＊＊＊
“It’s finally down... Ahh, jeez, I’m at my limit...”
The pansy magibeast lay defeated on the ground. Stella was sprawled out next to it with her arms and legs spread as if she were making a snow angel.
Feena peered down at her. “Stella, would you like some cold water?”
“I hate to encourage you, but yes.”
Feena formed a cup with an Earth miracle, then drew water from a nearby stream before handing it to Stella. She gulped it down, then let out a lengthy sigh.
“What in the world was Professor Elyena thinking, leaving in the middle of class like that?”
What we’d found after retracing our steps to class with the magibeast hot on our heels was a single sheet of paper: It’s a bit early, but I’m off to have some tea! I should be back by the end of class. Elyena.
In the end Stella’d had to take down the magibeast (which, in reality, meant me stealthily using my divine power—Deus est mors—to take it down). I managed to mix in the beam with one of her miracles, so she probably didn’t notice.
“My apologies, Stella!” Feena exclaimed with an abrupt bow of her head.
“Wh-Where’s that coming from?”
“The magibeast grew because it stole the cursed food from me...”
“There was nothing you could’ve done about that.”
“And on top of that, we did not even finish our sketches, nor do we have any food remaining to try again...”
“That’s all the professor’s fault for giving us way too much.”
“If I had not asked to accompany you in class, your work would not have—”
“Aaah, jeez! I don’t think it’s your fault, so lift your head already!”
Feena timidly looked up and instantly trembled upon seeing Stella tilting her chin away with purposed lips. “I-I knew it, you’re angry...!”
“Excuse me? No I’m not.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, Feena. Stella’s just too embarrassed to smile. Gotta see through the act.”
“Y-You truly are not angry, Stella...?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Drop it already.”
“The truliest of trulies?!”
“GAAAH! It’s true! I swear on the Goddess!”
“I’m so relieved...” Feena said, placing a hand on her chest. “You truly are magnanimous, Stella. If it were Lady Quinza, she would have torn me apart for causing her to fail.”
“Don’t compare me to that toad. Anyone would look nice compared to her.”
“Well spotted, Feena. Stella is a kind girl at heart,” I added.
“She didn’t call me deadweight and leave me behind when I was being chased by the magibeast, after all...” Feena said.
“I-It would just be my responsibility if someone got hurt in the middle of me doing my classwork. I don’t want another penalty.”
“Guess what, Feena? When she saw the magibeast run past you, she—”
“Sh-Sh-Shut up! Why are you even forcing yourself into this conversation?!”
Stella swung me about to silence my truth. I decided I’d tell Feena what happened when Stella wasn’t around.
“Anyway, Quinza’s a tyrant. I’m surprised you hang around her at all.”
Feena paused, then said, “I am grateful she allowed me to be her roommate. Due to my lack of ability with miracles, I cannot complete my classwork without the aid of her and her friends.”
Stella’s eyebrows shot up. “Hey. Do you actually think you’re bad at miracles?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said.
“Wh-Wha...?” Feena stammered. “Of course I’m bad... Lady Quinza is always yelling at me, and even you said my flying was weird...”
“You may not have a knack for Wind, but your iron walls were clearly something special. I’ve never seen anyone else make metal walls with miracles.”
“B-But that’s the only thing I can do... Iron wall.” She was suddenly engulfed in dark gray walls. “You’re just overestimating me... They may be strong, but all they can do is hide me. They can’t protect anything, nor can they serve any offensive purpose.”
“You’re just being defeatist. If I could make walls like that, I’d be able to crush people with them.”
“How so?”
“I mean, just throw them at your foes. It’s that simple.”
Holy cow, so violent...
Stella was giving a smug look of triumph, but what she described was basically a “physical” attack, as it were. That was probably an idea only she’d have, as someone who spent most of their life unable to use miracles.
The walls remained standing in silence. Eventually, Feena let out an amused giggle. The metal melted into the ground, revealing Feena again. “You are so strange, Stella.”
“Excuse me? You looking for a fight?”
“I’m just moved. That is quite the eccentric idea; one that no normal person would ever have conceived!”
“Okay, you have to be making fun of me!” Stella said, her eyes narrowing, but Feena just looked confused. She sighed. “Listen. Nobody who can make metal walls like that could possibly be bad at miracles. If you call that bad, what would you call me when I couldn’t use any miracles at all?”
“Extremely bad, perhaps? The utterly worst anyone has ever been?”
“Gaaah! You SURE talk big, Feeeena!”
“Eek, that was not said to be insulting, I assure you...!”
Stella began chasing Feena around in a circle.
Ah, youth...
What a precious sight. Seeing one page in the life of my idol’s youth was healing to one’s heart.
And it was then that distinctive, high-pitched laughter resounded through the forest.
“Ooooho ho ho! So there you are, oh Feena the shut-in!”
Speak of the devil. The villainess rich girl Quinza came strutting out of the forest with two lackeys. One of them was holding a big umbrella over Quinza. She wouldn’t even deign to carry it herself...
“Lady Quinza...”
“I was looking for you. As you gave your cursed goods to us, you hardly had any for yourself, no? You must have been unable to finish your sketches for class.”
“Gave” them to her, eh? We heard you took them.
Feena shrank a bit, now stiff on her feet. “Indeed.”
“We have made a magibeast for you. Sketch it.”
The lackey carrying an umbrella placed a small cage in front of Feena.
“What?!” Stella cried. “That’s a rat...!”
Or more precisely, rat magibeasts. The things in the cage were clawing at the bars with grotesquely enlarged front teeth and claws.
“The professor said to turn a plant into a magibeast. Animals are more likely to escape and end up making a nest in the forest.”
“Silence, Stella. When did you become high and mighty enough to critique me?” Quinza demanded with an upward tilt of her chin. “If you have not finished either, I will allow you to sketch the creature as well.”
“No way. Rat magibeasts wouldn’t count.”
Feena, however, obediently took out her drawing utensils. She couldn’t resist Quinza.
“Feena?!” Stella cried. “There’s no point drawing that thing.”
“It would be beyond me to disrespect Lady Quinza’s kindness, so...”
“It’s not kindness, it’s malice! You should be able to tell that!”
Still, Feena started sketching and didn’t stop. Stella gritted her teeth in irritation.
“The classwork required multiple sketches, no? Here, have some cursed food. Feed it yourself.”
“Ngh...”
Quinza threw cursed food at Feena. Several blackened fruit hit her as she tried to sketch.
“What’re you doing?!” Stella barked, but Quinza ignored her.
“The bars must be obstructing your view. Let’s open it so you can see better.”
“Wha—?! No!”
Before Stella could stop her, a lackey opened the cage. The rats charged out like a flood, bolting to the cursed food. Stella and Feena were right there in danger.
“Iron wall! Terararia Sein!”
Walls of iron formed in an instant to protect Feena. That meant she was safe—the problem was Stella.
“O Wind, take me to the heavens! I offer this victory and glory to the Goddess. Winaria Sein!” she cried.
Another chant I didn’t know! I couldn’t get the spirits to act if I didn’t know what Stella wanted.
In that time, several of the rats had reached Stella and started gnawing at her robes.
“Ngh! Why didn’t it work... Otaku! This is your fault!”
True. This was indeed because I was unfamiliar with the holy scriptures that the prayers were based on.
“That was a miracle for blowing things away... I wanted to blast the rats far away, but jeez, now they’re too close!”
Stella grabbed the rats to toss them aside. Quinza and her two lackeys cackled at the sight of her struggle.
“I made these magibeasts for Feena the shut-in, but this is more than entertaining enough.”
“So many rats, pfff...!”
“Rats are a good fit for a commoner... Filthy...”
“You guys...!” Stella barked as she struggled against the rats. “Aren’t you roommates with Feena?! Why are you cruel to her?!”
“Because she’s weak. I am not being cruel. This is a fitting punishment for her—punishment for disobeying me despite her lacking ability with miracles.”