Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 5: Discovery

"This one right here please." Koko asked, leading the two woodsmen that she had captured to one of the trees near the Cryner Mansion.

"Are you sure that you want to cut it down, young miss?" The first of the large woodsmen asked, seeming to be unsure of the situation. Though, anyone would be if a fiver-year-old suddenly asked them to cut down a tree. Though while they might have been unsure of it, Koko was confident that she couldn't have chosen anyone better for the job as they were both mountains of muscle. Of course, they had to be in order to do their profession with nothing but hand tools.

"That's right, but I want you to make the cut so that the stump stands at least six feet in the air." Koko confirmed, though it just made the men even more unsure.

"You'll get a lot more use out of the tree if you cut closer to the ground." One of them warned her.

"That's alright, I really just need the stump anyway." Koko insisted, and thankfully the two of them relented soon before they measured the tree and started cutting it down with a giant saw that they carried. And before long, all of the stood back and watched the top of the tree fall before Koko walked forward and inspected the stump, nodding her head with approval ash she did.

"Alright, now please strip it of it's bark." Koko asked, and the men didn't ask any more questions as they complied with her wishes.

"We're done." The leader of the two stated almost half an hour later, and Koko inspected it again to see that the stump had been completely rounded so that it looked as if it were a shiny new post, which was exactly what she wanted.

"Great, then how much do I owe you?" She, hoping that she had enough of her allowance saved up so that she could pay the men.

"Are you going to use the top half of the tree?" He asked curiously.

"Nope. It's yours if you want it." Koko replied.

"Then we'll take that as payment, if you don't mind." The man stated. "It'll make more than enough good lumber to make up for the payment."

"That's fine with me. Thanks again guys!" Koko said happily, thankful that she didn't have to part with her meager funds. And with a final farewell, the two men suddenly lifted the twenty-foot-long tree up onto their shoulders and carried it off, making Koko wonder who would win in a fight between either of them and her mother before she set her mind on more important tasks, like finishing her project.

Gathering her ropes and the many pillows she's stolen from the mansion, Koko grunted as she climbed the polished stump and completely wrapped it with the material. And once it was fully padded and she was finished, Koko let out an excited yell as she finally had a usable training post which she could use to start training in earnest. Finally, she could actually start training her fighting techniques.

"Koko!" An all to familiar voice yelled from the entrance of the mansion, and Koko tensed as she suddenly knew that her mother had seen her project. "Just what have you done?"

"I just cut down a tree so that I can start training!" Koko turned around and announced enthusiastically, though the mood was instantly destroyed that the cool gaze that her mother casted at her.

"Did you get permission from your father first?" Shell asked, and Koko gulped as her bad feeling was getting worse.

"It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission!" Koko announced as confidently as she could, however when Shell's vice grip suddenly grabbed onto the top of Koko's head and began squeezing, any confidence that she once had left her entirely.

"Koko, you know better than that, right?" Shell asked, proving that she was just as scary as ever by tightening her grip and making Koko think that her skull was going to pop.

"Yes! Yes! I'm sorry!" Koko cried, though unfortunately the pressure didn't decrease at all as Shell dragged her towards the mansion, passing by the nervous guards posted at the front doors as the men pretended not to notice Koko struggling behind her mother. And this continued all the way up until the point when they both entire Benson's empty office, though Shell seemed irritated that her husband wasn't present at the moment.

"Sit down and we'll wait for your father." Shell ordered, and Koko immediately complied, just thankful for the fact that she was finally free again while her head throbbed painfully.

"Was that tree important somehow?" Koko now asked, suddenly fearing that it had held some sort of significance to her mother.

"No, but your attitude to it was." Shell harrumphed. "I always seem to hold back against you because you're cute, so we'll just see how your father scolds you when he arrives."

"You were holding back?" Koko flinched as she reached up to feel her head, which was beginning to feel numb. Though unfortunately, Shell didn't reply as they both waited silently for Benson's return. However, while Koko sat, she couldn't help but fidget and look around the room in nervous anticipation. And while looking over the room that she knew so well, she couldn't help but notice something odd about it. Well, perhaps there was nothing wrong with the room, but there was definitely something above Shell.

"What are you doing? I told you to sit." Shell grew annoyed when Koko stood and started walking over towards her.

"There's a bug above your head." Koko replied, and suddenly Shell's irritated expression dispelled completely as she started growing nervous.

"W-what is it?" Shell asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen one before." Koko explained before climbing beside her mother on the couch and reaching above the woman to capture the creature even though she had a strong dislike for insects. However, for some reason, whatever was shining above Shell's head slipped out of Koko's grasp every time that she attempted to grab onto it.

"Getthebug. Getthebug. Getthebug." Shell repeated again and again underneath Koko while she tried again and again to grab hold of it, yet failed each and every time. This continued until the room's door finally opened to permit Benson, who looked at the pair curiously before Koko was the first to speak.

"Dad, there's a bug above mom's head that I can't get!" Koko said in irritation, hating how she couldn't grab it despite her several attempts.

"I don't see any bug." Benson stated curiously, and suddenly Shell stopped trembling and shot a glare towards Koko that made her think that her soul had fled from her body to escape.

"T-there is one! Look, it's even shining!" Koko persisted, knowing that what she was seeing wasn't a lie.

"A-are you talking about her Name Plate?" Benson asked curiously, and Koko stopped her attempts at capturing the object before turning to look at him with curiosity.

"Name Plate? What's that?" Koko asked.

"The floating words that are above everyone's heads." Benson explained, looking concerned for some reason. "Koko... can you not see them?"

"I... can't see any floating words." Koko admitted. "Is that a bad thing or something?"

"Oh dear..." Shell stated quietly, and suddenly Koko started becoming nervous as even her mother seemed concerned now."