Meeting with Monica
When I came to, I saw a white ceiling above me.
Ah, I got swept up in the rapids, used Reverse Flow, and passed out, didn't I?
No soldiers or mages in sight. The small hospital room held just me and one woman.
"You're awake?"
I dazedly took in the woman before me.
"……!"
She was Monica Newell, one of the rare 7-level mages in the world. Retired now and little more than a freeloader, but back in her home country of America, she was still wildly popular.
Why is someone like her here?
It felt like running into the final boss right at the start. I swallowed hard.
"Just who are you, anyway?"
"Well…."
Her use of "just who" sent a wave of tension through me. It was like she'd sniffed something out about me.
"Be honest. That spell-reflection technique? I've never seen anything like it, not even in the magic towers' latest research."
"That is…."
"And get this! A 7-year-old girl wandering around hitmen and organ traffickers with a pistol!"
"……."
A quick pat-down confirmed it: the dagger strapped between my thighs was gone too.
"Looking for that scary murder tool? Here it is."
Monica sighed and held up the dagger. It was definitely my sharp plastic blade.
"My god, a plastic dagger that slips past inspections, and a subcompact pistol sized for a kid's hands!"
Her eyes sparkled.
"What, are you some famous child assassin from the underworld? Or a disguised spy for the National Intelligence Service?"
I was speechless for a moment.
"Haven't you watched too many cartoons…?"
"You—you! How dare you say that!"
Monica stared at me with betrayed eyes.
"Don't make me laugh! So it's normal for a 7-year-old to reflect high-level spells and carry a gun?"
"……."
I averted my gaze, then muttered,
"I remember not what I did…."
Monica's eyes narrowed.
"Your parents?"
"I know them not."
"What did you do?"
"I know not."
"Where did you live before?"
"It comes not to mind."
"Who taught you spell reflection?"
"It comes not to mind, I say…."
Monica scratched her head at my words.
"Sigh. What a convenient setup…? Right?"
"My memory seems lost unto me. All that lingers is being swept into magic on the roadside."
Monica alternated stares between me and the plastic dagger, clearly skeptical.
"More than that, I wish thee to release me now. I too am a busy one."
She shook her head.
"Sorry, but we ID'd you while you slept. No records."
"……."
"And in your bag? Soaked counterfeit documents?"
She eyed me expectantly, then sighed.
"No, what am I doing to a memory-lost kid? Obviously some illegal magic tower's lab rat or a child soldier from a trafficking ring."
"……."
I nodded after a quick mental scramble.
"Ugh, dark basement, ugh crazy mages, ugh…."
Monica's face fell as she listened.
"…Yeah, figured."
She pulled ice cream from the fridge and pressed it into my hands.
"Hey, I'm not a kid."
I tried handing it back, but she peeled the wrapper and shoved it into my palm again.
"No, I didn't mean peel it for me…."
"I'm not expecting anything from you. Just eat it for now. I'll figure out how to help."
I scowled at her words.
There's a limit to treating me like a child.
"No need. I can manage alone; aid would be futile."
"Oh? Tell me your plan, then. If it makes sense, you're free to go right now."
"…That."
I fidgeted with sweaty fingers.
Suddenly "remembering" here would be suspicious….
'Actually, I'm buddies with those traffickers—we were just getting close.' Say that, and I'd end up in some orphanage lockdown.
I wracked my brains for my masterstroke.
"That is… an orphanage, perchance?"
"Go to an orphanage with no ID and beg them to take you in? That's your 'manage alone'? Those rogue towers that tormented you will just sit pretty?"
Her rapid-fire logic shut me up.
"……."
Defeated, I meekly licked the ice cream.
"Fine, ID sounds necessary, so some help… huh…."
I stared blankly at the soft-serve bite.
Sweet, cool, vanilla bursting across my tongue. A child's sensitive palate ignited fireworks of forgotten, longed-for flavors.
"Yes…."
Tears welled up.
"So this is what ice cream tastes like…."
Tears dripped; I wiped them on my grimy shirt.
"Hic… it's so good…."
"L-Little one, yummy ice cream?"
"What?! No!"
"Oh? You just said it was good. Blushing now? Cheeks all red?"
"That's not it!"
Monica gazed at my sniffling face.
"How hard must your life have been…? Even a lab rat doesn't deserve this—it's child abuse! Whichever tower it was, just wait till I catch them."
"That's not it!"
"Sure, sure. There, there. Hard times are over. Big sis will take good care of you now."
"No, hear me out!"
She just sobbed and hugged me tight.
"Little one, want more? Follow sis, and I'll buy you tons of candy and snacks."
I bit my lip in shame; Monica placed a hand on my cheek, flustered.
"Oh no, what to do with this adorable kid."
"What to do~? No ID, right~?"
I turned at the lazy voice. A woman with huge glasses glared from the doorway, her pointed teeth marking her as no ordinary human.
Offspring of a civilian sacrificed in the Ain Project?
"Bringing an unidentified stray into our magic tower—what were you thinking~?"
Her words caught in my throat.
"Cough cough! Magic tower?!"
Heart pounding, I looked at Monica. She just pouted and continued.
"Ah! Yuri! You scared my kid! Why so prickly?"
"You don't actually buy the amnesia bit, do you~ Monica Newell~? I'd be disappointed if you did~"
"If it's an illegal tower's experiment, unstable memories aren't surprising. And it doesn't matter anyway."
"Huh?"
I gawked; Monica grinned wide.
"This one's dodging, but she definitely reflected that spell. Like a Mage Hunter's Reverse Flow."
A chill ran through me.
She couldn't know I was a Mage Hunter… right?
"Sniff."
I rubbed my goosebumped arms, nose running.
Monica grabbed my face.
"And look! This cute!"
"Don't recommend humans for pets~"
Monica shook her head at Yuri's jab.
"Not like that. This kid's got insane magic talent, for sure. Heh heh heh."
"…Magic talent?"
Yuri twitched an eyebrow and tossed a kit from her pocket.
"Test the sync rate first~"
"Heh, it'll be positive for sure. Why bother?"
Humming, Monica shoved a swab up my nose as I went for another ice cream bite.
"Ugh?"
"It's fine, just a few cells~?"
She squeezed the wet swab into reagent, dripped it on the kit. The white surface shifted.
"See, positive…? Wait, Yuri! What's purple?"
"What~?"
"Red's positive, no reaction's negative. Purple's a first."
Yuri snatched the kit, face paling, drawl thickening.
"Whoa~ This is~ for real~? First time for me too, ya~"
A shark tail flicked from her baggy coat.
"…Shark-human?"
She glared back, sulky.
"Error~ Means her ether sync's off the scale~"
Monica hugged me tight.
"See? Told you she's special!"
I shoved her off.
"Even if so, talent's common. Mages thrive on effort… mmph?!"
She stuffed ice cream in my mouth and eyed Yuri.
"Let's do a precise test now."
"Purple sync data? Tempting…"
They grinned maniacally.
"She could be a star mage like me!"
"Heh heh, or a genius like Isara~?"
I furrowed my brow.
"Hm, and what if I become a mage?"
They blinked at me.
"What?"
"Don't wanna be a mage~? Tough job, yeah~"
"Memory back?"
"Maybe~ assassin days resurfaced~?"
Sweating, I denied their delusions.
"N-No, I recall academies are the way to become a mage… but I don't think I attended one…."
Monica giggled.
"Right, right. They advertise you need an academy to be a mage."
"?"
"Good teachers keep you alive in your first Abyss run. Academy's essential."
"Ah…?"
So academies boost survival for Abyss newbies.
"You go to academy for good teachers."
Monica puffed her chest, snorting.
"And here's a 7-level mage?"
"Unemployed one~"
Monica scowled at Yuri's quip.
"Unemployed! I'm a retired Fire Tribe!"
"Ah."
So right now….
"Art thou offering to take me as disciple?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You reek of a mysterious incident."
"That's a line from a popular anime lately~"
"Yuri! Keep sabotaging me?!"
"……."
Watching them, a starry night sky flashed in my mind.
'Don't waste your talent. Won't you become a mage?'
If I'd taken that hand then, would my life be different…?
"Sniff."
Sudden longing brought tears.
"Aw, little one crying?"
"Ugh~ This is why I hate kids~"
"Handkerchief, Yuri."
But unlike then, someone was here to wipe them away.