Akko found herself back in the same black void that she somehow went in during the turbulence at the Leyline, and where she got the Shiny Rod.
Unlike last time, however, Akko can feel that she is standing on a solid, albeit invisible, surface.
"What is this place?" Akko wondered, as she looked around the black void for signs of anything else.
All of a sudden, a flash of light exploded into existence in front of Akko, causing the Japanese girl to instinctively cover her eyes and take a step back.
"What's going on?"
The flash of light didn't stay eye-blindingly bright for longer than a second, which Akko realized as she lowered her hands to look at what the light was.
She found herself looking at a magic staff with an iconic appearance.
"The Shiny Rod!" Akko exclaimed. "But didn't I have it already?"
As she approached to grab the Shiny Rod, a second bright flash exploded into existence behind the Shiny Rod. Unlike the first one, this one shone for seconds longer and isn't nearly as bright.
Once the second bright flash has faded away, in its place stood a person with an instantly recognizable costume and red hair.
"Shiny Chariot?!" Akko exclaimed again. "But what..."
Akko didn't have time to ask more questions as Chariot (or perhaps a doppelganger of the performer?) waved her left hand at the Shiny Rod, sending it slowly floating toward Akko.
Akko became confused as to what the intended message was. "Are you giving me the Shiny Rod?" She asked Chariot.
Chariot just smiled at the Japanese girl in response.
Then the French performer spoke, "Just remember: a believing heart is the magic."
Akko blinked. "I know that. You ended all your performances with it." She replied, somewhat confused about what is going on. "Wait, something isn't right about that..."
Chariot responded with a tip of her hat.
"The magic of the First of the Seven Stars of Jennifer the Great..."
Having said that, Chariot suddenly faded away.
"Wait!" Akko called out as she tried to reach out to Chariot. "What are you talking about?!"
...
Red Coven's dorm
"Wait!"
Akko soon found herself face-planting onto the floorboard as as she shot out of her bed.
Groaning about her now aching face, Akko picked herself up from the floor as she evaluated what she just saw.
"What was that all about?" She gave it a thought. "And what did she mean by 'the First of the Seven Stars of Jennifer'?"
Akko then tried to tell Lotte and Sucy about it, only to realize that the both of them have already left the dorm.
Oh, they don't have the same class timetables as I do. Akko thought to herself.
A series of knocks on the door drew Akko out of her thought.
"Akko, are you in? It's me." Came the voice of Professor Callistis from outside the dorm.
"Coming!" Akko went to open the door, letting in the blue-haired professor who is carrying a broom that has a red sash tied around its bristle. "Oh, Professor...Kurasutisu, right?"
Professor Callistis resisted the urge to cringe at such a severe butchering of her last name by Akko's accent. "I-if it helps with remembering my name, you can call me Professor Ursula..." She told the Japanese girl.
"I will, Professor Ashura! Thanks for the reminder!" Akko cheerfully acknowledged it.
The professor resisted the urge to cringe at the butchering of her first name this time, though at least it isn't as severe as her last name. "No problem..." She struggled to keep a straight face after that.
"So what brings you here to me this time, professor?" Akko then asked.
"Oh, about that..." Professor Ursula answered as she passed the broom to Akko. "This is your academy-issued flying broom. You are going to need it for your Broom Flight classes..."
Akko snatched the broom before the Professor can finish. She then hugged it like it was a precious treasure (just like with the Shiny Rod).
"You...have never flown a broom before, right?" Professor Ursula then asked Akko.
"I did ride with Lotte when getting to Luna Nova. But I was the passenger, so that wasn't me flying at that time." Akko answered, as she checked out every tiny detail of her newly acquired broom.
"A passenger, you say...?" Professor Ursula reacted to what she was told. While two witches riding on one flying broom isn't impossible, it's just uncommon enough to warrant odd reactions to learning about it.
Akko lowered the broom. "I didn't realize you needed a broom to even get to Luna Nova in the first place." She said, utterly embarrassed about it. "Good thing Lotte was there to give me a ride!" She then happily added.
"I see." Professor Ursula noted. This girl sure undergoes mood changes rapidly...
The blue-haired professor then glanced at the Shiny Rod, which rested on the dormitory desk.
"Is that-"
Akko ran to fetch the Shiny Rod - the broom still held in her other hand - and raised it above her for Professor Ursula to see.
"It's Shiny Chariot's iconic, one-of-a-kind magic staff, the Shiny Rod!" The Japanese girl excitedly introduced the staff to the professor. "Professor, you're a fan of Shiny Chariot too! You should know a lot about the Rod, right?"
"Can't say that I do..." Professor Ursula answered meekly. "I was actually wondering how you got it in the first place."
That question made Akko freeze. "It was really strange, actually..." She said. "I was in the Leyline with Lotte, on the way to Luna Nova. Then this big turbulence happened all of a sudden. I held on firmly, refusing to give up, and then I found myself in a place that's all black. That was where the Shiny Rod appeared right before my eyes. I grabbed it, and all of a sudden I was back in the Leyline, and the turbulence was gone."
Professor Ursula blinked. "Just like that?"
"Yes, just like that!" Akko raised both hands, along with the broom and Shiny Rod over her head. "I also wondered what it was doing on its own, with Shiny Chariot nowhere in sight..."
Professor Ursula seemed to flinch for some reason. "Well, I'm sure Chariot has her reasons..."
Akko let the broom go as she held the Shiny Rod with both hands. "In any case, I'm going to keep this for Shiny Chariot! And when I meet her, I'll give it back to her!" She declared, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She then raised the Shiny Rod over her head again, and locked her gaze on it. "And I'm sure we are going to see Chariot again soon, so don't you worry, Shiny Rod!"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" A voice suddenly screamed out in absolute frustration.
Professor Ursula reeled back in shock upon hearing that furious scream. But even more shocked than the blue-haired professor is Akko, who stared in disbelief at the source of the voice that she held in her hands.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Shiny Rod...?" Akko uttered to the Rod as she lowered it. "You... can... speak?"
"...Damn you, Chariot..." The voice muttered, confirming that it did came from the Shiny Rod.
Akko just stood there, surprised that the one-of-a-kind magic staff she held in her hands can speak. She stared at it while her brain slowly processed the unexpected information.
"You really can speak, Shiny Rod!" Akko, as her brain finished processing the information, brought the Rod so close to her face that they're merely inches apart.
"Don't call me 'Shiny Rod', please." The Shiny Rod spoke again, with frustration notable in its disembodied voice. "I hate that...despicable nickname Chariot Du Nord gave me."
Akko blinked. "Is that why you never spoke during any one of Chariot's performances?" She then asked. "Then what do you want to be called?"
"Claiomh Solais." The Shiny Rod answered. "Just Claiomh Solais. That is my real name..."
"Kurau... sorasu...?" Akko struggled with the pronunciation, which is made nearly incomprehensible by her Japanese accent. "That's really hard to pronounce. I think I'll stick with Shiny Rod." She declared.
The Shiny Rod groaned in frustration.
Professor Ursula, who was frozen in shock for the past one minute, recovered from her shock. "Pardon me for interrupting, Akko, but don't you have Broom Flying Class in, uh," The professor glanced at the clock on the desk. "in five minutes?"
Akko reacted as if an atomic bomb has been dropped somewhere near her. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" She quickly dropped the Shiny Rod on the floor and picked up the broom. "I'll see you again later, professor!" She said as she ran out of the dorm as fast as she could.
With the Japanese girl's departure, Professor Ursula now found herself alone in the Red Coven's dorm, with the only other "person" inside being the revealed-to-be-sentient Shiny Rod.
"She's quite the hyperactive girl." Professor Ursula mused as she went to pick up the Shiny Rod. "Don't you agree, old friend?"
"I still prefer being with Jennifer..." Shiny Rod sulked. "Just... why did Woodward think she is as worthy of wielding me as yo-"
"Well, she must've proved herself worthy for you to be here in the first place." Professor Ursula interrupted. "You just have to be patient to find out how she's worthy, just like when we obtained-"
"Mayenab Dysheebudo - the Star of Patience..." Shiny Rod finished the sentence for the professor. "But I wish Atsuko knows about it, and don't reveal my sentience to anyone so soon..."
...
The sports field; Luna Nova campus
"Shiny Rod can speak!"
Akko excitedly announced to her coven mates, drawing much unwanted attention from everyone else on the field who are waiting for Broom Flying class to start.
"That's... unbelievable..." Lotte reacted to the news with awkward surprise.
"Are you sure you didn't just imagine it?" Sucy said dully. "With that tiny potato brain in your head, it wouldn't be a surprise..."
"No, it's true! Shiny Rod did speak to me back in the dorm a few minutes ago!" Akko argued. "And it turns out she hates being called Shiny Rod! She insisted on being called... Kurau...sorasu..." She continued, and once again had trouble pronouncing the name. "In any case, Shiny Rod spoke to me, just to tell me that she hates being called that!"
Lotte's eyes widened, as she has no idea how to respond to that, despite her disbelief at what she just heard.
Sucy, on the other hand, kept her stoic face. Though a slight twitch in her right eye indicates that she is a little bit surprised by it. "I had to believe you, since there is no way your tiny potato brain can come up with all that..." She deadpanned.
Akko pouted at Sucy's indifferent attitude. "Well, if you still don't believe me, I'll just have to show you lat-"
Akko stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Lotte suddenly held her broom out and tried to hide behind it. She hasn't been in Luna Nova, or known Lotte for longer than a week, but she knows that only three people in the entire academy could make Lotte behave like that.
With a frown on her face, Akko turned around, expecting to see the smug trio of Chloe, Hannah, and Barbara. "What do you three jerks wan-"
She was wrong. Chloe, with a gloomy look on her face, walked past the Red Coven while accompanied by her Coven mates. Hannah and Barbara were nowhere near the French bully.
"Just so you know, I'm not in the mood to deal with you two right now..." Chloe told the Red Coven without sparing them a glance. "You two can continue to fawn over Shiny Chariot and Night Fall..."
And just like that, the French bully simply left the scene without so much as an insult. Everyone looked on in astonishment, even Lotte who came out of hiding behind her broom to do so.
"Wow..." Despite her usual deadpan tone, one can still tell that Sucy is also astonished. "Those two really are despicably repulsive..."
"Are Hannah and Barbara really bad enough that they'll casually betray their own friend for someone better?" Akko muttered. "If so, they should just get stepped on by the next Kaiju that shows up."
Lotte winced at that statement. "I-it doesn't have to be that extreme..." She voiced her opinion.
"So, as I was saying!" Akko suddenly changed the topic. "Shiny Rod can speak, and I'm going to prove it to you two!"
That was when a whistle was blown, drawing everyone's attention to where it came from.
"Alright, ladies! Broom Flying class is about to start!" Shouted a professor as she marched into view. "So grab your brooms and get into position!"
"...After the class." Akko added as she grabbed her broom and scrambled into position on the sports field.
I bet you were not expecting Shiny Rod to be able to speak in this story. So does that mean we have to start treating Shiny Rod as a person rather than an object from now on? You decide...
And it turns out Shiny Rod actually regrets being with Chariot, only because it (she?) thinks "Shiny Rod" is an embarrassing name and could never live down being called that by the public consciousness. Poor Shiny Ro- er, I mean, Claiomh Solais...
So next chapter, we'll be seeing Akko having her first Broom Flying class, as well as getting to see our favorite redheaded Irish-American witch along with her German and Russian friends.
"Just remember: a believing heart is your magic..."
Afterwords end here.