In the dark depths of Zagato's crystal fortress, in a chamber filled with magical water, sat a lonely young lady. She had sad blue eyes, long golden hair three times as long as she was tall, a white and red dress, and a tiara with a massive emerald in the middle of her forehead. She was surrounded by massive pink rose petals that gave off light into the dark abyss she was in.
She was Princess Emeraude, and she was praying. Praying for the protection of Cephiro, praying for the success of the Magic Knights. Her powers had been sealed and were no longer as great as they once were. Despite this, she tried her best to pray for the success of the Magic Knights, and their fallen ally.
"Master Mage Clef…" she let out a silent whimper at the fall of her oldest ally.
"You have summoned the Magic Knights from the other world," a familiar voice interrupted her prayer.
As she stopped praying and looked in the direction of the voice, she could see the ethereal image of Zagato. Her heart skipped a beat and her tears welled up, seeing the man responsible for her imprisonment.
"Zagato…" she gasped, almost as if it caused her pain.
"End your futile efforts, Princess Emeraude. The Mashin will not be revived," Zagato vowed with a stern and serious voice. "The legend of the Magic Knights will not come to pass."
"Why… Why are you, a high priest doing this?" Emeraude asked with a quivering voice, as she stared at Zagato's projection intently. "Don't you care what happens to Cephiro?"
"No," Zagato said, smiling widely. "The fate of Cephiro is of no concern to me, for I prioritize a far greater goal."
As Emeraude listened to Zagato's words, she couldn't help but shiver at the audacity of this man.
Eventually Zagato dropped his projection, and walked back over to the Water Mirror. The mirror projected an image that locked on the Magic Knights, who were still flying on top of Master Mage Clef's gryphon familiar. If he wanted to take them down, he needed to find out where they were headed next.
Eventually the mirror focused on a round, forested plateau. In the center of the forest was a tall and pointy mountain, with smaller similar mountains surrounding it.
That area looks awfully familiar. Where have I seen it before? …What?
The picture quality on the Water Mirror started dropping, until the image disappeared completely.
They have entered the Forest of Silence…
Later on, Inouva was barking orders to Zagato's other underlings in the waterfall room, while standing beside his master.
"There's been a revolt in the town of Bentley. Ascot, go seize control."
"Right."
"Caldina, head east. Look for any signs of opposition. Alcyone…"
"Please wait! Allow me to follow and exterminate the Magic Knights!"
"The Magic Knights have entered the forest of silence. There is no need to follow them," Inouva denied her request.
"Please, Lord Zagato," Alcyone pleaded, while kneeling on her perch.
Inouva was about to call Alcyone out on her insolence, when Zagato interrupted him, "You cannot use magic in the Forest of Silence. Furthermore, that forest is full of monsters. We do not have to lay a finger on them. The forest will take care of them for us."
"But…"
"There is nothing more to discuss."
"Lord Zagato!" Alcyone tried to get his attention, but her lord just walked away.
"Alcyone, watch over the south." Inouva continued giving out orders calmly. "Lafarga, fortify the defenses to the north. That is all."
Alcyone gritted her teeth upon hearing this. Because of her earlier failure to destroy the Magic Knights, her favor with Lord Zagato had dropped significantly. If she wanted to earn his respect and admiration back, she would have to kill the Magic Knights herself. And their bodyguard.
Meanwhile, our heroes were flying over the Forest of Silence. As they flew over the trees, Hotaru noticed that something was off.
"Huh… that's strange, my compass is going haywire," he said, holding the small trinket in his hand.
It wasn't a state-of-the-art compass, but he had made sure he had picked a reliable one for his trip to Cephiro. He knew that the Forest of Silence was a dangerous place where they couldn't use magic, but he hadn't figured it was compass proof as well.
"I don't think that it matters anymore, look!"
Fuu pointed out at a clearing in the middle of the woods, with a large building in the middle, that had been walled off by stone walls. The gryphon soon descended outside the walls, landing gracefully with a few wing flaps.
Once on the ground, the party got off the gryphon. The stone walls looked far larger and more imposing from up close, to a point where one could only see the spires of the building inside.
"Is this where Presea lives?" Hikaru asked, looking at the stone structure.
The gryphon nodded and chirped in response, affirming Hikaru's question. While the sounds the magical creature made were cute, they weren't enough to distract the group from the creepy atmosphere of the forest. The woods were quiet, not even birds could be heard, and there was a weird humming sound coming from the forest.
"Is Presea's home really here?" Umi asked, holding onto Hikaru with Fuu.
"It does seem like a good place to hide from Zagato," Hotaru pointed out, while looking for an entrance.
While he was looking, he and the girls heard a strange sound coming behind them. As they turned around, the gryphon was nowhere to be seen. Had it left them behind? Did it disappear? Did it get eaten? These thoughts and more crossed the minds of the Magic Knights.
"I guess we have no choice but to proceed," Fuu said, feeling stumped.
"But there isn't an entrance anywhere." Hikaru pointed out.
"Found it!" Hotaru yelled out.
As the girls turned towards Hotaru, they noticed a large rectangular block of stone in the wall. To those of them who had played video games, it screamed a hidden entrance.
"You really think that is a door?" Umi asked skeptically. "How do we open it?"
"We could try knocking," Hotaru suggested, already knowing the right answer.
Hearing the suggestion, Hikaru proceeded to tap the stone twice on a whim. The block of stone disappeared into thin air, creating an opening through the stone wall. This caused the young girl's eyes to sparkle.
"Why did that work!?" Umi yelled out.
"Everything is worth a try!" Fuu declared happily.
"Hah, I'll hold you to those words," Hotaru promised.
"Hello!" Hikaru yelled down the corridor politely.
"Excuse us!" Fuu added.
"It's no use yelling at the front gate. Not like this place has an intercom," Hotaru pointed out and waltzed in.
"I agree, we can't just stand here. Let's go," Umi said and followed.
"Is that all right Ms. Umi, Mr. Hotaru? Is it not wrong to enter someone's home without permission," Fuu asked worriedly.
"You'd be surprised by the number of places I have entered without permission," Hotaru blurted out, "I have yet to be caught."
"…Are you a thief, Hotaru?" Hikaru asked.
"Well, I have never stolen anything yet, so no," Hotaru answered nonchalantly and knocked on the front door. "Excuse us!"
As he knocked on the large wooden doors, they opened on their own with a creaking sound. On closer inspection, the doors and the building itself were a lot older and dilapidated than they thought.
"How careless… Keeping the door unlocked," Fuu criticized.
"Let's just get in before something else weird happens," Umi said and rushed in.
While the group entered the building, they did not notice a little mound of dirt that had followed them in. The mound started growing and changing shape, eventually turning into something threatening.
Inside the building, the party continued traveling down what felt like an endless corridor. The girls continued yelling 'Hello', 'Excuse us', and 'Pardon our intrusion' every now and then. Meanwhile Hotaru was enjoying the ambiance of the place and breathing in the nostalgia of it. This mansion was an important stepping stone on the Magic Knights' journey. It was here they would get their weapons and, most importantly, a very special ally. He still had a hard time believing he was here after all these years.
The party soon found themselves at the end of the corridor, where an ajar door waited for them. Behind it glowed a gentle light, and they could hear rustling of some kind.
"I think there's someone there," Umi whispered.
As they peeked around the door, they could see a large desk with books on it, and a floating chair in front of it. From behind the chair, large quantities of papers were flying about, as if someone was working cartoonishly hard.
"Um… are you Presea-san, by any chance?" Hikaru asked carefully. "We came because Clef told us to."
The chair turned around in the air, and in its seat sat a peculiar looking little creature. It was white, oval in shape, had the ears and feet of a rabbit, small stubby arms and a tail, and the face of a smiling cat. On its forehead, was a bright red round gem.
"Pupupupupuu~!" It greeted them all happily.
The girls jumped back and knocked the door open, surprised by the appearance of the creature.
"Are you Presea…?" Hikaru asked, a drop of sweat dripping down the back of her head.
As the girls were getting over the shock, they heard a hidden mechanism activate, as levers and cogs changed place. Before they knew what was going on, they noticed a large cage dropping down on them. They tried running away, but the cage was too large and fell way too fast. As it crashed on top of them, they could all hear pompous laughter.
"Oh-hohohoho! You fell for it, Mokona!" a tall blonde woman celebrated. "You're always making a mess of my study. Now, how should I punish you?"
The four of them looked from the side awkwardly, as the woman with a hip-length ponytail started living out her fantasies. She had orange clothes, decorated with pearl white armor pieces on her shins, knees, and left shoulder. She wore a thick beige leather apron and had a golden headband with a single gem on it. Overall the woman would have been quite attractive, if it wasn't for the severe case of cabin fever.
"Shall I pull on your ears to see how far they stretch?" she fantasized with glee. "Or shall I hang you upside down from the front door?"
The blonde woman started making stereotypical native-American noises, before continuing to laugh excitedly. She only stopped as the continued rustling of paper drew her attention behind her, at which point her smile turned to dread.
"Pu!"
"Mokona!" she yelled and then turned towards the cage.
Fuu, Hikaru and Umi stared at the woman, each one expressing their own level of remorsefulness and bafflement. The woman approached them carefully, as if inspecting them like strange animals.
"I always thought that something haunted this old building… To think it was cursed with mischievous children."
"Mischievous children?" Hikaru repeated.
"I can't go easy on you just because you're children. Because you ruined my precious study… shall I pull on your cheeks to see how big your mouth can open? Or shall I boil you three together in a big pot?"
As Presea was about to continue her rain dance, Umi yelled out, "Enough with this! We did not mess up your study and we demand to be let out!"
"The mess in the study we are innocent of, but it is true that we entered the house without permission," Fuu admitted.
"At least you were finally caught for breaking and entering, Hotaru," Hikaru joked while playing with Mokona, who had slipped into the cage through the bars.
"Don't be so sure about that," Hotaru said victoriously, leaning against the outside wall of the cage.
"EEEH!?" the girls all shouted.
"Oh shoot I missed one," Presea lamented while stroking her chin, "wait, who are you!?"
Hotaru turned towards Presea and smiled, "You'll remember this day as the day you almost caught Captain Hotaru!"
Even though I already knew this was coming.
"Anyway, Presea right?" he continued, "We came here to obtain weapons under the orders of Master Mage Clef."
As Presea heard this, a few thoughts crossed her mind. One was the chance that the young man was lying about Clef, for he would only have sent the Magic Knights over. However, only the Magic Knights could have gotten through the protective wall surrounding the mansion. If Clef truly had sent them, then that would mean…
Aside from him, they cannot possibly be this young. But considering Mokona is this happy to meet them, it is definitely a possibility. Looking at their armors, it is clear that the ones on the three girls correspond to the old drawings of the Magic Knight's starting gear. The odd one out is the one called Captain Hotaru, but I do not recognize the armor style. It is sort of similar to the starting armor of a sword master like Lafarga, but more ornate.
Presea turned towards the three caged up girls with a serious expression, "You three are the Magic Knights, aren't you?"
"That's right," Hikaru said confidently, "I'm Hikaru Shidou."
"I'm Umi Ryuuzaki."
"I am Fuu Hououji, and what do you mean by three? What about Mr. Hotaru?"
"The legend tells of there being only three Magic Knights. While I do not like making assumptions, he sticks out."
"Yeah, I got to admit you three make a pretty perfect set," Hotaru admitted, not really bothered about being an official Magic Knight.
Presea was about to accuse Hotaru of being an enemy and to demand him to tell why he was with the girls, but then the door of the study was busted down. A massive monster with an earthy brown body, blue eyes, several spikes, large claws, horns, and fangs broke into the room. It let out a guttural roar and swung right at Presea.
"Look out!" Umi screamed.
Presea rolled out of the way of the monster's large claws and barely managed to dodge its attack. She continued rolling, until she was stopped by one of the bookshelves of the study.
"Presea! Open this cage!" Hikaru hurried the blacksmith.
"Hikaru, don't be so foolhardy…" Umi tried to reason.
"Open it!" Hikaru commanded desperately.
As the monster stood up to strike once more, Presea just smiled smugly, and waited for the right moment. As the monster's three clawed hand came down, it split the bookshelf in half with its force. However, Presea had managed to jump up into the air and was now dangling from a metal pull chain behind the bookshelf.
The girls all cheered at her success, as Presea nudged the pull chain to activate the release mechanism on the cage. However, as she slowly descended, she was open to the monster's next attack. The creature swung its arm back in a wide arch, ready to impale her.
"Hay ugly! Have a seat!"
As the monster turned to the direction of the voice, it was struck in the head by the floating chair. Hotaru had managed to score a direct hit in the monster's face; however, a hovering chair lacked the mass to cause any serious damage. But, as the monster reeled back from the hit, the cage had already been lifted.
Now that Hikaru was no longer behind the bars, it was time to act. As the monster looked at her and two of her friends like they were easy prey, she lifted her arm up. With all her might and heart, she cast her spell and threw her arm forward.
"Flame Arrow!"
But nothing happened.
"Flame Arrow!" She tried again, but still no effect.
The monster looked at her confused, tilting its head to the right a full circle.
Realizing that Hikaru's magic wasn't working, the three Magic Knights huddled together in a panic. The monster was about to strike the trio down, before Presea jumped in front of them, slashing at the monster's neck. The sword she had fetched sliced through the monster like a knife through cake, decapitating the behemoth. The monster fell to the ground, shaking the ground as it did.
Still traumatized by the events, the girls flinched as Presea turned towards them quickly.
"Didn't Clef tell you?" she asked disappointedly. "This is the Forest of Silence. Magic doesn't work here."
"I see!" Fuu spoke out. "That is why the bird that brought us here disappeared the moment we stepped foot into this forest."
Hotaru sighed deeply in relief now that the cat was out of the bag. He would have wanted to tell the girls about this a long time ago, but there was no way of justifying why he knew about it. He could have tried using his own magic, but there had been no point for it yet. However, a sudden 40-year-old realization caught him off guard.
"Wait… so that's why it is called the Forest of Silence!" he yelled out while facepalming.
The others looked at him confused so he explained to the girls, "Some video games have this status effect called Silence, which prevents the use of magic as you can't say the magic words."
"Seriously!?" Umi yelled out. "That is so lame…"
"Hate to break it to you, but we can still speak," Presea pointed out. "It is just that magic doesn't work in this area."
"So why do you think it is called the Forest of Silence?"
Presea looked as if she was about to answer, but it quickly came apparent from her expression that even she didn't know.
"Let's see…" Presea started before clapping her hands together cheerfully. "So how is Clef doing?"
This time all four of them fell over from the absurdly fast change of topic.
"Clef… he told us to run for it when one of Zagato's minions came over," Hikaru admitted, trying to force the words out of her mouth despite the guilt. "It's why he couldn't explain everything to us."
Hearing what had happened, Presea started realizing how serious things were.
Clef… Did you know that this would happen? Is this why you trusted Mokona with me…
Trying to show a brave face, Presea smiled and looked at the four of them, "Follow me. I want to show you something?"
With that, she started leading them through the dark corridors of the mansion. Mokona jumped into Hikaru's arms, wanting to be carried. As they left the study, Hotaru looked at the corpse of the monster one more time, giving it the stink eye.
"I was sure there was more to that thing…" he muttered to himself before following the others.
Few moments later, they had all arrived at a heavily reinforced door. Its lock was a large turn wheel, which even Presea was having difficulty turning. Pushing past the others, Hotaru helped Presea with turning the wheel and opening the door.
The room behind the door was dark and dry and it took a while before their eyes adjusted. The room was filled with an entire arsenal of weapons and armor. Each piece of gear was an individual masterpiece, and there was even an entire cannon. The girls admired the weapons with their jaws agape, while Hotaru was already wondering which weapon to choose.
"Now, choose a weapon you like," Presea said, giving them the permission to browse around.
"You are so kind! To provide us with weapons for free!" Fuu thanked cheerfully. "It never works this way in role-playing games!"
"It's not free," Presea blurted.
"What? We need money?" Umi asked worriedly.
"You accept Japanese yen?" Hotaru asked while browsing weapons. "I left all my gold coins in the other world."
"Things never work out so easily, after all," Fuu sighed, trying to come up with an alternative means of payment.
Hikaru was checking out her pockets and dress, but aside from the two coins Fuu had given her, she didn't have much. However, she managed to find a wrapped piece of candy she had stashed into her shirt. Realizing they were penniless in a strange world, this was the only bit of food that they had on them.
Trying to hold back tears, the short girl offered the pink confection to Presea, "I think I forgot my wallet in my bag. I don't have any money right now… so this is all I have."
Seeing the honesty and determination in the girl's eyes, Presea couldn't help but be taken back. She closed her hands around the little girl's hands gently and smiled warmly.
"I don't need money." Presea said warmly.
"But you said it wasn't free."
"Choose any weapon you wish from here," Presea repeated herself as she twirled around, "but they will not be your weapons. I'm only loaning them to you. Every weapon is made specifically for one person. I haven't made the weapons meant specifically for you yet."
"For us?" the three girls repeated.
"It is dangerous to wander the Forest of Silence unarmed, and even more so to go to the legendary Spring of Eterna."
"The legendary spring? What are we going to do there?" Hikaru asked.
"I told you. I'm going to make weapons specifically for you, weapons that can only be used by you. So that you'll become true Magic Knights when the final battle comes."
"Thank you!"
"I'm guessing the Spring of Eterna is where we are getting the raw materials for our weapons?" Hotaru blurted, tired of Presea's roundabout way of explaining things."
"Correct," Presea affirmed and sat on the sole cannon in the room. "According to the legend, you three, well, four will go to Eterna. There, you'll gather ore called Escudo, which I will use to make weapons for you."
"What's wrong with good old fashioned steel and mithril?" Hotaru asked jokingly.
"Escudo is the one ore in Cephiro that can become weapons that evolve. Weapons created out of Escudo evolve based on the owner's skills and mental strength."
"That's a useful weapon!" Umi rejoiced. "We won't have to keep buying better weapons!"
"But if the owner doesn't grow the sword doesn't evolve either," Presea said with a stern voice.
"Depending on how one sees it," Fuu thought out loud, "it is easier to buy better weapons. Skilled or not, a good weapon will still give one good results."
"In any case, for you to become Magic Knights, you must evolve weapons made out of Escudo."
"Why?"
"A weapon of escudo serves as one of the keys to reviving the Mashin. And without the Mashin, you cannot fight evenly against Zagato."
"Mr. Clef mentioned that as well. What exactly is the Mashin?"
"A large being of immense power. I don't know the details but you Magic Knights will recognize it at a first glance."
Before they could ask for more questions, they could hear a familiar groan from the vault door. The brown monster was back and had its head back on its shoulders, and its massive frame was covering the entire doorway.
"Move!" Presea yelled, as she quickly began turning the cannon she was sitting on around.
Once the girls and Hotaru were out of the way, Presea fired the cannon at the monster. The heavy 16lbs cannon ball struck the monster in its chest, knocking it back and causing pieces of it to fall off. Presea then proceeded to pull the door close, leaving the monster outside.
"What is that monster doing here?" Umi asked in a panic. "I thought Ms. Presea got rid of it!"
"Right, there's probably a special requirement for killing it," Hotaru realized, trying to remember what it was.
"Choose a weapon quickly!" Presea yelled, trying to hold the door closed. "Before the monster breaks through the door!"
"Right!"
The girls started desperately searching for weapons, but the number of choices was overwhelming.
"There are so many! I don't know which one to choose!" Umi despaired.
"You don't know anything, do you!? Close your eyes and focus!" Presea yelled out. "Hurry!"
Choose a weapon, choose a weapon, isn't this all about the weapon choosing you! Hotaru thought annoyedly.
He had been looking for a weapon he could use with his limited number of skills. A spear would have been an easy weapon to use, but he was afraid it would not deal enough damage to monsters. The only weapon he knew how to use well were the sledgehammers he had used on construction sites, but there were no war hammers in the room. He could use his fists but those had the same problem as the spear.
As he and the girls closed their eyes and focused, they could all hear weapons in the room calling for them. As they opened their eyes, the weapons were floating in the air in front of them. A broadsword with a golden tip and cross guard, and red ribbons and grip for Hikaru. A rapier with a golden clawed cross guard and blue handle for Umi. A golden bow with a green grip and a matching quiver with a wing motif for Fuu. And for Hotaru…
"Is that a headsman's axe?" Umi gawked at it.
The weapon floating in front of Hotaru was a large, two-handed single-bladed axe. Its blade and shaft were both made out of blackened metal. As Hotaru grabbed hold of the weapon, he immediately noticed it weighed twice as much as any sledgehammer he had held before.
"If it is, people in this world have very strong necks," he said while gritting his teeth.
Before he had time to curse his inability to use Steel Strength in the forest, the door was smashed open. The monster made its way inside, roaring angrily and bearing its maw of numerous stalactite-like teeth. Meanwhile, Mokona was hiding inside a suit of armor.
"It's coming," Presea prepared herself.
"Why do we have to fight right away?" Umi complained.
"Think of it as a tutorial, but you got no extra lives," Hotaru joked, trying to hold his weapon in front of him.
As the monster roared, Fuu knocked back an arrow, "I will go first."
The arrow struck the monster square in the chest; however, it only sank halfway until it was ejected from the monster's body.
Unperturbed by this, Presea took the lead, "Let's go!"
"Yeah!" Hikaru followed suit, followed by Umi.
The three women charged at the monster with their swords, cutting, stabbing and slashing it to pieces. As it fell down, it almost looked like Hotaru wouldn't even get a turn to use his new weapon.
"We did it!" Umi and Hikaru high fived.
However, Hotaru and Fuu weren't so sure. They both approached the remains of the monster slowly with their weapons drawn. Surely enough, the monster started rebuilding itself, at which point Hotaru swung his axe at the remains of the monster's head. The heavy axe splattered the monster's head, halting its regeneration, but only for a moment.
"This monster is more stubborn than I am!" Hotaru grunted.
"It collapses easily yet returns to its original shape. It is just like mud."
"Mud?"
"This isn't the time to be complimenting it!"
Hotaru continued chopping the monster's head to prevent its regeneration, but there seemed to be no end to it.
"Is there a lake nearby?" Hikaru asked Presea.
"A lake? There's a pond in the yard…"
"Take us there!" she yelled.
"Oh, now I— know what you mean!" Hotaru said and ran out of the room with his axe.
As the monster started putting itself back together angrily, the group ran out of the vault. They ran for a while, with the sounds of the monster's footsteps echoing behind them. Presea led them through a dining hall, at which point Hikaru stopped for a moment.
"Ms. Presea, can I use this?" she asked, pointing at a table cloth.
"Y-Yes."
Without hesitation, Hikaru grabbed the cloth with her and continued running. Once they managed to reach the yard, a large pond with deep blue water waited for them just a few yards away from the door. The others ran over to the lake, but Hikaru stayed behind, hiding behind one of the mansion's pillars.
"Hikaru!"
"Umi, Fuu, Hotaru! Quickly, draw its attention!"
"Got it!" all three of them said.
Soon after the monster smashed its way through the door and most of the surrounding wall. Rubble spewed in every direction, forcing Hikaru to take a step back. As the monster passed through between the pillars, the three of them started distracting it.
"Hey, you! The slowest monster in the world!" Umi taunted it.
"You want me to cave in your head one more time, dirtbag?" Hotaru yelled while brandishing his axe.
To top it all off, Fuu fired an arrow, hitting the monster directly into its eye. As it flinched from the pain, Hikaru ran out of hiding, telling everyone to get out of the way. She jumped in the air and threw the table cloth over the monster's head and shoulders, blinding it. The monster staggered towards the lake, but managed to come to a stop and turn around.
Noticing this, Hotaru quickly and quietly got behind the monster, grouching down behind it. Noticing this, Hikaru nodded at him and charged in once more. Before the monster would have time to get rid of the cloth, Hikaru performed a jumping slashing attack. Her broadsword cleaved through the monster, sending it reeling back slightly. Hotaru leaned the full weight of himself and his weapon against the monster's calf, at which point the monster tripped and fell backwards into the lake.
As the monster hit the water with a splash, it let out gurgling noises and seemed to struggle for its life. It did not take long until the mud monster had started to dissolve into the water, and soon, only the cut-up tablecloth remained.
"Clever thinking figuring out the monster's weakness," Presea congratulated Hikaru.
"It was thanks to Fuu, she figured that it was like mud. I'm sorry I made a mess out of the tablecloth…"
Without a word, Presea smiled and hugged Hikaru tightly, "We were saved because of you. One tablecloth is nothing compared to that. Don't worry about it."
As everyone was smiling and catching their breath from all the excitement, the gems on Hikaru's, Umi's, Fuu's, and Hotaru's left-hand gloves started glowing intensely. This caught them off guard, but what came as even more of a surprise was that their weapons disappeared inside these gems.
"It's all right," Presea assured, seeing everyone's baffled expression. "Your weapons are stored safely inside your gloves' ornaments. They will reappear in your hands if you will them to be there."
"I mean that's all fine and good, but I thought magic wasn't supposed to work in the Forest of Silence," Umi pointed out, feeling a bit frustrated.
"Well, more specifically spells do not work in the Forest of Silence. Magical items on the other hand work just fine."
"Oh, so that's how it works," Hotaru nodded along, until he was interrupted by his stomach growling. "Ah, sorry, busy schedule so I didn't have breakfast today."
The ladies looked at him with a surprised expression, at which point the girls started slowly feeling their stomachs.
"Yes, we have been on the move for hours now and we have not had anything to eat," Fuu agreed.
"You wouldn't happen to have any grub to spare, Presea?" Umi asked, feeling a bit awkward asking someone who had already done so much for them.
"Oh, don't worry about it! We got plenty of food here for as long as Mokona is around."
"Eh!?"
"Pupupupupu!"
After a hearty meal conjured up by Mokona, the party finally had time to properly relax. The girls all took turns using the mansion's bathroom to wash up, during which Presea taught Hotaru how to use his axe more effectively. She also showed where the mansion's guest room was, and even helped prepare an extra bed for Hotaru. Which ended up being a large cloth hung up as a hammock.
Once the girls finished their bath it was Hotaru's turn to wash up.
By the time the girls had changed over to their nightgowns, it had already gotten dark outside. Tired from all the events of the day, Hikaru fell asleep almost immediately, holding Mokona in her arms. Umi and Fuu on the other hand, were not so keen on sleeping yet.
Umi rolled over onto her side, looking at Hikaru, "After fighting that monster, how can she sleep so soundly?"
"I agree with you," Fuu spoke up. "Following what Mr. Clef said is becoming one immense undertaking. We might not be so fortunate with other monsters in the future."
"Oh please! Don't say such dangerous things!"
"It will be alright," Fuu giggled. "As long as we stay with Ms. Hikaru and Mr. Hotaru."
"With this hotheaded girl and that shady guy?"
"Did you not think Hikaru's fighting style was splendid? I do not know about myself, but I believe Ms. Hikaru just might became the Magic Knight Mr. Clef mentioned. And wouldn't you say Hotaru is very brave?"
Umi sighed, "With his useless spells and weapon, his bravery and bravado are probably the only good things about him. Who knows if he will become a Magic Knight or a freaking executioner! At least he is cute…"
"You think so too?" Hikaru asked, startling the other two girls.
"Sorry, did we wake you up?" Umi apologized. "I'm just saying he isn't a bad looking guy, that's it."
"I think he is a very exciting individual, and he seems sharp too."
"He certainly does have his own level of wit and charm," Fuu giggled, but was interrupted.
Hotaru had just entered the room by slamming the door open and was staggering over to his hammock. Seeing their 'bodyguard' slouching across the room with nary a care for appearances, the girls forgot all about their earlier compliments.
"Man, I'm beat… Presea is one tough teacher."
After he had climbed into the hammock, Fuu got up into a sitting position in her bed, "Mr. Hotaru, may I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," they could hear a tired voice.
"If you could choose one of us to go out on a date with, which one would you choose?" Fuu asked mischievously.
"Eh!?" Umi and Hikaru sprung up as well, shocked by Fuu's question.
Hotaru thought about the question and realized that this was the first time he was sharing a room with three other women. However, to him these girls, who were technically 40 years younger than he was, were out of the question. Not to mention he knew that all of them already had their own prince charmings lined up in the near future. As such, he decided to turn them all down gently.
"If we were the last people left in both worlds, I would try to start a family with Mokona," he said bluntly.
"Pupupupupu!" Mokona laughed.
"You… JERK!" Umi yelled and grabbed and threw one of her thigh high boots at Hotaru.
Instead of hitting Hotaru directly, the boot hit the rope holding the hammock up. This caused the knot to come untied and for Hotaru to hit the ground, with the back of his head.
"Good night, everybody," Hotaru slurred his words in English.
"I think you went a bit too far, Umi!" Hikaru panicked.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Stay with us Mr. Hotaru!"
Author's Afterword: Ow! I hope that my jokes land with the readers better than Hotaru from the hammock. After all, comedy is an important part of the identity of MKR and it feels weird for things to get way too serious for too long.