“Hmm…?”
Maho slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she could remember was Master’s smiling face, right before he cast the spell to send them home. She hated to leave him so soon, but with his blessing, she opted to return home to her family.
Had the spell worked? She uneasily looked about. The first thing she spotted was familiar, but unlike anything she had seen in that fantastical world of swords of magic—it was a busy intersection, full of great metal vehicles as they mingled through the great clouds of exhaust fumes. She would’ve hated such a sight in the past, but the distinct reek of fuel nearly brought her to tears.
“I-I’m really home…” She never thought she’d be happy to see cars.
“Are we really back?” said a familiar voice from her side.
She turned to find Yuuto, every bit as moved as she was. They were both okay. Master’s spell had worked. They were home, and she couldn’t thank him enough.
“We’re really back!” he shouted, stretching out his arms to embrace Maho with glee.
He had done his best to be a fitting Hero, but the fate of the world was too heavy for a boy his age to have to bear. There was no war for him to fight here. He was so beside himself with joy that he found himself reaching out to touch a girl. Unlike Longman, he kept well away from women, but he was so happy that he would make an exception.
“Uh, no.” She glared at him, sidestepping his hug. “I get that you’re happy to be back, and trust me, I know the feeling. But keep your hands off me.”
“Y-Yeah… right. Sorry.” She was right, of course. It wasn’t right of him to try and hug her out of the blue like that, no matter their situation. “That was rude of me, wasn’t it? I mean, we’re not exactly close enough to hug.”
Maho gave him a blank look. “What? No, nothing like that. I don’t have anything against you, honestly.”
This time, it was Yuuto’s turn to stare confusedly at her.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a priestess now. Remember? Of Masterism?”
He froze. “Wait. You what?”
“Sisters of Master’s faith must offer themselves to him in a spiritual sense, obviously, but also in a mental and physical one. My body and my heart are for Master alone, and I can’t stoop so low as to hug another man.”
“Uh… M-Maho-san…?”
There was an odd gleam in her eyes and a smile of euphoric bliss on her lips. They seemed to be on the edge of a park at about noon, and there were people all around them, but the aura she gave off made the nearby children flee in terror. He called her name again and again, afraid someone might call the police on her, but she didn’t seem to hear him.
“Yes, I’ll be busy! Busy indeed!” she cackled. “I must spread the word of Master throughout this forsaken world!”
She ran off to do who-knows-what, and Yuuto had to raise his voice to a shout. “W-Wait! You can’t be serious!”
Maho glared back at him, but that was the least of his worries. He had to know what on earth she was planning. It was his job, forced upon him as it was, to make sure she didn’t do anything too crazy. His eyes flitted uneasily to her pendant, the one that allowed her to use her magic even in their world. The Holy Sword was still at his belt, but he didn’t know if it would work. Worse, what if it did? He couldn’t use it before he knew for sure, since he couldn’t risk killing her by accident.
He tried to hide how much he was sweating. “Look, you should at least go see your family first. I bet they’re worried sick about you.”
“My family…?”
Yuuto caught a flicker of reason in her eyes, and he could feel the tension in his shoulders dissipate. She had wanted to go home more than anyone, after all. It was obvious she would want to see them.
Slowly, Maho began to nod. “Yes… First, my family.”
“That’s the spirit! Go let them know you’re okay!”
She was listening to him! With any luck, she’d forget about that crazy cult altogether, and she wouldn’t go make an enemy of the whole world. He sighed with relief. For a moment, he was afraid she was going to turn into a fanatic like that Anat woman. Now, she was back to being a normal—
“I’ve got to spread the good word of Master to my family first!”
“… What?”
The determination on her face and the firmness with which she clenched her fists made his heart sink. He hadn’t gotten through to her at all.
“Thank you for that, Yuuto. If I don’t convert my family, how will the rest of the world follow? I’m glad you reminded me of that before I went and embarrassed myself.”
“I didn’t say any of that!”
“If they don’t listen, I suppose I’ll have to enchant them…”
“You’d use magic on your own family?! Th-That’s not what Master had in mind when he gave you that pendant!”
He already knew there was no use. Anat had perfect control of her mind, and there was nothing he could say to shake her brainwashing loose. Yuuto faced the heavens and begged Master for forgiveness as he wept.
He was snapped out of his penance as Maho grabbed him firmly by the wrist.
“Let’s get going, Yuuto!”
“Huh? Why? I’m not going with you, right?”
“What are you saying? You’re the first soldier of Master’s faith, so it’s only natural you act as such.”
“Soldier of… What are you saying?!”
“We’ll start small—just Japan for now. People here are quite accepting of new faiths, so I’m sure it’ll go well!”
“No, stop! Please let it go poorly! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!”
Yuuto’s feeble pleas reached the very heavens as Maho dragged him off to convert the unwashed masses.