion.

Fire raged, turning into a swirling tornado that devastated the garden. I watched the bees get swallowed up by the flames.

Seconds later, though, a massive wave of water struck the gardens. Stella saw the wave coming this way from afar, and hurriedly began a miracle. “Eep, eep! Winaria Sein!”

I deduced Stella’s intent and called to the Wind spirits. Stella and Feena were lifted up by the air and escaped the water.

“Wh-What the heck? Who would wrap up other students with their miracle like th—”

“Look, Stella...! That’s a miracle passed down by House Euberta, the People of Water!”

Feena’s finger pointed at some girls standing atop the wave. It looked impossible, but a corner of the garden had been entirely submerged beneath water. Each time the girls prayed, a wave erupted and swallowed more of the bees.

“Um,” Stella began, her voice cracking. “Hold on a second! I haven’t killed a second one yet...! It could only be named conflagration. The flames consumed all that once lived. Ignaria Sein!”

That’s the same prayer Quinza gave. Spirits of Fire, whip up a tornado! I called.

However, all that appeared before Stella was a tiny campfire. That wasn’t what I’d visualized at all. How had this happened? Was there some fundamental mistake I’d made?

Far from tearing through the bees, Stella’s campfire vanished in an instant after touching one of Euberta’s waves.

Stella shook her head at that miserable result. “No way... Why is my miracle so much worse than Quinza’s?!”

“My my, I would expect nothing less from the famous houses of Frantzbelle and Euberta. Combining multiple prayers to farm points at this speed is exactly the excellence I would expect from your prestige,” Professor Melvia said, swinging her staff about with glee. “Hurry now, everyone! At this rate, no other group has a chance of competing with them.”

The bees abruptly changed direction in the air; a swarm of them shot directly toward Stella and Feena, stingers out.

“Ngh...!”

“EEK!”

The two of them lost their balance as they twisted to dodge the bees. I instantly used the wind to cushion their falls and somehow managed to get them to land on their feet safely.

“Stella!” Feena cried, grabbing Stella’s arm and pulling her close. “Iron wall! Terararia Sein!”

Iron walls surrounded both of them at once. They faced each other in the darkness.

“Feena?! What are you doing?!”

“Now we’re safe. The bees will not sting us here,” Feena said, her faint smile visible even in the dim light.

Stella, however, was annoyed. “This is bad! We can’t seal ourselves off like this! What about the preliminaries?!”

“Stella... Can you kill those bees?”

“It’s not about whether I can or can’t. I will!”

I could sense Feena’s uncertainty.

“Anyway, let me outta here. You can keep hiding if you want.”

After a pause, one of the walls vanished.

Stella left and stood in the garden.

The left half of it had been swallowed by waves, while the right half had turned into an ashen wasteland. Some spray from the waves wet Stella’s cheek, while the hot wind blew her silver hair back. She stood bravely before what looked like a total natural disaster.

I could understand why Feena had hesitated. The results of this preliminary were clear for all to see. No matter how much she put into her next few miracles, I couldn’t imagine her ever overcoming this situation.

“Stella...” I said to console her. “This tournament happens every year. You can try again n—”

“Is it a guarantee I’ll win next year?” Stella replied, fighting spirit clear in her voice. I swallowed the rest of my sentence. “No, it isn’t. It just isn’t. So if I keep talking about how I’ll do better ‘next year,’ Quinza’s group will just get better and better than me. I won’t be able to win, but I have to! I have to win this tournament...!”

Stella hadn’t given up yet. Even faced against overwhelming miracles, she was still looking for a way to win.

“Let me tell you about a famous miracle.”

“Yeah...?”

“When Vesta the Witch of Pestilence scattered her cursed goods, a country out there was swarmed by magibeasts. Magibeasts begat magibeasts, the Ten Magibeasts began their calamities, and many thought the world had ended.”

That was over a thousand years ago. She probably knew this due to the scripture.

“It was then that the Goddess descended and chanted ‘Luxsaria Sein: let there be light!’ Dazzling light rained down from the heavens, slaying all the magibeasts in the blink of an eye, and thereby saving the country.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale.”

“It’s not. That was a real miracle,” Stella said, then pointed at the miracle. “And I’m going to re-create that miracle now.”

Some growling came from loud above. It was roaring thunder. The weather was starting to take a turn for the worse.

“Can you do it?”

“I don’t know any other miracle that could kill the surviving bees. You’re Light-aligned, so it should be easy,” Stella said. She’d picked a miracle that would be as easy as possible for me, and she also explained the miracle instead of just stating the prayer so it’d be easier for me to imagine.

And yet... I had to wonder: did I have it in me to summon light capable of slaughtering magibeasts in the blink of an eye? I’d never cast a miracle anywhere near that powerful.

“I have to win here. If I don’t, I won’t be able to participate in the Miracle Games... I’m gonna get into the Opti Baculus no matter what,” Stella muttered. I could feel the shaking of her hands directly on me.

It looked like it was do-or-die time. I had to cast a miracle with no way of knowing if it’d succeed or not. And yet, the girl before me continued facing the pitch-black sky.

“Please, give me a miracle. Luxsaria Sein...!”

An orb of light formed in the sky. It showered the garden with light...but that was all. The light was that of a gentle and warm spring sun—it didn’t come anywhere near to burning any bees alive.

Can you hear me, spirits?! Use that light to kill the poison bees! The holy scripture had a parable like that, right?! This is for a tsundere girl’s sake. Please, grant my wish!

Despite all my calls, the light just flickered in the air as if uncertain how to respond.

Stella’s face twisted. “Will there be no miracle for me...?”

Her voice was filled with defeat. A heavy rain began to fall. Thick raindrops hit her cheeks and dripped down her chin.

“Sorry, Stella. I’m sorry. I’m too weak.”

Her expression hurt my heart. I was struck by the compulsion to drop to my knees and beg for her forgiveness. Only the trashiest of otakus couldn’t even live up to their idol’s hopes. I hated how pathetic I was.

Stella, in despair, let her hands fall with me in them.

And that’s when it happened.

The ball of light, still in the air, began to spark.

What...?

I looked up. In that instant, the ball of light burst, shooting out dazzling light in every which way.

Moments later, there was a massive explosion that sounded like a cannon hitting a mountain. The sheer impact of the explosion made me feel as if the breath had been knocked out of my nonexistent chest.

“That concludes the test!” came the professor’s voice, which I only narrowly heard through my ringing not-ears.

The students sent recoiling from the shock waves were struggling to stand back up. Stella, too, was frozen in place with her hands over her ears.

The fire tornado and high waves both vanished, and the students gathered before the professor.

“Everyone, excellent work before the preliminaries. I shall now announce the winning groups that will be participating in this year’s Miracle Games.”

The students swallowed and waited with bated breath. Professor Melvia looked over the girls, then continued. “First place goes to the group of one... Stella Millesia.”

For a moment, nobody could believe their ears. The sound of violent rain drowned out everything, until Stella finally realized her name had been called and let out a yelp. “M-MEEE?!”

“Yes,” Professor Melvia nodded gravely. “The lightning you formed with light at the end of the test killed every bee that still lived. Your talents deserve praise, whether you are a commoner or not.” She clapped.

Wait a second. She’s saying Stella made lightning...?

She must have been talking about the explosion from just a bit ago, but I had no recollection of spawning lightning.

“Professor!” Quinza exclaimed, lifting her hand. “It is unbelievable to imagine Stella made lightning with miracles! There must be some mistake!”

“Oooh? But Stella was the only one using Light miracles at the time, and natural lightning would not have slain every bee scattered throughout the garden. It is unbecoming to conclude Stella is incapable of casting high-level miracles simply because she is a commoner.”

Quinza clenched her fist, frowning.

What’s going on? Stella can’t cast miracles without me providing a clear visualization to the spirits, which means that lightning couldn’t have come from her. I wasn’t thinking about lightning at all. And if some other student had done it, they’d name themselves here. If it wasn’t Stella and it wasn’t another student, where’d that lightning come from...?

“HOOORAAAY!” Stella cried and leaped with joy. She lifted me high and spun me around. Her dazzling smile blew my concerns away.

“Stella, you’re incredible...!” Feena cried, running over and sharing her joy.

Professor Melvia coughed, then continued. “The second winning group belongs to Quinza Frantzbelle.”

Stella and Feena quieted down after hearing Quinza’s name.

The villainess in question had a fan covering half of her dissatisfied frown. Despite having passed the preliminaries, she didn’t seem happy at all.

“Both of you, work hard so that you might succeed in the games proper. That will be all,” the professor said, then promptly flew off. The other students raced after her to get out of the rain themselves.

“That was an erroneous judgment, make no mistake,” Quinza said, going out of her way to pass right by Stella. The villainess glared at her with blazing eyes. “My flames would never lose to a commoner. These results were the product of chance and will not happen again. I will show you my power during the Miracle Games. Prepare yourself.”

With those venomous words, she left with her lackeys. Stella watched them go in silence, then broke out into a smile.

“We did it, Feena! Now I can fight in the Miracle Games, just like I’ve always dreamed of!”

“Congratulations! I cannot wait to see you perform!”

“Why are you talking like you won’t be there? You’re part of my team.”

“Eep, eep! Me, in the Miracle Games...?! What should I do?! Urk, I feel sick!”

“Jeez, dramatic much?”

The two of them excitedly chattered while heading back to the main school building.

I looked at the now-empty garden again, where the lightning had struck. The ivory statue of the Goddess smiled down at us amid the rain.

No way...

The Goddess hated Stella to the point of trying to murder her. There was no way she’d help her get into the Miracle Games.

Either way, Stella was so happy about getting in that she was all smiles.

I gotta keep my priorities straight.

My duty as an otaku was to protect my idol’s smile. No matter whose work that lightning was, I’d just celebrate alongside her for now.

Chapter 2 — My Heart Will Never Melt, Henrietta Proclaimed

Days had passed since the preliminaries. The results had been posted on tournament listings available throughout the school.

“Well, that figures...” Stella said, taking a short look at the bulletin board before leaving.

I whispered to the best of my ability. “What figures?”

“That my first opponent will be Quinza. It was obvious, but you know,” Stella said, sighing.

“First-years up to fourth-years get two groups each, while fifth- and sixth-years get four groups,” Feena explained in more detail as she walked beside us. “It’s traditional for the lower grades to fight among themselves at the start due to their lesser strength.”

“There’s something we’re lacking when it comes to fighting Quinza,” Stella said.

“I know exactly what you’re referring to—it’s stomach medicine! We certainly do not want ourselves being crippled from stress before the match.”

“No! I’m talking about Water. We’re both way too unskilled with Water!”

There were still students hanging around the building despite it being after school. Stella’s loud barking attracted the looks of several students.

She lowered her voice before continuing. “The same was true for last year, so we can be sure Quinza will be coming at us with Fire. We just need Water miracles strong enough to halt her flames, but neither of us are that good with it. That’s a big problem!”

“So you say, but you did defeat her in the preliminaries, no...? If you simply summon lightning again—”

“That was obviously just luck,” Stella spat.

I’d seen Stella step aside that night to kneel before the Goddess relief in her room and give a subtle prayer of gratitude for dropping the lightning. That was very like Stella. She didn’t consider that lightning as having come from her own power.

She’d been excited directly after the test had finished, but over time she’d grown more and more uneasy.

“Anyway, we need a Water master on our team to beat Quinza. Water extinguishes Fire, obviously.”

“It definitely hurts not to have our foe’s weakness.”

“Otaku, do you actually get it?”

“I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page, yeah.”

“Mm,” Feena murmured. “Thinking about it, Lady Quinza lost to House Euberta’s group last year. It does seem she is ailed by Water.”

“Oh right, you were in Quinza’s dorm room last year. Did you join her in the Miracle Games?”

“Well... Group sizes in the Miracle Games are limited to three, which means I was left outside to observe. Thus, I merely watched from the audience,” Feena said, sounding a bit sad. It sounded like deep down inside she actually did want to challenge the Miracle Games.

“Right. Groups go up to three,” Stella said, tapping her foot with a sparkling expression, as if she had just come upon a genius idea. “Which means we can get a third person. We can get a second-year with a Great Water spirit!”

“Can we change members after the preliminaries...?”

“Obviously. The preliminaries are for deciding the two best teams. They won’t care about us adding members and getting even stronger.”

“Makes sense.”

“So, let’s go!” Stella exclaimed.

“Heh? Where to?” Feena asked.

“To recruit a Great Water spirit!” Stella grabbed Feena’s arm and pulled her right to the dormitory.

＊＊＊

“I decline,” Julia Euberta, a serious-looking girl with a braid and thick glasses, declared.

“Wha?” Stella said.

She had gone directly to the room of the student that had produced those tall waves in the preliminaries...the scion of House Euberta, now known as the People of Water. Getting refused sent her into a panic, however.

“B-But why?! Joining our group will let you fight in the Miracle Games!”

“Naturally, I would love to participate in the honorable Miracle Games. However, it is not an event to attend with total disregard for my own countenance.”

“Total disregard for your whatty...?” Stella asked, confused.

Julia knit her brow. “What is expected of me as the scion of Marquess Euberta is to lead a team to victory through leadership and mastery of Water—not through providing paltry Water support to an ignoble commoner!”

Stella balked, at a loss for words. Julia, perhaps feeling awkward about having shouted at the end, pushed up her glasses. “I apologize for my rudeness, Stella. I have heard of your abilities since the end of last year. It is an accomplishment beyond that of a commoner to have created life using high-level miracles just days after obtaining a spirit. It is understandable to me that many students now invite you to tea parties and the like. They all seek a powerful pawn to play in their games,” she said.

Julia’s conclusion was that she wouldn’t mind adding Stella to her own team, but joining a group with Stella as the leader just wasn’t acceptable—apparently Antohsa was more of a nobility-driven academy than we’d thought.

“I shall pray your abilities are demonstrated in full during the Miracle Games,” she said, then slammed the door shut.

Stella and Feena both stood before the door, stunned.

“That was rather antagonistic of her...” Feena said.

“She must be frustrated I stole her spot this year,” Stella said, sighing. We left and began trudging our way back down the hallway. “I thought for sure we could win with the Euberta girl, but I guess that’s out of the question... I never thought she’d care more about her reputation than participating in the Miracle Games.”

“She is from an honored noble house, after all...” Feena replied. “House Euberta in particular has only just become the People of Water, so they may be desperate to show no weakness.”

“Bleh, this sucks. I wonder if there are any students laying around with a Great Water spirit that don’t care about status,” Stella said, just as we passed by a lounge.

“YOUR TEAM CAME IN SECOND?!” came a roar from within. “Do you think House Frantzbelle permits such failure?”

Stella and Feena both froze in place, then peered into the lounge. Within we saw Quinza, sitting upright with a stiff expression, opposite to the hologram of a middle-aged man that was as tall as he was wide.

I inhaled sharply. “Quinza’s talking to a hologram?!”

“A holo-what?”

“A transparent person. The guy she’s talking to is see-through!”

“Oh, that,” Stella said. “He’s just using miracles to talk to someone far away. Standard long-distance communication.”

“You’re not surprised...?”

“Why would I be? That’s a fundamental Light spell. We learned it last year right after the term started.”

The man continued his enraged shouting as Stella and I talked. “Why did you fail to come in first?! You have a duke-rank spirit, yet lose to those beneath you! Know shame!”

“My apologies, father. However, those were merely the preliminaries, and—”

“That pathetic mindset of yours is why you continue to lose!” he barked, causing Quinza to shudder. “Do not fail in the first round as you did last year. Do whatever must be done to win. The honor of House Frantzbelle rests on your shoulders!”

“Of course, father. I shall win in the Miracle Games proper without fail!”

The other students were avoiding the lounge to be polite. They just passed by, looking kind of awkward.

“Wow,” I said. “She’s getting yelled at for coming second in her entire grade? That’s hard for me to understand.”

“House Frantzbelle stands at the very top of the nobility, after all... Lady Quinza’s father is strict indeed. Not only must she send weekly letters to her father describing the entirety of her studies, she is raked over the coals if she does not come in first regardless of what the subject may be.”

“Hmm,” Stella said. “I guess it isn’t all easy for big-name nobles after all.”

Quinza’s father continued his ranting even further, and feeling hesitant to keep eavesdropping, the three of us stealthily stepped away.

“Given all of that, Lady Quinza will surely prepare all she has for the Miracle Games. And we will be the ones to face her head-on at the very start... Ngh, my stomach is acting up again.”

“Jeez! Don’t get weak on me, Feena. Let’s just...go to the cafeteria. We can have a strategy meeting on how to beat Quinza as we eat.”

＊＊＊

Stella and Feena’s so-called strategy meeting concluded with a plan to get a register of the other classes to investigate which students had Great Water spirits. Classes in Antohsa had twenty students each. Four classes in a grade would mean eighty students total. Asking each one their element and rank just wouldn’t be practical.

Furthermore, there was more to the Miracle Games than just getting a teammate with a Water spirit. In the first place, we still didn’t know who had made the lightning that had secured Stella’s first place showing. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but dancing on some unknown figure’s palm was a bit disconcerting.

Is the Goddess planning something else...? If so, what? What does she stand to gain from having Stella participate in the Miracle Games? I’d like to meet her and ask, but what would be the best way of going about that at this point...?

“Otaku, what’s with the weird silence?” Stella asked while making her way back to her room. “It’s not like you to actually shut up like that.”

“Indeed. Ah! Could it be that you grew hungry watching us eat?”

I did my best to whisper amid the crowd of passing students. “Unfortunately, Feena, I don’t get hungry anymore, and I couldn’t eat even if I did.”

“In short, you do not need to diet either. How envious I find myself.”

I caught a glimpse of the Goddess statue outside the windows—a towering monument in the middle of the plaza. And in that moment, an idea flashed in my mind.

“Wait, you two! The truth is, I’ve been struggling to sleep lately,” I said. The two of them paused.

“Um, what? You’re a staff and you can’t sleep...?” Stella asked.

“This is bad!” Feena exclaimed. “I must prepare medicine.”

My insomnia wasn’t a complete lie. Ever since becoming a staff, I’d lost the entire concept of spending calories or getting tired. Sleeping wasn’t exactly my favorite thing anymore. Framing it as a problem was the deceptive part.

“Good luck getting medicine in me. The scripture had something else on this, didn’t it? Something about how those with insomnia end up sleeping well after leaning against a statue of the Goddess.”

“Did it have something on that...?” Feena murmured.

“It did,” Stella answered. “That was first-year material, you know.”

“Ehe heh...”

“I’d like to ask the Goddess to help me sleep. Could you lean me against the statue?”

The two of them believed my nonsense and went to the plaza for me.

“If I stop responding after, that means I fell asleep. No need to worry,” I said.

“A-As if I’d worry about you, Otaku,” Stella said, tilting her chin away as she so often did despite objectively worrying about me in the past.

Thinking back, every instance of me going to the divine throne was triggered by touching the Goddess statue. This will be worth trying out.

“Okay, I’m placing you down,” Stella said.

“Awesome.”

Stella leaned me against the Goddess Statue. And the moment I touched it, everything I could see—Stella’s and Feena’s concerned faces peering down at me—twisted as if caught in a vortex.

And in that moment I knew I had succeeded.

My senses vanished, and in the next moment I was somewhere else.

I was in a broad, circular space with a tall ceiling. The monitors on the wall gave it a near-futuristic feeling that didn’t even remotely match with the fantasy world. This was the divine throne I had visited countless times before.

Here, I was human, not a staff.

I checked my arms and legs, both covered by my old school uniform, and immediately stood with my fists raised to scan the room. This was where the Goddess lived—enemy territory. My relationship with the Goddess had completely broken down last time. It wouldn’t be strange if she came at me swinging.

A glance revealed nobody else here, however.

The various monitors depicted countless sights, streaming silent footage without end.

What’s going on here? Could she be avoiding me...? Nah, she’s not the type to turtle up. That means she may just not realize I’m here. Kind of rude, actually.

“HEEEY! GODDESS! Are you hooome?!” I yelled while stretching my stiff muscles. The black chains wrapped around my wrist clanked loudly. “I’M NOT HERE TO FIGHT! I’ve just got some questions!”

“I anticipated your arrival, human,” came a sudden voice. I turned.

At some point stairs had formed in the wall, and down came the Goddess, wrapped in sparkling robes.

The compassionate smile plastered on her face, her ingratiating tone, her divine regality... She was the very picture of an ideal Goddess.

However, as one who knew her actual personality, it all felt nothing but fake to me.

The Goddess, noticing my dubious look, gave an elegant tilt of her head. “Yes? Might something be on my cheek?”

“You don’t need to act coy with me at this point.”

“Act coy? Whatever do you mean?” she asked, flashing a perfect smile. I was stunned silent.

Never thought she’d try this strategy.

It was like nothing between us had ever happened. Her attitude was that of us having our first meeting. At this point, she still thought acting the part of a goodwilled Goddess was meaningful.

“In any case, what is it, pray tell, that you came to ask? You will run out of time and return to the staff before long,” she said. That was the result of the chains binding Stella and me—the result of magic. My spirit couldn’t spend too long far from Stella’s staff.

“Let me ask this directly, then. Were you the one who shot out lightning bolts in the preliminaries to make sure Stella would win?”

“Indeed. It was I.”

“Why’d you do that? What’re you plotting?”

“Plotting? What an unfair framing. That was my attempt at a humble apology.”

“Apology...?”

That was unexpected.

“Your harsh criticism left me with no choice but to reflect upon my misdeed. Certainly, I was too extreme with the Stella Millesia matter,” she continued, placing a hand over her heart with a sad expression. That was the very picture of sorrow. “As a divine being, it was my duty to watch over Stella Millesia with a more compassionate heart. It is a great regret of mine to have erred in my judgment of her.”

“Is that to say you won’t try to kill her anymore?”

“Indeed,” the Goddess said, her grin broadening. “As an apology for my misdeeds up until this point, I granted Stella Millesia an opportunity to participate in the Miracle Games. It was a relief to see her joy.”

I glared at her. She spoke with her usual lofty air, and she so far hadn’t contradicted herself. I’d like to believe her if she was stating the truth. But could I really trust this woman?

“Ah, what an intense gaze... I see that you have not yet forgiven me,” the Goddess said, her robe fluttering. She approached me with a few swift footsteps. “Allow me to state this promise. I shall henceforth provide Stella with aid. With a Goddess behind her, the rest of her life will be beyond comfortable! She will obtain all the fame and riches she may seek. And of course, dreams otherwise impossible to obtain as well.”

“I’m not asking you to get that involved,” I said, trying to step back, but the Goddess grabbed me by the wrists. She pulled my hand to her cheek.

“This is a demonstration of my affection too. Will you accept it...?”

“Ngh!”

I reflexively slapped her hand away and balled my fist to squeeze out whatever warmth still remained. My breathing grew ragged. The Goddess maintained her perfect smile even in the face of my disrespect.

An apology? Her affection? As if I’d trust anything this rotten liar says!

I backpedaled to flee, but quickly stumbled due to the chains.

“A life blessed by divinity is one of bliss! You will surely come to worship me with time. One need not be from this world to have an open door into my faith,” the Goddess said, smiling.

The world faded out as I stared back at her.

＊＊＊

“Yet the miracle-made castle walls never faltered, not even before thousands upon thousands of magibeasts. Terararia Sein! Aquaria Sein! Ignaria Sein!” Professor Elyena chanted, prompting a two-meter tall wall of brick to appear. She turned her back to it before continuing. “Today you will all be forming walls using more advanced miracles. Aha!”

The class’s excitement plummeted in an instant. There was even some light booing.

“Aaah, I do understand how you all feel,” the professor continued. “Only now as second-years are you allowed to learn advanced miracles, so you would prefer flashy combat spells over mundane defensive spells. I understand, and yet! The curriculum demands we prioritize safety. Do be patient for now.”

Today’s lesson was titled Advance Miracles 1. The professor adjusted her pointy black hat before continuing. “Now then, everyone. Can anyone identify the material composition of this wall?” she asked, tapping the wall.

A student answered. “Bricks, no...?”

“What are bricks made of, exactly?”

“Earth...?”

“Not just that, surely.”

“And water.”

“That still does not suffice. Listen well, everyone. To make bricks with miracles, you must first know the process for constructing bricks. First, you add water to earth to make a sticky clay, then you cook it at a high heat to form bricks. Thus, the order of your miracles must start with Earth, follow with Water, and conclude with Fire.”

Sensing that Professor Elyena was now in lecture-mode, the students took out their notebooks. I watched Stella write from over her shoulder.

“The ideal earth, the ideal water, the ideal temperature... One must have exact mental images of each to form proper bricks. Advanced miracles allow one to make creations of greater complexity and power. Unlike miracles of a single element, one cannot simply imagine fire or water of a greater size.”

Balance is important, then.

Since I was involved in making miracles happen, I needed to listen to the lesson as much as anyone.

And that was when Quinza lifted a hand.

“Professor, why must we learn to make brick walls? I would rather spend this time learning to make iron walls.”

“Iron walls? Why, what is special about those?”

“Iron is stronger than bricks, and I know a classmate skilled in making them. If she can make iron walls, I should be able to as well.”

Quinza glared at Feena out of the side of her eyes. She wanted to steal Feena’s special move—it was written all over her face.

Meanwhile, it was all Feena could do to stare down and cower.

Professor Elyena placed a hand on her chin. “Hm. I believe it would take you...ten years to learn to make iron walls, Quinza.”

“T-Ten years?!” Quinza balked. “Are you saying I am that less skilled than my classmate?!”

“No no, not at all. I speak only of iron walls. What do you imagine when you hear the word iron, Quinza?”

“Um...?”

“List examples of iron objects you feel familiar with.”

Quinza scanned the area, uncertain. “Iron... Iron... Metal... Ah! This brooch, perhaps?!”

“That is silver. Now, Feena. I direct the same question to you. Please list objects made of iron.”

“Spades, hoes, and hatchets, I suppose?” Feena answered, instantly. An air of derision instantly arose.

“Hoes? Are those not farming tools used by commoners?”

“I suppose I should expect nothing less from a country bumpkin.”

Feena shrunk further as her classmates giggled at her. And yet...

“Correct. And that is why Quinza will find it difficult to form iron walls. Terararia Sein,” Professor Elyena chanted with a wave of her staff. Piles of sand and scrap iron formed on the ground.

“Earth and iron are both of the same element. They can be formed with a simple chant of Terararia Sein. Yet, one with no understanding of iron can’t visualize it, which means in turns they can’t make it with miracles. Feena can make iron walls because, unlike all of you, she can make concrete visualizations of iron. How wonderful.”

Feena looked up, her expression relieved.

Put in other words, that means one can make iron if they can visualize it. Seems like I’ll be able to make more stuff if I can visualize it properly. I’ll have to test that out with Stella later.

“We have brick walls in our curriculum because the ingredients are all simple to visualize. If this is just too simple for all of you, well... I suppose I can instead grade you on your ability to create metal walls.”

The students quickly shook their heads.

“Then today’s lesson shall remain brick walls. The first person to make a wall from one end of the garden to the other will achieve the highest marks. Aaand... Start! Aha!”

The class scattered at once and began chanting. There was only one chant that differed from everyone else’s.

“The crashing wave froze in time and became a towering wall of ice. Aquaria Sein.”

It was Henrietta.

She pointed her staff away, and a thick wall of ice cracked into existence. It grew in the blink of an eye and soon reached the other end of the garden.

Jeez Louise, is this the south pole?

The ice wall, having split the garden in two, radiated chilly air that dropped the temperature of the garden around it. The other students began shivering from the cold.

Henrietta went to Professor Elyena and reported her success in a dry voice. “I made a wall.”

Professor Elyena knit her brow. “Henrietta... I instructed you to make a wall of bricks, did I not?”

“My ice is sturdier than bricks.”

“Thay may be so, but we are practicing fundamentals here.”

“There’s no point in going out of my way to make a worse wall.”

Professor Elyena sighed. That was hard to argue against.

“Can I leave?”

“I will commend you for being the first to complete a wall, but I must subtract points for not doing so with bricks. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes.”

With the other students watching on in fear and awe, Henrietta turned on her heels. She still wore an ice flower in her hair.

She’s so cool...

I could help but bask in her unwavering strength of character.

Once Henrietta was gone, everyone refocused and began chanting. Nobody had taken the highest marks for themselves yet.

Stella similarly gripped her staff and chanted.

“Yet the miracle-made castle walls never faltered, not even before thousands upon thousands of magibeasts. Terararia Sein! Aquaria Sein! Ignaria Sein!”

Ummm, if I follow what the professor said, I need to mix water with earth then heat it up. O Spirits of Earth, Water, and Fire! Make a brick wall!

With a thump, a wall appeared in the garden, but it wasn’t nearly long enough. Running the distance from here to both ends of the garden felt impossible.

Stella brought me to her mouth and whispered. “Explain yourself, Otaku. The wall’s way too short.”

“Eh. No idea. Maybe I didn’t imagine a big enough wall...?”

“Eek! It’s crumbling down...!” came Feena’s cry from the side. Her wall had been longer, but instead of forming bricks, the material was essentially just dirt that immediately crumbled. “Nooo... Advanced miracles are tough.”

“Seems like you didn’t have enough Water or Fire,” Stella commented.

“How troubling. My only specialty is Earth,” Feena said, her shoulders slumping.

“That’s where you may wish to perform a combination chant,” Professor Elyena said from behind.

“A combination chant...?”

“That is the process by which multiple people split the chants of an advanced miracle among themselves,” the professor continued, dragging her robes against the ground as she approached. “In this case, your wall had an excellent balance of all three elements, but the visualization was lacking in quantity.”

So that was the problem after all...

“In contrast, Feena finds herself able only to produce Earth.”

“Ngh...”

“Consider what will happen if you combine your efforts. If you focus on Water and Fire, Stella, while you focus on Earth, Feena, then the wall will naturally grow in size. And that is the nature of a combination chant,” the professor concluded, then looked between the two of them for a moment. “Your group was chosen to participate in the Miracle Games, I hear?”

“Ah! Yes!” Stella said, straightening her back, but Professor Elyena’s expression seemed a bit dark.

“You’ll want to learn combination chants if you are to participate in the Miracle Games. One can easily improve the strength of their miracles simply by working together. And I would have expected the preliminaries to have distinguished the teams with a mastery of this concept too...”

“Ah...!” Stella exclaimed. “Is that how Quinza made that big fire tornado...?!”

“Fire tornado, hm? That would take Fire and Wind at the very least. You would likely want to add Water or Earth to expand the tornado further too.”

I see. Stella’s miracle ended up being a bonfire since she only prayed with Fire.

Suddenly it made sense why I hadn’t been able to form a tornado back at the preliminaries.

It was then I heard cries of surprise. Glancing over, we saw that Quinza’s group was working together; they had apparently performed a combination prayer and formed a brick wall covering half of the garden.

“What?! Their wall is that big already...?!”

“You mustn’t feel rushed,” Professor Elyena chastised. “It’s only recently you learned to use miracles at all—you are still young. Take care not to grow so lustful for power that you lose sight of yourself. Is that understood?”

“Yes...” Stella answered, but she kept glancing Quinza’s way. Her anxiousness was clear to see.

And that was when the ground suddenly shook.

“Eek!” Feena yelped.

“Wh-What’s going on?!” Stella cried.

An earthquake...?!

I looked around, and suddenly noticed something strange about the Goddess statue. Its mouth was moving beneath its pallid stone eyes.

The hell...?!

I shuddered; it was something straight from a horror movie.

The shaking soon stopped, but was swiftly replaced by a high-pitched scream from Quinza.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WALL?!”

Her brick wall had been just about to bisect the garden, but had now vanished without a trace.

Professor Elyena walked over. “This...appears to be a fissure,” she said. The ground had cracked and split clean apart, swallowing Quinza’s wall in the process. “Hmm. How strange. How could this have happened? The garden has never had sudden fissures before... What might you be plotting?”

Professor Elyena glanced at the Goddess statue and narrowed her eyes.

Quinza raced her way to the professor. “Professor! We had almost finished building the wall from end to end! You saw, no?! Do we still earn the highest marks?!”

“Ah, well...” Professor Elyena pulled her hat down. “Unfortunately, with no wall present, I can’t give any grade one way or the other. I’m afraid you’ll have to start again. Aha!”

Quinza gritted her teeth and spun around, instantly directing her lackeys and starting a new wall.

Stella pumped her fist. “This is our chance! We might just have time to win with Quinza’s group starting over. Feena, let’s do a combination chant!”

“Right!”

Stella and Feena began their chant.

My visualization was necessary for the miracle to activate. I tried to focus, but just couldn’t get the fissure out of my mind.

＊＊＊

“Whew!” Stella exhaled. “Getting top marks in class sure feels great.”

“Indeed,” Feena replied. “Even our combination chant was a success.”

The two of them were on their way back to the dormitory after class. They were beaming, having both achieved top marks.

I, however, felt conflicted.

Three entire fissures had erupted during class. Each time Quinza’s group had been on the verge of finishing their wall, the ground had torn open and swallowed all of their hard work. It was downright abnormal.

C’mon, Goddess, you’re being too obvious...

A little while ago, the Goddess had declared that Stella’s life would be free of strife under her protection. Sure, with the literal ruler of the world antagonizing all of Stella’s rivals, she was guaranteed to end up on the top of her class and get into the Opti Baculus.

Yet it felt wrong to me. I had a sneaking suspicion that relying on a clear villain like the Goddess would just end up backfiring massively in the future.

“By the way, Feena. Did you get the class registers?” Stella asked.

They were still at the stage of investigating their classmates to find a Water specialist to recruit.

“I have. However, Julia is the only one with a Great Water Spirit... There are several knights, if those would do, but—”

“Not gonna happen. You saw Quinza’s flames in the preliminary, right? A knight-rank Spirit would just be water on a hot stove,” Stella said, plopping onto her bed. She had a distant look in her eyes. “And there’s only so much I can do by starting to study Water miracles now. It’s not like more lightning will conveniently fall from the sky. We need a Great Water Spirit to beat Quinza...”

Quinza’s miracles had left a big impression on Stella, it would seem. She had at some point lost her confidence.

It was during this painful silence that I spoke up. “There’s one more person with a Great Water Spirit I can think of,” I said. They looked my way. “Henrietta.”

Stella turned her eyes back to the ceiling, while Feena’s expression stiffened.

“I know she’s hard to deal with, but we’ve all seen how strong she is. I mean, even today, she busted out that wall in no time flat. She’d be able to handle Quinza.”

“So you say, but she has refused us already.”

“That was before we won the preliminaries. She said we’d just hold her back, right? Her attitude might change once she hears we made it through the test.”

“I do not know about adding someone so dangerous to the team,” Feena insisted.

“I’m against it too,” Stella said, sitting up. “We just had a fight with Henrietta, didn’t we? No matter how skilled she may be, we can’t be a team if we don’t like each other. Plus...”

Stella paused and fidgeted with her fingers.

“I-I said a lot of mean things to her—like that I wouldn’t talk to her ever. How could I just go and try inviting her again?!”

There we go! The classic pattern of a tsundere being bitchy then regretting it!

Stella actually did want to invite Henrietta, but given all the insults she’d thrown out, she felt too embarrassed and proud to try again. And if it were just her, she’d probably be stuck like this forever. The tournament would start without her ever working up the courage to talk to Henrietta.

But here she had me, a tsundere fan. I knew all the peculiarities of tsunderes like the back of my hand, so I could use this knowledge to push her forward. Behold!

“Stella, I want to win these Miracle Games.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said an otaku’s dream is their idol’s dream, right? At this point, winning the Miracle Games isn’t just your dream—it’s my dream too.”

“Y-You did say something like that...” Stella said, blushing and looking away.

“And that’s why, in order to make my dream come true, I’m going to invite Henrietta to our team!”

Stella blinked. “Um, what? You mean directly?”

“Yep.”

“H-Hey! You can’t do that. Like, obviously?! Who knows what will happen if she figures out you’re some weird special case?”

“I understand the risks. Sometimes, a guy’s just gotta do what he’s gotta do!”

“You of all people, trying to act cool? Denied. I won’t let you. How do you even expect to talk to Henrietta when you need me to carry you to her?”

“What about my dream, then? Do you not care about my dream, Stella?”

“Ngh... Th-That’s right. Your dreams are nothing to me, totally...”

“Aaah, whatever will I do without Stella’s help? This could all be resolved if only someone else would invite her in my stead! Oh, tragedy! Oh, horrors!”

“Ngggh...!”

Stella’s eyes began to spin. Given her personality, she’d never overlook someone in trouble. It was just a matter of time.

And finally, she relented.

“Fine.” Stella got out of bed and pulled me out of the staff holder. “If you’re that insistent about it, I’ll invite Henrietta in your place. B-But not because I want to, okay? This is AAALL because of your dream. Be grateful!”

“LONG LIVE TSUNDERES! LONG LIVE TSUNDERES!”

“Shut up!”

And so, the three of us ended up in front of Henrietta’s room.

“This is the place, right...?”

This was supposedly a dorm room like any other, but Henrietta’s door was frozen for some reason. Icicles hung from the door knob.

Feena peered at the door, curiously. “Goodness. It would seem as if Henrietta decorates even her door with ice.”

“You think this is decorative?! Surely not.”

“I feel more like Henrietta is telling any visitors to buzz off,” I said. “That’s pretty like her.”

Though it did feel a bit overboard.

“Sigh. We may not be invited, but we have a mission to complete. HENRIETTA! Open up! We need to talk!” Stella yelled, knocking on the door.

She was only answered with silence.

“She’s not coming out,” Feena observed after a while. “Perhaps she is asleep?”

“This ice is coming from a miracle. Nobody can maintain miracles while asleep. Which means she’s ignoring us!” Stella picked me up. “Otaku, we’re forcing our way in. Make a fireball—only one, so we don’t burn up the hallway. Ignaria Sein!”

“Got it.”

A baseball-sized fireball appeared at my tip. Stella brought it close to the door.

“If we melt the ice, the door will op— ACK!”

The door suddenly opened, shocking Stella.

“You two again,” Henrietta said. The ice on the door had vanished, and now she stood in the doorway, looking down at them with cold eyes. “Didn’t you say you’d never talk to me again?”

Stella faltered, and in that pause Henrietta moved to shut the door.

“Wait!” Stella shouted and stuck out her foot to stop the door from getting closed. “I-I have an offer that you won’t be able to refuse!”

“I refuse.”

“But I haven’t said anything yet!”

“Hearing you out would be a waste of time.”

“Oh yeah?! Well, listen and be amazed! My group passed the preliminaries and is going to the Miracle Games!”

With a hmph Stella lifted her chin in pride. If Henrietta changed her attitude here, we’d have won.

But instead, she maintained her expressionless countenance and gave Stella a blank look. “Thus my heart froze over for all of eternity. Aquaria Sein.”

A sword of ice appeared in her hand. Stella didn’t even have a chance to say anything. Henrietta, with nimble speed and grace, slashed me from below.

Gah! My hips!

Her blade hit me right where my hips would be. I wanted to flail in pain, but there was little I could do as a staff. I spun in the air, ripped from Stella’s grip, and was caught by a faintly chilly hand.

Eh?

“I’m taking this staff. Now you can’t melt the door.”

Henrietta’s blank face was super close. She had me in her hands.

Stella’s expression hardened. “As if—”

The door shut before she could finish. Henrietta chanted a quick miracle, and the door was frozen over.

“Hey! Give that back! You thief! Don’t you know what happens to staff thieves?!” Stella roared, pounding on the door from the other side.

Henrietta responded through the door. “I’ll deliver it to a professor tomorrow and say I found it on the ground. You don’t need to use miracles at night, so there won’t be any problems.”

“There’s a problem if I say there is! Give me back that staff, NOW!”

Henrietta didn’t care to deal with Stella any longer, it would seem. She left the door and headed to her room.

It hadn’t been my plan to get in her room, but since I was here, I looked around to the best of my ability. Something became clear rather quickly.

Right... Henrietta doesn’t have any roommates either.

The four-person room was barren, and it gave off a kind of lonely feeling. She was likely here alone due to her so-called cursed bloodline. I had seen for myself how all the students avoided her like the plague.

Suddenly, I noticed a small picture frame on the wall.

Is that a family portrait...?

There was an intimidating-looking middle-aged man with a beard in the center, and a frail, fairylike woman next to him. In the middle was Henrietta, looking about five years younger than she did now. She was surrounded by girls and boys much younger than her, most likely siblings.

Amid continued shouts of protests from Stella, Henrietta put me into a staff holder and picked up a glass. She muttered, “Aquaria Sein.”

Within the glass appeared not water, but a solid clump of ice.

I couldn’t help but comment. “How’re you gonna drink that?”

Henrietta looked up with a start. Her eyes scanned the room. There was no one there but her.

“Who?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Who? That was a good question. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Stella didn’t want me to reveal my identity. Given that Henrietta hadn’t decided to join us yet, it was probably best that I didn’t reveal I was the staff.

As I hesitated to answer, Henrietta continued. “What does a master miraclist have to do with me?”

It was a common pattern at this point for my identity to be mistaken, but that was a surprise.

“A master miraclist...?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’ve never seen an invisibility miracle this refined. I can’t see even a trace of you. You can’t be anything but a master.”

Apparently she was convinced I was someone using miracles to go invisible. Given that staves normally didn’t talk, that probably made sense.

Henrietta was calm as she answered, though. That was new.

“You’re not going to run, shout, or try to hit me with miracles?” I asked.

“Why would I do that?”

“That’s what anyone would do after they found someone in their room. Not to mention, I’m a guy. Antohsa is a girls-only academy.”

“You could have killed me where I stand if you wanted to. Resisting would be pointless.”

“Holy cow, why so extreme?!”

“There are many extremist factions stating all those of a cursed bloodline should be killed. My home has been set on fire three times,” Henrietta said dryly.

I faltered, having seen a glimpse into the tortuous life she had lived. “Still, that doesn’t mean anyone infiltrating your room wants to kill you. You may as well resist. Not that I should be the one saying that.”

“If you aren’t here to kill me, why are you?”

“There could be lots of reasons for that. Maybe I’m here to watch you get changed!”

Henrietta was silent. Not a single muscle on her face moved.

Stella’s roars of anger continued echoing from beyond the door. She hadn’t given up on getting me back yet.

“Why would you watch me get changed?” Henrietta finally asked after a long period of silence.

“Why would I... Seriously?! Do you not understand your own worth?! It’s common sense that cool beauties have a guard harder than orichalcum. No common man could ever surpass that guard, but beyond it rests the sight of said cool beauty getting changed. None would contest what is a work of resplendent, beautiful art. Know that the moment of your changing would make one cry out for time itself to stop, so that the moment may last for an eternity!”

I ended up ranting in the usual fast-toned speech of an otaku.

Henrietta remained seated, silent, and expressionless. She gave no reaction. Had I completely disgusted her?

Just as I was starting to feel uncomfortable, she let out a quiet noise.

“Nm—”

“HYAAAAAAAAAH!”

A roar was followed by the sound of cracking wood. The door to the room had been smashed in. Beyond it stood Stella, wielding a comically large iron mallet, and Feena, cowering behind her.

Stella marched into the room, shoulders heaving, and grabbed me. “This is my staff. I’m not giving it to anyone!”

＊＊＊

Naturally, Antohsa was not a place where you could go and destroy dormitory doors without punishment.

Stella pulled open the doors to the empty bath. Feena let out a noise of surprise from behind her.

“It’s a bit intriguing to see the bath empty of guests,” she said.

“I know, right? If we were just here to bathe, this would be perfect.”

Stella, Feena, and Henrietta had been told to clean the large bath as punishment for their various crimes. Stella had destroyed a door, Feena had made the mallet used to destroy said door, and Henrietta had stolen someone else’s staff.

This was my first time seeing the inside of the bath. There was a sizable tub farther inside with showers lined up on the sides. It was not unlike a public bathhouse.

“We can simply take a bath in secret... Wait! There’s no hot water!” Feena exclaimed, disappointment clear in her voice.

Stella shrugged. “Obviously. Now, let’s get to cleaning.”

Stella grabbed a deck brush, and Feena followed after. Henrietta had already started cleaning, having spared no time for idle talk.

For a time, there was only the sound of the three of them scrubbing the floor.

Stella seemed peeved by her punishment, but this was nothing if not a reward for me. After all, the three of them were wearing camisoles and drawers that would be safe to get wet. This was a valuable chance to gaze upon three lightly clothed beauties.

Stella had a generally lithe frame, but her arms and thighs still had a healthy amount of meat. Her skin was so pale the droplets of water made her skin almost translucent, which was a dazzling sight.

With Feena, it was hard not to have your eyes drawn to her chest. Her camisole was explosively stretched out, and each sweep of her brush came with divine swaying. It was quite the sight.

I had always thought Henrietta had a good figure, but her legs were truly long like a model’s. They were legs to die for. Such a waste that they were normally hidden behind long robes.

“Stellaaa, shall we start the water now?” Feena called.

“Okay! I’m all good.”

Feena turned a valve on the wall. A hose extended beneath it from which water came out.

“Oh? No water is coming out. I wonder why.”

“Feena, you’re stepping on the hose!”

“What? EEEEK!”

“Bwaaah!”

The moment Feena lifted her foot, a massive amount of water blasted out of the pent-up hose.

“STOP THE WATEEER!”

“Right!”

Feena hurriedly turned the valve, stopping the water, but they were both already soaked. Their camisoles were now thoroughly transparent, revealing their underwear.

Stella wrung her sleeves to dry them out. “Bleh, this sucks... I’m soaked.”

“M-My apologies, I did not notice the hose beneath my feet...” Feena said. She timidly glanced at Henrietta, who was working ceaselessly despite the chaos. “Um, how about yourself, Henrietta?”

“I got wet.”

“Eek! M-My apologies! I regret my misdeeds, do not stab me!”

Feena bowed her head down. Henrietta didn’t even glance at her. She just kept cleaning.

“How should I take this?” Feena whispered. “She doesn’t seem to be angry.”

“How am I supposed to know?” Stella replied, staring daggers at Henrietta. “Henrietta! You specialize in Water, right? Shouldn’t you make it up to us for dragging us into this by creating some water?”

“In what way did I drag you into this?”

“We’re only here to begin with because you stole my staff.”

“The initial fault lies with you for trying to open someone else’s door without permission.”

“I didn’t try to open it without permission! I knocked, and you ignored me!”

“It’s only natural to ignore annoying flies.”

“Flies?! Did you just call me a fly?!”

“You’re even worse than a fly considering you broke my door.”

“Grrr! I should wash your mouth with this soap!”

“Eeep, eeep! Stella, don’t disturb Henrietta any further...! Henrietta, we apologize! Don’t stab us!”

Feena got between the two of them, bobbing her head in apology. Stella was pissed, however, and continued growling and glaring at Henrietta.

Henrietta sighed and muttered to herself. “Had you two not interfered, I would have been able to speak to that miraclist for longer.”

Oho? Apparently I had earned Henrietta’s attention in that brief exchange.

“Either way,” Stella said, annoyance palpable. “We all want to finish this as soon as possible. Just blast out some water and clean the floors.”

“Aquaria Sein,” Henrietta chanted. In an instant, the floor beneath Stella and Feena froze.

“So cold! Who told you to freeze it?!”

“C-Could it be that we have angered you?! I’m sorry! Don’t stab us!”

Henrietta continued looking at the two of them blankly. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“I’ve cleaned a third of the bath,” she said, finally. “I’m leaving.”

“Excuse me?! Hold it right there. Don’t think I’m about to let you leave ahead of u— EEEEK!”

Stella moved to grab Henrietta, but slipped the second she took a single step. She slid on the ice and fell right on her butt.

“Owww...” she groaned.

Henrietta turned. “Don’t come near me ever again.”

“Hah! Don’t need to tell me twice! Why would I ever—”

“Stella!” I whispered, urgently. That reminded her what her actual purpose here was.

“Oh, right! Hey, you! Come to the Miracle Ga—”

Henrietta disappeared with the clattering sound of a shutting door.

Silence fell upon the bath. Stella, still on her butt, grabbed her silver hair. “GAAAAH! I can’t do it! Inviting her just isn’t happening. She’s a jerk who doesn’t listen to what people have to say.”

“It’s less that she’s a jerk and more that she’s just...frigid,” I said, inviting myself to the conversation. “She’s quiet and barely shows any emotion. She prefers to be alone. When she does speak, it’s to speak harsh words one after another. She’s a trademark cool beauty.”

I had started to question whether inviting her to the Miracle Games was actually the way to go. Cool beauties and tsunderes... Both were terrible at communicating and a horrible match for one another. No matter how great of a Water Spirit Henrietta had, there was no point if she wouldn’t cooperate with Stella.

“Hhhhmmmmmmmmm?” Stella intoned, sounding incredibly displeased. A look revealed her mouth bent into a sharp frown, and her eyes narrowed into a cold glare. “I see you like more types than just ‘tsunderes,’ huh?”

“My knowledge of cool beauties is a trifling compared to my encyclopedic knowledge of tsunderes. At the end of the day, I’m a tsundere fan. I would never love a type more than tsunderes!”

“Wha?! Don’t just say that out of nowhere...! I hate YOUR type, Otaku!” Stella turned her chin away.

“Wooow! Stella’s cheeks are bright red!” Feena commented.

“Don’t tell him that! What’s the point of me looking away then?!”

“Don’t worry, Feena. I can see through Stella’s embarrassment on my own.”

“Hey! Don’t talk like that!”

“That’s Master Otaku for you. You understand Stella so well.”

“More importantly,” I said. “Shouldn’t you two get changed? You’ll catch a cold if you stay in those soaked clothes.”

Stella looked down at her camisole with a start and only then realized it had gone transparent. Her lithe frame trembled with steam blowing out of her ears, until finally...

“JUST HOW LONG WERE YOU GOING TO STARE, YOU PERVEEERT!”

Stella threw me right out of the bath’s window.

After soaring through the sky, I landed with a thump in some grass. The fact it wasn’t hard rock meant I got to stay conscious.

I could hear Stella and Feena’s loud chattering through the window. This was a good opportunity to cross my metaphorical hands on my metaphorical heart.

Man... Now that was a great bath scene...

The chilly night air stroked my body. Relaxing here until Stella came to pick me up seemed like a fine idea. And it just so happened to be the only thing I could do. Strange how the piece of paper being blown about by the wind so consistently chooses to go in the direction the wind is blowing.

My thinking was interrupted by someone stepping on grass.

Who could that be?

I was, naturally, behind the bath. Who would be coming here at this late hour?

If it were some rogue planning something ill-advised, I’d blast them with my divine power. A figure approached, and as I prepared myself, they gave a quiet chant.

“O Spirits of Light, fulfill your oath to the Goddess. Luxsaria Sein.”

I relaxed. The mysterious figure was, in fact, just Henrietta.

I watched on, wondering what she was doing, until a translucent-yet-glowing boy appeared in front of her. I had seen this before; it was that long-distance miracle.

“Finally! I thought it’d never work. Where have you been, sister?” the boy asked in, indeed, a boyish voice.

That’s one of Henrietta’s little brothers, from the painting... As far as I can tell, he’s not as chilly as she is.

“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?” Henrietta asked.

Huh?

“Not for that long, but... Is it just me, or is your hair wet?”

“There was...a bit of trouble on the way here.”

“Trouble?!” the boy leaned forward. “Sister, don’t tell me the other students are bullying you again!”

“No. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“What happens if you get held back another year...?”

“I won’t make the same mistake twice. I can get through this.”

I finally noticed what was throwing me off. Henrietta was talking more like a normal person with emotion in her tone. She was still on the curt side, but I could tell she cared about her brother.

So she doesn’t keep up her chilly mask with family members, then... Makes sense. Nobody can be so cool all the time.

“More importantly, how is mom?”

“Mom is...fine. I’m looking after her.”

“That’s an easy lie to spot. How much medicine is left?”

“Her fits have gotten worse lately. So, um...”

“You’re out?”

“Uh-huh,” the boy said after a pause, hanging his head.

“Okay,” Henrietta said. “I’ll make money for more this weekend.”

“Y-You can’t! You’re busy in school right now, aren’t you? You need to study a lot so you can be an incredible saint—”

“I’ll just be spending a day working at the Palha Market. I have time for that.”

Palha Market...

As I was mulling that new name over, the little brother scrunched his face up tearfully. “I’m sorry, sister...”

“You don’t need to apologize. The fact you’re looking after mom lets me have the breathing space I need.”

“Okay... Thanks, then. I’ll work hard so I can be more like you one day.”

“More like me?”

“Your miracles are the coolest. They’re my inspiration.”

“Nm...”

Henrietta averted her eyes. And at that moment, I saw it...

Whoa! Henrietta is...embarrassed?!

It was no trick in the darkness. The light of the miracle illuminated her face, and her cheeks were certainly red. She even wore something approaching a smile.

While I watched on in a daze, Henrietta suddenly turned her head. “People are coming. See you next week.”

“Right. See you, sister.”

The conversation ended, and the hologram disappeared. Henrietta briskly walked away.

And as if to take her place, Stella and Feena appeared.

“Jeez, where is he? I’m pretty sure he fell over here.”

“Master Otakuuu! Where are yooou?”

“Over here!”

The hunting duo noticed my voice and came walking over.

“There you are, Ota—”

“Stella, I realize I’ve made a massive error,” I said as she picked me up.

“Heh?”

“Henrietta isn’t just a cool beauty. She’s a kuudere! I knew it for certain the moment I saw her shy face. Tsundere and kuudere! A prickly tsundere and a cool beauty had no chance of ever joining together, but a tsundere and kuudere both have ‘dere’ right in their names!”

“What do those words even mean? Are we speaking the same language?”

“Let’s go to the Palha Market this weekend,” I suggested out of nowhere. Stella and Feena exchanged looks.

“Why the Palha Market?” Stella asked.

“That is a famous food market visited even by tourists, no? Wine produced by my family is sold there. But as I recall, Master Otaku, you are incapable of eating—”

Despite their dubious gazes, I was still enthusiastic. “Now now! Let’s go to the Palha Market and make friends with Henrietta!”

＊＊＊

The weekend met us with dazzling light and a radiant sun.

We had crossed several mountains between here and Antohsa, but finally we arrived at the Palha Market.

“There’re so many stands...!” Stella exclaimed, awed by the sight.

A main street ran right through the center of the market. Stands were lined up on either side of it. They offered fresh fruit and vegetables, prepared meats like ham, spices, and even alcohol. There were enough stands it seemed impossible to get bored. Shouts and calls in the crowd of guests echoed throughout, and I could even hear hawkers negotiating with customers.

With this much loudness I could talk without worry. “What a massive market. Tons of people here,” I wisely observed.

“Indeed. This is close to the capital, so travelers gather here naturally... Ah! There is freshly squeezed juice! It is such a treat,” Feena said, rushing over with sparkling eyes.

The stand runner there was squeezing fruit right into cups. The mountain of citrus nearby was a feast for the nose.

Feena took a juice-filled cup from the owner and chugged it down all at once.

“Fwaah! No matter how many times I try it, it’s just so good!”

“Sh-Sheesh, now you’re making me thirsty,” Stella said.

“By all means, have a cup yourself!”

At Feena’s recommendation, Stella bought a cup for herself.

She took one sip and her eyes opened wide. Her pale white throat gurgled, then she began chugging the juice down in a trance. Apparently she liked it.

“Seems pretty good... How’s it taste?”

“I suppose I don’t know what to say except that it is sweet. There is some bitterness, but even that adds to its refreshing flavor.”

“Sounds like grapefruit from where I’m from.”

Stella suddenly paused, then cast her eyes down. “I wish you could have a cup with us.”

“Same. Then we could all get together and chat about what we like.”

“I-It’s not like I want to hear your thoughts or anything. I’m just thinking that if you could eat and drink, it’d be easier to get rid of my leftovers!”

“I’ve never seen you leave leftovers, y’know.”

“Shut up!”

“Missies,” came a call from the neighboring stand. “Wanna try yer luck at my stand?”

It wasn’t clear what he was selling, but his manner of dress implied his stand was a successful one.

“Try our luck?” Stella asked.

“Pull a lot, and if you get a winner, the finest quality cherries will be yers to have! We’re talkin’ the kind of cherries that you’d find served in the royal palace! They’ve been grown using special Light miracles, so they’re sweet like you wouldn’t believe,” the older man said, showing a box full of cherries. Each one gleamed and looked like a sizable ruby.

“Wow...!” Stella exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. The man grinned as she leaned forward.

“Each lot is a mere copper! This is your chance to taste cherries like you’ve never had before. Yer losin’ money by not trying!”

Stella and Feena had just paid five coppers for their juice. The lots were certainly cheap, then.

“Wait, Stella!” Feena whispered, tugging Stella’s sleeves. “You shouldn’t. Stands like that are all scams.”

“Scams?”

“They end up getting your money for nothing, basically. There likely is no winner among those lots. He is trying to bait us with cherries he has no intention to sell.”

Stella turned sharp eyes to the older guy. “There wouldn’t happen to be no winners among those lots, would there?”

“I swear on the Goddess I’d never do such a thing!” the man said, pointing to a tapestry hung on one of his stand’s pillars. The tapestry had the Goddess’s smile painted on it.

“Then it’s decided. I’m gambling!”

“Here ya go!”

“WHAAA?!” Feena cried. “Stella, please, there’s still time. You shouldn’t—”

“I mean, look at those cherries! Normal ones are tiny, sour, and bruised. How could I not want to eat proper cherries at least once in my life?”

I had noticed this a while ago, but Stella really was a sucker for tasty things. She probably hadn’t gotten any decent food back at the orphanage. I could hardly begrudge her wish to feast now.

Stella paid the man as Feena slumped her shoulders in despair.

“Don’t worry, Feena. He just said that the box has winners, so...” Stella stuck her hand in the lot box, then pulled one out. It had red paper wrapped on the other end. Blood instantly drained from the man’s face.

“Wh-What the... Why is that paper there?!”

“Mister, is this a winner? Or is it a loser?”

“Umm... I-It’s a winner...”

“HOORAY!” Stella exclaimed, jumping up. “That means those cherries are mine!”

“D-Don’t get ahead of yourself! Here’s what you get,” the man said, taking one cherry from the box and handing it over.

“Wha? Just one...?”

“Obviously! These cherries are rare an’ expensive. Normally each would go for a whole gold. You get one cherry per win.”

“Hmph, I feel like I’ve been tricked...” Stella grumbled.

“If ya want more, pull the lots. Win again and you’ll get a cherry. Just gotta win.”

“You’re on.”

Before Feena could say anything, Stella paid another copper and pulled another lot. Aaand...it had a piece of red paper.

“All right! Another cherry!” Stella exclaimed, making a victory pose.

The older man, on the other hand, was visibly twitching. “That can’t be... Lemme see the box.”

The man turned his back to us to put the box out of view and started checking something.

“Misteeer, does it have any more winners?”

“Ah, yep, it sure does!” the man said, finishing his checks and turning back around. He was smiling again. “Sounds like you wanna keep going, huh?”

“Obviously.”

Stella paid and pulled a lot. It had red paper again.

“Easy win! Cherries, cherries!”

“N-No way... I just checked the box! What’s going on?!”

The man finally grabbed his head in exasperation.

I glanced at the Goddess tapestry. It must have been in my head, but her smile seemed broader than before.

Drawing winners in a scam stand that shouldn’t have any... Guess that’s what life is like for those blessed by divinity.

Stella, overjoyed, kept pulling lots. Each one was a winner and sent the man nearly collapsing in shock.

Feena watched on contemplatively. “This must not have been a scam stand without winners, then. I apologize, mister. I was brash and rude.”

“D-Don’t mention it...”

“Stella, you can use my money as well. Let’s eat these high-grade cherries together!”

“Sounds good. Gimme that box!”

“GAAH! Please, spare me already!”

“Mmmm! That’s high-grade cherries for you. It’s like all the others I’ve ever eaten weren’t cherries at all...”

“I have never tasted anything so sweet. Now I understand why each one would cost a gold.”

The two of them walked down main street while munching on their sparkling cherries. In the end, Stella had wrung out every last one from the would-be scammer; now she beamed with her cheeks full of fruit.

A tsundere girl expressing true joy... What a blessed sight. I can only pray I can gaze upon her visage forever.

“Perhaps a life blessed by the divine isn’t so bad after all...” I mused.

“What? Blessed by the divine...?” Stella repeated.

“That is correct, Master Otaku. Stella’s luck in the draw was surely the will of the Goddess!”

“Maybe... Guess I should give my thanks, then,” Stella said, clasping her hands in prayer. That was conflicting to see.

“Oh, that reminds me, I have a special technique. Behold,” Feena proclaimed, then popped a cherry in her mouth. She rolled it about, then stuck out her tongue, revealing the stem of the cherry tied into a knot. “Tada. I can tie their stems in a knot inside my mouth.”

“What the heck?!” Stella exclaimed. “I’m gonna try that.”

Stella stuck a stemmed cherry into her mouth.

“Nmm... Nmm!”

She must’ve been pretty focused; her eyes were shut and she puckered her lips. It was like she was waiting for a kiss. My heart started pounding.

“N-No way... It’s impossible! How is anyone supposed to do this?!” Stella said, finally giving up. She spat out the stem. Finally I could breath easily.

“Ehe heh, you just have to do this with your tongue,” Feena said.

“I can’t see inside your mouth! How do you expect me to understand that?!”

“Awww, I mean like this! Like this!”

“You didn’t change anything! You’re not explaining anything!”

Stella and Feena were having a lively conversation. I would have liked to keep listening forever, but at this rate we were never going to accomplish what we came here to do in the first place.

“You two, mind if I explain something while you eat?” The girls looked at me, cherries in their mouths. “Our mission today is to find Henrietta in the market and help her with her work. That will lead right into her accepting our invitation.”

“Seriously? You still haven’t given up on inviting Henrietta? We’ve tried everything and nothing has worked.”

“That’s right, Master Otaku. If you get too involved with Henrietta, she may grow furious enough to stab you.”

“Nope; Henrietta is a kuudere. She’s a lovey-dovey type only wearing the mask of a cool beauty! We still haven’t cracked her icy shell to reach her true self yet!”

Stella placed a finger on her temple. “I don’t really want to ask this, like at all, but what exactly is a kuudere?”

“A kuudere is defined thusly! One that barely expresses emotion, coming off cold due to rarely speaking or making any expression at all, but under certain circumstances or when spending time with a specific person, they suddenly get lovey-dovey! The gap between their cold exterior and lovey-dovey interior is the key to their charm!”

“I shouldn’t have tried asking.”

“Let me tell you what I saw when she spoke with her little brother. Henrietta is actually a kind, considerate girl. She’s only cold to us because we haven’t earned her trust yet. If she refuses our invitation after opening her heart to us, then I’ll give up.”

“Sigh. You really just don’t know when to give up, huh?”

“Well, yeah. It’s what I gotta do to make sure my idol’s dream comes true.”

“Wha...?! I-It’s not like I need Henrietta to win or anything!”

“Oops, my bad. I should’ve said it’s for my dream.”

“Hmph,” Stella said. She tilted her chin away, then walked down the street.

Feena chased after her. “I am curious about the bullying Master Otaku referenced hearing about. Henrietta’s younger brother said she was driven into being held back a year, no?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“I feel like I now understand the truth of her being held back. Henrietta grew enraged at the bullying and, at last, lost her temper—to the point of stabbing a bully with her sword of ice! Aaah, Henrietta is dangerous after all...!”

“Would you support inviting her if I can prove Henrietta isn’t dangerous, Feena?”

“Hm? Uh, well, I suppose...”

“Good.”

I was pretty sure that there was more to Henrietta stabbing someone with a sword than we knew. It was hard to imagine a kuudere like her hurting someone on impulse. And most importantly, that sword of hers...

“Speak of the devil. Isn’t that Henrietta over there?” Stella asked, pausing. A bit farther was a fruit stand with a certain blue-haired girl with an ice flower ornament working sales.

Something was strange, though.

Everyone else behind a stand was shouting out at passersby and whatnot, while Henrietta was just standing in place, silent and expressionless. As a result, she didn’t draw in any customers, and the mountain of strawberries and raspberries by her weren’t getting sold.

“What the heck is she thinking?” Stella asked.

“Silence is a novel way of attracting attention,” Feena observed. “I’ve never seen this before.”

“I think she’s just not meant to be a salesperson...” I said. If she were going to work anywhere, why behind a stand? It just didn’t make sense. She would be better off transporting goods or something else.

Either way, this was our chance. No better opportunity would come to help Henrietta out and become friends.

“Oh, a customer came,” Feena said; a middle-aged guy had made his way to Henrietta’s stand as we talked. He had a sword on his hips and seemed reasonably well-dressed, but his cheeks were red and he was clearly drunk.

It looked from here that he was asking Henrietta how much the fruit cost. She answered, with no change in expression, that one heap was one silver, then that there would be no haggling, and finally that if he didn’t like that he could leave.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, GIRL?!”

The man slammed a fist onto the stand. The heaps of berries collapsed into themselves and rolled out onto the street. “Here I am being polite, and what do ya do but act all rude to me!”

His boisterous yells attracted attention from the street.

Henrietta’s brow did not so much as twitch. “You are the one with a poor attitude.”

“Yeah? You’re one to talk! You don’t even smile, and you blow off small talk. Actin’ all arrogant on top of being frosty!”

“You scattered three heaps of strawberries and two of raspberries. Please pay five silver in total.”

“Quit messin’ around!”

Enraged by Henrietta's impassivity, the man kicked the stand. The plate holding the fruit shattered, and basically all of the product fell to the ground.

“Eek!” Feena cried.

The crowd stirred, but none stepped in to help, perhaps fearful of the violent man.

Henrietta’s eyes narrowed. “Thus my heart froze over for all of eternity. Aquaria—”

Instantly, the man drew his sword. Henrietta halted her chant midcast; the sword was already pointed at her neck.

“Heh, that was a close one. Yer working here as a merchant and still know miracles? Too bad, though. Miracles are unbeatable from a distance, but they ain’t so good up close. Drawing a sword’s faster than chanting,” the red-faced man said, grinning. “Surprised? Believe it or not, I’m a knight workin’ for a viscount. I ain’t gonna lose to some wannabe merchant saint.”

Henrietta stared silently at the man. She didn’t seem surprised. She gave no reaction despite having her identity exposed and a sword thrust at her.

The man grew clearly displeased. “Tch. Now that we know where we stand, how about you get on your knees and apologize? Now! Get that smug head of yours on the ground!” The man grabbed Henrietta’s blue hair, and that was it for Stella.

“I can’t watch this any longer. Burn that guy’s pants off! Ignaria Sein!”

I had been waiting for that. I lit a fire under the guy’s ass, prompting him to jump up with a start.

“You had backup?!” The man barked, slapping his pants to snuff out the fire, then turning this way. “You brats...! How about I teach you some manners and—”

The red-faced man stopped midsentence and looked at his hand. That was the hand he had just grabbed Henrietta’s hair with. It was covered in petallike shards.

“Gah!” The man lost all his gusto.

“They aren’t with me,” Henrietta said, dryly. “It is the common opinion that miracles are ill-suited for close combat. However, if one doesn’t have the time to chant, one needs only do so ahead of time.”

“Wh-What did you do...?!”

It wasn’t just his hand. His sword at some point had been covered in ice and rendered unusable. The ice was advancing in real time, reaching his wrist and freezing his arm.

“My miracle was cast before you even came,” Henrietta said, the flower of ice in her hair swaying.

The man’s face twisted in shock. “Gah! My arm’s freezing! Someone, HELP MEEE!”

The man, both of his arms now frozen, bolted away in a panic.

Stella sighed and looked at Henrietta. The blue-haired girl abruptly turned her head.

“My apologies, Henrietta. These were the only fruits I could recover from the street,” Feena said, holding out a basket with strawberries and raspberries.

Henrietta glanced at them, then said, “I don’t want them.”

“Heh?”

“They’re too dirty to sell now.”

“Ah...” Feena said, cradling the basket and hanging her head.

Henrietta looked at the broken stand and all the muddied fruit on the ground. In the end, she began tossing fruit into a basket.

“What’s your plan now, Henrietta?” Stella asked.

“I’m tearing down the stand and leaving.”

“The market’s not closing for hours, though...?”

“I don’t have anything to sell,” she said. Neither Stella nor Feena had any response to that. They simply lingered in place until Henrietta glanced back at them. “Did you come here to mock me for working a stand?”

“N-No way! We didn’t come here to do anything mean,” Stella answered. “Like, didn’t we just help you?”

“That help was worse than no help.”

“Hey! Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!”

“It would be annoying if that had turned into trouble with a high-ranking noble.”

“Seriously...? We were just worried about you, and—”

“I don’t want to have to clean up after the ignorant.”

“Who are you calling ignorant?!” Stella barked with a stamp of her feet.

Henrietta began pulling away the broken stand. A single stand vanishing from a busy market didn’t change much. A lone back stood out among the river of guests.

I couldn’t help but call out. “Wait! Hold on...!”

Henrietta stopped.

“You need money so much you’d do a job you’re not good at, right?! It’s too early to give up. There’s gotta be another way!”

“Otaku?!” Stella exclaimed, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Wh-Why are you talking...?”

Henrietta, standing nearby, turned. “You followed me too, master miraclist...?”

Stella and Feena both made funny faces.

“Master...”

“...Miraclist?”

Henrietta nodded. “He snuck into my room to watch me get changed before.”

“Hold it, hold it! Not true! I just listed that as a possibility. I wasn’t actually there to watch you change. I swear!” I said, pleading my case while sensing murderous rage swell up within Stella. Said rage cooled at my words, but Stella still seemed pissed.

“Why does Henrietta think you’re a miraclist?”

“Remember when Henrietta grabbed me? She thought I was a miraclis—”

“The staff is talking.”

“Whoa!” Before I knew it, Henrietta had brought her face close to me. Her long eyelashes were nearly touching my wood (so to speak).

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Aaah...” Stella groaned, planting a hand on her forehead. “I guess there’s no hiding it now. You’re not talking to a miraclist... You’re talking to the spirit inside my staff.”

“Impossible. Spirits cannot vocalize.”

“You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to. That’s better for me, anyway.”

“Is he a spirit that has surpassed a Grand Spirit? A spirit on the level of a god?”

“Nah nah, I’m nothing that impressive. I’m a trashy knight-rank otaku.”

“Trashy...” Henrietta fell into serious thought.

I took the opportunity to get the conversation back on track. “Putting my identity aside. Let’s think about how to fix Henrietta’s sales problem. The first issue is having nothing to sell, right? Let’s make some products ourselves, then!”

“What do you even mean?” Stella asked. “You mean literally make stuff right now?”

“Yep. There was that juice stand squeezing juice on demand, right? It’s possible to make products in real-time.”

“What will we make, Master Otaku?” Feena asked.

That was indeed the big question. All we had on us were some strawberries and raspberries. We would barely be able to make much juice with it. In which case, making something entirely new would be better.

Henrietta continued to stare at me, as if she still had doubts over my identity.

I suddenly noticed the flower in her hair and had an idea. “Oh. Henrietta, you can freeze water, right?”

“Yes.”

“I can handle the rest, then. Stella, could you do the Earth chant?”

“Wha’tre you plotting?”

“There’s something I want to make with miracles. Please?”

“Fine. Terararia Sein.”

I thought of a certain something I had seen several times in Japan, then called out to the Earth spirits and focused.

The ground beneath us lifted up, sparkling, and began picking up in front of me. It eventually began to resemble something.

I fist-pumped internally. “All right, it worked! Behold, a shaved ice machine!”

It was made of what looked like rock, but it looked exactly like the shaved ice makers I was familiar with.

Given that one could make iron and such based on the clarity of one’s mental images, I had been wondering if miracles had more broad power than I imagined. It looked like the answer was yes.

“Shaved what...?” Stella asked, dubiously.

“You’ve never had shaved ice?”

“Never even heard of it.”

“I suppose it’s food, then?” Feena asked.

“Ice food...?” Henrietta muttered.

The fact all three of them didn’t know implied that shaved ice didn’t exist anywhere nearby. Which meant an open market opportunity!

“Henrietta, there’s space in the top part of the shaved ice maker. Make some ice that fits it perfectly.”

“Aquaria Sein.”

“Stella, turn the handle on the side.”

“Excuse me? Why should I have to—”

“I’d do it myself, but I’m kind of a stick.”

“Jeez. So demanding,” Stella said, pursing her lips, but turning the handle nonetheless. The ice started getting ground up. My excitement levels rose.

“Feena, could you go buy some sugar at a nearby stand?”

“Certainly, Master Otaku.”

The ice got shaved into a pile. We dumped sugar water on top of it in place of syrup, then placed strawberries and raspberries next to it, completing the shaved ice.

“Try it out,” I said once there were three plates of the stuff. Without a tongue, I couldn’t taste test it myself.

The girls spooned up some ice and brought it to their mouths.

“Nmm! All we did was put sugar on ice, but it tastes so good...”

“A perfect dessert for a hot day like today. It even looks cute.”

“It’s cold. And sweet. It’s good.”

They all had some high praise.

“The three of you can sell this stuff... Or rather, Henrietta, you focus on making the shaved ice. Stella and Feena can do the actual sales.”

Henrietta nodded and began grinding the ice. Feena began calling out to passersby with a smile. “Would anyone care for a cold, delicious dessert?! Eating it will be utterly refreshiiing! It’s a dessert that can only be found heeere!”

Feena with her kindly demeanor and sizable charms was perfect as a sales girl. Each time she called out, we had several customers lining up in front of the stand.

Beside her stood Stella. “You there! Ever had shaved ice? If not, now’s your chance to try it. Miss this and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. B-But it’s not like I care if you eat it, okay?! Don’t get the wrong idea!”

That was a unique approach. Still, the men she pointed to were drawn to the stand like moths to a flame. In them I saw my allies.

It’s perfect...! Stella and Feena can draw in mass crowds. Our formation is untouchable!

In the blink of an eye, the line to our stand stretched out like a giant python.

The shaved ice stand popped off, and the three girls worked tirelessly until the market closed. Birds chirped amid a sky dyed red.

Henrietta looked down at her purse. “Wow,” she muttered. “This leaves a lot even after paying for the broken stand.”

She then put a third of the silvers into her purse and pushed the rest to Stella and Feena. “Your share.”

“Um? No thanks. Keep it,” Stella said.

“That’s right,” Feena agreed. “I already received payment for the sugar I purchased.”

“You did a job. You need to get paid.”

“Why’d you decide to stop being a jerk all of a sudden?” Stella asked.

“We didn’t come here to make money to begin with. You should keep the money for yourself, Henrietta.”

Henrietta furrowed her brow slightly. “Suspicious.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?! We helped you so you’d join our team at the Miracle Games. This much money is nothing compared to your help... Ah!”

Probably would have been better to reveal that AFTER we were good friends with her...

Stella must’ve realized that too, and began waving her hands desperately.

“N-Not that we were trying to manipulate you so you feel obligated to help us back. It’s just we reaaally need a Great Water Spirit, so...”

“This is the definition of manipulation.”

“Guh...” Stella groaned, falling silent.

Winning over Henrietta seemed like too great a burden for an awkward tsundere. Which meant it was my time to shine.

“Henrietta, sorry, but I saw you talking to your little brother using miracles.”

“Ngh...!”

“We came to the market today so we could help you. The two of them are turning down this money since they’ve deduced your family is in a poor state. I want you to understand we have only goodwill.”

“Goodwill?”

“That’s right. We want to be friends with you. Stella may talk like a tsundere, but over the half a day we just spent together, you must’ve noticed she’s the type that can’t overlook people in trouble, right?”

Henrietta remained silent.

Meanwhile, Stella was shouting, “N-Not true! It’s not like I want to be your friend or anything! Don’t get the wrong idea, I just helped today by circumstance!”

Very easy to see through.

Henrietta let out a heavy sigh. “I apologize. I misunderstood you all.”

Stella and Feena both blinked.

“Every student that’s approached me since I’ve entered Antohsa has wanted me expelled. I thought you two were the same.”

Hence why Henrietta so obstinately refused us.

“Did you end up repeating a grade due to students like that?” I asked.

“Yes. I picked up a brooch my former roommate dropped and was accused of stealing it. When I returned it, she stabbed herself with the pin and threw a fit.”

“Wait. H-Hold on a moment. The rumors of you stabbing a person were just...”

“Just them claiming I stabbed them with a brooch pin.”

Feena balked. “A-A brooch pin, I see... Aha ha ha ha...”

“Good news, huh, Feena? Seems like Henrietta’s not dangerous after all.”

I knew that from the start, after all. The ice swords she formed weren’t sharp at all. They could be used to hit someone, but not stab them.

“Did you freeze your door to guard against them too?” Stella asked.

“They would antagonize me otherwise.”

“Like by tossing bugs and rat corpses into your room?”

“Yes. Are you familiar...?”

“They used to do that to me. Not much you can do while avoiding getting caught,” Stella said, expression flattening as she thought back to how things had been.

“My father formed a cursed bloodline by using magic. You would still want to be my friend?” Henrietta asked, looking at Stella directly.

“If you absolutely insist, I don’t mind being your friend or whatever,” Stella said, turning her chin. She was as tsundere as ever.

I got the feeling Henrietta was smiling, just a bit.

She then pushed the bag of money to Stella and Feena again. “Take your shares.”

“But why?! You don’t want to owe us a favor or something?!”

“I want to be on equal terms with my friends.”

“Does that mean...?!”

Henrietta had acknowledged them as friends.

“A-And the Miracle Games, then...?”

“I’ll join.”

Stella and Feena exchanged looks. “HOORAY! We got a Great Water Spirit!”

“Now we have a chance to beat Lady Quinza!”

“More than a chance,” Stella replied. “We’re obviously gonna win. We have Henrietta on our side. Quinza’s flames will be wiped out in the blink of an eye!”

The two of them clasped hands, jumping up and down for joy.

I was moved too. We had moved mountains to get this far. I never thought getting Henrietta on our side would be such an ordeal.

While everyone was celebrating, Henrietta interjected with a dubious look. “Flames...?”

“That’s right. Your job will be to wipe out Quinza’s flames with a flood of water.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Heh?” Stella froze. Feena and I both focused on Henrietta. “What do you mean you can’t...?”

“My heart will never melt. My Water miracles invariably turn to ice. I can’t make water.”

“Um. B-But you could still put ice on the fire or something, right...?”

“My ice melts into steam and disappears.”

A heavy silence dominated the air.

A cold wind blew through the now-empty street, and the bag of money fell from Stella’s hand.

“N-NO WAAAAAAY!”

Stella’s cry echoed through the orange evening sky.

Chapter 3 — No Girl Smiles at an Otaku Without Ulterior Motives

One early morning, Stella and Feena went to the garden to practice for the Miracle Games, only to find people already there.

“Micaela, why is your wind so pitiful?! How is this supposed to carry my fire?! And you, Sasha—the oil you’ve made is anything but pure. How will my flames reach their true might this way?!”

Indeed, those people were Quinza and her two lackeys. She seemed irritated as she barked hysterically at said lackeys.

“What chance will we have of obliterating Stella’s group instantly at this rate?! As she is a commoner, father will have my head if we do not demonstrate our vast superiority. It is bad enough that a series of bizarre disasters have given us a disadvantage in class!” she continued.

“Lady Quinza, perhaps you should go to the church and pray...?”

“Are you saying I have not been praying enough?!”

“N-Not at all...”

“Behold! Just the other day, I purchased this pendant from the Grand Cathedral to earn favor with the Goddess. A single one of these is worth as much as your home estate. How could I be lacking in prayer when I have done this much?!”

“My apologies...”

Stella stepped forward. Her shoes made noise on the ground, which caused Quinza to whip around. As soon as Quinza recognized her, she put on an arrogant sneer.

“Ooooho ho ho! And just what have you lot come here for, I wonder?” she asked, waving at herself with a fan.

She sure was acting tough. Resting upon her chest was a pendant engraved with the smiling visage of the Goddess. It had a bright metallic gleam that seemed pretty ugly to me.

“Um,” Feena answered, timidly. “We’re preparing for the—”

“You don’t need to be polite and answer her, Feena. She’ll just mock us no matter what we say,” Stella said. She had no intention of dealing with Quinza, so she gestured for Feena to keep her distance from the villainess.

Quinza sniffed. “Practice is a waste of time for you two. It will be my group that wins the Miracle Games. No matter how much an amateur in miracles and a backwater noble strives, they will not—”

“I’m late.”

“Eek?!”

The blue-haired Henrietta—now nicknamed Henny by the whims of schoolgirls—appeared from behind Stella. Quinza let out a shriek and immediately dashed backward with her gang.

“Wh-Wh-Why is a Razwald here...?!”

“Because she’s in our group, obviously.”

“Come again?!” Quinza balked.

Stella turned and placed a hand on her hip. “You’re late, Henny. What were you doing?”

“I bought roulette gummies at a store.”

“Wait, you like eating those kinds of cheap snacks too? Kinda surprising...”

“It’s my ritual to eat them every morning.”

“Henny, may I have some later?” Feena asked.

“Okay.”

Quinza’s group could only watch on in a daze as the three of them had a friendly chat.

“Isn’t this bad, Lady Quinza...? Razwalds use magic, don’t they? This will be much more troublesome than House Euberta...”

“A cursed bloodline... A deadly foe...”

“Ngh! You two!” Quinza barked. “What are you getting so afraid of?! I am a Frantzbelle. No cursed bloodline can match my glory! Even if they are to come at me wielding magic—”

Henny shot the villainess a glance. Her cold look alone silenced Quinza. “Are we holding a mock battle with these three?”

“M-Me, holding mock battles with a commoner?! As if! It would be no match at all!”

“You have that little confidence in yourself?”

Quinza’s cheeks flushed crimson. She flicked back her gaudy drill hair with a trembling hand and stomped away. Her lackeys hurriedly followed after.

Stella stuck up a thumb. “Good going, Henny!”

“I was just talking.”

“Does Lady Quinza not know that you cannot produce water, Henny?” Feena asked with a tilt of her head. Quinza certainly might have come off stronger there if she knew Henrietta’s Water miracles wouldn’t work on her.

“She likely doesn’t know,” Henny said, blandly. “Nobody expects a Razwald like myself to have such a weakness.”

“Well, justified or not, their fear is good for us. We can practice in peace now that they’ve scuttled off,” Stella said.

We took place in a corner of the garden.

“Let’s go, Henny. O Spirits of Fire, fulfill your contract in the name of the Goddess supreme! Ignaria Sein!”

“Aquaria Sein.”

The girls overlapped their chants. A fireball formed at the tip of Stella’s staff, while a ball of ice formed at the tip of Henny’s.

“Do your best, you two!” Feena cheered from the sidelines, some distance away.

Stella and Henny brought their fire ball and ice ball close together. The second they touched, the ice melted and dripped water onto the ground. Stella made a victory pose.

“We made water! Let’s keep this up!”

“Right.”

The two balls soon overlapped entirely...and in an instant, there was a sizzling, and the ice vanished without a trace.

“Ah...!”

“It’s gone.”

“No way! Another failure?!” Stella slumped her shoulders.

Henny’s Water miracles automatically turned into ice. When we’d first heard about it, we’d talked things over and concluded that we might be able to do something by throwing Fire miracles into the mix.

Ice should logically turn to water after being melted. Some power would have to be lost due to starting with ice, but it’d still surely end up pretty strong.

And that was why we were comboing fireballs and ice balls in practice, but...

Henny touched the damp ground where some drops had fallen.

“What’re you doing, Henny?” Stella asked.

“Your hands will get dirty,” Feena wisely observed.

“It’s ice,” Henny murmured after a pause. Mixed into the earth were tiny ice shards. “There may be no point to this after all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The droplets that fell turned to ice again. It doesn’t matter how much we melt it.”

“Wait, are you saying your ice just freezes over again after it melts...?”

“At the very least, there’s no point in melting it with Fire miracles.”

“Guuuh!” Stella groaned, grasping at her head. “And the Miracle Games are so soon too...!”

“It truly did turn to ice...” Feena observed. “Ah! Does this mean that back in the bath, you didn’t freeze the floor out of spite?”

“I was trying to make water.”

“Really?” Stella said. “Wait... Hold on! You may have been trying to make water, but you should’ve known it would’ve turned into ice, right?!”

“I did. It was the same to me either way.”

“So it was out of spite!”

Henny looked down at her staff. “Sorry. I’ll leave the group if I’m not going to be of any help.”

“Leave the group? Not happening. Nobody’s leaving on my watch!”

“Indeed, Henny,” Feena agreed. “I am in the group despite my uselessness outside of Earth miracles. It’s okay if you can only make ice.”

“A softie and a bad student,” Henny said.

“Are you insulting us?!”

“I simply said the truth.”

“Jeez, Henny! That side of you just doesn’t change,” Stella said, poking at her, but Henny kept her cool. It was heartwarming watching them.

Henny fits in quite a bit now.

She was the one who asked us to call her by the nickname Henny, in fact. That’s a kuudere for you. She goes all lovey-dovey with those she opens her heart to.

“If Fire’s no good, we’ll try Light instead. Let’s go, Henny. Luxsaria Sein!”

“Aquaria Sein.”

“Do your best!” Feena exclaimed.

＊＊＊

Their training continued until right before classes.

“I’m done... We’re never making water, ever...” Stella groaned. She seemed utterly defeated as she limply mixed something into a cauldron for class.

In the end, their morning training hadn’t produced any results whatsoever. Whether we’d used Fire or Light, Henny’s miracles had remained frozen—they hadn’t turned into water.

By the way, we were now in the middle of a class called miracle medicine.

Under Professor Melvia’s tutelage, the students were tossing ingredients into a pot and cooking them up. A sickly steam arose from a poisonous-looking liquid within.

“I finally got into the Miracle Games; I don’t want to lose in our first match...” Stella muttered.

“Stella, Stella! Next we need to put in newt burps. That’s Wind; could you handle it?” Feena asked.

“Siiigh... My dreams of total victory, gone...”

“Stella!”

Stella had been devastated by the realization she had no counter to Quinza. She couldn’t even hear Feena.

In her place, Henrietta chanted, “Winaria Sein.” The liquid within the pot bubbled.

Are those bubbles newt burps...?

I wasn’t really familiar, but Feena placed a relieved hand on her chest. “Thank you, Henny.”

“This is my classwork too. It’s only natural that I would contribute.”

“Ah, next is an owl’s sigh.”

“Winaria Sein.” Henny chanted and the pot bubbled.

“What kind of soup even is this? Newt burps, owl sighs... This doesn’t make sense,” I said, reflexively.

The brewing room was extremely loud. Each group was surrounding their own bubbling cauldron while chatting. Nobody so much as glanced my way.

“Newt burps are newt burps,” Henny explained.

“And you can make those with miracles somehow?”

“You can make anything with miracles.”

“Using the same chant...?”

“What matters is the mental image.”

Thinking about it, you could make clay, iron, and shaved ice machines with Terararia Sein. It only made sense that you could make burps and sighs with the same chant.

“I see you are skilled with Wind miracles as well, Henny. I’m envious,” Feena said.

“I can do simple miracles in any element. That’s normal.”

“That would leave Water as the one thing you can’t do, then. How strange, considering you come from the former People of Water.”

Aaah! Phrasing!

But even as Feena unwittingly stepped on a land mine, Henny’s expression didn’t change.

“That’s right,” Henny replied quietly and lowered her eyes. I got the feeling the ice flower in her hair shook just a bit, but that was all.

“You know, how’d you end up getting stuck making ice anyway?” I asked hurriedly, hoping to clear the air. “Usually miracles follow one’s mental image, right? Could you just not be imagining—”

“My water froze after my father was executed for casting magic.”

Feena balked. I faltered for a moment myself.

“Sorry. I tried to clear the air, but I just made it worse.”

“It’s fine. As a member of the group, this is something I should make clear,” Henny said. She continued in a voice dry enough that it was like she was talking about someone else, “On that day five years ago, my father was burned alive, and everything changed. I lost my status, my home, and my land. The citizens that once admired us now threw rocks at me. Before I knew it, my heart had frozen over, and the Water miracles I once had a mastery over had turned to ice.”

“What do you mean, your heart froze over...?” Feena asked.

“It was like it grew hard, cold, and smaller. It’s hard to describe, but... Feelings like happiness, enjoyment, and so on just don’t reach me.”

I could imagine that her past had actually traumatized her.

“I didn’t want to harm the Razwald name, so I went everywhere I could to fix this. Some said it was a punishment from the Goddess, others said it was a magical curse. Some said it was a matter of faith, and I wasn’t visiting the church enough...” Henny opened her palm and chanted, “Aquaria Sein.” A shard of ice formed on top. She sighed. “I use miracles every day hoping the next one might be water. But it’s always frozen over.”

“So, in short, you don’t know how to fix it,” I said. Henny nodded.

Suddenly, an explosion rang out from a corner of the brewing room. There was a shriek, and everyone’s eyes gathered on the source. One of the brewing cauldrons was belching fire.

“But why...?! It was going so well just moments ago! Why did my perfect brew erupt into fire?!” Quinza cried hysterically before the flaming cauldron.

The Goddess pendant on her breast gleamed. And it was then I noticed—the face on Quinza’s pendant had morphed into a cruel grin.

The roaring flames blazed up even farther and, moments later, erupted into a massive explosion. My vision was engulfed in orange fire.

Gah! I’m gonna die!

“Oh my, this isn’t good. Aquaria Sein!”

A voice with ill-fitting calm resounded, and in the next moment every student was outside in the hall.

“Heh...?” Stella said, finally having come back to her senses. “What happened?”

And she wasn’t the only one confused. Nobody here understood why they were in the hallway.

“Professor Melvia carried us using hands of water,” Henny said, looking at her shoulders.

Everyone’s arms and shoulders had ghostly white hands around them. If this were a horror movie everyone would be dead, but Professor Melvia’s hands had saved everyone instead.

“I have extinguished that nasty fire,” Professor Melvia said, exiting the room. “I did as much as I could, but the room is entirely ruined.”

Some students peered into the room out of curiosity and balked. The entirety of the brewing room was scorched black. If we had stayed in there, nobody would have survived.

Professor Melvia looked over the students before her eyes fell on Quinza. The villainess was facing the ground, fists trembling.

“Quinza, the flame originated within your cauldron, and—”

“My brewing had no mistakes! I practice daily before class without fail. I would never mistake either the brewing steps or the temperature of my fire! The pot suddenly flashed without warning. It was not by my mistake that it erupted...!”

“Calm yourself, Quinza,” the professor said, holding up a hand. Quinza looked at her with desperation, but she could only shake her head. “Even experienced saints can struggle to control their miracles. I doubt that one of Frantzbelle such as yourself would lose control of their fire, but it is a fact that your cauldron exploded and destroyed the brewing room. As unfortunate as it is, I must follow academy rules and penalize you.”

A stir ran through the class. How many times now had it been that the Goddess had hurt Quinza’s grades?

There’s no way Stella wants this to be the way she gets better grades, though.

The Goddess had launched targeted strike after targeted strike on Quinza. That only made sense, given that Quinza was the only student in class that could rival Stella in this way, but still. She may have been a haughty villainess on bad terms with Stella, but this was making me start to feel bad for her.

Quinza gritted her teeth and clutched the pendant on her chest, gripping it tightly. “I would never make this many mistakes! NEVER!”

With that, she ran down the hall.

“Lady Quinza?!”

Her lackeys followed after her. A scorched scent descended into the hallway.

“This miracle medicine has never exploded a single time in history, and yet here we are. This is truly a bizarre year,” Professor Melvia muttered, eyes following where the trio had vanished. She then faced forward and straightened her back. “There is still time to remake the medicine from the start. Let us move to the secondary brewing room.”

＊＊＊

“Good, everyone; your potions all pass.”

We were in the secondary brewing room. Everyone had made the miracle medicine a second time, and this time there had been no incidents. The professor had circled the room to peer into each cauldron and now stood at the front, nodding in satisfaction.

“This is a potion that can change one’s form for a given time. One must chant this after drinking: ‘May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.’ Do so while visualizing how you wish for your form to change.”

A chatter instantly filled the classroom. Everyone seemed pretty excited at the idea of a transformation potion.

“Now now, everyone! Settle down. This will be your first time drinking a miracle potion, I’m sure, but our target this time will be rabbits. Take care not to transform into anything particularly dangerous,” Professor Melvia said, and as soon as she finished, students began chugging the potion.

Feena, too, scooped up liquid from her cauldron into a glass jar before grimacing. “Is this truly safe to drink...? It resembles the blue mold that grows on bread left out for a month...”

“An accurate analogy,” Henny said, staring at her own jar as if she were also reluctant to drink it.

“Who cares about the color? I’m drinking it,” Stella said, and then she chugged it down in one gulp.

Oooh, a trailblazer!

“S-Stella, that isn’t water!”

“Tell me how it tastes after.”

Stella chugged the mold-colored potion and gave her chant. “May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.”

Umm, the assignment is to turn into a rabbit, right? Stella as a rabbit... Rabbit Stella...

With a flash Stella was enveloped by light...and a moment later, there stood a silver-haired bunny girl.

“Heh?”

Stella froze.

She wore a tight leotard that revealed every curve of her body. Her dainty shoulders left exposed, her neck was decorated with a choker, and her legs were enveloped by fishnet tights. Stella looked down at herself and grew redder and redder.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIIIS?! Why?!” she cried. “Otaku! It’s you, Otaku! You have to be the one that put me into this embarrassing outfit! Why, Otaku?!”

“I acknowledge it is completely my fault. One hundred percent. However, don’t forget that there was room for interpretation here. How could I not imagine a bunny girl when thinking about rabbits?! The natural flow of history and logic led us here! Long live tsundere bunny girls!”

“GAAAAH! Stop talking about stupid things that don’t make sense and turn me into a rabbit!”

Stella twisted in embarrassment, causing her rabbit ears to flop around.

What a cute creature... Time to burn this into my mind forever.

“Why aren’t I a rabbit yet, Otaku?! I’ll die if anyone sees me like this!”

“Sorry, Stella. You’re so destructively cute as a bunny girl that I can’t think about anything else...!”

“A-Are you stupid?! Is this the time for jokes?!”

“I’m not joking! This is all the real deal! I actually do think tsundere bunny girls are beyond lovable!”

“Shhhuuut uppp! I’m not asking for your opinion here!” Stella yelled in a panic.

Feena had been staring at her intently the entire time, and now she lifted a hand. “My turn!” She brought her jar to her lips.

After managing to gulp down the potion, Feena repeated the chant. “May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.”

Feena was engulfed by light and transformed.

“Tadaaa. Did it work?”

“HELL YEAH!” “WHAAAT?!”

Stella and I had our shouts overlap.

Feena was now a bunny girl too. She seemed pretty into it as she lifted her hand in a rabbit pose. The sight of her melons almost spilling out of her leotard was a dazzling sight.

“Master Otaku, how is my bunny form? Am I cuter than before?”

“I can’t even describe this adorableness! Not to mention, wow... I’m not gonna specify what I’m talking about, but I’ll never get over how—”

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! Pervert!” Stella silenced my comment by slamming me into the cauldron.

Bunny Stella approached Bunny Feena with a blue vein bulging on her forehead. “Why did you dress up like a pervert too?”

“Master Otaku was so enthusiastic about Stella’s bunny form that I thought to mirror it myself.”

“Why do you want a pervert complimenting you?! In the first place, this outfit barely resembles a rabbit. What kind of bizzaro rabbit would look like this?!”

“You think so...? We have the long ears, and look, we even have the puffy tails,” Feena said, turning around and pointing at her back.

Stella, going red, trembled in place. “Tails and ears obviously aren’t enough! I mean, this outfit barely covers anything... It’s not right for a future saint to be wearing something like this!”

“Johazelle 3:18—Let those on a pilgrimage wear robes. Such shall mark them as one who serves the Goddess.”

“Exactly, Henny! You know what’s—wait, why are you dressed like this too?!” Stella nearly fell over backward. Henny was standing there expressionlessly, having at some point turned into a bunny girl.

The leotard made her long legs stand out even more. It was surreal to see a cool beauty wearing cartoonish bunny ears.

“My mental image got infected by you two,” Henny said dryly.

“Oh, well it happens... NOT! What’s going on?! All three of us are gonna fail!”

“At least we’re matching,” Feena said.

“Let it be known I can die happy now that I’ve seen three bunny girls lined up,” I added.

“You guys...!”

Steam blew from Stella’s ears as her face went tomato red. It was cute seeing her lose it. And the cutest part was how she had been covering her chest with her arm this entire time, as if embarrassed about how flat she was.

“This is a strange outfit. When does one wear it?” Henny asked, pulling at her cuffs in cold analysis. Apparently this world had no concept of bunny girls.

“When serving guests, I suppose. It’s meant to make waitresses and the like more attractive to customers,” I explained.

“Attractive?”

“And just as I would’ve thought, your bunny girl is incredibly high-level, Henny. Your excellent figure stands out all the more—most of all, those beautiful legs! You were born to wear those more adult fishnet tights. An expressionless bunny girl also earns a lot of points. I love it!”

“Nn...”

I heard a dripping sound. That caught me off guard, until I noticed that the flower in Anri’s hair was melting and trickling.

Apparently she was extremely embarrassed. Her expression was unchanged, but that was a faint redness to her cheeks.

Hold on. Could this mean...

“Oh my, you three!” came the professor’s shrill cry. She marched right over. Adding the sensual Professor Melvia to three bunny girls made the mood here entirely that of an adult parlor.

Stella lowered her eyes to prepare for a scolding, Feena was trying to laugh it off, and Henny stood nonchalantly in place.

The professor looked over them one by one, then...

“What posh outfits these are! Absolutely superb!” she cried in thrilled delight. “Who was the first to visualize this design? I should love to incorporate this into the academy’s costume design, and—”

“Absolutely not!”

＊＊＊

After class, we went to the garden at my suggestion. My plan was to finally solve this issue with Henny’s water turning to ice.

“All right, Henny. Try to make a ball of water.”

“It’ll turn into ice, not water.”

“That’s fine. For now, just try.”

“Okay.” Henny nodded and chanted, “Aquaria Sein.” A ball of ice appeared on her palm.

Stella had completely thrown in the towel. “Otaku, we just tried this in the morning. Fire and Light don’t change anything. What else is there to do?”

“Just watch,” I said. Then, I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Henny’s sexy legs are the BEEEST!”

“Nn...”

Henny’s legs twitched. And she wasn’t the only one to respond.

“What?! You pervert! You’re finally letting loose, huh?! I won’t let you do anything pervy to Henny!”

“Wait, Stella! Look at Henny’s miracle before you start smashing me into the ground!”

“As if! Try and buy time all you like, you’re eating di—”

“Eep! It’s water...! It’s turning to water...!” Feena cried, prompting Stella to turn.

On Henny’s palm was now a ball of water. It dripped down and soaked into the garden.

“Wait... How?!” Stella exclaimed. “What happened?!”

“I made a discovery earlier today during class: when Henny gets embarrassed, the flower in her hair starts to melt,” I said. It had happened when I’d complimented her bunny girl outfit—the ever-sharp flower in her hair had started to melt, something I hadn’t seen before. “If I had to guess, Henny’s water reflects her emotional state. She’s self-aware about her heart having ‘frozen over,’ after all. And that means if we forcibly melt her heart, her miracles will melt too!”

“How wonderful, Master Otaku!” Feena clapped. “I would never have thought of that!”

“Hold it,” Stella said. “I’m not following this at all... Why would getting embarrassed melt her heart?”

“Stella is my wife! I love her more than anything in the world!”

“Bwah?!” Stella instantly went bright red, like a tomato. “Wh-Where is that coming from?! Wh-Who would ever want a perv—”

“See? Feels like your whole body’s on fire, right? It follows that your heart would get hot too.”

“Wait, you’re right... Ahem! Actually, I’m not embarrassed at all! Why would anything you say ever get me embarrassed?!” Stella swung me around, clearly embarrassed. I had gotten pretty used to life as a staff, but that didn’t mean I had a good time getting spun around. I’d hurl if I could...!

Henny, who had been looking at the water on her palm, muttered to herself. “...Trash.”

Everyone fell silent. Henny looked at me and repeated herself.

“Trash?”

“Oh, you mean me! Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

“You called yourself a trash otaku before.”

“That’s right. Man, do I love having a kuudere beauty calling me trash!”

“Kuudere?”

“For your own sake, don’t ask questions about his nonsense, Henny. He won’t have a single worthwhile answer for you,” Stella interjected. And she was right, so I didn’t argue.

“Trash, come with me for a moment,” Henny said, her voice as flat as ever. “There’s somewhere I want to test my miracles.”

We left the garden and went around the back of the school building. This was a path new to me despite it being within Antohsa grounds. The trees planted on both sides of the path had overgrown branches that blocked the sun and left murky shadows that made one uneasy.

Stella finally couldn’t bear it and spoke up. “Henny, where are we even going? Was there anything here ever?”

“You can leave if you want. I didn’t ask you to come,” Henny replied, casting a brief glance my way. “I only invited Trash.”

“Um, hello? Otaku’s my staff. Inviting him means inviting me.”

“I could carry him.”

“As if I’d let you, staff-thief!”

“Sorry, Henny,” I said. “I want to stay with Stella as strongly as she doesn’t want to hand me over. I’m her spirit, after all; I’ve gotta stick with her!”

“Guh! I-It’s not like I don’t want to hand you over or anything, okay?! Don’t get the wrong idea!” Stella exclaimed, tilting her chin away and bumping into Henny’s back. “Hey! Don’t just stop out of nowh—”

“We’re here.”

Stella and Feena both looked over Henny’s shoulders. Before us were several transparent buildings that seemed to be made of glass.

“The greenhouses...?” Stella asked.

“This is where the professors grow the plants we use for class, no...?” Feena asked as well.

“Yes. There are student greenhouses alongside the faculty greenhouses, and they can be used freely once one has permission from the academy,” Henny said, approaching one of the buildings and unlocking it.

Inside was the trademark humid heat of a greenhouse.

“Goodness, this is my first time visiting a greenhouse. There’s so much brownery!” Feena exclaimed.

“It’s supposed to be green, Freena...”

As Feena identified, the greenhouse was overflowing with brown, wilted plants. Neither the flowerpots lined up on the walls or the planters on the ground had any green sprouting from them whatsoever.

Henny observed the disaster zone and sighed. “Their water has been drained again.”

“Drained...?”

“They do it to spite me. Probably my classmates from last year. It doesn’t matter.”

“It kind of seems like it does matter,” Stella said. Every single plant being dead was kind of a problem—how could it not be?

Still, Henny shook her head and placed her hand on a dried-out plant. “This is nothing if I can make my own water. Most of Razwald’s old land consisted of arid regions. Plants couldn’t grow there normally. It was only because House Razwald provided bountiful water that the people could farm.” The blue-haired girl turned this way. “Trash, compliment me.”

Easiest job of my life.

“Kuuderes have their own appeal that tsunderes don’t. It’s precisely because they barely talk that their lovey-dovey reactions are so adorable. What could be better than Henny remaining expressionless while only her hairpin melts? That’s j—”

“H-Hey, hold it!” Stella cried out. “Why are you asking Otaku for that? Feena and I could compliment you just fine. Here, let me just—”

“No thanks. I don’t care about compliments from classmates,” Henny said, making Stella falter. “Trashy Otaku is a spirit. He serves the Goddess. Praise from a spirit is acknowledgment from the Goddess.”

It seemed like Henny had as much faith in the Goddess as the average resident of this world.

“B-But! Otaku is just a pervert thinking lewd things. Are you saying his perverted compliments make you happy somehow?!” Stella barked. Henny stared her down, causing her to frown. “Wh-What...? Got something to say?”

“You’re the closest to Trashy Otaku. Are you denying his very existence?”

“Th-That’s a bit exaggerated... I wouldn’t go that far,” Stella stammered, lowering her eyes.

“Henny, Stella’s insults come from love. Don’t worry about it. Nothing makes me happier than her bashing me,” I said.

“See?! He’s a pervert! A total pervert!”

Henny looked between Stella and I before shaking her head. “I don’t get it.”

Understanding tsunderes was no easy matter. I knew that better than anyone. My proselytization would take time.

“All riiight! Time to rain some compliments to help Henny’s miracles! Let’s see, what do I love about Henny? Cute point number one! She’s got a sharp tongue, but she’s considerate of her family and friends. The gap there really gets me going. Isn’t it just fantastic that all her bitterness was just to protect those close to her? Cute point number two: her mental fortitude! Not anyone could just keep attending school with everyone avoiding you and accusing you of a sin you didn’t commit. She even lost a talent she was proud of—more than anything, right? The whole world’s against her, but she keeps working hard! Henny’s something else! Now, cute point number three—”

“Nn... That’s enough,” Henny said in a voice faint enough I almost missed it. I stopped.

Henny was facing the ground with embarrassment. Her hair ornament was gushing water like a broken fountain.

Stella, meanwhile, gripped me hard enough to shatter bones while muttering “pervert” under her breath like a curse.

Henny stated a quiet prayer. “Heaven’s basin tilted and showered the earth with life. Aquaria Sein.”

And just like that, a deluge of water rained down like it was a typhoon.

Feena let out a shriek and shrunk down, but then blinked in surprise and lifted her head. She wasn’t even the slightest bit wet. The rain wasn’t touching her or anyone.

“Henny is controlling every single raindrop... What incredible mastery,” Stella murmured in awe.

Henny looked up at the rain, which—without a miracle—never would have appeared within a greenhouse. Her eyes shot open.

“I finally...made water again...” she said, her voice shaking. I held my breath as I saw clear droplets of water trickle from in the corner of her eyes. She walked through the rain as if to hide her tears, heading to a spring in the center.

The spring’s water had been drained too, leaving nothing but dead plants. Henny stuck her staff into it. “All the wealth in the world gathered within the City of Water. Aquaria Sein.”

A whirlpool of water swirled out of her staff, clearing the spring and filling it with fresh water. The fountain-like flood filled the spring in a blink of an eye, and water lilies began to float.

Henny stroked the lined-up brown plants with her staff. Each instantly regained their green color as flowers bloomed everywhere. It was like a magic trick.

“Oh goodness, how remarkable! Henny’s water is making the flowers bloom...!”

“Nope,” Stella said. “She didn’t make the flowers bloom.”

“Wha?”

“That’s right,” Henny said, waving her staff. “These flowers are all illusions made by my miracles. Flowers don’t bloom right after being watered.”

The greenhouse became a flower garden in the blink of an eye. Henny’s water raced across the greenhouse walls; each plant touched by the water filled with life and bloomed into flowers, filling the room with color.

Only once each wall was decorated by blossoms did Henny lower her staff. Sunlight streamed in from the glass ceiling and lit up the bounty of overflowing flowers. Henny silently looked over the paradise she had created.

“You’re making these flowers through your miracles, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Henny answered.

“Doesn’t that mean that once we leave, they’ll disappear and only dead plants will be left?”

“That’s right,” she nodded. “But if I continue watering them, I am sure the flowers of my hometown will bloom again.” She put her staff on her back and looked at me. “Thank you for coming, Trash.”

“Glad to have been of assistance.”

“Praise me the next time I need water.”

“Sure. Complimenting beauties is my specialty,” I said.

“Nm,” Henny replied. I noticed the traces of a smile on her lips. That was the first time I had ever seen her expression soften for me.

Ah, the soft smile a cool beauty gives those she has opened her heart to...! What a treasure.

I was a tsundere-loving otaku down to my core, but at times like this I couldn’t help but think that kuuderes were pretty good too.

“Aren’t you glad, Stella? Henny can make water now!” Feena exclaimed, smiling as Stella.

Stella, however, looked unamused. A loud “harumph” was her only response.

＊＊＊

Roulette gummies were apparently rather popular in this world. Each bag of gummies had randomly chosen flavors inside, and you wouldn’t know which flavor you’d gotten until you tried one.

Henny brought a sizable bag of roulette gummies with her for lunch in class. Stella and Feena were sitting around her desk. She started off by reading from the packaging.

“The following new flavors have been added: horse manure, earthworms, and rotten wood.”

“Nothing good, then,” Stella observed.

“I cannot even imagine what earthworms may taste like,” Feena said. “Did the person who made these gummies eat earthworms first...?”

“Well,” I said, “Somehow this roulette is more insane than I thought. How are these so popular?”

Our classmates were scared enough of Henny that none came anywhere close. That gave me an opportunity to talk.

“They have good flavors too,” Henny said.

“It’s fun to eat with friends,” Feena explained. “They have flavors ranging from delicious to awful, so it is humorous to watch everyone’s reactions.”

“That kind of fun, eh? I think I’m picking up what you’re putting down.”

Henny looked up from the bag and looked between Stella and Feena. “Who’s starting?”

It was like they were selecting the first sacrifice to step upon the altar.

“Me!” Feena exclaimed, her hand shooting up. “In cases like this, the first to go often lands on a tasty flavor. This held true when Lady Quinza forced me to go.”

“Is she ever not petty...?” Stella asked, exasperated. Feena took that opportunity to eat a gummy.

She started chewing. And increasingly went pale.

“This... This is earthworm flavor! There’s an earthworm in my mouth! Guuh, water, I need water...!” Feena, teary-eyed, abruptly stood up and rushed out in search of water.

A heavy air arose between Stella and Henny, the two who hadn’t had their turns yet.

“And so concludes her roulette gummy baptism,” Stella intoned gravely.

“Who’s next?” Henny asked.

“I’m not exactly excited, but I’ll go,” Stella said.

“Not a fan of roulette gummies?” I asked. For all their massive popularity, I hadn’t seen Stella eat them a single time last year.

“If they were all good I’d love them, but they’re filled with nasty flavors. Why go out of my way to gamble on food when I don’t have to?”

“That’d be unlike you, yeah.”

“Guh, that was simply awful...” Feena said, making her way back through the door. She was carrying three cups of water.

“Well! That’s considerate,” Stella said.

“Thanks,” Henny said.

“I let my guard down. I should have readied water from the start...”

They resumed their gummy roulette once Feena sat down. Stella put a gummy into her mouth, and instantly her face lit up. “So sweet! This is honey-flavored!”

“Oooh,” Feena clapped. Henny joined her, perhaps just going with the flow. “That is a particularly rare jackpot.”

“Want to try again?” Henny asked, holding out the bag.

Stella, having been welling in the joy of honey, faltered. “Ngh... Fine. I don’t want to get a winner and then just run away,” she said, then fished out a second one.

She popped it into her mouth and chewed. Her brow furrowed at first, but her expression lit up more with each chew.

“This is beef stew! It’s really weird as a gummy, but not bad. Now I want some bread!”

“Another winner,” Feena observed with a smile as Henny just stared blanky. “Today must be your lucky day, Stella!”

Could this be the Goddess again...?

I was starting to think it was in fact her doing. One could only imagine how much free time she must have to be involved in matters this minute. Or maybe she was just that obsessed with Stella...

“One more,” Henny said, holding out a bag. That this was a demand was clear.

Stella, now motivated, tossed a gummy into her mouth. And...

“What the heck?! This is strawberry...it tastes like a strawberry parfait! There’s sweet strawberries on top of sponge cake with sweet cream! I can’t believe I get to eat this...!”

“Aaah! Even I am starting to drool...!” Feena said. Stella had her hands on her cheeks, entranced as she chewed.

It seemed hard to imagine a single gummy recreating a parfait that well. Roulette gummies seemed kind of insane. Now I wanted one.

“Three winners in a row? Is this even a roulette anymore?” Stella asked, reaching for the bag. “Maybe they increased the ratio of winners.”

Henny hugged the bag to her chest to keep it away.

“What?”

“This is boring,” she said.

“Excuse me?!” Stella demanded. “What do you mean it’s boring?”

“My math says three out of four gummies should be bad. It’s incredibly rare to get so many winners in a row,” Henny explained. Feena was nodding along. “That you have avoided any bad ones is proof of your incredible luck. There’s no point trying more since it will end the same way. That makes this boring.”

“I agree it is rather dull,” Feena said. “There is not much amusement in watching the reactions of others when each is a treat.”

“So basically, you wanted to see the moment I pulled a bad one and got grossed out?” Stella asked.

“It is not out of malice. Gummy roulette is fun precisely because there are moments of victory and defeat.”

“Exactly. A lottery one always wins is boring.”

Stella crossed her arms, unconvinced.

“Why do you buy roulette gummies when you know so many will be bad?” I asked. “It may be fun in a group, but I feel like you usually eat them alone.”

Henny blinked once. “Eating them tells me what my luck for that day will be. That’s all.”

Like a morning horoscope, I guess.

“My turn,” Henny declared, then ate a gummy.

We watched on as her mouth worked up and down, until finally...

“This tastes like used rags,” she said dryly. Stella and Feena blanched.

Henny swallowed, having never changed her expression, and tried the next one. “This is horse manure.”

“Aaah...!” Stella squeaked, clasping a hand over her mouth. Feena hurriedly grabbed and held out a cup of water for her.

Henny was unfazed. There wasn’t a single twitch of her brow. She ate a third gummy.

“This is three thousand times heat chili peppers,” she said, maintaining her neutral expression for the third gummy in a row.

“Who are you calling boring?!” Stella finally erupted.

“Explain.”

“Isn’t gummy roulette all about the fun of seeing people’s reactions? You’ve just had like the worst ones and didn’t react at all.”

“It’s really hot.”

“I know!”

“Now now,” I interjected. “Henny always keeps her cool. This lack of reaction is more like her than anything. I think this is pretty fun.”

Stella shot daggers at me. I did the equivalent of a motionless shrug, at which point she let out a “hmph” and tilted her chin away.

“I must agree,” Feena said. “It is remarkable that you could eat three thousand times heat chili peppers and not even react. I could never do that myself.”

“I’m out of water,” Henny said, having chugged down the water—apparently the heat had, in fact, gotten to her, even if it hadn’t shown on her face.

“I’ll go get more,” Feena said.

“Wait,” Henny said, stopping her then bringing her face close to me. “Trash, could you compliment me?”

“Wha?” Stella balked, pulling me away from Henny. “What’ve you done to earn that?!”

“I thought we established his compliments let me form water.”

“I mean, sure, but that’s for the Miracle Games! There’s no reason to use miracles every time you want water.”

“Trash, are you averse to complimenting me?”

“Nope. I don’t mind at all.”

“Excuse me?! Why are you going crazy too?” Stella asked, looking at me like she might a pile of literal dog shit. But that was a reward to me, so it didn’t discourage me whatsoever.

“Henny, your eyelashes are long and beautiful. My heart beats faster just seeing them up close.”

“Nm... Aquaria Sein.” Water trickled out of Henny’s staff and into her cup.

“Bleh!” Stella spat. “Once a pervert, always a pervert. I knew you’d be thinking something gross like that.”

Henny chugged down the water, then looked back at me. “Once more, Trash.”

“Seems like that last gummy was pretty hot, huh? That must mean you were writhing in pain on the inside despite maintaining a neutral expression, huh? Man, that’s incredibly cute!”

“Nmm... Aquaria Sein.”

This time, water basically sprayed from her staff, causing the cup to overflow. Seems like different kinds of compliments would hit her differently. Good to know.

“Hmph. Is that the kind of thing you’re into? I don’t get it at all,” Stella said, puffing her cheeks.

Henny chugged down the water, then looked at me yet again. “Once more.”

“GAAAH! Enough already! I can get you your dang water!” Stella roared, grabbing the cup and standing.

“Wait,” Henny said, expression flat. Stella paused. “No need. I’ve already had enough to drink.”

“EXCUSE ME?!”

＊＊＊

Somehow, the Miracle Games were already tomorrow.

The school day passed like usual, but Stella and all the other students were lighter on their feet. At dinner there were various pregame hype parties, with each group of competitors amping themselves up.

And in the midst of all that...

“THIS IS ABSURD!” Quinza roared, voice cracking through the room like lightning. Everyone’s eyes fell on her. “Why did I get three horse manure gummies in a row?! You lot must have done this to prank me! Admit it!”

She was yelling at her two lackeys. Apparently they were fighting over gummy roulette.

“I-It’s true that I am the one who purchased this bag of gummies, but I did not do this, Lady Quinza. You must believe me!”

“It’s not possible to alter the contents of a bag...”

The two lackeys desperately tried giving their case. Quinza, however, wasn’t having it. The villainness grabbed her staff, trembling angrily.

“How dare you mock me in this way! Know the consequences! Ignaria Sein!”

Fireballs shot toward the lackeys, and then...

“Halt, Quinza!”

Multiple hands of water appeared from thin air and grabbed the fireballs, turning them to steam.

Professor Melvia approached and looked down at Quinza coldly. “Quinza, although you may be of the honorable House Frantzbelle, I cannot overlook this. Pinning the blame for your poor luck on others and turning your staff against them in unjust rage is not behavior befitting a saint,” she said.

Quinza faced the ground and clenched her Goddess pendant. She didn’t seem to agree.

Seems like Quinza has gotten super paranoid.

The ridiculous series of unfortunate events she had suffered seemed to have driven her mad with paranoia. She probably had never even considered that the Goddess she worshiped was behind it all.

“As per school rules, I must penalize you. Come with me,” Professor Melvia said.

Not even Quinza could argue with a professor. She gritted her teeth and followed her out of the cafeteria.

“It feels as if Lady Quinza has been cursed lately,” a student said.

“Sh! Don’t jinx us by bringing it up,” another said.

“At this point, being near Lady Quinza ruins our own schoolwork. Let us keep our distance.”

The other girls whispered among themselves. Quinza must have heard them, as she shot them all nasty glares. Everyone averted their eyes.

Meanwhile, Stella’s group focused on finishing dinner while cheering themselves on for tomorrow. They wished each other luck before splitting up; they bathed, prepared for tomorrow, and slid into bed.

It happened not long after the lights went out. Stella suddenly sat up in bed.

“Otaku, are you awake?” she asked.

“What’s up?” I replied. Feena was asleep in her bed, judging by her rhythmic breathing.

With all the candles gone, the room was mostly dark; she looked at me in my stand beneath slight moonlight, her silver hair gleaming.

“I’m going for a little walk. Keep me company,” she said. And so we left through her bedroom window.

Stella, still in her pajamas, sat on me as I flew us through the night sky.

We didn’t use Light miracles to illuminate our path. It was past curfew; we’d be in trouble if we got caught outside by a professor.

“A nighttime drive with a tsundere...! Has anything this heart pounding ever happened in my life before? Nope, don’t think so! What else could be waiting when a normally dishonest tsundere asks to spend time alone at night but a joyous event?!”

“N-N-No! What are you getting all delusional about?!” Stella asked, lifting her chin up as her legs hung over my left side. “It’s not like I wanted to be alone with you or anything. Get real!”

“Dang... That’s too bad.”

“In the first place, I obviously just can’t cast flying miracles on my own. I had no choice, okay? No choice!”

At her direction I settled down on the roof of Antohsa’s main building.

The nighttime garden sprawled out beneath us. Tomorrow it would be the stage for the Miracle Games, but today it was shrouded by darkness and silence.

Stella sat on the roof tiling and set me down beside her.

For a while, she just sat there, staring down at the garden. Even I could tell she wasn’t here just because she wanted to feel the nighttime wind. I waited until she was ready to say something.

“So. How do you feel about Henny?” she finally asked, her voice shockingly weak.

“What do you mean by that, exactly?”

“I mean, you have to feel something, right? She’s always with the group lately, so...”

“Well. I guess I’d say she’s an ally I feel like we can rely on.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about! You know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I do...?”

“Gaaah...! I mean, you’re always complimenting her and taking her side! Do you, um...like-like her?” Stella asked, fidgeting anxiously.

I mean, I had noticed that Stella got pissed whenever I complimented Henny. I never imagined she thought I’d gotten romantically interested in Henny, though!

I took a deep breath, which prompted Stella to flinch and stiffen up.

“Stella... Have you been in a bad mood lately because you thought I had switched sides to Henny?”

“E-Excuse me? I haven’t been in a bad mood. In the first place, it doesn’t matter to me who you like or not.”

“If it doesn’t matter, why’re you asking, hmm?”

“I-I mean, as your owner, I just wanted to be sure about your intentions here! That’s all!” Stella grumbled, glaring at me. Her excuses were as clumsy as ever. That side of her was cute too.

“Ninety percent of those compliments are just to help with her Water miracles. You should know that, right?”

“Does that mean you just make stuff up and lie?”

“No, it’s all true.”

“I knew it!” Stella exclaimed, crossing her arms. “Forget it already. Now I know you’re too much of a pervert not to fall for any girl you see. I won’t get in the way of you or Henny or anything, and in fact, I’m glad to be free of you, really.”

She turned around to face away from me. Her tightly clenched fists were trembling, be it from the cold night air or something else...

This situation was not what I wanted. And so, I did the one thing I could as a staff.

“I LOVE TSUNDERES MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WOOORLD!” I roared into the night.

My spirited cry spread throughout the unending night sky before vanishing as if sucked into the darkness. What remained was only the whispers of the wind. Yelling that out was oddly satisfying. All the pent-up stuff in my chest had been unleashed.

For a moment, Stella balked and anxiously looked all over the place. “Why are you shouting, Otaku?! We’re not supposed to be out here this late...!”

“Oops. I completely forgot.”

I did my best to look around, but there was nobody coming. Thankfully it didn’t seem like anyone was rushing over to investigate.

It was like, as usual, the world consisted of only Stella and I.

“Seems like we’re good. My unending tsundere love reached you and only you.”

“Y-You little...”

“I’m always saying it, aren’t I? I’m a tsundere otaku. Look at me; I’ve given up on being a human for the sake of a tsundere girl. There’s no world in which my beloved tsundere Stella is not my number one!”

“G-Give me a break! I don’t care at all about being your number one or whatever!”

“If you still suspect me of switching sides, I’ll just have to compliment you more here than I ever have Henny. I love more things about you than there are stars in the sky! It’ll take all night and more. First of all, I’ve gotta start with your silver hair, which stays wavy even though you barely have to do anything to it. Then there’s your sharp, always-narrowed eyes; that’s exactly my thing. Your prickly-but-kind personality is heartwarming, and—”

“Aaaah! Enough, enough, enough! Don’t say anything more...!” Stella cried, steam blowing out of her ears as she shook her head.

“It’s way too soon to give up. I’ve still got loads to say. Could you at least let me get through the first hundred?”

“H-Hundred?! Just how many pervy lines do you have ready?! I’m banning you from talking! I won’t forgive you if you say even a single pervy word from this point on!” Stella said, puffing out her cheeks. If I said here the way she hid her embarrassment by acting angry was cute, she would probably explode, so I kept that to myself.

Still looking displeased, Stella whispered in a vanishingly quiet voice. “I already knew this, but you really are a pervert. Just the absolute worst, biggest pervert ever!”

“Can I take that to mean your misunderstanding has been cleared?”

“I get that the ‘tsunderes’ you talk about are your number one.” Stella tilted her chin away.

It seemed like I did manage to clear things up. Whew. I wouldn’t want my idol thinking I had fallen for someone else.

“Why do you like tsunderes so much anyway?” Stella asked, bringing up her knees and hugging them like one might in gym class. “When did you turn into such a...weirdo?”

“Hm. You want to know when I fell in love with tsunderes? That would be when I was ten years old. I was addicted to manga and late-night anime back then, and was known as the dorkiest, most 2D-addled otaku in class. Th—”

“Hold it! You’re using way too many words I don’t know!”

“Basically, by the time I was ten I already didn’t fit into class. I wasn’t a hot dude, and I couldn’t do sports either. Girls basically hated me.”

“Naturally. You’re a pervert, after all.”

“One day I was confessed to by the most popular girl in class. She was really cute and always smiling. I was surprised, but I got over my shock and gave her the okay.”

“E-Excuse me? You, being popular?! No way. That’s too good to be true.”

“You’re right. I should’ve been more careful. No beauty approaches an otaku without an ulterior motive... She had to be planning something,” I said, turning my spirit eyes down to the garden.

The statue of the Goddess built near the announcement podium was made of bright white stone and thus visible even at night. The smile plastered on her face probably felt gross to me because it reminded me of the one that girl had worn. Only now did I realize that.

“In the end, her confession had been a big joke. One of those pranks popular people like to play on unpopular ones. The next day, a video of me awkwardly agreeing had been spread around the school, making me a laughing stock. To make matters worse, the girl that confessed went out of her way to come over and go like, ‘Did you reaaally think that you’d get to go out with me? Lmao’ and made fun of me.”

I probably used some words Stella wouldn’t understand there, but she read the mood and didn’t get any jabs in.

“I was ready for that hell to continue forever. But instead, my childhood friend interjected, wielding a bamboo sword, and...beat the crap out of me.”

“Wha...? She beat YOU up? Why?”

“Seems crazy, right? I didn’t get it at first either. As she beat me down with the sword, she said it was obvious a beauty like her would never confess to a gross otaku like me, that it’d be cheeky for a loser like me to get a girlfriend at all, that I should save my dreams of being popular for another life, and so on,” I said. She came from a kendo dojo and had practiced the blade since birth. She was too mighty of a foe for an out-of-shape otaku.

“My classmates watched in a daze as my childhood friend beat the shit out of me. And what do you think happened next? Well, they all felt so bad, they stopped making fun of me. My childhood friend even went around smashing the smartphones of all the popular kids with her sword, saying spooky things like beating me up hadn’t been enough to satisfy her,” I continued. The smartphone smashing nearly turned into an incident of its own, but bringing smartphones to elementary school was against the rules in the first place. That was why she had done it at all. Although she seemed to be acting out of a blind rage, it was all part of her calculations.

“The next day, I thanked my childhood friend. All she said was that she’d gotten some good swinging practice in, and there was nothing for me to thank her for. It was a classic tsundere thing to say, since it was so obvious she’d done it to help me.”

“Y-You don’t know that for sure. Maybe she really did just want to beat the crap out of you,” Stella said, giving lame excuses for my childhood friend as if she were sympathizing with her. As if.

“And thus I awoke to the beauty of tsunderes. I noticed the true kindness that lay behind their prickly attitude, and realized how wondrous it truly was. Having been saved by my tsundere childhood friend, my love for—”

Suddenly, I was struck by curiosity as to how she was doing now. When she turned me down in that Valentine’s Day classroom I thought she was pure tsun, no dere, but if she was visiting me in my hospital room, maybe she still was a tsundere after all.

Which was she, in the end? As a public lover of tsunderes, I was deeply curious.

“Otaku?” Stella asked, peering at me. “Were you thinking of your childhood friend just now?”

“Nah, I mean...”

“Hmph, you don’t need to hide it from me. You came to this world out of nowhere; it only makes sense you’d miss your old world,” she said, pausing to look up at the night sky. “So... Do you ever wish you could see her again?”

“Huh?”

The silver-haired girl took out a bottle. A strange-colored liquid was inside.

“What’s that?”

“We just made it in class, remember? It’s the miracle medicine for changing one’s form.”

“And why do you have it?”

“I made extra for practice at the end of class and kept it for myself. I mean, remember how you ruined everything and I didn’t get to transform into a bunny? We still passed thanks to Professor Melvia, but I wanted proper practice anyway.”

“So diligent! I love that part of you too!”

“Sh-Shut up! Don’t say that kinda thing out of nowhere!” Stella, bright red, thrust out the bottle in my direction. “If we use this, I can turn into your childhood friend. That way you’d get to see her again. Want to try?”

After a moment of hesitation, I said, “Sure. Let’s go.”

Stella opened the bottle and chugged it down. “May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.”

I visualized something I had seen often in my past world and wanted to see again. Stella was enveloped by blinding light that took some time to fade away.

“So, do I look like your childhood friend now? I...wait, nothing’s changed!” Stella placed a hand on her face. Her wavy silver hair, marine-blue eyes, and youthful features all remained. It was regular old Stella.

The only difference was the clothes she wore.

I barked like a seal at the sight of a silver-haired beauty wearing a sailor schoolgirl uniform.

“Aaah! Stella in a sailor uniform! I knew it would suit you. My tastes are always right!”

“Wha... D-Didn’t you want to see your childhood friend?!” Stella demanded, shaking me about from embarrassment. Her short top thus lifted up and gave me a peek of her belly button. To be restrained: It was the best thing I had ever seen.

“It’s true that I want to see my childhood friend, but that’s because I have something to ask her. I don’t want to just see a clone of her.”

“So why did you agree to me using the miracle medicine then?!”

“Isn’t that obvious? Because I wanted to see you wearing my school’s uniform! Not many chances for you to wear uniforms from other schools, much less uniforms from another world. The only way for this to happen is for me to visualize it. How could I not make use of this rare opportunity to dress a tsundere girl as I pleased?!”

“YOU IDIOOOT!” Stella roared, eyes going white. “I went out of my way to use a miracle medicine I made for myself, and you used it for something this perverted?!”

“What better use for it is there?! I get to see you wearing a sailor outfit! You wearing the same uniform as me lets me imagine fantasies where you’re my junior in school. Aah, I want a silver-haired tsundere junior to be like, ‘I made too much lunch, so here’s some for you. B-But it’s not like I made it for you or anything, senpai!’ Oh man...”

“You used my precious potion for your fantasies?! That’s so gross! Stop imagining that right now!” Stella shouted, stamping her feet such that the scarf of her uniform swayed. “Let me go back to my pajamas. I can’t go back to my room otherwise!”

“Just a minute longer! Let me take a peek under your skirt!”

“Gaaah! You giga-pervert!”

＊＊＊

Quiet breathing filled the room.

As soon as Stella had returned from the roof and gotten into bed, she’d fallen fast asleep. Having a late-night drive turn into a cosplay session with me must’ve tired her out.

Her long-awaited Miracle Games were tomorrow. I wanted to avoid performing worse due to exhaustion.

It was just as I prepared to go to bed that it happened.

“—O holiness, O holiness, O holiness.”

That was a familiar chant. I jerked and looked around.

Where’s that coming from?!

I had already destroyed the relief of the Goddess on the wall.

The chant was coming from Stella’s desk. A heavy copy of the scriptures was placed upon it. The front had an illustration of the Goddess, which seemed to be speaking now.

“Ye who watches over the past, present, and future. Luxsaria Sein.”

She completed her chant, and in that moment, light appeared in the room and took the shape of the Goddess.

“O human from another world,” the hologram said, giving me a calm smile. It felt as fishy as ever. My internal alarm bells were ringing.

“What is it this time?” I asked cautiously.

The truth was I never wanted to see her again. The Goddess said she wouldn’t target Stella anymore, and that was good enough for me. We had nothing else to talk about.

The Goddess arched her eyebrows sadly, as if sensing my guard. “Must I have some business in order to meet you? Are we not close allies, you and I?”

“Allies in what? You and I have never been friends, not once.”

“How cold. Have I not been aiding Stella on a daily basis as promised, thus guaranteeing her a life of comfort?” The Goddess brought her lips close to me and whispered. “It would be best if you merely gave me the gratitude I am owed.”

“You’re going too far. We don’t need your help,” I said flatly. The problem here was that, as a staff, I couldn’t pull away from her.

The Goddess twisted her lips into a smirk. She faced the sky and extended her arms as if drunk on some kind of high. “Do you truly not need my help? Hmm? I am a god, you know. Those with my blessing are given heaven, while those who earn my ire suffer eternal torment. The entire world bends and flips upon the palm of my hand. Have you not realized this by now?”

“Some god you are. I feel nothing but pity for the people of this world.”

“I shall take that as praise,” the Goddess said, lowering her arms and placing a contemplative finger on her cheek. “I had hoped to be welcomed by you with open arms, but alas. The people of this world weep tears of joy at the mere sight of my visage, you know.”

“Sadly, I’m no zealot.”

“You truly are a peculiar one. My fascination has no end,” she said. The emphasis she put on “peculiar” irritated me.

“Let us get to the point,” she said. “I have come to retrieve something I had forgotten.”

“Something you forgot?”

“I once blessed you so that you might slay the witch; now, however, that blessing serves no purpose to you. You will not be slaying Stella, after all.”

That gave me a start. She meant my divine power. She was trying to steal it back...right before the Miracle Games, of all times.

“Wait! Hold on! Without this power, I—”

“Oh, what a delight tomorrow shall be. I wonder what performance she will have?”

Crap! That was her aim all along?!

Without the divine power, I really was just a trashy otaku. Stella’s miracles would stop working properly.

Her hand stretched toward my head. As a staff, I couldn’t avoid it. All I could do was chant.

“Deus est—!”

I aimed for the scripture on the desk. With that gone, the Goddess would disappear too.

However...

“I’m afraid that won’t be happening. It is a sin to burn the scripture.”

The Goddess reached me before I could do anything.

I finished the chant, but no beam came out. I had lost my divine power. I felt what could be described as the blood draining from my face.

The Goddess’s lips curved into a grin. “Farewell, human.”

“Wai—”

The Goddess vanished like a candle being snuffed out.

Darkness returned to the room.

I wanted to grab my head and pull out my hair as Stella continued snoozing peacefully.

She played me like a fiddle. That damn Goddess...!

I could hear her distant cackling.

Today became tomorrow, and the Miracle Games came.

Chapter 4 — Quoth Stella: We’re Not Just Friends, We’re Best Friends

We headed to Antohsa’s garden on the morning of the Miracle Games and found a circular colosseum-like structure built there.

“Wow! This wasn’t here yesterday, was it?” Feena asked, looking up at the tall walls of the structure.

“Nope,” Stella replied. “The professors must have built it this morning with miracles. They did the same last year, remember?”

Stella’s voice was clearly stiff. I could tell she was incredibly tense.

“This is an advanced miracle formed by the principal. It will last all day,” Henny said. She seemed calm, but it was hard to say. She might’ve been feeling more pressure on the inside than she let on. That’s what it meant to be a cool beauty.

“Let’s go on in!” Feena exclaimed, heading to the colosseum like one might go on a field trip.

The inside of the colosseum was, unsurprisingly, stylized as an arena. The seats were arranged as stairs to allow one to see the middle from the top.

“Wow... Our miracles will be shown on such a grand stage?” Feena murmured, leaning over the railing at the bottom of the steps. A loud crack immediately resounded.

“Oooow!” she cried, crouching down with a hand on her forehead.

Stella and Henny raced over. “What’s wrong?”

“My head hit something...”

Henny extended a hand to the center; her fingertips stopped as if touching something. “There’s an invisible wall.”

“Wow, there is,” Stella said. “The arena is cut off from the audience.”

Stella slapped the air to feel out the wall. She looked like a mime since it was totally invisible.

“Why’re they using a wall for this?” I asked, finding it curious.

“I mean, to protect the audience, obviously,” Stella said.

“Our miracles would fly into the stands and be dangerous otherwise,” Henny said at the same time, her voice overlapping with Stella’s.

“It’s that dangerous...?” I muttered.

“You remember the preliminaries, don’t you? In the real deal, the miracles will be even more intense; the audience won’t be safe without walls,” Stella said.

“By the way, what rules do these matches have? Is it going to be another killing thing?” I asked.

“Not even close,” Stella answered. “It’s close combat with your opposing team. You can use whatever miracles you like. Whoever blows apart the roses on the opposing team’s chests wins.”

“Roses?”

“In the match, everyone will put roses into their chest pockets. You lose the moment the petals of your rose scatter. The team with the most remaining members wins.”

“So basically, you can’t lose as long as you guard your own rose?” I asked.

“Yeah, but... What’s with the defeatism?” Stella asked, giving me a dubious look. Henny’s and Feena’s eyes fell on me too.

“You’re imagining things.”

“Good grief. We’re going for a number one victory, got it? We’re not just gonna be running around hiding,” Stella said. She had no doubts whatsoever in our team’s victory.

If I were a human, I’d be breaking out in a cold sweat right about now. Good thing I was a staff.

“Hey, you three,” I said. “What’s the plan for the rest of the morning?”

“Plan? I mean, the opening ceremony will be starting soon. Then the tournament fights will start one after another.”

“We have some time then, right? I’d like to pray to the Goddess before we start. Could you bring me to one of her statues?”

We left the colosseum to go to a statue and found the arena swarmed by a crowd outside. And it wasn’t just students—there were adults wearing long, flowing dresses.

“Looks like the guardians are coming again,” Stella murmured.

“And not just guardians,” Feena said, pointing a finger. “Look, over there!”

Some distance away was Hamiel, the amber-haired, long-legged saint renowned for being the mightiest of them all. She was surrounded by well-dressed people chatting her up with smiles.

“The captain of the Opti Baculus,” Henny said, emotionlessly.

“Lady Hamiel is a guest again, I see,” Feena said.

“She is the only student to ever graduate as a Hall of Famer,” Henny said. “It’s only natural she would be a guest.”

“What’s the Hall of Fame in this case?” Feena asked.

“If a student wins two years in a row, they are inducted into the Hall of Fame and are unable to participate in future years.”

“Oh, I had no idea about such a system. It was in an entirely different world from mine.”

As those two talked, Stella stared at Hamiel. All of a sudden, Hamiel’s head turned; her eyes met Stella’s. She instantly put aside those near her and began walking our way.

“Wait, Lady Hamiel coming this way...?! Eep, eep, what do we do?!” Feena exclaimed. “Did she hear us talking about her?”

“We didn’t say anything rude,” Henny answered, but she stiffened up too.

Hamiel stopped in front of Stella. Stella looked up at the tall woman. There was an air of familiarity between them.

“I heard you were chosen to play in the Miracle Games. Congratulations,” Hamiel said.

Stella shook her head. “My team was chosen, but that’s all. Please save your congratulations for when we win.”

For a moment Hamiel seemed taken aback, but an amused smile soon arose on her face. “True enough. It was too soon for congratulations. I look forward to your matches.”

Hamiel turned on her heels and left. Her robe fluttered, and the staff drawn with golden embroidery on its back gleamed.

Stella called out as she left. “I’m going to win and join the Opti Baculus no matter what! I want to fight in the same team as you one day, Captain Hamiel!”

Hamiel turned.

“That way, we will be able to slay all the magibeasts in the country. I want a peaceful world with no magibeasts and nobody sad!” Stella’s shoulders heaved as she caught her breath, having shouted as loud as she could.

To think a tsundere girl would ever express her honest feelings this clearly... Frankly, I was stunned. My one guess was that by announcing this to the person she admired, she was ensuring she had no way to back down.

Hamiel returned a calm smile. “I await your enlistment.”

Stella’s breath caught.

With a flutter of her amber hair, Hamiel departed. Others quickly surrounded her again, and in the blink of an eye she was out of sight.

“S-Stella, are you friends with Lady Hamiel?!” Feena exclaimed, almost frothing at the mouth in shock.

“I am surprised,” Henny added. Despite her standard lack of expression, she actually did seem somewhat surprised.

“Y-You know how it goes. Something happened, and I might’ve done something to get her to remember m—” Stella began shyly. A loud smack, followed by a man shouting, cut her off.

“Do not talk back to me! You embarrassment to the Frantzbelle name!”

The three girls exchanged looks, then timidly approached the source of the voice.

“I apologize, father...” Quinza said.

She and her father were in the colosseum’s shade.

The man was wearing exceptionally fanciful dress and wielding a magnificent staff. He was the portly man we’d seen in the hologram before; once again, he was looking down on our villainess.

Judging by the fact Quinza was on the ground holding her cheek, that smack from before must’ve been her father hitting her.

“What has been wrong with your grades as of late? Far from coming first-in-class, you burned down an entire room after failing to brew a single potion?! The People of Fire causing a wildfire is nothing short of laughable. It infuriates me just to imagine those pathetic professors mocking us from the shadows!” he roared.

“Father! I swear, that was by no mistake of mine...!”

“Enough of your excuses! You are shaming yourself due to sloth and sloth alone!”

“I apologize, father.” Quinza’s expression became utterly blank.

That hurt to watch. Quinza’s grades and that fire had all been due to the Goddess. Quinza herself hadn’t been slacking whatsoever.

“You even hid the results of the preliminaries from me. I had to hear from House Euberta’s child that a commoner team came in first. Do you know how much that embarrassed me? Preliminaries or not, do you feel no shame over losing to a mere commoner?!”

Quinza, still sitting, faced the ground.

“Do not even think of losing to that commoner in the games themselves. Do you have any idea what would become of me in the box seats should such a thing happen?! All the fellows there will make a mockery of me!”

“I-If I may, father... That team consists of more than just commoners—they have a Razwald with them, cursed blood and all!” Quinza shouted, her face pale.

Her father’s fury continued to burn, however. “So what if they do? Is that any reason to lose?! The proud People of Fire would never lose to the cursed former People of Water!”

I glanced at Henny on instinct.

She was as expressionless as always. There wasn’t even a twitch of her eyebrow.

“By now, the Razwalds are commoners and nothing more. If you lose to them, House Frantzbelle will be utterly honorless. We will be mocked by all as inferior to commoners, and this will have no small impact on our diplomacy. Do you intend to bring ruin to a house that has existed for over a thousand years?!”

“Absolutely— Absolutely not...!” Quinza said. The pressure of her father’s words were so intense that she was violently shaking.

The Goddess’s unending torment had left Quinza utterly lacking in confidence. In the past, she would have declared her victory was certain, but not now.

Quinza’s father scoffed at his daughter. “You unworthy brat. Failure will have grave consequences,” he spat. With that, he left, shoulders heaving with rage.

Is that any way to treat your own daughter?

Quinza, left behind, continued to sit and stare at the ground. It was some time before she stood up on shaky legs. She made no move to wipe the mud off her robes. Instead, she made a mad dash away from the colosseum; her eyes were wet with tears.

“Well, that was awful,” Stella muttered to herself once the villainess was completely gone from sight. “I don’t want to sympathize with Quinza of all people, but after seeing that...”

“I had heard her father was exceptionally strict, but that was far beyond my imagination... I do feel bad for Lady Quinza.”

“Count Frantzbelle spoke the truth. If a ducal house is seen as powerless enough to lose to its inferiors, it runs the risk of being attacked by its competitors. One has to be strict if they wish to protect their citizens.”

“Still, that’s no reason to be so harsh right before her match.”

“I agree.”

Stella sighed, as if venting her frustration. “Well, now we know Quinza has her own reasons for wanting to win, but that doesn’t change the fact we want to win too. We’re not gonna lose just for her sake. Right?”

“Naturally,” Henny answered.

“Indeed,” Feena agreed. “It would be more rude to Lady Quinza for us to lose on purpose.”

“All we really have to do is come in first. That way every house will be lower than commoners. Nobody will be able to make fun of them.”

“What an idea... Stella, you may be a genius!”

“She is.”

The three of them seemed pretty optimistic about winning.

This isn’t good... Without divine power from the Goddess, we’re gonna come in last, much less first...

I was sweating bullets on the inside, but they had no way of knowing that. Instead, I just psychologically willed them to hurry to a Goddess statue...only for another obstruction to appear.

“Little Feeny!” came a high-pitched cry. The three of them stopped.

Some distance away was a middle-aged woman wearing an exceptionally frilly dress. The droop in her eyes was a perfect match for Feena’s.

Feena paled and shouted, “Mom?!”

“I came to see every moment of your glooory!” Feena’s mom called from afar, waving a hand energetically.

Blood rushed to Feena’s cheeks.

All the nearby noblewomen looked over at her mother and began sneering among themselves.

“Goodness, what a country bumpkin...” one said.

“How many decades old might that dress be, I wonder?” another said.

“I have never seen someone wear such poorly applied makeup,” a third said.

Unable to bear it any longer, Feena dashed over. She approached her mother with unladylike speed and pulled her arm.

“Oh my, Feeny. Where is our hello hug?”

“You’re embarrassing me, mom...! Come this way...!”

Feena tugged her mom away and distanced herself from the colosseum.

Stella and Henny exchanged quick glances, then followed after her.

“Jeez, mom! It’s whatever if you want to come watch, but didn’t I mention in my letter to avoid talking to me no matter what?!” Feena exclaimed, her usual formal tone cracking into something more fitting for a girl her age. She let go of her mother’s arms in a shadowed corner far from anyone else.

“I mean, I can’t help that I saw you in the crowd, Feeny! I even dressed properly so I wouldn’t embarrass you. It’s fine.”

“How is that proper dress...?!” Feena snapped.

Wow. Pretty rare for Feena to be on the offensive like that...

As I watched on, intrigued, Feena’s mother looked behind her and spotted us. “Are those your friends behind you, Feeny?”

“Yes, that’s Stella and Henny... Wait, where did Henny go? She’s gone.”

At some point, Henny had vanished from our side.

Stella was stunned herself. “It’s true! She was just here!”

“We shall have to go find her,” Feena said, now back on her two feet.

“My my, goodness me, could you be Stella?” Feena’s mother asked, bending forward as she approached. Stella faltered from surprise.

“Yes, I’m Stella Millesia...”

“I have heard SO much about you in little Feeny’s letters! What a delight it is to meet you!”

“Wh-What does she say about me...?” Stella asked timidly.

Feena’s mother beamed. “That you are the greatest friend she could ask for!”

I could feel through Stella’s palm that her entire body heated up. She waved both of her hands in front of her face.

“Th-That’s not true! I-It’s not like I’m Feena’s friend or anyth—” Stella began, stammering.

“Indeed. We’re not just friends; we’re best friends!”

“Wha?!”

Feena hugged Stella’s arm. Stella’s cheeks were practically on fire.

Feena’s mother gave a dreamy smile. “Oh my, is that so?”

“Yes. Every day has been bright since Stella and I became roommates. I am with Stella in class and in the dormitory. The road to sainthood is harsh, but I feel that with Stella, I will be able to see it to the end.”

“Wh-What are you even saying?! I-It’s not like I need you for class or—”

“You do need Earth miracles, don’t you?”

“W-Well yes, but... That’s all you’re good for!”

“I’m glad. That means I’m repaying you in at least one small way.”

“GAAAH!”

Stella’s eyes were spinning. Tsundere girls were weak to genuine affection.

Feena’s mother held out a basket, smiling. “I baked a pumpkin pie for Feeny and her friends. I hope you can all enjoy it together.”

“Mom! I told you I was on a diet!”

After further prompting, Feena finally took the basket with some bitterness, and her mom left while wishing her good luck.

Feena slumped her shoulders. “I apologize. As you can see, my mother truly is from the country...”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize about. I don’t hate pumpkin pie or anything.”

“I’m glad, then,” Feena said, briskly opening the basket and pushing it Stella’s way. It exuded the scent of butter.

Stella stuffed her cheeks with pie while looking around. “More importantly, we need to go find Henny. Where did she even manage to get herself lost...?”

“I’m right here.”

“GUH?!”

Henny popped her face out from behind, prompting Stella to leap back.

“Where in the world were you?!”

“In those bushes.”

“But... Why? Why would you do that?”

“Her mother might be worried if she learns her daughter is involved with a Razwald.”

“Henny...” Feena said.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it,” Henny said, expressionless as always. It may have been a delusion on my part, but it seemed to me like her lowered eyelashes emanated a bit of sorrow.

Feena held out the basket to Henny.

“This is?”

“A pumpkin pie my mother baked. She wants my friends to try it. It may not suit the tongue of a historied noble, but...”

Henny took a piece of the pie. She bit down.

“It’s good.” As usual, her expression didn’t change, but she was chowing down on that piece of pie with a vengeance.

Feena giggled and gave a happy smile.

“I shall tell my mother later that you enjoyed it, Henny.”

Henny opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just gave a single curt nod before eating another slice.

Despite many delays, we were finally on our way to the academy chapel. This was where I had been registered as a knight. It had a pretty big Goddess statue.

“It’s rare for you to want to pray to the Goddess. What’s gotten into you?” Stella asked, curious.

My goal here wasn’t to pray, but to meet the Goddess again. You could call this me trying to raid her office more so than praying.

I’m going to get the divine power back no matter what. I won’t be able to perform like I usually do without it, I’d guess, and that’s exactly why she took it right before the Miracle Games. She said that letting Stella win the preliminaries was her form of apology, but that was a lie. Her intention had surely always been to steal the power from me and shame Stella on the big stage. All of her support up until now had just been to deceive me. What an utter piece of trash she is...!

Still, I couldn’t say that to everyone, and so...

“I prayed to the Goddess earlier when I couldn’t sleep, right? I asked to be sleepy, basically, and now I want to fix that.”

“Oh really?” Stella asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Praying to the Goddess truly is the most effective way to cure such ailments,” Feena intoned.

“Trash, want me to wake you up with ice?” Henny asked.

“Nope, no need for ice.”

The road to the chapel was utterly barren. Everyone had gathered in the garden for the Miracle Games. A pure-white building arose amid the trees. Stella placed a hand on its heavy wooden door...but it instantly was flung open from the inside.

“Ngh! Quinza...?!”

Of all the people, we had crossed paths with Quinza. She balked herself, having likely not expected to see us today. She instantly hid something behind her back.

“Hm...?”

“Ooooho ho ho, come to pray to the Goddess for victory? Too bad, she shall never smile for any of you,” she said.

Her usual cackling kind of just felt pitiful after what we had just watched. Stella, Feena, and Henny all just remained silent.

Quinza furrowed her brow. “How about you say something? I detest that look of pity in your eyes!”

“No matter what circumstances you may have, we’re not going to lose,” Stella said.

Quinza burst into laughter. She let out loud cackling, as if to actively mock Stella’s group. “You won’t lose? Aaah, how ridiculous! It should be obvious the likes of you have no chance against me. OOOHO HO HO HO HO!”

Something felt off.

She had been like a broken twig after her father yelled at her, but after visiting the chapel her confidence was through the rough. Had praying to the Goddess inspired her somehow?

Quinza stuck her staff in our direction. “The Goddess is on my side. You will see as much in our match.”

Her eyes were bloodshot and the look in her eyes was murderous. That was no empty bluff or acting. Her invincible smile radiated confidence from the bottom of her heart. She departed.

Stella’s group watched her go.

“What was with her?” Stella asked.

“She was back to her usual self...” Feena said.

“Nah, it felt like she had even more malice than usual,” I said.

“Ominous,” Henny concluded.

This got me curious, but Quinza had already vanished. Stella turned back around and opened the chapel door.

The inside of the chapel gleamed and glittered like usual. The gaudy decoration left me anxious.

Stella’s gang advanced down the scarlet carpet. The three of them stopped at the sizable Goddess statue at the back.

“You just want me to lean you against her, Otaku?” Stella asked.

“Yep, sounds good.”

Stella leaned me against the statue. My head hit it with a thunk. I readied myself for a warp.

All right, hit me!

I waited, but my vision never began to distort. I just saw an exasperated Stella, a worried Feena, and an expressionless Henny staring at me.

What? Strange. This sent me to the divine throne last time.

“Sorry, Stella.”

“What?”

“Could you smack me against the statue?”

“Excuse me...?” Stella balked. Her cheeks started dyeing over with embarrassment. “Y-You little... You want me to hit you in this holy place?! Don’t expect me to play along with your perversion here! Now’s not the time for joking around!”

No perversion here. I just wanted to be sent to the divine throne one way or another.

Seemed like I would have to bust out my usual strategy.

“If this is a holy place, are weddings and such held here too?” I asked.

“Heh? Weddings...? Well, I guess I’ve heard of this chapel being used when graduating students get married.”

“This can be seen as reconnaissance for us, then. Your hair and wedding dress will look great in contrast with this scarlet carpet.”

“Bwuh?! Wh-Wh-What do you think you’re saying, idiot?! You perverted Otaku!”

Just as planned, Stella went bright red and started slamming me against the statue. My head, shoulders, and back all hurt, but I had to get into the divine throne and get my divine power back no matter what. This pain was nothing in comparison to that.

“Stella...” Henny began, unable to watch this brutality.

Feena grabbed Henny’s arm. “It’s fine. Master Otaku loves being beaten.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

No you won’t!

Despite the quickly spreading understanding that I was a masochistic pervert, there was no sign of me entering the divine throne. Something was wrong. I thought all I had to do was touch the statue. My only option seemed to be embarrassing Stella further to keep the beating going.

“You’re even cuter than usual, Stella! Are you tense because it’s the big day? Your sharper look is to die for. The fact your palms are ten percent sweatier than usual (as per my subjective measuring) is particularly welcome!”

“I-IDIOT IDIOT IDIOOOT!”

Stella swung her arms with fury, steam blowing out of her ears as she threw me toward the statue. I arced in the air before slamming into her face. Even then, my consciousness remained right where it was.

No way... Why can’t I go into the divine throne?!

I fell into despair as I literally fell to the ground.

Moments later, I hit the base of the altar and fell unconscious.

＊＊＊

“...-taku, hurry and wake up already. Otaku!”

“Ah!”

When I came to, I was being treated to a triple lap pillow by three beauties. Or well, pillow wasn’t the right word—my entire body spanned their laps, making it more like a lap bed.

We were at the circular colosseum in the garden. Stella, Feena, and Henny were sitting in the audience stand. I was on their laps.

Stella was the first to notice my murmur, and instantly shouted “Otaku?!”

“Has Master Otaku awakened?” Feena asked, peering over.

Henny joined her. “Trash, are you okay?”

“To think I’d have three beauties worrying about me the moment I woke up. What a blissful otaku I am,” I said, and I meant it.

Stella’s expression instantly went flat. “W-Wrong! I wasn’t worried about you in the least, so—”

“Now now, Stella, lying is no good at all,” Feena said. “When you realized that Master Otaku had fallen unconscious in the chapel, you truly lost your mind. Didn’t she, Henny?”

“She sobbed and called Trash’s name constantly.”

“Eek eek! Hey, don’t just make stuff up! I only got tears in my eyes because, um, the decoration was too bright!”

“Ehe heh, you remain as poor at dishonesty as ever, Stella.”

“That reasoning makes no sense.”

“How adorably awkward!”

Stella groaned. “Whatever! It’s good you finally woke up, anyway. We’re just about to get called.”

“Called for what?”

“The next match is ours.”

What?! I nearly yelped aloud. I hadn’t gotten my divine power back yet...! “Didn’t you say there was an opening ceremony?! What happened to that?”

“It came and went while you were asleep. Oh, Feena, don’t forget that basket. I want the rest of the pie later.”

Stella’s gang patted themselves down and stood up.

I hardened my resolve. “S-Stella...”

“What? C’mon, we’re going to the prep room.”

The three girls walked off, mingling with other students in the hallway. I couldn’t talk here; I’d lost my opportunity to say anything.

In the prep room, Stella’s group put their things down and took off their robes to prepare. Stella seemed to be especially shaky.

“What should one do at times like this?” she asked.

“What do you mean, exactly?” Feena asked.

“You know. Like, all of us getting in a circle, cheering each other on... I-I don’t know! I think it’s all dumb anyway,” Stella said, shrugging all that off as if embarrassed.

Feena clapped her hands. “How delightful! Let’s do so.”

“Lead the way,” Henny said. Both of them looked at her expectantly.

“W-Well, if you two insist...” Stella held out her hands, looking anxious. Feena took one hand and Henny took the other.

“Let’s win the Miracle Games, no matter what!” she declared.

“Here-here!”

Gulp.

The three of them let each other go. Stella tilted her chin away shyly, Feena grinned, and Henny looked the same as ever. Each had a different reaction, but they truly had become one.

Now this is youth...!

I was moved at the sight of my idol having friends.

And just then, a professor entered the room.

“Team Stella: you are up.”

And so the three of them headed to the arena for their match.

＊＊＊

“Next up will be the second-years. On this side we have the red team, consisting of Quinza Frantzbelle, Sasha Pollard, and Micaela Guardner!”

Cheers erupted from the audience and Quinza entered the audience alongside ferocious clapping. She and her lackeys had red roses on their chests.

Incidentally, Professor Melvia was acting as the announcer. She used Wind miracles to amplify her voice, making it echo throughout the arena as if she were using a megaphone.

“To continue, the white team consists of Stella Millesia, Feena Serdia, and Henrietta Razwald!”

An uneasy stir ran through the audience.

“That Razwald...?”

“Why is there a cursed bloodline in the saint academy...?”

Even as Stella’s group entered with white roses pinned on their chests, the crowd continued to stir among themselves. There were more upset voices from the guardians than anything.

“Sorry,” Henny muttered.

“Who cares if there’s no clapping? I’m used to being unwelcomed,” Stella said.

“Indeed. I would be more nervous if we were met with exaggerated applause; I prefer this,” Feena said. The three of them lined up at the edge of the battle arena.

There were about a hundred meters separating the two teams.

“Is the fight gonna start from this distance?” I asked.

Stella nodded. “Miracles are fundamentally long-ranged.”

“Nobles don’t stand on the front lines. They shoot from afar,” Henny added.

Sensible enough.

“And that’s why we’re going to catch them off guard,” Stella said confidently right as Professor Melvia lifted her staff.

“The match shall now begin. Ignaria Sein!”

Fireworks sprayed from the professor’s staff.

“Charge! Winaria Sein!” Stella chanted, getting on me. Feena and Henny did the same, such that all three of us charged right toward Quinza’s group...or that was the plan, anyway.

“Heh...?” Stella didn’t lift up. Normally a powerful gust of wind would have pushed her up, but this time nothing came but a light breeze.

“Oh? The Wind isn’t helping me...” Feena said. She was bad at Wind miracles and couldn’t stabilize without Stella’s help. She was bobbing up and down helplessly.

Henny, noticing something was off, paused in the air and looked back. “What’s happening?”

“Something’s strange. Are you listening, Otaku?! We’re flying! Winaria Sein, Winaria Sein, Winaria Sein!” Stella chanted, getting anxious.

I called out to the spirits with all my might.

Listen to me, O my allies among the Wind spirits! We once loved tsunderes together, did we not?! I may have lost my divine power, but our love for tsunderes remains strong, doesn’t it?! Please, this is all for the sake of a tsundere girl’s smile! Lend me your streeength!

But it was no good.

Next to no spirits answered my call. Stella’s bangs swayed a bit, which was about as far as you could get from flying.

“Oh my my!” came Professor Melvia’s amplified voice. “The white team tried to close the distance, but what’s this? It would seem their Wind miracles are not activating properly!”

At the same time, there was a red flash from Quinza’s team.

“Enemy attack coming,” Henny warned.

“Iron wall, Terararia Sein! Get behind here, you two!” Feena cried. Stella and Henny hurried behind the wall’s shadow.

“Trash, compliment me.”

“Your consideration for your friends is a thing of beauty, Henny. A cool beauty showing glimmers of the kindness in her heart is to die for.”

“Nm... Aquaria Sein.”

A dome of water formed around the Feena’s iron wall. Now we were safe no matter where the fire came from.

An explosion resounded from right on the other end of the iron wall. The water dome was engulfed in mist. Sizzling sounds mixed with explosion after explosion while the three girls cowered.

“Now this is what I call firepower! The red team has used a combination chant to unleash massive fireballs. The white team is putting up defense with walls of iron and water, but how much longer can they last?”

“I-I’m fine...!” Feena stammered.

“Same,” Henny agreed, both of them having heard the announcer.

They probably were fine, then. I was the one who wasn’t fine.

“But why...?!” Stella said. “Why can’t I cast any miracles?! Everything was fine just yesterday. Why now, at the big event...?!”

She flopped onto the ground, not caring that the mud would get her skirt wet. I managed to squeeze out as best of an apology as I could. “...I’m sorry.”

“Forget the apologies. What’s going on, Otaku?! Why aren’t my miracles—”

“I’m really sorry!” I shouted, loud enough to match the explosions. Stellas, Feena, and Henny all fell silent and looked at me. “I’ve been...sick since this morning. The spirits just won’t listen to me. The best I can do right now is form beads of light or blow breezes.”

Without that divine power, I really was just another otaku. I wasn’t even a spirit; the grade of knight-rank was far too grand for me.

“I know I can’t apologize enough for this. You, Feena, and Henny have all been working hard for this day, and I’m ruining it. If you lose it’s entirely my fault. You can cook me up, burn me, or do whatever you want,” I said.

As I spoke, the explosions from Quinza’s fire continued in the background. A meteoric ball of fire exploded and rained burning ash all across the dome of water.

“And who said we’re going to lose?” Stella asked, having at some point stood up. “So what if you’re sick, Otaku? I don’t know what misunderstanding you have here, but I was never counting on you to begin with!”

“Ah!”

Stella brought her face up close to me. Her intense, sharp eyes pierced me.

“I couldn’t use miracles to begin with. I’m fine with or without you. I handled myself just fine before ever meeting you. It doesn’t matter to me whether you end up useless or not. The only problem I have is you getting all apologetic and thinking we’re going to lose!”

I ended up dazed. She was obviously not going to be fine without miracles. The fact she was acting tough and pretending otherwise meant only one thing...she was a tsundere. She was hiding her kind heart beneath cold words. This was the epitome of being a tsundere.

“Indeed. If you are ill, Master Otaku, we need only work harder,” Feena said, agreeing with a bright tone.

Henny nodded too. “All you need to do is compliment me, Trash.”

“Everyone...”

The kindness of the three filled my heart. Were I a human I undoubtedly would’ve cried.

“The only real problem is that Feena and I can’t fly properly, so we need to rethink our strategy,” Stella concluded.

“No we don’t,” Henny said.

“By this we mean taking out Quinza’s two lackeys first, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Henny said. “Their combination chant is a problem. We can weaken Quinza by taking out her Water and Wind support.”

Our original strategy was to race them down right at the start, surround one of the lackeys, and defeat them one by one.

“I’ll handle the air combat. You all destroy their roses once they fall.”

“I’ll provide my support!” Feena exclaimed.

“Then it’s settled. Leave the grounded foes to us.”

They instantly rearranged their battle roles. Henny spoke the moment Quinza’s group paused their assault. “Trash, compliment me.”

“Man, you can be a strategist too? Just having you around is heartening!”

“Nn... It was to such an extent that the forest was enveloped by white, and all went out of sight. Aquaria Sein.”

A white fog instantly formed around us. Stella’s group began their plot in the quiet shroud.

“Seems like the red team has tired themselves out from all the combination chants!” came the announcer. “And as for the white team... Oh, this smog—or is it fog?”

Stella and Feena ran as Professor Melvia gave her commentary. Henny went high into the air. She found one of the lackeys, then shot downward.

“Aquaria Sein,” she whispered. Numerous blocks of ice shaped like knives appeared around her hand. They shot out and slashed at the girl’s—Sasha’s—head.

“Ngh! An enemy, Lady Quinza!” Sasha shouted while trying to dodge the ice.

Quinza and the others had been searching for the white team. They had thought that the combination chant had damaged the white team into immobility.

“Where?! Where are they, Sasha?!” Quinza shouted, but they were surrounded by the deep mist Henny had made. Quinza had lost sight of not just her foes, but her allies as well.

“Over here, Lady Quinza!” Sasha pleaded among the mist, but the icy assault continued, and she herself forgot where she had flown. She was leaving herself open and she knew it.

In a panic, she began a chant. “Luxsaria—”

“Nope.”

Her arm was struck with something hard. She groaned in pain and fumbled her chant. She had tried to use light to reveal her location to her allies, but Henny’s ice blade had stopped her.

In the blink of an eye, Henny was in front of Sasha swinging her sword again. “You should guard.”

“Eek! The Razwald...! Aquaria Sein!” Sasha chanted, flinching and spraying oil upon Henny with all her might.

This was Sasha’s specialty. What Quinza wanted from a Water ally was not flame quenching water, but oil to spread her flames.

With oil on Henny, all it would take is a single fire from Quinza to settle the match. Or so she thought...

“It’s foolish to challenge a Razwald with water,” Henny said. She had formed a massive shield of ice that not only blocked the oil but allowed her to charge. “Behold your own incompetence.”

The shield of ice slammed hard into Sasha. She took it right on her face and blinked unconscious for a moment. All her miracles faded, and with that, she fell to the ground.

“Ngh, I can still...” Sasha began, grabbing her staff and immediately moving to stand. A shadow fell over her, prompting her to hastily spit out a chant.

“Terararia Sein!”

She tried to shoot out a stone to stagger her enemy, but nothing happened.

“This is the end for you,” came a voice. Sasha looked up and saw a silver-haired girl. Stella was gripping her staff.

“Ngh! Terararia Sein!”

“Like I said, it’s not gonna work.” Stella’s physiology meant any staff she touched couldn’t cast a miracle.

Sasha’s attack did nothing, and Stella used the chance to steal the rose from her chest.

“Ah...!”

“That’s one down!” Stella shouted, lifting up her rose petal-filled hand. Hers was a declaration of triumph.

A student that had lost their rose would not be allowed to participate in the match any further.

“It would seem the first defeat has come from the red team! The white team hid in the mist and struck one of their foes from the shadows!” Professor Melvia narrated. Somehow, despite the mist, I knew Quinza was gnashing her teeth.

“There you are, STELLA MILLESIAAA!” Quinza roared, having finally located Stella thanks to her shout. “O Spirits of Fire, grant me blazes to burn mine enemies away. Ignaria Sein!”

Countless fireballs rained toward Stella. As she was, Stella couldn’t fly to dodge them or do anything to protect herself. I balked, only for a shout to ring out.

“Iron wall! Terararia Sein!”

Feena, having breathlessly raced over, formed an iron wall in front of Stella. The fireballs hit the wall and exploded with extravagant noise.

“Thanks, Feena.”

“I shall distract Lady Quinza. You go to Henny!”

“Got it!”

Stella leaped from behind the shadows of the wall and back into the mist. Inside all we could see was a wall of white, but even so Stella raced forward.

“Do you know where Henny is?” I asked, uncertain.

“Obviously. She’s the one making this mist. Go to where it’s thickest, and she’ll be there—”

“It was then that the black clouds parted, pierced by light from the heavens—Winaria Sein!”

A chant resounded and was swiftly met by a gust of wind.

“Ah! The mist...!” Stella said. A hole opened up in the mist, revealing Quinza’s lackey Micaela.

She instantly followed that up with an Earth chant, which formed a sword of stone in her hand. Micaela readied her blade and shot into the air. Her aim was Henny.

“Thus my heart froze over for all of eternity. Aquaria Sein.”

Henny formed a similar sword of ice and met her in the air. The clang of their weapons resounded.

Henny and Micaela slammed their blades together over and over. And soon, something became apparent.

“What? Henny is being pushed back...?” I muttered. Henny had never shown any signs of a struggle, but she was stuck on the defensive here. What was going on?

“Micaela’s a Wind specialist,” Stella explained. “She can move faster than Henny.”

Only after she said that did I notice just how abnormally fast Micaela was actually moving. She flitted about in the air, launching a flurry over blows so fast one couldn’t see them.

“Superb. Micaela! Crush that Razwald!” Quinza called, having regained her sight thanks to the mist dispersing. She triumphantly lifted up a palm. “Ignaria Sein!”

A fireball appeared over her palm. She tried to throw it to aid Micaela, but...

“Iron wall! Terararia Sein!”

“What the...?!” An iron wall fell from above Quinza. She frantically dodged to the side, causing the fireball to disappear.

Feena even went so far as to courageously point her staff at Quinza. “You’ll want to take me down before you try to help them. Or are you just trying to run from me, Lady Quinza?”

“Ngh... You country bumpkin! O Spirits of Fire, grant me blazes to burn mine enemies away. Ignaria Sein!”

I felt like I could hear a vein on Quinza’s forehead burst. With a face of burning wrath, she rained down a veritable deluge of fireballs onto Feena.

Feena squeaked and immediately formed iron walls around her. Quinza, blinded by range, smashed fireball after fireball into the walls, but they kept her hidden.

“It would seem the red team has dispersed the mist and split into two teams. Currently our attention must go to Henrietta Razwald and Micaela Guardner! They are engaging in a close-range sword duel!”

“Henny needs our help,” Stella said, watching the duel. “She’s going to lose at this rate! We need to join in.”

“But how?”

“It’s not like you can’t do anything, right? You said you could make a bead of light.”

“I mean, yeah, but what’s that gonna do?”

“It’s going to get in Micaela’s way,” Stella said, pointing her staff at Micaela. “Oh Spirits of Light, fulfill your contract in the name of the Goddess supreme: Luxsaria Sein!”

I somehow managed to pick up what Stella was putting down. I projected my mental image to the Light spirits.

As Micaela crossed blades with Henny, a small, bright, firefly-esque light appeared in front of her eyes and wavered. Just as I visualized. It was harmless in itself, but I had to imagine it would be annoying as hell if she were trying to focus.

Micaela didn’t get it at first. She went on the defensive, which slowed her down. Only after realizing it was just a distraction did she say anything. “Disgusting...”

Micaela shifted her focus to Stella. She readied her stone sword and shot toward Stella like a bullet. The wind whistled as she cut through the air. Stella just barely managed to twist her torso and dodge.

“Ah! Not good...!” Stella muttered reflexively. She never would have been able to dodge that if not for her honed senses.

Micaela turned in the air then shot back toward Stella.

In an instant, Henny got between them. “Trash! Compliments!”

“Henny, good timing. You’re so cool!”

“Nmm... Aquaria Sein!” she shouted. A flood of water shot out of her sword toward Micaela.

It was like a dam had burst. I thought the water would swallow Micaela, but...

“Winaria Sein!”

“What?! No way!”

Micaela deflected the flood by shooting out wind. The sheer force of the wind split Henny’s water left and right. Micaela charged through that gap and aimed for Henny’s rose.

“By Lady Quinza’s will... I shall defeat you!”

Her stone sword approached her white rose.

Oh no! Run, Henny...! I shouted on the inside.

Henny chanted. “All the wealth in the world gathered within the City of Water. Aquaria Sein.” A mass of roses appeared on Henny’s chest.

“More roses...?” Micaela faltered.

Unable to tell which was the real rose, Micaela managed to scatter only a few petals at best. She fell back and returned to the sky at once.

“Sh-She’s strong...” Stella muttered.

“Wind is troublesome,” Henny said, breathing heavily. She must have been in a bad spot.

“We don’t want to get wrapped up in a longer fight... Henny, could you stop Micaela? Like, freeze her for just a moment, as low as you can.”

“I’ll try,” Henny said, flying up.

Henny chanted, then launched several ice daggers toward Micaela. None hit her, however. She deftly dodged each of them and swung her stone blade to shatter them before charging toward Henny.

“Trash. Compliments.”

“The fact you can’t wield your true power without being complimented despite being a cool beauty is just divine!”

“Nn... Aquaria Sein.”

A shield of water appeared in front of Henny.

Micaela sniffed. “This is my chance... Razwald has finally lost control of her miracles...”

Her sword easily pierced the shield of water...only for the shield to suddenly freeze.

“Ah?!”

Henny hadn’t lost control. She had gone out of her way to make a shield of water just to absorb the blow.

With the shield frozen, she couldn’t pull back her sword.

Micaela froze, and Stella raced toward her.

“Hraaaah...!” she roared, but despite her intensity Micaela was in the air—like double Stella’s height. What was she going to do when she couldn’t fly?

Stella jabbed me into the ground in front of her, and I instantly saw her plan. It seemed impossible, but it was very like her.

“Otaku, praise me too!” she shouted.

“Right! Your heroism in fighting despite barely being able to use miracles in inspiring, and the fact you have both the fitness and the healthy, meaty limbs to accomplish fighting with your bare fists is remarkable! I also like your subtle jealousy at me complimenting Henny each t—”

“Aaah! You didn’t need to keep going that long, IDIOOOOOOT!” Stella yelled, embarrassment seething in her body. She kicked the ground with a far mightier force than normal and leaped into the air with me as a rod! Her silver hair fluttered in the air as she soared.

She reached out and grabbed the end of Micaela’s staff.

Micaela’s balance instantly faltered. Stella touching her staff had left her unable to use Wind miracles.

Stella and Micaela both fell to the ground. They hit the ground with a heavy thunk, and Henny wasn’t one to miss that opening.

“She’s beaten,” Henny declared, lifting up her blade of ice and showing the rose she had stolen from Micaela.

Micaela gritted her teeth and glared up at Henny, but she was considered dead now and could no longer participate in the fight.

“And so the second member of the red team has been defeated! That leaves Quinza Frantzbelle the last of her team standing. Can she reverse these fortunes on her own?!”

An anxious chatter ran through the audience. Frantzbelle was an honored noble house known as the People of Fire, and they were facing commoners of no note. Even House Razwald had been destroyed a few years ago and now had no honor whatsoever.

At the start of the match, the entire student body and all the guardians had no doubt whatsoever that Frantzbelle would emerge victorious, and yet...

“Okay! It’s only Quinza left,” Stella said, grinning triumphantly and dusting herself off.

Henny nodded and looked at Quinza. Quinza had halted her assault the moment she’d learned Micaela had been taken out. Feena emerged from her walls and also wore a victorious expression.

Only one red rose remained in the colosseum.

Quinza got on her staff, went into the air, looked down at us...and cackled.

“Ooooho ho ho ho!” she laughed angrily. Stella’s group all looked up at her with confusion. “Do you think you’ve cornered me, hmm? Was your idea that defeating my teammates and isolating me would be your path to victory?”

What...? We sealed off her combination chants. Why’s she cackling like that?

I, still stuck in the ground, looked up at Quinza myself. Her cackling grew only more mad and intense.

“Laughable! I shall show you what a true miracle looks like,” she said, producing a small bottle.

Inside was a pitch-black liquid. She chugged it down and began her chant.

“May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.”

A dazzling light embraced Quinza.

And then, when the light calmed...

“Wh-What the heck is that...?” Stella muttered.

Before us was an abnormal girl enveloped wholly in crimson-black flames.

＊＊＊

The scene goes back a bit before the Miracle Games began.

“Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable!”

It was right after she had been struck and scolded by her father. Quinza Frantzbelle raced through the forests of Antohsa.

The curly hair she had carefully coiffed for her match had become unruly, and weeds covered her newly ordered robes. Quinza was so infuriated she didn’t even care.

Why did she have to suffer such anger from her father? She was devoting herself to a proper Frantzbelle lifestyle each and every day. She had done nothing wrong. She was not slacking in the least. Everything was going wrong due only to that cursed outcast... Stella Millesia.

The moment that name came to mind, her body flashed with an angry heat.

A mere commoner! She came from the orphanage with nothing! Her spirit was a mere knight! Until last year, she couldn’t even use miracles, and she’d been hated by all!

Why did an insect like her think she could compete with Quinza?! It was unforgivable.

And it was not only Stella.

There was that backwater girl Feena who, despite being Quinza’s roommate, betrayed her and sided with Stella.

There was the Razwald, who did not pay Quinza the proper respects despite having become a commoner herself.

There was the House Euberta girl who had gone out of her way to tell Quinza’s father she had lost to a commoner.

And there was the audience, who intended to use her match with a commoner as a show for their entertainment!

She would not forgive any of them!

Quinza concluded her rant and stopped in front of a white building.

It was the chapel—a place of prayer for the Goddess.

Shoulders heaving, Quinza flung the door open.

Inside was a gleaming, richly adorned space much like her home mansion; being here brought Quinza’s heart some peace.

She walked forward as if hypnotized. Each step brought her closer to the Goddess statue.

Her recent string of wretched luck had left the other students avoiding her, the professors losing faith in her, and even her roommates mocking her. The Goddess was the only one she could count on now.

Quinza knelt before the feet of the statue. She clasped her hands and prayed.

“O Goddess, please grant me the power to kill Stella,” she prayed. It was a violent prayer that passed through her lips—no good. The peace-loving Goddess would never grant such a wish.

And yet...

Quinza squeezed her hands together tightly, so tightly her nails dug into her skin. And yet, she could not suffer Stella to live.

O holiness, O holiness, O holiness.

Quinza heard a faint singing voice coming from somewhere.

Strange. There shouldn’t have been anyone in the chapel.

Just as Quinza found herself confused, pure white light rained down onto her from above.

Quinza looked up in confusion, her hands still clasped together. Her vision burned with dazzling light. And within that light, she beheld her one true Goddess.

“Your prayer has reached me, Quinza Frantzbelle,” the light-enveloped Goddess said, a kind smile on her face.

Quinza trembled from the sheer impact of such a divine voice calling her name. “Ah... My G-Goddess...?”

Was she dreaming? It seemed impossible that the all-knowing, all-powerful ruler of the world would suddenly appear before her like this.

Her compassionate smile, her gleaming veil, her resonating voice...

Tears naturally flowed out of Quinza’s eyes—they were tears of devotion. Tears of admiration; tears of emotion.

The Goddess continued her kind speech amid the light. “You have done well to endure such pain until now. You have striven to conquer many unjust trials.”

Quinza couldn’t help but groan.

Pain. Trials. The Goddess had been watching her from the heavens. No doubt she had been racked with empathy the entire time.

“You are a descendant of the bold People of Fire, who once fought alongside me a thousand years ago. Yours is a chosen, rich bloodline. I acknowledge you. You are certainly no failure.”

Quinza’s breath caught. She was so moved her chest grew hot. It was like her heart, wounded from her father’s anger, was now being healed.

“As the bearer of the Frantzbelle name, you must not lose. You must not lose to an inferior bloodline. You must not lose if you wish to protect your honor.”

“Oh, my Goddess! Grant me power such that I can succeed...!” Quinza exclaimed, going prostrate without a moment’s hesitation.

She felt a kind smile radiating onto her from above.

“In reward for your diligent faith, I shall grant you my blessing,” she said. Something fluttered down from the sky; Quinza reached out for it.

“Brew miracle medicine with this. Your wish will surely then come true.”

The light faded, and so too did the Goddess.

Quinza continued looking up in a daze even now after the miracle had concluded.

She reflected on the words of the Goddess over and over before finally looking down at her hands.

She was gripping a singular prayer slip.

Quinza had no doubt that it had been the Goddess herself that had spoken to her.

These slips were holy artifacts, and brewing a potion with one would grant it holy power.

＊＊＊

Quinza quaffed the pitch-black miracle medicine in the middle of her match and chanted, “May the grace of the Goddess be with me. Aquaria Sein, Ignaria Sein, Luxsaria Sein.”

She was enveloped in light.

When the light faded, Quinza looked down at her new form in elation.

Her entire body was exuding black-red flames. She could freely control and manipulate the shape of these flames. Experimentally, as if she were a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, Quinza unfurled massive wings of fire behind her back. The result filled her with glee.

Wonderful, just wonderful...! This is the divine power of the Goddess! I now have stronger flames than anyone...!

Quinza cast her gaze down and saw Stella looking up in a daze.

The look of surprise on her face was comical.

Quinza now had the power to eradicate the cursed girl from existence.

“Ignaria Sein.”

Quinza pointed her staff at Stella. A black-red fireball formed at its tip before blasting toward Stella.

When it hit the ground, it exploded violently. Waves of flames multiple times its size roared up, hiding Stella amid black smoke.

That wouldn’t have killed her. It would be no fun to finish her off in a single blow.

Quinza resumed her chanting. She launched fireball after fireball. The sight was like that of a god unilaterally scorching the earth.

Quinza stopped only once that entire corner of the arena had been engulfed in her twisted flames.

“Oh my, Quinza Frantzbelle has powered up through a timely miracle medicine! This is remarkable firepower for one chanting all on her own! And as for the white team...one member has lost their rose!”

“No way...!” came a voice from elsewhere. “Stella! Henny?!”

It was Feena. She had been far enough away from Stella that the flames hadn’t reached her.

Now it was all she could do to anxiously call out for teammates she couldn’t see.

A sadistic smile arose on Quinza’s face. “Ignaria Sein,” she chanted, her staff pointed at Feena.

Feena noticed the flames racing her way and chanted, “Iron wall! Terararia Sein!”

In the blink of an eye she was enveloped in an iron box. The fireballs collided against it and exploded. Black smoke arose, then cleared. The box remained, albeit sooty.

Indeed, Quinza’s flames couldn’t get through iron walls. She had slammed countless fireballs against the iron walls before, and had never come close to reaching Feena.

Now, though, things were different.

“Deus est mors!” she chanted, her words expressing devotion to the Goddess. “The Goddess is the one true god.”

She felt divine power. It was as if the Goddess’s own might was within her.

Before Quinza knew it, her palm was enveloped by pitch black flames.

This is the true nature of the power the Goddess has given me...!

Quinza shouted with utter bliss, “Behold the will of the Goddess!”

Quinza directed her palm toward Feena. Black flames spilled out and split the iron walls in two.

“What? N-No way, my walls...!” Feena cried, now exposed. Quinza flapped her wings and zoomed down toward her.

“I-Iron wall! Terararia Sein...!”

“Deus est mors!”

Feena’s iron defenses were easily split apart by Quinza. She reached out and grabbed Feena by the collar.

“Eek!”

“How dare you betray me,” Quinza said, flying back up with Feena in her grip. Fear filled her eyes as her feet lifted off the ground.

Stella could come later. Quinza would not be satisfied until Feena had paid the price for belittling her.

“I-It’s not that I betrayed you, or—”

“I let you be my roommate! I protected you! But now you are my enemy. That is a betrayal,” Quinza said, gnashing her teeth right in front of Feena’s face. “Who do you think got you through your first years of classes?! Who saved you from countless penalties?! Who gave you a spare dress to save you from dressing like a country bumpkin?! You ungrateful wench!”

“I-I do thank you for that.”

You THANK ME?

How irritating. Despite being Feena, she was not going pale, nor was she apologizing. Was now not the time for her to weep and take back all she had done?

“I am grateful for the positive things you have done for me, Lady Quinza. But I wanted to be on the team of those who needed my help...!”

She was trying to make excuses? Feena? Feena, of all people?!

“Stella treats me as an equal. I have more fun with Stella. I want to spend my school days with Stella.”

Stella. Again with Stella.

Why was it always that commoner which stood before her?

“That’s why I must apologize. I will not return to being your roommate,” Feena said with a troubled smile.

Something snapped inside Quinza.

“Who would want a terrible miraclist like you as a roommate anyway?! I would not let you back if you begged for me!”

“Um, b-but, Stella says my miracles are strong—”

“They’re not! You’re bad at everything! You stood no chance against me, didn’t you?!”

Quinza grabbed the rose on Feena’s chest and crushed it in her hand.

“Ah...!”

The rose petals dispersed and fluttered down to the ground.

“Another win for the red team! A second white rose has fallen!” the professor narrated, earning a cheer from the audience.

Quinza’s fury wasn’t quelled by simply defeating Feena, though. It would burn bright until this country wench wailed and begged for forgiveness, cried for her life, worshiped Quinza from the bottom of her heart, and spat curses toward Stella.

“Unforgivable... Watch as I kill Stella,” Quinza said. Reddish-black flames engulfed Feena’s body. She was crucified upon flames as Quinza willed, causing her to scream.

“Quinza?!” came a voice. It was Professor Melvia, calling out to her from the ground without using Wind miracles. “What are you doing?! Feena has been defeated already. It is forbidden by the rules to attack or bind a defeated player. Release her at once. Otherwise, you will be found in violation of the rules!”

Quinza sniffed. The Miracle Games were to her, at this point, nothing more than a game. She would be demonstrating her power to all those present. Then, she would kill Stella. That was the holy mission the Goddess had given her.

“Quinza Frantzbelle!”

Ignoring the Professor’s shout, Quinza looked to the side.

Professor Melvia shook her head with regret.

“Let my announcement be made. Quinza Frantzbelle of the red team has shown a willful violation of the rules. Thus, the match goes to the white team!”

The sudden announcement of the match’s end sent a clamor through the crowd. Professor Melvia gave Quinza—who had not dispersed her flames—a sharp look. “And now... I will subdue the out-of-control party.”

The professor called upon the spirits of Water; blue hands appeared on Quinza’s wings, staff, and body. This was Professor Melvia’s specialty. She used the water hands to hold Quinza in place and start freeing Feena.

Quinza, however, was not panicked in the least.

“Deus est mors, deus est mors, deus est mors...!” Quinza called.

Pitch-blackness radiated from her body and blasted the blue hands away.

“How did she do that without a chant...?! What is that darkness?” Professor Melvia faltered.

Quinza cackled.

The professor did not recognize her words as a chant, despite these words praising the Goddess to be the most holy of all chants.

“Deus est mors, deus est mors, deus est mors...!”

With each of Quinza’s chants, more of the all-consuming darkness filled the arena, devastating it. It went beyond Professor Melvia’s hands and reached the transparent wall that separated the audience from the arena.

Then, like a thin sheet of ice upon a lake...the safety wall filled with cracks, then shattered. The students all shrieked.

“Ooooho ho ho!” Quinza cackled, flying gracefully above the arena. The hands of water had all been destroyed.

Feena remained imprisoned in a daze, her face growing pale as she looked at the ground.

“You miserable failure...!” came a familiar angry shout, resounding through the arena. Quinza looked toward the voice...which came from the audience.

There stood her red-faced father. He was leaning over the shattered wall and spitting in Quinza’s direction.

“How dare you besmirch my name?! I told you time and time again that failure was not an option, but what’s this?! Are you not ashamed to lose to mere commoners?!”

Despite there being much more to say about this situation, Count Frantzbelle was infuriated only by the honor of his family name being wounded. Quinza looked at him with cold eyes; even now, he was the same as ever.

“You are no longer my daughter. I will take you down with my own two hands! Ignaria Sein!” chanted Count Frantzbelle.

At the tip of his staff appeared a massive fireball far beyond what Quinza could ever have formed. It roared with bright-red flames and shot straight toward Quinza.

“Allow me to correct you, father...or rather, Count Frantzbelle.”

“Ngh...?!” Count Frantzbelle inhaled sharply.

The patriarch of the People of Fire had shot a fireball with all his might...and Quinza had stopped it with a single finger.

“I was chosen by the Goddess. I am no failure!”

The fireball began to dye black, starting from where Quinza was touching it. Quinza saw her father twitching at the unbelievable sight. Once the orb was fully black, Quinza pushed it back.

“I shall return this. Deus est mors!”

The massive, pitch-black orb collided with the audience seating.

A massive explosion shook the colosseum as the audience seating vanished without a trace. The arena had been formed by the principal’s advanced miracles, and now a huge hole had been born into it. Quinza watched her father flee with spit flying from his mouth.

A twisted grin arose on her face.

She couldn’t help but laugh. This was just so funny. Nobody could defend against her slightest attack... It was as if she ruled the world. Or, no—with the Goddess supporting her, it was only right that she did rule the world.

＊＊＊

The stage rewinds to a moment earlier in time...

What in the world was that...? What kind of mental image does one need to do that?

I felt something uncomfortable in my chest after seeing Quinza transform from the miracle medicine.

At this point, the match was three against one. We had taken down Quinza’s teammates as planned and had driven her into a corner, but for some reason I just couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Quinza, having transformed, now had a disturbing black mask plastered onto her face. Sickly flames radiated off her in the sky, and she spread wings like that of a poisonous butterfly wide apart.

“Ignaria Sein!”

Quinza, adorned with red and black, pointed her staff to Stella.

An instant later and Stella dashed away like lightning. She also must have sensed this new Quinza was no joke.

Reddish-black flames erupted right behind her. The shock wave flipped up her silver hair and sent her flying onto the ground.

“Stella!” I shouted.

As I was still stuck in the ground, it was all I could do to shout. More and more reddish-black flames rained down, turning the area all around us into a sea of fire.

“Stella! Are you okay?!” I shouted, and kept shouting. I couldn’t see her anywhere.

Eventually, I heard some pained cries: “Henny! Henny...!” Beyond a thick cloud of smoke was Stella, and a blue-haired girl rested on her back.

“...I couldn’t block it all,” Henny said dryly, eyes fixed on the sky.

Her uniform was half burned away, and fresh blood was gushing out of her white skin. She was as expressionless as always, but she looked sickly. I could tell at a glance—her life would be in danger if we didn’t stop that bleeding!

“That fire is wrong... It’s stronger than a single-element miracle should be...”

“I know, I know! Don’t talk any more, Henny. I’ll call the professor!” Stella looked around. “Professor, someone’s wounded! Please, come and help!”

The professor didn’t move even after hearing Stella’s cry for help.

“Professor...?!”

“We cannot aid participants during a match. She would need to have lost her rose,” the professor said.

Indeed, a white rose remained untouched on Henny’s chest.

Henny reached for her staff. “I can still fight. I can— What?!”

“She’s out! Help her!”

Stella snatched Henny’s rose and ripped it apart herself.

Henny faltered. “But...why...?”

“I won’t let a deadweight that lets their rose be stolen that easily on my team! Get out of here and go to the nurse’s room already!” Stella spat, as if she were angry.

She had prioritized her friend’s safety over winning the Miracle Games.

Professors rushed over and carried Henny out. Only after seeing them off did Stella sigh.

And then...

“EEK!”

“Feena...?!” Stella cried, looking up with a start. Quinza was unfurling her sickly wings and flying into the air, hands grabbing Feena by the collar.

“We’ve got to save her...!” Stella said, rushing over and pulling me out of the ground.

But...

“Sorry, Stella... I still can’t fly.”

Stella gritted her teeth.

Quinza was too high for her to reach by a jump this time. It was all Stella could do to watch.

“Ah! Her rose...!”

Feena’s rose scattered and fell to the ground. “Another win for the red team! A second white rose has fallen!” the professor narrated. That marked things getting worse for Stella, but she looked relieved.

Feena being out of the match meant she wasn’t in danger.

However, Stella’s hopes were all too easily betrayed.

“What are you doing?!” Professor Melvia called, interrogating Quinza. She wasn’t letting Feena go despite her defeat.

In the end, Professor Melvia announced the white team’s victory and began to subdue Quinza. Our match ended just like that.

“Seems like we won, Stella...”

“Yeah...but it doesn’t feel that way when she just got disqualified.”

I felt the same way. We had wished so desperately for victory, only for the outcome to not be a happy one whatsoever.

Feena, now captured by Quinza, looked at Stella with worry.

“Deus est mors, Deus est mors, Deus est mors...!”

Quinza suddenly gave a familiar chant I knew all too well. That was the prayer one used to unleash divine power given by the Goddess. Why was she chanting that?

Pitch black darkness formed over her palm. It looked just like the divine power I was familiar with.

This is bad. Way bad! I don’t know when or how Quinza got divine power, but it’s overwhelming, I thought, just as blackness shot out from her.

The transparent walls protecting the audience shattered and fell.

“Stella, above you!” I called. Stella swiftly dodged; the shattered shards of the wall pierced the ground.

“What’s going on...?!”

Professor Melvia’s miracles had been obliterated like they were nothing.

Quinza launched a massive pitch-black orb at the audience. It erupted in an explosion, destroying part of the arena itself.

“Stella, we must evacuate,” Professor Elyena, who at some point had floated over, said. Her excessively long robe didn’t stick out much when she was flying in the air on her staff. “Quinza has gone berserk. It’s dangerous here.”

“But Feena’s still up there!”

Feena was crucified upon Quinza’s wings.

“The other professors will rescue Feena. Luckily, we have the one and only Lady Hamiel here with us, so they should manage. There is not much for one incapable of using miracles to contribute, aha!”

“I-I can still use them some...!”

“Being unable to fly is equivalent to being unable to do anything.”

It would seem the state of Stella’s miracles had been revealed due to the match.

“Furthermore, even if you did have control of your miracles, you would not be able to stand up against her.”

“Do you mean to say Quinza is better than me?”

“Have you not noticed the strange chants she has been muttering?” Professor Elyena asked with a smile. We could hear Quinza shouting “Deus est mors” amid the recurring explosions. “That is a chant in the ancient language extolling the Goddess. It is not a miracle. What she is unleashing is unmistakably...magic itself.”

Stella widened her eyes in shock.

Wait, that chant extols the Goddess...? Gah, I was sucking her off without realizing it!

That was a hard truth for an anti-Goddess guy like me to accept.

“The only thing that can oppose magic is more magic. However, as Quinza is no witch, her magic is not particularly mighty. She merely consumed a magic potion, and so will have its power only briefly.”

“She...merely consumed a magic potion?” Stella asked, furrowing her brow a bit. I found it strange too. Magic was known as a civilization-ending force. It was off for her to describe someone consuming a forbidden magic potion and gaining magic powers as a trifling matter.

Professor Elyena narrowed her eyes like a cat. “What she is casting is not original magic; it is the remnants of an older magic. Which is to say she is not worth us going out of our way to deal with, aha!”

“I speak now to the disqualified Quinza Frantzbelle!” rang out a clear voice.

A gust of wind swirled in the air above the arena. A robe embroidered with gold fluttered, and amber hair flowed. There was Hamiel, known as the strongest of saints.

“Toss aside your staff and surrender. The army will not overlook your deeds.”

Quinza, still wearing a pitch black mask, stopped her assault to acknowledge Hamiel. I thought for sure she’d surrender to Hamiel of all people, only for her to suddenly twist her lips into a grin.

“I refuse! Deus est mors!”

A beam of pure darkness shot toward Hamiel... But in the next second, she was nowhere to be seen. The beam of fire aimlessly hit the wall of the arena.

“As expected... That power of yours is magic, then.”

“Ah!”

Quinza turned in surprise. Hamiel had at some point appeared behind Quinza. In both her hands she held the shattered pieces of Quinza’s staff.

Seriously?! I couldn’t see either Hamiel’s dodge or her attack!

Stella must have been enthused to see her beloved Hamiel fight in the flesh. She was watching with heated eyes.

“My staff...!”

“I took the liberty of breaking it. You left me no choice by ignoring my warning,” Hamiel said, tossing aside the shattered staff. It fell to the ground with a thunk.

Quinza’s wings remained in force even without her staff. That was inarguable proof her power didn’t come from miracles.

“I did not expect such foolishness from a Frantzbelle, of all people. To think you would dip your hands in the forbidden power of magic...”

“Magic?” Quinza scoffed. “Which of us is the fool, I wonder? This is a holy power given to me by the Goddess. Can you not even tell that much?”

“I see your perception has been distorted by magic,” Hamiel said with a solemn shake of her head. “Further dialogue is pointless. The use of magic has been observed. Quinza Frantzbelle shall be detained as a heretic.”

“You are mad for turning your back to the will of the Goddess! Deus est mors, deus est mors, deus est mors!”

Quinza shot out repeated blasts of darkness. Hamiel, however, had vanished again. Magic or not, you couldn’t attack someone you couldn’t see.

Getting desperate, Quinza began blasting in every which way. The arena was getting devastated, but the professors had already evacuated the audience. Some of the falling debris nearly hit Stella, but Professor Elyena knocked it all aside with miracles.

“Aha! I was curious to see how a lowly saint would face magic, but I see her solution is just to avoid everything. That’s a Grand Spirit of Wind for you. I had heard the rumors, but her speed certainly is extraordinary. That is not an enemy I would like to have,” Professor Elyena said, seemingly equally interested in Hamiel’s fighting. She seemed to be enjoying the fight taking place above her head.

Quinza was out of breath from her nonstop chanting. Her lips twisted with joy after seeing the carnage around her.

“Is she dead? The so-called strongest saint of the Opti Baculus di—”

“Unfortunately, you haven’t landed a scratch on me. Winaria Sein.”

“Guh!”

Quinza was hit in the air and sent slamming into an arena wall. Hamiel had appeared in front of her face and blasted out wind from close range.

“Apologies for having to use force in this way. There is no point in binding a magic wielder with miracles; I have no choice but to knock you unconscious.”

Hamiel began chanting again. Her robes fluttered violently, and the wind gathered so palpably at the tip of her staff it was visible to the eye.

“Now is the time to come to your senses, Quinza Frantzbelle.” And with that, cloaked with the power of a Grand Spirit of Wind, Hamiel unleashed a killer blow of wind.

Quinza groaned and reflexively shielded herself with her wings. On the end of her wings was Feena, still crucified.

“What?!”

“Feena!”

Hamiel balked while Stella screamed. The unleashed wind wouldn’t just stop. Feena, crucified upon the wings, could do nothing...

“Give Feena back... Give her back!”

My heart thumped hard enough to hurt. The power to surpass and twist the very nature of the world...

Pitch black chains shot out from Stella’s hands. They extended in a straight line and dispersed the wind that otherwise would have hit Feena.

Stella...?!

The girl in question gazed down at her hands blankly. The chains returned to her as if they had a will of their own, then wrapped around her arms.

I heard an ear-wrenching clank. Countless chains were forming from thin air and surrounding the silver-haired girl. They wrapped around her head and formed a circle in what looked like a crown.

That’s magic...

I could sense what it was just from the divine, yet horrifying, sight of Stella wrapped in chains.

Not good. We can’t let people see her use magic!

I looked around, and...

“Stella... Really now?” Professor Elyena asked, placing a hand on her forehead. That was the reaction she’d give to a misbehaving student, not to a witch she’d need to execute.

Quinza didn’t understand what had happened to begin with.

The problem, though, was...

“Stella Millesia...?”

Hamiel was looking down at Stella from the sky. Her eyes were narrowed sharply, as if she were beholding something beyond her comprehension.

Quinza used that opportunity to unleash a chant.

“Deus est mors!” The twisted girl lifted a hand; a mass of pitch-black orbs spawned as if staining the sky. “All those who look down on me can just die!”

A violent mass of magic began raining down.

“Feena...!”

Stella extended a hand to her still-imprisoned friend, only to get hit by Professor Elyena. The surprise blow made Stella drop me.

Despite her small frame, Professor Elyena picked Stella up and zoomed away at immense speed.

STELLAAA! I shouted silently, having been left behind.

Countless balls of fire exploded right next to me, blowing me into the air. Hot wind, black smoke, shock waves... None of it hurt me since I was just a staff.

“Professor Elyena?!” Stella protested as the professor flew her to the exit. “Let go of me! I can still fight!”

“I understand that, Stella, but now is not that time,” Professor Elyena responded. “You must grow stronger and defeat an even more formidable foe by far.”

“A more formidable foe...?”

“Who do you think gave Quinza her magic?”

A series of explosions roared out behind them. The black fire raced toward them, but Professor Elyena expertly wove Wind miracles to dodge all of them.

“Why is it that a chant extolling the Goddess is a magic spell? Isn’t that strange? In the first place, why did magibeasts vanish from the world? Try to remember your final exams from last year. What is it that the magibeasts ate after attacking you that raised their grade...?”

Stella swallowed. There was no trace of Professor Elyena’s usual clumsiness in her intense questioning.

“Faith turns people blind. If you wish to find the truth, doubt all that you believe. Who is your true foe, the one you must truly defeat and—ah!”

Professor Elyena’s Wind miracles suddenly stopped working, causing her to fall silent.

“I’m sorry, Professor, but I can’t run and leave Feena behind.”

“What...?!”

Stella was gripping the professor’s staff.

The two of them fell to the ground, no longer able to fly. Stella instantly leaped up and raced back toward Quinza.

“Stella! I told you not to get greedy! You must focus on yourself, not a friend of—”

“She’s not just my friend!” Stella barked, interrupting the teacher. She kept her back turned as she continued, embarrassed. “She’s my best friend!”

Using that opening, Stella vanished into the black smoke.

Quinza’s attacks continued, and with a click of her tongue Professor Elyena got back on her staff. She readjusted her pointed hat and left the arena on her own.

“The Witch of Shackles... As one could expect, her bonds are rather strong, hm? Aha!”

＊＊＊

“Otaku! Where are you?! Otaku...!”

Not much longer after Professor Elyena had carried Stella off, she came calling for me amid a string of explosions.

“Stellaaa! I’m over here!” I called. I saw a silver gleam through the smoke. It was like a shooting star one could see through the dark canvas of a nighttime forest.

“Otaku...!”

Stella saw me and ran over.

Hamiel and Quinza were still engaged in a heated duel in the sky.

Quinza was trying to overwhelm Hamiel’s speed with pure force. Stella ducked and wove her way through the deluge of spells and made it safely to me.

“Haah, haah...! Don’t fly off on your own like that, Otaku,” she said, puffing out her cheeks despite being the one to drop me. That was exceedingly cute.

“Apologies. If I’m gonna be your spirit, I’ll have to do a lot better.”

“Good grief. Now, let’s help out Lady Hamiel and rescue Feena!”

“Stella...”

How did she intend to do that?

Now that I had lost my divine power, Stella’s miracles were powerless. How did she expect to aid Hamiel?

Is she going to try to use magic again...?

Not a good idea. Any more of that and she wouldn’t be able to cover for it.

I hesitated to say that, though. Did she consciously understand the chains surrounding her were magic in nature? Probably not. Magic was insanely taboo in this world. She had talked about how evil it was before. She probably had no idea she was using magic herself.

I had to stop her use of magic. That was unquestionable if Stella wanted to live a peaceful life here.

“You know, Otaku, I somehow feel like I can do anything right now.”

I was going to lose my chance.

Stella, wearing her crown of chains, looked up at the battle in the burning sky.

I had to say something.

If I cared about her, I had to say something about this.

I had to say she shouldn’t use this power.

And yet...

“I couldn’t use miracles properly in the match, but it’s weird—I feel like I’m invincible now. I need to go rescue Feena and get our school life back.”

Stellas looked down at me, engulfed in black chains. Her expression was one of resolve; her marine blue eyes were clear. Within her I saw unshakable determination.

Perhaps this was what it meant to be charmed.

The newly awakened young witch reached out to pick me up from the ground.

“Come on, Otaku... Follow me.”

Witches didn’t need staves. Magic didn’t need guardian spirits. Even so, she picked me up. Her chilly hand made emotions overflow from my heated, tight chest.

“Right.”

There was nothing else I could say. No doubt she wouldn’t listen to me even if I tried to stop her. To begin with, our relationship wasn’t impacted whatsoever by magic or witches or whatever. If she told me to follow her, I’d stick with her to the depths of hell.

Stella gave a brief, happy smile, then got on top of me. Her springy thighs wrapped around me from both sides.

“Full speed ahead. GIVE HER BACK!”

The world twisted beneath the witch’s demand.

As soon as she said her phrase of power, we shot up into the air at the speed of a rollercoaster. This was my first time flying so quickly. I couldn’t help but let out a noise of excitement.

In response to Stella’s chant, pitch-black chains coursed through the arena’s ground. They expanded out like rippling water, turning the arena to sand just like that.

So this is Stella’s power... The ability to bind spirits, just like the Goddess said...

The miracle-built arena vanished, returning us to the garden.

At the same time, Hamiel lost her own miracles.

“Grand spirit! Why?! Why do my miracles no longer work yet again...?!”

“Lady Hamiel!”

It was Stella’s magic that saved the mightiest of all saints from her plummeting fall. Chains wrapped around her and kept her in place.

“Stella...?”

“You can leave Quinza to me,” Stella said with confidence as Hamiel remained dazed. “She was my opponent to begin with.”

Before Hamiel could reply, Stella set her own the ground and flew off. She pierced the black smoke and soared through the sky until we were before Quinza. Her poisonous wings extended like that of a queen of butterflies. She acknowledged Stella as flames licked out indiscriminately from her body.

“Stella... I see you still live!”

“Quinza! I’ll be taking Feena back!” Stella shot right toward Quinza’s wings, where Feena remained bound.

“Do what you can, houseless commoner. Deus est mors!”

Flames shot out of Quinza.

“Give her back!”

Stella formed a thick black wall. The fire hit the wall, then vanished with a pop. Hamiel had needed to dodge Quinza’s magic, but Stella was different. She could block it head-on.

Stella blocked the flames with her wall one after another, then raced to Quinza.

“Give her back!Give her back!Give her back!”

Quinza faltered as Stella advanced, destroying her flames time and time again.

Quinza finally began to flee. The disfigured girl did her best to get distance between her and Stella. She didn’t forget to shoot out spells while fleeing.

Something between screams and roars could be heard on the ground. The students and guardians who had fled from the arena were gathered in a corner. All of them looked up at Quinza with horror. Some even pointed at her.

“How horrible...! That power is cursed!”

“House Frantzbelle has fallen. To think they would disgrace themselves with magic!”

“That girl has evil unfit for a saint. Burn her alive!”

We could hear them from the sky. Upon noticing all their hate, Quinza gritted her teeth. “You fools cannot even distinguish holy power from cursed power...! You will pay for disrespecting the Goddess’s chosen. Deus est mors!”

Quinza waved her hand in the direction of the garden, causing a burst of new black fireballs. Those evacuating in the garden were professors, students, saints, and nobles with the ability to wield miracles. Dozens of chants arose to block her fire.

And yet...

“Why aren’t my miracles working?!”

“No way! O Spirits of Earth, please! Terararia Sein...!”

There was not a single person whose miracles worked. Black fire raced toward them mercilessly.

Stella chanted.

“Give it back!”

A single black chain dispersed all the fire. The people stirred. Who could that be but a savior?

A single silver-haired girl flew in the sky while all else found themselves without miracles. She positioned herself in front of Quinza once again.

Quinza was enraged at her attack having been blocked. “It’s always, always, always you who gets in my way, Stella! I will put an end to you NOW!”

Quinza extolled the Goddess and shot out more flames.

Stella’s chains dispersed them all. She wasn’t letting anyone get hurt. She wished for a peaceful world where nobody would have to be sad, and so she permitted no darkness to rain upon the garden.

Quinza panicked at the fact her power wasn’t working.

“Ngh... It’s so hot...” came a cracked whisper from the side. Quinza looked over with a start.

Feena, still bound, was ragged and drained. Quinza’s lips curved into a grin—she still had options.

She twisted the reddish-black flames to lift Feena up.

“This is what you want, Stella?”

“Feena!” Stella cried, eyes widening.

Quinza cackled madly. “If you want her back so much, here!”

She punctuated her sentence by vanishing the fire around Feena. She instantly began to fall.

Stella let out a silent scream. Fire raced down toward Feena.

“Give her back!”

Chains shot out of Stella’s palms. They once again dispersed the fire and wrapped around Feena. Feena hung in the air, stuck in Stella’s chains.

“Stella?”

“Feena...!”

It was a moving reunion. I wanted to soak it all in, but then I saw something horrible.

“Stella, above you!” Stella snapped her eyes up. Quinza was there holding a massive orb of pitch-darkness.

“Then die together! Deus est mors...!”

Quinza unleashed the fire, which was massive enough to absorb the two girls like nothing.

Stella lifted a hand. “Give! Give! Give! GIIIIIIIVE!”

A bundle of chains shot out and collided with the fire. Their magic clashed together, kicking up violent sparks. Stella continued her desperate chant to protect Feena and herself.

“You can do it, Stella! YOU CAN DO IT!” I cried, instinctively.

I didn’t know why, but my heart hurt. I didn’t actually have a heart, but for some reason I felt it thumping in my nonexistent chest.

The clash of magic didn’t last forever.

One of Stella’s chains pierced the fire. It struck and shattered the black mask Quinza was wearing, and in that instant all of Quinza’s fire vanished.

“Ah! No way... The Goddess’s protection...!”

Quinza had lost her fire, her wings, and everything.

The butterfly queen returned to a mere villainess, and fell to the ground...

“Give!”

Stella instinctively grabbed Quinza with a chain. Quinza hung limply in the air, perhaps having fallen unconscious from the shock. The villainess was slowly lowered onto the garden floor.

As the onlookers cheered, Stella and Feena both descended to the garden. Feena instantly grabbed Stella in a hug.

Stella stiffened up with a jerk.

“Thank you, Stella. You came to save me...!”

“N-Not really! I just didn’t want to lose the match...!”

“Aha ha. But I lost my rose long ago, remember?” Feena said, pointing proudly to her empty pocket.

Stella groaned.

“By the way, Stella. I have to ask...” Feena said, tilting her head with an innocent smile. “What are those chains that are coming out of your hands?”

A pure white light suddenly flashed on. It wasn’t the sun—it was artificial light. Everyone in the garden looked up. The Goddess was floating in the sky, wearing brilliantly radiant robes.

The people let out murmurs of awe. Several of them clasped their hands and knelt before the illusory Goddess.

In a somewhat rare break for her, the Goddess was wearing a look of sad sympathy.

“Oh, my loyal followers...” she said, bringing silence to the garden. Everyone was listening with bated breath so they wouldn’t miss a single of her words.

“The seeds of disaster have begun to bloom today. The tendrils of magic seek to return us to a generation a millenia past.”

What is the Goddess saying...?

My heart thumped painfully.

She had lost her chance to shame Stella in the Miracle Games. What was she trying to do at this point...?

“We cannot allow the tragedy of Pandemonium to repeat. The chaos sewn by countless wars and countless thieves would bring destruction beyond reckoning. If you wish to protect this world of peace...” the Goddess paused to lift a hand.

She was pointing directly at Stella.

No way...!

I realized just how shallow my thinking had been.

The Goddess hadn’t aimed to shame Stella on the big stage.

She stole back her power from me and granted divine power to Quinza all to compel Stella to use magic in front of a massive crowd.

Her goal had been to inform the people that Stella was a witch.

Stella let out a tiny shriek as the Goddess’s lips curved upward.

“...You must kill Stella the Witch of Shackles.”

Afterword

And so the second volume releases just on time! Believe it or not, the third volume’s already locked in too. That’s pretty rare in today’s light novel industry. I imagine many of you are wondering what’s going on at Dengeki Bunko. I did too, and so asked my editor.

“What’s going on at Dengeki Bunko?” I asked, and to summarize his answer, the higher-ups simply have high hopes for this work. They haven’t gone soft or anything of the sort. Thus, I ask those of you with this second volume in hand to spread the good word! The nickname for this series is “tsunmajo,” by the way.

Now, if I may talk about volume 2 for a moment...

Here arrives the new character: a kuudere! This is another archetype I love. I think there are more types of kuudere than could ever be imagined from the name alone, but I love the ones that are mostly silent and expressionless...which was probably obvious from this volume. All I can say is I am honest about my preferences while writing this work. I seek like-minded fellows! And now that I’m running out of space, I’ll move into the thank-yous and all that.

I thank both of those doing editing work on this series.

I thank Kasu Komeshiro-sensei for his work on the illustrations. Thank you for designing so many characters...! Henny in particular is super cool and one of my favorites. I got all tingly just looking at the rough draft for the color illustration. Feena was even cuter than I imagined too; it was moving.

This book also exists thanks to the support of favorite book stores, designers, and so on. I thank you very much.

And last of all, I express my highest gratitude to you, who took the time to pick up this book.

May we meet again in the third volume.

Nagi Misaki