CH 3

3 - What If There Was Magic?!

A world where magic can be used, where she can feel the magical power when she breaths, where her veins surge with the familiar, nostalgic thrum of mana, Keisuke could not hide her excitement.

“Magic!” Keisuke yelled. “I can use magic! I have magic!”

The feeling of the magic seal on her palm reminds me of the dream she could never have achieved.

She missed all the spells she thought she couldn’t use anymore, the magic she had learned how to sense with her body, and the control over magical power.

Keisuke was in tears, closing and opening her palm several times.

“… I see, I can start over again,” she said.

Keisuke looks forward as she clenches her palm.

“If there is magic! What can I do?!”

Also, if she can use magic again, if there was magic in this world, there can be a world where Magia and Norma hold hands…

“If there is magic…” Keisuke thinks and her expression grows cloudy. “… I’m not going to fall into the same pitfall.”

Magic was a power for peace, but it was also a power to dominate others, such were the tragedies it created.

Such power drives humans crazy and makes them lose track of what is normal. Magic has that sort of danger…

And the disappointment when they realized it was gone was immeasurable, and it created a new type of hatred, and as a result, Keisuke was killed in the aftermath.

The danger of relying on the fact that “I can use magic” as your personality and something to take pride in, that so much power was filled with hope but also fraught with danger, the responsibility of using it, that such enormous power wouldn’t just produce happiness… such bitter lessons cast a shadow over Keisuke’s heart.

“First, I have to collect information.”

She’s not solving anything being so depressed. She reconfirms she looks like Lulurun in her reflection on the glass, and then she started thinking about how to deal with this abnormal situation.

In this world where magic could still be used, why did she not die, come back to life here, and why does she look like Lulurun?

“Was it because I was holding her doll when I died?”

If that was the case, what happened to Excaliburn since he was holding them both? On the verge of death, the mascot characters of his company, Lulurun and Excaliburn, but for some reason, Lulurun was overwhelming more popular because of their “fated rivals” shtick.　　

Keisuke likes robots, so she rather liked Excaliburn, but when asked if she would rather be a robot or a magical girl…

“Hmm, is Lulurun still better?” Keisuke asked. “She’s cute.”

Keisuke mentally apologizes to Excaliburn, though she can’t do anything.

There is no point in stopping and worrying, there is no choice but to move! Keisuke looks back and looks out over the noisy town square.

Then, the people in the surrounding town turned their eyes to Keisuke with suspicious expressions, this was obviously a little strange.

Several people who were watching the incident earlier are looking at her and whispering among themselves.

“It’s a witch…” someone said darkly, their gaze so hateful.

“Witch…”

Keisuke listens to the people’s unfamiliar words.

“Why is there a witch here…?”

“Is there a war about to begin?”

“Please, no Scourge of Flame again.”

“What is the Church doing?”

They clearly say “witch” after they see Keisuke. What “witch” meant seems different from Keisuke’s idea.

When Keisuke turns her gaze on the whispering townspeople, they leave as if running away.

“What’s with that?” Keisuke asked.

She doesn’t feel good because of the hateful gaze and tried to leave.

“For the time being, let’s expand our sensing magic…”

From the strangeness in her surroundings, Keisuke magically enhances her senses as a precaution.

Sensing Magic is a type of defensive magic that can detect signs of hostility, murder, magical power, etc., within a 1-kilometer radius from the caster.

“Huh?” Keisuke asked.

The moment she expanded her awareness, she sensed murderous intent approaching at tremendous speed.

“What the……?”

The intensity and the malice were things she had never felt in this world before, they were the warning signs of a strong opponent incomparable to the small fry earlier.

“This feels like it could be bad…” Keisuke mutters to herself.

And as Keisuke is on full alert, a voice behind her says:

“Excuse me!”

“Uah…!!!!” Keisuke screams.

She’s shocked by something that could not have been detected by her sensing magic, she prepares for battle.

“!?”

“What?”

There was the short girl Keisuke helped earlier, the girl looked like she was about to tell Keisuke something but now trembled and teared up from fear.

“Um…” the girl said.

“Sorry, wait a minute,” Keisuke interrupted, wary of the approaching murderous intent still going at great speed.

“Ah, you see…” the girl said.

“It’s better to stay away from me, there’s probably… a bad guy is coming,” Keisuke said.

“What are you saying, lady?” the girl’s expression said to Keisuke.

But, the more important thing was the source of the murderous intent emerging onto the street like a rushing wind.

They were clad in silver armor, the large sword in their hand that is disproportionate to their physique.

“A swordsman?” Keisuke asked.

She blinked before the swordsman was right before her eyes.

“Wha?”

There should have been some time to close the distance, the swordsman does it instantly.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!” Keisuke yells, panicked as she pushes the nearby girl away, amazed at the swordsman’s speed.

It far exceeded the limits of humans, the point of the large sword was thrust at Keisuke’s throat.

“You’re too fast!!!!” Keisuke said.

“Get lost, Witch!!!!!” the swordsman snapped.

Their serious gaze locked with Keisuke’s astonished eyes, sparks flew instantly.