CHAPTER 6
On the Road: The Story of the Lonely Book
Two witches arrived at a seaside town.
One witch had ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes. She was wearing a black triangular hat and a black robe. On her breast was a star-shaped brooch that certified she was a witch, and yet her outfit was very, very simple, typical of someone on a long journey.
The girl was a witch, and she was a traveler, and also she was very, very beautiful.
“Huh? Did you just call yourself beautiful? Really?”
…………
If I were to compare her beauty to something, it would be a single flower that blooms on a mountain in winter. A flower that, though surrounded by a harsh environment, breaks through the snow and peeks its face out of the earth, indomitable and, above all, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Why are you going on and on about your beauty? Are you drunk? I mean it. You’re totally wasted, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”
…………
The other witch had long black hair. She, too, was dressed in a black robe and black pointy hat, and of course she wore an identical star-shaped brooch.
Her name was Fran.
She was a lazy, good-for-nothing slacker. She may not have looked like it, but she had a job as a teacher in some city somewhere, and she was on her way back there.
She claimed that she had come to this seaside port town to embark on an ocean voyage that would take her back to her job.
“Oh, you didn’t include any mention of beauty in your description of me, did you? That makes me a little sad.”
I only had three days left to spend with my teacher. It was sad to think about, but the time of our parting would inevitably arrive. So I thought we ought to enjoy the little time we had together. Even if we just spent it getting food in a café.
“Oh, that makes me so happy! What nice things you’re writing, Elaina.”
…………
By the way—
Let’s see—
This woman, just whose teacher might she be?
That’s right, she’s mine.
“…………”
I said nothing.
“…………”
I was silent. A very, very heavy silence.
We said nothing for a while, staring at each other across the café table.
I suppose I must now explain what on earth happened. Please bear with me, even when it sounds unbelievable.
We had only arrived at the city gates just a short time earlier. Less than an hour.
This city, which was to be the last stop on my journey with Miss Fran, was named Trocolio by the Sea. It was a fairly large port city.
The city itself was more cute than beautiful. The houses that we passed were all vividly painted, as if the colors from many flowers had been splashed right onto them. They were a little bit dazzling, basking in the sunlight that poured down on them.
“Elaina, do you know the reason why the houses in this town are so colorful?” Miss Fran tilted her head quizzically as she walked beside me.
I could see the ocean in the distance, where we were headed. The boats returning to port slid noiselessly across the water’s surface, bobbing along as if they weighed nothing.
“Isn’t it so that the boats don’t get lost or something?” I replied immediately.
“…………” Miss Fran was silent. “No.” She puffed out her cheeks a little.
I’m guessing from what I just saw that I answered correctly? Could I be wrong?
“All right then, what’s the answer?”
“It’s because they had too much paint.”
“…………”
I think I must have narrowed my eyes considerably when she said that. I’m sure I stared at my teacher with clammy suspicion.
Seeing my expression, Miss Fran quickly offered an explanation. “No, it’s true! I heard about it from someone who lives here, so I know I’m not mistaken. They used up all their leftover paint by covering their walls with it.” She spoke a little too quickly as she replied.
“So then, what are you trying to say, miss?”
“I guess I want to say that sometimes it looks like there’s a deeper meaning to something when in reality the reason behind it is not all that significant.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Since the houses all have such charming appearances, you’d think there must be some kind of reason why they’re done up like that, right? But actually, there is no reason at all. That’s what I heard from my friend, so it can’t be wrong.”
“I guess it can’t.”
“That’s what I heard from my friend, so it can’t be wrong.”
“…Now you sound kind of suspicious. Aren’t you repeating yourself too much?”
But my teacher, stubbornly nonchalant, asked, “By the way, Elaina, how about a little lunch? I’ve got a restaurant recommendation. My treat!”
“Sounds great.” I nodded enthusiastically. “But it’s rare for you to treat me to a meal. Is there some reason for it?” I asked.
Miss Fran chuckled at my question.
“There’s no deeper meaning behind it. I just want to share a meal together, that’s all,” she told me calmly.
The café we arrived at next was a profoundly bizarre restaurant. That’s the only way I can describe the scene that awaited us inside.
WELCOME. HAVE A SEAT ANYWHERE YOU LIKE.
A signboard was there to greet us.
…A signboard? Aren’t there any employees?
As I stood there wondering, the signboard swayed casually left to right.
Huh?
I cast my gaze downward.
Apparently, it wasn’t the case that there were no employees. I just hadn’t been able to see them.
“…Who’s this little one?”
I crouched and looked down. There was a stuffed bear dressed in a uniform. For some reason, this charming doll with its round, cute eyes was waving the sign around adorably.
What is this?
“This is a restaurant where dolls like these bring you your food.”
Miss Fran told me that it was her third time visiting this city. The first time, she came because she was fleeing with her own teacher. The second time was when she came back for a return trip. And today was the third time.
As one would expect, she seemed to be used to the sight of the dolls. She didn’t look at all surprised. Instead, she did as the signboard advised and walked toward an open table.
I chased after her.
“This is an awfully strange city, huh…? So dolls do the jobs instead of humans?”
But as she took her seat, Miss Fran answered, “No, no. This restaurant is the only place that employs dolls. Other restaurants have waitresses working at them like usual.”
“Hmm? Is that so?”
I sat down across from Miss Fran. I was in the window seat. I could look out and see the colorful cityscape.
“The dolls that work in this restaurant were made to assist humans. They are stationed all over town and lend a helping hand to anyone in need. There, look over there.”
Miss Fran pointed.
She was pointing to a cute little girl doll on the corner that was holding a signboard that read: THE BOOKSTORE IS THIS WAY! IT’S ON THE MAP! and also walking along, leading the way for an old woman.
I see, I see.
“That one’s not a stuffed bear.”
“Right. The bears are a feature of this restaurant only.”
As Miss Fran nodded assertively, a bear came up to the table with another sign that read: MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER?
“Write what you want to eat on a piece of paper and hand it to the bear,” said Miss Fran over her menu. She grabbed one of the slips of paper that had been provided for that purpose, and in her unique handwriting, she scribbled out the name of the most expensive thing the restaurant offered and then handed her paper over to the doll.
Across from her, I ordered a fairly cheap pasta dish and a glass of water.
“My goodness.” As I was handing my paper to the bear, Miss Fran put her hand over her mouth and tutted. “You don’t have to hold back, you know?”
“It’s fine, I wasn’t that hungry to begin with.”
Allow me to confess something. I had eaten some bread behind Miss Fran’s back earlier. So I was still a little full.
“Your diet will be unbalanced, you know? If you don’t eat better meals.”
“You sound like my mother…”
“I don’t mind you putting us in the same category.”
“In that case, I don’t mind letting you treat me to tonight’s meal and tomorrow’s and the next day’s, too.”
“I take back what I just said.”
“Well, my stomach will feel full anyway just from watching you eat so much.”
“Goodness, now you sound just like your mother.”
“Please don’t look at me that way.”
Our food came out before too long, accompanied by signs reading: SORRY FOR THE WAIT! and: SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING!
An ordinary pasta dish and an ordinary appetizer were placed on the table.
The bear that had brought out the dish for Miss Fran immediately turned on its heel and went back to the kitchen.
“…………”
However, for some reason, the bear that had brought out my pasta hopped right up and took a seat beside me.
“Miss, what’s this about?” I asked.
“In this restaurant, they offer a service where the bears will sit next to you after they finish bringing out your meal. That little guy can become like an extension of you, Elaina, and do all sorts of things for you.”
According to Miss Fran, the bears devoted themselves to their patrons after delivering their meals. They could feed you your food, take new orders, or even act as conversation partners.
“It’s very luxurious, oh-hoh-hoh.” She chuckled.
“Well, that doesn’t seem so bad, but…”
I’d at least like to feed myself.
It would have been pretty embarrassing to be fed by a stuffed bear in front of my teacher. I didn’t like the idea of that one bit, so I lifted the bear sitting next to me over my lap and put it by the window.
Nothing major happened after that; the two of us just passed the time chatting. That in itself was very pleasant. I appreciated spending time like that once in a while.
“I’ve still got some time until the day after tomorrow, so what shall we do?” Miss Fran asked either to herself or to me.
Two nights hence, Miss Fran would board a boat to return to Royal Celestelia.
I knew I wouldn’t see her for some time after she left. It wouldn’t be a permanent good-bye, but we only had a little time left to be together, for a while.
The question was just how we should use the time we had left. I tried to think of something as we exchanged words that I wanted to write down and keep in my diary.
“Oh, I know.” Miss Fran clapped her hands together. “This city is famous for its lanterns, and I heard people will be launching lanterns from the harbor in the evening the day after tomorrow. It’s perfect timing, so if you like…”
Well, then!
As you can tell, the whole conversation between us was about silly stuff like that.
But change always comes suddenly, and that day was no exception.
“It seems like people load wishes into their lanterns. This will be my second time attending, but apparently it’s a festival where everyone writes down their various wishes and sends them up into the sky—oh?”
Miss Fran paused for a moment and frowned. I wondered what on earth was the matter, and then I saw that the bear I had placed next to me was handing one of the order slips to Miss Fran.
…What?
“…………?”
Apparently, it was the first time anything like that had happened to Miss Fran, too, because she looked puzzled as she accepted the paper.
And then—
“…………”
She said nothing.
She said nothing, but she was obviously, clearly holding back a smile. She even seemed like she might be on the verge of bursting into laughter.
“Um, Elaina…by any chance, just now, were you thinking about writing in your diary?”
Miss Fran looked at me with a complicated expression.
What?
“Yes, uh…I did…probably think that, but—”
What of it?
“I’m sorry…I didn’t explain well enough…”
Miss Fran took a deep breath and then told me, “This bear is animated by magic, okay? It is enchanted to respond to the thoughts of anyone who touches it.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“If you touch it while thinking that you would like some water, it will bring you water. If you touch it while thinking that you would like to speak to the girl in the seat next to you, it will go make a pass at her for you. Generally, in that way, while you’re inside the restaurant, this bear will try to fulfill your desires.”
Miss Fran glanced out across the restaurant. When I looked, there was a bear wearing a cool expression beside a girl sitting in a counter seat. It was holding a signboard that said THIS IS FROM THE CUSTOMER OVER THERE.
I see, I see.
In other words, just by touching them, you can get them to do anything you like?
They’ll do anything for you…?
…………
Huh?
“So what will happen if I think about writing in my diary?”
“It will write a diary entry.”
Straightaway, Miss Fran held out the slip of paper to me.
There was an entry written in bold letters, including—
That’s right, it’s me.
“…Wait, this is just…it’s not right.”
After a long silence, I uttered an awkward dismissal. “…I really wasn’t thinking about writing an entry like this at all!”
“Now, now, it’s fine, Elaina. You don’t have to make excuses. Your teacher knows all about you! Oh-hoh-hoh!” Miss Fran laughed. “And it’s lifted the mood a little bit, wouldn’t you say?”
No, no, wait, how are you completely misunderstanding this? Seriously, come on, this weird bear doll just did something weird, that’s all. I can’t believe this!
“Oh, this is so awkward! I wonder if this bear is broken. Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh!” I squeezed the bear’s soft, squishy head. I gripped it with considerable force. Its squished face looked extremely ugly, but I wasn’t concerned about that. That was the bear’s own fault for overstepping its bounds.
“Elaina, I already knew about your feelings, so it’s really all right.”
Miss Fran smiled consolingly. She was looking at me as if she was quite amused.
Then, with one hand covering her mouth, she said, “So…you’ve been writing some very unique entries in your diary, haven’t you?”
Her eyes were warm.
“No, you’ve got it wrong. The bear just wrote that all on its own. It’s definitely not what I wanted. This has nothing to do with my feelings; please forget it.”
“You’re speaking rather quickly.”
“I’ll speak quickly if I want to. Give me a break. This thing must be broken, right? This bear.”
I kept on squeezing its head, over and over.
“No, I don’t think it is broken… Didn’t I just tell you how it works?”
“You mean about my intentions being projected into it?”
Squish, squish, squish, squish.
“That’s what I mean. In other words, what’s written on this slip of paper is what you really think—”
“You sure it’s not broken?”
Squish, squish, smack, smack.
“No, I really don’t believe it’s broken, but—”
“Yes it is. This one’s a dud.”
Grind, grind, crush, crush.
“Actually, it rather seems like you’re trying to break it now…”
“Well, a bear that does things like this is broken anyway, so there’s no point in worrying about it.”
Grind, grind, crunch, crunch.
I continued visiting punishment upon the offending bear. But the bear was apparently extremely sturdy, and it was entirely undamaged. Instead of a café employee, it seemed like the bear was better suited for a role as a punching bag.
“Um, Elaina, I think you’d better stop that—,” Miss Fran said to me after a while. She was still wearing her smile. I had gone on and on tormenting the bear that had so readily exposed my secret.
Just as Miss Fran spoke up—
“Ahhhhhh! What have you done?! You idiot!”
An angry roar that was nearly a shriek rang out from the back of the café. When I turned around to look in surprise, I saw a woman walking rapidly toward us.
Her brown hair formed soft, fluffy waves. The sweet-looking woman with gently drooping eyes, who was dressed in a loose, flowy robe, looked like someone who lived in a forest or something.
Who could she be?
Miss Fran said, “Ah, the manager.”
Apparently, she’s the manager.
“Hey, you there, hey, you!” the manager shouted at me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing to my little bear?!” Her attitude was terrifying. She slapped her hand down on the tabletop. “Give him here now!” She snatched the bear from my hands. “Really! Are you all right, sweet bear? There, there. There, there. That must have hurt. I’m sure you were scared. Are you okay? Aw.” She hugged the bear and rubbed her cheek against it.
…………
The bear really seemed to hate it.
“Miss Fran, didn’t you say that those things project people’s intentions?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So what does that mean? Once the manager touches it, the manager’s intentions dwell in the bear, is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It looks really hateful, though.”
“That it does.”
“Even so, if you really, really think about it, until just now, my intentions were in that bear, isn’t that right?”
“If you really, really think about it, I suppose that’s right.”
“Does that mean I was hitting myself?”
The manager cooed, “I bet this wittle guy was wondering, ‘What the heck am I doing?’”
“…………”
I’m not interested in self-mutilation, though…
I tried to stay calm. Seriously, what was I doing?
“I love you! I wuv you so much my wittle bear! Hee-hee-hee-hee…”
“…………”
“…………”
The manager had lost her cool way worse than I had. Seeing her like that helped me regain my usual composure.
After the manager had spent some time hugging her “wittle bear” or whatever, she returned to her senses. “Oh, Fran. It’s been a while. What are you doing?”
“It’s been a long time, Wassily.” Miss Fran looked fairly sober, as she usually did. “You seem as energetic as always.”
“Eh-heh-heh…is that how I look? By the way, who’s that girl beside you?”
“This is Elaina. She’s my pupil.”
“Oh, I see, a pupil! Got it! What kind of schooling are you giving her?” asked the manager, otherwise known as Wassily. Her voice remained cheerful, but her expression darkened.
“Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh. I’m sorry, you’ll have to let me fill you in later.”
“Unbelievable! After she did such cruel things to my sweet little bear! I oughtta knock your teeth out!”
It was obvious that anything I might say in this situation would only rile Wassily up more, so I stayed quiet. I sat and contemplated her in silence.
“That hurt, didn’t it, my sweet little bear? There, there, there, there.”
With a sidelong glance at Miss Fran and me sitting there in silent disapproval, the manager continued rubbing her cheek against the bear that was linked to her. “There, there, there, there.”
“…………”
Seems like even self-love should have limits…
“Allow me to reintroduce you two, Elaina. This is Wassily.”
Apparently, the restaurant basically ran itself so long as the bears were around. Wassily sat down in the seat next to me, maybe because she had time to kill, or maybe because she was still angry with me.
“But wow, it’s been a long time! How many years, Fran?”
“It’s been one month.”
“That’s a super-long time!”
“I saw you before we came in here, too. We ran into each other when I was heading in the other direction, didn’t we?”
“You really haven’t changed a bit!”
“You said the same thing when I saw you earlier.”
“It’s been so long since we saw each other, but you’re really the same as always!”
“You haven’t changed, either—you still don’t listen to what other people say.”
Miss Fran and Wassily both chuckled as they cheerfully carried on their conversation, but somehow they didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength, and the atmosphere at the table was very strange.
“How long have you been acquainted with the manager, Miss Fran?” I asked.
“For a very long time,” Miss Fran answered, placing a finger on her lip.
She told me that she had first met Wassily the first time she came to the city—in other words, right after she had left her hometown of Bielawald.
“I’ll never forget it. I was only ten years old back then…” Wassily suddenly launched into reminiscence.
No more than ten minutes had passed since I’d first met her, but it was already painfully obvious that she was quite the free spirit.
“That day was so clear and cool, and a pleasant spring breeze was blowing—”
Her reminiscence was very, very long, and from time to time she would squeeze her doll and say things like “Eh-heh-heh, I wuv my wittle bear!” which I will omit here because there must be limits even to being a free spirit. But in short, if I were to summarize her story…
Miss Fran and her teacher often came to the café while they were staying in the city. The owner of the café had a daughter. Her name was Wassily.
The end.
No really, that’s all there was to it. They just happened to be close in age at the time, so Wassily and Miss Fran became friends.
Wassily told me that since then, they had corresponded occasionally through letters.
“She may not look it, but Wassily here is quite a famous mage, and all the magic dolls in this city are her creations!” Miss Fran explained matter-of-factly.
“That’s right!” Wassily added, puffing up with pride.
“And she also does research into the history of magic. She’s got quite a lot of very old documents, you know. I even borrow her materials for my own research sometimes.”
“Yeah! That’s right! These dolls have a very long history, you know? The study of history is indispensable! Get it?” Wassily suddenly lit up.
I’m going to omit some things again. Wassily spoke with great abandon, telling us all about the history of the dolls. It was obvious that she loved dolls, and her long diatribe only reinforced my impression that she was a very free spirit.
“And also, listen, anyway, I’ve been collecting antique dolls for a long time.”
“…………” Casting a sidelong glance at Wassily, who continued chattering on euphorically, I whispered to Miss Fran, “Um, miss, is she always like this?”
“She hasn’t changed a bit since old times.”
“Uh-huh…I thought that might be the case.”
“Having a conversation with her is basically always like this.”
“Don’t you get tired of it?”
“I don’t really pay attention to what she’s saying, so I’m fine.” Miss Fran sipped her tea elegantly.
“…………”
“And also, listen.”
The afternoon of the first day of our stay in Trocolio by the Sea.
At a table by the window in a strange café where dolls carry the food, our group of three sat, not communicating at all, like a little girl talking to her dolls.
By the time Wassily’s long story reached its conclusion, we were ready to leave her café. The sunshine that had been streaming down on the city was already tinged with red.
It was evening.
I could see the ship in the distance. Returning to port with a wake trailing behind it, the boat floated along at a very relaxed pace, looking exhausted from a day’s work.
There was a large group of people gathered at the harbor. I wondered whether the squirming, bustling crowd were all headed for the ship.
“Come to think of it, the festival is the day after tomorrow, isn’t it?” I asked, cocking my head.
Miss Fran nodded in confirmation.
The festival.
“And it’s a lantern festival, you said?”
Earlier, before Wassily showed up, Miss Fran had mentioned the festival. According to her, it was supposed to be a festival where people sent lanterns up into the night sky.
“The dolls that Wassily made have always helped out with the Lantern Festival. This year, it looks like they’re doing it with human power, though.”
I looked again and saw that every person in the group gathered at the port was holding a large lantern in their hands and that the frameworks for festival stalls were being erected.
“They must not have enough mages, I suppose.”
Miss Fran peered out into the distance.
A single white tower stretched up into the red-tinged sky. It was probably the lighthouse that led the way for ships.
“It’s a little dark, isn’t it?”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at the light at the top of the tower. A faint bluish-white glow spilled out of the windows, which looked like candles giving off their meager illumination.
Miss Fran nodded. “Apparently, the mages are inside that tower, sending out magical energy to all the dolls in the country. The light was a little more radiant when I came here before, though…”
As Miss Fran had said, there were probably not very many mages.
“Is that why they’re using human power?” I asked.
They must have been relying on the dolls for a long time. The group of people setting up for the festival looked like they were getting the job done, but very awkwardly.
Obviously, they weren’t familiar with the task.
“They want to hold the festival badly enough to do it all themselves,” Miss Fran remarked.
“That’s how beautiful our Lantern Festival is, you know,” Wassily replied.
“…………”
In that case, I’m kind of interested.
But it’s the day after tomorrow?
“…Miss Fran, are you going to be here long enough for the festival?”
Miss Fran was leaving the city in two days. That coincided exactly with the scheduled day of the festival. If the festival started after her departure, she would leave the city without getting a chance to enjoy it.
Moreover, I would wind up wandering aimlessly through the festival without anyone to enjoy it with.
That was kind of a lonely thought.
“As far as whether or not I’ll be here, well, I think I can say that I will be.” Miss Fran looked at me and answered with this strange phrasing. “The boat I’m boarding departs tomorrow evening just before the Lantern Festival ends.”
According to Miss Fran, at this time of year, tickets for passenger ships departing from the city were very expensive because they offered a view of the Lantern Festival from the ocean. Miss Fran and her own teacher had previously relied on those tickets to get them out of the region once before. Just like in those days, she was going to set out on her journey while viewing the lanterns from on the water.
“So let’s enjoy the festival together the day after tomorrow.” Miss Fran smiled.
I don’t suppose I have to tell you that I agreed.
That evening…
We stayed at an inn together.
The room was nice, and the cost was fairly reasonable considering we had a sweeping view of the lovely ocean. There were two beds side by side and a table near the window. Otherwise, there was nothing in the room, and the furnishings were extremely simple. There being nothing much in the room was probably the reason for the low cost.
“Which one of us should use the bath first?”
I filled the tub with hot water as soon as we got to our room and then asked my teacher that question.
I said, “You go ahead, Miss Fran,” but she answered me in her typical way: “No, no, you go first, Elaina, please.”
No, no, I couldn’t.
“I’m a little busy reading these sightseeing pamphlets I picked up, so please go ahead.”
In Miss Fran’s hand, she held some pamphlets she had gotten in the lounge of the inn.
I see, I see.
“What a funny coincidence. I’m also busy reading pamphlets, so you go ahead.”
I had the same things in my hand. Both of us were sitting on one of the beds, tightly grasping pamphlets with titles like FULLY ENJOY EVERY NOOK AND CORNER OF TROCOLIO BY THE SEA! written across the covers, asking each other, “Where do you want to go, miss?” and “Where shall we go, Elaina?”
“If you don’t get in soon, the water will get cold!” Miss Fran shoved me with her shoulder.
“I ran the water for you, Miss Fran!” I shoved her back.
“But I’m still busy, so…”
“I’m still busy, too, so please go ahead.”
“No, no, you first, please.”
For some reason, we continued this strange back-and-forth for a while, both of us shoving the other by the shoulder, but neither of us yielded a single inch.
We kept chatting on and on about nothing in particular, suggesting restaurants that looked good or places that looked interesting, without at all deciding where to go the following day. Eventually, once the bath I had drawn had gone lukewarm, we butted heads once again. “Well, I suppose I’ll go ahead and get in then, miss.” “Ah, would it be all right if I got in first after all?”
Finally, I wound up gazing at the ceiling from the steaming bathtub.
“…I ended up going first, huh?”
In the end, I had my bath first. The hot water drained the tension from my body. With each breath in and out, I felt my nerves unwind, and I let out a relaxed sigh.
“Tomorrow while we’re out sightseeing, why don’t we poke our heads in briefly at the tower, too? I’m curious to see what kind of mages are controlling the dolls.”
I heard Miss Fran’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. After sucking in another breath, I answered loudly, “That’s fine with me!”
Apparently, I was even more tired than I realized. My voice sounded very soft and lazy. It came out almost as a yawn.
Uh-oh, that won’t do.
“…Heh-heh,” Miss Fran laughed from the other side of the door. “Hurry up and get out, okay?”
“…………” I leaned back in the bath and answered, “I’ll do my best.”
I couldn’t see Miss Fran, but somehow, I had the feeling she was looking in my direction.
“I’m really looking forward to the festival the day after tomorrow,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, too,” I replied.
“Did you decide where we’re going?”
“No, not yet.”
I haven’t decided where to go, but I know I want to go someplace fun.
That was how I meant to answer.
But just then, there was a crashing sound, and I felt uneasy about what was happening in the other room. Something felt out of place, as if the atmosphere had changed with the crash.
“Huh?” From behind the door dividing the bathroom from the rest of the room, my teacher uttered a few words. “…What’s this?”
“…?” It was strange. “Miss Fran? What’s the matter?”
But Miss Fran didn’t answer.
“…Miss?”
Before I knew it, I was out of the bath. I would have preferred to relax a little longer, but I sensed something strange on the other side of the door.
After drying myself with a bath towel and wrapping the towel around my body, I opened the bathroom door.
“……”
A breeze blew through the room. The slightly chilly breeze cooled my warm body. I was sure the window hadn’t been open before.
Despite that, the curtain was billowing, and the smell of saltwater hung in the air of the room.
“…Miss Fran?”
My voice sounded lifeless.
The room contained nothing but the two beds, the table, and our bags. Miss Fran, who ought to have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
It was as if she had abruptly disappeared.
“Where…”
…did you go?
I asked no one in particular.
“…………”
Aside from the fact that the window was open, and that Miss Fran was gone, nothing in the room had changed.
There was a book sitting on the table by the window.
It had a cover design that I had never seen before. The cover was black with gold ornamentation, and it had no title or author name.
But somehow, I got the feeling that it had been left there because someone wanted me to read it.
“…What’s this?”
It was a massive tome. I couldn’t help but be curious about what was written inside. I reached out and placed a hand on the book.
“…………”
Then, as I was about to open it…
…a cold chill ran up my spine. It might have been because the sharp wind chilled my damp body. Or maybe it was because I felt an intense feeling of dread.
Miss Fran had suddenly disappeared in the middle of a conversation, and an unfamiliar book was lying on the table. I couldn’t imagine that the two things were unrelated.
Hypothetically speaking—and I didn’t have any idea how on earth it could happen, but let’s suppose—if the window was suddenly thrown open, the book could have flown in and landed on top of the table. That would be a crazy story, but let’s suppose something like that happened.
Then maybe at that point, Miss Fran walked over to the table. And perhaps she opened the book.
And suppose, as a result of doing so, she disappeared.
Then wouldn’t it be obvious that the book was some kind of cursed object beyond my understanding?
“…That’s no good.”
We had so many plans to make for tomorrow, too.
I don’t know what to do if she just up and disappeared on me.
I looked over my shoulder.
I saw the pamphlets that we had been reading side by side abandoned unceremoniously on one of the beds.
I went to Wassily’s café as the sun was dawning. Though, thinking about it now, I had no evidence that Wassily actually lived at the café, so there was a distinct possibility that she wouldn’t even be there if I visited first thing in the morning.
“…Hello? Wassily here.”
It turned out she was at the café after all.
She was extremely ill-humored in the morning, but unlike the other day when she had showered me with a tempestuous torrent of terrible abuse, even though her eyes were full of loathing, she only let out a single sigh.
“I was getting my precious sleep…”
I knew this was a little too early.
But this is an emergency.
“Wassily.”
I called her name.
Either because she was still waking up or because the person standing in front of her door was me, the witch who had bullied her darling bear, she wrinkled up her brow, and—
“What are you thinking, showing up at a time like—?”
“I have a request.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tolerate her abuse again. I didn’t have the time for it. “If I remember correctly, you study history, is that right? In that case, do you know about this book?”
I thrust the black book out in front of her sleepy-looking eyes. It wouldn’t do to have the pages open in an unexpected accident, so at the moment, I had it bound tightly shut with a belt.
“What is this all of a sudden—?”
She seemed ready to make another complaint, but I cut her off again.
“Miss Fran has disappeared. Do you know anything about this book?”
“…………” Wassily’s eyes opened wide. I couldn’t tell if it was because she was surprised to hear that Miss Fran had disappeared or because she recognized the book in front of her.
I didn’t care which one it was.
“…You’d better come in.”
As long as she could offer even one clue, that would be fine with me.
Thus, I succeeded in entering her café for the second time. I was served coffee. Not the stuff brewed by the dolls, but coffee made by the manager herself.
Immediately after setting my cup down on the table with a clatter, she uttered the following line:
“You were right not to open the book.”
I didn’t immediately understand the meaning behind those words. Apparently, my mind was in a daze. I took a sip of the coffee I had been served and felt a flush of heat around my eyes.
“This is The Lonely Story Book.”
Wassily sat down in the seat across from me, and she traced her finger across the cover of the book. “No one knows for sure where or when it was made, or by whom, and we also don’t know what is written inside it. There is no one who knows its exact contents.”
Wassily told me that was why it was called The Lonely Story Book, but ultimately, that meant…
“So no one has ever read it… Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s not the case at all. Plenty of people have read it. People here in this city, in fact…mostly mages have read it. Lots of mages, just in these past few months.”
Even Wassily only knew part of the story, but according to her…
The Lonely Story Book was the subject of a strange legend told throughout the region. Rumors about it began to spread after a number of mages in another city vanished.
The mages suddenly disappeared one after another, or at least people thought they had, until they returned about three days later. People asked them where on earth they had gone, but the mages themselves had absolutely no memories of the time they were missing.
But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
Along with their memories, the mages had expended all their magical energy. They had used it all up. They could eventually recharge by spending enough time in the wilderness, but even so, it was a baffling situation.
What on earth was going on?
It took a long time to figure out.
One day, a mage found a black book lying by the side of the road and opened it on the spot out of curiosity. Immediately, that mage disappeared into the book.
A passerby just happened to witness the spectacle.
The passerby was surprised and opened the book, wondering where the mage had gone. Immediately after opening the book, their body was enveloped in light, and when they opened their eyes, they were in a strange new world.
But as soon as they got there…
“You were not summoned.”
An unseen voice spoke those words, and the passerby found themselves back in the city.
There could be no doubt that this book was responsible for the mages disappearing. The people knew it intuitively. They named the book The Lonely Story Book and put it under strict safekeeping.
Then after three days, the mage who had found the book beside the road reappeared. Just like the others, she had lost her memory and her magical energy during the time she had been missing.
After that, the black book became known as a dangerous book and was sealed away beneath the city.
However…
“Despite being sealed away, this book apparently disappeared without a trace. Ever since then, from time to time, it appears without warning and disappears again after robbing mages of their memories and knowledge—it has been appearing around the city for the past several months. This book’s got a will of its own.”
According to Wassily, the reason why there weren’t very many mages in the city was because of The Lonely Story Book.
One after another, the mages in the city had opened the book and disappeared, only to reappear three days later, stripped of magical energy. Most of the mages were recovering from the ordeal, and as a result, the only person around who could properly use magic was Wassily.
“So you were unharmed?” I asked.
She nodded casually. “Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I brought the situation back under control, at least for a moment.” Wassily was a pretty cool character in the morning. “It appeared right in front of me once, this book.”
It had happened about a month earlier.
Wassily had already known about The Lonely Story Book, so she didn’t open it. She bound it tightly closed and sent it off to another country without cracking the cover.
“My intention was to send it to the United Magic Association and have them take all the appropriate measures, but…”
But I could guess that her plan had failed from the fact that the book was resting calmly on top of the table at this very moment.
“It seems my outlook was overly optimistic. I never thought it would come back this quickly.”
In the end, The Lonely Story Book had returned to the city of its own accord.
It had gone straight to Miss Fran.
“…………”
But…
“If everything in that story is true, it will be three days before Miss Fran comes back, and when she does, she will have lost most of her magical energy. Is that what you’re telling me?”
Wassily nodded.
“That’s what it comes down to, yes. As things stand.”
“…She was planning to leave the city on a boat tomorrow.”
“She was.”
“So as things stand, we have a problem.”
Though imperfect, Miss Fran did make her living as a teacher. As things stood, needless to say, this would present an obstacle to her career. She wouldn’t be able to get back to Royal Celestelia if she was imprisoned inside a book for three days. I was of the opinion that this would be an entirely unfair development.
I wouldn’t know what to do if we couldn’t get Miss Fran to come back.
Especially since we had already made plans to enjoy some sightseeing.
“Somehow, we’ve got to bring Miss Fran out from the world of the book.”
We also promised to watch the Lantern Festival together tomorrow, after all.
I refuse to be stuck waiting for her for three days.
“How many hours did you spend looking for her?” Wassily asked me suddenly.
“…………”
“You searched for her, right? You searched for Fran? How long did you spend looking?” She repeated the same question again.
I had realized immediately that the cause of my teacher’s disappearance lay with the book, but just in case, I had also gone looking for her around town.
Let’s see, how long was I looking?
“…I don’t remember.”
“Go take a nap,” Wassily responded without delay.
What is she talking about?
“I can’t do that. Not until we figure out a plan to help Miss Fran—”
I took another sip of coffee. The area around my eyes steadily warmed again.
“I’m saying that because I already have a plan. So go rest for a little while, okay?”
As she was speaking, she took the coffee and the book from my hands.
After a short nap.
“Oh, you’re up! It’s been a while, Elaina. Are you doing well?”
“…………”
When I sat up, a messy room met my eyes. Potion bottles were scattered everywhere, and there were scraps of paper underfoot, covered in endless equations. The shelves were lined carefully with dolls—little girls and little boys, as well as the bears that had been running the restaurant.
It looked like the back of the restaurant was Wassily’s private room.
“I’m normally back here doing research. It’s no problem, since I can leave the café to the bears!”
Light streamed in through the window. Apparently, it was still daytime.
“Good morning…”
My body felt light, probably because I had just taken a nap. A big stretch worked any leftover stiffness out of my muscles, which felt kind of pleasant.
“Perfect timing. I just finished getting everything ready,” Wassily said, staring at me.
There was a table right in front of the sofa where I had been napping.
There were four dolls on it.
Two of them were girls with ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes, dressed in the sort of robes that mages wore. The other two dolls were girls dressed in normal, everyday clothes.
“These are…”
…what, exactly?
“These are your alter egos! They’re very well made, if I do say so myself…” Wassily chuckled, looking pleased. Stroking the dolls gently, she continued, “This is only a hypothesis, but I’m convinced that The Lonely Story Book was made by a demon.”
“A demon…you say?”
When she said that, a memory from a very long time ago surfaced in my sleepy mind. I recalled a relatively benign demon who would show you whatever dream you liked and then gave you one thing that you wanted at the end of the dream.
However, if at the end you asked to remain in the dream, she would snatch away your life right then and there.
“I think what happens is that the mages get trapped in the world of the book, and while they’re in there, their magical energy is stolen. Though I have no idea what on earth is happening to them in there for three days—”
“…………”
“But I daresay the demon inside The Lonely Story Book is stealing magical energy from the mages. Of that alone I have no doubt,” she told me.
I felt a slight sense of discomfort at her words.
Would a demon really use such a complicated plan just to steal some magical energy? Plus, it doesn’t seem to me like the sort of demon that would invade people’s dreams would also be kind enough to return everyone they feed off of after they’re done…
“Anyone without magic is expelled from the world inside the book where the demon is.”
Wassily’s words pulled my attention back to reality.
“That’s why we need a good plan.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Out of the four dolls on the table, Wassily pointed to the two that were dressed in mage’s outfits.
“The mechanism of the dolls is very simple. They are imbued with magical energy and will spring into action when someone touches them.”
“You already showed me that yesterday.”
I knew the dolls could be animated by the currents of magical energy flowing into them from the lighthouse or the café.
“Two of the four dolls will pretend to be you and Fran. We’ll get them to spend three days in the book’s world posing as sentient humans.”
“In other words, they are our stand-ins?”
Wassily nodded sharply. “Even though they are conscious, they’re still just dolls. Don’t feel guilty about sending them in.”
Then she pointed to the other two dolls, the ones wearing casual clothes.
“We’ll use these two to store both your and Fran’s magical energy. They’re not made to become conscious, so they are just shells that you can fill with magical energy. Once you find Fran inside the book, each of you must pour your magical energy into one of these dolls. Fill them to the limit, until you are no longer able to cast any spells.”
Once we did that, Miss Fran and I would no longer have anything to steal, because all the magical energy would be out of our bodies.
That means…
“So both of us together will be expelled from the book?”
“Yes, and leave the stand-ins behind.”
Then, after three days, the two dolls that were serving as our stand-ins would return to the outside world, empty of mind and magical energy—
That was the plan Wassily had concocted.
“This was the plan that occurred to me as soon as I heard the rumors that The Lonely Story Book had appeared in this city. But the book is really elusive—”
She told me that in the end, she hadn’t had a chance to try it until now.
In other words, we had absolutely no idea whether or not this plan would be successful. It was the best that she had come up with, working off of the evidence she had gathered.
“You in?”
Wassily cocked her head.
I already knew my answer.
“Of course.”
Then I pulled out my wand and channeled magical energy into the two dolls dressed in robes.
There was no need to hesitate. There was a non-zero possibility that this plan might fail, but if that happened, Miss Fran and I would just spend three days together inside the book and wind up with our magical energy stolen, that was all.
It wasn’t as if our lives were at risk.
So surely there was no need to hesitate.
“I’m starting now.”
I showered the robed dolls with bluish-white light, and they rattled and swayed. After I had been conferring magical energy onto them for some time, Wassily said, “Let’s put the girls in casual clothes into a bag or something,” and shoved them into a pouch.
“Huh? They won’t go in…” She crammed them in hard. They didn’t go in. “Come on!” Finally, she forced them into the bag, bending their necks as she shoved them.
“…………”
This lady really loves dolls, doesn’t she? Doesn’t she?
“Okay, take this.”
“S-sure…thanks.”
She handed me the pouch, and I hung it over my shoulder. At about the same moment, my wand ran out of juice. I had already given plenty of magical energy to the dolls.
“All right then, are you ready?”
And then, without a moment’s delay, Wassily picked up the book. She turned it toward me, ready to open it.
I picked up the two robed dolls. The dolls squirmed, as if being held in my arms was making them uncomfortable, and they tried to escape.
Once I touched them, they ought to have been imbued with my will, but apparently, the mini Elainas in my hands were going through something of a late rebellious stage.
“Before you go, is there anything you want to ask me?” Wassily asked, book at the ready.
“…………”
This was utterly inappropriate for the situation, but in that moment, I had regained some degree of tranquility. I had surrendered myself to the optimistic view that I would probably manage somehow. And I was absentmindedly recalling the events of the day before.
I was thinking about walking around town with Miss Fran.
On that subject, the thing I remembered was…
“The walls in this city are all plastered with paint, aren’t they? What’s the reason for that?”
That conversation with my teacher had been the impetus for coming into the café.
It had also been a conversation about how things can look like they have a deeper meaning while actually having no particular meaning behind them at all.
“…You don’t know a simple thing like that?” Wassily frowned at my clueless question.
But she also answered me.
She said simply, “It’s to make the city easy to see from a boat, obviously.”
“Is that so…?”
Just as I thought, the things that seem like they have a deeper meaning to them usually really do contain some significance.
I’ll have to talk about this with Miss Fran when I see her again.
As I was absentmindedly musing on such matters, I was enveloped in light.
Where on earth can this be?
When I sat up and looked around, I saw familiar scenery stretching out around me.
Tall buildings stood proudly in rows, with ropes strung between them. The laundry hanging from the ropes fluttered lightly in the warm breeze, and a pleasant aroma filled the air. My gaze drifted, enticed by the sweet smell that was faintly wafting past, and I could see a windowsill decorated with flowers.
It was a familiar scene.
The city of Royal Celestelia was spread out before my eyes.
A little down the way stood a row of buildings with ivy stretching up their walls. I remembered seeing them in that condition, almost as if they were trying to return to nature.
It was one of the sights I had loved a long, long time ago, when I was small.
Some scenery from Bielawald was also mixed into the view.
I was in a mysterious world where sights from two different cities were intricately intertwined.
“Oh, hello. Do you know where this place is? You over there.”
Suddenly, I heard a voice coming from behind me.
When I turned around, there was a girl standing there by herself. She looked to be about fourteen years of age. I recognized the black-haired girl right away.
She was my former self.
Or she appeared to be.
Two small horns protruded from her head, and the long nails growing from her fingertips were painted black. But her face and the clothes she was wearing were the very image of my younger self.
“Do you know where this is?”
The thing that had taken the form of my younger self cocked its head.
“…………”
I exercised my mind for a moment.
First, let’s consider the sequence of events leading up to when I arrived here. If I remember correctly, I was waiting for Elaina to finish her bath, and then the window opened all on its own, and as soon as I noticed the breeze blowing in, I saw a book I didn’t recognize sitting on top of the table, and I opened it, and then…
“…Is this the inside of a book?”
“Brilliant! So I wonder if you know who I am?”
“Let’s see…?”
My goodness, I haven’t the slightest idea. Who could you be?
Just going by appearances, you look like a demon, but—
“All right, do you know the reason why you are here?”
I have no way of knowing that.
I shook my head.
“All right then, I’ll tell you.”
The girl chuckled and then said, “I summoned you.”
“…Why did you do that?”
“Because I want to play with you,” she told me readily.
She told me her very straightforward reason.
“…Is that all?”
Are you sure I wasn’t summoned to this place for any other reason? Did you just want someone to play with? You prepared a whole dream world like this just so you could invite me in to play?
“It seems like I would have some deeper reason, doesn’t it? But that’s not the case at all. I just want to play with you.”
She smiled.
But I knew the truth.
I knew it was just a ploy to draw me in.
“All right then, let’s play. What shall we do? What do you want to play?”
She approached me quickly and whispered into my ear.
Just like a demon would.
“How about we play such a fun game that you forget about painful old reality?”
All humans have certain qualities that they themselves are not even aware of. And they all hold desires that they are not conscious of.
That was true also for Miss Fran, who created a world inside a book that blended the two cities Royal Celestelia and Bielawald.
And of course, it was true for me, too.
“This seems to be a world reproduced from Miss Fran’s memories… I see, isn’t this interesting? Heh-heh-heh.” I let a bold laugh slip out.
I did.
“Apparently, she really treasures her two hometowns, I can see that neow,” I said again, adding a strange inflection to the end of my final word.
…………
“All we have to do is locate Mistress Fran in here, isn’t that right, Mistress Elaina?”
These were the words of someone with my outward appearance but who was definitely not me.
Without replying to their words, I surveyed our surroundings.
In this strange world that combined parts of two familiar but different cities, there were three mages with ashen hair. And there was one human with light pink hair.
“Hee-hee… Hide and seek, huh? I see, how interesting.”
The one wearing a bold, sneering grin on her face was a version of me who looked just like me except she was wearing glasses and for some reason was dressed in the uniform for Latorita State University. She had a vaguely intelligent air about her. I decided to keep it simple and call her Brainy Elaina.
“Leave it to me. I’m sure I can locate our beloved teacher, meow!”
Next to her was another version of me, with cat ears and a maid outfit. She had a naturally flirtatious attitude and spoke in a cutesy voice. I decided to keep it simple and call her Flirty Elaina.
“Mistress Elaina, are you sure that your consciousness has actually been projected into these two?”
The one glaring coldly at the two strange versions of me also looked very much like me but was not me on the inside. She was someone who had been traveling with me for a long time. She was my broom.
“…………”
I was silent.
There were a number of factors that caused us to end up in such a condition. Would you be so kind as to listen to how it happened?
Once I entered the world of the book, a thought came to me suddenly.
“We are using the dolls as stand-ins, but they’re not actually in human form. Won’t we be discovered?”
I could just imagine the demon who was somewhere in the book world brushing us aside and saying something like “Huh? There’s no way a doll like this can serve as a replacement for a mage. Are you dumb?” There was a serious hole in Wassily’s plan. I’d only realized it after we’d entered the book world. I must have been a little rattled.
Well now, what to do?
“Ah, okay, how about I use a spell to turn the dolls into people?”
Immediately, I had had a genius flash of inspiration. I’d acted as soon as it came to me. I had lined the two dolls up on the ground and put my broom there as well while I was at it, and cast a spell.
A spell to turn them into humans.
And as for what happened after that—
“Heh-heh-heh. Apparently, you require my help, Elaina.” A version of me in glasses who didn’t seem very clever appeared, wearing an awfully self-satisfied expression.
“I’ll find Miss Fran, meow!” A version of me wearing a skimpy maid outfit appeared, casually flicking a pair of cat ears growing from her head and a long tail growing from her backside.
“Mistress Elaina. You haven’t summoned me at all recently. What is it all of a sudden? I may be your devoted servant, but I am not a common tool.” A girl who resembled me pouted as she said this somewhat puzzling line. She was my broom, and she was a little offended because she hadn’t had any appearances in a while.
I was immediately annoyed by the fact that my doubles’ physical features were a little off, but for the time being, I pretended not to notice and made my request to them.
“Excuse me. Do you think I could ask you all for your help?”
I needed their help in order to search for Miss Fran, who was somewhere in the book world, and rescue her. It would take me much too long on my own, so I figured I could use the assistance of the other Elainas.
But neither the two substitute Elainas nor the broom seemed all that interested.
“Before we start searching for Miss Fran, you, the Elaina over there, tell me, what do you think of me?” Brainy Elaina asked, shoving her glasses up her nose with her finger. “Don’t I look smart?”
“…………”
What are you talking about?
“No, you just seem like you might have bad eyesight…”
“That Elaina in the school uniform and glasses, with an intelligent air about her, who could she be?”
“No idea.”
“That’s right, it’s me.”
“You’re badly mistaken if you think that you can turn yourself into an intellectual by putting on glasses,” I spit.
But Brainy Elaina snorted at me. “Heh-heh…is that the envy of the poorly educated?” she said nonsensically.
If I’m poorly educated, then that means you’re poorly educated, too, you understand that?
“Hey, Elaina…hey, Flat Elaina…”
Someone was tugging vigorously at my robe. It was Flirty Elaina. The version of me dressed as a cat-eared maid had her back hunched over like a cat and was looking up at me.
Could “Flat Elaina” possibly be referring to me?
She had been calling me Flat Elaina for a while, and I had no idea why.
But Flirty Elaina didn’t seem bothered. She asked me, “What should I do? Find Miss Fran and flirt with her as soon as possible? Would that help?”
“No, once you find her, give her the doll and explain the situation to her. That’s what I need.”
“And I should flirt with her after that?”
“Don’t flirt with her at all.”
“Not at all?”
“No.”
“Then, am I allowed to flirt with anyone other than Miss Fran?”
“Who is here other than Miss Fran?”
“Like, you?”
“No.”
“All right, how about the broom?”
“No.”
“Aw…”
“…Why do you want to flirt with someone so badly?”
Actually, when you talk about flirting, what are you planning to do? Is that some kind of slang?
“I long for the warmth of human touch…”
“What are you saying, Elaina?”
Didn’t you originate from me, the traveler?
“Listen, Flat Elaina. Rabbits can die from loneliness, did you know that?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be a cat?”
There were all sorts of retorts I would have liked to make, but at the moment, I was stuck on the fact that during the past few minutes of our conversation, any trace of the meows at the end of Flirty Elaina’s sentences had completely vanished.
What’s the deal with that? Is your characterization that inconsistent? Should I change your name to Inconsistent Characterization Elaina?
“So why in the world was I summoned?” my broom asked me with a sigh. Finally, one of them launched a decent question my way.
I let out a sigh of my own.
“I just figured it would be good to have more manpower.”
“I see. So then, what will you do once you find your teacher?”
“Give her this.”
I handed her one of the dolls from the pouch, the one in street clothes who was modeled after me. “According to Wassily, if we fill these dolls to the limit with our magical energy, we will be like regular humans without any magic. And if that happens, we ought to be able to get out of the book—probably.”
“Hmm.”
My broom accepted the doll from me and stuck it into her pocket. Its head was large, so she forcefully bent the neck to get it in. “Huh? It doesn’t wanna go in…mmph!”
Poor Plainclothes Elaina…
“By the way, Mistress Elaina.” My broom tilted her head questioningly while stroking her bulging pocket that had the doll wedged into it.
“What is it?”
“I’m very sorry if I’ve misunderstood something, but are you perchance intending to send one of the other Elainas with each of us?”
My goodness, what are you saying?
“Let me ask you, do you think those two have any chance of finding Miss Fran on their own?”
I glanced over at the other two.
Brainy Elaina and Flirty Elaina weren’t listening to a word of our conversation. Instead, they were flirting with each other.
“Those cat ears are really nice…”
“And your glasses are so cool…”
“Not a chance.” My broom ruthlessly discarded the possibility.
“Exactly.” It made my heart ache a little to say so, since I was talking about myself. “I think it would probably be difficult for those two alone to cope, whether they run into Miss Fran or the demon.”
Regardless of which person they happened to meet, without either me or my broom there, I had no doubt that the situation would turn ugly. After all, even though we were using them as stand-ins, they were just dolls that had little bits of my consciousness stuffed into them, so they weren’t likely to be able to grasp difficult concepts.
Getting my broom out had been the right call.
“…………”
But the broom in question didn’t meet my eye. She stood there frowning in silence, making a face like she was pondering something difficult.
So I tilted my head and asked, “Hmm? What’s the matter?”
At my question, she finally looked up with a start and replied, “Ah, nothing…just, there’s something that’s bothering me a little.”
“What is it?”
“…………” My broom was silent for a while longer, but finally she uttered in a quiet voice, “Don’t you think it’s unusual?”
“…Think what’s unusual?”
Even though I turned the question back on her, I had noticed it, too. My broom, who had kept me company for a long time, had the same misgivings I did.
“Don’t you think she’s being very quiet for a demon? If a group of outsiders like us suddenly barged into the book world, shouldn’t the demon notice right away and appear before us? And yet she’s nowhere to be seen. We’re making a big ruckus, but there’s no sign that she’s noticed us. It’s too quiet.”
“…………”
“I’m sure there are any number of ways she could catch us in a trap or block us with some sort of obstruction. Besides, I got to listen in on the whole conversation, and if all the mages so far have returned alive and quickly been able to recover their magic after some time has passed, then—if the only thing stolen from them was just three days and their memories of that time plus their magical energy, then…”
“It seems way too easy, right?”
I had also been thinking that something was amiss.
The demon I had met before had not taken such a gentle approach. Demons were creatures that mercilessly snatched away your life if you made the wrong choice.
Nevertheless, the book had not killed anyone. At least, not so far as I had heard.
“I think she probably has some sort of ulterior motive, Mistress Elaina. Let’s proceed with caution as we move ahead,” said my broom.
“…You’re right.” I nodded.
Though I was already planning to do that.
After that, we split up into two groups and started walking through the world inside the book.
“Ahhh! Cat-Eared Elaina! Farewell!”
I pulled Brainy Elaina away.
“I won’t forget about you, Cool Glasses Elaina!”
My broom dragged Flirty Elaina away.
Without a clue about what awaited us down the road, we began our journey through the world inside the book.
“I know, Fran, let’s play hide-and-seek!”
The demonic version of me clapped her hands and smiled.
I wonder just how many hours have passed in here? There’s no daytime or nighttime; the sky is just an indistinguishable pale color.
The concept of time was tenuous at best in the book world.
Strangely enough, the demonic version of me seemed to spend all her time in this world in idle amusement. She never did anything openly evil or even untrustworthy.
I asked her several times to let me out of the book, but each time I did, she just answered, “All right, when you win against me, I’ll let you out.”
The city stretched out around us as far as I could see, and it didn’t seem like I’d be able to find a way out on my own.
In the end, there was nothing I could do but keep playing, for as long as time would permit.
The first things we played after my arrival were board games. We amused ourselves with games like chess and cards, the ordinary sort of games where you sit facing each other and only move your hands.
It wasn’t that it was boring, but I couldn’t understand why the demon was doing it.
“How fun this is, how very fun!”
She clapped her hands together with a smile. The demon before me seemed to be earnestly enjoying the games.
And she was quite skilled.
She confidently declared that she would release me if I won a game. But she never lost, no matter what game we were playing.
Each time I lost a game, the demon prompted me, “Now, as a penalty, tell me one of your stories?”
So every round, I told her a story.
“Once upon a time, in a town called Bielawald, there lived a little girl…”
For instance, I told her the tale of my life up until I left my former hometown.
“Not too long ago, I was living in the forest with a certain girl…”
Or I told her the tale of the year Elaina and I had spent training.
“Just recently, I was traveling with a pupil of mine…”
Or I told her the story leading up to my arrival there.
I told the demon those kinds of stories.
With each new story, she put her hands together and smiled.
“How fun this is! How very, very fun!”
This girl living inside a book sure seems to love pestering people for their stories.
“What kind of story should I get you to tell me next?”
Actually, she seems like she’s happy just to talk to another person.
Each time she won a game, she proposed a new game with a grin on her face.
“…………”
And then, after an untold number of hours had passed, she made another proposal.
“Let’s play hide-and-seek.”
The time limit was one hour.
After she had explained the very simple rules to me—that she would count to one hundred, and while she was counting, I would hide somewhere in the city, and then if she found me, I would lose—I took off walking through the city.
The city was made of my memories.
I casually opened the door on a random house, and there was the reading room I regularly used in Royal Celestelia. When I opened the door to a different house, there was Elaina’s home.
I also found the house where the two of us had spent a year together.
The city was overflowing with pleasant memories.
“…………”
After very careful consideration, I realized that time seemed rather fluid in that place, and also, that I did not have a watch on me. I had no idea how long I’d been there.
Wasn’t it possible that the demonic version of me was capable of stretching out the hours for as long as she liked?
Maybe it didn’t matter how many games we played because I had already lost.
“…She caught me, huh?”
I let out a sigh, standing in the middle of the city.
It seemed like the demonic Fran was going to get me to tell her my stories no matter what.
Apparently, Brainy Elaina, equipped with her glasses, was the type of person to seize the lead over things.
“Are you listening? From this point forward, I will lead the way. You follow along behind me,” she told me, shoving her glasses up her nose. She moved through the city, jumping dexterously from one hiding place to the next. She looked just like a ninja from the East.
“If you’re going to play hide-and-seek, I have no intention of playing along.”
I, on the other hand, was walking through town normally. I had no intention of hiding, because I couldn’t look for Miss Fran while hiding myself.
Or maybe it was because I was simply captivated by the familiar scenery.
Suddenly, Brainy Elaina turned to face me. “By the way, Flat Elaina…”
“…What is it?”
Are we settled on that name for good? I don’t think I have a particularly flat demeanor, but…
“Heh-heh-heh.” With a smile, the other girl pushed her glasses up forcefully. “What do you think of these glasses?”
“…………”
The girl before me was hopeless. Her question was so inconsequential, yet her expression was so smug.
“Please, leave the question of the glasses aside for the time being and focus on searching for Miss Fran.”
“Of course, that’s what I’ve been doing this whole time! You’re very rude, Flat Elaina.”
“…Am I really?” I glared at her.
But Brainy Elaina wasn’t fazed. “Aren’t you?” she replied. “I wouldn’t lie, not with these glasses on.”
Oh my, not lying isn’t very like me, is it?
“Now then, is there anything that we’ve deduced about this city?”
Brainy Elaina cocked her head adorably. “About the city, you ask? Like the fact that all the places clogging up Miss Fran’s memories have blended together to create this extremely chaotic cityscape?”
Very clever. That’s right.
“So then, is there any apparent regularity to it?”
“……?”
Brainy Elaina cocked her head again, wearing a peevish expression.
She didn’t seem to understand.
“Look over there.” I pointed.
Beneath the pale sky, ahead of us on the road, stood a single large building. It looked very, very old, like it might crumble at any moment.
It was the Great Library of Bielawald.
“Is that significant?”
“It looks familiar.”
“……?” Brainy Elaina screwed up her face as she stared at the Great Library.
By any chance, are those glasses just for show?
“Flat Elaina,” said Brainy Elaina after a moment or two, “it’s no surprise that the building looks familiar, right? I mean, that’s the place where we looked at the stars with Miss Fran, isn’t it?”
“It sure is.”
After all, I’m not surprised that I remember some of the things in this world as well.
But with the Great Library in the center of town and buildings that were in Bielawald mixed in everywhere—
“I think this city was probably created by starting with Bielawald, then mixing in buildings from other places,” I said.
I think I can say that.
“…Huh.” But Brainy Elaina was still making a troubled face. “Does that mean something?”
“Just come take a look over here.”
I pointed to one of the houses nearby. It was the house where I had spent my training period with Miss Fran. For some reason, there were several of these houses around town—the one I was pointing at was the fourth we’d encountered so far.
“Hmm?”
At my prompting, Brainy Elaina peeked into the window.
“What can you see?” I asked.
“…I see a beautiful girl.”
“…………”
“That’s right, it’s me.”
I snatched the glasses off her face.
“Ahh! What are you doing, Flat Elaina?! I can’t see! Dark times are coming!” Brainy Elaina raved melodramatically.
Should I revoke your pretentious nickname along with your glasses?
Holding her glasses up to the pale sky, I addressed Formerly Brainy Elaina (ha-ha), who was jumping up and down, yelling, “Give them back!”
“Look carefully. Focus your eyes and look carefully at every nook and corner of the buildings in this city.”
And then I urged her toward the window again.
Through the window of my childhood home, we could see a living room that we remembered very fondly.
“…………”
Doing as she was told, Formerly Brainy Elaina focused on what she saw.
In front of her eyes was the figure of a person.
“And this makes it complete, I believe…?”
There was a girl with ash-gray hair sitting at the desk, mixing potions.
“Oh, Elaina…are you sure you haven’t mixed this one wrong?”
Standing behind her was a witch with black hair, tilting her head questioningly as she spread a sheet of paper out with both hands.
“What did I get wrong?”
“Here, this part,” the black-haired witch answered, pointing to the paper.
It was one of my idle exchanges with Miss Fran, when I had been her student. Through that window was a scene from a perfectly ordinary day that the two of us had spent together.
“This is what I’m talking about,” I said, letting Formerly Brainy Elaina put her glasses back on. “The city includes more than just architecture that we have an emotional attachment to.”
The Bielawald we visited—that dead, deserted city—repeatedly played scenes from the past like a revolving lantern.
And if this city made up of Miss Fran’s memories had been constructed with Bielawald at its core—
Wouldn’t that mean that everywhere throughout this city, her memories were being reproduced?
“…………”
In other words, to put it simply—
The real Miss Fran wasn’t the only one here. There were lots of copies of her that we definitely wouldn’t be able to touch or talk to.
“By the way, Flat Elaina, there’s something I just now realized…” Brainy Elaina pushed her glasses up roughly.
“…What’s that?”
“Hunting for Miss Fran is, like, really hard, isn’t it?”
“‘Really hard’ is putting it lightly. This is an extremely complex situation.”
I, a simple broom, and Mistress Flirty Elaina found ourselves met with an extremely complex situation.
“Are you ready, everyone? Today, we are going to practice riding our brooms.”
“My goodness, well done. You’re quite talented.”
“What’s that? The bread at this store sells for three coppers per piece? Even though it tastes like this?”
“Huh? There are mages who use their magic to swindle people? What scoundrels!”
The closer we got to the heart of the city, the more strange sights we began to see.
Exactly when did Mistress Elaina’s teacher, Mistress Fran, split into multiple people? Figures that look like Mistress Fran are appearing and disappearing all over the place. Just like bubbles on a liquid’s surface.
“This is terrible, Miss Broom! There are so many Miss Frans!”
We were supposed to be searching the city for Mistress Fran. But since Mistress Fran was apparently everywhere we looked, Mistress Flirty Elaina kept charging into house after house, flicking her tail behind her as she gamboled through town in a riot of excitement and confusion. She looked just like a playful cat.
“Miss Fraaan!”
She flung open the door to a house and barged right in. Inside, Miss Fran chuckled and said, “My goodness…” as she lay a blanket around the shoulders of Mistress Elaina, who had apparently fallen asleep while studying.
“Miss Fran! Where on earth have you been?! We’ve been looking all over for you!”
By the way, this was the fifteenth time in total that Mistress Flirty Elaina had said that line. I was already sick of it.
“Heh-heh-heh…” Mistress Fran vanished in a puff of smoke.
The illusions in this city apparently disappeared after only a moment or two.
“Oh…whaaa—? Miss Fran disappeared again…”
Mistress Flirty Elaina’s shoulders dropped dejectedly.
I wish you would get used to this already…
“Mistress Elaina. It seems this house was another bust.” I addressed her from behind. “Let’s check the next house.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Mistress Flirty Elaina nodded, then headed off sadly toward another house.
So Mistress Flirty Elaina and I walked around town, searching all the while.
“…I can’t see an end to this at all.”
She was getting disheartened.
No matter how long we searched, we only found illusions. It was enough to make me doubt whether the real Mistress Fran was actually even in the city.
“Miss Broom, you seem down. Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?”
Mistress Flirty Elaina, who had energy to spare, picked up on my sighing and reacted by running around me in circles, asking if I was all right. At very close range.
“…I’m fine, so would you mind backing up a little?”
“Huh? Why?”
“…………”
“…?”
She looked dumb, and said dumb things, and did dumb things, but somehow or other, the person with me was, in form at least, undoubtedly my mistress, Elaina.
Naturally, it was difficult for me to respond with her staring at me from point-blank range, and on top of how close she was, she was wearing the sort of brazen smile that normal Elaina never showed me.
It goes without saying that I had no idea how to handle her.
“Ah, Mistress Elaina, I wonder if the real Mistress Fran might be in that house over there?”
So I pointed to one of the houses standing nearby. Inside it, an image of Mistress Fran, still in her teens, was learning how to make potions from a woman who closely resembled Mistress Elaina. I heard the woman say, “Hey, isn’t that one mixed wrong?”
“It’s Miss Fran from when she was young! Awesome!”
Mistress Flirty Elaina, who was strikingly dim, was also extremely easily redirected, and she barged into the house without a moment’s hesitation.
“…………”
They say that given enough tries, even a poor marksman will eventually hit the target.
I wonder how many more tries it will take before we come across the real Mistress Fran—?
In a world where the very concept of time was ambiguous, it seemed like our overwhelming task might just continue forever.
However…
“…What on earth is going on?”
Just then, something happened.
As I was sighing to myself, a girl appeared in front of me.
She was dressed in a black robe and had sleek black hair.
“Who’re you?” The girl wore an expression of open bewilderment, and though she somewhat resembled Mistress Fran in her younger days, she was definitely different in appearance.
“…I should ask you the same question,” I replied.
In front of me was someone who looked like Mistress Fran, only with horns growing out of her black hair and a tail with a tip shaped like an arrowhead.
The girl narrowed her eyes suggestively, as if she was hiding some deeper meaning, but then answered readily, as if there was nothing strange going on at all.
“I’m a demon. So who are you two?”
I was in the middle of playing hide-and-seek with Demonic Fran.
“…………”
As I walked around, I was brought to a halt many times by indescribable nostalgia. Everywhere I looked, all I saw were scenes from my past.
“Fran, sweetie, what are you reading?”
A voice came from inside one of the houses along the street. It was an orphanage.
When I peeked in through the window, a young woman was crouched in front of a little girl, smiling.
The girl was me when I was younger.
“…It’s nothing, never mind.”
“My, my…you don’t like me anymore?”
The woman who had worked at the orphanage was a very kind person. Maybe it was because she had been a foreigner in a land bound by tradition. She alone had seemed to see things differently than the rest of the people in the city.
Unfortunately, in the vision I was seeing at the moment, I was too immature to open my heart even to a woman like that. It was only much later that I had come to place my trust in the woman from the orphanage. But we had sadly parted ways immediately afterward.
I would never be able to see her again, but…
Even so, memories of my time with her were carefully stored away inside of me. Her life may have been over, but those memories alone lived on.
“…What fond memories.”
I wonder, if she had lived, and if I had been able to see her after I’d grown up, whatever might I have talked to her about?
In the middle of playing a childish game, I immersed myself in sentimentality and thought about such things.
“Where shall I hide?”
My main concern was getting away from Demonic Fran. We were in the middle of playing a game, so I had to find a place to hide myself where I wouldn’t be found, but…
“…By the look of things, I get the sense that there’s no need to hide.”
The place was brimming with visions as far as the eye could see. Walking around town, I saw visions of myself from different periods in my life, as well as Elaina, and Sheila, and my teacher.
Since I was surrounded by my memories, I didn’t think I needed to go out of my way to hide myself.
That’s what I was thinking.
“Good grief. I don’t know what to do. This is the most complicated thing ever.”
I saw a pair of people walking toward me from the other side of the road.
One of them was a witch with ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes. It was Elaina.
And walking beside her was someone in a school uniform, with ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes. It was also Elaina.
They were both Elaina.
What’s this?
I remember Elaina wearing that robe, but I don’t have any memory of Elaina in a school uniform. Now, just who could that girl be? Is she Elaina, too? This is all incredibly complicated, since there are Elainas all over the place already.
“No matter where we go, we only find fake Miss Frans. There’s no end to them!”
The Elaina in a robe puffed out her cheeks in exasperation, mercilessly yet nimbly striking my phantoms with her wand as she walked along, snuffing them out. She was waving her wand hard enough that it looked like it would hurt if it hit someone. She must have understood that she was dealing with illusions, because she didn’t hold back at all.
“Where in the world can Miss Fran be?”
She swished her wand around, continuing to erase the phantoms.
She didn’t even look my way; she just kept waving her wand.
She must have thought all the Frans were phantoms or fakes.
“I want to hurry up and find her and get out of here, but—”
Fwap. As she was speaking, her wand slapped my cheek.
“Huh?” Elaina looked at me.
“…………”
“…………”
Her eyes met mine.
“………………………………”
After a fairly long silence, Elaina touched my cheek. She stroked it once or twice. Then she was still again.
“………………………………”
“Elaina?” I called the name of the girl in front of me. “Elaina, what are you doing in a place like this?” I asked.
Stroking my cheek again, Elaina answered, “Well, um…I came to rescue you.” She spoke rather quickly and averted her eyes. She seemed a little embarrassed.
“You’re sure you didn’t come to strike me with your wand…?”
In that city full of phantoms, the warmth of the hand against my stinging cheek told me without a doubt that this was the real Elaina.
“I never expected our reunion to be so violent…”
Miss Fran walked along beside me, rubbing her slightly red cheek.
We had walked on and on through the city full of apparitions, only to suddenly find the woman herself hiding in plain sight. I had really been at a loss for how to react after I struck an image of Miss Fran who was standing stock-still in a daze and she turned out to be the real one, but the important thing was, we had her in our custody.
“We’ve accomplished our goal, so let’s hurry up and escape from this place,” said the Elaina in a school uniform, pushing her glasses up her nose.
“Elaina. Who is this Elaina, by the way?”
I haven’t explained anything to Miss Fran yet, have I?
“She’s Brainy Elaina.”
“Brainy Elaina? What does that mean…?”
“She’s a version of me who seems more intellectual because she has glasses on.”
“…………” Miss Fran gave me a terribly reproachful look. “You are greatly mistaken if you think people get smarter by putting on glasses.”
“I agree with you there.”
But I already named the Elaina with glasses Brainy, so there’s no helping it, is there?
According to my teacher, there was a demonic Miss Fran hiding somewhere in the city, and the two of them were right in the middle of playing a game. It was difficult to understand what on earth she was talking about, but since the very world inside the book was like a cluster of incomprehensible nonsense anyway, I didn’t think too hard about it and just nodded along for the time being.
We can think about the difficult stuff after we get out of this world.
“Before we do anything else, we’ve got to collect Miss Broom. Let’s go to the city center.”
“Miss Broom?”
Oh my, I haven’t explained her to Miss Fran yet, have I?
“My broom is helping us search for you, Miss Fran. I cast a spell on her to turn her into human form, and she looks a little bit like me.”
“My goodness. Well, I will have to say hello to her—” Miss Fran chuckled.
In that case, I’d better undo the spell quickly before my broom says something embarrassing.
When we split into two groups, I had headed for the outskirts of the city, while Miss Broom had proceeded straight ahead toward the city center. Assuming she had headed for the Great Library, we would probably happen upon her sooner or later.
“…We have to be careful not to encounter the demon on the way,” said Miss Fran.
“You’re right.”
Demons are natural tricksters, after all. We have no way of telling what she might do to us.
So we must try our best not to encounter her…
“If we run into the demon, I’ll lose the game.”
“Huh?”
What are you talking about, Miss Fran?
“Well, right now I’m kind of playing hide-and-seek with the demon, you know? If she finds me, I’ll get a penalty!”
“…A penalty?”
“Yes.”
“And what on earth might that be?”
What kind of penalty could there be for a game suggested by a demon? Are we talking about something like sacrificing your soul or having your magic powers taken away?
In that case, we must take care that the demon and Miss Fran do not encounter each other.
Considering such matters, I followed Brainy Elaina toward the Great Library. We turned a corner.
“…………”
As soon as she turned the corner, Brainy Elaina stopped dead in her tracks. “Ah…we’re in trouble now.” The way she pushed her glasses up made her seem even more intelligent.
“…………”
Miss Fran and I, on the other hand, fell silent behind her.
I could see Miss Broom’s back not far from the front of the Great Library. I wish I could have called out to her just then and that we could have set about escaping from the book world, but—
Right in front of Miss Broom was a young girl.
She had horns growing out of her black hair, and a tail, but her appearance was the spitting image of a fourteen-year-old Miss Fran.
Or maybe something else was standing there, something that had borrowed Miss Fran’s form.
“I’m a demon!” She smiled.
Standing opposite Miss Broom, she stared at us as she narrowed her eyes and smiled at us, the intruders into her world.
“And who might you all be?” she asked.
We couldn’t launch a surprise attack, and neither could we leave the stand-ins hidden somewhere and make our escape. We had simply stepped right in front of the demon.
In other words, we had haplessly ruined Miss Fran’s shot at winning her game of hide-and-seek.
“By the way, Miss Fran, what is the penalty for when you lose the game?” I asked quietly.
Miss Fran answered, “I have to tell her a story from my memories.”
“…………”
“I have to tell her a story from my memories.”
“Sorry, I heard you the first time.”
“I was expecting you to respond then.”
“It didn’t make any sense. I was at a loss for words.”
“I usually welcome visitors, but there are a few too many of you. What did you come here for?”
Without breaking her beaming smile, Demonic Miss Fran (Age Fourteen) stared at us. Following her gaze, Miss Broom turned around and called my name. “Oh, Mistress Elaina.”
“Elaina, is that your broom?”
“Miss Fran, is that Demonic Miss Fran? She’s very young. She’s more of a Little Franny than a proper Miss Fran.”
“I’ll thank you never to call me Franny again…”
But calling her Demonic Miss Fran (Age Fourteen) sounded awfully threatening, and it’s very long and complicated to boot, so I decided to keep it simple and call her Little Devil Franny.
“My goodness, Fran. You invited friends?”
It must have been immediately apparent from the robe I was wearing that I was a witch. Demonic Miss Fran (Age Fourteen)—now Little Devil Franny—stared at me with delight.
“I welcome as many playmates as possible.”
She clapped her hands, going on and on about how happy she was. She was acting like an innocent child.
But unfortunately…
“I have no intention of becoming your friend.”
Not to mention I don’t have the spare time to amuse myself playing games with you.
“We just came to get Miss Fran out of here. Release us, please.”
“Huh? No way!”
But she didn’t seem the least bit inclined to discuss the matter with us.
With a snap of her fingers, countless spears appeared floating in the air around her. Apparently, she did not require a wand in order to use magic. I figured it was because the world inside the book was her own creation.
“Once you enter this world, you can’t leave for three days, until your magical energy is all used up, and I have no intention of setting you free.”
Then Little Devil Franny said to me, “How about you spend that time having lots of fun? Be friends with me, won’t you?”
What are you talking about?
“If you want someone to pretend to be your friend, how about playing with a doll or something?”
I pulled out my wand and stared at Little Devil Franny.
“Now, I’m terribly sorry, but we only came here to get Miss Fran, so could we ask you to wrap up your game now?”
Miss Fran stepped over to stand by my side. Miss Broom and Brainy Elaina stood at the ready behind the demon. Miss Fran readied her own wand to protect the two of them.
My broom poked her face out from behind her. “Ah, nice to meet you, Mistress Fran. Thank you for always looking after Mistress Elaina.”
Don’t you feel the tension in the air here…?
“Oh, you’re so polite,” said Miss Fran. “I should thank you for looking after her all the time as well. I am Elaina’s teacher, Fran.”
“My mistress really seems to miss your company… She is always telling me about you, Mistress Fran.”
“My goodness. Is that so? I’m so embarrassed.”
The two of them chuckled and lost themselves in small talk for a while.
I said, don’t you feel the tension…?
“Hey, you two…” Stepping in between the two of them, who were not taking the situation seriously at all, was Brainy Elaina. “What do you think of my glasses, by the way?”
Is that the only thing you have to say…?
Everyone was acting extremely relaxed, considering we were standing in front of the mastermind behind the book world. It even seemed like Little Devil Franny was ready to join their conversation and start laughing along and making small talk.
But the girl facing us was not me, and she was not Miss Fran, either.
A single spear whooshed through the air between us and stuck in the ground.
It cut right through the casual atmosphere.
“You’re awfully relaxed, starting up a conversation at a time like this.”
The devil in front of us seemed a little offended.
“If you want to get out of here so badly, go ahead and defeat me!”
Then she snapped her fingers again.
The cluster of spears hanging in the air around her began to move.
If I were to compare them to something, the spears were like rain.
A shower of spears whirling through the air over our heads poured down from the sky, aiming straight for us. As far as I could see from looking up at them, there didn’t seem to be anywhere to run.
But if you put up your umbrella when the rain falls, you’ll have no problem.
“Okay!”
Miss Fran and I both raised our wands overhead and spread our magical energy out like umbrellas, me protecting Brainy Elaina and her protecting Miss Broom. It was easy enough to protect ourselves from the throng of spears, which fell surprisingly slowly.
As we deflected them, the spears stuck into the ground one after another. The ground was riddled with small holes everywhere.
“Miss Broom.” I extended a hand to my broom, who was sharing an umbrella with Miss Fran. “Come back over here, please.”
“Huh? Are you jealous, Mistress Elaina?”
“…………”
No, that’s…not it at all…
“My, my.”
Miss Fran looked back and forth between me and my broom and chuckled softly.
No…that’s really not…how I meant it…
“When the battle starts, I want you to function as my broom. You can’t use magic, can you?”
“Oh, is that what you meant? Okay, got it.”
After waving good-bye to Miss Fran, my broom came back to my side.
Miss Fran waved after her. “See you later!”
By the way…
“By the way, where did Flirty Elaina get off to?”
I don’t see her anywhere.
“She’s probably throwing herself against the phantoms of Miss Fran in the houses or something.”
“She does whatever she likes, huh…?”
“Well, she is a cat…”
“…………”
I would have liked to have more people on our side, but…I guess there’s no helping it.
“Well then, let’s do our best with three people and a broom.”
Miss Broom nodded at my words, then immediately reverted into the ordinary broom that always traveled with me.
We’ve got me and Miss Fran and the Elaina wearing glasses here, so I guess we’ll figure something out.
“Elaina, what do we do from here? As you can see, you and I are both occupied with protection.”
Since Miss Fran and I were using our wands to hold up our protective umbrellas, we were unable to launch any attacks.
But that was no problem.
I’m repeating myself here, but we have me, Miss Fran, and the Elaina wearing glasses.
“Now’s your time to shine, Brainy Elaina!”
I called out to Brainy Elaina, who had been watching things unfold from behind Miss Fran’s back. The intention behind my words was to ask her to fire off some spells at once.
However—
“Oh, sorry. Combat is kind of outside my area of expertise, so…”
“…………”
She declined.
“I can’t actually even use magic.”
“…………”
She wasn’t truly able to fight. I remembered that she was actually just a doll.
“You two do your best. I’ll provide moral support.” My eggheaded doppelgänger clapped a hand down on my shoulder.
“What does ‘moral support’ mean, specifically?”
“I’ll cheer you on in a shrill voice.”
“No thanks…”
In the end, the only thing that was clear was that I wouldn’t be able to do anything while I was holding up the protective umbrella.
“So what will you do, Elaina? Will you come over here?” Miss Fran posed this one question.
The spears were still pouring down on us, and across the way, Little Devil Franny was gloating, “How about it? Give up?”
But I knew surrendering at that point would sully my good name as a witch.
And I hadn’t run out of tricks up my sleeve. I had any number of means left for dealing with a demon.
…………
I guess there’s no helping it.
“…I’ll have to apologize to Miss Broom later.”
“Hmm? What does that mean?”
“This.”
I charged up my broom with magical energy and let it fly.
My broom plunged through the storm of spears and landed a direct hit on Little Devil Franny’s head. It was almost like the attack was charged with the anger Miss Broom felt at being hurled through a rain of spears.
Although I guess I’m the one who did the throwing…
“Ow!” Little Devil Franny’s scream was extremely simple.
She staggered, and the shower of spears stopped.
We didn’t miss our chance. Miss Fran and I pointed our wands at her and unleashed a barrage of spells.
Miss Fran levitated the debris that had spilled out everywhere and sent it flying straight at Little Devil Franny.
She looked unruffled as she moved to evade the attack, but as she was dodging, I conjured an iceberg and dropped it on her head. She looked a little surprised by that.
She responded by flicking her fingers, sending sparks flying my way.
I extinguished her meager flames instantly by expelling a puff of wind. In the moment it took me to do so, Miss Fran closed the distance between herself and the demon and blasted her with water from point-blank range. The demon writhed around in panic, and the droplets she sent hurtling through the air gouged holes in the roofs of nearby buildings. I nimbly waved my wand and attacked the demon’s back with wet tiles that had broken off the roofs.
Miss Fran reversed the damage to the roofs immediately afterward. Little Devil Franny still had fragments of broken roof tile stuck to her, and she was pulled along for the ride, her robe binding her into a repaired roof.
“Do you think that’s all it takes to catch me?”
But she laughed fearlessly. She flung off her robe and jumped down toward us.
“Okay!”
But my broom landed another direct hit to her head.
“Ow!”
She let out another extremely simple scream and immediately fell to the ground.
After that, she confronted us again and again, but—
To make a long story short, it was basically a one-sided fight, and she lost badly.
Whenever she showed the slightest indication of being about to cast a spell, I would make ivy grow around her and restrain her, and while she was restrained, Miss Fran would torment her with magic. Even when she got lucky and wriggled her way out of my ivy, Miss Fran would fasten her to a roof, or a wall, and I would take a turn beating her up again.
It was less of a battle and more of a one-sided trampling by us.
Finally, the demon, who hadn’t managed a single successful counterattack, fell to the ground, tears in her eyes.
“…Waaah…”
“…………”
“…………”
Miss Fran and I looked at each other.
What on earth is going on here?
Even considering that we were both witches and that we were fighting against a single opponent, this situation seemed a little off.
Miss Fran tilted her head questioningly.
“Isn’t she a little too weak for a demon?”
Her brief comment got directly and purely to the point. The demon cried some more.
But it was the truth. If the world inside a book had been built by a demon, and if the girl in front of us was the demon who had stolen magical energy from a lot of witches, then she should have been able to manage a fiercer attack.
What on earth am I to make of a demon who loses so handily against two witches…?
“You’re so mean… You didn’t have to hurt me so badly, did you…?”
She fell to her knees and began to sob.
“I’m starting to feel kind of sorry for her…,” I whispered into Miss Fran’s ear.
It was at that point that I finally realized we had gone too far.
“But we couldn’t go easy against a demon, either…,” Miss Fran replied quietly.
Well, sure, you’re right, but we certainly didn’t mean to bully her.
“Um…are you all right?”
So I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. I did consider that this might be a clever trap set by the demon, but she really didn’t seem to be able to make a move against us.
“Waah…sniffle.”
A face red from crying looked up at me.
Miss Fran is…crying…
“Elaina, that’s not me, you know?” said a cold voice from off to the side. When I turned to look, there was Miss Fran, wearing a very, very cold expression. Apparently, I had been making a sour face just then.
In addition, Miss Fran asked the demon, “We’ve reached the point of victory and defeat, so won’t you please let us out of here, demon?”
But Little Devil Franny just hung her head sadly. Not only did she not grant our request, she didn’t speak a word.
She just kept on sobbing like a normal little girl.
“…What should we do?”
It goes without saying that I was bewildered by this unexpected turn of events. Miss Fran just rubbed the girl’s back and apologized, “We’re sorry. We overdid it, didn’t we?”
At this rate, I don’t suppose we’re getting out of here until she stops crying, are we? I don’t guess she’s going to tell us anything.
I was having such thoughts as I stood before Little Devil Franny, who was still crying and seemed like she might go on doing so forever.
However…
The moment came to an end in an unexpected way.
“Miss Fraaaaaaaaan!”
Someone with my voice came flying out of the door of a nearby house, leaped straight for Little Devil Franny, and threw her arms around her.
She had probably been searching for Miss Fran the whole time, looking here and there and inside the houses. The copy of me who was dressed as a cat-eared maid, clad in that perplexing getup, rubbed her cheek against Franny’s and beamed. “I missed you so much, eh-heh-heh!” she gushed in a voice quite different from my own.
Miss Fran recoiled.
“Elaina, who’s this?”
I’d better explain.
“This is Flirty Elaina.”
“What’s a Flirty Elaina?”
“As you can see…”
Miss Fran recoiled again.
At that point, I remembered something.
I remembered that both Flirty Elaina and Brainy Elaina were originally dolls.
They were dolls that Wassily had made, and just like the dolls in her café, if anyone were to touch them—like me, for example—they would shift to begin channeling that person’s desires.
So then, I wonder what will happen when Little Devil Franny touches the doll?
Immediately after rubbing her cheek against the demonic version of Miss Fran, Flirty Elaina’s form began to change.
“…………”
She didn’t sprout horns from her head, and she didn’t grow a tail. In fact, she didn’t even remain in human form.
A single book fell to the ground.
Even though its shape was definitely not human, the book could speak. The sound of sobbing could be heard coming from inside it.
“I’m sad… So sad.”
Even with no face to be seen, it was clear that the book was crying.
Then, as it sobbed, the book said, “Why did everyone disappear?”
She didn’t seem to know who she was.
The book told me a story. It was the story of a lonely book suffering from abandonment.
The book had been born long ago, in a far-off land.
The book contained a completely ordinary, perfectly typical travel log. It was composed of a number of different short stories. Most of the available pages were unused.
Someone had wandered the world as a traveler and recorded the memories of their journey in a diary for the people of their hometown to read when they returned. All the people in the small village, both children and adults, loved the stories in the book.
But that was long ago.
The adults grew old and passed away, and the children grew up. The very existence of the book was completely forgotten. The book was put inside the village storehouse for a long time.
Eventually, even the young person who had penned the book grew up and passed away.
Still tucked away in the storehouse, the book was abandoned by time.
Ages passed, and the village was built up into a city. The diary that had been tucked away in the storehouse had probably been a rare and precious object in the era when the only people around were villagers who knew nothing of the outside world. But after many years had gone by, such travel logs were no longer rare commodities. The book’s existence was completely forgotten.
It only had the memory of being read by lots of people to keep it company. The book stayed in storage for a long time, eagerly waiting to be read by someone new.
And yet no one came to open the book.
So it started tricking people into reading it.
The book started appearing in front of people so that they would open it and be forced to read it.
Perhaps because it had been left to sit for many years, the book had accumulated magical energy—it had a mind of its own and had gained the ability to move freely.
It sounded similar to what had happened long ago when I first met my broom.
The book began appearing in front of people using magic.
As long as she could borrow magical energy from the mages, the book could do anything she wanted inside her imaginary world.
It was even possible for her to create a whole city.
In order to keep people from leaving her again, she decided she would capture the mages inside an incredible world that she made using their stolen magical energy.
The Lonely Story Book—more than anything else, feared loneliness.
From the bottom of her heart, she wished she would never be alone again.
That was why she had decided to capture mages inside an imaginary world created from their own stolen magic.
But once a mage’s magical energy was used up, the book could no longer maintain the phantom world. Whenever the mages realized that the wonderful world she had created with magic was all made-up, they always began searching for a way to escape. All of them acted the same way.
So the book erased the mages’ memories of being in her world before she expelled them.
She feared that if word got out that the book contained an imaginary world, nobody would ever read her again.
So the book repeated the same actions over and over.
Afraid of being alone, she tricked people and invited them into the imaginary world.
But her plan failed over and over.
To date, not a single person had stayed in her world.
Because it was a make-believe world.
“I’m sad, so sad.”
The book sitting before my eyes looked like it was crying.
Or maybe it only looked that way, since Little Devil Franny, who had sunk to the ground beside the book, was still shedding tears.
“It seems like I’m considered a demon in the outside world, but that’s not true.”
The horns growing from her head disappeared, and her tail vanished.
There before us was a young Miss Fran, just fourteen years old—looking like she had before she left Bielawald.
“I’m just an ordinary book. A common book that could be found anywhere. Nobody remembers me.”
Tormented by isolation, she had wished for so long to be with someone. That was why she lured mages into her world.
But she hadn’t been able to hold on to anyone, and the only thing she could do about it was cry alone.
I had encountered objects with minds of their own during a previous part of my journey. But there had been a whole crowd of conscious objects back then. They had certainly not been alone. So their situation had been completely different from that of the crying girl before my eyes.
She couldn’t meet new people, and she didn’t have any other objects to keep her company. She had been really, genuinely lonely.
When the book’s story was completely over…
“So that’s what was going on here.”
Wearing her cheerful smile as always, Miss Fran nodded and kneeled down beside her younger self.
“That must have been difficult. You must have been so sad,” Miss Fran said as she placed a hand on the head of her younger self. As she stroked the girl’s soft hair, she admonished her, “But you can’t behave like this, can you? No one’s going to want to be with you this way.”
Suddenly, at that moment, I turned my gaze away.
I could hear Miss Fran’s voice coming from inside one of the houses along the road as well. I could see her there through the window of a house that looked exactly like my childhood home. A house we had come across many times since arriving in the imaginary city.
A version of Miss Fran that was younger than she was now, but a little older than she was when she left Bielawald, was kneeling there in front of a young girl.
The real Miss Fran was also kneeling, and she continued speaking to her fourteen-year-old self.
“I know you’re feeling sad right now. It probably seems like this pain is going to last forever. It’s very sad, isn’t it, when happy days are long gone?”
But…
“…Memories are to be treasured. They’re not supposed to be frozen in place. I want you to become the kind of book that can record happy stories once again, whenever you happen to meet someone. Being a book that everyone forgot is just too sad,” said Miss Fran before embracing her fourteen-year-old self.
A voice came from inside the house.
“What might your name be?” asked the witch with black hair.
Standing before her in a daze was a little girl with ash-gray hair.
The little girl tilted her head like she didn’t know who the witch in front of her was, but she looked up and absently muttered her own name.
She said just one word.
“Elaina.”
“…Is that so? Your name is Elaina, is it?”
The black-haired witch smiled. Then she embraced the little girl and told her, “My name is Fran. The Stardust Witch, Fran.”
Her words were comforting and familiar.
Then, in Miss Fran’s arms…
The girl wrinkled her brow just a little bit, as if something had tickled her, but then narrowed her eyes in an expression of peace.
“Let’s make a promise.”
Inside the book, Miss Fran addressed the girl.
She spoke to her tenderly.
“Instead of burying your loneliness, I want you to promise me something.”
Then the book girl returned us to our original world.
She sent us out of the book without stealing our memories. I had the sense that we had stayed in the book for a very long time, but…it probably just felt that way since the world inside the book was a place with no day or night. Contrary to my expectations, not that much time seemed to have passed in the real world.
“…Oh, that was fast.”
When we returned, it was evening. Wassily was getting one of her bear dolls to feed her dinner in her room. She was in the middle of amusing herself with a nonsensical game in which she opened her mouth and said, “Ahh,” but just before she could take a bite, the bear yanked the food away, and she yelled, “Oh, come on! You’re so mean, little bear! But I wuv that about you!”
To put it simply, a brief, puzzled silence passed between us.
“…………”
I can only imagine that Miss Fran and I were looking at her with very cold eyes.
“…………”
Wassily, on the other hand, blushed extremely red and said, “No, this isn’t what it looks like…” But, well, I had been able to tell from the first moment I met her that she had an extremely odd personality, so the fact that she was using a bear to do something strange didn’t surprise me at all.
Though I did recoil somewhat.
“…Ahem!”
Upon our return, Wassily straightened up and cleared her throat once.
Even though it was too late, she tried to look like a respectable adult.
“Good job making it out. You were so quick; I’m really surprised.”
“I’m surprised at your ridiculous behavior,” Miss Fran answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Wassily’s eyes filled with tears.
Then Miss Fran and I explained to her roughly what had taken place inside the book and told her, in summary, that the book did not belong to a demon or anything like that. And so on and so forth.
After hearing our brief explanation, she nodded with a composed expression on her face, as if she hadn’t been acting ridiculous until just moments earlier. “I see… If you like, shall I take custody of the book? It sounds like it is dangerous after all.”
She held out her hand.
Originally, the book had disappeared while in transit to the United Magic Association. Sending it there seemed appropriate for an object that was deemed dangerous.
But Miss Fran smiled and rejected Wassily’s suggestion. “No, no.”
“Please don’t ever pull people into the imaginary world again.”
Miss Fran had exchanged promises with an immature book that was learning how to forget its loneliness.
As long as she didn’t break her promise, the book would not suck anyone else into her imaginary world.
So there shouldn’t be any danger.
The fact that she was no longer going to pull people into it meant, in short, that the book could now be opened without issue.
So Miss Fran opened the book.
There were lots of pages that had never been used.
There was plenty of blank space left for writing stories.
So Miss Fran had a way to help the book forget her loneliness.
“I’ve decided to make this book into my diary.”
On the third evening of our stay in the city.
Lots of lanterns had already begun ascending into the sky from the harbor. The small lights, carrying people’s wishes, were drifting ever upward.
It was like the whole world was enveloped in their light.
“It’s so pretty,” Miss Fran murmured as she walked toward her ship.
Surrounded by countless lights, she looked as if she was walking through a field of stardust.
“…………”
I was standing still, gazing at my teacher’s back.
That was where my travels with Miss Fran would come to an end. I knew I probably would not see her anymore for a while. All things must come to an end, and our journey was no exception.
I understood that perfectly well, but I had stopped in my tracks.
I wondered whether I should call out and say something to my teacher as she walked toward the distant, dazzling lights. But I hesitated, because I had a feeling I might pitch a fit like a little child if I let my guard down, and beg her not to go, or tell her I wanted to stay together just a little bit longer.
So I just stood there, perfectly still.
Suddenly, a memory crossed my mind.
“Partings don’t always have to be sad things.”
Inside the world of the book.
While comforting a girl living in sorrow.
Gently, reassuringly.
“Don’t ever stand still. Don’t ever shut yourself off.”
Miss Fran had smiled at her like she always did.
“Because we say farewell so that we can have new encounters.”
They were words she had said in order to comfort the book, who had only been trying to cure her loneliness in an inappropriate way, but—
They were words she had said in the middle of extracting a promise from the book never to pull mages inside again, but…
They certainly did resonate with me as well, as I stood there watching her.
Her kind words gave me a push on the back.
Toward the dazzling stardust.
“…………”
I knew I would probably get scolded by my teacher for stopping in the middle of the street.
So step by step, I walked on so that she would not leave me behind.
I picked up my pace a little bit and chased after Miss Fran, holding my pounding chest.
Then I stretched out a hand toward her robe.
I yanked on her sleeve, and before she could even turn around to face me, I said, “We’ve got to say good-bye soon, haven’t we?”
After all that hesitation, the best I could do were these simple words.
“…………”
A pair of gentle eyes looked back at me.
“Yes, that’s right.” Simple words came from Miss Fran’s mouth. “We will have to say good-bye soon.”
I took a deep breath, and then, acting calm, I said, “What should we use as our parting words? There are all sorts of things we could say, like ‘good-bye’ or ‘take care.’”
But none of them are exactly fitting, are they?
I don’t feel like an overly sentimental parting really suits us, but just saying an ordinary “so long” and waving good-bye also feels wrong.
And waving tearfully from the shore would be absurd.
Asking her not to go was out of the question.
I’m sure there’s a different way for us to say good-bye.
I wonder if Miss Fran remembers it…
“Surely our parting words are already decided upon.” Miss Fran chuckled.
I should have known she’d remember.
Of course she did.
Because she’d talked to the little girl inside the world of the book and told her…
“Memories are things to be treasured. They’re not supposed to be frozen in place.”
And so then my teacher told them.
The words that had first come to my mind. The words I wanted to hear her say.
She said…
“Farewell, until we meet again.”
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