The members of the Ultimate Magic research society are checking up on the progress of Shin's sword, the boys are inside while the girls wait for them outside
Miyake POV
"Oohhhh!!" Shin yells after noticing the sword
"As expected of a great craftsman, you sure work fast!"
"It's almost finished, only needs a few adjustments, and it's ready to use. Try sliding the grip guard" Shin does as instructed and the blade snaps out of the hilt
"Do you think this sword could be used by the military? It doesn't require any magic to be used, so it can be easily mass-produced."
"The kingdom will also award Tony for this award" They talk while going to the accessory shop and when they walk in they spot two familiar people in there
"Cecily...and Maria?" Shin asks while tilting his head
"Huh?! Why are you here" Maria asks while quickly putting something in her pocket
"Ohh, is my lovely fiance thinking of gifting me a present? Can I get a quick peek?" I ask while slowly approaching her
"NO!" She shouts back
"Probably shouldn't push my luck here" I kiss her on the cheek and answer her original question
"We were going to buy accessories for the people that don't have them yet," and I take her hand
"Huh?! Weren't you...?!" Maria is confused by my actions
"I think bracelets are pretty good," I ask while looking back at the guys, all of them nod and we go outside after buying the bracelets for everyone
"Oh"
"You finished?"
"Sorry for making you wait. We also prepared bracelets enhanced with defensive magic for everyone"
"I'm glad!"
"With this, all of our defensive stats have greatly increased!"
"......Don't you guys feel sad?" Shin asks and everyone's expression changes
"About this war...Yeah...I feel a little sad..."
"War? Oh....."
"The Bluesphere Empire dispatched a large number of troops against the Earlshide Kingdom. I don't know the specifics, but the rumors already spread throughout town, making everyone anxious."
"Students may also be mobilized if a war breaks out. It's not like we can do something about it. But they would not send Shin or Miyake. Because that would destroy our agreement to use you for military purposes." Aug explains and everyone gets sad and worried
"That's a pretty bad joke...Aug" I say to him fully serious
"What do you mean?"
"You mean to tell me that I'm supposed to watch as my friends march to their possible deaths and do nothing about it...That's a really bad joke" I tighten my hand and Maria looks up at me
"What Miyake said is true. Even though they might not choose to send us...If everyone else is put in danger, I won't hesitate to join the battlefield. Because everyone I met here is an irreplaceable friend to me." Shin says with a smile
"And the same goes for me. I'm not about to see my friends go to battle and do nothing about it, besides I now have a fiancée to protect" I say while looking at Maria with a determined expression that makes her embarrassed and she looks away
"Wait? Fiancée?" Shin asks
"Oh yeah, we haven't announced it yet...we got engaged yesterday"
"The party will be held in two days and everyone is invited!!" Maria says while shoving of her ring
"Oh my god it's so pretty, congratulations"
"It suits you, congrats"
"Congrats you two" Everyone congratulates us
Meanwhile, war is about to break out near the border...
3rd person POV
Dominic, Rubert, and other generals are in a tent, talking
"Still no declaration of war, huh..."
"There probably won't be a surprise attack. With such a large army, we'd know...I don't get it what on earth is the empire thinking?"
"They don't have any advantage in pursuing this war...What are they plotting?"
"They have a total force of 80,000 troops...That in fact, they nearly have no army left in the empire. They're practically leaving no one to defend the empire."
"That's absolutely idiotic...A fool emperor leads to a foolish invasion...Perhaps that's most likely their reason?"
"Whatever it is...our opponents are incompetent, they only desire strength"
"Enemy troops spotted!!" The guard outside their tent yells out and everyone runs out of the tent
"?! What's with their reaction?!" Dominic says noticing the confused enemy troops, the said troops are looking at one another not knowing what to do, and then someone yells
"ATTACK!!"
"ATTAAAAAACK!!!"
"They're gonna attack upfront? The hell are they thinking?! Alright, stick to the plan!! Magic squad!! Launch the first attack!!!" Rubert shouts out orders and the attack manages to inflict a good amount of damage
"Right-wing, left-wing, attack them from the side! We're going to surround them!!" Dominic yells out
With the soldier's effort, the enemy troops were pushed back
"The tides of battle are not changing. For how many days are they going to fight such a meaningless battle?"
"The empire's army is going to be halved in no time"
"I pity them. Their leader is so incompetent. If it continues like this they're going to get annihilated." While Dominic and Rubert we're discussing a panicked, out of breath soldier runs into the tent, interrupting them
"C-Chief Dominic!! Master Rubert!!"
"A scout?... What's wrong?"
".....I-It's terrible!! There's a lot of demon beasts breaking through the empire's border...They're invading...!! Calamity class such as tigers and lions are also included...!!!" this shocks Rubert and Dominic
"According to the scout squad, their destination is probably...capital of the Bluesphere Empire...!!"
"What did you say!? What on earth..."
"T-That's not all...There's even more...On top of the demon beasts...the existence of a devil is confirmed..!!"
"Devil!?" Both of them shout, the picture of Schtrom appearing in their mind
"Chief! The empire troops are retreating" a guard barges into the tent
"The other side probably got the same information. What about our troops?" Rubert asks looking at Dominic
"....We cannot ignore a devil...but I doubt the emperor will accept this situation..."
"We are facing the way towards the empire's capital. Depending on the situation, we might want to follow behind the empire's army"
Meanwhile on the battlefield
"Any news from the chief yet?"
"Why did the empire's army start retreating?"
The rustling of the nearby bushes grabs one of the soldier's attention "...What is that?"
"ROAAR!" a wolf jumps out and bites his arm
"AGHHHH" the soldier yells and more wolves come out
"It's demon beasts!! And a whole lot of them!"
"Hurry up and get in formation!!"
Dominic comes out of the tent noticing the commotion and as he walks out and a wolf jumps at him, but he manages to lob its head off without suffering damage
"Oy, don't let it get away!"
"Shit! They're too close for magic to be useful" The soldiers fight off the beasts
"What's going on!? They're coming out of nowhere!?" Rubert fires a spell at one of the wolves
"Now's not the time to follow the empire army! There's no other way...We have to kill these beasts first!!"
After a hard-fought battle, the Earlshide army is victorious and they are currently resting
"There's not much damage, but...our troops are exhausted. It can't be helped. Let's wait until dawn.
"We're completely stuck because of those beasts..."
"Do you think the empire is alright?... There are no reports from the scouts yet."
"We can only pray..."
As dawn came the Earlshide Kingdom's army made their way to the Bluesphere Empire's capital, only to be greeted by destroyed buildings, some of them being on fire, and a street filled with corpses
"Too late huh... It's impossible to defend against calamity class beasts without the military but... They were completely wiped out. The empire's army that arrived earlier must have been defeated as well, huh..." Rubert says and all of a sudden a voice reaches everyone's ears
"There it is the Earlshide Kingdom's army."
"What is that voice..."
"Where..." the soldiers are confused and Dominic looks at Rubert in shock
"No way...!! Oliver Schtrom...?! He's still alive..?!"
"HAHAHA...Did you think I died from the battle with the Wolford duo"
"Oliver Schtrom! Why...The capital!? What happened to the emperor!?"
"...Fufu that's right...Let me tell you...what happened to this country"
"The foolish Herald von Bluesphere believed that you were dealing with the demons, believing that you're an easy target he mobilized his army and led them to your land. One of the generals even suggested to retreated saying that you were doing a favor to the empire. You know what the emperor did he slashed him across the chest...he killed him for merely stating his opinion"
"Oh, how I would have enjoyed seeing the look on his face after learning about the fact that he was manipulated so easily, and he even charged blindly at your forces and got annihilated."
"While there was no one to protect the capital...I...hahaha...Unleashed hell on the people...HAHAHA. Oh, it was so beautiful a young man running for his life and a tiger taking hold of his shoulder and ripping his whole arm off. A man's head decapitated on the ground lying next to a woman that was cut in half. A young boy getting eaten alive by a pair of monkeys"
"No one was safe. Those people thought of themselves as 'Chosen people', I don't pity them or regret their annihilation" this shock everyone and Dominic asks
"And what happened to the imperial army?"
"It got massacred by a single attack from my underling. By the way, why did you come here? Do you realize that you can't possibly destroy us with just that much fighting power?" a group of people appear, standing on top of a hill looking over the army
"What...are they...They're devils?!
"...Also, you have my thanks...for reducing the number of the imperial force...we attacked the empire without a hitch! HAHAHA!!"
"That invasion was Schtrom's doing...That bastard used us...The flock of demons that appeared earlier was also a part of his plan...All he aimed for was...to destroy the Bluesphere empire...! Dominic thinks to himself, with a stiff expression
"This means...he just made use of the kingdom's army!" Rubert says while a vein appears on his forehead
"...Send word to all troops, we're going back to the kingdom, This situation is no longer something we can handle...!! Dominic shouts out and they leave
"...Is that alright? To let them walk free just like that?" Zest asks
"...Fufufu I don't mind because the original purpose has been fulfilled.
Oliver Schtrom, the devil who still regained his consciousness...is still alive and has led a great number of demon beasts to attack the Bluesphere Empire. That information was immediately given to the kingdom and the neighboring countries.
Miyake, Shin, Maria, and Cecily are currently stepping foot into the Wolford household
Miyake POV
"Grandpa, Grandma, we're home" Shin announces
"Thank you for having us"
"Sorry for the intrusion"
"Oh, welcome back," Grandma welcomes us
"How's the progression on the sword going," Grandpa asks
"We have a prototype that can be mass produced for the army, but it still needs to get perfect"
"That's nice to hear"
And the four of them sit down, Maria next to Miyake, Cecily next to Shin
"Fufu."
"What is it, Cecily?" Shin asks
"Oh, I just remembered my father...Apparently, he's jealous because I get to meet Merlin-sama and Melinda-sama every day."
"Is that so? To me, they're a grandpa and grandma like any other."
"I'm sure they are, to you. They're your family after all" she says while giggling
"Yeah, makes sense, haha" While those two were happily talking, Maria is resting her head on my shoulder with her eyes closed
"She looks so happy and comfortable" I slowly start caressing her head but I notice grandma waving to me behind the door, so I poke Maria and point at the door, she nods and we sneak out
"Is there something that we can help with Guru-sama"
"You're part of the family, Maria. No need to keep calling me the Guru, call me Melinda, anyhow I have a question for you two."
"Those two..." she says while looking at Shin and Cecily "How are things progressing?"
"Well...they keep flirting without a care for any onlookers."
"I see! So, are they already going out?!"
"No...they're not" I answer
"What do you mean?"
"How should I put this it seems obvious that they are fond of each other," Maria says as we start talking in turns
"Shin knows that he is in love with her, but isn't sure that Cecily feels the same way, he thinks that she's just being nice."
"As for Cecily, she doesn't realize her feelings are that of love."
".....Are you kidding me," Grandma asks baffled and Maria continues
"No wonder, with those looks and personality. She was always popular with the boys. Many of them confessed to her...no one succeeded. She said that she doesn't understand the sentiment."
"So...that means...This must be her first love"
"Quite late for first love, isn't it...Since she didn't know love...I think it makes it even harder for her to figure out her own feelings."
"It would be a different case if Shin would just confess to her," I say while scratching my head
"For all the incredible things you pull off, you're useless when it matters the most!" Grandma curses her grandson
"Shin's incompetence aside, we must first make Cecily realize her feelings... Miyake, Maria hear me out." we listen to Grandma's plan
"Hmmm...that might just work, if needed I'll come up with an excuse that I already planned to go shopping for a suit with Aug and Tony"
"Perfect! Then I'll ask Yuri and Olivia to come as well so I can pick out a dress" and Grandma breathes a sigh of relief
"I was scared you wouldn't agree..."
"No need to worry about that Grandma, I decided to put my trust in Maria"
"And I in Miyake" we both look at grandma while smiling
"...Maria...I'm sorry but I'll purposefully act cold when we go inside"
"What?! Why?!"
"We'll make it look like we had a fight and as a means to get revenge you will go with Shin"
"Oh...okay..."
"You know I still love you right?" I hug her
"And I love you too" she hugs me back
"Has anyone told you that you two look cute together?" She says while holding her chin and both of us get embarrassed,
"A-Anyways" I open the door and change my expression to that of indifference "Ready?"
"Ready," Maria answers copying me and we walk in
"Cecily, should we head home?"
"Oh, Maria. Where did you go with Miyake-kun" she says while standing up and I open a gate
"We went to talk in private" she answers and all of us walk through the gate
"We'll see you two tomorrow, then" Shin happily says
"Yup, see you!"
"Shin, just a second. Could you accompany me tomorrow?"
"....Huh?" Cecily's face losses color
"I want to do some shopping. But it's too dangerous to bring Cecily along" She puts her hand on Shin's arm
"That's not true, Maria! I'll go with you, too!"
"You should wait at Shin's house with Melinda-sama"
"So Shin your answer" she turns back to him
"B-But what about Miyake" Shin looks at be noticing that I'm barely paying attention
"But...That...I..." Cecily tries to argue back
"Shin-kun...and...Maria...together" an image of Shin and Maria walking side by side pops into her mind
"Please" she takes Shin's hand
"O-Okay I-I don't mind" Shin answers and I walk through the gate
"Great! See you tomorrow!" Maria starts pushing him through the gate
"Goodbye, Cecily." She starts walking away leaving the sad girl behind
"I'm sorry...Cecily..." She apologizes to Cecily in her mind
Back at the Wolford residence
"Miyake, what was that?" Shin asks catching me walking up the stairs
"Don't think too much about it, just make sure to go with Maria tomorrow," I answer while not stopping
The next day
3rd Person POV
Maria and Cecily arrive at Shin's house
"Everything's all right, Cecily?" Shin asks
"Yes...have a safe trip you two..." the sad Cecily replies
"Grandma, take care of Cecily"
"Leave it to me," Maria leaves with Shin and Cecily comes inside, sitting down at the table with Melinda
"What's wrong? You look gloomy."
"If you don't want Shin and Maria to go out together, you should just clearly tell them so."
"!! I...That's not what..."
"Do you think I don't see through you? It's written on your face that you can't stand the thought of Shin being together with some other woman" a tear slides down Cecily's cheek
"...Why are you crying?"
"Because...Because...Even though Maria was my best friend since I was born..."I don't want you to go shopping alone with Shin-kun"..."I don't want you to go without me"...These thoughts kept racing through my mind" she answers while her tears slowly start falling
"Why, it's completely normal. To want someone to belong to you."
"Belong to me...?"
"Especially someone of the other gender. Someone you love."
"Love.."
"Just try to imagine. What if they take this opportunity to deepen their friendship, and they become a couple" Cecily starts crying after hearing Melinda's words which makes her shocked
"H-Hold on!! What's wrong?!"
"....Shin-kun and Maria...When I imagined him getting closer to another girl..."
"It means you want to stop other women from taking Shin away that badly"
"...Yes...I don't want to lose him..."
"It's good enough if you understand that much. So? Have you realized how you feel yet?"
"Yes. My...feelings for Shin-kun...I...I...I l-love...him..." She right away notices what she just said and quickly gets red covering her face with her hands, Melinda seeing this smiles softly
"B-But Melinda-sama, I don't know if I can get Shin-kun to lo-...love me back..."
"Hm, I see...Since he was raised in the mountains, he's not used to girls...How about some straightforward physical contact?"
"Physical...contact...?"
"Imagine I'm Shin and do as I say. Like this...push out your chest...not like that...put your hands against your breasts, like that."
"B-Breasts!?"
"Then, when he makes you worry, you act like you're looking for wounds and touch him all over"
"T-Touch!?"
"Ask if he's injured, if everything's all right. Then just touchy-feely...and then look up in his eyes, and say this." Melinda leans into Cecily's ear
"Come on, imagine Shin before you and try it." Cecily imagi
"...D-...Don't make me worry like that..."
"That's the way to go! One more time!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" while all this was playing out Merlin was listening in behind the door
"Women are scary beasts..." he says while sweating profusely looking frightened
After sometime Shin comes back with Maria
"We're back! Grandma is Miyake home?"
"No, he's not" Melinda answers and Maria looks down
"Well, it's kinda getting late, I'll take you home. Cecily, are you feeling better?"
"Yes. I'm all right now...sorry I made you worry."
"It looked like she was feeling down. I'm happy that she's feeling better again..." Shin thinks to himself while both of them smile
After that Shin takes them home by using a gate, and they wave him goodbye
"Say, Maria."
"Yes?"
"Do you...uh...It's about Shin-kun...D-Do you...love him?"
"Why?"
"B-Because I love him even more! And I won't let anyone take him, not even you!!" Cecily shouts while blushing
"...Haah. So you finally realized how you feel, slowpoke." Maria says while breathing a sigh of relief
"Huh?"
"You don't need to worry about what happened today. This is something Melinda-sama planned."
"Huh? What?"
"Since you weren't aware that you were in love, Melinda-sama thought it might be best to make you jealous. So, uh...Sorry?"
"Huh? Ah! You conniving meanies!!" Cecily shouts at her friend
"AHAHA! A huge success!"
"Stop right there, Maria!!" Cecily jumps at Maria, and both of them laugh together
"Ah...what was that question anyways "Do I love Shin?" Did you forget I'm engaged to Miyake?"
"Ah...I completely forgot" She says while getting embarrassed and Maria laughs
"Wait but if I remember correctly wasn't he acting kinda cold after you came back?"
"Oh yeah...he acted that way so to make it look like we fought"
"Wait...even Miyake-kun was helping you?"
"Yep...but doing something like that wasn't pleasant at all...where is he?" She asks visibly worried
"Anyways see you tomorrow at school"
"Yeah," They hug each other and walk separate ways, while walking to her house Maria's mind is filled with worry
"I hope he's okay"
And after some time she gets home
"I'm home!" She shouts as she walks in, but as she walks in a person immediately hides behind her
"Miyake?! What are you doing here?"
"I'll explain later, but first save me from that," He says panicking and pointing at the person in front of them
"Kate?" she says noticing her older sister
"Oh, you're back" Katherine responds while looking sad
"What did you do to him!" Maria shouts while marching towards her sister
"Nothing special, why?"
"Nothing special?! You had to do something for the strongest person in this kingdom to be shaking from fear!" She says while pointing at Miyake
"We just had a friendly conversation, that's all" She answers looking at Maria
"*sigh* We're leaving" and she leaves with Miyake in hand
"Have fun" Katherine waves them goodbye
Miyake POV
"What happened while I was away," She asks me looking very serious
"A-As she said we just talked...but it felt like if I answer incorrectly or make a slight mistake, she'll kill me on the spot" I answer while shivering, remembering her gaze
"That's what most people say about her...also how come you're here?"
"I wanted to surprise you, so instead of going home I went to your house expecting to see your parents but your sister was the only one home, I politely introduced myself she told me to have a seat and that she will keep me company while I wait for you"
"*sigh* Well anyway, I said that we're leaving but I don't know where"
"I have an idea since I planned for us to go training" And I open a gate to the place
"Wait, training?" she asks
"Magic control, you remember that I said that we'll train every day"
"Oh yeah...Sure let's go!" and we talk through the gate together
The gate brought us to a forest clearing with a tree in the middle
"Huh? Where is this?"
"It's not far from Grandpa's cabin, I often come here to relax and train" I answer while walking to the big tree in the middle,
"You said that we're going to train but I don't exactly know how to"
"Here I'll show you, do what I say," I say while stopping a little bit away from her
"Mhm" she nods
"Bring your hands in front of you and you know that feeling where you gather magic to cast a spell"
"Yep I do"
"Good, so instead of it forming into a certain type of spell, try to form it into a sphere of magic in front of your hands" I explain to her, and a moment later a ball of magical power appears in front of her
"Look! I did it!" she says excitedly
"Good job now slowly try to gather as much magical power as you can without it being unstable"
"Okay" she starts focusing and the sphere starts expanding and it stops after sometime
"So that's your maximum and do you feel comfortable with it, be honest"
"No I don't," she says while looking down
"Don't be sad, that's normal. Close your eyes and focus, try to be comfortable with the sphere, can you do that?" I ask her in a gentle voice
"I can" she nods looking determined
"Okay, I'll sit right here and if anything happens I'll help" and I sit down, leaning onto the tree while looking at her, smiling
"I can't slack off when she's working this hard," I think to myself remembering our fight with Schtrom "Levitating...how can I achieve that. The logical thing would be wind magic. Let's see..." I pick up a small rock "If I apply magic to it upwards...Woah! It's actually floating" I start getting giddy inside
"Now keep applying magic upwards but also apply it on the left side it should...It's going left, let's try the left side...It went left, nice. Left, right, left, right...Okay, okay calm down. The next issue, going down...So it should work by slowly removing the amount of magic that is applied upwards" and the rock slowly descends back into my hands
"I actually did! Yes!" I think to myself while smiling like crazy and after that, I test it out some more while observing Maria...after some time
"You got the hang of it?" I ask
"I think I did, it doesn't feel weird anymore"
"Good job! I think that's enough for today" she dispels the magical power and wipes the sweat on her forehead
"That's not easy at all," she says while I walk towards her
"Yeah, but you did amazing. So ready to go home?"
"Actually...can we stay here for a bit?" she asks while avoiding eye contact
"Sure" we walk back to the tree and sit down while leaning on each other, and while we are enjoying our alone time, Maria discreetly hands me something
"Hmm...What is this?" I ask while holding up a watch
"A little present for our engagement"
"I bought a ring the same color as your hair, you bought me a watch with the same hair color"
"You don't like it?" She asks me, visibly worried
"I love it, thank you" I kiss her cheek
"Aaand as a price can you continue your story," she asks me smiling
"Sure, but I don't remember where we stopped"
"You said that your childhood in the other world wasn't good"
"Ah okay then, let's start explaining"
"But first," she says while sitting down in my lap, her back facing me and leaning on my body "There you can start now"
"So in my past life, I didn't have siblings only my mom and dad. Pretty normal at first glance but if you go in deeper the problems appear. My mom was the person that I trusted the most, she was hardworking, kind, caring, and selfless...she often sacrificed herself for me. I am eternally grateful for what she has done for me and she is the reason I am the person that you see today." I say with a gentle tone
"She sounds like a good person...what about your dad?"
"Well, mom told me stories about how he was selfless, kind, caring, hardworking, patient, humble. He was the same as my mother"
"Then what was the problem?"
"All those stories were just that, stories. When I was five he started drinking and it quickly spiraled into him being an alcoholic, he would go out drink all day, come back drunk, and then he would beat my mom. She took it all, often crying in her bed. Once I tried to fight back and dad tried hitting me as well, but my mom protected me." The whole time I'm talking Maria is silent, closely listening to the story
"She hugged me very tightly and dad kept hitting her while I was in her arms. She could have left, she could have saved herself but she didn't... she didn't leave because she didn't want to leave me with that man. So that's why all her stories meant nothing to me since, in my eyes, my father was an abusive, aggressive, irresponsible drunk that should not have been born"
"We'll stop there for now since it's getting late"
"Noo, I wanna know what happens next," she tries arguing
"You will know tomorrow, now can you please stand up?" I ask
"I don't think I will," She says while pouting
"Okay then" I grab her and lift her bridal style
"What?!"
"How about we get going" I look at her while smiling, and burst out laughing shortly after noticing her confused face and she joins in, after calming down she asks me
"Shouldn't you put me down, am I not heavy"
"Actually you're really light, I can probably hold you like this for an hour"
"Yeah, but still can you put me down" and as requested I let her get on her feet
"So how about we get going," I ask putting my hand out
"Sure" she answers grabbing my hand but not before pulling me towards her and kissing me
After that, I see her off and go home
4827words
Thank you for 1k read, love all of you <3
For anyone that is curious
Katherine von Messina
The place where they trained
The watch
Don't ask how they have Rolexes