Chapter 26: It's Magic!

Piromi recently finished giving them a demonstration about a monstergirl's abilities out in the fields. It is where physical education would take place. And now, the monstergirl teacher was leading them to Little Flower's library.

"Eryn." Iris tugged his hand as they walked. "Do you like reading books?"

"Sure… I guess I do." Eryn nodded. Though I don't read as often as I used to. "I read from time to time."

"What about storybooks?" Iris asked, her ears twitching with expectance.

"Storybooks…?" He hummed. Is she referring to the books intended for children…? "I used to read them when I was a little kid."

"Oh, okay." Iris nodded in understanding. She appeared deep in thought.

"Why do you ask, iris?"

"Our caretakers used to read us stories every night," Iris replied. It was something she remembered because of the library.

"Oh, I see." Eryn found that surprising. I didn't know Aiden and Amber read them stories. "Do you like being told stories?"

"I love bedtime stories." Lofie nuzzled her chin onto his head.

"Oh, that's nice to know." Eryn smiled and patted her head. "What do you like about them, Lofie?"

"They make me fall asleep faster."

"… Oh."

Eryn raised a brow. That's… not the answer I expected. Did that mean that those stories lulled her into sleep or did they actually bore her to sleep? I imagine it could be both. Lofie is a heavy sleeper, he recalled. Maybe she liked something to accompany her to sleep.

"I don't like bedtime stories that much…" Melty grumbled.

"Why's that, Melty?" Eryn turned to her.

"Because they scare me!" Melty pouted, directing her gaze to her sisters. "They always tell me scary stories! I can't sleep!"

"… Huh." Eryn blinked. Scary stories? I wouldn't read that for kids. "Is that true, Iris and Lofie?"

"They're not scary." Lofie shook her head and cast her eyes away. "You're just a scaredy-cat. I mean… a scaredy-mouse."

"We used to tell stories to help each other fall asleep," Iris said, scratching her cheek. Her eyes avoided Eryn for some reason.

"You two didn't help me at all!" Melty fumed, her tail whipping straight. "I couldn't sleep well."

"Maybe you two can tell me some of these scary stories." Eryn chuckled. He was awfully curious. Just what kind of stories do they tell? Knowing Melty, it might be some tame storytelling.

"With pleasure." Lofie's eyes sparkled with excitement, her ears standing straight.

"Okay!" Iris raised her palm in agreement.

"You can't let them, Eryn!" Melty squeezed his hand. "We won't be able to sleep."

"Don't worry, Melty." He squeezed her hand back reassuringly. "I'll tell you a nice story to help you fall asleep."

"Really?" The little hinezumi's ears twitched with surprise. "I wanna hear Eryn's stories!"

"Not fair, Eryn." Lofie pouted, lightly tapping his head with her tiny fists. "Eryn has to tell us all stories."

"M-Me too!" Iris bobbed her head frantically. "Lofie's stories scare me, too!"

"What?" Lofie shifted her gaze to her cat sister. A betrayed look appeared in her eyes.

Eryn did everything he could to hold back his laugh. I think Iris just switched sides. Day by day, it was getting easier to read the monstergirls. And sometimes, I learn a little more about them.

"Your monstergirls really adore you." Kazumi smiled, observing their little family.

"Well, they can be quite a handful, sometimes…" Eryn sighed. They're usually together.

"That's just the way it is, y'know?" Kazumi glanced at his daughter, Yuki. "The wonders of parenthood. One day, you're giving your little kid all the attention. You blink… and they might already be an adult."

"Huh…" Eryn tilted his head. Is that how it is?

"We gotta cherish all the little moments." Kazumi stared into the sky. "They won't last forever. Someday, you'll find yourself missing them."

Is that right…? Eryn hummed to himself. He didn't have the monstergirls for a long time, relatively speaking. But they're already so dear to me. He couldn't imagine seeing them grow up to be fully formed adults. Maybe time will fly by. I wonder how I'll feel by then…

"One thing I should mention to all of you first…" Piromi stopped in her tracks and turned around. They were standing in front of the door to the library. All the windows were dark and opaque. They couldn't see inside.

"What is it, Piromi?" Kazumi asked.

"Our library is quite… unique. It won't be as you expect." Piromi winked at them, raising a finger. "You'll be surprised once you step inside."

Unique…? Eryn raised his brows. The fields and her ability demonstration already blew his mind. Can the library do that as well? Considering it's a monstergirl school, maybe they have magical books flying around. Or their book selection could be different.

Piromi slid the door open and bowed at her waist. "After you."

Eryn and Kazumi exchanged a glance. Kazumi motioned him to go first.

Okay, guess I'll go first. With his monstergirls, Eryn slowly stepped through the door to enter the library, followed by the others. In front of them were various shelves neatly stacked with books as one would expect from a typical library. This seems fairly normal…

PHOOOOM!

A bright light glowed from his left, prompting him to turn his head. That's really bright! He saw a glowing globe spinning around in the air. A dark figure stood behind the globe, waving their hands over it.

"Nona!" Piromi slid inside, calling out the dark figure. "We've got visitors!"

"Oh?" The glow dimmed considerably as a calm female voice answered. "Apologies, I didn't see you there."

The dark figure walked around the globe to approach them. She was wearing a dark brown cloak around her which concealed most of her body. The two feathery tufts on her hair stood out. Eryn was captivated by her round yellow eyes. He could sense a powerful presence, just standing in front of her. His shoulders felt heavy. Woah, what is this feeling…? Is she a monstergirl, too? His gaze drifted down her cloak, only to see long and sharp talons stepping on the wooden floor. W-What the…

"One of these days, you're going to scare someone off." Piromi teased, then waved her hand at the visitors. "This is Eryn and Kazumi! They're interested in checking out Little Flower. I was giving them a little tour."

"Greetings." She bowed herself at the waist. "My name is Nona. I oversee the library and its affairs."

"In other words, she's the librarian!" Piromi grinned. "I'll leave you two in her care."

"Wow…" the monstergirls stared at the librarian in awe.

"Dad, I think she's a monstergirl!" Yuki said, tugging on her dad's hand. "Look at her hair! It's so… unique!"

"You're an Owl Mage!" Melty exclaimed and pointed at her.

Eryn raised a brow. "An Owl Mage?" I've never heard that name before. Does she take after an owl and a mage? If she was part-owl, those talons must be her feet.

"That is correct." Nona giggled lightly. She crouched down and patted the little hinezumi's head. "I'm a monstergirl if that wasn't obvious."

"Cool!" Yuki beamed. The Owl Mage looked so cool!

"… Eryn and Kazumi, was it?" Nona stood up and offered her hand, her eyes studying Eryn. "Please call me Nona."

"Hi, Nona." Kazumi greeted.

"… H-Hello." Eryn returned a gentle handshake. The moment their skins touched, he could feel something intense flowing through him. W-Woah…

"Please feel free to explore the library." Nona bowed her head. "We have a diverse selection of books for your disposal."

"Ms. Nona!" Yuki raised her palm. "What is that glowy thing?"

"Hmmm…?" Nona turned to the globe behind her. "Oh, it's a little project of mine that's ongoing. Pay no mind to it."

"Yuki, why don't we check some of the books here?" Kazumi asked.

"Okay!" Yuki nodded. They walked to the bookshelves, leaving Eryn and the monstergirls with the Owl Mage.

Eryn stared at the sizable globe. I wonder what kind of project that is. It looked like a giant Earth globe. But why is it glowing? It was a rather dumb question, he thought. She's a monstergirl. Must be her magical powers or something. She was a mage, after all.

Nona's eyes shifted to each of the monstergirls, stopping at the little Anubis sitting on his shoulders. She tilted her head in curiosity. "I sense… a power that's waiting to be awakened in you, little one."

"…" Lofie looked behind her, then looked at the Owl Mage.

"I think she's talking to you, Lofie." Eryn poked her cheek.

"Me?" Lofie pointed at herself.

"You're an Anubis, correct?" Nona giggled. "I hear your kind are rulers of the great Desert and have a deep understanding of dark and nature magic."

"Wow," Lofie replied in awe. "Is that true, Eryn?"

"… I don't know?" Eryn briefly raised his shoulders. Why are you asking me?

"May I have your hand, little one?" Nona offered her hand to Lofie.

"Should I, Eryn?" Lofie bowed her head, running her fingers through his hair.

"Why not?" Eryn gently lifted Lofie off his shoulders and let her down on the floor. I'm curious about this magic. Does that mean Lofie had super abilities like Melty?

Lofie slowly reached her arms out to the Owl Mage. Nona dropped to her knees and gently held her little hands. Almost immediately, dark green energy formed between her palms before vanishing.

"Wow." Lofie's eyes widened in surprise. She felt a burst of energy rush through her hand. "Did I do that?"

"That is your own power, little one." Nona nodded with a soft smile. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

"Eryn, Eryn." Lofie darted her eyes to him excitedly. "Did you see that?"

"I did, Lofie!" Eryn stroked her hair. "I didn't know you could do that."

"She can also do this…" Nona took an item from her cloak pocket and placed it inside Lofie's hand. Lofie inspected the item with her fingers; it was a small seed.

"Do I eat it?" Lofie asked. She sniffed the seed a few times.

"Haha, no." Nona shook her head. She's an adorable one. "Close it with your hands."

She guided Lofie's hands and covered the seed inside them. Soon, her little hands glowed green and gusts of wind flew around her skin. Eryn sensed the air pressure emitting from her hands.

"You can open your hands now."

Lofie opened her hands, and her ears stood straight from what she saw. The seed was no longer there! In place of the seed was a little flower with white petals.

"Wow!" Lofie inspected the flower closely and then showed it to Eryn. "Look, Eryn. I made a flower!"

"You did!" Eryn scratched his head, feeling amazed and confused. That's like a neat magic trick! He was expecting something more monster-ish, but this was cool either way.

"That's so cool, Lofie!" Melty's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Let me try!"

"No, you'll burn the flower." Lofie huffed, putting the flower away from Melty's reach. "This is my flower."

Nona simply observed the two children's expressions. Seeing a monstergirl realize they have magic always brought her joy. She saw the excitement of a child as its own magic. It's always a joy to see it. She didn't have many opportunities to teach magic.

"Ms. Nona…" a meek voice called out.

Nona turned to the little voice which came from the catgirl standing beside Eryn. She seemed awfully curious about something. "What is it, little one?"

"Can I do magic, too?" Iris asked with an expectant look.

"… Ah." Nona bowed her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, little one. I don't sense any magical powers coming from you."

"Oh." Iris's ears draped down. Her lips turned into a frown. "Okay…"

"Don't feel bad." Nona tried to lighten up the mood. "Your kind isn't capable of using magic, so that's not in your control."

"Oh…" Iris rubbed her arm, her eyes cast to the side. That meant she'd never be able to do cool things like her sisters. She'd never be able to impress Eryn. She felt worse now.

"E-Er…" Nona rubbed her neck. I didn't mean to make her feel worse. It also made her feel terrible inside, having to tell certain monstergirls that they didn't possess innate magical abilities. But the catgirl struck her as odd. Wouldn't she know she doesn't have those abilities from her parents? When she realized her parent appeared to be this man, it started clicking in her mind.

"Aw, Iris…" Eryn wrapped his arm around the catgirl and pulled her in. The sadness was evident on her face. She must be feeling left out. Seeing her sad expression left a tight feeling in his heart. "It's okay."

"Does Eryn still think I'm cool?" Iris asked in a low voice.

"Heh…?" Eryn chuckled and lightly pinched her cheek. "Is that what this is about?"

"Eh?" Iris raised her head.

"Iris, I already told you before." He caressed her cheek. "You're already cool enough for me."

"Even without powers?"

"Think again, Iris." He pointed to her heart. "There are cool powers you have that neither Lofie nor Melty does."

"I do?" Iris put a finger on her chin.

"Yeah." Eryn gently met their foreheads together before standing up. "Those powers have helped me time and time again."

"Oh…!" Iris stared at her hands. Eryn sounded genuine. What powers did he see in her? Whatever it may be, it wasn't the same as her sisters.

"So don't worry about it, Iris." He grinned. "You're always cool in my eyes."

"… Hehe!" A cute smile finally formed on her lips. Eryn was always kind to her.

"Wait, what are her powers?" Melty asked, tugging on his hand. "I wanna know!"

"Me too, me too." Lofie tugged on her other hand.

"It's a secret." Eryn winked.

"Wah!" Melty pouted. "That's no fair, Eryn! I wanna know!"

Nona stared at the little family in silence. I see… so the monstergirls are sisters. Monstergirls who've come to find each other as family. It was an interesting trio of monstergirls. How did they end up together? More interesting was the fact their owner and parent is a human. And she sensed something strange coiling around his heart. Strange magic she couldn't comprehend.

Eryn, you are an interesting human…