— II —
"Now, how do I stitch these hands together? What? Seriously, paper glue is more than enough?"
…
"For the finishing touch, try putting the Magicore into her heart. It would awaken it... Probably? Ugh, Mom, why you left me such chaotic notes?"
…
"So… according to Mom's note, that should be it, but why it hasn't been reacting?… Oh, wait, there is a little note scribbled below it. Hmm, let's see. A chanting? Well, better than nothing."
…
"With the will of night, I, insert your name—, e-ehem, Milli Vanadis, pledge loyalty to our promise. Oh, Goddess of Death, Nyghtingale, awaken your sorrowful gaze to the world and grant us the final truth! Absolute Darkness!"
…
"Uhh… nothing happened. As I thought, this is just one of Mom's pranks. Geez, ultimate summoning my arse, she's always like that! Didn't she know what I'd been through to gather its body part? … Ugh, if only I can— w-wHAAT?!"
So noisy.
I woke up from my deep slumber, finding myself inside an abandoned cathedral. There I could see a young girl in her black coat, gasping in surprise. Her short brown hair was unkept, and the thick bag in her diamond eyes showed that she probably hadn't slept well for days. She wore adventurer garments, yet she lacked the tag to identify herself. However, putting aside all of her chaotic appearances, she was pretty cute.
"W-Whoa! Is this for real? Did I truly summon a god? Oh, shoot, this is so crazy, oh my, oh my, what should I tell Artie?" the girl jumped in joy, but then a sudden doubt crept in her chest,
"But… aren't you a little bit too… mundane for a god? I believe in the scripture, Nyghtingale should appear as the most beautiful being in the world," she continued confused.
U-Ugh, I just woke up and someone had just mocked me. But, the way she said those sharp words with such cuteness and innocence hurt my heart the most. Well, sorry for not being that pretty!
I let out a sigh, "Gods and humans are just a gene away. Of course, we look alike."
"Huh, what are you talking about? Oh, wait! I almost forgot! You don't want to be naked all the time, right? Here, I brought some clothes. It's Mom's, not mine, since… well, you know… " she answered while glimpsing a second to my chest, then comparing it to hers.
"Yes, I know. It's a cutting board," I replied feeling defeated.
"Hehehe, It'd fit you," She let out an awkward laugh before rummaging her back and coming up with a weird pair of clothes.
"What's this? Isn't this for man…?"
"Huh, you don't know? It's jeans. Though it is a worker's attire, once you used it, you never wanted to wear a dress again. Mom loved it so much! Now, stand up. I'll put it for you, " she ordered me.
"E-Eh? No, no, no, no! I-I-I can put it myself," I said staying away from the girl with hidden intentions.
"Ow, don't be shy. We're both girls! I also wanted to check all of your body, to search if I'm still missing some parts. Now, come here little goddess," she said before she jumped onto me.
"S-Stop it!"
After a while, the girl finished putting the clothes on me. I crawled into the corner of the room, clutching to my knees. The trauma of my past battle came to the surface, forcing me to remember the truth of this world. The world is so scary. Society is scary. Human is so scary! I don't want to deal with them anymore!
"Well, aren't you one shy goddess? Don't you know, skinship is effective for building relationships? You should expect more skinship in the future, hihihi," the scary girl chuckled as she wrote on her note.
M-more skinship? The thought sent chills down my spine as I crawled further away from the predatory girl. Dammit, what have I done to deserve this humiliation?
Kiara closed her notebook with a wide smile, "Well that aside, the most important thing is… I found nothing wrong in your body. You're perfect! Well, as expected of my genius, hihi!" she said, catching my hand casually,
"Anyway— My name is Mi- them, Kiara Megistus! From today onward, I'm your Master. Please, take care of me—" she continued.
"N-No touching!" I pulled away from the girl, only to realize I was cornered. What's with this girl, why she persistently tried to get close to me?
"So rude! At least if you don't like being touched, you should introduce yourself. It's common decency!" the girl grunted.
"O-Oh, yeah. Y-You're right. I'm sorry… My name is—" I stopped. Strange, I can't remember. It's like there is a chain in my mind that sealed the memory. Perhaps, after countless times of never mentioning my name, I simply forgot it. Either way... I don't remember myself. All I knew is just I'm here for my daughter.
"I… Who am I again?" I answered.
Kiara pouted, "W-Wait, seriously? You don't know your name? That's some serious shite," she said while crossing her arm, but then she smiled cheerfully, "Well, it's common for summoned being to have amnesia, given time you'll recover it somehow. Anyway! Since all of the hard work I've put to summon you, you must be a strong strong goddess! Now, show me your magic!"
… What is this girl rambling about?
"Girlie, I can't use magic," I answered truthfully. One thing that I remember about me is my defective heart. Because of it, I don't have Mana inside my body, thus I can't use magic.
"Huh?" The girl raised her eyebrow and then she frantically searched for something in her bag. It was a peculiar lens that she used to examine me.
"It's true… The Magic Lens couldn't detect any Mana on you," she gasped in disbelief, "This is the first time I'd ever seen someone without magic… Nonetheless a goddess!"
"Wait, I thought only Godkin could use magic?" I replied.
But Kiara looked at me confused, "What are you talking about, dear Goddess? Everyone on Mars can use magic now. Geez, where are you come from? Earth?"
"Yes, of course. At the least, I know which planet I'm on now, Girlie," I asked confused.
Kiara's mouth widened, "What the... It's been thousands of years since humans left the destroyed Earth and terraformed Mars. Though that civilization had long perished, its descendant still lives on Mars to this day. Oh my, a goddess from Earth huh? This is getting interesting..."
W-Wait, that wasn't some bad joke, right? She just said it had been thousand years after I'd guarded the Ideal White? I-I couldn't believe it. How am I supposed to search for my daughter in a world full of unknowns like this?
No, no, no, there must be a reason why I was awakened in this world. It was faint, but I could sense it. Milli was somewhere in this world. Strange I couldn't explain it clearly. Perhaps it is what they called a Mother's instinct.
Suddenly, Kiara chuckled nervously as cold sweat dripped from her forehead, "Oh well, this is a problem. If you can't use magic, how do we escape this place, then?"
I raised my eyebrow confused, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you see… we're kinda… in the enemy's camp."
Suddenly, I heard a commotion outside the shrine followed by the harsh shouting of some men in arms. The sound of boots pounding against the ground grew louder and louder, and I braced myself for the worst. Before long, a band of soldiers in white burst through the door, drawing their peculiar weapon shaped like a metal rod.
The one who lead the soldiers was a witch with fierce red hair. Aiming her magic wand toward us, the witch shouted,
"Found you, Doctor. Now, give back what you've stolen from us!"