July 2024?

  ***

  The cityscape spanned as far as the eye could see. An inspiring view, to see the very place one was destined to protect. Its citizens, its splendor – its peace. If only there wasn’t a laser beam cutting straight through it and turning it all into rubble.

  Two giant figures stood on the horizon – mechanical, colorful. One silver and purple, with a cruel, mocking face on its giant head. The other was made from multicolored parts, with animal faces adorning its front on various points where the differently colored parts fit together. A heroic visage marked its giant, metallic head as it exchanged punches with its arch nemesis – or at least Mana assumed that the purple robot was its arch nemesis. The shows she used to watch on Sundays had similar setups like this. While Mana observed the spectacle, Marisa was by her side, looking around.

  “Looks like Tokyo, but… different.” Marisa commented, pointing to various signs in a language that looked Japanese – with its strokes slightly off. Mana’s translation magic made the transition into Kanji look weird, with lines only sliding slightly up or down, left or right, to form the correct correlating Kanji and Kana which she could understand.

  “Camlann District.” She read, looking back to the giants who exchanged punches – and sometimes sent a stray laser beam in the direction of the two witches, which barely missed the house they stood on.

  Mana narrowed her eyes before she stared at the items on her list.

  “Drain Arrows and Blade of Great Justice.”

  The names hung awkwardly in the air between the two of them and various moments passed in silence, save for the roaring sounds of giant robot engines and the crashing of metal hitting metal, of course, before Mana cleared her throat.

  “Well, that seems like easy enough items to – “

  Mana’s eyes went vacant as she saw the giant robot in the distance draw a beam saber-like sword and engage its enemy in a duel. Car-sized sparks flew off their clashing energy blades and melted the buildings around them - not like there was much left to melt.

  “Please don’t tell me that’s the one…”

  “Fear not! That is not the blade you seek!”

  Mana closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath to give herself the patience to turn around and face whoever just spoke to them.

  It was a man in a suit. A tight-fitting suit with armored parts that looked suspiciously like plastic. His helmet was that of a European knight with a crown on it. His suit followed a red color scheme, so Mana assumed whatever group he belonged to, he was the leader.

  She didn’t want to ask him – but she had to, so she took a deep breath and -

  “Who are you?” Marisa managed to ask him first and Mana deflated as she let all the air go from her lungs.

  “Hahaha! I’m glad you asked!”

  The man struck a pose, stretching his right arm downwards to his left side with an extended hand, hovering it above the sword hilt on his belt. There was no blade, so Mana assumed it was another beam saber. His left hand was raised next to his head with a clenched fist.

  “Champion of the common people, monarch of fairness! I am Red Arthur, wielder of the Blade of Great Justice!”

  Mana stared at him and then looked at the hilt on his belt. She didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

  “Trace!”

  Her spell engulfed the hilt but fizzled out without effect.

  “Ahaha! I knew you would do that, crafty little witch! But it’s no use! For as long as this blade isn’t powered, there is no magic you could steal from it!”

  The masked man’s jovial attitude started to get on Mana’s nerves.

  “Well, I really need it so I can give justice to an extinct species, and my employer needs it to bring an... ‘abomination’ to justice. So... please? For justice?”

  Mana gave the man in the suit her cutest smile, making big eyes for him – but she couldn’t read his expression at all, due to the mask.

  “Hahaha! Well, if you’re an ally of justice, then...”

  Both Mana and Marisa inched closer towards him as they expected to sway him with their words.

  “…you shouldn’t object to helping me out against an immediate threat! Here, catch!”

  He tossed something their way. It was two belts. Made from plastic and polyester, or futuristic superior materials resembling those, they sported what looked like a sheath for a sword hilt just like Arthur’s. The belt buckle was a knight’s shield with heraldry. On Mana’s belt it sported a black witches’ hat on a white field – and on Marisa’s the exact opposite.

  “What is this?”

  “Knightly gear for justice! Put it around your waist and follow my instructions!”

  Marisa suddenly grinned from ear to ear.

  “Wait! ...do I get to transform?!” She hastily put the belt around her hip, fastening it around her witch robes. This was the first time Mana saw her this giddy about something.

  “That’s right, young witch! You get to transform!”

  “Mana, Mana! Let’s do it!” Marisa exclaimed – Mana wanted to tell her no, but she already left her side and stood next to the strange man, eagerly awaiting his instructions. Mana let out a quiet groan and looked at her belt. She shrugged and put it on, then she joined Red Arthur and Marisa.

  “For today, you two are Black Morgan and White Nimue!” the red ranger exclaimed as he pointed at Mana and Marisa respectively.

  “Sure, whatever. I just need this sword and… those arrows. I don’t know yet where to get those, though.”

  “Well, you’re in luck! Those are the weapon of our adversary, so you’ll get a chance to get both!”

  ***

  Mana was all in. The strange man called Red Arthur stood in front of them and inspected them, nodding with some satisfaction.

  “Very good! Now we’re going to have you transform!”

  “How do we do that?” Marisa asked, her eyes still sparkling with excitement.

  “First, you flip the shield on your belt buckle horizontally!”

  Mana and Marisa did as they were asked.

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: WHITE WITCH」Marisa’s belt exclaimed.

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: BLACK WITCH」Mana’s belt exclaimed likewise.

  A glow came from the shield-shaped belt buckles, and they opened up, revealing sword hilts, the same as Arthur’s.

  “Grab them! Raise them to the sky, declare your commitment to all things justice and then sheathe them in your scabbard!”

  Mana still hesitated as Marisa grabbed the hilt from her belt buckle and raised it to the sky in a dramatic fashion, holding it with both hands.

  “FOR JUSTICE! TRANSFORM!”

  She pulled the hilt down and shoved it just as dramatically into her sheath. A loud click could be heard, then a flash of light embraced her as a voice emerged once again to announce what was happening.

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: ARMOR ON! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!」

  The light dispersed and Mana couldn’t believe her eyes: Marisa stood there, covered entirely in white spandex, with a white wizard robe draped over her shoulders. She wore a breastplate, and a helmet made from a white plastic-like material, just like Arthur’s red armor, and her helmet took on the shape of a witches’ hat, with a wide brim – the entire construct was of course stiff instead of floppy like her usual hat.

  “Hahaha, I’m White Nimue, enchanting champion of justice!”

  Marisa struck a pose, and would you know it, her suit ejected a small capsule which exploded behind her with a white cloud of smoke.

  Mana stared at her, still utterly confused by Marisa’s giddy participation in this universe’s strange customs that were right out of a Sunday morning show.

  “Go on, young witch! Embrace... justice!”

  Mana looked around – surrounded by the strange man in the red suit on one side, and her transformed clone girlfriend on the other.

  “Ugh… fine!”

  Mana grabbed her sword hilt, raising it into the sky one-handed.

  “Uhm… for justice!” She shouted, unconvincingly. There was no click and no transformation after she sheathed it.

  “Mana! You have to give it your all!” Marisa exclaimed, clenching a fist close to her heart. “You won’t be able to transform until you offer your heart to justice!”

  Mana stared at her girlfriend – and it dawned on her just how different they have become ever since she summoned her. She composed herself, taking a deep breath as she unsheathed the hilt again, then she cleared her throat, thrusting it into the sky.

  “JUSTICE FOR THE ARANON!”

  She put all her feelings of responsibility for the legacy of the dead civilization into her words, then she sheathed the hilt.

  She felt a warm light embracing her on all sides and her clothes changing.

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: ARMOR ON! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!」

  Before she realized it, she was encased in her new set of armor – and now she could feel that it wasn’t plastic. It looked like it and was just as light, but it felt more powerful. Like it was filled with justice.

  Mana shook her head and sighed, holding a hand to her helmet after the strange thought crossed her mind. Wearing this armor filled her with new desires, all leaning towards justice, chivalry and general heroism.

  Red Arthur let out a joyous laugh.

  “Very good, young witches! With that, we shall be on our way.”

  They made their way across the rooftops. Mana found herself able to jump great distances (while automatically doing at least five flips every time), and so did Marisa, who enjoyed the entire experience with a giddy laugh.

  Mana looked to the still raging duel of the giant robots in the distance.

  “Shouldn’t we help them?”

  “Don’t be silly, young witch! The Savannah Brigade has things under control! We got our own troubles to think about!”

  Just as he said those words, the giant colorful robot was struck in the face by a punch from its opponent, flying backwards and flattening an untold number of houses.

  “Right.”

  Marisa asked a question now.

  “How did you know we would come, or what belts to give us, for that matter, mister Arthur?!”

  “Hahaha! Well, you see, my benefactor Merlin has the power of clairvoyance, young witch!”

  “Speaking of that, are you alone? Where’s your team? Do you even have one?” Mana asked.

  “Ah! Well… you’ll see.”

  They kept going for a while longer until they arrived in a harbor area – Mana could see a person in a business suit stand in the distance surrounded by a lot of strange people wearing black spandex with black knight helmets covering their faces. Four people were stuck to a wall, with strange arrows piercing their shoulders. They were squirming in obvious pain.

  “There they are. My group! Blue Lancelot, Yellow Galahad, Green Bedivere and Pink Guinevere! As you can see, they are pinned down as of this moment.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  A quiet second passed before he got judgmental stares from both Mana and Marisa for his pun. He ignored that and cleared his throat.

  “Anyway, we have to free them! Let me attempt diplomacy first!”

  He walked ahead, with the two witches in tow. On the way he undid his transformation. He was a man with silver streaks in his dirty blonde hair and full beard – he looked like he wouldn’t be out of place as a dignified king, but his attire betrayed him as a humble office worker.

  As he reached the other suit-wearing man, he stopped and shouted.

  “Son! Please reconsider! Drop this foolish rebellion and come back to me! I don’t know what drove you to do all this, but I love you. I always have.”

  “Do you, now?” The man turned around. His business suit was more elaborate and expensive looking than Arthur’s, if that was even his real name.

  “You didn’t love me enough to allow me to make something of myself, after all. Is it love if you hold me back from achieving anything in my life?”

  Arthur appeared taken aback, but then he narrowed his eyes.

  “All I told you was that our company shouldn’t accept those contracts from that corporation! They’re run by evil itself! They overwork their people like slaves and their projects hurt the city! You knew that my Knights of the Round were fighting them, yet when I went out and left you in the charge of the company you went behind my back and accepted their manufacturing requests, made minions and even joined them!”

  “Efficiency is required to keep the world running in a just manner, father. Keeping me in a mediocre environment just because you happen to be content with it was not an act of love, it was imprisonment. By joining hands with that company, I was finally able to achieve the efficiency I desire!” the younger man responded.

  Mana and Marisa exchanged a few looks and shrugged as the dialogue continued. Arthur kept pleading, and his son kept rebuking him. Apparently, it was a fight about the son wanting to expand his father’s humble business, instead of holding a boring but comfortable office position like his father wanted. An evil megacorporation in town offered him a contract for manufacturing military gear and he took it during his father’s absence – an event that warped the son himself and he now commanded an army of minions clothed in the very same gear.

  Both Mana and Marisa’s attention was caught by the son shouting “ENOUGH!”, before he put his hand on his own belt buckle. The shield on it portrayed a double headed golden eagle on a purpure field with a white chief on top. He flipped it sideways, and a much crueler version of the voice Mana and Marisa heard before shouted into the street.

  「KNIGHT OF REBELLION: MOR-DREAD」

  He grabbed the appearing sword hilt and raised it to the sky.

  “For power! For walking my own path!”

  He shoved the sword hilt into the sheath by his hip and was engulfed in a black cloud of smoke.

  「KNIGHT OF REBELLION: ARMOR ON! FOR POWER! 」

  As the smoke dispersed the man was encased in a dark purple suit, looking like an inversion of Arthur’s red one. His helmet showed a screaming face and had bat wings on its sides. Arthur looked at his son with pained eyes before he took a step back.

  “You make me sad…”

  He gathered himself, looking at Mana and Marisa before looking back at his transformed son.

  “So be it!” he announced before he flipped the shield on his belt and retrieved his sword hilt.

  “Young witches! I’m counting on you to free my comrades while I face my son! Feel free to trace the arrows while you do that. FOR GREAT JUSTICE!”

  He transformed, and father and son immediately stormed towards each other, exchanging punches and kicks in rather acrobatic martial arts.

  Mana and Marisa were given little time to adjust to the new situation as they were swarmed by the humanoid adversaries in spandex. The creatures with strange bug-head shaped helmets let out screeches and jeers as they came at Mana and Marisa.

  “Blast!” Mana shouted, but nothing happened.

  “Oh don’t tell me this outfit makes my books useless…”

  Some minions were already behind her, pummeling her with punches and kicks. Surprisingly, they didn’t hurt her much more than a regular schoolyard fight – or what she imagined one like these would hurt like – she was a proper student at a girls-only mixed junior and senior high, after all.

  Mana turned around and retaliated, realizing that she knew how to do acrobatic kicks and jumps, with multiple flips in the air. It was like her strange helmet transmitted combat knowledge directly into her head.

  She jumped into the air, made two flips and stretched out her leg, hitting a minion square in the face and sending it flying. It remained motionless, and with a short delay its body exploded.

  “Mana!”

  “What?” Mana looked over to Marisa who was busy with hand-to-hand combat with multiple of the strange men.

  “You can’t just use the kick on a random grunt at the start of the fight!”

  “I can! I did! Don’t take the TV shows as law! How do you even know about that?!”

  “I got some of your memories when I woke up. Do you think I’d be able to function otherwise?”

  “Fair enough.”

  The two kept kicking and punching minions away, but the flood was endless - they weren’t getting any closer to the captured team of heroes.

  “Gah, I need something to clear them away!”

  She tried to toss a fireball, but the magic of that spellbook was sealed as well.

  “Then use this!” Red Arthur shouted, kicking Mor-dread away and retrieving something from the pouch on his belt which he tossed Mana’s way. Mana and Marisa worked together, creating space with coordinated sweeping kicks before Marisa caught the object. It was a coin with a strange, gun-shaped symbol on it. She handed it to Mana.

  “How do we use it?” Mana shouted over the brawl.

  “Insert it into the pommel!” Red Arthur exclaimed before Mor-Dread’s next punch catapulted him into a nearby wall and he let out a grunt.

  Mana blinked and pulled out her sword hilt while Marisa did her best to keep the creatures at bay, noticing a slot on the pommel, which looked like a coin holder. She shrugged and immediately slotted the coin in.

  The hilt folded in on itself, changing its shape rapidly, all while the usual voice exclaimed what was happening.

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: CHANGE ARMS! EX-CALIBRE!」

  The hilt finished its form change and Mana held what looked like an energy pistol of some kind. She didn’t hesitate and pointed it at one of the grunts before pulling the trigger.

  A thin beam of energy shot out, but it missed. It hit the ground and Mana wanted to grumble about her bad aim, then the spot she hit violently exploded, tossing away large swathes of the minions – which exploded in turn.

  “Huh. That’s handy!” Mana swung her pistol around and kept firing. Explosions flung hapless grunts through the air before they exploded, and within a few moments, their ranks were significantly thinned out. Mana walked past Marisa towards the captured suit-wearing defenders.

  First things first.

  She undid her suit transformation and produced the tiara of the Broker’s jewelry collection from her robes.

  “Trace!”

  The arrows holding the captured heroes were embraced by a blue light and the magic was safely stored inside the tiara. Now for the part where she would actually free them.

  “So, if any of you can still talk, tell me what these are and what they do, so I can help you!”

  The one in blue was still moving, letting out a loud groan as he lifted his head.

  “They drain our magic! We can’t move!” He weakly responded and Mana nodded. She pondered their predicament for a while as Marisa kept brawling with a few stragglers. She simply jumped up and landed on a magic platform, grabbing one of the arrows with both hands.

  “This might hurt…!” She warned the man in blue as she pulled on the arrow.

  “Gaaaahhh!” the man screamed, but became more determined the further Mana pulled the arrow out of his shoulder.

  “I’ll hold on! For great justice!” he shouted, and Mana almost wanted to stop in annoyance – but she continued, and before long a bloodied arrow fell on the ground.

  “That’s one.” She summoned a barrier for the man to stand on so he wouldn’t hang by one shoulder before she pulled on that arrow as well. His screams mixed with the sound of explosions and metallic clangs coming from behind Mana.

  Explosions?

  Mana looked behind her and saw the origin of the sound. The two masked warriors were exchanging much more violent punches than before, and every time they hit each other, sparks flew – sometimes the person hit was launched backwards, too. They both were evenly matched and looked like a little fireworks show that way.

  The blue armored man fell to the ground with a grunt and Marisa hurried to his side. She extended her hand, and a magic circle spun in front of it. The man’s wounds closed slowly.

  “Where did you get that?” Mana asked.

  “Did errands for the Broker.” Marisa answered, looking up to Mana, with her still helmeted head.

  “I can teach you!”

  Mana shook her head. “I’d like to earn that on my own.” She responded – even though part of her wanted to simply take the easy way to learn it.

  “You didn’t want to ‘earn’ that other spell.” Mana could almost hear the eyebrow wiggle Marisa did behind the mask and groaned.

  “Quiet, you. That was just to have some fun.”

  After a while, the blue armored man wasn’t bleeding anymore, so Mana and Marisa got to work on the other ones. It took many pulls and screams from the captured people, but before long four freed and treated ‘knights’ were at their feet.

  “I’ve had about enough! Away with you!” Mana heard the man called Mor-dread shout. Or at least his armor was called that.

  He drew his sword hilt and inserted a coin into the pommel.

  「KNIGHT OF REBELLION: CHANGE ARMS! CLARENT!」

  Arthur appeared shocked, even with the helmet.

  “Where did you get that, son?”

  His answer was a horizontal slash across his chest with a crimson energy blade shooting from the hilt. Sparks flew in every direction and the man screamed in pain as he was thrown backwards and rolled over the ground, weakly groaning as a black scorch mark was drawn across his armor.

  Mor-dread approached him with slow, heavy steps and came to a stop in front of him.

  “And now, I will take over entirely.”

  「KNIGHT OF THE ROUND: CHANGE ARMS! SWORD OF GREAT JUSTICE: EXCALIBUR!」

  “What...!” Mor-dread exclaimed before a vertical slash from below caught him across the chest as well. Sparks and the man both flew through the air and he came down in a hard landing, screaming in frustration and trying to get up, but collapsing on the ground again.

  Arthur stood again, his hand shaking as he held his sword hilt, with a golden, burning beam erupting from it.

  “I only wanted what’s best for you,” he said quietly as the younger man hissed.

  “Spare me the lectures, old man.”

  Marisa looked at Mana, her transformation coming undone. “Are they gonna die?” she asked with big eyes.

  “No, but they’ll be unable to move for quite a few days.” The voice speaking belonged to a grey-robed, bearded man who appeared behind the two witches.

  “Your part here is done, we will take care of this. And we’ll do our best to set this young man straight.”

  The old man made an inviting gesture towards Arthur, who kneeled next to Mor-dread with his golden sword still alight.

  “Hand your belts back, take your prize and leave. From here on out our business should be resolved by us.”

  Mana and Marisa exchanged a look before Mana pulled off her belt. Marisa followed suit, but way more hesitant, with a pouting face.

  “Trace!” Mana’s blue glowing spell encased the golden sword, transferring its energies into a golden cylinder she brought. It changed forms, like all the other weapon-holding objects before, into a replica of the sword hilt.

  This wasn’t so bad. I guess.

  Moon of the Light Elves, 1067 AR

  ***

  Mana and Marisa stepped out of the portal, leaving the strange world of giant robot battles and knights behind. Mana held both her desired items in her hand and looked ahead to the hovel in which the Broker was doubtlessly waiting for her to hand over these items and receive her reward.

  They approached the hut, with Marisa giddily following.

  “You had a lot of fun over there…” Mana commented.

  “Of course! We were assisting a super sentai! We were fighting like Kamen Rider!” Marisa responded with a huge grin.

  Mana chuckled and shook her head.

  “I mean, you got really into it.”

  “Well, I’m like you! And you used to be really into it, didn’t you?”

  Mana stopped for a moment and tried to remember. It proved difficult for her to focus on ‘her’ childhood. Playing pretend with sticks as makeshift swords intermingled with memories of Sunday TV shows. But she finally managed to remember. When she was around 10 years old, she had a huge tokusatsu phase.

  I’m not sure I like the implications…

  Mana bit her lower lip and looked at Marisa again. This girl was more like Mana’s old self now – while Mana was the one growing detached from the person she used to be before entering the library. She shook her head and knocked on the door of the hovel.

  “Oh! Is it alright if I leave right now?” Marisa asked with an apologetic smile.

  “Hm? Why?” Mana cocked her head.

  “It’s going to be a surprise, Mana! When you’re done, come to the island where we…”

  Mana nodded and reached out a hand to pat her on the head.

  “Alright, I’ll come later.”

  This will make it easier to slip a visit somewhere else in-between.

  ***

  “Welcome, mighty Witch Queen! I see you’re alone today.” The Broker’s attitude was carefree as always. A mask, as Mana knew by now. She had seen her lying on the floor, sobbing and begging for forgiveness from someone unknown. This capable woman probably carried more pain inside her than even Mana, who was forced to bear witness to what was supposed to be oblivion after death.

  She approached the desk and carefully placed the items on the table.

  “Very good. What will you have from me this time?”

  “Language.” Mana didn’t truly care about that – especially since her translation magic rendered knowledge of languages utterly meaningless. Only a few more items and she would possess the entirety of the Aranon’s knowledge, either way.

  “As you wish.” The Broker grabbed the tear, turned around and performed her magic extraction again before handing the tear back to Mana, plus a new gem, readable with the spell Mana learned before.

  “I’m guessing you’re off to that world of steel?” she suddenly asked, and Mana’s heart stopped in her chest for a second.

  “How do you -”

  “I know things. That is my thing, Mana.”

  Mana gritted her teeth and looked to the side.

  “I know what you’re trying to do and why. And I can sympathize. Just be careful. Marisa right now is peaceful – because she trusts you completely. If she were to find out that-”

  “I know, Nicola!” Mana interrupted her, blinking away a tear.

  “It’s just… something will happen, and I want to be prepared. I want to fight back. I don’t want to believe that this future in which I try to kill Marisa just after she was created is inevitable…”

  The Broker let out a long sigh, pulling her hood back to talk to Mana as Nicola.

  “Can you show me your list again, Mana?”

  Mana nodded and unfolded the piece of paper with Nicola’s list of magic items. The woman looked at the list for a while, then she tapped her finger on one of the items.

  “When you get to this one, make one extra ring. For yourself. I’m sure it will help in your endeavor.”

  Mana leaned forward to look at the list, raising both her brows as she read the name of the item.

  “…that might work.”

  Nicola opened a drawer and gave Mana one extra gold ring.

  “If the worst happens, it will buy you time to find a solution.”

  Month 4, Year 34 of Chief Technocrat Castor’s Rule

  ***

  Mana felt a little uneasy as she stood in the narrow, cylindrical chamber with neon blue lighting on the inside. Light passed from the top of the tube to the bottom, scanning her body in regular intervals.

  “And this really just does what you told me? You’re not trying to… I don’t know, put me to sleep and into one of your containment cells? You’re not going to stick weird instruments up my butt like aliens?”

  An annoyed woman’s voice came through the speaker on the inside, belonging to Meryl, the ‘glasses woman’.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, child. We have already captured wizards from other dimensions. Besides, if we captured you in here, it would only be a matter of time until that much more dangerous clone of yours starts to miss you and looks for you.”

  “Reassuring.” Mana replied in a dry tone.

  A hiss went through the chamber and a hatch opened, letting Mana step outside. The tall man called Stevyn approached her and made some notes on a clipboard.

  “Good. We have all the memories we need.”

  “How fast will you have it ready?” Mana asked.

  “Two weeks.”

  Mana blinked with her mouth slightly agape.

  “Hm? What? That’s on the slow side. A small neighborhood with houses like that? We usually 3D print them in two days tops up on the surface, where we can use actual construction equipment and can have all the resources in the same place at once.”

  Stevyn furrowed his brow as he looked at Mana.

  “Please tell me your civilization has at least figured out how to build houses fast…”

  Mana looked to the side.

  “Good heavens…” Stevyn sighed.

  Mana shrugged and walked to Meryl.

  “There’s one more thing that I’m retrieving soon. Can your containment field be modified?”

  The woman raised a brow and crossed her arms, tapping one of them with her fingers.

  “It can… but I’ll have to make the judgment whether we’ll use whatever you’re bringing us.”

  “Don’t worry, I think you’ll agree that it makes things much safer.” Mana reassured the woman, who remained ever skeptical.

  Period of Warm Winds, 1477 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  Mana stepped out of her portal, finding herself on the beach where she had her date with Marisa. She was spotted immediately, with Marisa running towards her from the small forest with a big grin.

  “Mana! Good timing, I have to show you something!”

  Mana let Marisa pull her deeper between the trees. There was a bit of a trampled path already, as if Marisa went back and forth a lot. And then the trees parted, and Mana stood in front of a simple hut, made from all the wood that grew freely available around her.

  “I made us a hideout!” Marisa proclaimed proudly.

  Mana blinked and looked inside, seeing even a table, a chair and a bedroom with a ‘bed’ inside, which was more a pile of palm leaves neatly bound together to be as comfortable as possible to lie on top of.

  “How did you…?”

  “Ehehe, you remember that I have an index for monster summoning books?”

  Mana nodded.

  “I went ahead and grabbed one for a golem. I summoned a bunch and had them help me build this!”

  Mana let out a laugh and patted Marisa’s head as she examined the small house once more.

  A hideout! Or a love nest.